Frequently asked questions

Over the years of blogging, I’ve had a lot of questions come my way about how to get started, what it’s like, what do I need to do it, etc… There seems to be a lot of fascination around the idea of it, but many don’t know where to start. I figured I’d pull together some of the questions I’ve been asked in hopes that it may answer some for you.

Does it cost money to blog?

I get this question a lot and it’s a double sided-one. The short answer is yes and no. Let me explain. If you’re looking to launch a site, there are many platforms you can utilize for free. WordPress.com, Blogger, Wix are a few I am familiar with. I used WordPress.com to launch my first blog and I found it to be very easy to use. These free platforms have some limitations though. Since they are the ones hosting your site, there is limited functionality with customization. Also, your web address may look something like this idreaminchic.wix.com. I believe WordPress.com will let you use your own domain name (usually $10/year) so technically I shouldn’t have put this one under the “free” category but there are options to keep it completely free.

however…

if you are looking to host your own site (hosting is pretty much the license you have to run your site on the internet) you’ll be looking at an investment of around $75 give or take. You will likely want to purchase your domain name (the ownership of the name of your site) as well. As I mentioned above, this is fairly inexpensive and you usually have to renew it yearly. Once you have that, the costs you incur are variable depending on what you want to invest. If you want a designed site and nice camera equipment, you will have additional costs. My suggestion though…hold off on those larger purchases to see if this is something you are really interested in first.

What hosting platform do you use?

I use BlueHost. Their customer service is great, they have 24/7 Live Chats and will talk you through any issues you’re having even if you haven’t purchased their higher-tiered packages.

What camera do you use to take your pictures?

I have a Nikon DSLR camera that I’ve used for the first several years of blogging, but for the last two years, I’ve been using my iPhone XR because it’s much easier to shoot with on the go and the camera is great. I plan to upgrade to the iPhone 11 soon because that lens is said to be even better and at this point, that’s all I upgrade my phone for anyway!

How do you get over feeling awkward when having your photo taken in public?

That is a tough one. I struggled with this for a long time. I always felt like everyone was staring at me and yes, they probably were but not for the reasons I thought of. I remember one time this woman stopped by while I was in the middle of a shoot and said, “how cool, I’ve always wanted to do something like that.” My photographer at the time told her my website and she was like, “Oh yeah, I’ve seen your stuff! I love it. Keep it up girl!” That gave me the confidence boost I needed to keep those thoughts and feelings at bay. Another piece of advice, if you do feel a little shy, scope out places that are a little more hidden (think alleys, back of buildings, parks, etc..) away from public places. That’s how I started and it helped tremendously.

Speaking of photographers, who takes your pictures?

Over the many years I’ve been at this, I’ve worked with three different photographers before landing on my permanent one, my husband. Yes, you heard that right, Drew takes my outfit photos for me. See, I loved working with the photographers in the past but it got challenging with their schedules and mine and I wanted to time batch my shoots into 3-4 hours. I found that in the middle of trying to get our schedules coordinated and then waiting for editing, it was taking a lot longer than I wanted. I respect that a photographer wants to take their time to edit the pictures to their standards but I wanted to have some control over the aesthetic of my photos as well. I figured what was best was to learn to photograph and edit myself.

Where does your blog name come from?

I tell the full story, here.

How much time goes into creating one blog post from conception to completion?

Funny you ask! I’ve actually begun tracking the time I spend creating a post from start to finish. When I say start to finish, I’m calculating the time it takes for the photos and editing too. So altogether for one post, it takes about 6.5 hours. I’ll break it down for you. For one outfit look, I’d say I spend a total of 1-2 hours of shooting (this includes traveling to destination, setting up the look, snapping the pics, reviewing them and heading back home.) Once I’m home, I’ll spend another two on selecting the pictures, editing them, uploading to my site. Once I have my photos selected, I do some keyword research, and begin with my first draft. I pull together any affiliate links I want to share. This is another hour of work. So now we are at five hours. I then work on my SEO (backlinking, adding keywords, etc..) and finalize my post. We’ve now hit the six hour mark. This is when I’m scheduling my post and working on linking to my social media channels. This can take the remainder of the time because I want to tailor my posts to the channels (each audience is different so you don’t want to CTL+C and CTL+P every post!) 

I should note, that its very rare that I ever do a post from start to finish in one sitting, let alone one day. I usually batch my shoots into one afternoon, editing another afternoon and then writing every couple days. Obviously this is ideal and doesn’t always happen but when it does, its literal perfection.

Where else can I keep up with your content?

I’m always adding a little extra on my social channels. I love to connect with my followers and provide content outside of what I share on here. Follow me on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Every one is a little different so pick your fave and say hi!