#BOB: LAURA CHARABA

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Blog: www.livinginashoe.com
Who: Laura Charaba
Where: Romania
Age: 29
Blogging Since: April 2010

What inspired you to start your own blog?

I was posting my outfits on Chictopia, and after about half a year and seeing all the positive reactions, I decided to start my own blog. I guess I did it because I really loved fashion, and I loved the idea of staying in touch with people around the world who had the same interests as I did.

How important is the name of the blog?

When creating my blog and choosing the name, I didn’t expect it to be more than a momentary passion, so I just went for the first name that popped into my mind. Luckily, I still love it today, and I feel it fits my blog’s content perfectly.

How difficult is it to find a blog niche?

Well, for me it wasn’t difficult at all. I love fashion so the only things I could write about are fashion related. Recently, I started posting a little about beauty, because I’m getting more and more into that and I realized my followers enjoy reading beauty posts. When you are passionate about something, like I was, it’s not hard to choose a blog niche, but when you do it as a business it gets a little harder; you should do a little research before choosing a niche.

What is the best way to promote and grow your blog?

Definitely social media. Most of my traffic comes from Facebook and Instagram, so, from my point of view, this is where you should invest a lot of time and effort in order to grow your blog.

What is your main audience and how did you reach out to them?

My main audience is women close to my age, and it’s really easy to reach out to them because we have the same interests. I also post pictures of my outfits on Pinterest, Tumblr, Google Plus groups or street-style platforms to attract new traffic towards my blog. I try to stay connected with my readers by answering their questions and helping them with advice.

How important is it for your business to attend fashion week?

I never attended fashion week, but I’m planning on doing so this fall. I guess I’ll see then how much it will help me.

What are the best tips for building long-term relationships and partnerships with brands?

First of all, you should accept collaborations only with brands that you relate to, so that you can stay true to yourself and your readers. Then it’s really important to respect the deadlines and all the requirements that they have and that you agreed upon.

What is the biggest challenge about running a blog?

Being your own boss is not so easy. You have to be really motivated to post constantly and think about new content that your followers would like to read. When you have a problem with your traffic, your camera, or God knows what, there’s no one there to tell you what to do; you have to figure it out yourself.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to start a blog today?

Get a good camera or turn to a friend that is passionate about photography. The quality of the pictures is really important.

What are your ultimate plans for your blog/blogging career?

Collaborating with brands that I really admire, and that I could only dream about right now.

Images © Living in a Shoe

Tags: business of blogging, fashion blogging, laura charaba, living in a shoe blog, living in a shoe fashion blog