Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kaila Yim. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kaila, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?

I came up with the idea to start my own blogging website back in the fall of 2021. I had been writing pretty much my entire life. I process most of what I am thinking and feeling through words. I need to be able to get it out of my head and onto paper, otherwise, I feel stuck mentally. As someone who follows Jesus, I started writing out my prayers when I was 14. It not only helped me to stay focused on what I was praying through but it was a way for me to take all of those stuck thoughts to the Lord in prayer; the best place for them to go.

Growing up, I had people tell me that I was going to be a writer one day, specifically of a book. While I didn’t doubt that, I also knew I was already a writer. I used to bring my huge leather-bound journals to coffee dates with friends so I could read back to them what I prayed to the Lord and how He answered. I mean who does that?! Years later, into my later 20’s, I started using my Instagram account as a platform for both discipleship and my writing. I knew the Lord had gifted me with words and the ability to communicate His Word so I meshed the two together and started doing internet discipleship; sharing what the Lord had been teaching me, what I was reading in the Word, trials, joys, how to read Scripture, and sharing more of my life and the things I was learning in different seasons. People were reading, following, and sharing my profile and my words, and I was actually shocked! Over the last two years, I’ve gained about 150-200 new Instagram followers and this was just affirmation that people do actually read my words and my writing.

It was a scary leap but after my Instagram took off, I decided to start a blogging website; one that I financially invested in looked professional could be found on Google, and had an email address where I could respond to readers’ comments and messages. That brings me to today.

My blogging website now has over 40 blogs and my most read one was on Mother’s Day as a Single (Part 1) with almost 591 views/reads. I am amazed at how readers continue to share my words with other people and how the Lord has met each individual who has come across my website in some way or another. Yes, He has gifted me with communication but ultimately I pray they encounter the Living God through the words I write. Instagram accounts continue to share my profile and my website, and I am constantly blown away and amazed that God would use me in this way.

I knew this was all a worthwhile endeavor because, from the time I was 14 until the present day, I had been told I was a gifted writer and communicator. I followed the Lord’s leading in all of it and here we are!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

My name is Kaila Yim, I was born and raised in California but have been residing in Minnesota for the last eight years where I work for a non-profit. I have always loved to write and have done a handful of writing projects, even for work, but I wanted to create a space for myself where it was still a hobby; something I did just because I loved it. I started looking into blogging and owning your own website, and once I gathered all the data and facts, I went for it and bought kailayim.com .

I offer spiritual and daily life encouragement, and every article is always rooted in Biblical and Theological truth. My blogging website is for anyone who is looking for someone to relate with. It’s for those who need to read about real, raw, honest, hard life circumstances and what it can look like to walk that out by faith with Jesus and His Word, the Bible, at the center. I offer my mere words and Scriptural truth, and the Lord and His Holy Spirit do the rest.

What sets me apart from other blogging websites out there is that I am always real. I strive to not write about the pretty, feel-good, tidy, and put-together stories. While there is genuine meaning behind those, it’s not the whole picture. I strive to talk about the 2% that no one wants to talk about and to meet that with truth and grace via through the person of Christ and His Words to us from the Bible.

I am most proud of taking the leap into owning my own website and financially investing in it. It can be really scary to put money towards something you believe in that has no visible or immediate outcomes/fruit. Each blog I write is an act of faith and I get just as nervous to hit “publish” as the day I hit publish on launching the actual website.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was that my voice didn’t matter in the writing community. There are SO many writers out there, I would just be another “loud” voice in a sea of people trying to publish and get their words out there.

I think this stemmed from not feeling good enough or “worthy” to have my words read. First, it’s incredibly scary and vulnerable. Second, who would even listen? I have some friends who are writers and a common theme I have heard from other writers is “But they need YOUR voice.” In the writing community there really isn’t anything that hasn’t been said, but what hasn’t been said is something from YOU as an individual, with your personal touch, your wisdom, your encouragement, and your heart.

What I have found in even launching my Instagram into a platform for my writing and for discipleship is that while many others are doing similar things as me, they are not ME. My sphere of influence and my friends who follow me and share my content, know me personally. They are sharing my voice, thoughts, heart, passion, and personality. I, too, can impact readers because I am me; exactly who God created me to be.

I learned that I contribute to this writing community by showing up as myself, and that was enough.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I built my social media presence by just sharing; my life, my words, and my heart. I slowly began to gain new followers as my people started sharing on their Instagram accounts. I learned that even though it is a slow-growing process, the work is worth it over the long haul.

If you’re just starting out in building a social media presence for yourself, keep at it! Stay consistent, hit publish on that post you think no one will care about, and share that meal recipe or the hard thing you’re going through (appropriately of course). Be consistent in your posting, bounce ideas off others, and have fun! Let your creative juices flow on there, even if it doesn’t resonate with every follower.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kailayim.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kailayim/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kailayim/