I was able to participate in a collaborate experience with Altitude Summit, the incredible blogging conference I attended in January. We were matched up with a person that we didn’t know and were challenged to do a collaboration with them. It has been a great experience for me!
I was matched up with Crystal-Marie Mitchell of the Diva Inc. which is an online magazine. She recently published her first book as well!
We decided to interview each other and I’m excited to share the interviews with you here. First up, meet Crystal-Marie!
How long have you been blogging/writing?
I have been writing all of my life and started my blog February 2009. I published my first book, The Diva Diaries Living Through Tough Seasons in June 2015 available on Amazon.
How did you come up with the idea?
2009 was the start of a downward economy. I was just about to graduate from grad school at San Francisco State with my Master of Arts in Industrial Arts and into the roughest economy I had experienced. I started writing as a way to introduce the book I was working on and to inspire women to keep going through the tough times.
What was the hardest part of getting started?
Nothing. Getting started was actually easy.
How do you maintain a balance between other aspects of your life and blogging?
I’ve found that if I try to blog daily it doesn’t work for me. So I turned my blog into a magazine a few years ago. In the magazine, you hear from other women around the globe not just me. It’s more of a community that way and you get to read different perspectives with the common goal of helping women and providing a new voice. The voice of the magazine, The Diva Inc. Magazine, is still that of a blog but from multiple women writers.
How do you stay connected with bloggers and creatives like yourself?
In 2014, I went to two AMAZING blogging conferences: Blog’her 14 in San Francisco and Blogalicious in San Antonio, TX. It was a great way to connect with other bloggers, meet new friends, and build my businesses. Through these conferences I’ve maintained contact with some amazing bloggers. Social media is also a great way to stay in touch and get inspiration. I make sure to follow all of the bloggers that I made a personal connection with during the two conferences.
What’s your favorite social media channel for personal use?
I’m almost never using social media just for personal use. My favorite social media channel right now is Instagram. There is so much you can say with just a photo and a caption.
Who are you inspired by?
I’m inspired by a lot of people when it comes to blogging, social media and video blogging. My favorite vblogger of the moment is MissLizHeart. Her videos are so glam and fit my style perfectly. I also love her IG account. Another favorite of mine is My Pale Skin Blog. Have you seen her video, You Look Disgusting? So powerful. I mean it will bring you to tears.
What advice do you have for other bloggers?
Done is better than perfect. Sometimes we overthink everything. But you have to start somewhere. So start.
Be consistent. Decide what consistency is for you. Is it once a week? Month? Everyday? Stick to that since your followers and readers will get used to that. They will start to expect it and you will gain more readers when you are consistent. This goes for all of your social media platforms as well. Make sure you are posting enough for your followers to gain a sense of who you are and what your blog is about.
Photography is everything. Using photos is an instrumental way to draw in readers to your blog. Make sure these photos are well crafted. Use the various photo editing apps to give them a je ne sais quoi that shows your style.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
While at the Blog’her 14 conference, I heard Arianna Huffington speak. She said to “Sleep your way to the top.” Ha! That was the best advice I have heard. Most of the times business owners are glorified for losing sleep. Arianna has a different approach and it makes so much more sense. Get the sleep you need so that you will be better at what you are doing. Take care of yourself. You cannot do anything, blogging, included without taking care of yourself first.
What do you love about blogging?
I love the writing and creativity of it all. I can express my feelings on a given topic with women I have never met but are inspired by my writing. It’s a way to change the world from your keyboard.
Thank you so much, Crystal-Marie! A beauty inside and out 🙂
Here is her interview that she did with me: (I’m sorry the formatting is off – I don’t know how to fix it! The spacing isn’t working so well…)
Why did you start blogging/writing? I started my blog in 2014 ago because I wanted to share my passion with others that everyone can save a lot of money if they are smart and shop sales. My mom taught me at a young age some smart tricks to buying the things you want at a good price. I would buy clothes, home décor, jewelry and everything in between for great deals and my friends and family were always amazed at how great the deals I found were.
My sister-in-law even joked that she was just going to give me her credit card so that I could buy good deals when I found them for her. With everyone always asking me how and where I got my good deals, I decided to start a blog to share with others when I found good deals so everyone could benefit! I will also occasionally share my favorite recipe as well because I love to cook and bake. Since struggling with infertility, I have since shared my infertility story and the entire month of August was spent to help raise funds for my friends who have struggled with it as well.
How have other bloggers inspired you? Their passion, creativity and drive is so fun to watch and help ignites my passion and keep it burning. I like seeing people share what they are passionate about. That’s why I started to include more personal struggles, like infertility. I want to help others feel that they are not alone and have a place to come and feel community.
Who are some of your favorite bloggers? My best friend has a great blog calling Nothing Down About It (nothingdownaboutit.com) where she shares details on her life with her darling family including her son with Down Sydrome and how he is a blessing. My sister-in-law has an absolutely beautiful fashion blog called Pink Peonies (pinkpeonies.com). She does such a great job and has the best style!
Would you consider blogging a form of therapy? Absolutely! Since writing about my infertility struggles, it has become an incredible outlet for me. Writing is definitely a form of therapy and helps me express how I’m feeling.I have been amazed at what a great support my blog has been by getting feedback through comments and emails from other incredible women.
Your blog seems to be about style but with a purpose. Can you tell us about how that came about? (Combining your passion for style and supporting infertility) Since struggling with infertility, I have shared my infertility story which has been really great for me. Since I make a commission on the sales that are generated through the deals I post to help people save money, I decided that I could use my blog as a means to help another couple get their baby through IVF.
Was it difficult to share your infertility story on your blog with all of you readers? YES!! I was SO nervous and my heart was pounding when I hit “publish.” I think whenever you share something that is close to your heart and that has been such a struggle for you, it makes you feel vulnerable. Sharing my story has been an incredible blessing to my life as I get feedback from others who have been helped and know that
they aren’t along.
What do you want The Diva Inc. Magazine readers to know about infertility and how can they support your efforts? Infertility is such a heart-wrenching, emotional experience. I continue to donate some of the funds from my blog to help raise money for infertility in the future, so you can look for that as you shop the great deals that I post! Read my story here to hopefully understand your friends or family better that are going through this: http://www.
What advice can you give aspiring bloggers/writers who want to share their story but may be hesitant because of how personal it is? Think about the impact that it could have on someone’s life. If you think the benefits outweigh the negatives, then it is time to share!
What goals did you set when you decided to share your story on your blog? I wanted to spread awareness that infertility is such a common thing, and yet so incredibly hard. I shared my story in hopes that even one person would not feel alone on their journey. I also did it so that friends and family of those struggling with infertility could understand. If you haven’t gone through it yourself, you can’t understand, so I wanted to walk through all of the details so those who haven’t experienced it could be more compassionate.
How can The Diva Inc. Magazine readers reach you (social media handles)
Instagram: @asliceofstyle
Twitter: @aslice_ofstyle
Snapchat: jenica
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