Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiah McBride.
Kiah, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started Write On Kiah in 2015 when I first lived in Atlanta. At the time, I was working a job that I didn’t love and that I knew didn’t align with my purpose and wanted to get back to what I believed God had gifted me to do. I’ve always been a writer and started writing fiction stories when I was seven-years-old, and have been writing in multiple capacities ever since. I actually started my first couple of blogs (one on love and relationships and the other on travel) while attending college at Howard University. Although I continued to write in some capacity, my background was marketing, so after I graduated writing was put on the back burner as I explored other areas of interest.
After moving to Atlanta, I began to revisit the idea of blogging again, but couldn’t come up with a firm idea on what I wanted to blog about. I’ve always naturally gravitated to the topics of love, relationships, and personal growth, but I hesitated to speak on those subjects because I didn’t feel equipped to give advice. So instead, I decided to center the content around my story and personal observations, exploring various modes of storytelling through my writing. I also consider myself a storyteller not only with the written word but with visuals and marketing as well. I loved reading editorial magazines both for the quality writing and photography and wanted to incorporate that into my blog. So, when I first launched Write On Kiah, I was sourcing photos from my photographer peers to go along with the topic that I was writing on.
The blog did pretty well, but a few months later I had gotten a new position as Managing Editor of xoNecole. At the time, the founder Necole Kane was transitioning her site from Necole Bitchie, and she remembered a feature article I previously interviewed her for and reached out for me to write features for her new site. I didn’t realize how much time and energy went into starting an online magazine essentially from scratch, so the more I dived deeper into the role, the less I contributed to my own blog.
Eventually, I decided to transition out of journalism and back into creative writing. I couldn’t shake the idea that I needed to go back to my blog, so I would strategize and plan my relaunch, only for something else to disrupt that process and push back the launch. I did this for about a year; I was convinced I had to have everything together and come back with a bang. Then, a few months ago a friend of mine reminded me that there were people who needed to hear my story where I was at, and not after I felt like I had everything perfected. That was just the push I needed to relaunch my site in October 2018, this time focusing on lifestyle and personal development, and I’ve been blogging (again) ever since!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not at all, lol. I’d say the biggest roadblock was myself. As a creative, I had all of these ideas and a vision for how I wanted things to come together, but I didn’t have the budget. So, I often would have to stop and teach myself how to do things like building a website on WordPress and then Squarespace, learn Photoshop and InDesign, learn how to shoot and edit videos, come up with marketing ideas and strategies for how I was going to get my blog out there, etc. It was (and still is) a lot when you’re practically doing everything by yourself. And because I had such a grand vision, I couldn’t just put out a blog post and keep it pushing, I had to have quality photos and make sure my branding was on point. It seemed like I was doing the most, but for me, it was just as important to present something of quality rather than just throwing something out there, so I was willing to put in the long hours and sometimes even dollars to make things work. Nothing worth having comes easy.
That being said, I think a lot of the struggle could’ve been alleviated if I had done things like set aside a small budget towards building my brand, gave myself strict deadlines to get things done, pre-planned my content using an editorial calendar, batch-processing content, and photos. These are things that as a blogger, even if you’re working solo, can help make the process of content creation smoother and less stressful.
I also can sometimes be indecisive and overthink a lot of things, so that has caused some struggles as well. I’m sure I could’ve relaunched the blog months ago if I had gotten out of my own way. However, I’m a big believer in timing. My message would be completely different if I had started blogging even a year ago, so in the long run, I’m thankful for my indecisiveness, lol.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I always thought my gift was simply writing, but really it’s being able to connect with people and brands on a deeper level and bring their stories to life. That’s what made me a good journalist, it’s what makes me a good marketer, and by default, helps me to become a better writer. My blog and even social media is just a platform to tell those stories. I ultimately will write books and dive into screenwriting, but for now, I’m honing my craft across multiple mediums.
Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
While I do acknowledge that barriers exist, I don’t operate in the mindset of there being barriers. I’m a firm believer that whatever you want to do you can accomplish, even if you have to find another path towards your goal. In regards to women in leadership, I don’t think it’s about being in competition with men or even having to prove our worth, we already know we have the talents and skill sets to do our jobs phenomenally well, so it’s about recognizing that a lot more can get accomplished when working in unison rather than division. As women, we have more power than we realize, and sometimes that power is quiet and moves in silence. We have to truly own and tap into that power instead of always feeling the need to be loud and seen or affirmed by men. We are beyond capable of doing everything that they can and more.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.writeonkiah.com
- Email: kiah@writeonkiah.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writeonkiah/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writeonkiah
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/writeonkiah
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/writeonkiah
Image Credit:
Coco Dandridge
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