In Conversation With a Blogger – Elle Blonde

Technology is increasing the variety of jobs available for people. Something that we see as very positive, even if it does sometimes mean explaining what a Social Media Expert or a Professional Blogger is to our parents. Speaking to bloggers you find out that this is a job that is harder than it sounds. However, it is a job that often comes from love. A love of writing, a love of creativity, a love of sharing (and sometimes accidentally over-sharing). It is a job that usually starts as a hobby and turns into a job. It has a lot of positive points- it is creative, you get to manage your own time … But it can also be very hard to make money blogging. We have spoken to the lovely Laura Dawson about what it is like to blog professionally.

When and why did you start elleblonde.com?

Elle Blonde was kind of an outlet for personal expression and began in July 2015 as a side hobby. At the time, I owned an ecommerce fashion boutique and an interior site too and wrote fashion and home blogs for those two businesses. I wanted to talk more about travel, food and lifestyle too and felt limited on these sites. They were pretty formal and I just felt that I couldn’t express my personality on them. Elle Blonde was born on a journey home from the Home & Gift Trade Show in Harrogate and it just kind of spiralled from there. Leading me to sell on both my commerce sites to solely concentrate on monetising my blog.

What is a standard (if there is one) day at work for a blogger?

There’s never a standard day, I guess like any business really. I’ve ran businesses for the last 6 years and this is by far my favourite. A lot of my friends and family think that my life just involves eating good food, travelling and receiving loads of products to review. They joke that I’ve got an easy life, which from the outside it is and very rewarding, however it’s a lot more work than flouncing about and posting a few times on social media.

A normal day for me usually starts at 7am, I head to the gym for an hour before coming home to have a light breakfast. I get ready and then respond to emails that I’ve received through the night from all across the world. Then begin to write 2/3 posts in the morning, shoot videos, create content for social media. After that I do the promotion of posts that have gone out that day. By this time the post man has usually been and it’s time to check out my blogger mail. Sometimes it’s great. Sometimes it’s full of tat from brands wanting everything and the kitchen sink without actually wanting to give a little to the blogger. I never understand that as bloggers and influencers are one of the most powerful ways to grow a brand.

After this it’s usually lunchtime. I have a quick bite, walk my dog and then I do a little more work, usually accounts and admin before heading out to an event for a new launch of a product, restaurant or bar. Usually I get home around 10pm. Have a quick cuddle with my puppy dog and begin working again. I usually work from 10pm until around 2/3am and then get my head down before beginning it all again.

People often ask how I am so energetic and happy all the time from such little sleep, I honestly think that it’s just adrenaline as I absolutely love what I do.

What would you say is the hardest thing about blogging?

You know I speak to a lot of bloggers on a daily basis who aspire to do what I do full time and they often say the hardest part is how to be the editor, photographer, accountant, manager and all the other roles running a blog (or business) takes. For me that’s what I love. Like I say I’ve had shops and online businesses forever and my brain just works in a business sense so for others that’s the hardest.

For me I’d probably say that the hardest thing is switching off. Everywhere I go I take photos and think, this would make for a great article. I don’t really have ’social media’ anymore as everything is executed with military precision to look great (apart from my Twitter which is kind of my shrink) and every time I see people, even if it’s just to relax they always ask me hoards of business questions.

Definitely switching off is the hardest part.

What would you say is the best thing about blogging?

There’s so many great things about blogging. From all the amazing experiences you are able to be part of, to all the gifts you receive. To me though, wether it be blogging or any other industry I love being my own boss. As cheesy as it sounds I love being able to do what I want when I want. I think some people are born to just be free spirits and with work now becoming an activity instead of a place I love the freedom that blogging offers.

Do ever want to just unplug?

Absolutely, every single day. I often get a little bit envious of people who can watch TV. My Mum laughs at me, I literally can’t sit and watch TV for longer than probably 82 seconds! Seriously, I literally think oh my goodness I could be doing this that or the other. I never stop so sometimes I have a week or two where I just hit burn out because I never stop. I probably wouldn’t have it any other way though.

Saying that though on the weekends I love just staying in you know. My friends always want to go out for food or to places and because I’m out all week I really just love doing nothing.

