7 blogger truths that I bet you never knew

Candid photos, a bunch of free stuff, free trips, pretty brunches, endless amount of new clothing and getting paid to write about whatever you fancy – the blogger life sounds pretty sweet, where do we sign up?

A lot of people think that bloggers have it easy, it’s just doing fun things, writing about them and taking pictures in cute outfits right? Well yes, but there are also a lot of things that happen behind the scenes that you probably don’t see…  

Blogger Truth #1 – It takes a lot of planning

How do all these girls have such amazing wardrobes and how is there always someone there to catch them looking so candid? It comes down to planning, researching locations, roping in friends family (or lovely fiances) and being resourceful with free time. Often days off are spent shooting content instead of watching Netflix and ordering pizza, which can be a bummer when you overdid the Martinis on Saturday and have a campaign due in on Monday!

And if you want “that shot” on Oxford street without 56,778 tourists in the background, it either means early starts or using your holiday allowance to avoid the weekend crowds.

Blogger Truth #2 – Most bloggers have full-time jobs

Yep, although it might look like they’re living the dream at fancy lunches, travelling the world and hanging out at cute cafes 24/7, in reality, they’re probably working 9-5 jobs. That photo they just posted swanning up and down the Venetian canals, was from a self-funded trip weeks ago. Which means banking lots of images on shoot days and scheduling posts to ensure there is always fresh content appearing.  

Blogger Truth #3 – It’s like running a business, that is always open

So blogging is just writing about stuff, right? Well no. The writing bit is actually the easy bit.

Being a blogger is having to research your audience, come up with new content, reach out to brands with ideas, it’s getting rejected a lot, it’s writing, it’s editing, it’s photographing (and editing) images to go with the post, working out what keywords to target and then promoting your work, constantly.

And as soon as you’ve finished a post, guess what, it’s time to write another!

Blogger Truth #4 – Blogging isn’t cheap

Sometimes I am lucky enough to receive gifted items but when a brand sends a product as a gift, most of the time they will require photography of the item, a review and social coverage. So that means planning where and when to shoot the item, roping in a friend or family member to take the photos or enlisting the help of a tripod (best thing I ever bought btw!).  

Then there are the props used in photos, a cute little dish, a perfume bottle or stackable boxes, travel between locations, new outfits and multiple lattes that have a tendency to go cold while you’re changing, it all adds up. Gone are the days where a quick iPhone snap against a plain background was sufficient!  

Blogger Truth #5 – Writer’s block is totally a thing

Sometimes blank screen syndrome will hit and no amount of planning will help you put nails to keyboard – which can be so frustrating, especially when you have a deadline looming. I recently wrote a post which included a few things that help me stay motivated but sometimes you will just not be in the mood to write!

Blogger Truth #6 – It’s not always as glamorous as it looks

All those candid looking outfit shots all over London? Probably not taken on the fly. Again something that is planned and scheduled in, as I mentioned before photography plays a huge part in blogging and shareability, so having good quality photos is a must. So what does this actually look like? It’s packing suitcases of clothes to head into town, armed with a list of locations, it’s getting heckled by passers-by, oh and realistically it’s changing outfits in the middle of the street, come rain or shine.

Blogger Truth #7 – Editing photos takes time

Once I discovered Lightroom (editing software from Adobe) I thought great – I can just make a preset then whack it on every single one of my photos and voila theme done. Well, no, unfortunately not. There isn’t really a quick fix to editing photos and while you can apply presets to your photos, more often than not they will need a bit of fiddling with to get right. And then even once edited they might not fit your grid, so you might need a layout previewer for your insta feed…

Looking at the above you might be wondering why I do it at all. But I love blogging and creating, it’s so much fun and so rewarding to see how far I’ve come in the last year.

From the brands that I’ve worked with, to the people I’ve met and the support I’ve had from friends, family and fellow bloggers. I am so pleased that I stuck at it and I’m so excited to see where my blog takes me next! xo