It was June 2016, the weekend of my birthday and I was just at home. I ran out of things to do and I just finished off an episode of MARVEL’s Agents of SHIELD. I opened my laptop and created a free WordPress account to write a review of what I just watched. Who would have thought that from that one lazy afternoon, I would keep on doing what I enjoy and even get something bigger out of it. Now on my 5th year as a blogger and content creator, let me share with you the 5 learnings that I had.
- Find your purpose.
Again, as I previously said. I started my blog to share my thought about the TV show that I watched. It wasn’t my intention then to be recognized, to receive packages from brands, nor to get paid for doing it. For me, it was just purely out of my need for a creative outlet.
From one TV episode write-up, I then had more time to write about movies that I recently saw in the cinema. To me, this became an outlet for me to practice my skills. I mean, it is a free space online especially for me. It just so happens that it was public and some people found it and started having discussions with me about what I was writing.
Coincidentally, at the time, I was also active at a forum site in the Philippines and we had one official group of movie reviewers. Each month, we would pick our assignments of movie premieres to attend to and write a review about. I did not what got into my head at the time but for this one particular assignment, I wrote a movie review for the forum and one for my blog. Then submitted both links to the entertainment PR that invited us. Next thing I know, I was attending as The Little Binger.
- Be open.
I would not want to wear my Uncle Ben hat on this one but with “great power comes great responsibility.” And if I were to put it in a blogger’s perspective, with great reach is a great assignment.
Of course, I am nowhere near being a known blogger then. But at least I was already being recognized by PR agencies. My one movie premiere increased to twice a month then to EVERY movie screenings especially arranged for the press. And yes, my humble project earned me the identity of becoming a part of the press for Hollywood movies coming out locally.
- It is not a competition.
As I set out this path to be a better content creator, other PR agencies started noticing me too. It was not long til I received invites to their brands’ launches and events. Take note: these were no longer studios. I am slowly getting out into the lifestyle niche.
It sure is fun to not miss out on events and happenings and to receive gifts from them but I was wrong for putting it in my head. Sure, there were some invites that my colleagues got invited to and I did not. The immature me definitely felt bad about it. Somehow, it made me question my worth as a blogger. “Am I no longer valuable to these brands?”
I am not gonna lie, if I still have this mindset during the pandemic, I would have deleted my blog and social media platforms. Events were rare, invites were sparse. But then I held on to my purpose for starting this in the first place and reminded me that this is not a competition. - Grow your network.
This was not difficult for me at all, as an extrovert. Events pre-pandemic gave me life! Those gatherings invigorated me because meeting my fellow content creators meant lots of talk and laughter. And taking photos too! At the same time, those were opportunities for me to grow my network.
What I did whenever I attended events as blogger was I hang out first with my friends. Then slowly, I will introduce myself to their friends whom I have never met before then so on. It was also a chance for me to reach out to the organizers. I can’t remember the number of opportunities that I got from merely socializing at these events! - Make it matter.
Lastly, everything can be overwhelming. For content creators like I am, the assignment of putting out content, the joy of receiving PR packages and earning from influencer campaigns, and the pressure of staying relevant all add up to the pressure. But as I thought about it once, that should not really come as a challenge. And there is one key to it: creating content that matters.
At the heart of it all, the readers value. I mean, I write as if I am just talking to a friend or a group of people. The simple sharing of my idea could probably resonate with a fellow fan. Or my review of an item is what an undecided buyer is looking for before going on with that purchase. For me and my fellow content creator Anna Scolaro, every individual we come across may affect us. And it goes both ways.
So, there you have it, Bingers! So far it has been a great 5 years and there will be more. Here’s to another 5 years or more!
Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Youtube and Facebook for updates.
