Blogging with Purpose - Garnerstyle

Blogging with Purpose

As I reflect on the last few weeks and take into account emails that I often get from aspiring bloggers, I can say that sometimes I am a little disappointed with integrity of some.   Let me explain.  For most of us who started this blogging journey around 5 years ago, we didn't know that it would create any revenue, popularity, or have the potential to become a full time blog.  I feel like, for the most part, we all started these blogs to have a voice, express our love for fashion, and to help people.  The thought that we could possibly change an entire industry and give plus size a voice was unprecedented and uncharted territory.  This was all done with any hope of ever receiving a dime, at least in my mind. 

London Times, Plus Size
(I shot this some time ago, but wasn't crazy about the look.  So many of you posted interest in the dress from Instagram I decided to post it.  You can find the dress here.  

Blogging, especially plus size blogging, has grown such a substantial amount that it affords many of us the opportunity to actually support ourselves and do something that we absolutely adore.   Questions that often plague my inbox are “How do I get free clothes?” if “I start a blog, Can I get x,y, & z, ?“  or “How can I make money?” (Please note that I have found that rarely is something ever free.)  I am often plagued with SPAM, Facebook tags by businesses, and email after email of people trying to take advantage of me, my readers, and the traffic that I have rightfully earned through nothing else but dedication.  So many blogging etiquette boundaries are crossed even from my own peers. I turn down a lot of opportunities just for the sheer fact that I don’t believe in the product and that I won’t pimp out my readers.
 
So how do you build a successful blog?  I have heard so many try to quantify this response.  You can do the SEOs, the social media tips, and for some you can even buy some of your influence.    Some of those has some validity, but for me, I blog from the heart.  My mission has always been to dispel the myth that plus size women can’t be stylish.  That’s it.  To me, a blogger’s purpose is so transparent and can easily be seen from the largest to the smallest of blogs.   I can always see when someone is being sincere or when someone is an opportunist.  A good example of this is the person trying to you to post a photo of you and them so they can take advantage of your social media traffic (side eye).  I love the opportunities that I get from blogging and I am always happy to see my colleagues shine as well.  


Do opportunities just fall out of the sky?  For me, they don’t.  I fight for a lot of the things I get.  There are a lot of days I want to press the delete button on my own blog from pure frustration and then there are days where I’m just amazed at what just happened.    My best advice is to be genuine, consistent, and have patience.  

30 comments

  1. Wow! What on earth happened at FFF fashion week? I remember another blogger posting about this same stuff last year. This is sad and shameful. Hopefully, the opportunists will fall to the wayside. In reality you can't get ahead unless you put your energy into something you love and are passionate about. Anything else will look like a get rich quick scheme.

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  2. Really great post! Thank you so much for writing this. As a fairly new blogger I started my journey because I wanted to share my passion for natural hair. Overtime my love for plus fashion started to creep into the blog and now it's a part of who I am. I enjoy every minute of it.
    I don't have the traffic that you do and I'm not in for the money or clothes. I'm in this because I love connecting with women across the US and beyond that share common experiences.
    My blog is growing and I'm excited every single time that I have a new follower. Not because I'm hoping that brands will see but because I have a new connection that I can make.
    I've been a fan of yours for so long and with every post you inspire me. Thank You!

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    1. Never lose that! Every new person that chooses to follow my blog or just the wonderful support I get from longtime followers I still get excited over.

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  3. Great post, and so right on! I definitely consider what I do as blogger to be more about showing love than a way to become famous or get rich quick. I genuinely try to find ways to connect with my audience and be a voice for them. I have greatly enjoyed reading your blog over the years, and applaud how far you have come. Your shopping tips are priceless, and I love your personal style. Keep up the great work!

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  4. Good post & I totally agree. The reason why I started Curvatude was in hopes of encouraging other women by how I live and view life to own their curves and their lives with attitude.

    Never was it about money or free things, both of which I turn down regularly if I am not genuinely interested in a brand or product.


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  5. Nice post! This is the first time reading your blog. I'm pretty new to the blog world myself, though not a fashion blogger. I started my blog to jump start my personal development and keep me accountable. Now, readers are taking steps to development as well. I'm proud of what my blog has become and I hope to not get bogged down in traffic, likes and shares. Keeping consistent is key for myself as well as my readers.

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  6. Thank you for your honesty, Chasity. I have been a fan of your blog for some time, and I wouldn't even put you in the category of opportunist bloggers. Normally you can pick up on it when you go to their blog-it's pretty easy to spot.

    Like many things in life, people want all the good without putting in any work for it.

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  7. It seems a lot of people read your blog because I would consider you one of the few 'Top Shelf' of plus size bloggers. You carry yourself with class and speak frankly about plus size concerns. All plus size blogs, I admit, are not geared to the same plus size audiences. However, I wonder where plus size women got the idea that skin tight (especially without shapewear), tacky, and showing too much of the 3 B's (boobs, belly and butt) is attractive? It's not cute on straight sizes. I'm not hating, but every style is not for everybody. There are some styles a size 18 can wear but a 28 should not (at least not without modifications). This is what I'm working on-designing classy, comfortable clothing for sizes 1X-6X (my focus will be the super plus size 4X-up). I don't know how far this will take me, but I will be blogging about it soon. Thank you for being such an inspiration.

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  8. Ok, so let me just start out by saying that I may or may not have squealed a little bit when I saw that you "followed" me on IG! lol

    I initially started blogging for me. I wanted to challenge myself, take note of what I was wearing and enhance my personal style. Today those same reasons remain. But since then I have gained the added bonus of connecting with and inspiring other plus size, working moms and wives, which I am beyond excited about.

