Photo by The Laurel Creative Team.
Happy Friday y’all! Today I’m excited to bring something back to Kayleigh’s Kloset that hasn’t seen the light of day in a while – Top 5. I started Top 5 in the thick of my first year living in New York as a way to share advice on different work-related/moving to NYC topics, my favorite spots in the city, and more. After my Instagram was hacked and there was a bit of a lull before I got it back (cough 3 months), it sort of dropped off. I’m super excited to kick it back off with an updated post on how to work and blog full time. I just hit the four year mark of Kayleigh’s Kloset back in August, and while this platform has grown to be a full-blown business of sorts, I still in no way would say that I’m even remotely close to being an expert on the topic of blogging. However, I must apparently be doing something right, and I’m going on my third year of working full-time in the adult world so I figured there would be no better topic to cover than an updated “How to blog and work full time” post.
My original Top 5 on this topic surrounded how to blog and work entry level full time as I was an assistant in Fashion PR trying to make a minimal paycheck work in the world’s most expensive city (you can read that post HERE). Fast forward nearly two years later and I’m at a different agency working in Beauty PR as an Account Executive with substantially more responsibility than I had as an assistant. To say my blog has lagged in the last few months is an understatement and something I genuinely hope to turn around and move forward in the coming months.
This past summer was a struggle in particular because with my promotion in June came more responsibility, including work travel. A huge perk of the job is traveling for different client activation’s and it’s something I value most about the work that my team does for our clients, however, in the last three months I’ve been on a bunch of work trips that overlapped on weekends and I must say it gets exhausting. Doing something as little as editing a photo or linking an outfit on Liketoknow.it seems like the most strenuous task! People think that blogging is something we as influencers take likely, when in reality we’ve worked meticulously to create content appealing to our audiences and if I’m going to half-ass an edit or a caption I might as well not bother posting it at all. HENCE the radio silence on my site. I’ve decided that I’m going to take the time to listen to my own advice and apply it where it matters, here. Exciting things are in store for Kayleigh’s Kloset, so we can only go up from here!
Stemming from my original post HERE, I’ve created an updated version now that I’m a little bit older, wiser (or so I’d like to think), and taking my blog seriously as a business and source of income as it continues to grow and I continue to grow within my career in PR. I’d love to hear y’all’s thoughts or if you have any different tips/tricks to surviving this constant multi-tasking life! Have a great day and thanks for reading!
1. As a part of work/life balance, have a strong separation between the two. This has always been a key factor for me because I’ve never really been one to want to sit there and chat about my blog. When I’m at work, I don’t discuss what content I have planned to share throughout my day on my social media platforms, and when I’m at a blog event or meeting with a PR contact I don’t discuss my 9-5. The same goes for checking emails, etc. I don’t check my personal emails at work, and as long as it isn’t busy/launch season I’m not constantly checking my work emails while at home.
2. Utilize your morning time to get as much done as possible. This is probably the only thing I ever really have going for me constantly. I typically shoot my content at 7:00AM (SO thankful for you Laurel Creative & Allie Provost) before I go to work. I try to get at least 5 outfits done, with an array of shots to pulse content over a period of at least 2-3 weeks. Since I’ve been working out in the morning with downtime after getting ready, I’ve been trying to filter through emails while I drink my coffee and let a face mask sit. Knowing brands will likely only respond during 9-5 hours, I find it better to email first thing in the morning so it’s right at the top of their inbox anyways. I also use my mornings to plan content scheduling, more on that below.
3. Sync both of your calendars & schedule, schedule, SCHEDULE. One thing work has taught me is how much I love having everything on my calendar! I’ve started to sync my calendars so that I don’t let any event slip through the cracks that I RSVP’d for, and I don’t plan on attending things when I know we’re really swamped at work. Planning your content to post throughout the week is also a major key. I love when I have all of my images set to post about three days at a time, then when my calendar reminder goes off to post it’s quick and painless and I’m not scrambling to find something to put up!
4. Use your knowledge of both sides of the industry to your advantage. This has something that’s really been useful to me as I work heavily with influencers in my 9-5. I notice things more when I’m shooting campaigns for my own blog that I wouldn’t have noticed before (i.e. I focus on more of a product focus showcasing use where you can clearly see the product, etc. as opposed to just posting a picture of the product laying on my carpet like I would have done three years ago). In terms of blogging, I have insight to different platforms and third-parties that I’m always happy to share with colleagues should they have any questions from an influencer perspective.
5. Learn that it’s okay to say no! Being a people pleaser this is definitely a hard one for me, but possibly the most important. Sometimes you get to points where you’re so swamped that you can’t take on that new collaboration request or meet a campaign deadline that you’d really like to be a part of. In the long run, if it’s going to make your life more difficult or stress you out then go ahead and say NO. I find myself daily having to say no to partnerships and events due to timing as a ton of events are during work hours and sometimes turnaround is too tight for me to shoot during a 7:00AM slot and get back to the brand. In work there are times where I actually do have to run out the door to get to an event or a shoot and can’t stay late, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
