Ciao!

I just got back from Italy where I spent a wonderful few days with my family seeing all the sights and eating all the pasta!

As a travel blogger/influencer, I share what we’re up to on social media.

This week I’ve been called:

‘very selfish’
‘totally irresponsible’
‘a terrible parent’

So, let’s talk about that…

But first, here’s a quick ad break from my friends at Content Pit.

I’ve used their writing services for years and have just placed an order for their newsletter writing service for my new vegan website.

Here’s what they offer…

Since Google turned off the traffic tap to blogs, most of us have pivoted to other sources, like newsletters and social media.

This is working great for me, and most of my ad revenue now comes from Facebook traffic…

(Raptive stats for July below)

However, there is a very dark side to doing social media for a living and it’s absolutely not for everyone.

I always want to share the bad as well as the good about any business venture I’m involved in, to help you make informed decisions about the best paths to explore.

And so I’m here to tell you that if growing a brand on Facebook is part of your plan, you’ll need a thick skin.

Luckily for me, my skin is as thick as a rhino, so I’m good.

Here’s why people hate me…

Last week, while in Italy, it was HOT! 🥵

The kids were tired from days of constant sightseeing and so we gave them the choice…

“Would you prefer to come exploring with us today or to stay in the kids’ club playing games with your friends?”

(The kids club has qualified childcare professionals, security cameras, lunch, air-conditioning and everything you could want to be 100% confident your kids are safe and cared for on vacation.)

They chose the club, and so off we went and enjoyed 5 hours of wonderful, romantic adults-only time doing things that the kids would find super boring.

I shared this experience on Facebook and people were furious!

Several of the comments compared us to the McCanns – a British couple who famously left their toddlers alone in a holiday apartment which resulted in one of them being abducted.

People thought I was a terrible parent for daring to spend a few hours without the children, and they were not afraid to let me know (from the comfort of their screens).

The fact that we had babysitters and the McCanns did not was seemingly missed.

Of course, many of the commenters had my back.

They explained how this is a normal thing to do and should we somehow both get hit by a bus (a common concern from the FB crowd) then the kids club is probably a safer place than the street for the would-be orphans.

I’m 100% confident that we didn’t do anything wrong.

My main priority is that the kids are happy and safe. They don’t need to spend every minute of the day with me unless they want to.

This is working well for us – they’re both very confident and independent young people.

I also understand that every family is different and what’s right for our family isn’t for everyone.

But still, having a quarter of a million people view your holiday snaps and cast judgment on your parenting style is a toughie.

I can totally handle it, but I just want to make you aware that this kind of attention may be on your horizon with a personal brand.

The post made $60 with the Facebook bonus program.

Worth it? I’ll let you decide.

So you may be thinking, it’s okay, I don’t have a personal brand so I’ll be safe.

Well, you might not.

Niche Site Lady is an anonymous account yet I’ve received multiple threats of sexual assault and death since I started posting on Twitter.

None of them have materialised, and I’m always very cautious as a woman who frequently travels alone, but I can see how receiving hate like that might be anxiety-inducing for some.

On my Vegan Wins Facebook page, the comments are full of brutal images of dead and dying animals and people gloating about how they enjoy the suffering.

When I make a post to thank the ‘top engagers’, many of the people tagged immediately untag themselves –

Showing that the anti-vegan trolls are more active on the page than the animal lovers!

What I’ve come to realise, is that a percentage of people in this world are so unhappy that they have a burning rage inside of them.

Most of them manage to suppress this in public.

But just as drivers are more likely to shout and swear at you from behind the windscreen of their car,

than pedestrians are when you’re face-to-face,

the rage is also much more likely to escape when they’re behind their computer screens!

If you’ve experienced this kind of negativity yourself, I just want to let you know that you’re not alone.

There will always be people who want to use you as a punching bag to release their pent-up frustrations and internal misery.

But please remember…

And it’s not you, it’s them.

Peace ☮

– NSL

P.S. Of course, social media and email aren’t the only way to pivot from search-optimised blogging.

A ton of people have been having success with ‘Rank and Rent’ this year.

Keywords like ‘Plumbers in Bristol’ are still very easy to rank for because guess what – the plumbers are too busy plumbing to be doing SEO!

You can swoop in with 5-page microsites, gather the leads and forward them to local plumbers.

No social media required!

If you’re interested in that, I recommend that you take a look at this.