1 Year Blogiversary

In case some of you are wondering what the heck a blogiversary is, it’s the anniversary of when someone started their blog. I have actually had a blog for over 5 years, but just decided one year ago today to turn it into a business. To also clarify on turning it into a business, I bought a logo, started getting professional pictures made, and started working hard on monetizing my blog (making money with it). Since I’m always honest with y’all I haven’t started making money with it yet, but I’m on my way there….hopefully. I do have a blog post already on some of the things that go into being an influencer if y’all want to check that out. It is pretty lengthy, but it shows how much work actually goes into this business. I will link it here for y’all.

Anyways, it is so hard to believe that I have been doing this for one year already! It has really flown by! I truly feel like I have grown so much as a blogger and as a person this past year. A lot of that actually has to do with my blogger group, the East TN Boss Babes and an even bigger part has to do with Tabatha. She is the one who reached out to me to attend the first event and become part of the group. When she messaged me on Instagram I had actually been struggling with blogging. I was feeling pretty lost and alone (with blogging), not really knowing what to do, where to start, and not knowing any other bloggers I could reach out to that was going through the same things. Not to be mushy and weird and I don’t really talk about faith much on social media, but I know for a fact that God brought Tabatha in my life for a reason, just like He did the rest of my boss babes! His timing could not have been more perfect.

Blogging and being part of the ETBB has really made me open up and be more social. Before blogging I wouldn’t go to events by myself or go up to people I haven’t met and introduce myself. Now, I’ll go more places and introduce myself to new people. Not going to lie, I still get nervous before and have a little anxiety, but I go for it and that’s all that matters.

Besides the ETBB, I have also been able to connect with other amazing business owners, local businesses, and brands. Erika from Evolve Creative is another one that has made an impact on my blogging journey! She designed my logo, started taking my pictures, and she has also become a great friend! She has really helped me grow more confident in front of the camera. I can tell a huge difference when I take pictures now from when I first started. I was very awkward and didn’t know what to do, but Erika gave me direction and made me feel so comfortable! I still get awkward in front of the camera some, but it’s a lot better i think, haha. It’s also thanks to her I got in contact with Tema Athletics. It’s a woman owned athletic wear company that focuses on body positivity at any size. I love companies that help people, especially women, be more confident and love themself for who/how they are! I’m so grateful that they reached out to me and sent me an outfit. They are some of my favorite leggings! I’ll post them below.

I’ve also been able to experience some awesome local restaurants and a gorgeous event venue. Some of the local restaurants include, Cafe 4 in Knoxville at Market Square, Copper Cellar (the original on the strip), and Hard Knox Pizza in Hardin Valley. The beautiful venue was Dara’s Garden, also in Knoxville. I have a blog post on each one of these places if y’all want to check those out next, I will link them below.

Through the ETBB I have also been lucky enough to connect with a local boutique in Knoxville called My Kind of Lovely. It is in University Commons downtown and they also have another location which is their home store in Madisonville, TN. It is owned by two sweet woman, Katie and Caroline.

Another boutique in Knoxville I love is Lizard Thicket. They have been my most recent collaboration. This is a franchised boutique, but I love their values and what they stand for! It’s in Turkey Creek and everything is so cute and affordable, so definitely go by and check it out! Be sure to tell them I sent you!

I know this post is pretty lengthy, but I think I did pretty good summarizing one whole year. Normally when I explain things or tell a story I go into way too much detail. Anyways, I really hope y’all enjoyed reading more about my blogging journey this far and be sure to keep following along for hopefully more to come! Comment below and let me know what your favorite post of mine has been so far! Also comment what kind of posts you hope to see in the future!

Blog posts mentioned above-

Blogging as a Business

Cafe 4

Copper Cellar

Hard Knox Pizza

Derby Event

East TN Boss Babes Members- (Hopefully I didn’t miss anyone, if I did I’m soooo sorry!)

Tabatha, Meredith, Kaitlyn, Maleia, Erika, Brittany, Chelsea, Brooke D, Sarah, Emily, Erica, Ashley, Megan, Brandi, Taylor M, Taylor J, Patty Lauren, and Olivia.

My first ever photo shoot with Erika.

Gifted outfit from Tema Athletics.

Tabatha and I when we first met!

The first ever ETBB meet up!

Galentine’s hosted by Copper Cellar.

