Blogging, Branding + Behind the Scenes of Loverly Grey

This podcast was transcribed using Descript. Please forgive any typos or errors.

Brittany: Hi friends. Welcome to Life with Loverly I'm your host, Brittany Sjogren. I'm excited to share my heart with you beyond the 15 seconds we get on Instagram, grab an iced coffee and let's do life together.

Hi friends. How are you guys? Nichelle and I are here on Life with Loverly today to talk all things blogging.

Nichelle: I feel like there's so much to cover in maybe just a little bit. 

Brittany: So last year when we started the podcast, we did an initial, behind the scenes blogging my history of how I started out. It was much more my story and we barely scratched the surface. And one thing I really wanted to do with this podcast was share some things I've learned over the years. Give you guys a little bit more insight on. What is happening behind the scenes. And so we figured another episode with the next part. And I think this will continue to be like a series as we get into other topics or as things are happening, but we figured it would be a great time to share that next step with y'all.

But if you haven't listened to the first episode, there's lots of really good information. Especially if you're interested in maybe starting a blog or you're a newer blogger/ influencer, and you're just wanting to hear my story a little bit more in depth. It's a great podcast to listen back to.

Nichelle: It is. It's really good for even those who aren't interested in blogging. It's really cool just to hear how it works, because it's not necessarily this industry or it's not like a corporate job, where everything's black and white. It's this fun, navigate on your own kind of gig.

Brittany: It really is. And I'm sure Nichelle, you probably had no idea what the behind the scenes looked like until you got behind the scenes. 

Nichelle: Absolutely. I went back and listened to the first blogging episode and I'm like, wow. Even the things that I've learned since that episode in the fall. It's an ever changing job, just everything. 

Brittany: When you started, were you ever okay, wow, this is way different than what I was expecting or thinking just in relation to what people see or like what you as a consumer and follower beforehand. 

Nichelle: I think so remember like one of our first few conversations. When I started, I was like we need to get everything on a calendar and we have to do this, and we have to plan it out. That's not necessarily how it can work. 

Brittany: I was like, that's really cute. That's just not how all this works. But I think it's been cool for you to see and everybody who works behind the scenes. There's so much work that goes into it.

That's why I have help behind the scenes, which we'll get into. I'm excited to chat through this next, section of the business of blogging. 

Nichelle: Awesome. The people had lots of questions, they always do. So we picked a few really core questions that can help those that are starting and also just be informative for your followers just knowing the behind the. We can actually touch on this first question because we're just coming off of this. The more that I learned as I came onto Loverly Grey. The people want to know like how you plan out your content and creation process.

Brittany: I look at what is coming up. I feel like the fashion industry, as a whole, goes seasons ahead of time. I try to live in the moment and share outfits that I'm actually wearing that day. But then there's also all this prep work that goes into what events could be coming up.

A majority of what I'm sharing is all outfits and style tips and giving you guys ideas of what to wear to certain places. I am constantly thinking of places or events that you might need an outfit for. So for example, right now, it's February, but spring break is coming up. A lot of what you're seeing on the internet and in stores is spring content and spring outfits. While might not be something you purchase and wear immediately, it's something that you're going to be buying and wearing for an upcoming beach trip. We're really doing a lot of swimsuits, spring break outfits, denim shorts. I'm basically getting all of this stuff to try on and share with you and give you guys outfit ideas. So when you do take that spring break trip, you'll be prepared and you can look through your closet and see what you might already have.

 Then you can check with me to see what some new items might be that you want to invest in. We try to plan everything kind of a month in advance. Like right now it's February, but we are getting requests to start looking for Easter dresses. So sometimes it's that far in advance, or maybe there's something that I'm like, this could double as an Easter dress, a baby shower dress and like a more casual wedding guest option.

There's something that you can wear to three events, but it's one dress and you can wear it throughout a season. So I'm constantly trying to plan it out like that. But then breaking it down, by the month we. We have a huge acrylic calendar in our office and we write out everything that's going on.

