Blog Better Have My Money: From Blogger to Entrepreneur

The best part about being a successful entrepreneur and influencer is not the freebies or VIP access; it’s being able to use your creativity to share your passion with the world. Arguably, one of the biggest measures of success is to take your creative output and turn it into a business. Our successful colleagues in this industry who are savvy about monetization wear so many hats! Photography, styling, editing, PR, and sales, to name a few skills. So . . . how are you going to get from blogger to entrepreneur?

BE AUTHENTIC

It sounds easy, but it’s going to get much harder when the prospect of a much-needed paycheck is dangled in front of you. We all have been fans of a favorite blogger, only to watch her scale in following and then see her content become one irrelevant ad after another. It feels inauthentic. It alienates your hard-earned user base.

Don't be afraid to say no when a proposed partnership feels off-brand. Be polite, and if you choose, perhaps keep the door open for the future. Focus your brand partnership outreach where partnerships feel organic and where you know you can really create fun and compelling content. Here’s an example from my own social media platform (actually it's my dog's platform, but she's truly fabulous): I passed on a partnership with a brand because it didn't feel like it made sense with Ella Bean’s luxury persona, and I  later saw the brand partner with some of the biggest names in social media. The campaign TOTALLY worked on those social channels, but it wouldn't have worked on mine. I was excited for my colleagues, and the agency actually told me they respected that I was so honest (polite, of course!). The flip side is we partnered with a luxury vacuum cleaner to make a fun video, and it was one of my top-performing posts in terms of likes and comments. The content was fun, on brand, and relatable. Engagement that is aligned with your organic content should be a benchmark of success for your business as you negotiate deals.

ORGANIC INCOME

 Monetizing your platform(s) isn’t all about giant deals and big paychecks.

Are you using affiliate links? No? Then stop what you are doing and go sign up for ShopStyle Collective. No, really. It's hands down the easiest way to monetize your content from day one. The open platform makes it easy to sign up no matter where you are in your blogging career, and the tools make it simple to create tracking links on all your favorite products, enabling you to monetize all the content you are creating anyway. Vloggers and Instagrammers: you can optimize with these tools, too. We've got you covered. Don't wait until you've got a certain amount of followers or think because you might be newer to blogging that affiliate monetization isn't for you. Starting to consistently create affiliate links from day one ensures you'll grow your revenue as you scale your following. Bonus: you’ll also have insights into products and brands your users click and purchase. You can use this information to help guide some of your content and glean insights into consumer trends. You’re now empowered to be a consumer expert AND you are making money.

OPTIONS, OPTIONS, OPTIONS 

 While you are creating content with all those affiliate links, don't forget to give your readers options. We all obviously want the gorgeous Chloé crossbody bag you are rocking in your post, but your readers may have budgets that fall on the lower end of the spectrum. Use widgets to create options at the bottom of each post to give options at multiple price points. This is also a great tool when you are showcasing something from a past season or if you focus on vintage. Experts tell me that the rule of thumb is to have three to five options on the primary focal piece in your post. That amount of product is digestible for readers and manageable for you. Plus, you can just plug in your search term into ShopStyle and voilà! Options galore. You are welcome.

THINK MOBILE

We all know that converting users to make purchases on mobile is challenging, and that really is a bummer considering more and more users are spending time consuming your content on mobile. It’s time to get creative. One idea could be to create a newsletter signup so you can email users links to what you've worn. Make sure you stay up to date as new innovations roll out to get your users shopping on their smartphones. Challenge your affiliate partner to give you mobile monetizing options. Don't forget your mobile ad placements. If you've got banners and widgets on your site, optimize some of those placements for mobile, and don't miss out on that audience. Prepare yourself — mobile money is going to be all of our BFF.

THINK BEYOND THE BLOG (AND INSTAGRAM)

Your properties are incredibly important, and you should be creating content that drives users across your various channels. That said, maybe your photos are incredible. Have you thought about marketing your photography to your clients and time as a photographer for brands to use on their content? Are you a killer stylist and could crush the styling on your favorite brand's next lookbook? Can you edit a closet or stage an insane vignette? Brands crave unique content ideas. Get experience doing something that sets you apart from the pack as you grow your business. Offer those services to small brands or powerful influencers that you align with, build your portfolio, and barter for social and blog post mentions while you grow. You'll make deep relationships that will last a lifetime. You’ll benefit from editorial features and social mentions that will help you scale and gain experience that makes you totally unique.

Bonus tip: not all payments happen to be made via money. Social currency is incredibly valuable when scaling your presence online. If a brand doesn't have a budget to work with you but you know that brand is an ideal partner, think about how to make it worth your while. Trade content for features on their various channels. Make the content and social exchange a recurring feature.

Through all of this, don’t forget to have fun. You got into this world to create your own business, so enjoy the process and remember to savor the wins and view challenges as opportunities to push your skill set and learn. Cheesy but true: in my experience, the hardest challenges I’ve come up against have made me smarter, made me faster, and allowed me to score higher revenue opportunities than before.

