#BOB: THE MYSTERIOUS GIRL
Blog: themysteriougirl.ro
Who: Larisa Costea
Where: Bucharest, Romania
Age: 27
Blogging Since: this September will be three years!
What inspired you to start your own blog?
I always had this thing for clothes, and mixing and matching outfits; when I was little, I was always styling my dolls. In high school, I started creating my own clothes with the help of my grandma’s tips and her sewing machine. After a while, I decided to sell some, and of course, I had to take some pictures for them. One thing led to another, and, after I finished college, I decided that this is what I wanted to do, and this is how The Mysterious Girl was born.
How important is the name of the blog?
It actually has a deeper meaning, as it is the name of a song written by my husband for his band, Sunrise Inc. We also shot a video for this particular song, where I interpreted this “mysterious girl.” Everything we do, be it projects that we have together, or apart, is somehow connected, even if it is a subtle note.
How difficult is it to find a blog niche?
Maybe the niche itself is not difficult to find; staying up to date is more challenging, as well as always being able to have the right content for your blog, in order to keep your balance, always reach for higher ground, and not get lost in the sea of people that are trying to do the same thing as you are. You must always have that “Je ne sais quoi” that will always bring people back to you.
What is the best way to promote and grow your blog?
Interact. Never forget about your followers. Be as nice as you can. Always believe in what you preach. These are basic things that people will always appreciate. They are like your virtual business card.
What is your main audience and how did you reach out to them?
As target audience, I believe that it is mainly consisting of young women between 15 and 35 years old. However, along with my column for men, where my hubs is the main character, there were also a lot of young men starting to follow. Also, very important is that my audience grew naturally and constantly, and I believe that through my daily posts, I made people come back, and for some it sort of became a habit to “meet” me while enjoying their morning coffee.
How important is it for your business to attend fashion week?
It is actually pretty important. In a way, I can compare it with travelling. How else can you meet new places and people, if you never get out of your home? It’s the same with fashion week. You get to meet a lot of new people, exchange wonderful ideas, create connections and even some new collaborations. It’s different when people get to see you and get to know you in person. They see that you are friendly and willing to take on new challenges. They get to know the real you, not the one behind a screen or an e-mail. I recommend the Fashion Week experience – tiresome at times, but wonderful all in all.
What are the best tips for building long-term relationships and partnerships with brands?
Always keep in touch. Be open to ideas. Respect your terms and conditions. Do not miss your deadlines. All in all, be serious when it comes to business, no one likes a flaky person.
What is the biggest challenge about running a blog?
Honestly? The lack of free time. Our vacations are not real vacations – when we go out and about, we always search for places to shoot a new outfit or go and meet with a partner. Do not get me wrong, we enjoy every minute of it! But we do have responsibilities and we cannot just disappear off the face of the Earth like that. So even when we are on a vacation trip, we still have to send e-mails, take some pics for the blog, and stay connected to the social media.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to start a blog today?
I’d say they must come up with something new. Be original and include a unique passion that they have and share it with the world through the blog. There are millions of fashion, beauty, travel blogs…and so on. The idea is: you must stand out! Right?
What are your ultimate plans for your blog/blogging career?
I have such a busy schedule that I don’t even think about these as plans, but just as life as it is! The whole month of August I will be away here at the Romanian seaside, and afterwards in Venice to shoot some really interesting video projects. Basically, it is going to be about trying to include more videos on my blog, and make it more dynamic from this point of view. Stay tuned!
Images © The Mysterious Girl
