Why I Keep My Blog Secret

Yup, you read the title right, I keep this blog a secret from people I know. Shock horror.

My parents, boyfriend and two of my friends know, but that's it. I don't tell people about it and if someone were to ask what I do with my spare time I'm more likely to say not a lot rather than admit I spend it blogging.

I've read conflicting things from other bloggers - some are totally open about their blog (kudos to you guys) and some, like me, keep it a secret. I find it really interesting reading people's reasons for not telling others about their blog so I thought today I'd speak about mine.

When I started my blog I wasn't 100% sure if it was something I'd be able to keep up with and I said to myself that if I was still doing it in a few month's time and if it was 'doing well' I'd tell people about it. I didn't really want to tell loads of people that I was starting a blog, get them to read it and then give up on it within a few weeks. Turns out, it wasn't a fad and a year and a half later I'm still blogging. Problem is, once you've not told people something it becomes a bit awkward. How can I say to some of my closest friends 'oh by the way, I've had a blog for a year and a half, here it is'?

I'm ashamed to say I'm also afraid of judgement. I know I shouldn't be and I am proud of my blog and the content I produce, but there's this part of me that just thinks people will think it's stupid. I think unfortunately this is a common theme with bloggers, which is really sad, but the even sadder fact is that there will be people who would judge me if they knew about my blog so my fear isn't unfounded. This comes back to my 'doing well' point. I always think if my blog was doing a little better I wouldn't care about the judgement because I would be 'successful'. Turns out 'doing well' is harder to define than I thought it would be and it means different things to different people so although I may think I'm doing OK for a part time blogger others might wonder why I bother.

I think the time will come when I'll have to tell people about my blog. There are already some awkward conversations where I've had to explain my way out of things. One of my work colleagues asked me why on earth I'd had a blow dry one morning when all I was doing that day was going to work. Instead of admitting that I'd been invited to review the salon I pretended I'd had a free voucher posted through my door. She still thought it was weird.

I'd like to think I'll tell people soon, but who knows?

Do you keep your blog a secret or do you tell people? What influenced your choice?

Amy x