DIARY directory recently caught up with Josie Fear, editor of London-based lifestyle blog, Fashion Mumblr. Designed to emphasise attainable and inspirational details, Fashion Mumblr has a special focus on the subjects of fashion, beauty and travel. By incorporating a classic, chic and feminine style which is affordable and on trend, the blog aims to be  an online destination for girls hoping to attain their own form of self expression. Josie has worked with a number of brands, both high street and luxury, including Piz Buin, Boots, Bulgari, Tom Ford, Pandora and ghd to name a few. 

UK Fashion, Beauty & Travel Blogger

Featured on Grazia & The Debrief.

"Millennials do not respond to traditional forms of
advertising any more"

Listed in DIARY directory in the digital influencers subsection, along with 1000+ categorised influencers for PRs to work with, Josie shares her thoughts on buying followers, how brands can work better with influencers, and what the future holds for magazines vs blogs.


When and why did you start your blog?

I started my blog in August 2014; I was in my final year of University at London College of Fashion and also working at Mulberry. I wanted to create a place online where I could record my experience working at the fashion brand, and also have somewhere that could be an information hub for others looking to get into the fashion industry, so I wrote tips and snippets all about interning, behind the scenes at Fashion Week, CV tips etc etc. To be honest, I didn't even know I was blogging, to me, Blogspot was just a free website!

When was the moment you realised you could go full time?

As with so many girls and guys that are now full time bloggers, I never, ever dreamt it could become a full time job when I started. I didn't even realise that I could earn a single penny from it. Gradually brands started approaching me to work together, and it was when I was having to turn down paid opportunities and trips abroad because of my office work schedule, that I realised I had to make a tough decision!

What's an average day in the life for you?

This is the hardest question because no two days are the same! Today, I will spend the morning ensuring I am up to date with my emails and admin (there is SO much blogger admin that goes on behind the scenes!) before I plan content for the week. I'll write posts and plan the videos I need to film. This afternoon I'll be photographing and filming videos, as well as visiting Doddle where I'll collect and unbox my blogger mail to decide which products I'm going to try out. Other days, like tomorrow I will have a full day photoshoot with a brand, and at least 3 days a week (although I am trying to cut this down to two) will be spent in central London with back to back meetings with brands, discussing how we will work together, new product launches etc, and also popping into any Press Days or blogger events in between meetings if I have time!

"To me, the key thing is to look at engagement. I see a lot of bloggers running loop giveaways right now, and their following can increase dramatically, but their followers are following them in the hope of winning something, and not because they are interested in the blogger themselves. "

 
What are your thoughts on influencers buying followers? Is it getting harder and harder to establish whose following is genuine?

I like to think that brands are wise to this. To me, the key thing is to look at engagement. I see a lot of bloggers running loop giveaways right now, and their following can increase dramatically, but their followers are following them in the hope of winning something, and not because they are interested in the blogger themselves. By looking at 'Likes' on a photo, and views on a YouTube video, this gives you a much better idea of how engaged their audience is, than the follower or subscriber number. In my opinion, it is fraudulent to buy followers and then charge brands a higher fee for them to collaborate with you because of your follower number. I think more should be done to clamp down on it. 

What have been your favourite sponsored collaborations to date? 

I love working with brands on a long term basis, such as ambassadorships. I loved being the first UK Piz Buin Sun Ambassador last year, that was a true honour. We got to travel to Costa Rica and create marketing content for the brand. I have always loved their products too, so to be their ambassador was a real highlight. I also worked with Boots last year on their Beauty Emporium, and my videos were played in Boots stores across the country - that was surreal! I had friends and followers sending me photos of my face in the stores and it was absolutely mind blowing.

How do you think brands/PRs can work better with influencers? Any pet peeves?

I think research is just what truly pays off. Researching the most relevant influencer for your campaign.  Pet peeves would be when a brand chooses someone based on their numbers, rather than the relevancy of their audience. Surely it makes more sense to spend a little longer finding the influencer who is most closely aligned with the brand, so that you can be more targeted with your marketing spend, instead of blasting a message out to tens of thousands of uninterested viewers or readers!

Do you have a rate card? Can you tell us an example of a cost?

I do, but as my channels are growing so quickly at the moment, my rates are changing. I update my media pack each month, so any brands looking to collaborate can get this just by emailing me!

Have you thought about appointing management?

No, I am very happy to be working by myself and feel that it is working well for me at the moment. I do however appreciate that I can't grow my channels just by myself any longer, so I have recently appointed a part time intern who is going to help me with admin tasks!

If you had to pick one, what would it be - blog or YouTube?

Currently, YouTube. At the moment I feel really inspired to create new and exciting YouTube content. I've had my blog for longer and still absolutely love blogging, but I find YouTube to be more engaging.

Magazines vs blogs, what do you think the future holds?

I think that as millennials become the key consumers, it is unsurprising that there is a shift toward bloggers and influencers being a key media, and equally as important to brands than magazines. Millennials do not respond to traditional forms of advertising any more, and they know how magazine editorials work. Blogging is seen as a more authentic source of information and inspiration and I think this is why brands are so interested in working with influencers now. With this in mind, that's why it is so important that bloggers and influencers choose their collaborations wisely - because if you don't have trust from your readers, then your blog looses value. 

What are your top social media tips for growing a following?

Engagement! I wrote an entire blog post on this here about how engaging with your followers and other bloggers, increasing the quality of your content and the consistency of your content are the three key ways to grow your following.

Contact

Fashion Mumblr in 'digital influencers'