Why & when did you start blogging?

Please keep in mind I really haven’t been doing this whole blogging thing that long so all my opinions are based on the experience I’ve had thus far! I started blogging in November of 2017. Honestly, I went from wedding planning (which I LOVED) to post wedding depression & was BAFFLED on what to do with my free time. Fashion/ clothes & all things related was always something I was SUPER passionate about. Literally, I was that girl in high school who always had to have the ‘latest’ and coolest trends. This is SO basic but I remember I saw UGGs for the first time before ANYONE have even heard of the brand. Kate Hudson had them on & I legit spent HOURS on the internet trying to find these majestic boots. I finally found the Australian company called UGG and convinced my mom to let me order them. Obviously paired them with the freshest pair of Hollister leg warmers because that was cool then. Later on, I always found myself slightly jealous of bloggers & influencers who had amazing instagrams and wardrobes. One day I realized it wasn’t jealously over them. It was jealously that they decided to chase their dreams and make their dreams into a reality. So I decided to put my fear aside and do the same and I’m SO glad I did. This blogging life has become more than just a pretty Instagram & cool clothes it has become a lifestyle and I’ve built so many incredible friendships, relationships & finally found a way to inspire normal girls like myself how to dress!

Is blogging your fulltime job?

No it’s not! I actually work full time & blog on the side. I work as a planner for beauty products and really enjoy it. I absolutely LOVE beauty products but due to my work can’t really post about them. Good thing I love fashion too. A lot of you are curious how I find the time to blog. Honestly, it’s something I am REALLY passionate about so I find the time to do it. I spend most of my free time working on my blog and I could be doing SO much more but I only have so much free time plus I am a wife & a fur mama and have a pretty full life outside of working & blogging so I got to balance all of it! I do what I can and try my best but yes there’s always a part of me that wishes I could be doing so much more!

Who takes your pictures?

Who doesn’t take my pictures is the better question. ANYONE and everyone haha! It started off with my husband, Max, taking 99% of my pictures but guys, I take A LOT of pictures and it’s a lot to have the same person do it ALL the time! Bless his soul for doing it for so long & not divorcing me. Love you darling. SO I’ve gotten into the habit of working with photographers once a month. I found some really amazing photographers close to me who I’ve become friends with. Yes, I pay them and I don’t mind paying them because they take AMAZING pictures and I pride myself of providing you guys with GOOD pictures. If I could hire a photographer full time I would but honey, I can’t afford that. The rest of the time, I usually shoot with other local blogger friends. I love shooting with bloggers because 1) we both get to help one another create content 2) you get to hang out with people with similar interests and 3) all shoots usually end in eating food. #bloggerswhoeat. Yes, occasionally Max still takes my picture or my mom or my best friend or some stranger I see on the street. Literally always trying to create content!

How often do you take pictures?

I consider myself a batch shooter. Legit just found out what that means a few months ago and realized it’s what I do! So you have so many different types of bloggers. For example, you have OOTD (out of the day) bloggers who are the gals or guys taking pictures of the actual outfit they are wearing in that exact day and time and posting it to their feed “in real time.” Then you have the rest of us ;). Since I do work full time (9-5 in a building with pretty bad lighting) I’m not snapping pics of what I’m wearing to work. Honestly, at work I don’t look NEARLY as good as I do on Instagram I’ll be the first to admit that. I shoot on the weekends usually and I try to shoot 5-8 outfits a weekend so I have content for the next week or so. I also like to make my feed look pretty so having 8-10 photo to choose from and set up in aesthetically pleasing way is something I like to do. Everyone is different but that’s just the way that works for me!

What do you use to edit your pictures?

I use light room mostly to edit my pictures! I use a preset, and for those of you who don’t know what that is see below. It’s basically just a one click button you add to ANY photo you upload that makes the colors pop! I bought travel in her shoes presets a while ago and have edited them slightly to make a preset I use on all my pictures. I play around with the tones & warmth based off where I’m shooting. Other apps I love are: snapseed, retouch (to remove random objects), unfold (to make cute stories) & a design kit to add some fun graphics on top! I also use UNUM to plan my feed out. I usually plan my content out 5 days prior!

