Q&A For New Bloggers

Top: Chicwish // Jeans: Mott & Bow // Bag: Saint Laurent // Sunglasses: Valley Eyewear // Sandals: Vince, similar HERE

Happy SPRING! I am excited to release my FIRST EVER Q&A!

Alright, let’s get right to it:

How Do You Gain More Followers

I come across this question probably the most. It really comes down to the quality of the content you produce, being consistent every single day and being patient. It’s really not about the number of followers you have. It’s about the engagement you have with your audience and what you do every day to give them value that makes them want to follow you. Success takes many months of constantly hustling while giving it your A-game and in most cases, it can take years. And we need to be alright with that.

It can be a real struggle for many because who doesn’t want to see their hard work paying off right away?! Well, truth is, you must be patient and always optimistic. It took me about 9 months after working crazy hours every single day before I began to see a return on my time and investment. There’s so much hard work, sacrifice, late nights, all nights, rejections, and challenges that are all a part of the journey. You need to love the journey! If you love it, your audience will see that and will love you for it.

With that in mind, here are some helpful tips to help you grow your audience:

• Produce Killer Content – Practice makes perfect! No one got it right the first time around. Don’t be afraid to try out something new each week! Stick with that feels and runs well with you and your audience.
• Post Daily – Don’t just post once a week and then complain you’re not getting results. If I don’t post almost every single day on Instagram, things can get realllllyyy slow! Stay on the forefront of your audience’s mind by being consistent!
• Engage With Your Audience – IG or the blog, you need to comment and engage with people within your niche. Everyday.
• Tags & Hashtags – Ok so most us know by now the #30 rule for IG. If you are a fashion blogger, are you tagging @ootdmagazine, @fashion4perfection @stilkolik @chique_le_frique and the other 100’s of other  promo accounts out there? You can tag up to 20 accounts in a single IG post. So take advantage! When you tag them and/or use their hashtag, they may repost you on their feed, given that your vibe and aesthetics matches their own.

How Do You Gain More Traffic To Your Blog

This should be a blog post of its own, but to sum things up here are my recommendations:

• Website Quality – Have a quick loading, responsive website. Not only does Google rank these higher, but it would also help you to have a smaller bounce rate.
• Produce Killer Content – Offer invaluable information routinely. You own your blog. Take advantage of the space and create it to be an oasis. Write what about the things that make you you (meaning always be yourself), and have a clean and friendly space that anyone would enjoy visiting.
• Post Consistently – To get that traffic coming in consistently, you need to be consistent about posting weekly. Come up with a number of posts per week that works for you, and stick to it!
• Commenting – Comment on other blogs and be sure to leave a link to your own website before you hit submit. Engaging with your audience is just as good for your blog as it is for Instagram!
• Market Each Blog Post – Use Pinterest, Flipboard, StumbleUpon, Digg and Reddit to your marketing advantage!

What Lens Do You Use

We currently use a Canon 50mm 1.4 lens for all of our shoots. We recently invested in the new Canon 5D Mark IV, so we’re waiting a little longer before getting another lens that we would absolutely need.

How Long Did It Take You To Grow Your Following & When Did You Start Your Blog

I launched my blog in July of 2015. I wrote as many blog posts in 6 months as I could while working in Real Estate and doing Interior Design projects. I would post on IG, but I didn’t use the hashtags right, I did nothing to market myself, I didn’t comment, I wasn’t posting daily, and guess what! I didn’t get very far!

The first 6 months I only grew to 370 followers on Instagram! But some of those people that followed me from 41 to that point, are some of my closest friends right now! At the time I didn’t really know what I was doing, I was working a full-time business or two on the side of blogging and didn’t make the choice to take blogging seriously enough. So it didn’t really get me anywhere.

The past year alone, I grew to 67k followers on IG. So what changed? Well, I decided in January 2016 that I was going to make this be my thing and that I was going to give it everything I’ve got. I began to work 14 hours on average each day, weekends included. I am still on that schedule today and wouldn’t have it any other way. Call me a crazy woman but I just LOVE what I do because I’ve wanted to do this since 2012 and couldn’t. So the way I see it, I was meant to do this. Finally I am here and couldn’t be happier about it! 🙂

When Do You Find Time To Blog

There’s never enough time in the day to get everything that I need and want done (any interns out there interested to join our team? Email me!). So, I make time for my top priorities first. What I need to get done vs. what I want to get done. I go down my needs list first, the most pressing items I handle right away first thing. As the day goes on, I keep working in order of priority. Blogging has become a priority in my life, so I make sure to always make it work no matter what life throws my way.

How Do You Find Inspiration For Content

Inspiration is all around us. Sometimes just going to supermarket can inspire me on a topic. Really, getting out of your home, office or daily routine really does wonders! Traveling feeds my soul like no other, but sometimes that’s not always possible. I also like to think, “how can I provide value to my audience, what would they like to see?” If you’re really struggling on content production. Listen! Listen to your audience and hear what they have to say. If that doesn’t work either, Ask! Don’t be afraid to ask people what they want from you. For more specific ways to find inspiration for content, check out my post on it here.

When Did You Move To The US

I moved here when I was 6 years old! More about me on a personal level, check out my post on 20 Fun Facts About Me.

Do You Miss Bulgaria

Of course I do! That is why I try to be surrounded by Bulgarian’s as much as I can while here in the US and I also visit 1-2x each year! It’s a huge part of who I am! I’ll be there this summer!!

Do You Have Any Advice/Suggestions For Maintaining A Work-Life Balance

Do your best (you may struggle and even fail) but remember to always be good to yourself. Get back up and do it again, but a little differently each time. In the beginning I struggled with this so much. I would burn myself out almost every week. I was working on building a Real Estate business, was offering Interior Design consultation services while also being a homeowner, a wife, a fur-momma, and I’m also that someone who believes in cooking every dish from scratch. Add blogging into the mix, and things got to be insane!

I had to make sacrifices in how often I would see my friends, family and the amount of time I was spending on my other businesses. What I really wanted to do was leave these other business pursuits and dive into blogging full-time. Luckily it lead to that, but it did take time and patience and you may need to make some [financial/personal] scarifies in the benefit of your dreams. Especially when starting out. If you are really struggling like I was, then that typically means that there’s something that’s gotta give. What will it be for you?

What Is Your Day Job

Blogging has officially become my full-time job as of late last year. It’s certainly not a day job. It’s a 24/7 job! At least it is like that right now because I am still within my first 3-5 years of business. So it becomes really important that you love everything about it.

What Is Your Skincare Routine

Great question! I will be sharing skincare beauty secrets this week and next week. Both will be part of my Thankful Thursday’s Gifting program! Enter last weeks’ giveaway here if you haven’t already!

How Do You Keep Your Hair So Thick

Lol, genetics and I watch what I eat. But also blowdrying, teasing, some hairspray and dry shampoo tricks help do the rest and I will be sharing these with you guys soon!

What Is Your Hair Care Routine

Ah, this is a good one and it deserves a blog post of its own! Believe it or not, my hair routine is pretty low maintenance. I have my favorite products I use on routine and swear by. Since this is more of blogging tips Q&A, I will save this to be its own blog post, so stay tuned!

If you guys have any further questions you’d like answered, please leave them in the comment section below!

Shop The Look

If you guys have any further questions you’d like answered, please leave them in the comment section below!

xx Adelina