Hilary Sloan leads ShopStyle’s East Coast business development team and works with top brands like Net-a-Porter.com, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Barneys New York to monetize via affiliate and creative partnerships. In building relationships with brands and working with ShopStyle and ShopStyle Collective’s blogger community, she realized that many young bloggers don’t quite have the tools to get started on building their business. She’s spoken in the past at Create + Cultivate, IFB, and other blogger conferences on the topic of monetization, revenue, and brand partnerships. When not at ShopStyle, Hilary can be found applying all her skills to her own mini influencer, her dog, Ella Bean.

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Why Genevieve Padalecki Says the World Is a Crazy Place Right Now

Rocking a black "We Should All Be Feminists" tee on Saturday at Create & Cultivate Seattle, digital darling Genevieve Padalecki took to the Microsoft stage to chat all things tag, snap, story, and social. 

Though the Cali-native, who now calls Texas home, admits she's relatively new to the social game,   she's clearly caught onto the rules. Genevieve boasts a highly engaged audience-- woman's got a 25% engagement rate. If you're wondering what that means, know it's relatively unheard of in the blogging world. 

So what does the actress (she's classically trained), blogger (of Now and Gen), mom (of three), and wife (she met husband Jared on the set of Supernatural) think about this crazy, social world we live in? We found out. From how often she posts to her thoughts on political content, you've got to read through! 

You launched your blog this year and saw immediate success.  As part of the launch strategy you worked with skincare brand Elemis and crashed their site with a giveaway you hosted, thats MAJOR!.... How has the transition been going from social only content to long form blogs?  

It’s been really surreal! I loved working with Elemis as I actually love their products, so it felt like an organic partnership that was really natural and aligned. Also, I’m breastfeeding currently as I have a 6 month old and so I’m really cautious of beauty brands that are low chemical and more natural. We decided to host a giveaway on the blog as part of our launch strategy - my followers really love a giveaway, and it was fun to create a space for them to participate! Yes, they actually BROKE the link in bio on Instagram...we were all trying to figure out why the link wasn’t working and TONS of comments were coming in, and after a LOT of confusion we figured out that they crashed the site where the giveaway was hosted! Pretty crazy!

I enjoy creating long format content because I get to tell more of a story. Long form blogs provide a space for narrative to build and for people to go deeper...I always think of social as a “tease” and a great place to foster community, but long form blogs are a DESTINATION where you can drive people and encourage them to go deeper...which is really fun in the beauty space, because we’re always looking to discover new products...but I especially love it for some more of the emotional pieces, like blogs about parenting, or an open letter that my husband wrote to our 3 children on the blog which was really rad too. The letter really moved people and was WAY too long for a social post!

"Authenticity always wins. Be unapologetic about who you are, and have no fear."

Tweet this. 

What’s changed the way you create content the most in the past year? Do you love it or hate it?

I am really new to the social media game. I officially launched my Instagram prior to my blog earlier this year in March, and became really strategic about what I wanted to post about and promote. I had been private on Instagram for a while, but figured it was time!

We all know video is happening with IG LIVE and Facebook Live and algorithms propping up video the most. How are you all using it to build your businesses?

I only post once per day, and try to get more active in stories. I use my static “feed” as a place to post more curated things, and photos that I want to have a level of “permanance.” I use IG Stories to post what’s happening in real time, mainly of the kids eating...there is always a TON of food! I’m a big foodie and I love to cook, so that content tends to go there. Kids and food. LOL.

From a business perspective, your audience wants to really connect authentically. Videos, especially in stories since they delete after 24 hours, gives people a really inside look. I’ve seen a lot of engagement in stories, as well as fans screenshotting the stories because it’s much more intimate, fleeting, almost uncensored….there used to be a lot of focus on curating a gorgeous feed, which is still important, but there is so much connectivity in IG Stories, Boomerangs, videos...it’s also a place where I share my thoughts on the political climate or what’s happening in Texas (with the hurricane, for example).

There’s literally a million places we could be sharing content if we wanted. How do you decide what platforms to use? And what type of content goes where?

Social media is kind of like hosting a party. If you are creating an experience for your people, they will hang out there with you. It can be anywhere you are really, heavily engaged. Which is why there are “experts” in each space - youtube, pinterest, etc. Instagram is where I hang out because it’s the platform I’m most interested and engaged with personally.

"People are really looking for permission to be real."

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As a mother who shares these amazing moments with your family, how do you decide what to share and how to share it when it comes to your family? Do you stick to any self made rules?

Personally, I try to be as open as I can about motherhood being messy. My most vulnerable posts, when I felt like I SURVIVED through a day, have gotten some of the most beautiful and best responses. I think people are really looking for permission to be real. I want to create a safe space and open up some of that dialogue.

