Today I’m sharing my blogging story. I’m sharing why I created Emma’s Edition and how my blog has grown up with me these past few years. Thank you to Kelsey for submitting this question via Instagram Stories!
When did you first start blogging? Did you know you what you wanted to write about? Or did you develop over the last few years? When did you decide to write about Instagrammable places and career life?
From: Kelsey Nuayers
My love for fashion
I’ve loved fashion for as long as I can remember. I remember
telling my mom in elementary school that I either wanted to be a fashion
designer or a writer.
I thought I would pursue fashion in college. But honestly there weren’t any fashion related courses at the University of Washington. They also moved the retail buying program from the Seattle campus to the Bothell campus when I started my freshman year at UW. So when I got to college I decided to focus on business.
To pursue fashion… or aerospace?
After working a series of retail jobs at American Eagle Outfitters, Nordstrom, and Zebra Club, I decided that I would change direction. I was focused on getting into the business school and I knew I needed corporate experience. I ended up landing an internship with the Boeing Company and my perspective of what my career could be expanded. After just one summer, I could see so many career possibilities in aerospace.
When & Why I Started Emma’s Edition
My senior year of college I decided to start my blog Emma’s
Edition. I had finished two internships with the Boeing Company. And that fall,
I was going through rounds of interviews with Boeing, Google, and PepsiCo. I
knew I would land at one of these companies so I decided that I would always make room for fashion in my life with my
blog and Instagram.
Reason #1: Student Loans
One reason I chose to pursue other industries outside of fashion is because I saw the salary differences of entry level jobs between fashion, tech, aerospace, and consumer package goods. I was shocked when I saw $10,000-15,000 difference. I had student loans I had to start making payments after 6 months of graduating and I didn’t want the same financial hardships I had experienced while I put myself through school.
Reason #2: I saw other women of color that I could relate to rise to fame with their blogs
Another reason why I started Emma’s Edition is because I saw bloggers like Nany and Aimee make a name for themselves and build their platforms. I could relate to Nany being petite and relate to Aimee being an Asian-American/Pacific Islander young woman. If they could start their own blogs, I thought I could also start one too.
Reason #3: I knew I needed a creative outlet with a corporate career
Writing, clothes, and styling have always been my creative outlets. I wasn’t sure if I was going find these passions at my day job so I wanted to make sure I always had a space for them in my life!
Here’s some of my earliest blog posts:
- The Fall Coat (this is from fall of my senior year!)
- My Campus Style: Casual College Prep
- Black is the New Black
Emma’s Edition’s platforms: Blogger and then WordPress
When I first started looking at starting a blog, blogger and WordPress were the most popular platforms I saw. Blogger was super easy to use so I used Blogger for the first 2-3 years.
I switched to self-hosting my blog through WordPress.org for SEO reasons. WordPress has a plugin called Yoast that helps SEO your blog post before you publish them and Blogger didn’t have any options like that. I knew I needed to grow my audience on the blog and wanted to focus on SEO so I switched platforms.
Emma’s Edition’s Focus:
When I first started Emma’s Edition, my focus for was only fashion. I was ready to share my outfits,
fashion tips, and trends to style for the new season. I had no intention of
branching into lifestyle, career, or even discussing my blog journey at first.
But for the first 2 ½
years, I was focused on finishing school then adjusting to Corporate America. I
was lucky if I wrote one blog post a month or even posted on Instagram a few
times a week. It wasn’t until I left PepsiCo (after a year) and came back to
Boeing that I started feeling more stable in my career.
I was still publishing 1-2 blog post a month until I landed a collaboration with American Eagle Outfitters in the summer of 2016. I was asked to be a Back to School Ambassador and I was ecstatic and bewildered.
I produced four blog posts in one month for the first time in my blogging career:
This seasonal collaboration turned into a full year ambassadorship. And this collaboration helped me find my voice in blogging and the confidence to create my space in the fashion industry.
Branching outside of fashion
In fall of 2016, I decided to open up my blog to include
career advice and lifestyle posts. I was terrified at how people would react to
it – but I knew I wanted to talk about identity and I wanted to share advice to
new grads. So I decided that my mission statement would me: “Inspiring the modern woman with fashion,
career, and life tips.” I realized that Emma’s Edition was growing up with
me and I enjoyed sharing my journey.
Somewhere in 2017-2018, I decided I would share about my
journey as a blogger. I started tips on growing
your Instagram, how
to pose like fashion blogger, and instagrammable
spots in Seattle. My passion for blogging has grown over the last
few years and I’ve enjoyed sharing what I’ve learned. My audience responded
incredibly well to that content – and they still do.
In 2019, I’ve decided to update my mission statement to:
“Inspiring the modern woman to explore, create, and live life with style”.
While I may still career posts from time to time, I’ve found a groove in finding and sharing the most Instagram worthy places while still sharing fashion tips.
I know that Emma’s Edition will continue to grow and evolve and I can’t wait to see what opportunities open up for the blog in the future!
I hope you enjoyed learning why I started Emma’s Edition! Why did you start a blog?
For tips about starting a blog or grow your Instagram
following, you can also check out:
7 Tips
to Start a Blog
How
to Build an Engaged Instagram Audience
4
Ways to Find Your Niche in Blogging
4
Mistakes Bloggers Make in 2019
Thank you for reading! Let’s connect on Instagram!
Love,
Emma
Photos: Karya Schanilec
Our blogging journeys sound similar! I started mine as a freshman in college because I also loved fashion and styling outfits, but didn’t want to work in the fashion industry (I was studying communications and now I work in radio). So fun to learn more about your journey!
xoxo A
http://www.southernbelleintraining.com
I’m starting a blog (to launch soon) as a form of self-healing. If you’ve ever read the book by Elizabeth Gilbert called Eat, Pray, Love or Wild by Cheryl Strayed it would be like that. They went on these journeys of self-discovery. And while I wouldn’t trek to India or Hike a trail, I found that bloggers and youtubers lives were changed internally through sharing themselves. So, I figure maybe sharing my love of fashion and just perspective on life, others would see a universal relation through my experience. So yeah :).
Nice post!
What a blogging journey it has been Emma! So proud of you for what you have accomplished and continue to do. You are doing great. Keep it up!
Maureen | http://www.littlemisscasual.com