Most inspiring bloggers I read
It’s been a wee while since I’ve even thought about giving out some recognition to the bloggers that have made me who I am today. If it wasn’t from them I would have literally given up years ago. These guys are the bread to my butter, the cheese to my crackers and the filling to my sandwich. Without them, I would be no-one. Just another faceless entity with a few amazing ideas that didn’t amount to much. And for that, I want to give them the best recognition that I can. Some amazing heartfelt thanks, with lovely links to their incredible writing!
In no particular order.
Skinny and Single
Hard on the outside, I feared attempting to message Laura would result in my balls being put in a rusty vice as she laughed crazily at the slow and agonising crushing of my genitalia. I rarely message people I don’t know, especially super popular bloggers, and Laura was one of them. I had been an avid reader of her blog for months, and knowing that her niche was also mine I wondered how she managed to secure all her traffic. Every time she posted, literally tens of people would comment. Her blog has a very fierce and fiery air to it, yet very comical. It was a strange mix, and I loved it from the day I walked in.
I was actually really pleasantly surprised when I messaged her, she was more than helpful, taught me everything I knew, sent me into the proper networking groups for my niche and generally created a foundation for me that I never had. She’s also the reason I have more than 10 visitors per day, she taught me everything she knew about gaining traffic. Yeah, if it weren’t for Laura I’d be back working for the man, earning nowhere near my worth.
Shawna Ainslie
I really liked Shawna from the start, #linkyourlife connection is a Facebook group that Laura took me into and seeing as it’s Shawna’s group she immediately introduced me to the ways of the fold. She is also a tutor that helps people navigate and evolve their life through writing. She taught me to fuse raw emotion with my words, and it’s been the best lesson for me because I have far more readers than I ever had beforehand and most people stay to read to the end of my article. Writing is now a better emotional outlet for me because I now know how to slit my jugular and profusely bleed all over the page. Thanks Shawna!
She’s regularly running events on her blog if you’d be interested to look. She is by far, one of my favourite writers. It’s also through her that I further toyed with the idea that I had Aspergers which lead me to solidifying things. She has encouraged me to reach depths in my writing that I thought not possible. An amazing person, and friend. Watch out for her posts, they are literally jaw dropping.
Darla Halyk
I love her website name. Blogirl simplistic in nature but very relevant. Darla helped me secure my place with the Huffington Post, and she sat with me until I was fully confident that I was happy with my pitch. Darla has an aura glowing around her that just screams unconditional love for all things, and it’s reinforced by the wordings she shares and the selfie pictures that she’s always taking! A single mother of two, and wow does she blog her feelings. I was seriously lucky enough to have her submit her personal experience with rape on my ‘I am a survivor’ series, a post written with such raw intensity that would have the most battle hardened war hero running for the hills. It was her post on gambling addiction that gave me the courage to write the hardest post I’ve ever had to write.
If you’re looking for someone to admire, admire Darla.
Sarah Hosseini
A woman I’ve admired for a long, long time. There’s a brand rawness to Sarah that screams in my face, “FUCK YOU!” there’s a sense of self in her that I haven’t managed to get from anyone that I’ve spoken to. There’s an attractive confidence that tells me, this is me, you need to like that or fuck off. And I totally get that because this is exactly how I am in real life. Her blog is full of life mishaps and fun times with her, her husband and her kids. As far as I’m aware she’s also doing a lot of publishing on other major sites too. Super popular. I’ve messaged Sarah a few times, and although her online persona is so natural, and confident, and raw, when I am talking to her in real time there is a mutual respect for whoever she is talking to. I love that! Nothing says awesome person than feeling respect from said person.
If I’m honest the first time I saw her pop up on Darla’s feed, talking to her I was like, “omg - that’s Sarah Hosseini” and quite funnily we both found out there was a mutual admiration for one another. How cool is that? “The moment you find out the people you admire actually admire you too” hah!
Rebecca Lemke
Rebecca must have warned me about hardcore Feminists until she was blue in the face, but I was still waving the Feminism flag with happiness and pride, telling her that it’s not all that bad. Until I met a group!! Rebecca is another person that has restored my absolute faith in the youth of today. As a slightly younger man my mind was awash with my own experiences as an immature teen and what I hear other people saying around my age. At my age group they get a bad name, and since I’ve been talking to people like Rebecca I’ve realised that this is sorely unfair. She’s one of the few forward thinkers I know of, and I’m sure there are many like her. Her writing is tip top, and very aware. Already married and with child she’s taken to the interwebs to blog and talk about marriage, babies and relationships, and interestingly enough, her youth! A lot of her work falls in my niche and it’s really refreshing to see me wholeheartedly agree with everything a 20-something has to day on relationships. It’s very, very insightful and gives you a different perspective to the unfair and negative stigma these millennials get.
Shareen Mansfield
I wouldn’t be writing on OTV if it wasn’t for her. Shareen at the start, had pleaded with me to write on her publication, for the first time, as a guest post. I must admit it took me aback because I hadn’t written anywhere but my own blog, and it was a serious confidence boost to have someone demand your work. OTV Magazine is a magazine ran by Shareen publishing the stories that people don’t generally talk about. Some harsh reality check ups on there if you’re ever interested. From there it has been a prosperous relationship between the two of us, and I have quite a high readership there, or so I think. I haven’t talked to Shareen much personally, but she has written a lovely poem as a guest posted on my blog, which I am super grateful. She really likes my Scottish accent also, she tells me it makes her go weak at the knees! Ha 🙂
Accidentally Allison
How could I not forget the publicist and author of my ‘Music for the Soul’ series. I’ve taken that from front view right now because I’m waiting for more work from her, but alas, what she does I’m super grateful for and I don’t want to push anything. She does it for free and I can’t beat that. Allison blogs about life and her relationships, she has a very inspirational journey if you are interested in reading it. Some will make you cry, others will make you laugh. But it’s a great journey nonetheless.
Single Mommy in the Middle
A new blogger to the scene, and hasn’t written many posts. She recently came to me with a problem and we talked it through. I had known her for years on our old Political debating channels, there was a ferociousness to Claire that was endearing, yet I also know that it’s the most ferocious people that need the most hugs! So we worked through what we could and then we managed to get her to write her feelings down as she saw fit. And wow, her first post literally blew me away. For someone that had never put pen to paper, yet could articulate her thoughts and feelings in such a grand way I knew we were onto a winner. And the beauty of it is, she’s one of the most honest people I know! No bullshit from her, straight up raw feelings n shit - she’s really, really going to be one to watch. Her life has been hard, and severely traumatic, but give it a month or two and we’ll be bleeding just as much with her.
Most inspiring bloggers I read
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