If you have been thinking about starting a blog during the pandemic, here are some tips and advice from the experts.
House of Misu
1)What date did you post your first blog?
Oh I wish I knew the exact date but it was in 2011
2) Perception vs Reality: Could you summarise or send us a photo of the reality vs perception of blogging?
People think it’s all glamour and privilege when actually a lot of hard work goes in at the back end to have a successful career in this space. You have to be able to multitask many skills and there aren’t really any days off unless you actively force yourself to take them.
3) How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?
These days we have not been as active as we should. The circumstances have made us a bit complacent and my pregnancy does tire me out on days. But during normal times , we work on average 31 hours a week each. It really helps to have a partner to split the burden.
4) How do you deal with haters?
We fortunately have an amazing set of followers and rarely ever get hate or negativity on our pages. If we ever do get a negative comment or dm , we address it with kindness- while explaining the misunderstanding or asking for the writer to refrain from adding to this digital environment of pulling people down without just cause.
5)What’s one thing you wish you knew when you first started out?
I wish we were less naive because we were taken advantage of by those who had more experience in the industry. But to be honest , every experience is an opportunity to learn and be better so I have no real regrets.
Any advice to the millenials out there who are just starting their blogs?
To them I say work with integrity , do not fall into the rat trap of buying fake followers and likes nor should you be overly dependent on those likes and followers for your own mental sanity. Respect yourself , the platform and your followers. Don’t feel compelled to show skin for likes , it may help you grow faster but at what cost and with what kind of audience ?!
Be true to your own usp and be patient.
Scherezade Shroff
1)What date did you post your first page?
I have no idea hahah. I started my main youtube channel in November 2013. Before this I had a text blog called Fashionalized and I was on another channel with a network called ‘Fashion Tube’.. so 8 years ago!
2) Perception vs Reality: Could you summarise or send us a photo of the reality vs perception of content creation?
Perception- It is a very glamorous industry and you get a lot of freebies and it is all about travel, glamour and an easy life. Of course, it is a part of it but it is not all of it. People tend to forget about the whole process of content creation and think it is a huge production whereas it is just a small team creating the content. Recently I posted a picture of myself on Instagram with my laptop, phone, camera, and a mirror on a tripod trying to execute a video and that is the sad reality of it. Yes you do get freebies and you do get invited to travel and all these fun events happening across. There is a lot of hard work that goes into this and people tend to disregard!
3) How many hours per week do you dedicate to your page?
I pretty much work 7 days a week and from the minute I wake up, I open my laptop and get to work. Most days I am working till dinner time whether it is calls, shooting, editing something or the other is always happening. You don’t really get a break when you work for yourself and it has its pros and cons. You don’t realize you are working a lot of times when you are actually working. Many people are not getting used to this work from home situation now but I think for us content creators it has been our reality for a while and we tend to be more productive in the current situation.
4) How do you deal with haters?
I usually respond to most hate comments telling them that I will not tolerate rudeness or any type of hate speech on my platforms because it is not cool! More often enough people do change their opinions and apologize for being rude and what they said was not exactly what they meant.
5)What’s one thing you wish you knew when you first started out? Any advice to the Millenials out there who are just starting their blogs?
Honestly, for me, youtube was an accident by chance. I never knew or watched youtube videos. The network approached me and asked me to try video blogging since I was a model and I already had a text blog. I just took it on and that is when I realized my love for video content creation. I left them and started my youtube challenge and back then it was not a very commercial industry. It was very new and in India, there were only a handful of us doing youtube. It really took a while for the whole industry to come into place. So I wouldn’t say there is anything that I wish I knew before but I wish I knew about this before because I feel like I started much later as a content creator. I wish I had just started when I was like 16 because I love doing this so much and it took me a while to get here but I wish I had started earlier.
For the people just starting out, I would say just focus on the content rather than how many followers you have or you want or how much money and fame you want out of this because when you focus on those things the content suffers and probably you will not end up getting those things because the content is not good. Once the content is good, everything else will work itself out.
Sonam Babani
1)What date did you post your first blog?
