Hey guys! I’ve got a question for you all, and I’m curious to hear your answers and stories because I know these issues are different for us all.
This question came to my mind because in a few of my posts, I’ve put up pictures of my face. This is ironic for me because I can honestly say that I feel really awkward and nervous about people I know finding out about this blog.
For a variety of reasons, I have always felt almost embarrassed about people I know possibly finding out about this blog. It’s funny because it’s hardly like this is something embarrassing for me to be doing! But regardless I still get that nervous feeling. I worked on another blog in the past as well and it took me months to share that with my husband. As if he was going to tell me what I was doing was dumb or silly…no way. In fact he was really proud that I was taking on this new challenge and putting myself out there.
So this leads to my questions…
Are the people in your life aware of your blog? Have you shared it with friends/family? Have you ever felt “embarrassed” about blogging? What other thoughts do you have on this matter?
I’d really love to know what you think 🙂
The Makeup Moth 
Its amazing to hear another blogger talk about this, and how wonderful to hear similar experiences from others who have commented on this post. I haven’t told people I know about my blog. I thought it was just me! The reason I started blogging was because I don’t know a lot of makeup lovers in real life and wanted to share things with others out there who understand and have a similar interest.
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Girl you’re not alone! It’s totally a self conscious thing for me. And That’s exactly why I started too.
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Plus it is really nice to know others can relate easily 🙂
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Yes! Can relate x10000. I’ve refrained from creating a Facebook page for the blog because I know all my friends will see it and I’m not sure I’m ready for that yet! A lot of my close friends know about it though and my partner and family look at it too. It’s very curious isn’t it?
I do have to say though that I love your blog and that it’s definitely one worth sharing with others ❤
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Aw thank you 🙂 But I also totally don’t feel like I’m ready for that! I may not ever be. The whole point of coming on here was to create a fun makeup space since I don’t think any personal folks would be too interested in that anyways haha
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I can relate to this. People know I blog but it would probably bore the pants off them if they read it, even though my posts are fairly short. It’s more a way of putting my thoughts down and as I spend far too much time sitting at my laptop, I blog.
I felt compelled to visit after you had visited my blog (thank you 🙂 ) although I’m not really big into makeup…I always like my makeup bag has jumped up and smacked me in the face when I try to apply it and the Coco the Clown look is NOT attractive.
Your blog is interesting though so don’t be too self conscious. People wouldn’t read if they didn’t want to 🙂
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Thanks for the kind words and your input on this too! I get the same feeling especially because this is such a specific topic-certain people would definitely be bored or think, wow, that’s strange to have so much written on some random makeup stuff. Well it’s taken me quite a while to improve on the makeup skills (not that I’m perfect by any means!) I acquire the clown look with my blush easily haha. But you’re welcome and thank you for stopping by 🙂
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Wow, this is a good question. I actually have felt the same way (and do feel the same way). Especially since I’m just starting out, but it is weird! I feel like I have this secret life or something that nobody knows about but me and the few people that follow me. i mentioned it to my husband, but I felt really shy doing it and kind of changed the subject right after. I don’t think you or I or anyone should be embarrassed or ashamed of it. I’m almost positive the people in my circle aren’t “blog” readers/people, but it still shouldn’t be anything to be embarrassed about, yet I still am. It’s kind of comforting to know I’m not the only one, haha. Hopefully in the near future I’ll feel more comfortable telling people about it.
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These thoughts mirror so many of my feelings! It totally feels like a secret life. I would also still feel so shy and awkward mentioning it to others-especially because they just may not GET it. I think my circle of folks doesn’t know much about or have much interest in blogging either. And that makes sense, it’s like we know we shouldn’t have to be embarrassed but we just are regardless. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts 🙂
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Great question! My family and friends know I have a blog because I used to have a Lost Mama Facebook account linked to it when I was only going to write about Liam and our autism journey. When I decided to expand into makeup/beauty and fandom, I suspended the FB account because I’m more paranoid about them seeing my makeup/beauty posts as opposed to the Liam/autism posts. Which is weird. Once I get more comfortable with writing about these other topics, I will probably re-open the Lost Mama Facebook account so they will then be able to see my posts. I don’t know why I am so anxious about them seeing my expanded blog, but I am.
