Why Fashion Bloggers Need You More Than Ever

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Hello dear friends, thank you for coming over here to read this post. It’s really important to me and I’ll explain why. A blogger friend of mine just shared a rude comment from a reader this week and I completely identified with it. The commenter told her to stop posting Ads. Granted, it’s not the tear down mean comments that come our way, but it strikes us all as hurtful and here’s why. This same commenter has asked (through private DMs) for design advice. For tips, tricks, suggestions. For free. So for a blogger to make a living giving out that free advice, where it’s no cost to the reader for tips, tricks, style inspiration, an outlet while at work, something to admire when needing to be distracted, a story scroll while you’re up at night with your kids, an entertaining outlet… we need to do Ads to support our business and offer those things to you, the reader. It does not cost you anything to like a photo, to write a quick comment. We get it, you .can’t and probably don’t want to do that on every.single.photo. But if you know one of us personally, then it would mean the world to us. You are supporting our business by doing that. Actually the main thing that gets me down in this business is that people that know me, or follow me, do not engage at all. People I talk to on a daily basis. Family members. College friends. The silence can be incredibly hurtful. We notice the silence of our friends more than the hurtful comments we ever get. I get it, you don’t owe us anything. But we are working hard and unfortunately a measurement of our work and success, is outward support of that. I’m not looking to be applauded, I look for the occasional story share, or comment on my photo. It truly baffles me why you wouldn’t support someone you personally know. And not just when you want to start a blog yourself or ‘pick our brain’… this has happened so many times, then the support drops when they give up.

How are you supporting our business by our engagement? Because we are measured on so many levels by so many entities, on these numbers, on our work. Trust me, I would do this all day, I absolutely am passionate about what I do. I aim to inspire women, to help them in their own style lives, to feel better about themselves with something as simple as dressing to feel good. I give advice, I talk about things you can do to feel good about getting dressed, I tell you where to shop. I also hope to give you ideas when and if money is tight and you can’t shop. I came from there. I was poor growing up and had to get creative. That idea and drive works its way into my work. I stress my why because I did it for free for so long. And now it’s my business. Many people come to me asking for advice, how to build a blog, a business… there is that ask without the support back. And myself, as well as so many bloggers I know, love helping and encouraging. But there is also another side. The side that forces us to care about that silent lurker who we see watch our stories but never engages. Did you know that there are measurement tools that brands use (Fohr, etc.) that actually list our followers as ‘bots, lurkers, and active’? We definitely grow thick skin and learn to let it just roll off. But then a brand will say ‘please send your story views’, ‘please share your impressions’, ‘what is your comment and like percentage’. To even comments like ‘we would love to see your engagement a little higher before we pay you this, ‘we noticed your comments are this compared to your peers’, ‘we love your work and content visually, but would like bigger numbers’. I get it too trust me, I’m very aware. But here’s one thing about me, and so many of my friends in this space. We do not hide behind a fake profile. I’ve talked about the comments you give are the ones you get. And some weeks life is swallowing me whole and I just can’t be as present on social media. So in turn, comments do not roll in. Whether it’s the name of the game or not, every blogger should have their inner circle of those not in this industry that they would feel like are safe with their support. I am not in comment pods (it’s a thing and although real comments, it’s not organically generated engagement). To each their own, I’m not judging at all, I just don’t have the time to keep up with that so in turn, I’m being compared to those with thousands of comments that actively work at the pods. I’m staying in my lane because I believe in my work, but at times it’s hard because my work is being compared to numbers. Right now numbers are driving our businesses and if you are a reader of blogs, we need your support. As an entrepreneur, we do not have business reviews, raises, quarterly check ins to measure how we are doing. It’s our numbers that tell us, even if our work is successful, or well received by our audience, or hits a target with a brand for advertising.

I am not writing this post to be owed anything or to call people out. I simply want to bring to light how important support is. I write for my blog because I enjoy writing. I post everything to my blog and this is where you come to read more about me or what I can offer. Instagram is to market my work. Right now, in the industry, numbers are important. Outward support is free to give and I hope you’ll just think about it. I work really hard for this blog and I love sharing it with you all. I appreciate each and every one of you, each blog hit. I remember those small traffic numbers when I first started meant the world to me, because it meant someone was coming to my site. I still feel that way. Thank you so much for reading this and listening to what was on my heart and mind.

Thanks to my friends Katie Crenshaw and Ashley Dorough for emotionally supporting me through this blog post lol

**Edited: I have received a few questions regarding logistics from some of you that just asked truthfully out of curiosity. You have asked about what platform me are measured on whether it’s blog hits, FB, Instagram, etc. And the answer is, everything. We are measured on monthly website views (unique visitors and returning visitors), conversion rates through Rewardstyle which is clicks to purchases, Facebook shares, Facebook comments, Facebook likes, Instagram comments, Instagram likes, Instagram story views, followers on all platforms including Pinterest.

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If you’re interested in shopping outfit details, they are all below!