I decided to launch my new blogging business while I was 9 months pregnant, I basically gave birth to my new baby and my blog at the same time. It hasn’t been easy, and I don’t want to hide that. There is a level of perfection that people try to project on social media, since everything is so highly curated. I love a pretty picture too, but I also try to balance brand partnerships and the curated stuff that I shoot with a photographer with a selfie I shot at midnight breastfeeding my baby and zoning out to Bravo. We all can be a little more vulnerable.

You’ve collaborated with brands, you’ve put political issues into the work, which as a new content creator that can be scary-- how are you deciding on content and what you want to put out into the world?

One of my first collaborations straight out of the gate was with Pop & Suki. One of my friends is a co-founder, and when Odette was born, we decided to announce our baby name on a heart keychain with the brand and created a space for others to personalize hearts with their names on it. 50% of proceeds went to the Human Rights Foundation, and the other 50% went to Planned Parenthood. We raised over $200,000 for these causes.

Not everyone is going to like what you stand for. And that’s fine, because there are enough people out there who will show up and stand beside you to do what’s right. The world is in a really crazy place right now, and anything I can do to spread awareness I will show up and do. Maybe it will reach one person, or two, or three...that is the beauty of having a platform. Use your platform for good.

I’m constantly amazed about how many brands are aligning with more causes every day. People are really conscious right now, and awake. They want to know they are spending money with a brand who is doing something to better the world.

I also worked with SECRET who launched a new campaign about transgender people, and what it must feel like for them to walk into a restroom and feel judged. That is a reality for many people, and something that should be shared and neutralized.

Any final advice for all the content creators out there in handling whatever gets thrown their way next?

Authenticity always wins. Be unapologetic about who you are, and have no fear. Perfection is bullshit, just find your voice and have a vision for what you want to create. Make sure to stand for something. That’s how you will find your tribe, keep giving, consistently.

Photo Credit: Smith House Photography/Alyssa Dawson Photography

Arianna Schioldager is Editor-in-Chief at Create & Cultivate. You can find her here. 

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The Top 3 Questions All New Bloggers Should Ask Themselves

photo credit: Blame It on Mei 

With a degree in graphic design and a masters in business admin, Mei Jorge, the Cuban-born blogger behind the fashion blog Blame It on Mei, had her pick of careers.  But the Miami-based fashionista shares that, "It is very gratifying to know that I can inspire women to look and feel their best no matter the price tag, age, lifestyle, or even personal circumstances. Even though I love graphic design and have had a lot of fun in that career, I have always been passionate about fashion."

For years she skirted around the suggestion from friends that she should start a blog. "I pushed that idea aside," she explains. "Only to find myself wondering 'what if' a few years later. I finally took that big step and I couldn’t be happier about doing so."

We caught up with Mei to talk the importance of design, why her style is steeped in the traditions of Latin women, and the three questions new bloggers need to ask themselves. 

How does your background play into your content? 

My feminine style is flavored with the traditions of the Latin women. In our culture, feeling sassy is intertwined with timeless style, and our days are bursting with vibrant colors and music. Because Miami is an extension of my Cuban background, it’s easy for the customs, colors, and cuisine to inspire my colorful looks. Even when I wear muted or neutral tones, I always add a pop of color. 

What is it about the Miami blogging scene that is different from the rest of the country?

Miami is such a dynamic and eclectic city. There is always something to do, a new place to see, or a new restaurant to try. Events like Art Basel and Swim Week have made the Miami fashion scene one not to miss.  And because of our coveted beaches, warm climate, and especially large blogging community, many brands choose it as their destination to host events or launch products.

Since you studied Graphic Design, how important is a logo? 

A logo is one of THE most important aesthetics of a brand. That is how your audience will visually identify you so I strongly suggest with a professional if you are unsure about where to start.

How much time did you spend designing your own site? And what are some tenets of site-building that you think bloggers should consider? 

Initially, I took a few days to research, design, add widgets, and customize it to my needs. I am always trying to improve it, which makes it an ongoing project. Because of my graphic design background, I obviously had an advantage. However, building a website is not only about the pretty aesthetics. Finding a good host, searching for the right customizable template, whilst also learning the ins and outs of your publishing platform, takes time. If you are somewhat savvy, you can try to build it yourself but even then it takes time. It will probably take more time than if you hire a professional.

How did some of your first partnerships come about? Did you reach out to brands with a media kit? Did they reach out to you?

Most of my first partnerships reached out to me directly.  At that point in my blogging journey, I was hesitant to reach out to any brand. After I gained some confidence and became member of a few blogging communities, I finally designed my media kit and reached out to some of my favorite brands.

How are you working to evolve your brand? 

My brand is an extension of myself, my style, and my personality. By being consistent, adding value to my content, and being relatable to my followers, I keep true to my mission; which is to inspire women to be confident in their daily lives.

"I keep true to my mission; which is to inspire women to be confident in their daily lives."

Tweet this.

photo credit: Blame It on Mei

What is the “big picture” goal for you as a blogger?

I would love to work with a large retailer to create and design my own line of clothing and accessories. As an influencer, this would be a huge accomplishment and the climax of the hard work and dedication I have put into my brand. 