Do you make $ from blogging?

This question I get OH so much. Can I just say, I love how asking someone how much they make at a real job is SO frowned upon but when it comes to blogging some people have no shame in asking (lol).  Not offended AT ALL but it’s just so funny to me. Seriously can you imagine if I walked up to a CEO of some corporate company and was like “hey, how much are you making to do your job?!” haha So let’s throw it out there. I did not start my blog with any intention of ever making money honestly I didn’t think I’d ever make it to that point but I have. So here’s the skinny, there are a few ways you can make $ from blogging.  I’m going to break this down to two sections below:

Like to know it:

Like to know it is an app you can download to shop looks from ALL different bloggers. They recently added an upgrade to the app that let’s you type in what you’re looking for and any one who ‘tagged’ that product in their pictures, pictures will show up. It’s amazing because you can reference how to style something by doing this too. But basically here’s the behind the scenes of Liketoknowit

• I take a picture & upload it to the Like to know it app
• I tag ALL the products that are shoppable to the picture (some sites don’t support this)
• I then upload the picture to my Instagram
• From there anyone can screenshot the picture
• Once you screenshot the picture, go into your Liketoknowit app
• My picture will show up & you can shop the products I’m wearing from there

Yes, I make commission IF you buy a product through the links on this app or on my swipe up. I can’t stress enough how helpful it is when you guys do this because as you read above A LOT of time goes into making these posts happen. It’s completely anonymous, so I can’t see who’s buying what I post! Also side note, the commission is very small (see below of what my commission would look like) STILL better than nothing and always much appreciated when you use the links! You can follow me on Like to know it by clicking here!

Working with brands directly

I’m at a point now where I do work & get paid by some brands directly. Again guys, this is legit beyond my wildest dreams as I said I NEVER thought I’d be at a place where I’d be able to do this. How much I or other blogger get paid is determined by: your following, your engagement (how many likes/ comments your post get), & what you’re providing for a brand. It’s not so black & white! The biggest thing I’d like to stress about this is I turn down A LOT of brands (even paying opportunities) if the brand is not truly something I love. I only work with companies I would actually shop from! I didn’t become an influencer just to spoon feed you guys some stuff I wouldn’t even actually buy or wear myself. I only work with brands I’m truly obsessed with.

How long did it take you to start monetizing your blog?

Honestly, it wasn’t until VERY recently I realized I could be asking for compensation to work for brands, which sounds INSANE because if you think about the amount of time it takes for me to make a picture happen and come to life it’s a lot & time is valuable people! I started blogging in November of 2017. I think the first time I started actually trying to reach out to companies was around March of 2018, let me tell you there was hardly any responses and if I did get a response it was a most likely “no we’re going to pass.” But 🙂 my parents use to hate me for this, if I wanted something I find a way to get it, I wish getting collaborations was as easy as getting my parents to buy me a toy when I was younger but throwing a tantrum as an adult isn’t exactly cool. And in no way am I saying throw a tantrum. What I’m saying is put in the HARD WORK and effort and give companies no choice but to NEED to work with you! Also please keep in mind, I’m a baby micro influencer in a world of HUGE influencers & girls who go on the bachelor and instantly become influencers, I’m not making big bucks of here. I just know what my time & energy is worth not saying I get paid for every single thing I do cause that’s far from the case. The thing is now I learned and have grown enough to make choices about how I want to spend my time and if the end result is worth it for me as a brand!

Final Thoughts

Final thoughts, what started as a hobby of mine has definitely turned into almost a second job for me but I ABSOLUTELY love doing it! Yes, it’s a lot of hard work and a lot to keep up with. Seriously I can’t tell you how many times I felt like quitting when I first started or days when I’m off from my real job and I just don’t feel like shooting but I do it anyway because blogging is something I’m very passionate about and that doesn’t make it seem like a job at all as a matter of fact it’s more like a dream come true 🙂 and as always I can’t say this enough but I would not be here today if it wasn’t from the support I get not just from my family and friends but also all my followers so thank YOU for following me along on this journey!