    Your blog was among the first ones that I came across when I figured out there was such a thing as a plus size fashion blogger (for personal style). I was inspired from that moment on. I had no idea about the possible monetary gains, but since it's such a relatively new concept, people don't realize the work that has to go into it to get to that point. People see what's out there and want to get it without putting forth an effort. *sigh*

    I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Thank you for putting yourself out there to inspire others to put their best foot forward every day.

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    1. I'm mad it took me so long. Sometimes I don't even realize who I'm following and who I'm not. Anywho, I always appreciate you!

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  9. great post .... love the look as well

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  10. So glad to have read this. Thank you for posting.

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  11. Thank you Chastity! I feel so guilty when I don't respond to one of the 4 (just kidding) people that follow me. Sometimes you can't answer everyone but I can't tell you how many blogs I visit where the blogger answers NO ONE. As you can imagine, those are one and done. :)

    p.s. That dress is hot girl! I don't know why you were trying to hide the look.

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  12. Dang, ish just got real! *lol* This was a great post. In the short while I've been blogging I've been amazed at how competitive it can be sometimes...and how much brands try to take advantage of the "free publicity" on blogs. I, too, have turned down things that I felt weren't the right fit for me and my readers (you don't want to know how many fat fetish dating sites have tried to advertise on my site!). And I get down sometimes about why I might not be as successful as some others who are out there or when I feel that there is not support, but instead competition and spite. But, at the end of the day, I remember why I started my blog - to share information with other women like me who need help in putting together their corporate wardrobe. Ultimately I've decided that my only agenda is to spread love and light...even when it's not shining on me.

    Oh, and love the dress...seriously may have to cop that!!

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  13. @Marie Denee no TWO SNAPS in "Z" formation

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  14. I so meant to respond to this earlier when I was taking a break from cleaning my bath tub...(I am so damn glamorous lol)...First I want to say that I can't believe people would just come out and say some of these things it's just tacky and rude! I am a new blogger and I'm new because well I was to scared to put myself out there. I had an idea to do something like this just because it seems to me that people think just because they are fat that they are ugly and that just baffles me! My husband is the one that found your blog for me a looonnng time ago and was like see this is a thing you can do this! I was still on the fence about but after reading your blog then finding more and more blogs geared toward plus size fashion I got the courage to do it so here I am :) There really is nothing super special about me I feel like I am just like a lot of women except they just don't know they can look super awesome and that's all I'm trying to spread is that we are women and we are lucky because we get to decorate ourselves and look fantastic. Anyway keep up the good work I'm inspired on the daily by you!

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  15. ps. the whole time i was cleaning I kept cracking up about your side eye lol

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    1. Well at least we know your bathroom is clean LOL> Every now and again I get the nuts to say what I really think...LOL. I think sometimes people can forget that bloggers can have their own opinions too. We are people just like the rest of yall. Lord if people only knew what I really thought in real life. I'd be in trouble trouble trouble (in Bernie Mac's voice) LOL. Anywho, I'm so happy that you started blogging...and you are special. We all are :)

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  16. You're looking very good! Woooowwwie!

    www.themindofanexchange.blogspot.COM

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  17. Unfortunately many people now want to start a blog to get money...it's quite sad actually.. I too write because I like to and never really thought about getting money from it! It would be awesome to work full time on the blog and get paid, of course it would! But that's not my main goal! I like helping people, making new friends and chat with girls that had or have the same problems I had when I was younger and that's really what warms my heart...knowing I helped one person is far more gratifying that getting paid to write my blog, something I already love doing! =D

    I really think it's good you touched this subject!

    xoRosie
    The Austrian Rose

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    1. I wanted to say that's what I hear often from new bloggers. "When will the money start rolling in"? My blog is still just something I do for me. I've been blogging since 2006 because I wanted a place to share my interests and comments. Overtime, it's been a place that I can see how my family and I have grown.
      And if I manage to get some free stuff that's fine too. But definitely not my inspiration.
      What a wonderful post Chastity.

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  18. I really, really enjoyed this piece! You're speaking a lot of truths here. Another motivator, other than money or free things, are the bloggers who are desperate to "go viral." It's so painfully obvious, and comes off as suuuuper not genuine. Yes, you may get noticed by brands and news outlets for a day, but that type of interest fades VERY quickly. It seems better to achieve sustainable success by being real and building your audience naturally, than to get a million hits in a day and then have no one ever read your blog again.


    xo, Erin
    Zero Style

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  19. wow. Such a beautiful post! i do understand you very much! I am one of that persons that have had the need to fight for everything that has happened in her life and still will do.
    Sometimes instead of thinking of just money we need to think of the passion that moved us first.

    You never fail to inspire me so much!


    ì

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  20. Until week ago I thought that fblogs are only written by skinny girls with no ass and hungry eyes and then I discovered blogs such as yours - with girls which are not ashamed of loving their bodies. I must admit it made me stronger since others were telling me that I'm fat. Well, f... them all, we all look perfect. If I would loose my weight it would be because of some changes in my life not because of someone telling me I'm ugly cause I'm not. I must definitely add you to my favs. Love from Poland! xx

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  22. You are an inspiration to all women, your fabulous style, confidence and posture are just amazing. Keep doing what you are doing and know that there are gals out there that truly appreciate all you do!

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  23. You are a fabulous inspiration! THANKS!

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