You may remember a little while ago, I decided that I was going to produce a weekly vlog. And I did it for a while. But a few weeks ago I called time on it, and I wanted to tell you why. Not because I think vlogs are ‘over’ or old, far from it. I’m a huge fan of vlogs and would rather watch these on Youtube than the rubbish that appears on my TV screen but, for me, it wasn’t working. Here, I’m going to tell you why I started vlogging, why I stopped vlogging, and what I learnt… so you can learn from my experiences.

Why did I start vlogging?

Well, I love a vlog. And I love video. And as with all things I like to have a go. I find this useful because, for my coaching and PR clients, I like to have been there and got the t-shirt before I advise or suggest things. And nothing works better than actually doing it. I have an iPhone 7 plus, so I had the tech (or, at least, tech that was more than capable of the job), my husband edits videos… so I was all set up.

And what did I learn through vlogging?

Well, a lot! In order to make 10, or even 15 minutes of interesting content each week, you have to do a lot of recordable things. This posed a problem for me. With my coaching, I couldn’t record what I was doing due to client confidentiality, so that was that scuppered. I spend a lot of my time writing and planning… and that’s dull to watch. I spend a LOT of time organising my toddlers (well, I say organising… more like managing!!), and I’m not happy filming them (that’s another blog I need to write!!). So what does that leave me with? Walking the dog? Dealing with the horses? OK- not the worst content in the world, but I felt I was majorly lacking on sharable content. So I guess that was the first thing I learnt. You need to be doing a lot of interesting, sharable stuff to vlog.

Next thing I learn was the need for good light and sound. I know this is important because of the other videos I create, but many a time I had to delete a decent vlog clip because I filmed it when I was walking the dog and there was a slight breeze that really messed with the microphone.

I also learnt that it is incredibly time consuming… and I don’t even edit my own videos. The filming takes a long time, the checking, the Youtube element, the promoting. It took a long time.

Because of the time it took, the other, more informative videos I make fell by the wayside. And I didn’t like this. The instructional and informative videos add more value to my brand and to my clients and following. And it felt a bit frivolous to abandon that in favour of this.

I also learnt that I need to be careful how I spend my time. It’s good to try new things, but also being able to say ‘it’s great but it just isn’t for me’ is also a really important thing. You have to try things to make them ‘break’, or find out if they work for you.

And I learnt a HUGE amount that I have passed and can pass onto my clients if they want to have a go at vlogging or creating more casual videos. And that’s worth its weight in gold.

Do I regret vlogging?

Absolutely not. I might revisit is again in the future – you know – if I get more interesting(!). No, in all seriousness, I don’t regret it for a second and I have learnt a huge amount that I am sharing with clients all the time. I also think that increasing popularity in Instagram Stories made the decision to shelve vlogging a lot easier, because that’s kind of a daily vlog anyway. Well, for me it is. And as I say, I might well vlog again in the future, Vlogging can have MASSIVE value for the right people and the right businesses. People have made their fortunes through them, have gained clients through them and a lot more too. I had plenty of lovely comments on my vlogs, and I did actually attract clients and enquiries through them, but they didn’t feel right for me at this time. But I would encourage EVERYONE to have a go.

You can see my vlogs over on my Youtube channel. I hope you enjoy them.