Over the past years fashion bloggers have become an intricate part of the
industry’s current landscape. But blogging itself has evolved with time as
well and become a full-time pursuit for many and become a complex blend of
content, marketing and branding. Never before has a fashion blogger’s
influence reached as far or as wide, and labels from around the world are
keener than ever to work with them. But how do bloggers approach brands?
What actually goes into the daily running of a blog? For the first episode
in this series, FashionUnited spoke to Kristabel Plummer, the blogger
behind ‘‘I Want You to Know’ to learn more about the business of fashion
blogging.

1. How did your blog ‘I Want You to Know’ first begin?

“I have always been interested in fashion. At first I started reading
things like Perez Hilton and The Cut, which were very limited, but then The
Cut led me to other fashion blogs like Style Bubble, Flying Saucer and
Fashion Robot. It was such an interesting way for me to consume fashion and
learn about fashion. So gradually I started thinking that maybe I should
start my own blog.”

“Eventually I went to this vintage clothing sale in London, which was just
epic – but my friends weren’t necessarily as interested about it as I was
because I had discovered it through Style Bubble. So when I got home I
thought I’d do a blog post about it. I left a comment in Suzie’s blog post
about my post and then that led to some people commenting on my blog,
saying they like it and would love to see what it looks like on. But it
took me a while to put pictures of myself up on my blog – at first I would
just cut my head off. But it became a nice place for me to share what I was
buying and what inspired me to buy these items.”

2. Where did the name ‘I Want You To Know’ come from?

“The came from a song. Obviously the name of the song was ‘I want you to
know’ by Charlotte Hatherley. I was obsessed with the song back then and at
the time I was asking myself, what do I call my blog? I didn’t want to call
it fashion something, so I thought I’d call it I Want You to Know because
it’s quite broad and covers areas I want others to know about.”

3. How long did it take for your blog to start attracting visitors?

“It took me a while to get any sort of traffic to my site. It took me 4 to
6 months to realise there was tracking, but then I realised there’s someone
from Germany visiting every day. I’d guess it took me a like a good 6
months to get regular comments, but then it was a quite nice little
community feeling. It was great that people were sharing things and helping
one each other…I have a broad selection of visitors, back in the day I
would have said a lot of bloggers, a lot of connected people that knew
these things even existed back then. But now it can be anyone. So many more
people know about blogs now so I have all sorts of readers.”

4. How many visitors would you say have?

“Visitor numbers vary on my blog, but I would say I have my biggest
following in the UK and then I think it’s the US and Canada . If I am away
or travelling somewhere without internet it can dip. On Instagram I have
11.3 thousand followers, I have several thousand Twitter followers and just
under 300,000 Pinterest followers, so that’s quite a big network there.
Basic bloglovin’ almost 2,000 so it can vary quite a bit, but there is a
following on each platform. I also have a Youtube channel, which is very
new. It depends on the audience, some people want to consume what you do in
a different way and the vlogs help me reach a new type of audience as well.”

5. How often do you post on your blog?

“I post on my blog three times a week and on my Youtube channel I am aiming
for once a week. It changes though, because I do not want to film all the
time, so it’s mixing the blogs with the vlogs and chatty videos where I
just sit down and talk to the camera about something.”

6. What does a normal day working on your blog look like?

“I try to wake up at 8 am, but sometimes it varies. I usually check my
emails in the mornings and plan my posts for the week. Sometimes I may have
to go to an event, or a press get together or have a meeting, so it
changes. Or a trip comes up and then you have to go on a trip suddenly and
it messes up your schedule a bit. So your week can look very different if
you are travelling. Sometimes I’ll be out and about all day creating
content and taking pictures.”

7. Do you work with a team, or alone?

“I normally get whoever I am with at the time to take my pictures. I have a
housemate who is also a blogger, so she is quite handy with a camera. I try
to utilize my time the best I can with people who can take my pictures.
Sometimes I get photographers contacting me to work together. But I do
create all my own content and occasionally I’ll have a guest blog or post.
Once when I went away, I asked my friend to write a post, but it is rare
and I will still sub-edit it.”

