Today I am presenting another written interview with Natasha Kundi who is a Fashion Blogger.
Check out the interview:
1. What got you interested in blogging about beauty and fashion? Share your story.
I have always been a writer, I don’t even remember when I started writing but it was a long time ago and it was something that always came naturally to me. I have been a blogger for a long time but it was mostly about philosophy, poetry and day to day activities. Even though I have a degree in Bioinformatics, I always wanted to be an artist, I painted a lot in my teen years but as I grew up I discovered my love for makeup. I remember my dad was funny about his daughters wearing makeup so I used to use my black colour pencil as an eye liner.
When I was doing a degree in Bioinformatics, I also did a short self grooming course in Pakistan .I learned about makeup and since then I have wanted to be a makeup artist. Up till now, I have gone with the flow of life, getting education and a good job, just what everyone else my age was doing. I worked in Finance for 6 years in London. During my maternity leave I realized it was a good time to learn something new as I had my mum to look after my son, so I did two makeup courses. Meanwhile, I was also watching a lot of YouTube videos and reading tutorials on blogs. I thought I also wanted to write tutorials and share my techniques with others, so I with the help of my cousin, started a blog called natashakundi.com. My cousin had been a programmer for Word Press and he advised me to write as much a I could to get a better Google Rank. I started writing tips and reviews on makeup and beauty products I had lying around at home. Gradually I started getting noticed by cosmetics companies and PR Managers. I started getting free stuff which was very exciting for me. After leaving my job, I also started styling on my blog which caught attention of clothing brands and these days I am busy attending different events in London.
You can find my blog at www.natashakundi.com
2. How did you go about forming relationships with many known brands? What’s worked for you?
The best thing that has worked for me so far is Twitter, I have not contacted any of the companies instead I have extensively been noticed on Social Media so opportunities have themselves come to me. It is important to know how to use Social Media to your benefit. Sharing posts is not enough, you have to engage with the audience and talk to them like they are your friends.
Another thing that has worked for me is ‘going an extra mile’. ‘A candle loses nothing but lighting another candle’. It is not always about the money but also about the trust that ones needs to develop with people who approach. Word goes around and you get more and more PR teams and companies contacting you.
Also the ability and love for writing in itself has worked immensely for me, it does require a lot of patience.
3. How have you gone about marketing your blog and reaching a larger audience?
As I said, Twitter @natashakundi has played a huge role, I get 15-20 followers per day and it goes on to show how much people love reading my blog.
I also use other platforms, like Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Blogger, Google Plus, to share my posts which bring a lot of traffic to my blog.
4. What are some of the most common topics an audience in this industry is generally looking for?
Reviews bring a lot of attention to a blog, people are 24/7 searching for reviews before buying products so that is my main topic. I write what I genuinely feel about a product, I do not get paid to write reviews so I do try my best to review only things that I like. I don’t like to rant on my blog.
Since only writing reviews can be quite dry and boring and they do not interest everyone who follows my blog, so I also write about other things like food ideas, home ideas, beauty tips, fashion tips and traveling. I will soon start writing about fun stuff too, things that readers love to know about bloggers that they follow.
5. What are your future plans for 2014 and beyond?
I plan to take blogging up as a career as I am going at a good pace. I have recently moved to Isle of Wight, its a beautiful place but London has the most opportunities for anyone and everyone. I do often go back to attend events. I plan to host some blogging events here in Isle of Wight but I have only been able to find 1 or 2 bloggers.
Twitter: www.twitter.com/natashakundi
Facebook: www.facebook.com/natashakmakeup
Instagram: www.instagram.com/natashakundi
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/natashakundi
Bloglovin: http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11666831