Where do you think the blog/influencer world is heading?

The blog/influencer world is experiencing a growth phase that will eventually reach maturity. Currently, brands and influencers alike are learning that influencer marketing will become more meaningful in the years to come. This type of marketing will take over traditional mediums, it’s just a matter of time for brands who are not already aware, to grasp the concept.

What tips and tools are you using in your day-to-day to keep up with the changing world of social?

I try to keep myself informed, thus I am constantly researching the newest changes to the different platforms. But more importantly, I see what my audience responds to. At the end of the day, social media may change but I want to stay as loyal to my followers as they are to me.

"Social media may change but I want to stay as loyal to my followers as they are to me."

Tweet this. 

Are you utilizing stories on IG?

Yes, I am really enjoying it and so are my followers. It can be hard to connect to your audience with a still image, but through the Stories feature, your followers get to know you on a one-on-one basis. They get to relate to your everyday life and see that you are no different than them. 

If someone wanted to start a blog today, what are the top three questions you think they should ask themselves before they get started?

1.  What is the main reason why I want to start a blog? Be specific; do you love writing and want a book deal? Do you have an on-air personality and want to be on TV? Do you want to help others? 

2.  Can I commit to blogging consistently? Blogging is a very self-sacrificing career, but it definitely comes with very rewarding opportunities and experiences. But if you want to grow your blog, commitment is a trait you will need to possess. 

3.  Am I willing to work hard? Blogging is hard work. It takes many hours in a week to plan your editorial calendar, reply to emails, pitch to brands, be active in your social media channels, prepping for a photo shoot, among other tasks. But with dedication and commitment you will reap the benefits. 

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5 Blogger Tips That Are Anything But Basic

photo credit: Pop Sugar

The sheer number of articles written about how to be a blogger proves at least two points:

1. That it is not as simple as taking a pretty picture and;

2. That there are a lot of people trying to be bloggers

We all know by now that it's not an easy job. So we’ve rounded up some of our favorite tips and tricks from past C&C speakers and bloggers we love.

1. Courtney Kerr says to keep it personal. Do you need to build your own app? Maybe not.

“I am a human and I’m not an app. If I want a nail apt I don’t mind downloading an app. If I want a car to come pick me up, that’s an app thing. I think an app takes away the personal encounter I have with my readers and almost seem like I'm saying, 'Well you’re not good enough to interact with me on Kerrently.com'— it takes all the personal out of it.”

The blogger and influencer says a large part of your success happens in that personal space. Don’t overlook that.

2. Caroline Harper Knapp of House of Harper says that to work your analytics you have to pay attention to where people are spending time.

What does that mean? In this multi-screen economy, really figure out where people are spending chunks of time digesting your content. The blogger says: “Your Google analytics can tell you where readers are looking at your content— mobile or desktop. Make sure that everything is just as user-friendly on a smartphone as it is your site." She also notes that" People really want to consume content via video."

The mom and influencer echoes what Kerr has to say about apps and personalization. “People want to see you and hear your voice. They want to know you. That’s a focus for us right now. Asking my audience to download something feels like too many steps."

3. Olivia Watson of Livvyland says to really focus on mobile experience.

Mobile is the gateway to your blog. If people are having an enjoyable experience with your content on their phone, they are more likely to convert to online (computer) readers.

“I would focus on having a really great mobile experience. And then call it a day. If your site is built the right way it will update across all of your platforms,” Watson shares. 

4. Build your email list from the start.

Everyone is very (verrrry) focused on growing their follower count, but zeroing in on that number isn’t the only thing you should train your sights on.

Your email list should be your day 1. You need to get into inboxes. Social platforms are awesome, but as an influencer or blogger you are beholden to that platform. Building your own email list is the way to connect with your followers directly in the exact way you want to do it.

Plus, if you ever want to write a book? Guess what? A publisher will ask you have many email subscribers you have. It matters.

5. Scratch your own itch

This is the new twist on being authentic. You need to create content that your readers love, but you also need to create content that is real to you.

Don’t look to the left or right of you when it comes to creating content. Hone in on what you’re good at and build a base from there. Austin-based blogger Camille Styles is great at this. She shares, "We want to empower women and show our readers how to be the healthiest happiest they can be. Topics around wellness and mental health are really important to us. Those have been some of the topics that perform the best.”

Arianna Schioldager is Editor-in-Chief at Create & Cultivate. You can follow her @ariannawrotethis. 

Do you have any great tips for blogging? Sharing is caring below.

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3 Top Fashion Bloggers Dish on the Behind-the-Scenes Reality

Jacey Duprie of Damsel in Dior (photo credit: Alexandra Gibbs)

Blogging has come under scrutiny every which way to Sunday over the last five years. From those wondering about the longevity of the career, to sticker shock at six-figure endorsement deals between top bloggers and brands, like the recently reported $500,000 paycheck between Aimee Song and Laura Mercier, to those harsher critics who question if blogging is a career at all. 