We write out partnerships that we have. With each of those partnerships, we plan out the content that we are wanting to purchase and share that's going to be part of that. So it's gotten very detailed, but I feel like we big picture until the day that it is getting published.

Nichelle: Yeah. And that's I think the aha that I had, because I'm like, okay, we are putting company X on the calendar, and we know you're going to share it on the 15th, but things may change between now and the 15th and you have to be super flexible and be able to pivot on literally the turn of the dime.

This is not an industry where it's black and white, whereas a lot of organizations it's okay, here are the rules. You have to do it this way and you have to do it this way. And there's no way around that. There's no gray area. 

Brittany: And with this, it's very much like maybe we're doing a partnership with Nordstrom and I'm like, okay, I want to share some wedding guest options. So we start looking and I realize, wow. They are selling out of what is available on the website to buy.

There's not a full size run. Maybe I'm just not in love with the product. So then we're going to switch that collaboration to maybe be focused on casual spring attire. Then I start looking at a whole different type of outfit and idea for a partnership. We have to be able to be flexible and be able to change our mind and pivot, like Nichelle said, because some of the stuff is out of our control.

There's been several times where I've ordered pieces, so excited to share for either a partnership or just like on my own, wanting to show you guys and I get it in and then it's sold out and I have no control over that. It frustrates me that I can't share this cute dress so that you guys can buy it

Especially with shipping delays and things like that, we have to be very flexible. I feel like we have three or four tricks up our sleeve for every thing that we're potentially going to post. So that way, if something sells out or it's not available, we can quickly have something else ready to go that still makes sense. It's still relatable. Is something that my readers and followers would be interested in consuming.

Nichelle: It's the great thing about having creative brains in that space too, because we're able to bounce those ideas off each other ahead of time and there is that backup plan. Just to give some context from the retail side of things coming from that industry, a lot of people.

 This is something that you hear in retail too. Why is Christmas out in October? Why is spring out? And it's still 32 degrees out? It's so you can prepare for the upcoming season and. That's ultimately what Britney's doing for you guys is to prepare for the upcoming season. So number one, it's not sold out.

Number two, you can plan ahead. You can do those things like going into your closet and seeing what you actually, do need, or you don't need, or you're planning for this trip three months down the road, because that's the world we live in now, too. You need to think ahead. Or you could miss out on those great things, but that's like the retail side of it, and it aligns with what you are showing too. It's to plan ahead. 

Brittany: Exactly. I'm sure if you're anything like me, you get tons of emails every day that are like loft is having 50% off sale express is having buy one, get one 50% off jeans. Brands are constantly putting out marketing information and that's a lot of the times how I am finding out about some of these sales, but because I've been doing this long enough and because I enjoy sharing about sales. Prior to me being a blogger or influencer, I was a huge sales shopper.

I would always wait until the retailer was doing like 40% off everything and then I would make my purchase. So that was just something about me in the past that I was doing beforehand. It's been very successful and everybody loves getting a good deal. So with that strategy sometimes.

I know that coming up loft is going to have a sale and I have already prepared some items that I know will be part of it. Just like historically speaking. Just doing that type of research so that on maybe a Thursday, when their sale pops up, I've already got content created that I can post and share with you guys.

And then you can quickly get it at the discounted rate before it sells out. So that took a lot of time to like figure out that process. Some brands do share with me ahead of time, if they're going to be running a sale and they do that. So I can prepare content ahead of time, which is very great, but that's not every single brand.

So a lot of time Nichelle and I are just like, okay, so typically like around this time, we should start to see sales happening. Let's go ahead and prep something or we're going to go out and shoot some outfits. Let's make sure to include something from this retailer. So we've got that ready.

And these are all outfits and looks that I genuinely wear and We just save some of it until it will be a better buy for the consumer. Sometimes we can't do that. Or sometimes it's a brand that doesn't ever go on sale. And so we just post it whenever we feel like it, it will do best. But there's a lot of like strategy that goes on behind the scenes around what we're posting what's on sale.

