I’m quite a paranoid person. In fact, that would be an understatement. I drive Tim absolutely bonkers with my paranoia. The littlest sounds in the house, and I automatically think someone has broken in. I have a bad headache and automatically think I may have a brain tumour. Whenever I’m walking on my own, I always turn behind to see if anyone is following me. I could tell you more but even I’d be scaring myself.
When I started blogging, I was determined to never show my face on the blog. This was before tweeting pictures and Instagramming came about. A selfie wasn’t even a recognised word then. Even on my personal blog (which is now pretty much defunct), I wouldn’t show my face. It was strange blogging about beauty when I couldn’t show my face. Face of the Day posts were something I didn’t think I’d want to do. It became exceedingly difficult for me to review makeup without showing how it looked on me. Readers couldn’t relate to me either. I had a massive wall between us.
The first time I decided to show my face, I wore massive sunglasses that covered half of it. Yeah, real cute. Not really.
Slowly, I started to come out of my shell. I showed half a face. It scared me shitless but I did it. I wasn’t afraid of what people would think about what I looked like. To be honest, back then, I couldn’t care less. It was all those stories on Internet stalking that freaked me out (it still does). Strangers would know what I look like. They may even find out where I live!
Scared you there a little too, didn’t I?
In time, I started showing a little more about myself. I took precaution to never geo-tag my photos. I don’t check in on apps like Foursquare (I did initially but deleted the app very soon after). Slowly but surely, I started revealing more of myself online. I started doing FOTD posts. I post selfies on Instagram. I did go a little trigger-happy with the phone’s camera when selfies became popular but have dialed it way down.
The reason I started showing my face more and more on the blog is to put a face to my name. Beautyholics Anonymous is not just a blog I created but also a brand I’ve built for myself. I wanted my readers to know and see the person behind the blog they read on a daily basis.
Am I still paranoid about showing my face online? Yes I am, every single day. When things like this become second nature to the next blogger, it’s still a conscious decision I have to make every time I post pictures of myself online. It may not seem like it whenever you see yet another selfie from me but I do think more than twice before posting that photo. Is it necessary? What does it say? What am I showing off here? Again, is it necessary?
There’s no right or wrong when it comes to revealing who you are online. It’s a conscious decision every blogger has to make. Even if you’re not a blogger, the same thing applies. All I can say is, be careful and be wary of what you reveal and how much you reveal online, whether it’s on your blog or social media.
How comfortable are you showing your face online? If you’re a blogger, do you post pictures of yourself on your blog? Do you find it difficult posting pictures of yourself online? Love to hear your thoughts.
I am a photographer and started out with self portraits so subconsciously I am already comfortable lol. I think it’s fairly important to do swatches and show how the product look like on actual skin/face as a beauty blogger because then readers can actually see how it works- words can only do so much- think of how many coral shades there are! I also think there aren’t that many bloggers with my skin coloring so I’d like to think I’m repping the medium tan skin tone out there!
Good to know! It is important to show how makeup looks like on the face so that we can see the whole picture. Just seeing say, a blush swatch on the arm/hand just isn’t enough anymore. I’ve seen Temptalia’s swatches on her arm but it looks different when it’s on her face. We need the face! 😛
hear hear! back in those days there were no words like ‘camwhore’, ‘selfie’. indeed it wasn’t a norm to show face on the internet. But with so many young girls’ pics around the blogs, fb, instagram, it really helps to conquer the fear. LOL
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Hahaha I know! Selfies weren’t in. Camwhoring itself sounded dirty 😛
I know how you feel!! I feel the same way about my blog and I even go to this extend of putting a fake birthday on my Facebook to avoid people from knowing too much about it. Needless to say there is nothing about my workplace, where I live etc on my Facebook. Maybe one day I’ll come out of my shell, but today is not the day 🙁
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When it comes to Facebook (personal account), I say lie. Lie your face off. 😛
Tine, I laughed out loud with the headache and brain tumour thing (not because that would be funny) but because I’m a little bit of a hypochondriac like that too! haha. Even with a health background I freak out at little pains and turn them into serious ailments. Glad to know I’m not alone =)
I remember back in the day when blogging was solely about what you wanted to say, but then within the last 5 years I’ve noticed that the trend of getting to know the blogger behind the blog was rising. Personally I like to see photos of the bloggers who’s blog I frequent (omg how many times have I said “blog” lol).
It is a little creepy knowing that there are a lot of people out there who aren’t genuine and who’s sole purpose is to stalk people. That’s why I don’t disclose my personal details – unless it’s for products to review, but I really should get on top of getting a P.O. box because I really don’t like the idea of giving out my address to randoms. I also find that comment moderating helps – there are a lot of rude and creepy people out there. If I can avoid it, I don’t show photos of myself unless the post requires it, ie to show a make up look or a swatch. ❤
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Nah you’re definitely not alone. I guess that after that breast lump scare I had, every little turns me into a raving hypochondriac. Sigh.
If photos of yourself aren’t necessary, then don’t show it. I find it strange when bloggers pose with a product they’re supposed to review in every single photo. It goes to show what the priority of the post is there: am I supposed to be looking at the product or am I supposed to be looking at you?