The shade, thrown from all corners of the www, is partially due to the shrouded nature of blog life. Is it real? Is it authentic? Just how much are people making for a photograph? For a long time bloggers were hush hush about their income and sponsored posts. Only recently has disclosure emerged as a trend-- from bloggers wanting to get out in front of the story and those who truly believe in transparency. 

From the other side of the keyboard, bloggers appear to have it all. Work from home. Freebies. Invites all of the wold and the fancy events. But top-tier bloggers— those making over $10k/month only account for about 4% of the industry, and on the low-end, they aren't making anything at all. 42% of bloggers work full-time or part-time in a non-blogging job and are committing nights and weekends to the endeavor hoping that hard work, time, and determination will pay off. 

Jacey Duprie, journalist turned blogger, started her blog Damsel in Dior in 2009. Two years later, in 2011, she left her job to pursue blogging full-time, and the switch from traditional media to blogging was no cake walk. “To anyone who says blogging is easy and is all about simply taking pretty pictures,” she says, “I challenge them to try doing it for one month, or just follow me around for a week and I’ll prove you wrong.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by many in the blog world. 

Amanda Holstein who runs the popular modern-day advice column, Advice From a 20-Something says, “Most of blogging consists of sitting behind a computer and running your own business. I spend a lot more time than I anticipated managing the business side of things, like tracking and projecting revenue, securing campaigns, tracking expenses, etc..” 

Amanda Holstein of Advice from a 20-Something (photo credit: Andrea Posadas)

She also brings up the difficulties of freelancing. To be your own hype person is a strange job and while Instagram and Snapchat show the fun side of blogging, AKA “the photoshoots, the trips, the events,” Amanda says, “most of blogging consists of sitting behind a computer and running your own business.” 

Jacey sums it the difficulties as such: “In a nutshell: Invoicing and accounting is hard. Losing friends is harder. Hate forums suck (especially when they rip on your parents). Traveling alone is lonely. Fashion week is worse than figuring out which lunch table to sit at in high school. And it’s reshooting product because the brand didn’t want you to wear the color pink but they didn’t tell you not to wear the color pink until after you scheduled time with a photographer, waited out the rain to finally get the picture perfect sunset shot of an outfit you spent weeks planning…”  

 “Fashion week is worse than figuring out which lunch table to sit at in high school.”

Tweet this. 

Amanda says another difficult aspect of running a blog is the solo time. “ It's tough not having someone around to bounce ideas off of. Even just having someone to listen while I talk through some of my thoughts and ideas would be so helpful.” 

Daniela Ramirez who runs the Miami-based English/Spanish fashion blog Nany’s Klozet says that by the time she’s done explaining her job to someone, “they don’t have any words.” 

“I do a lot more than take pictures. Taking blog photos is just a portion. I don’t have a manager, I don’t have an assistant. I answer at least 50 emails a day- from brands/PR companies wanting to work together and readers asking style/blog advice. I do all my management: negotiating with brands, invoices, follow-ups, etc. Every shoot is half planned (we do a lot of improvising), but since there are deadlines, we have to stay organized on what needs to be shot and were. We are also journalists; we write, we research. Some blogposts need graphics. When I do Youtube videos: planning, producing, editing…it’s a lot.”

“I do a lot more than take pictures. Taking blog photos is just a portion."

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That doesn’t even include the actual blogging she says. “Putting the post together, editing the photos, arranging the html in both languages, linking to each store.” The final cherry on top is the social media. You have to make sure “you update all networks with relevant content on each one.” 

Daniela Ramirez of Nany's Klozet 

If you take into consideration the rate at which someone scrolls past an Instagram photo, casually making the decision to like or not to like (that is the question of this digital age), the amount of BTS work that goes into curating and crafting is almost crazy. 

Throw in the competition and the number of new fashion bloggers that get added to the sphere daily, and it’s amazing there aren’t more stories of blogger burnout. The pressure to be on top of trends and be early adapters mounts with every passing day. Bloggers constantly have to give their fan base what they want, stay authentic, and at the same time, keep content from getting boring. Many of them are also paying their photographers out of pocket. 

Daniella says she likes to travel with a photographer because the shoots end up more natural, however, when she’s home she says, “I have to shoot about 3-4 outfits at a time because I am scheduling— and paying for— a photographer’s time.”

There are countless sites telling bloggers just how to make money. Focus on content that other outlets ignore. Make sure that you develop your photography and social media skills— AKA become the queen of appropriate hashtagging and engaging your audience— and focus on quantity and quality. As a blogger you are both king of the social media jungle as well as its most vulnerable prey. If you aren’t producing, you’re losing. There aren’t many professions that require such a constant outpouring of content, and it is exhausting. 

"As a blogger you're both king of the social media jungle as well as its most vulnerable prey."

Tweet this.

And yet, it's a career that most fashion bloggers are reluctant to give up at this point. For Jacey she sticks with it because, quite simply, "it works." And there are few modern jobs that don't require more than a 40-hour work week commitment. 

But if you think blogging is taking a photo and that "anyone can do it," think again friends. 

