Lifestyle blogger Tillie Adelson shares her strategy for success
“Where did you get that?” “Oh, so cute, where’s it from?” “Love your style! What’s your favorite brand?”
I would often hear these types of questions and comments in the years leading up to starting my blog: My Stiletto Life in March of 2013. Before I started my blog, I usually would just tell people where I got an item from or take them shopping with me -- especially when they would come and visit me in NYC. (I would take nearly every visitor of mine to Barney’s New York to ogle at the shoe collection with the hope of seeing a celebrity – which undoubtedly we did.)
Blogging was on the rise in the early 2010’s and after working in fashion in NYC and completing a two-year program at Parsons the New School for Design, those recurring comments and questions lingered in my mind. Finally, they helped me take the leap of faith I needed to to start my fashion blog. I viewed (and view) it as a public service. 😏
Aside from taking inspiration from fashion magazines and fashion bloggers like: Blair Eadie of Atlantic Pacific: I was totally shooting from the hip. I didn’t know much about building a website, SEO, using social media for business versus personal. (In 2013 social media was not a complete business tool.)
As I started to forge a path in the blogging world, I began participating in events to try to meet as many bloggers IRL (in real life) as I could. I found a big part of blogging to be networking. As you start to meet people doing similar work as you, you find confidence and even form friendships. From that, comes relevance and eventual collaborations. For example: in 2018, I was invited to a weekend trip with the Newport Beach tourism board with four other bloggers. One of the bloggers: Zia Domic of Hunter Collector, has remained a close friend and colleague and we constantly connect about business opportunities.
As time went on blogging extended into social media: with Instagram at the forefront. It was the way for bloggers and “Influencers” to find “fame.” In 2015-2019, Instagram was the main focus for bloggers. If you wanted to be noticed by brands, and do sponsored posts, you had to have a following on Instagram. So, I started focusing my time on Instagram pretty heavily. From posting exclusive content on IG, to working on gaining a following via different Instagram tips and tricks (similar to what is happening on Tik Tok today). An effective and exciting way to gain followers and get noticed was by tagging specific brands in the hopes of getting regrammed by them.
In the last two years, I started to notice a shift in the IG platform and really found it to be an inauthentic way to connect with followers . Instagram became over-saturated, the algorithm did shift, yes but it also just felt superficial and I couldn’t figure out how to stand out in the crowd..
Luckily, I had always maintained my blog and in 2020, I started to shift back to basics: blogging. I went back to old posts and revamped them, updated keywords, titles, and permalinks for better search results. I invested in Pinterest, effectively a search engine in its own right; all with the intention to bring more viewership to my blog and collect email subscribers. My blog is my online real estate: I literally own it. My Instagram profile, Tik Tok, Pinterest, Facebook are all owned by someone else and could go away in a flash. My blog will always remain.
So as I think about how I built my brand and my online identity, I really like to remember that it all started with a blog -- my interest in writing about style, fashion and then broader lifestyle categories. It’s about being able to give people genuine ideas, tips and advice!
I do still believe social media is still an integral part of any business but it won’t be my priority like it was in the past. Now, nearly 10 years later: I find myself (finally) working smarter with my marketing tactics, building my subscriber list and writing blog posts that are resonating with people.
So, what takeaways do I have that could help you on your journey?
Achieving success isn’t linear. Sometimes it takes much longer than expected – I am still working towards goals that I have had since starting my blog and I have trouble even defining what success looks like. It can be tiresome and frustrating.
Create a website and own something online. If you spend too much time on platforms you don’t own (like Instagram, TikTok) you’re always at the mercy of their algorithm.
Just start creating. It doesn’t have to be perfect, that will come along the way.
Try something different. Experiment with your content. See what sticks and resonates and then create strategy from there.
Doing the work and learning as you go is so important and can give you the confidence you need to continue to create.
Tillie Adelson is a content creator and social media influencer for her own blog: My Stiletto Life and her social media channels. She has also contributed to several publications, including InStyle.