1st August 2015
2) Perception vs Reality: Could you summarise or send us a photo of the reality vs perception of blogging?
REALITY
PERCEPTION
It’s a lot more hard work than it looks, all the beautiful vacation shots take a lot of preparation, finding the nice frame, dressing up (sometimes you just don’t wanna dress up on vacation), convincing my fiancé to take that last burst of images haahha!
3) How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?
40 hours or so! Really depends. With lockdown and no events things are different
4) How do you deal with haters?
I’ve been blessed to have such a great audience/following who interact with me and show me so much love that the small amount of haters really don’t matter. I feel truly blessed for the larger set of people who follow me and take my advice and show me a tonne of love
5) What’s one thing you wish you knew when you first started out? Any advice to the Millenials out there who are just starting their blogs?
I read an article a little after I started and it’s the one thing that just stuck with me, and I’d say this to anyone else starting out as well, blogging can be a thankless job when you start and it’s easy to get demotivated because initially the numbers and appreciation will both below (and with the new algorithms it’s even harder) so you’ve got to be really relentless and keep creating and posting content until the ball gets rolling. The other thing I’d definitely tell anyone starting out is to be true to yourself and put out the content you love and enjoy creating and that represents you most. Don’t get swayed by what others are doing even if they’re successful because blogging is such a personal subject that if you’re not being as much yourself as you can be you won’t be doing your best work.
The F Drug – Shivani Patil
1)What date did you post your first blog?
16th February 2015 is when I posted my first blog post. At the time I was 18 years old! I started blogging purely out of my love for fashion and creating content. I had zero intentions of it becoming my full time job.
2) Perception vs Reality: Could you summarise or send us a photo of the reality vs perception of blogging?
I think a lot of people have this perception that all influencers do is dress up and take pictures. Yes we do that but they fail to understand the hard work that goes behind each image or each video. It’s because people usually only see the final outcome and not the entire process. There is a lot of planning involved. We as influencers wear many hats. A lot of the times we are our own manager, stylist, photographer, editor and writer. A of the time we are on our laptop editing a video or images for hours and trying to sort out an overflowing email inbox. But of course there are the fun times and the perks! I love being an influencer and wouldn’t want to do anything else!
3) How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?
It really depends on the kind of week I’m having. I am essentially sharing my life on social media with my followers so you could say working all week haha! But roughly 2-3 days a week for shooting the brand related content and the rest to attend events if there are any, to edit videos and create my own content that is not brand related or sponsored.
4) How do you deal with haters?
I choose to ignore them. There are times when the hate gets to me but I try to remind myself that the hate is very small in comparison to all the love and appreciation I get from my followers and friends.
5)What’s one thing you wish you knew when you first started out? Any advice to the millennials out there who are just starting their blogs?
I wish I knew the importance of saving “No”. At times I would agree with a brands brief or the commercials they were willing to pay even though it did not align with my aesthetic/belief or even if I knew I deserved more because I would be intimidated. But over time I’ve learnt that. And for the millennials starting out I would just like to tell them to be consistent and be true to themselves and not get lost with all the content you see online. Put out original content because people want to see something different and new.
Maia Sethna
Website- https://maiasethna.in
1). What date did you post your first blog/ When did you start out as a content creator?
I probably started experimenting with Instagram and my blog 4-5 years ago, but only turned it into a career 3 years ago. I had a full time job, working with my Father’s luxury travel businesses, but decided to give my work as a content creator a real chance and registered an OPC (one person company 3 years ago) in the hope to grow and expand. My team consists of a girl I hired almost 2 years ago, to assist me with various aspects of my work and I work with a roster of freelance photographers as well.
2) Perception vs Reality: Could you summarize or send us a photo of the reality vs perception of blogging?
People perceive the industry to be very glamorous and that the work we (bloggers/ content creators) do is very minimal. However the reality of the situation is that what happens behind the scenes usually takes a great deal of hard work and effort. There is a lot of ideating and planning that takes place behind every shoot. A lot of back and forth between brands and content creators prior every assignment. We have to constantly ensure that our content is relevant, entertaining and educational. A typical day involves rushing all over the city, putting on makeup in the car and often stopping to change outfits in coffee shops. I leave the house with 3-4 bags full of clothes, shoes, accessories and other things I might need. As I have to change outfits between shoots, events and meetings. I also carry my laptop and work while I am in the car.