Arianna Schioldager is the editorial director of Create & Cultivate. She has never once thought she could be a blogger. 

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Damsel in Dior Shares Her Secret to Success

Photo credit: Frankie Marin via Damsel in Dior 

Jacey Duprie is a journalist turned blogger who started Damsel in Dior in 2009. Two years later she turned the creative project into a full time job. The name is not "a misnomer" as her site explains, but rather "symbolic of a lifestyle --to never feel like a damsel in distress."

With a B.A. in Communications {Journalism} with a minor in Professional Writing from DePaul University, Chicago, her background gives her a certain edge over other bloggers. Creating interesting and engaging content is a skill and hers has attracted the attention of brands like Saks, GAP/Old Navy, and Levis. She's also contributed to Vanity Fair and Forbes among other publications. 

We caught up with Jacey ahead of #CreateCultivateATL where she'll be joining us panel. Read through to learn about her transition from journalism to blogging, finding her true calling, and the very simple place she finds the secret to success.  

How was your transition of growing up next to cotton fields in Texas and then transitioning to the city as a journalist? 

Outside of the heartbreaking homesickness for my family, the transition was a seamless one. Because I have always kept a journal and have considered myself an aspiring writer early on in my life, moving to Chicago just after high school came easy. Yes, there were times when the city annoyed me. The honking horns and fast paced lifestyle were much different than life on the farm. However, it wasn’t a big transition for me because I was simply moving to a city that suited my personality and career path more than living in Taft, Texas.

You have mentioned that at one point, you felt lost while exploring your personalities. How did you find clarity in who you wanted to be?

I find that it is very obvious when you discover what it is that you are meant to do in life. Prior to discovering my true love for writing and working on Damsel in Dior, I didn’t see the writing on the wall. The clarity came when I realized and accepted that this was something I wanted to wake up and do each and every day. My dad always told me to find a career that made me want to get out of bed feeling happy every day. This is that thing for me. I believe that I found clarity when I was excited to jump out of the bed day after day to rush to my laptop and get to work.

Your resume has the likes of NBC, WGN, and E! News, which is pretty impressive. What is your advice to girls that want to follow the journalistic route?

First, I would ask them to take a close look at why they want to become a journalist. Writing for NBC or WGN is no cake-walk. You’ll need to study journalism in college and hit the internships early and hard. I had so many internships in college that I stopped receiving credit for them, but I worked for free because I was so eager to learn. It was actually due to these experiences that I realized I did not want to be a traditional journalist, but a writer and creator. Just because you start walking down one path doesn’t mean you will not end on another, but that is what is fun about exploring careers.

"Just because you start walking down one path doesn’t mean you will not end on another."

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Photo credit: Frankie Marin via Damsel in Dior 

Everyone is always given a sugarcoated piece of advice for their career. What is one piece of career advice that you wish you had gotten that you ended up learning the hard way?

Say “No.” Also, the secret of success is found in your daily routine.

What things did you learn in the world of journalism that you have applied to your business with Damsel in Dior (both with skillets and business strategies)? 

In my college courses, journalism ethics and standards were heavily enforced. This is a code of integrity that Damsel in Dior has adopted. Damsel in Dior does not accepts products of sponsored posts from companies that would not otherwise post about and all of my opinions are my own. Also, I learned to always proof read an e-mail before sending it and to never underestimate the power of picking up the phone and making a cold call.

"The secret of success is found in your daily routine."

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Do you think the blogging world will remain more lucrative than journalism? 

The unfortunate reality of the journalism industry is that the sources are having a harder and harder time holding readers’ attention. Journalism and blogging are both supported by advertising and advertising dollars go where the readers are, which are blogs and social feeds. I think this will remain true because people want reliable and easy information quickly which is what blogs offer.

What makes you stick with it?

It works. 

More from our blog:

Is a Social Media Presence More Powerful Than a Degree?

It started with an Instagram post. "I remember the old days when you needed a degree and a resume to get a job. Now you need 10k followers and a mediocre blog." 

It's a little painful to read because there is some truth to it. 

Let's look at the numbers first, because based on these alone, it appears much more lucrative to focus on growing a following. (Don't despair yet.)

The graduating class of 2015 was the most indebted in history. Prior to 2015, the graduating class of 2014 was the most indebted in history. Sense a pattern? As of March 2015, according to the Federal Reserve, the outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. stood at $1.27 trillion, and that number is only expected to grow.

That's right. Not millions. Not billions. This is literally a trillion dollar issue. 

Complicating this problem is that according to government data published by Edvisors.com, the average graduate in 2015 had about $35,000 in student loan debt, double what it was in the late nineties. The number of students taking out student loans has also increased sizably. In the nineties less than half of college graduates had taken out student loans. Today, over 70% of students leave school in the hole. 

Adding insult to costly injury, guess what the average starting salary was for the class of 2015? According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers the average starting salary for those with liberal arts degrees (think most creatives) is under $38k. See the prob?

