What Do You Call Yourself If You Hate the Word “Blogger”
Do you ever get embarrassed telling people what you do because you hate the word “blogger”?
The unfortunate truth of writing online is that the only way to get people to read it — is to tell them about it. But how do you market what you do if you hate the word blogger, itself?
There are a number of other labels to choose from for your work, so the question comes down to what label feels right to you. Which label makes you feel excited for your next post?
The more you think about these labels, the more important it becomes to note that trying to keep too strictly within any label can end up being what holds your creative work back.
The Problem With Labeling Your Creative Pursuit
Trying to find a label to fit your work may just be a distraction from getting the actual work done.
If you choose a term that doesn’t feel right, you may find you end up creating content that doesn’t actually resemble your creative taste. An example would be a blogger, who takes up the hobby with a love of writing. Yet, a few wrong rabbit holes later and they’re publishing keyword and affiliate based content.
There is certainly a place for that type of content, and it’s where the money gets made. But sometimes that “blogger” vacuum sucks new writers in because of that very label. And it sucks a lot of creativity out as a result.
How do you know when a label or term is the right one for your work?
You have to be honest with yourself, and choose a label that feels comfortable. If you call yourself a blogger, and that makes you feel excited to go write another post — that’s the right term for you.
If instead, you use “content creator” or even just “writer”, and one of those terms gives you that excited urge to create more — that’s the term for you.
[Related: How to Find Your Niche]
No matter what you choose though, you have to be willing to see it change over time.
Allowing Your Title to Change Over Time
Your creative focus is going to shift. As projects come and go, as technologies shift and platforms change their focus — opportunity will be everywhere. You can’t let an arbitrary title keep you from trying something new.
If you’re a blogger and you’re not on TikTok or Instagram because “that’s not what you’re good at” — that’s exactly why you should be doing it! Experimenting is the best part of creative work.
You have no idea what area of content creation you love the most, until you break from your templates and try some new things. Don’t be so beholden to your title that you don’t let yourself try those new things.
But… Does It Matter?
In the end, no it doesn’t matter what you call your writing. You can be a blogger, a content writer, a writer, a columnist, a journalist, a content creator — it doesn’t actually matter. The point is that you are proud of your work.
Stressing about what to call your work is a lot less important than just getting out there and publishing your next post. The more you publish and the more you create, the easier it will be for you to label your work with something that feels right to you.
Create Better Content. Live a Better Life
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Originally published at https://www.intakecreate.com on February 22, 2022.
