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5 Things to Expect When You Become an Ethical Blogger

By January 13, 2017 Ethical

Over the past few months I’ve made a real effort to make sure that I am known as being an ethical blogger. I want to put out a message that I believe in, whether it be easy or not to do so. I want to attract the right crowd and I want to create a new one! I’m only in the early stages of making this change, but I thought my experiences so far in making the change to become a specifically ethical blogger, might help out those making a change of direction.

What to Expect When You Become an Ethical Blogger - blogosphere magazine zoella issue 11


IN THIS POST: Blogosphere Magazine Issue 11 


1. Your followers might change…

I can’t say that I’ve lost a drastic amount of followers since publicly changing my social media bios from “fashion blogger” to “ethical blogger”, especially not enough for me to get worried over, but I’m sure that ever since my blog post topics have changed, some of my readers have lost interest.

This can be because of a handful of different reasons. One of the reasons I’m trying to avoid is guilt and the idea that they’ll feel bad for their choices or what kind of lifestyle they lead if they read my blog. That’s not the idea, of course.

Another reason, especially as a fashion blogger who used to post a heck load of outfit posts and feature heavily on affordable high-street brands, might be the fact that you’re not publishing blog posts they “can’t” buy into anymore. Blogs can be a huge inspiration and influence for purchasing new items, and of course what I’m doing now is sharing better options, but for some people, those options just aren’t what they’re looking for. That’s okay. It ties back into the guilt reasoning, in a way.

One of the best ways to deal with this is part of my next point…

What to Expect When You Become an Ethical Blogger - blogosphere magazine zoella issue 11

2. You’ll be able to work out who to support, and who supports you…

Thinking about quality over quantity is vital when making a shift for the good. I don’t know about you but I’d rather have a handful of readers who are truly interested in my journey and the message I’m trying to spread, than thousands who are reading for the parts of my blog that are in some way still carrying through from when I wasn’t an ethical or conscious blogger.

You’ll be able to pinpoint who has your vision and who to attract in the future. You can narrow down on those who want to help push you on further and that’s rather exciting and refreshing. Your vibe attracts your tribe, as they say.

You’ll also be able to connect with people who you want to push on further. When people get together for positive change, it’s very unlikely you’ll find someone wanting to compete and better only themselves. It’s about bettering each other and the whole community.

What to Expect When You Become an Ethical Blogger - blogosphere magazine zoella issue 11

3. You’ll realise you can’t do everything…

This point comes from a tweet I received about my personal choices of eating meat. For some people, it might seem two-faced or hypocritical for me to talk about ethical fashion and all of these human rights issues when I still continue to eat meat. I understand where the person was coming from, but there are many reasons why someone might not focus on all aspects of a part of life. It’s about accepting that everyone is on their own individual journeys and we’re not all out to reach the same destination.

It’s also about understanding that you can’t do it all! My blog is about promoting ethical fashion. There is a much greater need for people to start opening the conversation up about the industry than there is for more people to start talking about the issues around food. There are so many more people already promoting veganism and the reasons behind it than there are people talking about why we shouldn’t support fast-fashion and what other options people have.

I don’t want to start focusing on food because fashion is where my heart lies. That isn’t to say I don’t believe in it, though, and that I won’t one day change my diet – it just means that I, and whoever else you’re taking from, can’t focus on everything at the same time. Nobody is perfect!

What to Expect When You Become an Ethical Blogger - blogosphere magazine zoella issue 11

4. Brand collaborations are about to change dramatically…

I recently turned down the opportunity to work with major footwear brand, Kurt Geiger. If this was a couple of years ago, I would have said yes straight away and easily featured their shoes in a heartbeat. But this isn’t then, this is now and my focus has changed. After trying to get a response about their ethics, I declined the opportunity and moved on because I didn’t believe in working with a brand that didn’t match up to my mindset and beliefs.

They were actually extremely understanding and it was a really wonderful way to start my ethical brand journey, but I’m not going to deny that was a difficult decision.

I’ve worked with brands like New Look and ASOS, and many others which aren’t exactly advocates of ethical and sustainable fashion. Sure, they might be doing their bests at making small changes here and there, but for me, they’re no longer the sorts of brands I want to try and attract unless the collaboration focuses on openly discussing the topics I want to talk about.

So, for those of you who have worked with big brands who you’ve always admired, but want to make the change in able to change the world (dramatic, I know), it’s not going to be easy and I’ll admit that.

Start looking for brands that do have the same mindset, though. Even just following them can set you on the right path. Join in with #EthicalHour or research brands thoroughly when they get in touch. Know who you are working with, and not just by name.

What to Expect When You Become an Ethical Blogger - blogosphere magazine zoella issue 11

5. Your income probably will too…

Working with different brands will most likely change how much money you earn, too. This is simply because a lot of ethical brands are smaller brands, which means they have smaller budgets, which means… they might not be able to afford what prices you were offering before.

This doesn’t mean you have to personally change anything, but it might mean compromising certain flows of income or settling for something different. Don’t ever undersell yourself or accept something for free if this is the case, though. Your work is still valid as a blogger and you deserve to receive compensation for promoting something so positive to the followers and readers who support it. You have a platform to influence people, and brands and businesses should respect that.

Do you want to start blogging more ethically? Let me know in the comments!


This blog post was of course not meant to deter anyone from going down the ethical blogging route, more as to help you along and bring up some of the challenges I have faced to make them easier down the road for you!