What's not on sale. I can check on data on times of the day that most people are shopping. I can never see your name, like who is purchasing an item. I have no idea who you are, but all of that, data collectively comes together and says, Hey there's 3000 people in Atlanta who just bought this.

And so then I can be like, okay, like Thursdays at 6:00 PM is a great time to post a little sale alert because historically speaking, , this group of people are shopping at that time. That's also really helpful. And I think Chris loves that type of data. He like comes from like a data and analytics background.

So he's always let's do some research. Let's figure out like when can we best serve your audience. So it's really cool. And it's something like if you're in this space and are wanting to grow and be better at what you're doing really honing in on that data can be helpful and beneficial to grow your audience.

Nichelle: It tells you so much those numbers. and that data shows you so much about your follower. You're able to see the trends that are coming through. So maybe you're sharing a, let's say, for example, you just did this work wear Roundup, and you're able to see what everybody is buying from that. And it's okay, they are people they're really looking for pants right now.

They're needing work pants. That's something that you can tap into and continue to help your followers with. And you do. 

Brittany: That I think is one thing I really love too, because we'll sit down in the morning and go through the numbers from the day before. And we're like, Ooh, okay. Like that shirt sold really well.

It's still fully stocked. Let's style it. Another way. So that we can one maybe get another person to buy that wouldn't have originally purchased because maybe they didn't like the way I styled it or didn't fit their need. And so they'll see it a second or third way, but then that also is giving the person who did buy it from the first outfit to other options to wear it.

And I feel like that's something that does make me unique and is something I've been doing from the start. So my audience. Can trust that they will receive that type of service from my account. 

Nichelle: You brought up a minute ago, your relationships with brands and you getting information either beforehand or not at all in, in most cases.

So they want to know how did you create those relationships with those brands to start off with? 

Brittany: So back when I first started my Instagram account, I didn't have. I like to know it profiled getting on board with LTK was such a different process. Now, pretty much anybody can sign up to have an LTK account.

I think there are some restrictions, but beforehand you had to prove on your Instagram account that you were in the styling and influencer space and that you were sharing outfits and. Much more like niche six years ago. But the way that I would tell people where items were from is I would tag the brands in the post and in the caption saying, like wearing a loft blazer today with my target sweater, both of them are on sale or fit, true to size or whatever.

And then. People could see where it was, but I couldn't link it right away, but I was getting brand awareness. And I was hoping that maybe these brands, social media teams were like, this is Loverly Grey girl is tagging loft every single day. Okay, we will, we see you. . So I think organically sharing with about the brands that you are wanting to potentially work with is a great way to show, Hey, I value you.

And I. Work with you one day, but I'm going to do some work going to the front end and. Show my audience this, and then see how they respond and okay. Abercrombie I really like your jeans. Does my audience like your jeans. Let's try to push those a little bit and then you can collect all this data and come back and pitch yourself to the brand and show them.

Hey, over the last six months, I've had X amount of people purchase your jeans. I feel like this brand really aligns with mine. I would love to discuss like a potential partnership opportunity, and then that's how it all gets started. But I think the best way to go about doing that is to show brands that you're interested in them.

And then other brands will just, or naturally come to you. And that's how you learn about new brands. But if there's a list of people you want to work with, definitely prove to them, why they should work with you?

Nichelle: Yeah. Do you enjoy blog posts as much as you used to because it's a different thing than it used to be, because that's how you started off.

You lived off your blog. 

Brittany: Yes. My website will be something I have forever. Loverlygrey.com has so much information on it. If you have any questions, the search bar on my website is a great place to start. That's the only piece of the internet that I actually fully own. So if Instagram goes down tomorrow, something happens to the LTK app.

I still have this place where I can share everything that I'm sharing with you on, social media platforms on this website. And so I think that's very important and it was weird because when I first started, it was like blogging. You were writing daily blog posts, and then there was this it was, I feel like two years in there were just like, then like influencers became.

