#DMTBeautySpot #beauty

Now that I am two months into quarantine I feel comfortable sharing how I have chosen to approach my blog and social media during this intense time in the world.

I’m not going to lie, in the beginning of our quarantine I went on total autopilot. As someone who functions well under intense stress and anxiety, I immediately started posting about how we are giving back to others during this time. Grant and I started being extra silly on camera by dancing and started to really peel back the layers of our lives to let others in. But then I got sad. Really, really sad. I didn’t want to post. All I wanted to do was curl up in bed and cry. So I did the only thing I knew how to do, I shared my experience with others.

A few weeks went by and I witnessed bloggers make some pretty tragic mistakes with their accounts. It was quite disheartening to see articles begin to circulate about how the influencer and blogging industry was going to die as a result of COVID-19 (all just because of a few confused apples). With each article that was released, I became more and more frustrated.  Do you know how many times, how many years and how many comments I have heard “the blogging industry is dying?”

I’ve been blogging for over 7 years and I can tell you one thing: This industry isn’t going anywhere.

I actually believe it’s quite the opposite. Many of us are seeing an exceptional increase in engagement, an increase in comments and likes and an increase in overall impressions. Now more than ever, people want to feel connected to someone or something. I took a very close look at the type of content we were creating and turned inward to reflect on how my work was making me feel. I decided to go all in on creating the type of content that made me feel great. Because if I don’t feel great creating it, then how can I expect anyone to feel good reading or following along?

1. Leaning In To Reality

Rather than fighting against the grain of what it means to have a perfectly curated feed or website, I consciously decided to let my guard down. I leaned in to more mirror selfies which was something I had previously reserved for a once a week occurrence. I also truly let my guard down and showed snapshots with zero make-up on, day after day after day. I shared outfits that weren’t 100% style-worthy and little moments with June. I also opened up on days that I wasn’t feeling optimistic or hopeful. I posted on days that I felt sad. I posted on days that I felt happy {and still do}. The interesting thing is that so many of you wrote in on those days sharing that you were experiencing similar emotions.  Even on days where I couldn’t quite pinpoint my exact reason for anxiety or sadness, I felt it.

Quickly I learned that we are all experiencing a collective energy that is rooted in grief.

2. Have a Purpose

If you have millions of monthly readers who visit your blog, social media platforms or any other type of audience who is interested in hearing your voice, then you better use that voice for a reason. Now more than ever have I found it absolutely imperative to have some sort of charitable element be a major part of Damsel in Dior. We decided to donate 50% of our commissions to Baby2Baby and I also set up a GoFundMe for my friend Amanda Kloots.

3. Adjust the Sails with Consistency

While I knew we had to adjust our posting ever so slightly, I also knew it was absolutely vital to stay in tune with the Damsel aesthetic and voice during this time.

People want someone they can trust and a voice that is consistent and reliable.

It is so important that our posting cadence always remain very consistent with a steady schedule of posts going up each day on all platforms. I saw a few people on Instagram dramatically shift their posting schedules. I watched as they started using various filters, posting different quotes and wild outfits. Their followers slowly declined and readership dwindled. It was quite sad to witness because I knew in my heart that the only reason they felt confused was for personal reasons. But it also taught me a very valuable lesson: What I do for work is WORK. While we share our personal lives with you guys 24/7 I also need to remind myself that my work doesn’t just mean something to us, it means something to others who tune in each day. I don’t want to let those people down.

4. But how do you create?

When there are no flights to Cabo and no photoshoots in a studio happening, how does one create interesting content? Thankfully I’ve watched hundred of people blossom during this time by creating fun IGTV episodes, dance series’, funny TikTok persona’s and interesting articles about bread-making and working from home routines.

The true creators are being asked to step up and show us what they’ve got.

It would be easy to sit back and say “but I don’t have anyone to take my photos.” But I tell you what, I take a ton of my images with a tripod and self timer. In fact, some of my best work is done that way. Honestly? Imperfect moments tend to always perform better because that’s what people really want right now. In a world of chaos, we are all craving truth.

Listen, I have never and will never claim to be an expert in this field. I learn something new every day and even after 7 years I am still trying to figure it all out. With new technology, new camera’s, new apps {hello TikTok} and now new illness {ugh} always throwing us a curveball, the age of influence is fluid. We must always been adjusting and making changes as our world changes around us.

Click here for a full list of my blogging content creation gear.

How are you guys handling this pandemic on your blogs and social media feeds? I’d love to hear what you are doing!

DMTBeautySpot

via https://www.DMTBeautySpot.com

jaceylenae, Khareem Sudlow