This was a popular topic that you all wanted to know. While I appreciate you guys wanting tips from me, I am by no means an expert. I have taken some classes and one I refer to more than the others. I’ve also learned a few things along the way. I will also share what equipment I have found that makes my life easier. I am a blogger as well as an influencer, I am not in sales, I am in advertising, I recommend products I genuinely like.
BLOGGING
I get it, most people don’t believe that blogging is a full time job. But it is, and yes you can make an income with it. My advice is to find your niche, find your why, who are you speaking to. I have multiple niches because I have multiple interests. My Niches are Life + Style, so I include fashion, home decor, fertility journey, realistically holistic, nutrition, and my life in general. I have been very open on how infertility has affected me and my husband. I am 1 in 8, and 1 in 4, I am able to speak to many women who are going through the struggles and heartache that I am as well. Not a lot of people openly speak about infertility or miscarriages. I want to break out of those boundaries and make women feel less alone. There is not one specific cure all for fertility issues. We all have our own paths, and I think it is important we all share our journey because sometimes journeys can intertwine and maybe what works for me, can help someone else. I am sprinkling baby dust on each of those paths. So my advice is focus on what makes you unique and what you are comfortable sharing. My advice for blog posts, is to sit down, type it all out, save it. And go back an re-read it the next day and edit then. This is what I do on my more personal posts. Not every post tugs on the heart screens, and that is OK. I like doing a mix because I don’t want to get stuck in only one niche, I have ADD as you can probably guess.
PHOTOGRAPHY
Let’s talk about photos. I go back and forth between using my Iphone 11 Pro and my Canon Rebel. I purchased the Rebel because it is user friendly, and it is white and adorable. I wanted an easy camera that anyone could take a photo for me with, had a self timer, and could use wifi to transfer photos from the camera to my phone on the go. It also has a great lens, and I can always upgrade the lens later on. I like the variety of using both camera, my phone is obviously smaller and goes with me more. But most campaigns require photos with DSL so I use my camera for those as well. I use lightroom app to edit, I’ve purchased presets and edit them slightly to work for my feed. I like presets that soften my photos and make them all have the same lighting without changing the colors. I believe that is important in sharing fashion photos.
How do I take my photos?
Most of the time I am taking my photos I am doing it on my own, either by self making a tripod for my phone, or using an actual tripod with a phone connector . My camera came with a tripod and I just use the self timer option and upload my photos straight to my phone via wifi. This works for me about 85% of the time. Another way I get my photos is to bribe my husband. Another way is to get together with some friends and we all take each others photos, win win for all of us. Recently I did sign up to do weekly photos with a local photographer: Stacey Poterson (if you are local to Phoenix she is amazing and super affordable for quality photos). If you are just starting out there is NOTHING wrong with using your cell phone, you can purchase a camera, or pay a photographer later on.
POSES:
I get it, it is so awkward to pose in front of a camera, especially a tripod. So I find poses I like from other bloggers either on instagram, or pinterest, Save them then practice them in front of my mirror so I know what angles looks best on me. Then when I go shoot I play some music on my phone and pose away. Honestly I don’t get embarrassed easily, so it doesn’t bother me much getting weird looks from other people. But I know for a lot of people it can make them nervous. I just say play your music and enjoy yourself. This is for you! Also movement is your best friend, my default pose is to play with my hair.
Community
The best advice I can give you when you get into blogging, is reach out to other local girls, find your girl gang. Its great knowing someone who will be at events with you, also its great to meet for work dates, bounce ideas off of, and to help take each others photos. Having a friend in the business is so much more valuable than just your significant other or best friend.
I am so glad I started blogging in Arizona because I have met the best people, they’ve become more than a colleague, they are my confidants, my hype women, and the people I ask how this photo looks 3,000 times before I post it. Easiest way to find your girl gang, follow a local blogger hashtag, ie: #AZbloggerbabes #Pheonixblogger
Courses
I took two courses that I felt were the most beneficial, One was from my girl Megan McQueen: BloomintoBeautiful she has multiple courses that you can customize to what you need help with, instagram, SEO, lightroom, etc. Let her know I sent you! I also took PitchItPerfect which had similar courses, but different information. I like having an arrayment of knowledge so I can see what tactics work best for me.
These courses in my opinion took my blog from being a hobby, to a business. Yes this is how I’ve learned to know my worth and how to get paid for my work.
How to start
Best way to start, is to make the leap. Figure out what you want your website name to be, either your IG handle, or your name. Or what your niche is. Buy the domain, and start! Write a list of topics that you want to cover, and then start writing. You don’t need a fancy iMac or a Macbook, or a snazy new camera. Your phone can do for now. I use my macbook I had in college, and it is doing just fine. I do plan on upgrading to a desktop when we finally get our office organized, but it is pretty sweet being able to sit on the couch and work.