I feel like influencer. Wasn't like a word. When I first started, I was a blogger and then influencer was maybe somebody who didn't have a website, but they were just like on Instagram, sharing ideas and, products and things like that. And then now I feel like it's back to having the blog, but I think it all just depends on how your audience is currently wanting to consume the content. I like to still do blog posts because I like to keep my website up to date and that's always going to be my home base. But I do think there's like a change in how many people are actually going to the blog to. Read those posts. They might prefer to watch a reel or check my stories, or maybe they're just a newsletter subscriber and they just want to get the Sunday email, that's got a recap of everything.

So I think there's a lot of different ways now that people consume content from Loverly Grey that I still want to service those people who. interested in reading the blog, but I don't think it's like my number one stream of reaching people anymore, but I still really enjoy being able to share a more in depth story.

And that's what I feel like my blog posts are. 

Nichelle: How are you able to stay so organized? I'm assuming that they probably mean all the clothes. 

Brittany: Have a lot of space for the clothes. , that's just been something. I try to be organized with the clothes, but it's not always, sometimes it looks. there's just been an explosion in my office. 

Nichelle: It's organized chaos. 

Brittany: Exactly. but we try to have different sections and different racks within a closet. That's like when a package comes in and we open it up, we. Take it like inventory of what's coming in. Like when do we need to shoot this? Is there a deadline?

Was this for a collaboration? Is this just like product that I organically ordered? What are we wanting to do with the product? And then we hang it on a separate rack and go ahead and put like coordinating pieces that it might get styled with next to. and like start prepping for a next photo shoot.

And then once we've had a photo shoot or we have enough content of it, we either move it to a different place in the office where we might go back to it later for doing like a work wear haul and we want to show some pieces that we've already styled, but show them in a different way. We'll go back to a different closet.

Or if it's something that I. Am wanting to where I actually take it back to my house where I keep it there and then sometimes like pieces sell out. So we move it to a different closet and hope that it restocks and wait for a restock. So there's definitely a system to like once we get a package and where we move it, and how we like stay organized within the closet.

But it is also craziness.

Nichelle: It's ever moving. And I think that's the obstacle is it's ever moving. So there's not really black and white answer for that, but we know now.

Brittany: Exactly. And I feel like everybody does this differently and it depends. I feel like I have a lot of clothes, like more than the normal person should ever have.

Please hear me when I say you do not need everything I'm sharing, but my job is to style outfits and to put pieces together and I try to stick within a few core retailers that I trust that I like purchasing from that I think is a good value, a great price point for myself, for you guys as the consumer.

So it's not like I'm just like buying everything from all these places and, just putting up something that sticks. There's I really try to have intention behind like each order each like thing that I'm showing you guys, but in turn that does mean that I have a lot more. Than the average person, just because we're constantly recreating outfits and showing new items and showing you in stock items.

Because I think one other thing people don't realize is. It's. I can only imagine like how frustrating it is for a consumer, but it's equally as frustrating when I go to share something and it's sold out or not in stock . And so then I purposefully try to not share it if it's no longer available before I post, because there's nothing more.

There's been several times I've seen other influencer. Post something that was outta stock. And I'm like, that's like a missed sales opportunity for that person's followers. 

Nichelle: And it's a bummer too, when you come to that space and you expect that's what they're here to show you, and then you swipe up and it's oh, I can't even have it.

Brittany: And especially if it's like a shopping platform. And I know I've, there's probably been several times where you've come to. My links are shopped through the, like to know it app and the item has been out of stock, 

Nichelle: but it's not intentional. 

Brittany: Correct. I try really hard to make sure that we're only pushing out items that like people can buy.

Nichelle: We look right before every time and it could say extra small, through extra large. Available and literally five minutes into it. We didn't know. Maybe they only had five of each size. 

Brittany: Exactly. And some retailers I do have like access to some backend things and I can see, or they will tell me, Hey, we've got 200 smalls here.

But we're low on medium and then back up to 150 large. If you feel like that's a safe range, feel free to go ahead and post . So sometimes I do know sizing. 

Nichelle: What happens when you lose motivation? What helps you get back into that creative space?

