I ran into this really fun blogging tag the other week on Fashion-Fever, a Dutch blog I’ve been following since a while. I decided to answer the questions for myself (after translating them to English of course) because I think it’s a great way to share a little insight into my blogging life with you.
Are you doing everything for your blog alone?
No, that would be impossible. My lovely fiancée takes all my pictures, he’s become really great at it. He recently wrote his very first article for FashionContainer, in which he gives fashion photography tips for beginners. Hassan also helps me to update some of my social media channels. He is for example in charge for lookbook, pose , chictopia and linkedin. Maintaining all those accounts by myself would be very time consuming, so I’m very lucky to have someone helping me out. In case you’re wondering why I have these different accounts: it drives a lot of new traffic to FashionContainer, which is always good.
Which grade would you give your own blog?
Wow, good question. I really don’t know. I do believe that I’ve improved a lot (photos and writing wise) over the past year, that’s why I would probably give it a 7. Lots of space for improvement though. I’d be very happy to hear from you what kind of articles you would like to read more of on FashionContainer.
Do you earn money with your blog?
Yes, I do. Through sponsored posts is one way (I’m with a Dutch media agency) and I’m getting a commission if you buy something through my Rewardstyle links.
What are the disadvantages of blogging? Or have you ever experienced something not so fun because of your blog?
One of the disadvantages is that my life is very digital at the moment. I work for an online store in which I do everything marketing and social media related and because of my blog, I spend another two or three hours on most week days. So that basically means that I spend my life behind my PC. That sounds quite pathetic doesn’t it? Something else I’ve found is that some people don’t think very high of bloggers. Self centred and shallow are a few of the words that I’ve heard people saying, that’s why for a while I never mentioned about my blog. That has changed now though, I don’t really care any more what opinions people have about it.
On what kind of blogs do you stick around and which ones do you leave immediately?
At first glance, it’s the personal style and the quality of photography I judge on. If that appeals me, I start to read and this is another moment of judgement. The quality of someone’s writing is quite important to me. I don’t expect everyone to write like professional editors but I do like to read a coherent and easy to read text. Two bloggers who I really admire as writers are Yara Michels from Chapter Friday and Margaret Zhang from Shine by tree. Yara is Dutch like me, that’s why I admire her even more: writing in a language which isn’t your own is really challenging.
Did you get to know people through blogging? If so, who?
Whenever I get invited to attend fashion events in Perth, I run into the same people quite a bit. It’s always fun to get to know other bloggers. Other than that I’ve build some nice digital relationships with companies I’ve previously worked with or still work with.
How do you feel personal blog posts? Do you pay attention to what kind of information you share on your blog?
Personal blog posts are fine by me, until a certain limit of course. I like sharing major events in my life and I even use my blog as an outlet whenever I don’t feel great or if I want to express myself to get something off my mind. The last is one of the reasons I started this blog, so it’s very important to stick to that. I’m careful though with information I share that might have negative consequences on my professional life. I’d for example not write about some negative experiences I had with companies or agencies I worked with through FashionContainer. I’m someone very straight forward and sometimes I don’t have a filter on the words I spit out but I’ve learned to not shoot myself in the foot and maintain a level of professionalism instead.
Do you think you’ll keep blogging for a long time en how would your blog evolve? In what case would you stop?
Yes, absolutely. A few months ago I had this moment of self-reflection during which I asked myself what I really enjoy about this blog and what I should do more or less. Quite often I found myself looking at the outfits I shot afterwards asking myself: is this really my style? Is this me? Sometimes the answer was no, so from that point a few things became very clear to me. 1) I don’t accept freebies anymore which I don’t absolutely, utterly adore. I’ll feel forced to wear them, while it’s actually not my style. 2) Whenever I wear something, I shouldn’t be for the reason ‘the blog’ or ‘this looks interesting’. It should be something I really enjoy wearing and feel comfortable in. This might sound self-evident to you, but I can tell you: when you run a blog those lines blur a lot easier. You get influenced by fellow bloggers, by what brands offer you and by what trends are dictating you to wear. Other than that, I promised myself to spend more time on writing. I know I’ll stay an average writer for a while (It’s shit hard as a not native English speaker!) but I’m working hard on becoming an excellent one. I’m not sure how my blog is going to evolve, I only know that I want to stay genuine to myself and enjoy what I do.
Would you delete your blog in exchange for $50.000?
Nope. I’ve got many long term plans for FashionContainer .
What things do you use to blog?
I use a Canon 600D with several different lenses (you can read more about in this article) and to edit my photos I use Photoshop. And of course I would be nowhere without my HP laptop.
Wearing: Asos jumpsuit, Asos blazer, Michael Kors watch
Photos by Hassan Mounzer
