Admittedly I have only been ‘blogging’ for three years and I am still unsure if I will make it, or pack it in. I am having fun using blogging as an excuse to get me writing again and as I write I am thinking about my blog brand, or identity. While I may vomit at the idea of branding there is something about the idea of identity or how you present yourself to the world that is important.

As I am also a writer then I have to take the reader into consideration. And so it is the same with blogging. At the moment I am sending out a million mixed messages as I blog on any and every subject that comes to mind. I think this is cool in the beginning as you are just trying to find your feet but after a few months I start to think of that message that I am trying to send out and what it is that I want to say.

Finding your blog brand

Initially I had page labels for every book I had written and every subject I was writing about. This meant I would have about eight tabs across the top of the page, which would definitely confuse any blogger who had arrived after reading an insightful piece. What do I want them to click on? What exactly is this blog about?

My About Me page is more like a basic cv at the moment listing my work achievements and a few things I like but I would like to re-write it based along the lines of what my life achievements and ambitions are and were. Essentially I will write about my life’s ups and downs with a focus on my travel and writing after recovering from a mental health crisis. I know this can sound ‘self-indulgent’ but I hope the focus is on the mental health crisis after the events, showing those currently struggling, that we can get through this shit no matter what.

Personal blog stories

I have experienced a dysfunctional family but gone on to achieve and have adventures. Later on I had brought on my own further problems through drink, drugs and suicide, but again I have picked up the pieces and gone on to travel, and be the first in my family to attend University. After university I went through a few mental health issues defined as ‘an existential crisis with elements of a psychosis’ which I have yet to post about as I think I am 90 percent recovered. Again I have picked up the pieces, recovered, and then continued on my journey. I will build my themes around teaching English, writing, mental health and the adventures in between.

I have been lucky enough to experience many kinds of meditation from great Zen and Tibetan teachers plus tried out different types of counselling from ‘person centred’ to ‘Jungian’ all for a variety of reasons. I want to start blogging and posting about the therapies that have benefitted me the most.

Of course if the creative writing takes off then I can start blagging about that too! As you can see an idea and identity is slowly starting to evolve. I am starting to get into the blogging experience and it’s been nice having conversations with people who have a similar creative interests. Blogging is helping to bring me back into the world and build friendships online first. Blogging requires such a diverse set of skills such as writing, web-skills, social-media, web-analytics and love and compassion.