Interview with Young Lifestyle Blogger Hedy Z
Interview with Hedy Z
Let’s give a warm welcome to Hedy Z! I’m very thrilled to have her in the Shades of Tatiana Blog Interview series! Today we are going to have a chat about how this young blogger navigates through the blogging world and her aspiration to help others.
So, without further ado, let’s meet Hedy Z!
Hedy is a teen lifestyle blogger with an avid passion to create. She writes, plays piano, and makes inspirational backgrounds for fun. You can also find her head buried in a book in her free time.
Let’s Get Started!
1. Describe how did you first get into blogging?
I actually was part of an extracurricular program where high school students start up their own company. I was the Vice President of Marketing, and part of my role was running the company’s blog. I realized that I actually kind of liked the idea of blogging, and decided to start my own blog!
2. What do you find most challenging about blogging about your topic?
It’s hard to find your niche, first of all. Then it’s another challenge sticking to it. My blog niche fits under the umbrella of “lifestyle” but it’s easy getting carried away by trying to fit everything under there. I tried doing fashion posts, but ultimately it wasn’t “me” so I decided to get rid of the separate fashion category on my blog. It’s important to present your blog under a cohesive theme or niche, because your readers will know what to expect. When you present yourself as genuine, then it shows, and people will like reading your posts.
3. Can you tell me some of your strengths that really helped you in blogging?
I really love writing, and I think you’ve got to enjoy it to blog. If it’s really hard for you to come up with ideas, or write out a finished piece of writing, then blogging may not be for you. Another huge thing that helps is graphic designing. I’ve received a lot of compliments on my blog design hehe, and it helps you get noticed on social media. People are more likely to click on an aesthetically pleasing graphic or trust you (and stick around) if you have a professional-looking site.
4. What networking do you do that you feel helps your blogging business?
I reach out to professionals and other bloggers all the time to collab. Not only am I able to learn through a lot from them, but we’re also able to join audiences and share content with a greater amount of people.
5. How do you keep coming up with material/content for your blog? Many people struggle with coming up with different articles/posts and they only have one blog.
I decided to focus on one blog, even though I started a few others before actually coming to my current one. Again, it was through doing this, that I ultimately was able to find my niche. Sometimes it just takes some exploration. As for coming up with material, whenever I get post ideas, I jot them down and start a new draft. My blog is on Wordpress, and I have the app so it’s really easy to start a new post anywhere. Sometimes I’ll have ideas sitting there for months before I decide to work on them, while other posts come to fruition within a few days. I also recommend reading posts from other bloggers and getting inspiration from them!
6. What’s your strategy with your blog in general?
Right now, I’m focused on driving traffic and increasing engagement (building a committed following). The number one strategy is really to just create great content that helps people.
Lets Connect!
7. What would you prioritize? Content? SEO? Traffic? Readers?
I tried to do the whole “SEO” thing, but it gets a little too technical sometimes and takes away from my authentic voice. The ultimate goal I have behind my blog is to build authentic connections with my readers and empower them to have self-confidence and live happily. My focus on driving traffic is mostly to increase this readership and spread my message to as many people as I can.
8. What do you think is the best service a blogger can provide to his/her readers?
Being authentic, and doing all they can to help their readers. Don’t write posts just because they make you money, rank you higher on Google, or are popular right now. Work on creating content that actually speaks to, and is useful for your audience. Be genuine.
9. What would be your ideal working environment?
I’m most productive in a clean, organized and quiet space with a little bit of background noise. I usually work best at home.
10. What struggles do you face with social media as a blogger?
Finding time to keep up and post regularly. I don’t post regularly by any means, even though I know you’re supposed to in order to build up your following and drive traffic, etc. I’m doing my best to post a little more.
I don’t necessarily feel the pressure to present your life a certain way on social media as you see from some people. Part of it is because I don’t post pictures of myself (this saves me a lot of time too), but also because I think you should just be genuine and post only when you want to. While I also get sucked into the social media vortex sometimes and spend way too much time scrolling through and liking posts, I think I’m relatively distanced from it in terms of presenting myself on social media.
Fun Questions
11. What’s your favorite thing to do in your free time?
I love finding the perfect book and just settling down to read!
12. What mantra do you live by?
“Do what’s right, not what’s easy.”
13. I saw that you have been involved in starting up several initiatives. Can you tell me a little more about that?
Yes, I’ve been really involved in community service initiatives, so I founded a club where high school students teach 4-7-year-olds various extracurriculars as a way to share their passion and help kids discover their own. It also doubles as a fundraiser for the WE Charity.
I’m also the president of a club which volunteers and runs donation drives for local homeless shelters and those in need.
As I discussed in a previous question, I also took part in a program where I started up a company along with other high school students, which was a fun experience where I learned a lot about business.
14. How do balance your life as a teenager & blogger? What tips would you give others who are at the same point in life as you?
Balance is INCREDIBLY hard and is something that I am continually working on as well. What I recommend is scheduling everything, and making sure you stick to that schedule. I have a tendency to spend too much time on my blog, so try to limit the time I spend on it to an hour a day. Once that hour passes, I’ve got to do work.
My advice is: if you’re truly passionate about something, don’t let the “lack of time” or resources take it away from you. I wrote about this in a previous blog post of mine but basically re-evaluate your commitments. If you’re doing an extracurricular only because it “looks good”, and you actually hate doing it, then quit. Obviously, try new things through, because you never know if you discover a new hobby (like me with blogging). But don’t waste your time--universities and employers can see through those things. What they really value is passion.
15. What was the most challenging moment in your blogging journey so far?
I had a few discouraging months, where traffic was declining every month and engagement was pretty low. My following wasn’t growing either. Sometimes it’s hard to look beyond the numbers, and it’s easy to get discouraged in the beginning because you’re still figuring out everything and no one knows you yet. That’s also why many people end up quitting blogging after a while. I think it’s important to celebrate small wins, like launching something, getting over 50 subscribers, a super high traffic day, etc.
16. Can you name some of your favorite bloggers and explain why they are your favorites?
I’ve met an abundance of teen bloggers through Wordpress, and they are the most supportive and sweet people on the planet! Particular shoutout to Ju from The Ju Photography and Jasmin from The Writer of Letters as they have been my biggest supporters and I love reading their posts as well. As for a celebrity blogger, I really admire The Skinny Confidential, whose branding was done IMPECCABLY well.
17. Did you have any professional help, or did you create the blog yourself?
I always design and create my websites/blogs myself!
18. How active are you on a weekly basis? How often do you communicate with your followers?
I try to get a post out every week. I’m always checking and replying to comments/emails every day.
19. Where would you like to be in blogging five years from now?
I would love to have expanded my blog following that reached thousands and regularly post content a few times a week. As a result, hopefully, I will have a steady stream of income to support myself.
