When I first started this blog I went into it with a happy go lucky attitude, I had no intentions of bringing it as far as its come. I figured it was a lovely way to document our activities/holidays and created a wonderful archive for us to look back on. For anyone I speak to or for any of you considering starting a blog but feel slightly hesitant, I whole heartedly encourage you to put the fear aside and DO IT!
I cannot express the satisfaction I feel from keeping this creative flow going. Two years into it and I think I've finally coined what it is that makes you feel like your blog has a place in this heavily populated industry.
Fake it till you make it
Now in all honesty I think we are all just as lost as one-another to an extent, some of us have a cool as a cucumber exterior and attitude which helps hide the confusion. The trick I suppose is to act like you know whats going on, even if you don't. Practise the art of talking with conviction, be knowledgeable about your topics of choice and explore them till you can discuss them in a way that can add value to someone's train of thought.
After all if you are writing to appeal to people, you have to convince them you are worth their time, no one has interest in following anything short of mediocre.
Show progress
I love to find a new blog or creative individual online, in my spare time I tend to follow all their social media platforms and practically stalk them from their first post to latest video log. I love that excitement of finding an individual I feel I can connect to. It's amazing to see a blogger improve with their images, or create even more visually exciting videos for YouTube. I find it inspiring to see their progression from where they first started.
But progress is only visible if you make a start now! Don't wait for the perfect marble backdrop or that crazy high mega pixel camera, make do with what you have to get to where you want.
Overthinking = Mind blown
This is actually one of my mantra's with any project I take on. If you try to overthink the situation then the passion isn't fluently translated and it ends up becoming more stressful for you and less appealing for the audience. In terms of blogging, I would advise you to not overthink posing, outfit coordination, backdrops, brand placements, make up and hair; all these factors should flow organically.
The more comfortable you are, the less thinking you have to do to create something from your passion. It's so joyful to see someone blossom effortlessly when they are working based on natural a thought process.
This concept doesn't solely apply to the fashion industry, it can relate to art, cooking, gardening and general life situations even; if you are passionate enough about what you are doing you will naturally avoid overthinking, allowing ideas to flow, everything will be more organic and stress free. That's when the best work is produced.
Knowing your USP
Every business has a unique selling point, every individual has one too. It's basically a play on your strengths.
In terms of this blog I originally thought it would become successful if I continually shot the latest items of clothing, the seasons most wanted coat or on-trend shoes. I thought the material item aspect would be my USP.
I quickly found out the hard way that this wasn't the case, for two main reasons; there are a million other girls out there doing the same thing (with even more coveted items then I had) and secondly it was either focus on a mortgage or have a fancy wardrobe. I didn't have the luxury of an income to cover both, so the blog suffered.
For those whom have followed me from day one when I named the blog 'Mitika's Illustrations' will have noticed the inconstancy with blog posts and an apparent gap with our online presence. This was due to us having higher priorities over the blog.
The lack of creative activity would get me down, I would be itching to shoot something or whip up a styling concept. I wanted to make something of this blog even though I couldn't afford new items for my wardrobe so I started to shoot looks I already had in my cupboard.
This meant my readership reduced because the items I shot were old season, so if a viewer liked a certain look they had no way of recreating it because the garments weren't available in stores, it also blew out opportunities to work with brands because no-one needed help advertising old stock.
But my drive and passion for this site took over and I carried on shooting and styling concepts without the financial benefits, without the larger readership, without the latest fashions, I literally made do with what I had.
It was the creative outcomes from our shoots that kept me motivated to post more content. Fast forward to November 2016, I am so happy to finally be back in my zone, my USP is not the latest fashions. My USP is I'm just like you, I'm figuring this whole thing out with you by my side and developing a sense of who I am along the way.
Believe in yourself
For a blogger I think that is their USP, believe in the character you are. Over the past two years my physical appearance has changed, my mental wellbeing has improved and overall I feel like a better human being then when I was in my mid 20's. This development came through challenges that helped me find out who I really am. I was in situations that stretched my emotions or even challenged my health and forced me to step out of my comfort zone to grow.
And now as we come to the end of 2016 I am confident mentally and physically, sure of my style and feel well presented on a daily basis.
I think this has all been achievable because I no longer feel the need to validate who I am to anyone. I can be true to myself and know that people will accept me for that. This sense of knowing who I am helps me relate to many of you and the satisfaction of making friends / creating relationships through this blog is the feeling I love. So thank you to those whom have interacted with me throughout my journey, you help me define my purpose through my passions and are one of the main reasons I continue with this blog.
Outfit - Dress/PrettyLittleThing Chocker/MissSelfridges Rings/Aldo
