Hyderabad has had a proper monsoon this year. By proper I mean it’s been raining consistently for more than three months now. I know it was pretty bad in many cities across the country, but luckily for us, it was the perfect kind of fall/monsoon season. I personally dislike this weather and it only makes me gloomy, lethargic and lazier than ever. But I am going to keep aside the ‘problems’ like inevitable traffic jams, plans getting cancelled, humidity & power cuts, and just be thankful for everything that the last few months have brought in – which is basically loads of good work!
Recently a blogger who just started out, asked me how to balance between doing sponsored posts and their own content, whether that balance should exist and whether it matters or not in the long run. If you ask me, it’s a personal choice, and each blogger has their own agenda and a different kind of relationship with their readers. Whether you do your own thing, or cater to readers’ requests or a brand’s requests is totally up to you.
I for one, have a mix of both types of content. I don’t hesitate in saying that I make money through blogging. At the same time, I love creating content just for the sake of it. Since the beginning of my blogging journey I have always stressed on shopping from your own closet and mixing and matching existing pieces. As much as I love discovering/working with new designers and the challenge of styling a new silhouette creatively, my main aim will always be to inspire others to utilise their own closets to the fullest. So most of the outfit posts that I do now-a-days are not sponsored, they are with pieces from my own wardrobe. For example, the last 6 outfit posts that I did here are not sponsored. Two previous to that are sponsored. And then the five before that are again not sponsored. So I feel, there’s a healthy mix of content when it comes to outfits.
With sponsored content, I get together with a brand, to create content about their products (product shoots) and talk about my experience of using them. They aren’t paying me and putting words in my mouth, they are merely paying me as a way of compensation for using my services(writing, styling, modelling, photography), my platform (blog & social media) to reach out to their target audience (who happen to be my readers).
So I hope that answers your question, and helps you plan your blogging journey more effectively! 🙂
These pictures are from a personal autumn/fall look that I put together, which at the same time is quite comfortable to wear during our humid monsoons! Like I said, it’s all about mixing and matching!
Dress: Code by Lifestyle | Shoes: Clarks
Location: Repete Hyderabad
Shot by: Satish Yalamarthi
No Comments