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No explanation needed here. That’s exactly my feeling too! It’s this anxiety that happens for a pretty non specific reason. It’s funny because many people mention such worries and all of us bloggers would be the first to say that their blogs are great and there’s nothing to worry about really! Either way, that worry persists. Thanks for sharing 🙂
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I have shared my blog with my guy and a friend I work with. I also share it in a couple facebook makeup groups I am in, and have formed friendships with some of the ladies offline. Outside of that, I do not share my blog with people. I’ve told people I blog, but nothing specific. Sometimes it get tiresome when people roll their eyes at you because you are talking about makeup or nail polish or lotions, and blogging is a way for me to share my love of all things girlie with people who understand.
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Thanks for sharing! I’ve heard similar things from others especially about this particular or any niche really. I feel like a lot of people certainly wouldn’t “get” the makeup love. Either thinking it doesn’t make sense or that it’s vain or something. But sounds about like where I am, a few real world folks know but very few!
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My family are aware of my blog, but as my friends no. Personally speaking I don’t think they would really be interested. I love blogging, my website and enjoy my readers. But I have felt embarrassed showing it to some people, outside of my family.
Great Article!
Cheyenne
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I feel the same! I’m feeling just fine keeping things to myself so far aside from the husband and sister for the same reasons you mentioned. Maybe slowly I’ll begin to share more. Thanks for your comment!!
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So at first I kept my blog to myself as kind of a food journal/new years resolution. Then my husband said it was pretty good, so I sent it out to my friends who eat low-carb like me. Suddenly everyone knew about it and loved it. Even my co-workers and clients follow it. At first I was a little mortified, but now it’s kind of cool to have friends guest post and ask questions. It made my personal hobby into something I could share with people I love! I just announced it on FB and made a FB page, so why not? It limits what you can say a little bit (I don’t want to curse a ton if my employer is reading it…) but it doesn’t stifle the enjoyment!
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That’s really great! I understand how the sharing part feels really good. Like when I first told my husband, it was almost like this big sigh of relief and happy comfort knowing that I could share the other part of my life with him. Thanks for your thoughts 🙂
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Awesome post and question. Since it’s so new to me I have not told anyone close to me about my blog. Perhaps when I have some followers and made more of a substantial community from it. I barely even tell people about how much I love reading makeup blogs and watching youtube beauty channels. For people who are not so in love with beauty products, this pastime is hard to understand. People close to me know how much time and money I spend on beauty products and they don’t understand why. That’s fine with me. But my blog and my love for reading about and watching videos is an outlet for creativity and positivity and I would like to keep it that way 🙂
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Thank you for your thoughts! That’s something I hadn’t thought about because I too love watching those videos but definitely don’t broadcast that to anyone as one of my hobbies. I think anything that’s such a particular niche like this would be tricker for others to understand. But you’re right, it’s for our own enjoyment and creativity and that’s what matters! Thanks for sharing this 🙂
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What a great question! I feel really embarrassed at first and didn’t publicise my blog to any social networking sites but now i frequently do and don’t really mind what other people think. If they don’t like it they can block me 🙂 I really want to take the most away from this experience because if in a few months I decide you don’t want to continue, at least I will have given it my all 🙂
Your blog is fantastic and I can’t imagine anyone disliking it 🙂
xoxox
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Thank you for your thoughts and kind comments! That’s awesome you been able to step out of that comfort zone and just do what you want! I like that attitude-it makes sense, as much as we like to interact with others, we do these kinds of things to me ourselves happy 🙂
