4 Lessons I Learned in my First Year of Blogging
History of Traditionally Trivison
Today marks the one year anniversary of Traditionally Trivison! I can’t believe we’ve already hit this milestone; it feels like I started everything yesterday! About a year ago, I. was sitting at a local bar with my friend Lilly (I know what a surprise) and I was telling her my crazy idea to start a second Instagram account. This would solely be about fashion and each day, I wanted to post an outfit. At the time, I was receiving daily questions by friends who wanted to know what to wear for certain occasions or how to style a particular garment for everyday. Growing up, I knew I wanted to do something fashion related so the leap into clothing wasn’t too far. So, after some back and forth, I created my page and ran with it!
Since it’s creation, I have grown to over 3K on Instagram and I’ve met countless amazing people along the way. Back in December, I got my business license and I realized I love social media as a whole. As I continue to learn and grow in my blog, I wanted to round up four lessons I’ve learned from my first year!
Lesson One: Be Kind to Everyone You Meet
I can’t believe this needs to be said but I have encountered several “influencers” who use each other or brands for personal gain. This darker reality to social media at times taints the social aspect of the platform and at times can ruin things for the rest of us. Fortunately, I have mostly met amazing people and I try to be nothing but kind. Even to MLM scammers. At the end of the day, people want to be social and should leave your page feeling better than they came. From my experience, people on Instagram tend to be the kindest and friendliest people. Not to be biased but my community especially is pretty great ❤️ I believe if you put kindness into your page, you will get so much kindness back!
Lesson Two: Stay True to Yourself
In the world of Instagram and fashion Instagram especially, it can be hard not to follow trends and buy what everyone else is buying. I know there have been times where I kept up with the Jones’ and didn’t really end up wearing the items I bought. Nowadays, I try to only shop for items I like and I wear those pieces a lot more 😂 The same thing goes with my captions and stories. It’s important to remain true to who you are and write like you talk. I like to think this authenticity is part of my magic because people know they are coming to someone who is just themselves. Granted, you also want to be an authority on your niche, but there is no need to sacrifice personality for your content.
A very on brand outfit; not much color, elements of party style, and something black!
Lesson Three: Plan Ahead
When I was in school especially, I feel like I was successful because I was always planning ahead. Even now, I have my content calendar prepared for the next MONTH and I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is a great way to stay on top of brand collaborations, giveaways, and knowing when to post certain outfits that are coming! My tip is to make an excel spreadsheet where you prep your captions and know which pictures go with which text. I even go so far as to plan hashtags and set up content in a way that will make my feed look cohesive. With Instagram especially, aesthetics are everything and you want to put your best foot forward. Overall, organization is important as a blogger because it keeps you up to date on your posts and keeps you from becoming overwhelmed!!
Lesson Four: Be Social
I think we sometimes forget social media is a SOCIAL platform!! Engaging with a variety of people has helped me grow SO much and it actually will help you gain collaborations if you want to go that route! When I first started working with my favorite shop Boutique Bleu, the sweet owner said she wanted to work with me because I always engage with my audience and talk to people 😍 Not only does this help you make friends in the blogging community, but you will then become more appealing to brands down the line. Plus, chatting with my followers has become the best part of the gig. Each DM I get has me SO giddy and it’s a real life example of the impact you are making in people’s lives!
Going Forward
I can’t wait to continue on my blogging journey! I have something super exciting launching next month and I can’t wait to share 😊 Going forward, you can expect lots of graphic tees, adventures around Washington and beyond, and marketing tips for your blog! I’m so excited for the future of this blog and where this will take me. Hope you are too ❤️
Best,
Lauren
