Discover A Blog | Interview with Emily from EmilyLoula.com!
Friday, August 07, 2015“Discover a Blog” is a new series on It’s Carson Elaine that will showcase a blog that I enjoy reading and its author. A couple weeks back, I reached out to Emily from emilyloula.com to see if she would be interested in participating in an interview. She was sweet enough to say yes!
I was attracted to Emily’s blog from the very moment I clicked the link. Her layout is organized and easy to read, and her posts showcase her personality well. They aren’t just words she’s writing - they are her true thoughts and feelings on whatever she’s blogging about that day. Can you believe emilyloula.com was created about a year and a half ago? Emily is a pro - you’d think she’s been doing this for ages.
I asked Emily 8 questions centered around her and her blog. I love her answers - honest and encouraging.
1. Why did you initially start your blog back in 2014?
Back in March last year, I started a new job as a technical advisor for a web hosting company near London. Basically, web hosting is what keeps people's websites online, and as I was training I quickly learnt that most of these websites use Wordpress. It was suggested that I should build a simple Wordpress site, so I could familiarise myself with how it worked, so in turn I could best advise our customers. I really enjoyed reading blogs, and I've always had a passion for makeup and beauty, so I thought I would combine the two and create my own little beauty blog. I didn't really plan to keep the blog up at the beginning, it was only to learn about Wordpress, but I enjoyed blogging so much I carried on. Originally I began blogging under the name emily's beauty blog in May 2014, but back in December 2014, I re-branded, and totally redesigned my blog to be emilyloula, which is what you see today!
2. What is the most challenging aspect of running your own blog and being your own boss?
The most challenging part of running my blog is finding the time I think – particularly with the photos! I work on a shift pattern of 4 days on, 4 days off, working 12 hours a day. I have to try and take as many photos as I can on my days off, because the days I'm working, it's either way too early for me to take photos before work (7am start), or if I'm on the other shift rotation, I finish at midnight so it's definitely too dark! I try to take my photos in bulk, maybe two weeks worth at a time and I find this helps massively with that problem! Also, sometimes, I can find it difficult to motivate myself, but I write my blog as a hobby so if I'm not feeling to blog that day I simply won't. I'd rather have content I liked and was proud of, instead of writing because it was forced.
3. What advice do you have for someone who has their own beauty blog?
My advice would be to blog for yourself, write in your own style, and take photo’s in your own way. There’s more than enough ‘room’ on the internet for everyone to have their own blog, but we wouldn’t want them to be all the same now would we? Being social is key too, up until I rebranded in December, I didn’t have a Twitter, Instagram or Facebook account for my blog, this was definitely a mistake! I would recommend starting up your own social channels if you haven’t already as they’re really great for promoting your content. Commenting on other blogs will also increase your engagement, but do comment useful or nice things, and not spammy ‘follow for follow’ comments as they’re super annoying and won’t work the majority of the time. Finally, I’d also say that you shouldn’t compare yourself to other bloggers - everyone started out with 0 followers at one stage.
4. What is always in your beauty travel makeup bag?
I like to carry a little makeup bag around with me inside my everyday handbag, which has some little mini’s inside, and some really great essentials. Firstly you’ll always find a good tinted moisturiser (currently Caudalie’s) or CC/BB Cream as well as a mattifying powder (bareMinerals powder has the spot at the mo). There will also be quite a few lip products inside here, always a tinted balm, and one with an SPF, along with some various lipsticks in shades I’ve been recently loving. You’ll also find some eye products in the form of a cream eyeshadow stick, a mini eyeliner and mascara (currently Benefit’s rollerlash). Lastly I’ll always keep a perfume rollerball, mini deodorant and hand sanitizer - as these always come in super handy!
5. What is your favorite post to write about on emilyloula.com?
Hmmm.... I absolutely love writing about beauty and makeup, as it really is my passion. But at the same time I find it genuinely easier to write posts about technology or blogging, and have also found I can write them much quicker than beauty posts! Really though, if it's something I am passionate about, or really love, then I’ll enjoy writing about it!
6. If you could only have access to one social media site, which one would you choose?
Definitely, definitely Twitter! I really do love Instagram, but Twitter wins on this one! I've also driven a lot more traffic to my blog from Twitter than the rest of my social media accounts put together! I think it's easier to 'crack' than other sites – like Pinterest has a dark art to it, I'm sure...
7. Which beauty subscription box can you not live without?
This is a hard question for me! I absolutely love Birchbox as a beauty subscription box – I think they're so much better than the others on the market in the UK! However, My Little Box, is so adorable, and I love the cute themes and adorable beauty and lifestyle items that are sent each month. I don't think I could chose between the two, as I love them for completely different reasons, sorry!
8. If your blog had a mission statement, what would that be?
A UK based beauty and lifestyle blog with the mission to enlighten, inspire & educate. Filled with all things beauty, you’ll find a lot of lipsticks, subscription boxes and skincare on your visit!
From Emily - “I’d like to say thanks for Carson for getting in touch with me and arranging this interview - I’ve really enjoyed it! If you fancy taking a look at my blog I’m over at emilyloula.com, and feature all things beauty and lifestyle related with some occasional technology, home decor and blogging related posts popping up too! Come over and say hi, I'd love to hear from you! x"
How awesome is she?! If you’re not following her on Bloglovin’, here is her link!
Go show her some love and let her know I sent ya!
Until next time!
Carson Elaine
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