Date Posted: Wednesday 23rd May 2018
DIARY directory recently caught up with lifestyle blogger Poppy Deyes. Poppy's foray into blogging came after finishing her degree in Fine Art at Kingston University in 2014. Wanting to curate a space solely for anything creative, Poppy decided to switch up her sketchbook for her laptop and started blogging about everything from food to fashion. Three years later, Poppy is now an established blogger with a dedicated audience and has over 1 million followers on Instagram.
Date of Birth: | 29th May 1991 |
Country of residence: | UK |
Biggest Readership Locations: | UK |
3 main areas of focus: | Fashion, Travel, Interiors |
Skin tone/type: | Pale, Normal – Dry |
Hair colour: | Blonde |
Hair type: | Fine, but lots of it |
Shoe size: | 6 |
Who are your audience? | Mostly female, 18-24 |
What’s one thing people may not know about you or your blog?
I get asked a lot of questions about my blog and what it’s like to be a full-time blogger but I've not spoken too much about the past roles that I've had before blogging. I've worked in everything from retail to beauty, interning to waitressing and even as a teaching assistant.
Give us a breakdown of an average day for you?
I try and structure my day as best as possible and I treat my Monday to Friday as a normal working week. That said, with the nature of my job I need to be really flexible to change as well. Be it a rainy day when you have a summer shoot planned, a last-minute work trip, or an unexpected job coming in... the more varied my day is the better!
Where do you see blogging going in the next few years?
Now more than ever I feel as if blogging itself is expanding into other platforms, aside from the "blog" itself. Creative lines between platforms are more blurred than ever, and "micro-blogging" is more exciting than ever. I'm super visual so love how Instagram Stories has become such a huge part of blogging itself. I love that one day blogging can mean writing a lengthy post on something you feel super passionate about, and the next can mean sharing your five favorite Summer dresses right now. Who's to say where the blog starts and stops...
How do you think brands/PRs can work better with influencers? Any pet peeves?
For me, it's all about communication and transparency. I want the brands/PRs who I’m lucky enough to work with to have trust in me creatively, to be excited and open to talk about how we can work best together and to understand that we know our audiences better than anyone.
You cover everything from food to travel, fashion to beauty, and must be inundated with brands sending you products. How can they best contact you? Do you like to be sent all and everything?
I feel forever grateful that brands send me anything at all. I have a PO Box that is open for anyone to contact me through. It could be a way of a new brand saying "Hey, this is what we do and we'd love to show you more." to a brand sending products from a new launch or even an invitation to an event coming up. It's a really exciting way to discover new brands, connect with ones I already love, and keep up to date with any releases that are up and coming all whilst showing my audience snippets of what I love along the way.
How do you like to work collaboratively with a brand, making sure you balance authenticity with the commercial aspect of the job?
I only work with brands that I absolutely love - there really is no better feeling than creating something exciting for a brand that you adore. I ensure that everything from the initial creative idea to the curation of the post is always true to my style, whilst hitting the needs of the brand.
We know that you’re currently looking for a creative assistant to aid you, is this because you’re looking to expand your blog? What kind of professional help do you have with your blog?
Over the past three years, my partner Sean has stepped in as camera-man which has been so much fun but it's gotten to the point now where we are both so busy and it's just not practical anymore. I want to focus more on the creative side of things and am so excited at the prospect of starting to grow a team around me to help me do so. I'm currently working on a re-design for my blog with my designer and am so excited to share more this summer!
Dream collaboration?
There are so many brands who I admire and would love to work with. But for me, the best collaborations are long-term ones...Working with brands over a longer period of time allows me to get to know the brand and their needs really well, plan and create amazing content collaboratively and really get excited about what's to come!
You made the decision to move back to Brighton after four years living in London. How, as an influencer, does that differ for you?
I value the space I work in hugely, and for me to work at my best that meant moving back to the city I love. It's one of the best decisions I've made, and although there is always so much going on in London, it means that when I do go it’s for something I'm really excited about. I still attend events but being that little further away means I do have to be a bit more selective about what I go to.
Some top bloggers seem to be taking their representation in-house over being with an established management team – what do you think of this? How does being with Gleam help you?
I think you've just got to do what works for you - It's all down to personal preference and how you like to work. I've been with my management, Gleam, for almost two years now and have an amazing team and support system around me who are forever going above and beyond.
Have you ever thought about expanding your social channels and creating your own YouTube channel?
I've thought about it many times but for now, the re-launch of the blog and ensuring I'm happier than ever with the content I'm creating is my key focus, but who knows about the future!
What’s next for you?
I'd love to do a whole lot more focusing on interior/homeware and am currently planning a series on the blog that I can't wait to share more of. Like I've mentioned, the blog re-design will be (fingers crossed) going live this summer and I'm so excited for everyone to see what I've been working really hard on behind the scenes.
What other bloggers /influencers do you follow and why?
There are so many creatives who I love! Susie Verrill, Helen Anderson, Liv Purvis, Hannah Gale, Alice Tate, Kim Turkington and Lily Pebbles are all bloody fabulous, and there are so many more!
Listed in DIARY directory in the blogs & vlogs section, Poppy is one of over 1500 categorised influencers that PRs could work with. Subscribers can sort blogs according to social media following across Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, and filter by country and UK region. See our previous DIARY Influencers here!
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