3) How many hours per week do you dedicate to your content creation?
It is a full time job. Some days are spent on admin work; invoicing, looking through contracts and things like that. While others are spent meeting with clients, ideating and planning upcoming shoots. Shoot days can be quite chaotic but also a lot of fun. Then there are days/ nights when I have to cover events; new products launches, fashion weeks, exhibitions etc.
4) How do you deal with haters?
Thankfully, thus far I haven’t been a recipient of much hate. Yes, there are people who can be rude and inappropriate. However if you are a content creator/blogger/model/ someone who is active on social media you have to be prepared for the occasional backlash and take it with a pinch of salt and not let it get to you. Sometimes that is easier said than done, I know. But remember there will also be a lot of love, respect, appreciation for your work and kindness from your followers and that’s what will propel you forward and encourage you to keep going!
5) What’s one thing you wish you knew when you first started out? What advice do you have to offer millennials out there that are just starting their blogs?
There are a few things I have learnt over the last few years, which I wish I had learnt sooner.
You are running a business at the end of the day, creating content for brands. There is a lot of hard work and resources that goes into what you do, so don’t be afraid to negotiate with brands and put your foot down, when necessary. Don’t let people bully you, take advantage of you or take you for a ride. Working on “barter” is fine in the beginning, but once you build a following that believes in you and resonates with your authentic voice, style and all that you stand for you are able to start charging for your work.
Remain authentic, don’t be intimidated by the numbers game i.e. how many followers you have/ why its taking so long for your following to grow. Be patient and build an organic genuine following of people who truly love and respect your work. Don’t compare yourself to others. Remember there is a cacophony of content out there, so you need to strategize how to make yours different from the rest and truly stand out.
All the best to you all, lots of love and thank you for reading!
The Cister Co
1)What date did you post your first blog?
11th May 2016
2) Perception vs Reality: Could you summarise or send us a photo of the reality vs perception of blogging?
Most people confuse modelling with blogging or don’t really understand what blogging is all about.
Reality is a lot more, right from the concept planning to bringing that concept to life is what blogging truly is.
3) How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?
We breathe day in and day out, but to be honest about three hours a day.
How do you deal with haters?
4. We send them all the love by replying back to all their comments. Deleting or blocking is no solution so accepting that we can’t please everyone is the way to move forward.
Whats one thing you wish you knew when you first started out? Any advice to the millenials out there who are just starting their blogs?
5. Consistency is something we lacked since we had multiple things happening on the side, so I feel that’s something we took a bit lightly. Wish we knew how important it was to post and stay active everyday single day.
Advise – stick to your niche. Once you’re mastered that you can plan on diversifying
Kat Diaries
1)What date did you post your first blog?
I started my first in June 2016
2) Perception vs Reality: Could you summarise or send us a photo of the reality vs perception of blogging?
What ppl see is just a few curated pics but not what does into making those pics…, there Is a good amount of strategising a campaign or a concept and then executing it… which takes a couple of hours and then edits and posting the content… all of this takes up lots of your time
3) How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?
It’s a full time job and I am working on my content almost daily… it’s also about how many campaigns or if you have thought of some interesting content that you want to shoot…before the lockdown we had literally one campaign a day and then events and such regularly of course things came to a stop for the first 3 months but now again we are slowly working on campaigns.
4) How do you deal with haters?
I am someone who will definitely confront someone on any of my social media platforms… hate or bullying in any form is not acceptable to me…. but I have been very lucky I have good women following me and I have very very rare occasions and when I face some negative comments
5) What’s one thing you wish you knew when you first started out? Any advice to the millenials out there who are just starting their blogs?
I wish I knew I should have monetised and taken my page more seriously sooner… becoz I had a full time job it was very difficult to think of this as a career.. and hence finally this jan I have taken a sabbatical from the family business to only concentrate on this for now… as I love this and this is my passion