Brittany: I think when I lose motivation, sometimes it feel it like it's usually because I'm overwhelmed at something else that's going on. . And so there's a lot of times where I've had to just stop and sit and clear out, not necessarily solve every problem that I'm faced with, but like table.

Okay. Like here's a short answer for this, like move this out of my head space for right now. Here's a short answer for this, move this over and really clear my mind so that I can acknowledge that I am overwhelmed or that I'm not motivated. And then try to figure out how to remotivate myself.

 I feel. when that happens. I try to go back to what am I doing here? Yeah. What do I like to share? What is the content that I want to push out? Where did I start? What are the like core things that I talk about? And when that happens, I'm like, okay I love sharing work. Wear. Have we done that in a little while.

Can I put together some outfits that we already have and reshare some of the, my favorite work pants, let me show five other ways to style them with new tops that we've recently gotten in. And I try to go back to instead of being overwhelmed and I need to be pushing out this, or I need to do this or.

I don't have time. I always say I don't have time, which I know we've got an entire episode dedicated to time, but that is an excuse. And I just need to clear my brain and get back to what it is that I want to share here. And I really think this year I've started making absolute certain that everything that gets pushed out has intention behind it.

 And it is aligned with what I'm doing here. So think just like clearing your mind and getting back to basics and remembering why you're here. And for me that why is what motivates me to continue doing what I'm doing,

Nichelle: if it's okay, wanted to bring up some context for the overwhelm factor.

It's something that we have talked about. And it comes up repeatedly because of the space that you're in. There are so many things coming at you every second of the day. Can you be this for me? Can you show this for me? Can you do this? I need help with this. And you coming to the realization, you can't be everything for everybody.

Brittany: The people pleaser in me has a really hard time with that. But we will receive DMS or messages or emails that are like, Hey, I'm going on a bachelorette party? What should I wear? That's very broad. I don't know anything else about where you're going, what the weather's going to be like, has the bride asked you to wear a certain color, your style.

Exactly. And then. All then somebody might say can you share more wedding guest dresses? The next DM might be like, Hey, I am looking for a very specific shoe . And so then all of a sudden I am now hit with here are five completely different topics that people are asking of me. And the people pleaser in me is okay.

Yes. Let me like, stop what I'm doing and go dig and try to find something that would be like appropriate to send back. And that is a lot of I would get very overwhelmed in that type of like situation. And we had to be like, okay, we can't be everything to everybody. It's just not possible.

But I. One thing to remember is this job is customer service related . So I, we try truly to get back to every single message it's not possible when thousands are coming in a day, we absolutely try so hard to make that happen. But sometimes the response back might be like, I'll keep an eye out.

If I see something that might be a fit for you, I will. share it in my stories, or I'll tell people head over to my to know it. And if you type in the search bar, wedding, guest dress, several options will come up. So we try to redirect where somebody might be able to find something I've already put together, or then that kind of can give the person ideas of where to look.

Instead of wanting me to just stop what I'm doing and answer the question. And I don't say this to deter people from messaging me because I absolutely love. That conversation. But sometimes it is a lot when like hundreds of messages are just like, help me. And I look at it as I am helping every single day.

. And putting out a lot of variety, but I don't know. It's definitely been something that we've had to work through and something I struggle with because I want to spend the time to answer every single person and get back to them because I think somebody's making the choice to like, come and follow you and then like even message you further than that.

That's something I'm thankful for. But there also has to be boundaries because this job is 24 7. 

Nichelle: You are on 24 7, which makes you so accessible. I can even relate before I came to work for you. You're like our friend , it's so easy to be like, let me ask. The person who I literally trust with everything what she would do.

And again, it's the space that you're in and I, you have such a kind heart that you do, you want to help everyone possible, but at the end of the day, it's whereas the boundary for yourself for your mental health and how you take care of yourself. 

Brittany: And I feel like we get lots of great ideas.

If we are seeing, Hey, I'm wanting bachelorette ideas and we see that message several times where like game on, let's throw around up, let's go out and search. And then that's where the fun comes back into it. Cause absolutely this is going to be super helpful. But I feel like last year I was getting so overwhelmed by trying to be everything for everyone.