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I totally understand where you’re coming from. But we live in an age where internet and blogging is almost like the thing of the past. That being said, I’m kind of in your boat too. My hubby and some friends know about my beauty site. However, I’m pretty sure I have the link somewhere on my personal FB page but I have never publicly announced this website to everyone. I don’t really care if the people in my life disagree with what I do, I’m not out to please people. I do what I do because it makes ‘ME’ happy. I know that the people that read through my posts, click like & comment are essentially the people that I write for. As for taking selfies for demonstration purposes, and uploading them on a post isn’t used to flaunt looks. For me, I know I’m not drop dead gorgeous, but I am comfortable in my own skin even when I know there are people out there that might be out to judge. I don’t take offence easily, because we’re online, and to me words from someone I don’t know, doesn’t really affect me. So for anyone else to think that what we bloggers do is weird or whatever, they’re probably just jealous! Just do you and if you’re happy doing what you’re doing, then that’s all that matters. xx
Caryl – http://carylalmelor.com/
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Amen! I’m definitely happy doing this, it’s a main hobby for me now that gives me a lot of joy. And I like the confidence girl. Definitely a great attribute. And that is true, I haven’t yet dealt with any negative vibes at all with what I’m doing and even if that comes up, I’ll be fine to handle that since I know what’s important and what’s not. Thank you so much for your input, I appreciate you taking the time 🙂
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Confidence is definitely something not all of us have but aspire to one day achieve in our lives. Sometimes doing things like blogging can help do just that. Good on you for doing something that makes you happy! 🙂 x
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So true. It’s definitely a nice place to just be yourself.
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The only persons that know about my blog (other than you guys!) are my sisters and my boyfriend. I have not told even my closest friends about it, nor have I advertised it in my social networks. I almost didn’t want to put up pictures of my face to keep this a secret! I don’t know exactly why? Maybe I didn’t want others to judge me? Anyhoo – I’ve been dropping a few hints about my makeup fascination on my Facebook page and my friends have been supportive, so I guess I’ll be ready to unveil the blog soon on its 1st Anniversary. Yay!
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That sounds like my situation too. My sister and my husband know, and I also haven’t advertised on any social networking either. And it’s for the same mystery reason hehe. It’s not like I think people will be mean or rude anything. But I’m glad you’ve gotten some support so far, that’s great and you deserve it! Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂
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Oh my gosh, i though that i was the only one with this feeling! I’m kinda embarrassed about it, because i just started it and i’m scared of people thinking it’s a waist of time. I have no problem sharing it with people i don’t know, but sharing it with family/friends is intimidating to me. Really only my mom knows about it, which is fine with me, because well, shes my mom haha! But this is a really a good topic, i think a lot of people feel the same way about it! Great job!(:
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I agree completely! It’s interesting to see how many people have the same thoughts so nope, you’re not the only one at all! But thanks so much for commenting. I thought it would be an interesting topic especially since I contradict myself-oh I’m scared of people I know seeing it and yet I post pictures of myself here haha
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Really good question! I’ve gotten a lot better over this last year with putting myself out there. I’ve actually programmed myself to promote all aspects that will help build my brand as a MUA so whether it’s my blog, website, face of the day photos, or client pics I know that posting spread, and sharing is good for my business. Honestly, I still find myself thinking……oh my goodness now everyone is going to know EVERYTHING lol. If I had a choice, I probably wouldn’t share bc I’m such a private person, but it’s sort of good that I don’t have a choice because I’m learning that I’m likeable lol.
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That definitely makes sense for you especially because of the business aspect! I’m sure if this were a profession for me I’d be more apt to promote the heck outta myself haha. But that’s great you’re able to put yourself out there and grow your fabulous business.
