Santa Monica, CA-The name Heidi Nazarudin (of The Ambitionista) comes up a large number amount of times on my blog. The name should sound familiar because simply her along with her business partner Ponn Sabra created BloggerBabes. A resource for bloggers upcoming and just getting started. I recently made note of them in a post I wrote as well. I am grateful that I can reach out to Heidi with her already busy schedule and ask questions and get the answers.
Heidi has been blogging well over 5 years and this is her full-time work. With close to over a quarter of a million followers combine on major social networks, Heidi Nazarudin is our chosen expert to give you tips on the questions you really want to know.
Social Media networks: @TheAmbitionista/ @HeidiNazarudin
What prompt you to start your blog
I was already a fashion writer and writing/managing other blogs. I really liked the interaction with the online community and so naturally, decided to go out on my own to cultivate more of it.
When do you find time to publish your content?
I do a lot of the work at the start of the month. We plan our editorial calendar and get the writing and photography at the start of the month, so I can continue marketing, meeting, strategizing and other work for the rest of the month.
I went to facebook and asked “As a blogger, what are your struggles?” Traffic was the main one. What do you suggest bloggers do as far as gaining traffic to their site?
1, Making sure your posts and images are SEO optimized.
2. do a lot of social media marketing.
And when it comes to social media, you have to pay attention to your headlines. Think of your blog post as a product and your headline as the wrapping. You want to sell your product yes, but its packaging has to be really attractive to make people want to open it. A lot of bloggers make the mistake of NOT writing great headlines , and then, not doing enough social media marketing.
Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere, everytime I read, do things, visit new places, meet people I get inspired. The challenge for me is to choose which inspiration to act on.
What are your tactics for gaining followers on social media?
I always ask myself- is my content interesting and entertaining to get followers? Does it follow a consistent theme? I pay close attention to only posting relevant and beautiful content. And then I cross promote a lot.
How long have you been blogging professionally?
Almost 7 years.
When is the best time to consider taking on an agent?
The best time is when you are doing well enough on your own, but you are at that point where you need someone to filter pitches/get bigger contracts and negotiate for you while you concentrate on marketing. And don’t think your bloggers will do all the work for you. Your agent acts like a loudspeaker, in a way but if you have nothing worthwhile to pitch or offer, an agent is not giong to help.
You recently had the opportunity to work with an Internationally well known brand, Giorgio Armani. How did that come about?
I reached out to them via Linkedin and it took a while ( about 6 months) for something concrete to come about. I reached out to them with an idea I have and I made sure I laid-out the value in it for them. That’s always been my strategy – asking “what is in it for the other party.”
What one word of advice would you give to someone who wants to take the steps you’ve taken to reach where you are at right now in your blogging career?
Concentrate on your brand (what is your blog about), your readers and engagement. If you have these 3 things figured out, everything else would follow.
Want to know how to grow your blog and gain organic traffic? Click here to check out the amazing info I have been using!