If you’re getting products sent to you for review, you can get it sent to your office. But if you’re working from home or give your home address to PRs, I highly recommend that you get a PO box. Only give your home address to PRs you trust (ie. you have to have worked with them for a while) for items that needs to be couriered (couriers can’t deliver stuff to PO boxes). Get the smallest box and arrange with the nearest post office to the box to have the packages that cannot be fit into the box be delivered to the post office instead for you to pick up. Saves you a lot of money in not getting the bigger boxes. It’s less than $100 a year.
I am pretty shy… and not at all thrilled to share my wrinkles with the world…. but I also feel it’s important to put myself out there as a voice of beauty beyond 20. There are so many kids in the beauty spotlight that us old ladies start feeling invisible… And maybe by sharing my wrinkles, I’ll start to like them a little better… after all, I’m sure I’m the only one fixating on them…
Wrinkles are experience lines. Embrace them 🙂 After all, we all have them and I’d prefer to read a blog from women who proudly show off their lines than young ‘uns with no lines ‘cos that just makes me feel old. 😛
I’m not super-comfortable showing my face online. When I first started my current blog I was blurring or blacking out my eyes in pictures to better hide my identify, but I soon realized that those photos were SUPER CREEPY, haha. Now I have a small picture of myself in the sidebar and I’ve slowly but surely started to include my face occasionally in reviews when it’s relevant (like showing how a lipstick looks). I would actually really like to start doing videos to accompany some of my blog posts, but the paranoia/shyness gets in the way every time. Curse you, modesty!
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A small picture on the sidebar is a very good start, Rebecca! When I first started personal blogging, it took me at least 3 years before I even did that (and the picture was TINY)! Do whatever that makes you feel comfortable about yourself. If you’re not keen on showing your face online, don’t be pressured to do so just because other bloggers are showing theirs. It’s YOUR blog. 🙂
Is it possible to have a successful blog and not show your face? Especially in the world of beauty??
Sabrina from The Beauty Look Book (http://www.thebeautylookbook.com/) is a successful beauty blogger and she has never shown her face on the blog. The most you’ll see is half of her face (bottom half). That’s it!
Loved this post. I am an aspiring blogger and am extremely uncomfortable showing my face on the blog yet. Just like you, I also have a tiny weeny pic with my face half covered with Sunglasses as my Twitter profile pic 🙂
I know that these days it is imperative to show your face to have a successful blog but I just don’t feel like that yet. Sabrina’s blog is a great inspiration for me!
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Oh yes, The Beauty Look Book is very successful for someone who doesn’t show the face, only up to the lips. Nah, you don’t have to show your face at all to be successful. It really depends on your strategy. Sabrina’s is good; she does mostly high-end products (good niche there), improved her photography, styling and composition significantly (compared to her early days) and focused on what people like to see on Instagram, which is lots of white space sprinkled with makeup and designer goods. She doesn’t even need to show any part of her face, to be honest, if she doesn’t want to. She’s definitely an inspiration! 🙂
Best of luck with your blogging journey. Don’t be pressured into revealing your face if you’re uncomfortable.
I enjoy blogging and everything makeup and beauty but haven’t blogged in a while which kind of beats the purpose of enjoying it. Thing is, i would love to become a youtube guru but am very insecure about myself and how i look because i have a fear of being judged on my appearance and that already affects me because not a single day goes by with me not being reminded of my flaws. Thats why i do bloggimg on wordpress but i feel like it is pointless and i wont be successful if i do not show my face. Also, i have cultural reasons as to why i do not show my face.
The issue with beauty blogging is that there’s always that pressure to show your face in the blog or YouTube. And I can understand why because it’s hard to decide on whether to get a particular beauty product or not if I can’t see said product used on the blogger but only swatches. Having said that, there are beauty bloggers who are successful in their own right without having to show their face. Sabrina from The Beauty Look Book is one of them.
Unfortunately, with YouTube, being judged does come with the job. I’ve never seen a YouTuber, small or big, who hasn’t had thumbs downs or negative comments about their appearance before. It’s really sad when people only like leaving awful comments on videos, especially when they take such hard work to produce.
Don’t be disheartened just yet. Perhaps you have a unique point of difference that will take your blog to a higher level! Good luck! 🙂
I can relate to you Mahrukh and Tine.
I have a blog which I started and I want to start earning from it as well but I dont show my face on my blog and I dont plan to either because it is something my family do not want me to do plus I do not want to do either im just not that confident too and it just doesn’t feel right to me, my family dont mind me blogging but they are just insecure about putting my image on the internet and for cultural reasons.
Tine I wanted to ask you I want to make a media kit on my blog because I want to come around earning from my blog and be successul, but the first thing i see is that it says to add your photo on your media kit. I want to blog and carry on blogging but just not show my face, sometimes it can be hard because I feel like I need to show something to prove my point for example a lipstick or a eyebrow product but at the end i just figure out something else to put instead or i just dont include it.
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Thanks for your comment, Rahat. I totally understand what you mean and if showing your face on the blog is something you’re not comfortable with, then don’t show your face. It’s better to do what feels right to you than to conform with the rest of the blogging world and what they think makes a successful blog. There are successful beauty blogs out there that don’t show the blogger’s face. If they can do it, so can you.
As for your media kit, same thing goes with the blog. If you’re blogging anonymously or don’t show your picture on the blog, then keep your picture out of the media kit. It’s not necessary in your case. Showing the face on the media kit makes sense if the blogger already shows his/her face on his/her blog. 🙂