If your loan is 35k and your starting salary is approximately the same, how long do you think it's going to take to pay off that debt? Outstanding debt of this magnitude prevents the new working class from saving for retirement. It delays marriage and first home purchases. 

It also has many asking, WTF? Should I have grown a following instead? And: 

Is a social media presence more powerful than a degree?

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While studies show that college graduates consistently earn more than students with only a high school degree, this matter is complicated by research that suggests that while the Millennial generation is the best-educated in history, they are not earning more than earlier generations of young adults. According to the Pew Research Center the overall median earnings of today's Millenials are not that much different than the earnings of the Early Boomers ($34,833), Gen Xers ($32,173) or the Silents ($30,982). 

And while the numbers still suggest that overall, college is a smart investment, we can't deny that there is extreme economic disparity between what a degree will get you and what a huge following can offer. Or even what a medium-sized following can produce. An Instagram user with 100k followers and decent engagement can earn 5k for a post-- and that is on the low end of the scale. Some bloggers are making 100k a month.  

Though most bloggers zealously guard their income, Reward Style, the affiliate marketing network that helps bloggers monetize their content, keeps data on their top performers. They report these bloggers can make $80k per month on affiliate sales alone. Add in paid IG posts, brand deals, and book deals that come from strategic content, and you're looking at a revenue stream previously reserved for top business-people-- those with college degrees or masters. 

But while these blogs have turned musings into a business, it will always be the bloggers who understand the who, what, why, and how of their brand that will be the most successful. They are the ones that understand the numbers beyond the following. 

It's yet to be seen how this will play out, but there is a system of checks and balances seemingly in place. Sure graduates with student debt are starting careers from a disadvantageous position-- saddled by debt that effects nearly everything. But what they should be banking on, and working toward, is career longevity. Their salary, while initially low, will grow. 

A blogger's career -- or rather, an Instagrammer with a large following-- might be making big dollar deposits in their life bank now, but there are a few inherent sustainability issues. One-- technology is always changing, and the ability to retain followers across multiple platforms so that you're giving a brand proven ROI is growing increasingly difficult. It's why we often hear successful bloggers at Create & Cultivate tell the audience that a high follower count should not be your end goal. Two-- in a more standard job market, you cannot put a junior employee in a senior position. Same cannot be said for bloggers.

A lot of followers is not a business plan.

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A blogger's career is in many ways much more precarious, in the same way a models' has always been; there is always someone younger, more connected, more tapped in, and ready to pull that Boucherouite rug right out from under your #shoefie. 

While majoring in #selfies might feel like the career move to make (at least if King Kylie has a say), the best idea is to get a degree, simultaneously grow your following, and then use those blog dollars to pay off your student debt. 

Arianna Schioldager is Create & Cultivate's editorial director. You can find her on IG @ariannawrotethis and more about her at this site she never updates www.ariannawrotethis.com

The Blogging Business Key Nobody Is Talking About

Being a style publisher in 2016 is a multi-faceted job if there ever was one. Creating blog posts, photoshoots, running a website, liaising with brands, networking, researching, snapping, Instagramming, and more - all within a week’s work. If you categorize all these tasks, you’ll see they fall into three block pillars: Content, Business Management, and Tech.

This division is technically right, but it doesn’t identify the most crucial factor: that all three pillars overlap, and understanding the intrinsic relationship between them is the key towards the longevity of your blogging business.

So what is this mysterious intersection between the pillars of your business? And why is it important to understand and develop it?

WHAT IS THIS MYSTERIOUS INTERSECTION BETWEEN THE PILLARS OF YOUR BUSINESS?

Translating an overarching business vision through your digital presence is the one thing most publishers should consider when thinking of all the tasks their job entails. And it’s not even their fault. To put it simply, nobody in the industry is really acknowledging it. Well, almost nobody.

I launched my company, chloédigital, when it became clear to me that there was a gap between the fashion and tech worlds that was stopping great publishers from moving forward. Through our membership, my team and I now offer bloggers access to an all-rounded support system to strengthen their personal brands and power their online empires.

At chloédigital we look after some of the most successful blogs in the industry and the common factor that makes top-tier bloggers stand out from the competition is very clear: their business vision is holistic and cohesive.

Working closely with leading influencers around the world (a few of which will be panelists and mentors beside me at C+C DTLA!) has put me in a unique position to gain insights on the fashion industry whilst still having a foot in the tech world myself.  I have seen first hand how working with a multidisciplinary tech and strategy team can be a pivotal point to grow a blogger’s online authority. But there is still much more to be done in terms of connecting all aspects of an influencer’s presence and decisions, on and offline. Working with a PR agency on one end and a tech team on the opposite end, with any content decisions torn in the middle, is just not an efficient way of approaching your business anymore.

The future of digital publishing lays within integrating every team and detail cohesively to reach new goals.

