This post was inspired by Michelle Rafter and posted over at BlogHer.
I started blogging in 2008, mostly to save my sanity. I had just become an unwilling member of the sandwich generation, and it pushed me into a deep depression. I was a stay-at-home mom with 2 young kids and a chronically ill elderly mother, and blogging helped me remember that there was more to life than caregiving.
I jumped into social media to promote my blog posts, and stayed because it was fun. Today I’m more active in social media than on my blog, but I do still post from time to time.
My mom died in April 2011, and with my kids in school all day, I had some room to breathe. I volunteered to help a local charity set up their blog & social media. I put together an About.me page. Within a few months, I was hired by a former employer as a social media consultant in the nonprofit arts education sector.
Proof that luck is where preparation meets opportunity!
The job is perfect for me at the moment. It’s part time, and I can do it from home with a very flexible schedule. I have a passion for arts education. I’m on social media every chance I get anyway; it’s about time I got paid for it! It was a revelation to me that not everyone knew the ins, outs and best practices of social media, and that not everyone could string together sentences the way I can. It’s definitely a marketable skill at the moment.
For me, it was 320 blog posts that changed my career. And I’m grateful.
You are my hero.
Awww…shucks. I didn’t know anyone was still listening.
Kathleen: I just saw this post about how you blogged your way into your current social media management job. Fantastic! I’m so happy for you, and happy that you found my own post inspiring. Thanks again.
Michelle Rafter