5 Things I Totally LOVE About Blogging and Social Media #SwayIs5

I've been blogging for a little over six years now, and I always find myself at a loss to explain to people how I got here..."here" being the point I am at now, traveling the world, earning a full time income, surrounding myself with an incredibly tight-knit group of friends both at home in Florida and around the country. Blogging has changed my life - that's the understatement of the year. I've partnered with Sway on this sponsored post because when they asked me to help them promote their 5th birthday by talking about the doors blogging has opened for me, it was a HELL YES moment for me. What does a HELL YES moment mean? As a blogger, we have a saying, "If a job isn't a hell yes, it's a hell no." Hell yes, I love blogging and social media - and here's why...

5 Things I Totally LOVE About Blogging and Social Media

Being a blogger and social media influencer is perfect for the workaholic rebel. I've always been a workaholic. I climbed the corporate ladder like a pro because no amount of effort is too much to ensure that I've done a good job. Yet, when you're in a corporate environment, all of those hours you spend slaving away over your desk...they benefit someone else. Sure, you may get praise and may get a bonus or bigger annual raise - but that's not always the case. As a blogger and social media influencer, I can work as hard as my little worker bee heart desires and 100% of that effort benefits ME directly. Yes, my client ends up happy when I do a good job, but that just means that they want to hire me again. Reputation is everything in blogging...and my workaholic nature means a lot of repeat business for me!

I've made friends around the world. Blogging is a big, big world...but also a very, very small world. Bloggers run in tight knit circles, and some of my best friends are people that I've met through blogging. When I was going through a very troubling time in the early stages of my divorce last year, my friends and family were there for me...but it was the people I've met through blogging who whisked me away on grand adventures, who referred me for trips so that I wouldn't be home alone crying, who referred me for paying opportunities to help supplement the gap in income once my ex-husband stopped paying my alimony...the friends I've made through blogging kept me on my feet, kept me grounded, kept me focused on work - I wouldn't have made it through the darkest time in my life without the support of those friends who knew the plight of the self employed divorcee.

I make my own hours, however long or short they may be. With a traditional 9 to 5 job, your income is limited by the amount of hours in the day. Your vacation time, your personal time - everything is limited, based on someone else's schedule. I am writing this post from a bakery in Chattanooga, Tennessee right now. Why? BECAUSE I CAN. Sure, it can be really stressful at times, trying to run my business from the road; especially when certain hotels or geographical locations lack a strong wifi signal.

But when it really boils down to it, I can work from anywhere, anytime...or choose not to accept any work at all when I am totally overwhelmed with my personal life, or traveling too much for work to be able to get anything accomplished. Being self employed as a blogger and social media influencer is the most freeing job I can imagine having...aside from being a trust fund baby!

I've experienced things that I never thought were possible. If someone had told me six years ago that I'd go on safari in South Africa with Angeline, completely free of charge...I'd have called them a liar.

But no, that is exactly what we did in 2015, courtesy of a blogging client. I don't always get the trips I want, or the jobs I want...but I'd be lying if I said I didn't experience some of the most amazing things life has to offer - 100% because of my job as a blogger and social media influencer. Like dancing at the Temple of Artemis in Turkey while cruising on the Carnival VISTA.

There are so many ways to make a living in the blog and social media world. Whether it's hosting Twitter parties, writing sponsored posts (like this one!), creating custom content for campaigns for social media or placing advertisements on your website, there are countless ways to earn an income through blogging and social media. I have been working with the SITS Girls, now Sway Group, for a few years now, and they've been just a joy to work with! I firmly believe in diversifying your revenue stream when you work in this online space, and they offer everything from sponsored posts to Twitter campaigns - and they've truly been a pleasure to work with!

Are you a blogger? I highly recommend checking out SITS Girls, which offers a ton of great advice on blogging, and signing up with Sway Group!

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Sway Group.