8. What type of events do you attend and cover on your blog?

“London Fashion Week and fashion-related press days are the types of events
I always try to attend, although I don’t necessarily write about the press
days as it’s a way for the brand to be let me know what they are doing and
to meet new people as well. I think travelling in general is good as well,
because during London Fashion Week there is a lot of the same or similar
content appearing everywhere, but if you go on a trip, not everyone is
doing that. I love discovering new places and been exposed to new cultures,
I find it very inspiring.”

9. Can you tell us a bit more about your blog posts, for example your
OTTD posts?

“I try to vary my blog posts because at first I did not want to have
constant pictures of myself. But I always have this list of ideas and
sometimes some of them take more planning, especially ones on location, so
they need to be thought out ahead of time. The outfit of the day posts are
fairly simply, it’s just getting everything else right, especially when I
am travelling.”

“I normally plan my outfit posts when I am travelling ahead of time because
then I can make sure I pack everything I want to bring. When I am at home I
may have an idea, but it can change when I am trying things on. But I try
to bring things with me that I can swap if needed. I usually bring a few
different jewelry options, shoes and such. I am styling it up and tweaking
it as I go, but most outfit of the day posts are pre-thought out.”

10. How would you define your style?

“My style is quite eclectic. I do like fit and flare shapes, like girly
with a twist. I like a full skirt, things that I can use to create more of
a shape to my figure. But then sometimes I’ll wear something slightly more
androgynous, it depends. If I find the right pieces that suit me then I
will wear them. Such as the 70s trend, it was not my favourite trend, if I
am honest, but occasionally you’ll find something that works for you. I am
not trying to change myself to fit the trend, but seeing if something in
that trend comes along that works for me. I wear a lot of color and
patterns, print, plain – as long as the shape is right for me.”

11. Do you see yourself more as a blogger or an entrepreneur?

“I feel like I am something in between an entrepreneur and a blogger. But I
want to be more of an entrepreneur. I want to influence more people and
spread my message about being yourself and making the best of yourself and
not changing yourself just to fit a trend. I want to talk about how to
build a wardrobe, which doesn’t necessarily mean buying something new every
week, but rather building a wardrobe with pieces you can be wearing for the
next few years hopefully and beyond.”

“I want to have a stronger message as well. That it is okay to be different
and that is okay to still be figuring things out because that’s what I am
still doing.”

12. In what way do you work together with brands?

“They tend to approach me with a pitch for a post, but if I have a
relationship with them already, like I do with Boden, then I may pitch
something to them. I do work with an PR agent as well, so they may bring me
things or I may bring things to them. Somethings are paid, somethings are
unpaid. Recently I have been working on brand relationships and going back
to certain brands like Boden, asking them if we can work together. I don’t
really have a consent relationship with brands going at the moment, but I
am working on it.”

13. Are there certain qualities/values you look for when working with
brands?

“When working with certain brands, I prefer the clothes to have a certain
quality level. For example, Boden, they have very decent quality clothing
and it suits my style. Obviously it has to suit my style and be something I
would wore anyway before I share it on my blog, which I think is the main
thing. There is this website called ‘Everything for 5 pounds’ and I would
never do anything with them because that is not what I am about as a
blogger. If a brand like that does contact me looking for a sponsored post
then I will thank them for contacting me, but say it’s not for me and let’s
just keep in touch. It happens all the time.”

“But even if it is a brand that I would not normally go for, as long as the
quality is there then it’s ok. There are so many different things to look
for. Brands may have one product that may work for me. I try to pride
myself by being able to style up things in unexpected way.”

14. You are quite open with your sponsored posts on your blog, why?

“I just think that if someone is saying that you have to write this then
it’s only fair to be open about it. If I don’t believe in it, if I use
something and it hasn’t worked for me then I wouldn’t lie about it either.
So far, neither have happened to be because I tend to choose things and
brands that work for me. I am just open because I prefer to be open about
things. It’s really nothing to be ashamed of, I think it’s quite
enterprising.”

