Hi Anna! What’s the name of your blog.
Where are you from?
Cary, North Carolina.
Tell us a little bit more about you and your blog, My Cancer Chic.
When I was 27 years old I was diagnosed with breast cancer out of the blue. As someone who always loved reading blogs for fashion and beauty advice, I immediately looked to blogs for support during my cancer journey and came up empty. I decided to start blogging to fill that void for young women facing cancer by sharing my story and how fashion and beauty helped me navigate hair loss and the trauma of my mastectomy, chemotherapy, and reconstruction. Over the years my platform grew and expanded to inspire women of all backgrounds facing adversity to thrive through self-confidence and style. I share my life and journey through cancer and infertility to where I am today as a mother, a blogger, a health advocate, and a content creator. I love inspiring my followers to live their most authentic lives filled with vulnerability and confidence.
Give us your best tip to staying on top of the blog/work/life balance?
Blocking time and setting alarms for time management and task management. As a mama, entrepreneur, and full-time government employee, I have to set boundaries to get it all done.
Fill in the blank. What people don’t realize about blogging is….
You wear so many hats, the work is never done
What are three things you wish you knew about blogging before you started?
I wish I knew how to take better photos, the value of hiring help and how to network more successfully
What skills and qualities do you think are necessary for a successful and professional blogger?
Being a strong writer is essential for storytelling and being clear on your mission and what you want your brand to represent. Anyone can write but to make your blog a professional business you have to treat it like a business.
What has blogging taught you/given you that no other career or job has before?
I am much more confident in my ability to negotiate and market myself. Those were skills I never had before and blogging has pushed me to learn new things and feel more confident about my abilities as a businesswoman.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone just starting out in the blog world?
Be true to yourself. It is easy to fall into the comparison game but if you try to be someone else, you will struggle to connect with your audience and build a genuine community. Be yourself and those connections will grow!
What topic do you most enjoy writing about?
I love writing about self-love, confidence, and mental health the most. It is a passion of mine and having gone through my own struggles I feel a personal commitment to using my experience and story to help others.
What does a typical work day for you look like? Whether you’re a full time blogger or not, we’d love to learn what your schedule looks like and how you manage it all.
I wake up around 7, wake up my son who is 14 months change his diaper and then we both head to the bathroom and brush our teeth together. Then I do my makeup and hair while he plays and pulls everything out of my drawers. We head downstairs and my husband handles breakfast while I make us coffee. At around 8:30 my boys head out the door to work and daycare and I walk out to my home office after throwing on a chic outfit to help me feel more prepared and motivated for the day. My day is filled with tons of meetings and when I have some downtime I post stories to Instagram and do a little blog work. Around lunch I grab a bite to eat while doing more stories, filming content, editing videos, or occasionally running errands. The afternoon is filled with more meetings for my 9-5 job and at 4:40 I leave to go get my son. I then cook dinner while he plays and after all eating dinner together we play for about an hour in the living room. We try to have our phones away unless I have urgent work to do. After he goes to bed I head back to my home office to reply to blog emails, work on blog posts. At least two nights a week I come back at about 8:30 so we can watch TV or play cards together. Other nights I stay up until around 11 working. And that’s a typical day in the life of a blogger/mom/full-time government employee.
What would your dream partnership look like? From the brand, the content, all of it! Dream up your perfect collaboration.
Oh gosh, there are so many dream collaborations I have it’s hard to narrow it down. I would love to work with Target and bring more awareness to clean beauty in a mainstream way. I love doing more creative shoots so I can see so many ideas in my head of photoshoots in target during non-COVID times.
What is a current blogging goal you are working on?
One of my goals this year is more consistency. I have started finally working with an editorial calendar and trying to work at least a few weeks ahead. It feels so good to have my content planned out and be able to prioritize what I need to work on for each week.
What is one thing in the blogging industry that frustrates you that you wish you could change?
The fakeness and the nastiness between bloggers. There is space for all of us and our unique voices. I wish more people would bring their true selves to their blog/Instagram and support other women.
How has your content changed since you first started blogging?
My content is because much more consistent, less wordy, and more professional. While my original writing was more like a diary, my writing now is more focused and still personal but more focused on providing my readers with key takeaways.
What’s your most recent WIN with your blog?
I booked a repeat collaboration with a brand I love and an interview I did was syndicated on a large media network.
What’s your favorite blogging memory or highlight?
Honestly, my favorite blogging memory is the first time someone outside of my family/friends read it. I got a message from another young breast cancer survivor saying she found my blog and it made her feel less alone. It’s messages like those that still make my day today!