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I’m pretty shy in so many other areas of my life that I feel like I have to be outgoing as a beauty blogger. My blog almost allows me to put on an outgoing personality hat. I was really embarassed at first but I was surprised with all the support I got when I started to reveal my blog. One thing that really helped was finding so many blogging communities (SITS Girls, TX Women Bloggers, Google+ Bloggers), I went to a few blogging conferences and meetups and it’s been really helpful and super supportive. Because of these bloggers, some of which make a living out of blogging, it made me see blogging in a different light, blogging is as serious as you make it. I even list my blog on my LinkedIn page, you never know who you’ll reach and the opportunities that can arise. I don’t actively advertise my blog posts on my personal pages though, my profiles just list my blog and a link to it. I usually have separate blog profiles/pages so I can keep it separate if I want. I’m still surprised when my friends tell me they read my blog 🙂 I’m glad SOMEONE appreciates the time I put in to my blog. My boyfriend teases me about it but he’s a HUGE car guy, like exotics, racing, modifying, clubs… So his car hobby = my beauty blog hobby. I think your blog is great and not something to be embarrassed about! We all start somewhere. I bet someday you’ll be telling someone not to be embarrassed about their blog! 🙂
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omg, it’s like I posted my life story there ^
Sorry I gave you so much to read!
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Haha oh don’t be sorry at all! I love to read other people’s stories and input and thoughts. That’s why I’m here-I don’t mind the reading 😉
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Thank you for the thoughtful response. You make wonderful points, I didn’t even realize that those sort of communities were out there for the most part. I never really think about how serious of an endeavor it could be since that just doesn’t seem like something that would ever be possible. I feel the same though-I’m such a shy introvert most of the time. I don’t feel like that when I write but for now, I feel like I’ll do best developing within this community as opposed to with folks in my “real world” hehe. But I’m glad you’ve gotten positive feedback, you absolutely deserve it!
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I felt the same way when starting this and I still do sometimes. I have started to promote my blog more on Facebook and instagram but I really weened myself into it. I didn’t want to show it off on other social media networks early on because I wanted to wait for it to develop more.. now that I have a good amount of posts I feel more comfortable talking about it and advertising it on my other profiles. I don’t think its embarrassment that we feel but more so we just don’t know how people are going to react to it. I’m not an expert at this stuff at all so I personally don’t want people to think that I know everything.. cause i really don’t and you can tell with the way that I apply my makeup haha. I’m not doing crazy beautiful eye looks with dramatic cut creases or anything. But I really enjoy sharing my thoughts about all of these beauty products with people and everyone outside of my blogging life have been reacting to the news of me blogging very positively.
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I’m glad you’ve gotten some positive reactions. It makes sense, I think you’ve done a fantastic job with everything! Those are great points. I’ve been doing all of my focussing on developing more within WordPress itself and I think for now that’s what I feel most comfortable with. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
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Yeah I need to be better at developing more within wordpress too. I’ve definitely been lacking there… But it’s all a working progress. I’m sure that with time you’ll feel more comfortable telling people about it 🙂 and no problem we’re all in this together.
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Definitely a work in progress! It’s been really fun though. Something I’m just happy doing 🙂
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I have been hesitant to tell my friends and family about my blog and I have no idea why! And my husband is on board also but I feel a little goofy announcing it on a place Facebook. I feel like when/if I get more followers then maybe I’d feel better about telling other people but I don’t know why that matters! I like doing it.
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That’s exactly me right there too! I know I don’t want to but my reasons why are a bit wishy washy and even those potential thoughts (like negative response) are doubtful knowing my good friends. I would totally feel goofy too. But you’re right, as long as you like it that’s the most wonderful and important part 🙂
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I absolutely understand your sentiment of being entirely willing to share your thoughts with strangers but being more hesitant to do so with the people in your life. I think it’s partly because we care less about the judgment and censure of strangers than we do from people we love? There’s also the interest factor– people coming to your blog are probably going to be interested in the minutiae of beauty and makeup because that’s its focus, whereas people who are not interested in those things might find it super weird for anyone to talk about these “trivial things” at such length and with such passion. That’s a factor with all blogs, I think: mostly the depth of their content is only of interest to people with specific hobbies or passions.
As for me, my friends and family know about my blog, though I don’t think they have much interest in reading it. I’m well known among family and friends for my interest in “frivolous things” so it was of surprise to exactly nobody that I started a blog about it. In fact, I think mostly they’re relieved that I have people who care about these things to talk with so they don’t have to feign interest anymore!
