Switching It Up!

I’ll cut right to the chase. I’m about to switch things up a bit–ok, A LOT!

I went through the motions of creating content and posting sporadically on my social media. To be honest, I’ve not been clear on the direction for TWG in a really long time.

Originally, TWG started out as a style blog back in 2014. After a while, I decided I wanted to cover “lifestyle” trends to have more content. So I scrapped everything and started over. In 2017, after 3 years of being inconsistent, it was time for me to up my game! So paying for a website, and spending countless hours perfecting said website was the next logical thing to do, right?

I knew who my audience was (black millennial women). I also knew I was trying to show women, doing what we love didn’t have to be saved just for weekends, hence the name–TWG. The thing is, I wasn’t clear on how to do any of that myself! There, I said it. So how was I going to be able to share my methods and ideas in an effective way that my audience responded to? Let alone, consistently?

The thing is, I wasn’t clear on how to do any of that myself.

I was trying to share my “insight” on how I could balance all the things in my life and blog consistently, without getting a system down packed first. Uh, girl please. I think with all the researching and following so many amazing influencers that were consistent, I undervalued the measure of real balance! Did I know that creating content was work? Yes, of course–Ive done it! Did I know that consistency was a key factor in my audience & brands receptiveness to my content? Absolutely!

So, respectfully–what’s the real issue here?

My issue was, I didn’t have any processes to help me easily find my workflow regardless of what life threw at me. Within the last 6 years I’d gotten laid off, found part-time employment, then moved to a different job working sun up to sundown. Shortly after, I switched jobs again with regular hours (8am-5pm), only to have my hours changed (10am-7pm). Then boom, COVID, and I’m working from home. Every time I thought I had a routine for content creation, I needed to find my rhythm all over again.

To be fair, the frustration Ive experienced is my own fault. I should’ve had processes for creating and publishing content laid out a long time ago. Instead of niching down, I added more to my plate. I was comparing myself to my blogger/influencer faves which only further confused my position & value!

Last year really gave me space to reevaluate. Creating content took the back seat and I sat down to flesh out my ideas. There were a lot, trust me. Just a note; every idea you come up with, isn’t necessarily aligned with your business, even if it’s a really good one! You can figure out what does make sense by detailing your business model thoroughly.

Figure out what makes your brand unique, especially if your niche is heavily saturated.

Here are some starter questions to ask yourself when you’re trying to get specific!

1. What does my brand look like? Yes, this does include colors, logo & font because it sets a tone for your brands “personality.” Is it light and fun and full of color? Or is it a more serious nature, with dark heavier colors, or is it trendy with a lot of neutral tones throughout. Also consider who your target audience is; where do they live, what sort of activities do they enjoy? All of this matters because it tells a story to your audience and develops how they feel & respond to your business.
2. What kind of content tells the story/communicates the idea of my brand? All the content you post should make sense and be aligned with the overall message of your brand.
3. Does my process for creating/publishing this content, enable me to be consistent? In short, how do you prepare your content to be post ready? Writing a blog post, filming a Youtube video, taking pictures and editing is all part of your process, and should absolutely be written down.

The Switch

TWG will no longer just be a blog. I’ve decided to restructure my brand and move to a service that would benefit other content creators! That’s the tea. For now, the site will remain as it is, but I just couldn’t wait to share this news with you. I don’t want to hold out from you guys when I could be taking you along this journey with me! I’m so glad that I started where I did, when I did. I’ve learned so many things from my failures & that alone is 100% worth it!

I’ll be sharing how I’m developing as a service based brand in detail. Stay tuned, Ive got some exciting things planned!