Behind the scenes of our selfie at Copper Cellar.

Victoria’s Secret preview I was able to attend with Tabatha! Such an incredible night ;).

Mandy Hart Photo. Derby Event

Derby Event.

Blogger, aren't we all though?

 I decided to do a post on blogging/influecing as a career to explain a little more about what all goes into it. More and more people are quitting their "9 to 5" job to become a full time blogger and influencer, and I haven't really brought it up yet, but that is my end goal. Talking to several people about my blog and youtube, they didn't realize how much goes into all of it and how much interacting helps out. More on that later on in this post. I wanted to break down each category, blogging, youtube, instagram, and the steps that go into each platform. I also wanted to share some ways that you can help out your favorite influencers. In case you aren't sure what an influencer is there are a lot of different definitions, but overall it's a person who influences others with different lifestyle advice. So someone you turn to for their beauty tips, home decor inspiration, fashion advice, etc, because you value their opinion.

PS- Before I get into everything I just want to let everyone know that this is my perspective and what all goes into it for me personally. I just do all this part time, so the ones doing it full time put wayyyyyy more into it than I do. Probably everything I do X 100.

PSS- This is ging to be a lengthy post, (so grab a snack) but I wanted to explain everything pretty in depth for those of you who were curious.

Since I am doing this on my blog I figured I would start out with that category first. I post on my blog 3 times a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Once again this is part time for me and most full time bloggers post 5+ times a week. I thought I would break down my process by steps.

1. Plan- I usually try and plan out my blogs posts at least a month in advance. Honestly, a lot of times they get switched around or I have a new idea that I will post instead, but I like having something written down. I bought a small planner just for my blogging so I can try to keep it organized. I also like to coordinate posts with my youtube videos, so I try and post them on the same day. I also plan around holidays and big sales happening.

2. Pictures- This is something else I need to plan out. I recently starting taking pictures with an amazing photographer and now I don't want anyone else doing my pictures! She actually is the one who designed my logo here on my blog as well! So if you need pictures or a logo or anything like that definitely check her out! I will link her instagram here. Anyways, the pictures I do are for my blog and for instagram, so I usually need quite a few. That is why it is good to plan my blog posts ahead of time, because I know what outfits I need to take pictures of. Once I get the pictures back if I need to I edit them to get them ready to add to my blog. Thankfully, most of the time they are already edited!

3. Writing- The most obvious step is to write the post. Most of the time if I have a topic words just start flowing. This is probably the easiest step for me. The hardest is probably coming up with so many new topics. There are a lot of things I want to write about, but I don't get a lot of feedback when I ask what people want to see, so I just have to write about what I think y'all will like. That is why I always ask questions at the end of my blog posts and on instagram and instastories, so I can try and create content y'all will like.

4. Add Pictures- After I write my post I will go in and add all my pictures. It depends on what type of post it is that determines which pictures I use. Fashion posts I like to add quite a few, because I like to get different angles and close ups of my shoes and accessories. I usually like to take pretty detailed pictures for recipes as well. On my workout posts I usually only do pictures of workouts that are a little difficult to explain or that may be an uncommon move. I try to explain everything well enough for anyone to understand. Most of my pictures I save to my phone so I have to airdrop them to my computer and then add them to my post. That is a little time consuming as well.

5. Linking- I don't know for sure what all goes into linking products for those who use liketoknowit, but for me, first I have to create a look on style collective, which is part of liketoknowit. If you aren't familiar with liketoknowit, it is now an app where you can shop your favorite outfits. Anyone that has linked their outfit with liketoknowit, you screen shot it and you will be able to shop the look on your app. You can also follow people on the app as well. So for me I start out with a picture of an outfit I took with my photographer, then I have to find each individual piece of clothing and accessories through hundreds of products and add them to my picture. This is probably the most time consuming. I am usually able to narrow it down to store and brand and that helps a lot, but I still have to go through a lot of clothes to find my items. Once I link them on my app, I go back to my blog and add the link to each picture and/or description.

6. Tag- Tags on blog posts and on youtube are pretty much like how hashtags are on instagram. If people search for the tags on blogs and youtube it will pull up your post or video. I always try and tag all the brands I use and stores I've purchased from, as well as my category or subject of the post. If I do a post on ways to style a t-shirt, I will put that in the tags. I always tag the location where my pictures were taken and where I live for people who search those areas. Pretty much anything I put in my post I try to tag. There is a limit to how many you can put, so I try to add the main and most important ones first.