15. Can you live fully off your blog?

“Running a blog can be amazing work, but it is not always consistent, it’s
a lot of work getting these consistent paying clients. So I try to do
freelance work as well, like social media writing. But it would be amazing
to dedicate myself full time to my blog. I am still working on that, but
obviously people see your life but they don’t realise it is a constant
gig. But freelancing is also good for me, I think it’s good for me to be
writing more as well and writing for other people, so I am definitely going
to try and be doing more of that as well because it makes me more versatile
and flexible. But when it comes to freelancing I wouldn’t go for just
anyone. I want to work with people who are positive and empowering. They
have to sit along with my values.”

16. How much time would you say you invest in running your blog?

“Most of it really. I was trying to work out how much time I spend, but
sometimes it varies. If I have lots of deadlines, then I’ll work all the
time, and I can be a bit of a last minute person so it can seem like I am
working constantly, but it is fun work.”

17. Do you have differently approaches for your social media channels?

“I definitely have different approaches for my channels. On Pinterest,
sometimes I’ll pin things for other blogs, inspiring things and then
Instagram is full of all my own images I take with my iPhone, and are
usually a bit more considered. I try to make sure that I do not have too
similar images next to each other as it is about having that mix and asking
‘if people look at this feed what will they think.’ Facebook is more based
on what I have been posting on my blog and what I am buying or anything
interesting that I have seen. Some of them are more thought out than
others.”

18. Are there any brands in particular you would like to work with?

“I’d love to do more stuff with Asos and Topshop because obviously I wear
their clothes, or Orla Kiely because I love all their clothes. Travels
brands as well because then you can introduce the fashion touch.”

19. Do you have a fixed fee you charge per sponsored post?

“I tend to have a standard rate for working with brands that my PR agency
has set. It can be over a thousand pounds, but then 20 percent goes to my
agent and 20 percent to tax so then the actual amount that you get is not
as much as you would think. Then there is time taken to create everything
for the post – outfit, accessories, hair, makeup, editing and then posting
it and sharing it. I think that brands can get quite a good deal when
working with bloggers. So although I don’t charge thousands of pounds for a
post, it reflects the skills of being both photographer, editor, model and
stylist along with having a social media following.”

“I also keep the clothes they let me pick out, it would be a bit weird to
give the clothes back. It doesn’t cost them as much as the clothes are on
the website so its not really bad. Also if I wear the clothes again it’s
beneficial for the brand because then they’ll have another image on
Instagram that they haven’t had to pay for. ”

20. Do you have any tips for brand looking to collaborate with
bloggers, and vice versa?

“I think that sometimes a brand will come to you with a big ole proposal,
but they haven’t really thought about it. It would be nice if they would
involve us bloggers in that process a bit more. It was great for me to be
able to pitch something to Boden and tell them I was going to Jamaica and
wanted to do something with them and incorporate the brand into my holiday
wardrobe.”

“Just come up to us and say ‘this is our budget, we’d love to work with
you, what do you think? maybe we can come up with something.’ That’s my
ideal working process, if you collaborate together then you can come up
with something more unique. Some brands really do not understand it and are
going to the wrong bloggers to feature them, and then they ask for so much,
but do not always offer enough in return. Which makes you think if it is
taking away time from things you as a blogger could actually be making
money from.”

21. What is your main goal for your blog at the moment?

“It would be great if it were supporting me fully and if it were to reach
an even wider audience that would enjoy it – people who want to be
inspired, build a wardrobe, develop their own style, experiment with
fashion, sort of be the best versions of themselves they can be.”

22. Where do you see yourself and your blog in five years?

“I really don’t know to be honest! I am sure I will still be blogging over
the next five years but I think it will evolve into something else. I’m
almost at 7 years of blogging, which is really interesting because blogging
has been the backbone of my twenties – I started at 21. I don’t see myself
stopping the blog at 30, but maybe I’ll have something else I want to do. I
would like to still work for myself, so I hope it will evolve into a better
business than it is now.”

23. What is the main piece of advice you would give to someone just
starting their own fashion blog?

“Make sure it is really something that you love doing. That you are not
just doing it to become famous or for income, that you are doing it because
you want to share things and inspire people. Really, we are all a bit weird
as bloggers. We are all a bit internetty when we were young, I made my
first website at the age of 12 so I was never really a cool person, but now
it’s cool to be on the internet. Sometimes I feel like you need that weird
obsessive compulsive streak in you as well.”

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