Welcome back to our latest Wise Words feature. This week we have the lovely Annelies from The Frugal Teen taking to the seat.
I met Annelies via blogging a few months ago and she has become a great friend and super helpful when it comes to bouncing blogging ideas around.
Time to hand over the page to her!
Tell us a little bit about you & your blog:
Hello, it’s great to take part in this series, thank you for inviting me! My blog is called The Frugal Teen and I write lifestyle posts as well as giving money saving tips and running a twitter chat #SavvySunday.
What inspired you to start blogging?
Two people mainly inspired me to start blogging: my best friend and my boyfriend. My best friend was fed up of receiving my money saving tips so thought that it’d maybe be a nice idea to share these tips with the public and not just her. My boyfriend also encouraged me and supported me throughout- especially as he’s more tech savvy than I am!
What has been your highlight of blogging?
One of the highlights is receiving products to sample that I may not have necessarily thought to try before. I think it’s a great way for a company to get the word out but also very satisfying to think that people acknowledge the effort you put into blogging.
I also love the sense of community in the blogging world. Whether it be through my twitter chat or others, to receiving lovely comments from others or just being tagged in a tweet because “this made me think of you!”
Is there anything you have learnt about blogging which you wish you knew when you started out?
The importance of being self-hosted. I am in the process of becoming self-hosted, but as I am also rebranding, it’s proving extra tricky! Now that I’ve written over 150 posts, it’s proving a lot of effort to move them and edit them. Had I just started self-hosted immediately, I’m sure this hassle could’ve been avoided.
Another thing I have learnt that is very important is the photography. Before, I would just type something out and use a copyright-free image. Now, I feel that it’s important to try and take my own, even though it takes longer with both uploading them and editing etc. I think it’s all worth it though as it really makes you look more serious about your work and adds that hint of professionalism.
Bloggers sometimes get a lot of stick however many work really hard and are reaping the rewards, what has been the most rewarding part of blogging for you?
For me it’d have to be the blogging friends I’ve made. I’m part of a fb group chat with three other bloggers, none of whom I’ve met in really life, but I feel that I could turn to for questions etc. (which is amazing) and two friends on twitter who I treat, and talk to, as if I’ve known them since primary school!
What would be your 1 tip you would give all new bloggers starting out?
Be committed.
In order to grow, you do need to put the effort in and write those posts. It’d be ideal to just write a post, advertise it once, and expect people to read it and follow you. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that, but if you write a subject you’re passionate about, you’re usually motivated to write and share your knowledge anyway.
Who do you find inspiring to read/watch in the blogging world?
This is really quite difficult. Although she doesn’t really keep her blog updated as she puts so much emphasis on her YouTube, I do find Zoe Sugg (a.k.a Zoella), very inspiring. It’s not actually because of her YouTube at all, but the fact she’s so dedicated and passionate about getting content out there. She knows what people likes, her photography is amazing, she’s so talented at editing and marketing and is now a businesswoman.
To think that she juggles all this with the hardships of anxiety, business meetings and creating content, she’s a real inspiration in the online world.
Lastly – do you have any big plans/dreams for your blog in the next 12 months?
As I mentioned previously, I’m rebranding and going self-hosted soon, which I’m naturally excited about. By December I will be going by the name of The Frugal Frenchie– so keep an eye out for that! I’m also hoping to grow my Instagram and Pinterest in the upcoming months.
Thank you Annelies for taking to the hot seat today! You can read more of our Wise Words Wednesday feature here.