A very extended misconception about style publishers is that, as mainly creative professionals, content creation is the aspect of their business that drives most of their strategic decisions. But the reality in digital publishing is that, when there is a disconnect between the technical and creative side, it is actually the technical side that holds the veto power in key decisions. Let me give you a couple of examples of things that are commonly heard:

“I would love to add a new awesome functionality to my blog that I’m sure my community would love, but I’ve never seen anything like it so I doubt I can do that on my site,” or “I was very excited about the new style of blog post I published recently but it seems my readers didn’t respond very well to it; I’m not quite sure how to look deeper into these reasons, so I will just go back to standard content”.

Great ideas, content, and opportunities for innovation that get lost in translation as soon as a tech barrier is encountered. This is exactly why bridging the gap between fashion and technology is essential in order to keep digital publishing thriving. When there is seamless communication between content creators, agents, sponsors, designers, developers - that is when new things can be both conceptualized and well executed.

"Bridging the gap between fashion and tech is essential to keep digital publishing thriving." 

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If you’re a style publisher truly looking to create a sustainable business, stop thinking of tech and fashion as opposites. Connect your teams, think always big, and start creating a multidisciplinary space within your working process that allows you to push boundaries.

Your Blog Is Money and You Don't Even Know It

SO YOU'VE GOT A BLOG.  

Your analytics are telling you that people are reading your content. Now you know you want to make the leap into monetization on your website without losing your authentic voice. What’s next?

AFFILIATE MARKETING.

I know it doesn’t sound sexy, but I can assure you, it is. This is your gateway to $$$!

Affiliate marketing at its core is simply placing trackable links within your content to get paid when your users shop. Aside from the obvious benefit of getting paid for promoting products you already love, affiliate marketing will give you data around your shoppers’ behaviors. This data will be crucial for you as you learn about your demographic. You’ll gain insights into what products and brands your readers respond to. You can then use these statistics and success stories as part of your media kit and story when speaking to brands and marketing yourself. You’ve just armed yourself to become an insanely professional, money-making machine.

[define it: Affiliate Marketing: At its core this practice is simply placing trackable links within your content to get paid when your users shop.]

You are probably wondering where you go to get these mysterious monetizable links. If you haven’t already, create an account on ShopStyle Collective, ShopStyle’s influencer network. You’re going to be able to access links, data on your link performance, and insights into your shoppers’ behaviors in one handy login. There’s even an app so you can monetize on the go!

Now that you’ve got your ShopStyle Collective account, there are a variety of ways to create links. You can do so within the interface, use the toolbar link generator, or create widgets for your blog. It’s fairly self-explanatory.

Now that we’ve discussed why and how, let’s talk about the most important issue: where.

You don’t want your site to look like one big advertisement, nor do you want to miss out on opportunities to earn revenue. The goal with affiliate marketing is to build upon content you are creating organically and simply add another layer of visual interest, while driving your readers to brands and products you love.

"The goal with affiliate marketing is to build upon content you are creating organically."

 

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Affiliate marketing also gives you a lens through which to think about your content calendar — do you want to create entire style guides for a season with looks for every occasion? Link those products! Create gift guides for holidays and special occasions. I personally love content where bloggers create how-tos and share ideas for how to wear trends or incorporate statement pieces. One of my favorite bloggers, The12ish Style, does a series where she re-creates celebrity looks in her own unique style. I actually just bought a sweater today from one of these posts (proof they actually work!).

KEY TIPS FOR PLACING LINKS 

Make sure you are hyperlinking any photographs on your blog to the primary item you are showcasing.

• Always use text and hyperlink, describing your products right underneath the top photo of your post — many readers won’t scroll down to read your entire post.

• Hyperlink any text that describes a product throughout your post.

• Provide alternatives — if you are showing a $2,000 Chloé bag, you can contrast that with a more affordable bag in a similar style as an added opportunity to drive traffic and convert your readers into shoppers.

Another great spot for links is within a scrolling widget beneath your post. ShopStyle Collective’s widget helps you generate a scrolling visual where you can add multiple product options beneath each post. These products can be directly related to your content or they can be another place to get fun and creative. Let’s say you are posting an amazing recipe for truffle french fries or a crazy-cool birthday cake. You can include your favorite cooking tools, new apron, dishes, or serving pieces in the widget beneath the post to impart additional visuals, stylish objects, and drive more traffic to shopping partners. The idea here is to give your readers access to your aspirational lifestyle, which they already want to re-create for themselves (and their own Instagrams).

One more idea: use the widgets for vacation packing lists — so necessary (and shoppable) with all the summer travel opportunities right around the corner!

Hilary Sloan leads ShopStyle’s North American business development team and works with top brands like Net-a-Porter.com, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Barneys New York to monetize via affiliate and creative partnerships. In building relationships with brands and working with ShopStyle and ShopStyle Collective’s blogger community, she realized that many young bloggers don’t quite have the tools to get started on building their business. She’s spoken in the past at Create + Cultivate, IFB, and other blogger conferences on the topic of monetization, revenue, and brand partnerships. When not at ShopStyle, Hilary can be found applying all her skills to her own mini influencer, her dog, Ella Bean.