7. Post- The final step after I have planned my post, met with my photographer, wrote my post, added pictures, linked everything that could be linked, and tagged as much as I could, I publish my post. I have it linked where it automatically shares to my facebook, twitter, and Pinterest, so I make sure those are on, then after all that I will share it on instagram. I will usually do a picture post and in the caption talk about my post, then I will put my blog post and my picture post in my instastories. If I don't do a picture post I will still share it in my stories that I put up a new post.

Since YouTube is the next lengthy category I will talk about that next. I try to post a new video once a week on Wednesday.

1. Plan- This is pretty much the same step as my blogging step 1. I try to plan out my videos as best I can about a month in advance. Like I mentioned before, sometimes I will coordinate my blog and youtube videos, so it helps if they are planned out. Besides planning what the video will be on, I usually try and plan out what day will be best for me to film.

2. Film- This is another obvious step, but I wanted to add it because a lot goes into this as well. I have a Sony a5000 camera I film with and I use my mirror lights on my makeup table as well as a ring light for my lighting. Nothing fancy. I don't have a microphone, but that is definitely on my wish list. I usually try and film on Mondays so I have plenty of time to get my video edited. If I have to work or have a busy day on Wednesday, my upload day, I will try and edit some on Monday night after I have filmed, then finish up on Tuesday. If I am free on Wednesday I will usually still try to film on Monday and I will spend most of the day Tuesday editing, and usually finish up on Wednesday.

3. Edit- This is the part that is the most time consuming. Just to give y'all an idea, I usually film at least an hour sometimes more of footage, and if you haven't watched any of my YouTube videos, they are usually around 6-8 minutes long. That means I have to go through all of that footage and cut out the parts I don't want. I usually do voice-overs during my makeup applications because that is the easiest for me, but the intro and outro is what takes the longest because I say the same thing over and over until I like how I say it. I just use good ol' iMovie to edit my videos. Once again, nothing fancy,

4. Thumbnail- So this is something that in all honesty is usually an afterthought. It may be because I took a little break from YouTube so I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things, but I usually forget to take a thumbnail picture. Thankfully, most of the time I think about it before I take my makeup off. I can also pause my video and screenshot a clip. For those of you who aren't sure what I thumbnail is, it's the picture that shows up on your video before it starts playing.

5. Export/Upload- After I have finished editing my video I will export it to my desktop, which is just saving it as a file, and once it is finished with that I will go to my YouTube channel and start uploading it to YouTube.

6. Description Box- While my video is uploading to YouTube I will write in my description box. This is where I will talk a little bit about the video and I always put all my social media handles, email, and blog link here. If it is a makeup tutorial I always list the products I use and talk about. This is another time when I will create a post on my style collective app and link all the products there. Once I have done that, I will come back to my description box and post the link to all the products I could find a link to. I can also add tags to my video like I do on my blog. Once again I tag the brands and if they have any taglines I will add those, and if it is a tutorial I will always put that too. Anything I think someone will put in the search bar that will bring my video up I will tag.

7. Publish- Once my description box is done and my video is uploaded and processed it is ready to publish. After it goes live I will share it on all my social media accounts. It doesn't do it automatically, but it brings it up where it is pretty easy to do. I will share it to facebook, twitter, and Pinterest. After I have shared it to those, I will go to my instastories and tell everyone there that that a new video is up.

Last but certainly not least, Instagram. This is the platform that I am on most often, but it probably has the least amount of steps. I try and post a picture about 3-5 times a week, and I will post on instastories everyday. I have been slacking on my stories recently, so I need to work on that, but it has still been everyday. 

1. Plan- You should have known by now the first step was going to be planning. I also try to coordinate my instagram posts with my blog and youtube posts. I can definitely be the most flexible with my instagram posts because I can always talk about what I need to in the caption. I also have to look at past posts to make sure they go well with my feed. So if I have a post planned and I look at my feed and I have a similar picture, I would need to change it.

