Hi Danielle! What’s the name of your blog.
Where are you from?
Raleigh, North Carolina.
Tell us a little bit more about you and your blog, Southern Style Blog.
I blog about everything from fashion to lifestyle, to food and travel but I love to share things about life and the people in my life. I am passionate about sharing stories and creating a space for people to learn from other people.
Give us your best tip to staying on top of the blog/work/life balance?
Oof I am still learning this every day. I live by having an active calendar that helps me stay on top of everything. Planning is where I live and that truly helps me make sure I don’t miss things.
Fill in the blank. What people don’t realize about blogging is….
It is all about the slow build. You are not going to come right out of the gate and have all these followers and readers. It is a grind, a fun grind, but a grind so take your time and build the way that you want to.
What skills and qualities do you think are necessary for a successful and professional blogger?
Creativity, hard work, organization, flexibility, and being open-minded.
What has blogging taught you/given you that no other career or job has before?
Blogging has taught me to be myself and share that with the world because there are people out there that resonate with things you say. Blogging has given me an outlet to do that but has also given me an amazing community of hard-working women that have different viewpoints and opinions.
Is there an app or business tool that you swear by?
CANVA! I love Canva and I am in there all the time making thumbnails and different graphics for blog posts and social posts. Truly allows you to be creative and create whatever you want.
What topic do you most enjoy writing about?
I love writing about travel. I have traveled my entire life and love sharing the beauty of different places and things to do in each. It is so fun to look into new places and share for when people have the opportunity to go themselves.
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 am not a full-time blogger and have a full-time job in Corporate America but I am so passionate about this I can’t let it go. A typical day for me is waking up early morning around 7 am and getting at least an hour’s worth of exercise in. From there I do the usual of eating breakfast, taking vitamins, and starting my day job. Throughout the day when I have scheduled time set aside, I will publish blog posts and post on social to share content out. At night after I am done with my day job, I edit videos, create blog posts, curate images, and more.
What is a current blogging goal you are working on?
My biggest goal right now involves working on securing brand partnerships, which is new to me.
What is one thing in the blogging industry that frustrates you that you wish you could change?
That brands focus too much on the number of followers you have and not the content you put out. Not everyone has 500,000 followers and that really discourages a lot of people from blogging.
How has your content changed since you first started blogging?
I think through the content I am publishing and make sure that it is the content I want to be putting out and not some content that is just like everyone else’s. And my pictures, dear lord, my pictures have really improved over the years.
What’s your most recent WIN with your blog?
I just re-did my whole website and I am SUPER happy with the way it turned out.