Where do you take inspiration from when writing your blog?

Everywhere, I don’t get hung up on the latest trends or spend hours worrying about what other people are doing. I write from my heart, about real experiences. Things that inspire me, things I love. I write just whatever I feel like. My audience really like business advice, I really like food reviews and travel. I also have fallen back in love with home interiors again so it’s kind of a mix of whatever I fancy really.

Tell us a bit about ELLEfluence, where did the idea come from and how does it work?

Oh, I am literally so excited to talk about this. It’s such a passion and I have so many goals and plans for the future. ELLEfluence is a full circle digital marketing platform, where we manage brands campaigns with our bank of over 2,000 influencers and bloggers who are already registered.

See some brands know they have to work with bloggers as part of their marketing strategy they just either don’t have the time or they don’t even have a clue where to start. They don’t have the right attitude or see the results they desire including good ROI because they’re not doing it right or targeting the right influencers in the right market. ELLEfluence was created to help brands really succeed. It was also to help bloggers and influencers from being taken advantage of. It makes it so difficult for everybody in the industry when people are writing 6 posts and tweeting 50 times for one 99p nail varnish. I mean you wouldn’t see The Times or Hello! running a full page advert in exchange of one nail varnish would you? So why should bloggers be expected to do that? We’re about being fair for both brands and bloggers.

Our ELLEfluence community has grown massively and it’s lovely to see friendships building and growing too. We’re about to launch an app over the next few weeks which will be great for both brands and influencers for campaigns as well as our academy which takes and builds upon all of our knowledge and has tens of thousands of pounds worth of content, courses and information in that we’re offering to our ELLEfluencers for just £9.99 per month to help those wanting to grow their blog. That’s the thing many bloggers want to grow but haven’t the finance for £5,000+ courses or don’t know where to start. We’ve got everything in one place and offer bi-monthly webinar training as well as brunches and event days. It’s all going on.

We’re also in the middle of planning our blog awards too and have a few other tricks up our sleeve which we can’t really reveal just yet.

Do you have a favourite piece you have written? One that sticks with you?

I love every piece I write. Apart from the rubbish ones. No seriously, every piece I write about The Malmaison is fabulous, the photos are just amazing and I love the team at the Newcastle Mal so it comes naturally. I also loved writing about Dacia’s Magic Weekend as my family and I had such an amazing time in the Heroes Club for the weekend.

I’m leaving a shameless plug for both those posts here: Malmaison Newcastle Bar Relaunch and Dacia Magic Weekend.

I also absolutely love writing business tips. That’s my passion and I love reading the comments on these from people who they’ve helped to inspire.

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to start blogging?

Don’t put it off. Do it now. Be bold, be brave and be amazing. If you can improve or help just one person through your writing regardless if it be how to make money from blogging or which shape cushion is right for your bed then you’ve done a great job. Blogging is one of the fastest growing industries in society today and it’s extremely lucrative. If you want to make a career from blogging it is possible. And you seriously will absolutely love all of the perks that come with blogging. It’s not easy mind and it’s not an overnight success thing. It’s work and perseverance, but it’s worth it!

What is next for Elle Blonde? Do you have any future plans you can tell us about? Or exciting brands you are going to be working with?

So at the minute, I’m focusing on ELLEfluence for the future plans. I’m busy building what I want to be a digital powerhouse for that brand. My passion for educating bloggers and creating strong digital campaigns for brands is so strong. Elle Blonde grows daily. I have so many opportunities. I just have plans to travel more and enjoy good food and continue growing, monetising my site and experiencing huge opportunities from it. I’ve just rebranded and stepped up my content and images tenfold so I hope that I continue to grow massively over the next 18 months. 

Blogging is increasingly becoming an ‘appropriate’ and effective job. It spreads creativity, points of view, ideas and new ideas and products. This is why brands like Home of Juniper love working with bloggers. These are real people, with real opinions- which gives them a gorgeous power and creativity. To find out more about the lovely Laura Dawson please visit http://elleblonde.com. Twitter: @laurajdawson26. Instagram: @laurajdawson26.