2. Pictures- Since Instagram is a reflection of my brand, my business, I want to have quality pictures. I still use my iPhone for some because I feel like the camera gets better and better, but once I started using a photographer, I don't think I could go back to taking outfit pictures with my phone. I guess this kind of ties in with step one, planning, because I have to get with my photographer to take pictures. Since there are steps within this step I will add those here: *Schedule photoshoot *Coordinate outfits and accessories *Steam clothes and organize the looks *Have the photoshoot (by changing into multiple outfits in bathrooms, cars, wherever.) Once the pictures are taken I have to wait to get them back, which is usually just a day or two. Thankfully my awesome photographer edits them too, so I usually don't have to worry about doing it myself. We are going to try and work on a preset soon, which is basically a filter we will design for my pictures so they will all look more cohesive on my instagram.

3. Post- Once again since my instagram is a reflection of my brand I have to think about what type of picture I want to post. I don't want to post a similar picture back to back because they will be right beside each other on my account. I have to think about how my account looks as a whole, because brands and businesses will look at that when looking for a collaboration. This is yet another thing I try and coordinate with my blog posts and youtube. If I have a fashion post here on my blog I usually like to post that same outfit on my instagram. If it's not a fashion post, I will try and post an outfit that will go with the type of post. When I have a picture picked out and come up with my caption, I will tag the brands of everything in my picture as well as my photographer and her business page, then I will add my hashtags. I always hashtag the brands again, my location, and tagline the brands have, any tagline the location has, and different blog hashtags. Hashtags help a lot, that's why I usually have white a few. The last step before I post the picture is adding my location of where the picture was taken. That helps locals see the post.

4. Share- Like my other categories the last step is sharing to social media. I will copy and share the link on pinterest and it automatically shares to twitter and Facebook. Even though for some reason it shares to the wrong FB page and the right page is listed on my instagram account, so I'm not sure what is going on with that. Since that happens I usually have to go to FB and share it on the right page and I'll share it on my personal page as well. Then I always share on my instastories that I have a new post for anyone who doesn't see it on their feed.

If you have made it this far into the post, first of all you're awesome, second of all, now you can see my tips on helping out your favorite bloggers/influencers. So what I mean by helping out is every influencer/blogger doing this as a business relies on interactions. Brands look not only at their content, (pictures, blog posts, videos) but their engagement on social media. This means out of all the people that are following them, how many are actually engaging in their content (liking pictures on IG, commenting on pictures on IG, replying to instastories, voting in polls, commenting on blog posts, liking videos on YouTube, commenting on YouTube videos, etc.) By doing all of these things you are helping out your favorites in so many ways. The more people that interact, the more likely they are to show up on suggested pages, and the more they will show up in your feed. All the time instagram changes up their algorithm, (I'm not even going to pretend to know what that means, I just know it changes who shows up in your feed......I think) and if someone you know posts a lot and isn't showing up on your feed and you want to see their posts, try being more active on their account. I had someone tell me they weren't seeing my posts, then they voted in a poll I had and replied to an instastory and they started seeing my posts.

The last thing that helps and then I will try and wrap it up is buying from a link an influencer provides. Obviously if you don't plan on buying it this doesn't apply to you, but if you want to buy an item anyway and you hear someone talk about a link to it, it is very helpful to use that link they provide. As you can see from above we go through a lot of steps to link stuff for y'all, (not complaining, I love sharing deals with y'all) and yes some of us get a commission off of the link most of the time, but once again this is our business, our job. My links are a little bit harder to get to, but I always explain how to get to it, and they are always on my shop tab on the home page of my blog. 

I just wanted to let y'all know I am not just talking about me and trying to get y'all to comment on my posts, this is for anyone you follow, but especially influencers because this is their job.   

Anyways, the main purpose of this post is to give more insight for those of you who didn't know what all went into an instagram post, blog post, or youtube videos as an influencer. It is also to help more people understand that it is hard work being a blogger, whether it be part-time or full-time. There are a lot of people who don't take blogging and influencing as a career seriously, not saying any of you do, but that's why I wanted to post this. I actually had an experience with someone not taking blogging serious the other day. It's kind of a long story and this post is already a book, so I will just link it for y'all. It's on my blog highlights on my instagram here. 

I hope this helped anyone who had questions about influencing and gave y'all a little insight to what goes into what I do. Like I mentioned earlier, all of this is my perspective and what goes into it for me personally doing it part-time. Hopefully I can one day do it full-time! Let me know if y'all have any other questions I didn't answer! Also, thank you to each and every one of you who read my blog and interact with my content! I appreciate it more than you know!