1. Tell us about what your blog is about + what inspired you to start blogging?
www.absolutelylucy.com is my happy place. It started out as a bit of a hobby but has grown into so much more, now it is a place where I express my thoughts, ideas, experiences and opinions. It is a huge part of my life and I love sharing it with new and old readers. The blog started as a kind of online diary, so I could keep a record of my life and all the amazing memories, but now it has grown into a place where I can grow and share my own personal writing with people who love the same things I do. I was inspired by a group of bloggers after being invited along to a bloggers’ party last autumn – so many of them had turned their hobby into a full-time career. I was so impressed, and loved that they got to spend every day doing something they really enjoyed. While I have no expectations that my blog will ever reach that level, it really made me want to have my own space to pursue writing on topics that interest me.
2. We love your mix of lifestyle, opinion, and trend-led posts. What has been your favourite post to write?
I like to keep my readers on their toes by covering as many different topics as possible, while I steer clear of fashion posts and have only tried a few beauty posts, I prefer to cover topics like food, travel, opinion and my own experiences. One of my favourite posts has to be my reaction to some comments made by Kirstie Allsopp (http://absolutelylucy.com/2014/06/04/kirstie-allsopp-wants-to-send-women-back-to-the-dark-ages/) because it had a huge reaction from readers who had been there from the beginning, new ones who suddenly stumbled across my blog and even Kirstie Allsopp herself over Twitter. It was great to have so much interaction come from one post and I loved writing it because I felt so passionately about the topic.
3. Think back to when you first started blogging. Are there any tips you would give your pre-blogging self?
It seems such a long time ago now but it’s still less than a year ago! I have so many tips I would give to new bloggers – things like sticking to topics you love rather than what you think will get you readers. Be organised from the beginning, set yourself a schedule and keep a list of blog post ideas, it makes things less daunting when you’re looking at a blank screen. But at the same time, don’t be afraid to take some time out from blogging if it becomes less fun or you run out of things to say – quality, not quantity. Check out my other tips in this post: http://absolutelylucy.com/2014/06/19/what-have-i-learnt-in-my-nine-months-of-blogging-top-tips-for-beginners/
4. Do you have a long-term plan for blogging? Where do you see yourself and your blog in a year’s time?
I’m in the process of making my blogging plans for the next year and have recently gone self-hosted, which was the biggest change so far. I was very excited to be completely independent and am loving it so far! I’m going travelling next year and am planning to incorporate more travel posts into my blog, transitioning into a travel and lifestyle blog but still keeping it open to all kinds of posts. Hopefully in a year’s time I will still be loving it as much as I do now, the biggest difference will be that I will be blogging from a beach instead of my bedroom! On another note, I’ve had a few people tell me to give vlogging a go, but I’m just not brave enough yet!
5. We know you love travelling and going to festivals and gigs. Any hints at future posts/adventures?
I certainly do! Well as you guys will know we are slap bang in the middle of festival season and I’m heading to Secret Garden Party this weekend, then Eastern Electrics and BoomTown Fair so expect reviews and lots of pictures from those. We’ll also have a lot more posts coming up as my plans for travelling next year are firmed up, so watch this space! As usual, any requests are always welcome!
6. Finally, whose blogs and vlogs are you loving right now?
There are so many bloggers I adore and becoming a blogger has meant I spend more time reading other blogs than ever before! I love anygirlfriday.com – Em talks feminism and writes really well about a lot of taboo topics, her posts are witty and well written and cover topics you won’t often find anywhere else. I also love the work of EmTalks.co.uk – I really like Em’s style and her travel posts are great, I also find her blogging story very inspiring. And as you can imagine, I’m reading a lot of travel blogs right now, favourites include thetravelista.net myhotpinkpassport.com and adventurouskate.com among many others!
As a full time journalist, many people can’t understand why I want to write when I get home as well, but I always say that I am a self-confessed writing addict – I find the process so therapeutic. Particularly when it comes to writing for my blog and covering the topics I really love, Absolutely Lucy is an outlet for all my stresses, thoughts and memories – it’s my baby! I just hope that everyone else loves it as much as I do. If you fancy checking out absolutelylucy.com, why not leave a comment and say hi? Get regular blog updates by liking www.facebook.com/AbsolutelyLucy, follow me on Twitter or on Instagram You can also find me on Bloglovin too!.
[…] After being so busy last week and away at Secret Garden Party all weekend, I never had a chance to share my exciting news with all of you. I made sure my Twitter followers and Facebook friends knew, but there just wasn’t time to write a post telling you that I was chosen as The Bloggers’ Lounge featured Blogger of the Week! I couldn’t believe my luck to be chosen and was honoured to be interviewed by Rebecca for the website so that all of their thousands of readers would all be introduced to my blog. After only just going self-hosted and deciding to make some serious changes to Absolutely Lucy over the coming months in terms of layout, design and also content, it was lovely to have the chance to tell people about my plans and about what Absolutely Lucy is really all about. It was also really nice to receive so many lovely comments and messages of encouragement from readers, fellow bloggers and the guys at The Bloggers’ Lounge. So often you can feel like all your hard work goes unnoticed – and believe me, a lot of work goes into creating and maintaining a blog – so when someone finally shines a light on you it really is an amazing feeling. It is so rewarding when you receive messages from bloggers you really respect and who inspired you to start blogging with their congratulations for being chosen. You can read the full interview here. […]