Hello, hello it’s Reverie Rendezvous time with issue No.3! Today we’re having a little twist and bringing you a different perspective. Instead of hearing from somebody who has been in business for years, we are taking a step back and presenting you the view point of somebody who is starting fresh. Our guest today is Rebekah Schmitz a brand new blogger. She has been wanting to share her heart with others about real life and real growth for a while now, and she’s finally taking action and is launching her blog today – yes, you heard right TODAY! And you get to experience that thrill with her. Please go watch her story video here (try not to cry) and show her support on this special day.
If you have been pacing in your creative room, crippled by fear, doubt or just clueless on what to do, dying to take action, read on this is for you.
Hi there! My name is Rebekah. I have a passion to inspire woman to breakthrough to their goals, dreams and purpose, and to be who they are created to be. I’ve been working with non-profits, speaking, and writing for the last 14yrs to spread the good news that we were made for greatness! I decided to start blogging about a year ago, and I’ve finally taken the brave plunge! I wanted to share a few practical things that helped me make it happen, as well as the big mindset shift that I needed before launch day!
1- Brainstorm: Answer the questions Why do I want to blog? Who do I want to reach? For me I want to reach women with inspiration and tools of empowerment. This was also very helpful for self discovery! I jotted down some of this content to save for my ‘about me’ as well.
2- Find Support: What if my blog is terrible? Fear isn’t my friend, but it can be a constant companion. But if my fear is in the light it holds much less power over me! I voiced my fear, which helped me not to let it make choices for me. I am in charge! (That’s what I keep telling myself ;)) Finding a few online groups, and having a close business/blog savvy friend to share my journey really helped. Sometimes it just takes one person believing in you to give you the power to say, yes!
3- Practice: If you’ve established your Why and Who, you’ll need to start writing. You must find your voice. ~ This was the very hardest part for me. I read way too many ebooks and articles on how to have the ‘best, brightest, boldest, most awesome blog’. I overloaded my mind with too much information, and started to stress out and lose myself in the process. Thankfully, I stumbled upon a few posts I had written last year, and when I read through them I had my ‘aha’ moment! I had lost my voice in the strive for perfection! I took a break from all the research, and focused on enjoying what I love instead of following all the rules. ~ After my breakthrough, I practiced writing, I read it out loud to see how it felt. I got some feedback from friends. I tried to have about 10 posts that were polished and ready to launch. Evernote has been my favorite app for organizing all my content.
4- Do Research: Jot down questions and utilize Pinterest, Google, Youtube to get answers and ideas. A few great freebies I stumbled across (since I am not a designer) were PicMonkey.com and Canva.com. Save helpful websites or articles that give practical steps and information in a folder online, where you can frequently reference them.
5- Take the Plunge: It’s the moment of truth! Here are two posts that were extremely helpful to me in the nuts and bolts of launching: this from Amy @AmyLynnAndrews was great. Also this from Ashley @SpoonfulFlavor. I made a timeline leading up to launch day, which included head shots, a video, post writing, purchasing a website template and customizing it, deciding on an opt-in for subscribers and synchronizing all my social media platforms. Luckily for me, Reverie Lane Designs reached out offering a guest post, and I am launching in conjunction!
I hope this helped anyone sitting on the ‘blogging fence’ to take a leap! When we’re brave it inspires everyone around us to be the same! Best of luck and thanks for reading!
I am a big believer of supporting each other in this journey and launch day can be nerve-wracking so a little love goes a long way. You can find Rebekah here:
IG : @rebekahlschmitz
REVERIE MINGLES: What has been keeping you from taking action? What ‘fence’ are you sitting on?