If you are new to Confessions of a Blogger, then welcome to our interview series, where we meet great SA Bloggers and get the low-down on why they blog!Today on Confessions of a Blogger, we meet the gorgeous Chereen, from For The Beauty of It. Chereen is one of my favourite local beauty bloggers and I have had the opportunity of meeting up with her, at quite a few beauty events!

I’m a 28 year old wife and mother, who’s just slightly addicted to The Body Shop, cappuccino and watching beauty videos on YouTube! I’d best describe myself as a bit of a perfectionist with workaholic tendencies, but I’m working hard on finding more balance. This need to slow down and find more balance led to me resigning from my glamorous job as the beauty editor at O, The Oprah Magazine, in order to start my own boutique PR and social media agency, while attempting to put more time and effort into my blog, For The Beauty Of It. Needless to say, in between juggling my new workload and ambitions with motherhood and running a household, I’m still battling to find that elusive balance!

• When did you start your journey as a blogger and why? I remember the first blog I ever fell in love with: it was called ‘Naturally Nina’ and was written by an incredible writer and yoga devotee, Nina Cutter (who recently started blogging again over at weemountains.com, this time documenting her experience of motherhood). I was working as a features writer at Woman & Home magazine at the time, and I remember making myself a cup of coffee and settling in to read her latest post every lunchtime, without fail. I fell in love with Nina’s blog, and soon started toying with the idea of starting my own. I did, although I can’t remember the name of my blog – all I remember is that it focused around my very colourful and disastrous love life! (I was about 21 at the time, and although I’d met my husband, there was no potential for a relationship – even though I thought he was incredibly hot!) I soon tired of my blog, but started a few other blogs along the way – until I eventually launched For The Beauty Of It in October 2011, while working as the beauty editor at O, The Oprah Magazine. For The Beauty Of It was started as a way to document all my favourite beauty finds that I didn’t have the space or freedom to write about in the magazine – as a beauty editor, I was exposed to so many fantastic productswith access to some of the world’s top makeup artists and beauty experts, so I wanted a space where I could share any tips and discoveries I stumbled upon.

• Do you blog fulltime or do you have a regular 9-5 as well? I would absolutely love to blog full time and that was my aim when I left my job at O at the end of 2013, but I’ve discovered that the South African blogging industry just isn’t there yet. I have a huge interest in social media, so I’ve started managing the social media accounts for several beauty brands and small businesses, and I absolutely love it. I worked as an account manager at a PR firm for about 3 months at the beginning of 2014, so I’ve also started putting those skills into practice by doing the PR for a couple of beauty brands. My previous experience as a beauty editor means that I have all the contacts and the know how, and I’m really enjoying seeing what it’s like from the other side of the desk!

• Tell us a little about your space on the interweb and what you blog about? As I mentioned, I started For The Beauty Of It mainly as a platform to document my latest beauty discoveries, but I also started blogging about my pregnancy and baby-related topics when I fell pregnant with my first baby (known as ‘Bean’ on the blog) in May 2012. I’ve since turned my focus onto writing for working moms and busy women in general; women who don’t necessarily have an hour to spend on getting ready every morning, or the time to read 3 or 4 blogs every day. The idea is that you’ll be able to find everything that interests you on the site, from beauty reviews and my latest fashion finds, to décor inspiration and ‘mommy must-haves’. I have a lot of fun with it and I pretty much write for myself – I never post something unless it’s something that I’d personally enjoy reading.
• Being a blogger is not always easy – what motivates you and keeps you going? As a former beauty editor, I’ve always been responsible for planning, coordinating, shooting and compiling beautiful spreads for publications – usually in accordance with someone else’s vision, rather than my own. I personally find great pleasure in planning and putting together posts that I enjoy looking at or reading, and writing about things that I truly love or am interested in. The freedom is extremely liberating, though it can also be very daunting at times! There are countless times that I’ve stared at a blank screen with no idea as to where to begin!

• How important do you think it is to have a niche blog? This is something that I’ve given a lot of thought to over recent months, as I feel that my blog doesn’t quite fit into a specific niche anymore. When I first started FTBOI, it could best be described as a ‘beauty blog’, but it veered towards becoming a ‘mommy blog’ after I fell pregnant in 2012. If I had to label it, I think it would fit into the ‘lifestyle’ category these days, though I have noticed that the number of beauty posts has increased quite a bit over the past few months. I don’t really have an answer to this question, but what I can say is that I think that there’s a reader for every blog. The important thing is that you do it for the right reasons and that you’re blogging from the heart. If you do this, I believe the readers will follow.
• What have your biggest blogging challenges been? You know that saying, “comparison is the thief of joy”? I’ve struggled so much with this over the past few months since I’ve started putting more energy into my blog. It actually got to a point where I had to put myself on a strict ‘blog diet’ and stop reading certain blogs, because all that was happening was that I was comparing myself and my blog to other more successful blogs, and feeling bad about myself and my blog as a result! It’s an awful space to be in and an experience I’m not proud of, but I’ve since opened up to a few other bloggers about my feelings and realised that I’m not alone in my tendency to compare. I’m really working on celebrating my own successes, rather than focusing on other bloggers, but it can be difficult when you’ve poured your heart and soul into a blog post and spent hours taking and editing photographs, researching trends and compiling copy, with no uptake from readers. I’ve had to learn that it doesn’t matter what others think; all that matters is that I enjoy the process of blogging and feel proud of my achievements.

• What do you love most about being a blogger? I love that I am still able to be a part of the glamorous beauty industry, despite having resigned from my job as a beauty editor. I’m a people’s person, so I love meeting and interacting with people, and I get to do that often at various blogger events and product launches. I also love that I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful, like-minded women along this road – women that I have so much in common with, but wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for our shared love of blogging!
• If you had to choose a favourite social media platform, what would it be and why? I’m really enjoying Instagram at the moment – I’ve really started experimenting with photography lately, and Instagram provides the perfect platform to create pretty pictures and share them with the world.
• What has your journey as a blogger taught you {about yourself or in general}? Has it changed your life in any way? I’ve learnt so many business skills along the way, it’s ridiculous! I’ve learnt how to create and market my own brand from scratch, and I’ve learnt a lot about the technological ins-and-outs of running a website. I’ve also learnt to think creatively and I’m really focusing on improving my photography skills.
• If you had to give a newbie blogger any advice, what words of wisdom would you impart? Decide on a mission statement for your blog before you begin. Think about what your blog will be about, why you’re starting your blog, and what you want to achieve. Now print it out on a piece of paper and stick it on your noticeboard or even onto your computer – some place where you’ll see it often. It’s so easy to get caught up in the world of blogging and to focus on what other bloggers are doing; this mission statement will serve to remind you of what you’re trying to achieve, and you can come back to it when you’re experiencing writer’s block or comparing yourself to other bloggers and feeling a bit lost. It also becomes handy when you start dealing with brands and get approached to write sponsored posts – I always refer back to my mission statement and ask myself whether a particular product or post fits with my brand identity. My blog’s integrity is very important to me, so I want to ensure that I always write about things that interest me and are of interest to my reader. It’s not about money and if that’s your sole reason for starting a blog (or to get ‘free’ products), you’re in it for the wrong reasons.

Thanks Chereen for sharing a bit more about your life and blogging journey with us! You can find out more about Chereen and connect with her here:

Blog link: http://www.forthebeautyofit.co.za

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/forthebeautyofit

Twitter: @ChereenStrydom

Instagram: @ForTheBeautyOfIt

If you would like to be featured on Confessions of a Blogger or would like to see a blogger featured here, then please email Fiona or leave a comment below.

Images: Chereen