I would feel differently if the content were more personal, though, and there are certainly things I would feel more comfortable sharing with strangers than the people closest to me, if only because those things involve those people– feelings, reactions, events, etc., so it’s natural to feel hesitant about sharing those things with those people because they have a personal investment in it and will have a stronger and more personal reaction.
You definitely shouldn’t feel embarrassed about your blogging, though– you have a lovely writing style and share some really useful and interesting content. ❤
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Thank you for your amazing response and support. Those are all really excellent points-things that didn’t come to my mind when thinking about why it might be more embarrassing or perhaps odd with people I/we know. It’s so true that it might be odd to the average person I know-really, she’s taking pictures and writing about blush and makeup bushes? But thank you again for thoughtful response, wonderfully written and I appreciate the feedback!
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You’re welcome! I probably went on a bit too long, but this is an issue I’ve actually given a lot of thought to, and I find it really interesting to consider people’s web presence and how it compares and overlaps with their real lives and real personalities. I hope it at least made you feel a little better, though!
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Oh not too long at all, it was very interesting and insightful! Definitely helpful, thank you 🙂
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I don’t openly share my blog address with my friends and family. It’s linked on my twitter, so if they CHOOSE to look, they can see it. I’m not ashamed of this blog AT ALL. Now, if they found out about my Tumblr? Ohhhhh man. Ha.
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That’s cool! Nice to share if they want the option. I definitely don’t feel ashamed, I don’t quite know what it is! I mean I’m just taking about blush and eye shadow here haha
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Exactly. I got pretty bold with my last blog and actually sent it to Wet N Wild since it was exclusively on their trios.
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Ooh very cool, good for you!
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Thank you for the compliment. It means a lot. I am pretty sure there are a lot of bloggers out there with the exact same feelings but it is always nice to know we are not alone.
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Oh it totally is. Especially because it feels silly to me (and contradictory on my part since I’ve put myself out there a bit.)
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I am a little nervous about people finding out about it. I told my best friend right away, but not my boyfriend, who I live with until I had had the blog for about a month. And I haven’t told anybody yet. On one hand I think it’s super awkward for someone to stumble on to my blog and me never mentioning it. On the other hand, it’s a weird topic to bring up in conversation
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Both are so true! Even when I told my husband, I was kind of twisting the conversation around so it would be at a point where it would make sense bringing it up. It would have been hard to hide too since I needed the camera and have this big white fabric thing I bring in and out all the time, not necessarily subtle haha.
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Such a good question, I feel like I relate to this post so much! My family knows I have a blog, as they’re not going to be the ones to judge me. None of my friends know as I do kind of feel embarrassed, I don’t think they would judge me either, or even really care for that matter. I’m probably more worried about people in my beauty class finding out, as they would probably be the ones to judge me. But I thought, if anyone ever does find out, I don’t really care, I’ll own it, and I’ll keep blogging 🙂 I think it’ll probably be a while before I put my name or photos of myself on the internet though… eek! 🙂
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We’re pretty much the same person here!! That’s exactly how it feels. Like even if they did find out it’s not like they’d say “oh that’s so dumb” and be unsupportive. Like you said I’d just keep going anyways because it makes me happy. It’s hard to explain why it feels so embarrassing sometimes. Hmm. Even more odd for me since I HAVE out up some identifying info. I’m feeling shy about it but not TOO shy?? Haha.
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Actually, it’s funny you posted this because I feel the same way. The only people that I have told about my blog is my husband and my 12 year old son. They both thought it was a great idea and are both very supportive. (Even trying to give me ideas) I’m still very new to blogging (only a couple of weeks) so I’m a little nervous to hear their opinions just yet. I think once I get more comfortable I will probably be more open about it.
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That sounds very similar to me! My husband was so supportive too-helped me figure out lighting, offered to help out with pictures, etc. I’ve found I’ve gotten more comfortable talking about it with him too but still no other people I know. Aside from my sister who writes here occasionally haha. I think you’ve done a great job so far by the way 🙂
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