“This afternoon, whilst sat at my desk, editing my latest video for my channel, I had a sudden realisation. It’s been a month since we moved to London and for that month I’ve somehow transitioned into becoming a full time blogger.”
This afternoon, whilst sat at my desk, editing my latest video for my channel, I had a sudden realisation. It’s been a month since we moved to London and for that month I’ve somehow transitioned into becoming a full time blogger and actress. The two have been my priority and passions for years and although having another job on the side to help save and pay bills never distracted me from my dreams, it certainly meant I had slightly less time to spend on them. The freedom this last month has given me has mean’t that I haven’t been wishing away each day and I’m truly spending my time doing what I love, which is remarkable and a huge milestone for me! As you know, I’ve read blogs ever since I was about 12/13, however Style Petal was born on a hot, July day back in 2014, after a sequence of terrible, pointless (and hilarious!) blogs that accumulated over the years. I like to think that through my years of reading, writing and creating blogs I’ve learnt a fair amount along the way and after today’s realisation and the exciting past weeks of meetings and events, I thought I’d share some of the 5 things I’ve learnt from blogging.
1. Your Blog is a constant work in progress
You’d be silly to think that you can start a blog and be perfectly happy with every aspect enough to never change, grow or progress. I started out getting my mum, sister and boyfriend to begrudgingly take pictures of me in the middle of a Devonshire street on my samsung galaxy S3. Farmers and old people would drive past and wonder why I was prancing around half naked in March. Thankfully, times have changed, as has the photography and sartorial choices. However, my boyfriend still does take my photos, but it has become more of a passion than a burden. I’ve always strived to improve my blog in all aspects; photography, written content, design and social engagement. I remember being so happy with my blog design a year or so ago, but nowadays, it couldn’t be further away from what it used to look like after – and that’s okay! As we grow, learn and experiment, so will your blog. If it just stayed the same, it would become stale, dated and irrelevant. Embrace changes, the good and the not so good. Who cares if you look back and laugh at yourself, that’s the beauty of being human.
2. It’s a lot more than prancing around taking pictures
I’ve just about gotten used to people’s looks of confusion when it comes to explaining blogging. Lots of my friends and relatives are still confused by how you actually class it as work and not ‘faffing around on your computer.’ It’s a fully fledged career and with it, like any other job, you have the highs, lows and hours of blood, sweat and tears. There’s no masterclasses, courses or tuition. Therefore we must coach ourselves to be capable photographers, networkers, computer whizzes and social network gods. I have spent more time than I would like to admit watching Lightroom, Affinity and countless other videos on editing, coding and website design. No one sees this and no one sees the crap that sometimes comes with putting yourself, your style and your bare soul online. My blog would be a sad mess if it wasn’t for my dad. He’s a photographer and website designer and has had me contacting him a worried mess, all hours of the night asking ‘why is this happening’ ‘why can’t I put my logo here’. He’s also probably one of the few people that understands the hard work that goes into growing, creating and maintaining a blog. It’s easy for people to assume all I do is take pictures of me wearing free clothes. Wouldn’t it be fab if it was that simple. But then again nothing is worth having if you didn’t work damn hard for it.
3. Free stuff is awesome but won’t pay a mortgage deposit
I remember, fondly, my first few collaborations. The excitement as an email dropped into my inbox. The feeling that someone actually admired what I did and wanted to work with me. I still get this exact feeling every time my email notification pings, however I’m a lot more picky than I used to be. It’s forever surprising to hear how companies are so casual about their blatant exploitation of bloggers. The endless list some ‘campaigns’ contain, all accumulating to days of hard work to absolutely no benefit of the blogger apart from, perhaps, some crap you’d use once. This is, of course, a sweeping generalisation but at the same time, sadly true. Luckily the majority of companies I have worked with are incredible, I adore them and have also usually used their products for years beforehand. In any other job you’d be insane to work for days, weeks even, for free with absolutely no benefit for yourself and I used to be a total sucker for this. You have to know your self worth and if the payment or compensation is small, weigh up the pro’s and con’s of the campaign. If you love the brand and want to build a relationship then great! If it really isn’t worth your precious time and you get absolutely nothing from it – politely decline. If clothes were currency, I’d be buying everyone houses, but unfortunately this isn’t the case.
4. Being nice will get you far
This is something I’ve always lived by and has always proved to be a good mantra. People will remember you, like you and want to work with you if you’re pleasant to be around. I want people to feel positive and happy when they’re around me and you’ll often find me making fun out of myself or chatting away to try and put people at ease. If you’re someone who can’t often make events or meetings then fear not, because being a sparkly ray of sunshine online will also do you countless favours. Interact, compliment and share the blogging love. It’s a good way to network online and you could make someones day just by one nice comment. Email skills are also essential! I can’t re iterate enough how important being able to email in a timely and friendly, yet professional manner is. I almost, instantly, don’t take any emails seriously that don’t address me personally and it’s a cardinal sin to spell someones name wrong (it isn’t hard). People will appreciate that personal touch, as do we bloggers. If a brand or company can’t take the time to even figure out my name or what I write about, it’s probably not going to be a collaboration match made in heaven.
5. You need to bare some soul to be relatable.
Blogging is a whole new level of marketing and advertising. People read blogs and consequently buy things people have talked about because they trust these people and have a lot of respect for them. In order to grow a loyal and engaged audience, you need to become relatable. I’m not going to relate to someone who writes one sentence about why they like a scarf. Personally, for me, I look for personality in a blog. I genuinely take an interest in this persons life and their opinions and as much as I love looking at pictures, I love to read their thoughts and views and see them for who they are. This may not be for everyone and I understand some people prefer to see beautiful imagery rather than beautiful text, but eye catching content is what really makes someone stand out for me. Obviously you won’t appeal to the whole world, because I don’t think my grandma cares what foundation I’m wearing, but by showing people the real you it will attract like minded souls. Be real, be honest and be funny. I love retelling unfortunate fashion fails and sharing my past, I find that’s what makes people want to interact with you and spark conversation!