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Let’s Get To Know Each Other | Reader Survey Results

By January 30, 2015 General

I’m so excited to share this post with you! You may remember at the very start of this year, I popped up a little ‘Let’s Get To Know Each Other‘ survey! I was pleasantly surprised when all of your entries came in… there were loads! It’s actually been the most interesting thing I have done and I would push every blogger to get their readers to do the same. So obviously I wanted to share my reader survey results with you! Enjoy… 🙂

Reader Survey Results - Colourful Infographic

87% of you said you read blogs in bed

I kind of knew that you guys would be sloths like me, but I was surprised that it was pretty much all of you, who read blogs in bed. Doctors and sleeping experts (pffft, I’m probably one of them…) would probably be a bit annoyed but hey, I’m cool with it?! What I really want to know now is… what drink is on your bedside table? Hot chocolate, tea, coffee? Let me know!

44% of you prefer Coca-Cola to Pepsi…

…and 41% of you don’t like fizzy drinks at all! Shocking! I’m definitely a Coca-Cola and all round fizzy drink lover. How can you not like it?! Yes okay, dentists don’t advise you to drink it but I’m afraid I just can’t resist. My current fave combo is lemonade and cherry sirop (in France they call it a ‘diabolo cerise’).

Your favourite blog posts on Tolly Dolly Posh Fashion are My Style outfit posts…

YAY! I’m glad. They’re actually my favourite to put together. I’m such a weirdo that I genuinely enjoy spending a good part of an hour fiddling around on Photoshop making the pictures look even more pretty. They’re also a great way for me to store outfit inspiration so we win all round. Lifestyle & DIYs post come in close second… more on this later!

Reader Survey Results - Zoella What Olivia Did - Fashion Bloggers

Your favourite blogger is Zoella…

This was super interesting. I think for bloggers, knowing what other blogs your readers like is super helpful for content ideas. Obviously copying is not what I mean, but taking inspiration from them is always acceptable. There were loads of smaller blogs that I had never heard of, but the most mentioned were some pretty cool girls. Obviously queen of the internet, Zoella, came out on top, but ma’ bae Liv Purvis was pretty close too. (No competition obviously, they’re all beauts). Here’s the list of most mentioned blogs…

Most of you want to see more outfits, lifestyle + DIYs, and blogging advice on my blog…

I also found this question really interesting. So many of you want to see more outfit posts, and to me this is actually a big shock! I thought I was doing plenty, but obviously not! Of course I take into account how much I can physically do, and whether I want to, but I will take this on board. Lifestyle was also a shocker… I don’t do many lifestyle posts so this was interesting. What I want to know (other than DIYs… I’ll also do more of these, watch this space), is what kind of lifestyle posts? Days out? Photography? Let me know!

67% of you would prefer to stay on Earth than move to Mars or the Moon if you could…

Hmph. Boring! Haha, nooo, I understand why… obviously your scared of aliens, right? Ha! I was surprised. A fun question, but I would have liked to have seen a bit more of an adventurous side in my readers. That 8% who’d like to live on Mars are my kind of people. Comment below if you choose Mars… I shall reward you with (virtual) cookies.

So there you go! Pretty cool, huh? I’m definitely going to take this all into account and start putting your feedback to use in the future 🙂 But for now, I’m just gonna’ blow my nose for the 50th thousandth time today (poorly Tolly)… goodbye! 

 

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Why Zoella Has Changed My Mind on YouTube…

By November 7, 2014 DIY & Lifestyle

Yes, I was that person who thought YouTubers couldn’t be role models. I was indeed that person who wrote a rant all about it for a piece of homework… but from just one simple video, Zoe (aka Zoella), has changed my mind. I don’t really know how to describe it… (like literally, I am struggling to put words together for this post). I’m not the sort of 14 year old who would go to a book signing just to get a photograph with a YouTuber and I don’t comment and tweet on everything that they say or do, yet I am the sort of person who gets seriously inspired and happy at their achievements…

As you’ll probably know, Zoe is soon to release her debut novel, Girl Online, and in her latest video on her ‘vlog channel’ (MoreZoella), she filmed her trip to the printing house. She filmed most of the journey, from paper roll to hardback book, and I have no idea why or how, but I was overcome with pride and inspiration. Bloggers to me have never really inspired me that much… they have in terms of content, but not necessarily achievements, so I’m shocked to find myself grinning from ear to ear.

I think the major factor to this wave of inspiration, is the fact that she does everything with such gratitude. Zoe shows us that she truly means what she means (…okay, this may not be true, I have never met her, but it sure does look and feel like it…). In this video especially, she showed that she wasn’t just happy and proud, she was truly interested in what she does, and she doesn’t take it for granted. Oh goodness, I literally have no idea what I’m doing in this post… ha! I kind of just want to put it out there that Zoe is a role model. She’s inspiring in this new and different way which I think people need to get used to. Seeing as I kinda’ am part of it (not hugely, but partly), #TeamInternet is doing it right… don’t you agree? 

All I’m saying is that if Zoe can simply film a video of her very own book being printed (surely that’s enough in itself?!), and inspire me, then that makes her inspirational. I hope that Zoe will see this (although I highly doubt it), because she can see that what she is doing is powerful enough to change my mind in one simple video. I want to say thank you to Zoe for not only giving me this new found motivation to carry on doing what I love, but also for showing the world how amazing and powerful the blogging community really is, and for empowering young women everywhere.

(Featured Image via MoreZoella)

 

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