Y’all, it finally happened – I officially hit 10,000 followers on Instagram!!! A goal of mine for 2019 was to reach this milestone sometime this year, but I can’t believe it happened only four months in! I also can’t think of better timing for this than my birthday week, so I’m ready to pop open a bottle of bubbly and celebrate. Thank you for the best gift y’all could have given me!
After starting this blog back in 2013 simply as a way to share my affordable finds and styling tips with friends and family, I could have never imagined it would grow to this point. I’ve met some of my closest friends through blogging, which has made it so much easier (and more fun!) to stick it out in a field that can so often be unnecessarily competitive and toxic. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to develop something that began as merely a humble creative outlet into an actual side hustle, and even luckier to enjoy it every step of the way.
If you’re interested in starting a blog, I say without hesitation, GO FOR IT. You’ll always regret it if you don’t try, and there’s no harm in putting yourself out there with something you’re passionate about. I often get messages asking for tips on how to start and grow a blog, and honestly I feel like over the past few years I’ve just been throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, but I’m happy to share the 5 main things I’ve found.
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- Be yourself. First and foremost, find your niche, decide what makes you different, and run with it. The influencer community is already super over-saturated and there’s no point in conforming to what everyone else does. The more you stand out, the more of a following you’ll accumulate because what you’re doing is unique. This is hard to do and I struggle with it regularly, but it’s really important. When in doubt, remember why you started, why you’re doing this, the message you want to be sending, and who you want to be receiving it.
- Keep it consistent! Another super important one – you won’t see growth if you’re only posting on Instagram once a week. Aim for daily social media posts, and at least right when you’re starting out, one blog post a week (but 2-3 would be ideal). I’m lucky if I post a couple times a month on the blog since I’ve been so busy, but I always make sure to post every day on Instagram. Same for Instagram stories, and try to show your face every day – even if it’s masked in a filter, haha!
- Content quality matters. Now even though the last tip focuses on quantity, it’s incredibly important to maintain quality as well. If you like posting in-the-moment photos of you and your friends/family/favorite lunch spot but are noticing that those photos aren’t doing super well, consider having two separate Instagram accounts: one for your blog and one for personal use. That’s what I decided to do and I’m SO glad I did. Although you should always post what YOU want (see tip #1), if you’ve created an audience that loves seeing you and your outfits rather than the cool view from your recent vacation, give the people what they want! Since it’s really difficult to get high quality images every single day, I’d suggest stockpiling a bunch over the weekend that will last you through the week. There’s no need to invest thousands in a really nice camera unless you want to – iPhone photos are totally fine – just make sure the photos are clear, taken in good lighting, and you’re choosing a preset or filter that works for you.
- Put yourself out there! When I started blogging, I didn’t see any real growth until I started going to events. Introduce yourself and network with other influencers, shop owners, brand reps, and PR directors, and just be a yes girl/man for a few months with anything and everything you’re invited to. The same goes for virtual networking – follow accounts with a similar vibe to yours and engage with them as much as you can! Like, comment, DM an introduction here and there, try to comment back to everyone on your posts, and you’ll spread your reach naturally and organically.
- Yep, I’m going to recommend giveaways. This has become a vvv divisive topic in recent years, but I have to say I support them (to an extent!). Although not technically “natural” and “organic” like I mentioned above, one of my blogger friends with well over 100K followers says it is the only way to see major growth. People may say this is “cheating” or “buying your followers,” which I guess one could argue somewhat, but honestly I have to disagree and am not mad at the hustle at all. Why wouldn’t you want to gather together a group of similar bloggers that you admire and support, and share each other’s accounts with all your collective followers?? The people that aren’t into your vibe will end up unfollowing you (which is fine!), but a bunch will stick around that wouldn’t have found you otherwise. I’ve actually found some of my personal favorite bloggers through giveaways, and a follower-turned-friend found my account this way several years ago. With that said, I do think it’s imperative to be very picky with the giveaways you choose to join. Take a look at the other accounts and if they don’t make sense with you and the community you’re trying to create, politely decline. To start doing giveaways, I would message a few people you follow that have done them before and ask if you could be included for the next one. Or just start your own with a curated list of your choice! I’ve only done probably 5-6 since I started blogging, so there’s no need to inundate your followers with a giveaway every month – just pick and choose at your discretion!
Blogging is often written off as a fake career based on fake fun you’re probably not having, but I couldn’t disagree more. Although it’s so important to show more than just your highlight reel on social media (hey, that’s what self-deprecating stories are for!), there are real communities being built every day on these platforms that promote self-love, feeling good in clothes that won’t break the bank, finding your confidence, and just taking the time to enjoy life. What’s wrong with that?
Thank you so much for the Four Seasons for hosting me to celebrate this exciting milestone, and of course a huge shoutout to my blogger babe Ella for taking the majority of my photos (including these amazing ones), always motivating me to do the most fun shoots, and keeping me sane. Thank you to my family and friends for pushing me along every step of the way and supporting me endlessly in a venture that many would dismiss as superficial and silly – not to mention always being down to snap an outfit pic when we’re just trying to enjoy brunch, oops. Thank you to my sweet, patient, angelic Will for all of the above, plus redesigning and maintaining my entire site, reassuring me when I’m frustrated or discouraged, letting internet strangers peek in on our personal lives, and most importantly, encouraging me to let my true personality shine through to the rest of the world.
…And as always, thank YOU. My blog would be nothing if it weren’t for your support, feedback and suggestions, and amazing energy. You all let me be my silly, weird self which makes it so much easier to not conform into the typical cookie cutter blogger, and I truly can’t thank you enough. Love you guys!