I really hope you guys enjoyed this post – I had so much fun putting it together and really wanted to reflect on my blogging journey so far! I would love to hear your thoughts, so make sure to snap me at ‘style petal’ or tweet me here!
You can also catch me on BLOGLOVIN or see what I’m chatting about over on my channel here!
Love this post! So open and honest and really helpful! 🙂
Thank you so much – means a lot and I’m so glad it was helpful! x
#3 is oh so real! haha. totally agree with everything and i so love your outfit combo too!
x
mutzii || http://www.theshoenazi.com
Haha I know right, so glad you agree! Thank you so much! x
I love these very much! I think that a lot of people both bloggers and non bloggers should give it a read!
That’s so sweet thanks so much! X
This is such an interesting post! I’m just starting out with my blog so it’s a great read!
Loving your outfit here 🙂
http://www.lauralouiseellis.blogspot.co.uk
Ah thank you and good luck with your blog! X
Love your tips. I’ve been blogging for 5 years on & off but have really been steadily blogging for 3. I think being honest, relatable & inspiring are the true hallmarks of a great blogger all while keeping it fun & engaging to read. Great post! :]
// ▲ itsCarmen.com ▲
Such fab points – I totally agree! Thank you! X
Wow love it! So glad you are both having fun! Miss you x
cute post!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this post, I found it so interesting!
That Gent Mark
Shakira / Shakira Sacks
Love the layout and so honestly written, I am a big fan of yours xxx
Great post Primrose, I love reading these kind of posts and also like you said in point 5; personal posts too.
http://www.zekalin.com
Thank you, so glad you enjoyed! I’d love to do more if it’s what people want to see more of! x
Wow, congrats babe! You’re doing an awesome job. This post is so honest and informative. Love it!
X Hayley
http://mydebeauvoirdiaries.com
Ahh thank you so much lovely! x
Hi I’ve been reading blogs for years and have always enjoyed coming across new ones and new people to follow. I came across yours a few weeks ago and must say I’m absolutely loving your content! I recentry decided to pluck up the courage and make my own blog, although obviously it’s a work in progress I plan on writing things about my personal life, fashion/beauty and gym things I’ve been doing. It’s only fairly new so I’m currently mainly focusing on my personal part about my life. I wondered if you’d care to take a look and give me some feedback? My link is http://www.thatbridgegirl.com
Thank you double
Amy x
A very helpful post, thank you so much! I’ve just started to work with a few brands and it is so exciting!
Aleeha xXx
So glad you found it helpful – thank you! Ahh how exciting – hope it all goes really well! Let me know if you’d like to see any other tips! X
Great post! I love reading about other people’s experience in writing blogs – I love the community it brings around. Your blog is fab, you can see how passionate you are about it. Ru x
Ah I’m exactly the same, which I think is why I probably wrote it! Thanks so much – I’m so glad that it comes across! x
What you said was so true, love reading them, thanks for sharing
http://myeternalsymphony.com
Thanks so much 🙂 x
Great photos, I know that being nice definitely works wonders!
Abigail Alice x
Thanks so much – totally agree! X
Dearest Primrose,
it’s my first time dropping by your blog
and I’m very grateful to find this blog of yours!
All those 5 points you wrote above are so true.
The last sentence of point 2 and the title of point 4 are definitely my life mantra!
Thank you for sharing knowledge, what you’ve experienced and learnt from blogging 😉 thank you so much <3
Much love from Tokyo,
Shabrina
Ahh that is the nicest, thank you so much! So glad you agree and I hope it helped! xx
I love reading posts like these; purely because blogging is such an ongoing learning curve!
I think Number 1 was my biggest misconception before I started blogging, there’s always some way you can work on your blog and I think non-bloggers don’t always realise that!
Sinéad ♥ fabuleuse, toujours ♥
It’s easy to imagine that you just set it up and it’s perfect and just right, I totally thought this was the case when I first started! x
I love this post and totally agree with point 4. In fact its a motto for life not just for blogging! I believe being nice to people gets you far in life as it’s not what you know, but who you know! xx
great post and great tips!
http://www.prettyinleather.net
Thank you so much! x
Such a helpful and relatable post! Thanks so much for sharing. Your blog is fabulous xx
Ciara Rose | http://www.ciara-rose.com | Bloglovin’
Thanks so much – so glad you found it helpful! x
Really useful topic! Thank you very much!
Iuliia,
http://lookonblog.com/
that’s really helpful! great post and you are so sweet!
http://www.somethingvogue.com
This post is so insightful as I’m just starting to build up my blog! Thank you for your advice!
xx,
Daeyz
http://www.daeyz.com
Im so glad you found it helpful ! Good luck with it all 😀 x
Love, love, love this article as well as your writing style! I’m new into the blogging world and what you said is absolutely true! My next post is about things I’ve learned over two months of blogging and I had in mind most of the things you mentioned! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your experience! 🙂
xoxo
Kate
https://sparkleandthecity.com/
Ahh thank you so much hun, that really means a lot! Congrats with your new blog hun! Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts!! xx
I loveee this! I’ve been blogging for a while and have been fumbling around trying to find where I fit in so these are great to remind myself!
The Fernweh Wolf / Travel & Lifestyle Blog
xx
Hello, I have just started a Blog myself too and this post cought my attention.
I must say, your tips here are a precious help to me at this stage.
Thank you 🙂
Xxx, Giulia