Welcome back to this week’s meet the blogger post! Last week I was joined by the ever so creative Natalie from Natalie Leanne and this week I’m bringing back Lucy from Forever September to catch up.
Lucy is a twenty-year-old photography student from the South of England and the girl behind the blog Forever September. Forever September is a beauty and lifestyle blogger who loves to share her thoughts on beauty, fashion and life musings with her audience.
She is one of my closest blogging friends and I just love the type of content she posts. I was kindly asked recently to be a guest of her new podcast ‘For Creatives, By Creatives’ which you should definitely check out and subscribe to. It’s such an interesting podcast and definitely worth a list.
So let’s get into the questions!
1. How has your blog grown/developed since last year?
I don’t think there have been too many changes in terms of content, still posting beauty/lifestyle because well, that’s my thing haha. I think my photography/editing has improved a bit as I’m always trying to experiment with new styles. I’m never 100% happy with my photos, so I’m sure next year I will have a slightly different style again!
2. Have you reached/achieved your goals since last year?
I said I wanted to reach 2000 followers by the end of the year and that did actually happen – woo! I know followers aren’t everything, but it’s nice to know your content is appreciated and liked by people. Instagram is a really hard platform to grow on, so I’m still quite proud of that little milestone.
I also said that I hoped I was still happy with with the content I was putting out, which I am. I sort of stopped with my schedule and started to post when I had inspiration, which has worked out for the best.
3. How do you manage university work with blogging?
I’m not going to lie, I found it quite tricky juggling university work with blogging. Because I do a creative degree (photography), I have to create sketchbooks which involves a lot of practical work. It also obviously involves a lot of photography. So trying to make work for university whilst making work for my blog became quite the task.
But, I try my best to dedicate weekends to blogging or if I have any free afternoon time, I’ll use that. I suppose it’s all about scheduling and organising time correctly.
4. How has opening up about your mental health journey on your blog changed how you connect with your audience?
I think it’s made a huge difference. I’ve always been quite open about my mental health as I think sharing is a great way to help yourself and also to help others. A problem shared is a problem halved is what they say, right?!
I have had many of my readers open up to me, whether that be in the comments of posts or privately through DMs. It’s great that we can relate to one another in our struggles but also help each other out, by giving tips, encouraging each other etc. Even readers who don’t personally suffer, they know people who do, so the posts can still be helpful.
5. If someone was finding it hard to engage with the blogging community as another blogger how would you advise them to get more involved?
I think the first thing I would recommend is to comment on your favourite blogger’s posts. Engaging with other bloggers content is one of the best ways to feel immersed in the community in my opinion. If you aren’t already, sign up to Twitter and Instagram and again, engage with your favourite bloggers. If you like someone’s blog, in particular, drop them a message to tell them how much you enjoy their content. It’ll make their day and you never know, you guys might even end up becoming friends.
6. What are your favourite type of blog posts to create?
I think I’ll have to say lifestyle posts. As much as I love chatting about all things beauty, lifestyle comes more naturally to me. Whether that’s chatting about mental health, a life update or something else, I just enjoy writing them. I feel like I can let out my thoughts and it feels like I’m writing a diary entry more than a blog post, which I think is really nice.
7. What are your thoughts on sticking to a niche to make your blog successful?
I think sticking to a niche can be super helpful. It shows your readers what your blog is about, which can really help with growing an audience. However saying this, I don’t think you necessarily have to have a niche for your blog to be successful. You can mix it up and still run a successful blog.
Many bloggers talk about all sorts of topics, from beauty to food/travel and I think they’re my favourite type of blogs to read because they have such variety. I personally enjoy talking about a range of things, rather than sticking to one single subject.
The first one would have to be Lightroom. I couldn’t live without it now. This is what I use to edit all of my photos, whether that’s blog photos or Instagram. It’s much easier to use than Photoshop and you can really play around with your edits until your images look exactly how you want.
Secondly, my SLR. You definitely don’t need a ‘fancy’ camera for blogging, but I couldn’t live without mine (being a photography student as well haha). It really helps me get the images I want.
Lastly, props. I have a box dedicated to blogging props I use in photos and I definitely couldn’t be without them. I’ve collected them over the years and they definitely help to add a lil something, something to my flatlays/images.
9. Would you ever want to blog full time?
If the opportunity ever arose, I think I’d take it. It’d be an amazing opportunity to be able to make an income from what I love doing most. Although part of me isn’t sure because I’d love to be a freelance photographer at some point, as that’s what my degree is going towards and I wouldn’t want to waste that necessarily. But I think being a full-time blogger would be a really cool opportunity that would be too hard to pass up on.
10. If we were to do a part 3 of this post next year, what do you wish to have achieved by then?
Oooh, this is an interesting one (I’d love to do a part 3 by the way, haha)! One thing I would have liked to have achieved by then is to reach 4K on Instagram. This may be a push as I’m just over 1.5K away from that but one can dream.
I’d also like to be making more of an income from blogging. I’m so lucky in the fact I get to work with loads of amazing brands on a gifted basis and I will be forever grateful for that, but I’d love to have the opportunity to do some more sponsored content.
Lastly, I want to become more confident with outfit photos. I’d love to post more fashion content on my Instagram and blog but first I need to get more confident in front of the camera.
Thanks so much for chatting to me Lucy. I loved catching up with you and reading your responses.
Please do check out Lucy’s blog and Instagram page. You will love it!
Would you ever want to blog full time?
Candice says
Definitely going to check out her blog!
Candice x
natalyaamour.com
laurennvictoriaablog says
I’m sure you’re going to love it!xx
ellamaybury says
I loved this post & I LOVE this series! It’s such a cool idea Lauren! It was also so lovely to get to know Lucy a little better after following her on Instagram for so long. Loved it girls!! xxx
laurennvictoriaablog says
Thanks so much, Ella! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and that you got to know Lucy a little better xx
foreverseptember1 says
Thank you for having me back to do this Lauren, such a fab idea and so nice that you’re involving other bloggers!
Lucy | Forever September
laurennvictoriaablog says
You’re so welcome, Lucy! I’m so glad you wanted to be apart of it again xx
Charlotte Lane says
Ah I love Lucy’s blog and loved reading this second series catch up 🙂 xo
Char | http://www.charslittleblog.co.uk
laurennvictoriaablog says
Lucy’s blog is amazing! So glad you enjoyed the post xx