I wanted to share a lesson I learned from my blogging experiences of 2012: Your time is valuable, so spend it on what you’re passionate about sharing.

It’s difficult to remember this when there is so much pressure from others to host a giveaway, share a deal, write a sponsored post, and promote an affiliate. I’m not the only blogger who is learning this lesson and sharing it. Bobbie Byrd wrote “Your Worth As a Blogger” to share her story of how she fell into the trap of not valuing her time in order to promote a big brand. She says “You are letting these companies walk all over you. They get their name out to all your community, your Facebook fans and your twitter fans and you get a free product that you don’t even use or a gift card that doesn’t compensate for your time.” And then we have to ask: What do our readers get out if it?

As bloggers we tend to be over-connected with a network of people who are trying to get their content shared more. We can never share everything we hear about, so we must be selective and pick our favorite content. And of course we are always being bribed with free products or gift cards to share that content (which hopefully you are always disclosing to your readers). That’s why I want you to really own your content and not let others pressure you into sharing their content unless you really feel it has value to your readership. Remember that you own your blog, and you control your content. Your time is valuable, so spend it on investing in yourself instead of others.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic, so please leave a comment to share. Which lessons from 2011 are you taking into 2012?

Subscribe to Freebies 4 Mom for tips on Blogging

Loading