Instagram/ Facebook
I will be honest, I am not a fan of facebook, but I do have one for business. I do not post consistently on there, nor do I actively try to grow my facebook, I am part of networking communities. But instagram I am a fan of. I always get how did you grow your IG, well before I decided to make this a business I had a decent following, under 10k and mainly Tone it up girls. When my life shifted from just sharing my workout, to me sharing my life and fashion it grew. Yes giveaways help, but honestly I do them more because I love to give back and unfortunately I can’t afford to gift every one of you $1,000 every week. But the best way is to engage with your audience, and continue to be authentic, people will tell their friends what they love about you and what you offer, and that my friend is how you grow!
I do think there is a benefit of engagement groups, I know it’s like a tabu to talk about it, but thanks to instagram’s algorithm every blogger/ influencer most likely uses one. I think they are the same as making my husband like my photo as soon as I post, as long as they are smaller groups where you actually connect past the gram. I am part of a few that are smaller, we follow each other and we are all fashion bloggers, and guess what, We’ve become friends and we bounce ideas off each other. I always make sure I like, save, and comment on my friend’s posts, it helps IG know I love their content and I want to see more of it. While I am scrolling my feed I make sure my friend’s posts get love. I do not participate in groups where we “drop a link”. I am not in any comment pods but I do find that taking time to engage back on people who engage on my posts continues the relationship. I am not part of engagement groups where I would receive 1,000s of “fake likes” My best advice is to engage, engage, engage, like, comment, ask questions, LISTEN to what your followers want, and speak directly to them.
I care more about having my real posts, you know the ones with actual content in them being seen by people who need to see it, vs getting all the likes. I want people who want to see my content see’s it. So in my opinion I think being part of big engagement groups and trying to “beat” the algorithm will not only hurt you in the long run, but it prevents people from needing to see your content. Also I’m pretty positive that the IG algorithm might be smarter than an engagement pod, just saying.
What I do NOT recommend is buying followers, or even those loop follow for a follow. Those are not bringing you real followers who want to see YOUR content, and honestly it’ll just ruin your engagement, so just don’t.
How to Make Money
There are two ways that I make an income, either by using an affiliate site where I link clothing Reward Style, or through sponsored collaborations. If you want to apply to RewardStyle, send me a message I would be happy to refer you and increase your chances of being accepted. XOXO
I do not like to spam my content with sponsored post after sponsored post, I have them few and far between because I am very particular of who I partner with. I only accept collaborations with companies that I genuinely like and use. Most of the time I am the one reaching out to them. If I wouldn’t recommend it to my best friend, you won’t see me share about it. No amount of money is worth me lying. Also I am a horrible liar so you would know if I was not a fan of the product. So have I received a product and was not satisfied by it and canceled my contract, yes many times. I do it nicely and let them know what did not work or why it does not align with my brand, no reason to be rude. Personally I like working with smaller local businesses, but I do work with larger businesses as well.
Reward Style/ Liketoknow.it- If you’ve ever seen my instagram then you know my photos are shoppable. You can either screen shot the photo or click the link on my bio, click on the photo and be able to locate the products on there. When someone purchases an item off one of these links I make a small commission, I’m talking less than a dollar per item, but little things add up. And I love being a resource for you girls, and I love having fun with fashion. I get it, the fashion blogger industry is filled with cute size 2 blondes, Well I’m not a size 2, I have natural boobs that sag, and I have some junk in my trunk and a short torso. So I have a different body type, style and have something to offer. I only wear outfits that are comfortable but cute. So you can trust that if I am wearing something then it is comfortable.
How to succeed
My best advice is if you want this to succeed, you need to put the work in. Be consistent and show up. You can’t half ass your posts, photos, editing, engagement and except people to want to work with you. The biggest mistake most new bloggers make is thinking that people will just reach out to them and want to pay them. You need to do your research, you need to contact them. And you need to show them why they should want to work with you. What makes you different, what are you offering your followers that no other blogger is offering. You don’t need thousands of followers to make a difference. Just like Jenna Kutcher stated, “If you have one follower, you are an influencer” everyone is an influencer in their life, your friend asks where you like to have lunch, and you share your favorite restaurant, thats influencing.
You’ve got this girl! I believe in you! The world needs to hear your story.
Thank you for supporting me through my affiliate links, by clicking on / and or purchasing on some of the links I do make a small commission. This commission helps support my blog and allows me to keep creating content for you to view.
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