And that's when. I started going to therapy and was just like, okay. Can't like, I have to be okay. Knowing I am putting out enough and. We will try to do more if it aligns with our goals and like the vision, but sometimes it might just be not possible. 

Nichelle: Yeah. And just to take it back a little bit too, there are so many new people in this space on a daily basis, you have a lot of followers, so they just may not know.

And that's an education, like that's educating them. Hey, this, these are the avenues that I have for you to check out. And these are like some recommendations. And that's, and that is something that I know that you do try so hard to at. Educate for those who haven't been in this space that long.

Brittany: Yes. And that's like something, I would say, if you are a new blog or influencer in this space continuously educating your followers and reminding them, Hey, this is where you can shop these items. Or I just got this new feature on my blog. It's going to make it super easy and constantly. updating and reminding your followers, like how to find things that you're sharing.

I remember I used to feel like that was so tedious when I was first starting out. I was constantly like teaching people how to go about shopping my links, but I was getting new followers who didn't know how to do that. And then it was just a great reminder for the people who did know how to do it.

So I just encourage you to like, Remember that this is customer service that have this teaching opportunity and to like just be kind, and that will also help your business go even further. 

Nichelle: Yeah. Everybody wants to know. Who does what around here? 

Brittany: So we have a team of lovely people behind the scenes at Loverly Grey

so Chris works full time for Loverly Grey he does all the finance back office. Taxes, all the business things that I am,

Nichelle: the things that we don't want to do. 

Brittany: and he is great at all of that. So he runs the business side of Loverly Grey and has for the last two and a half years. And then. We have three other full-time employees here, and then we've got two part-time employees and every person has like a very vital part at making Loverly Grey successful, and every person's role helps us do everything that we do every day.

Nichelle, which you guys probably. Of the most, she is her title is director of operations and she oversees everything that's happening underneath her. She's also my right hand, man. She does everything from Taking my outfit, photos to, if we need somebody to help randomly steam, some clothes to ordering items, she also oversee other employees.

She really like truly does everything like her job description. I feel is very like very broad and it's great. I feel like she loves it and she thrives in the role. And then we have Lain who does all of our communications in PR she's the one behind this podcast. And she does all of our editing.

She also does a lot of like communications with brands and is just our main communications manager. And then we have Ellen who does social media. She helps me run some of our social media accounts. There's a lot of behind the scenes stuff that she's helping with. And sometimes it's like ad related things on social media, just social media, like in general content creation.

We also have a management company who. Manages all of our brand partnerships. So I my company is called estate five and I signed on with them back in November and they have been amazing at just, they do all like negotiations. They handle like all brand partnerships and. Basically bring a buttoned up partnership or deal to me that is here you go, do you want to do it?

Do you not want to do it? Here are all the specifics. And they handle all of that, which is awesome. And then we have a few other behind the scenes, people that are just here making Life with Loverly and Loverly Grey spin around. 

Nichelle: I couldn't imagine a more fun environment with the group of people that we have. it's been, personally for me a dream come true. and I'm not just saying that it's been so fun. Innovative being able to stretch your creativity and every single person brings their own strengths. It's so fun because You and I are threes and we think a lot alike, but we come from different backgrounds.

So we have that strength. We have a teacher, like somebody who used to be a teacher, and brings in that joy and positivity and knowledge behind just tech, the tech things that Nichelle not great at. 

Brittany: and I think we're all constantly learning and constantly trying to. Do our jobs better.

And it's just been really cool for me to just see growth and that you guys all trust what I'm doing and want to be a part of this team, there's no rules in this industry, really, it's not like another corporate job where it's okay, here are, this is there's a bunch of.

Similar brands. And this is like what we all do, or we got a degree to like, be a lawyer. And this is how most lawyers like do things, it's like every influencer handles their own business completely differently and that's completely fine. So to have these people come in and trust that what we're doing here at love really great is like, Going to be a career for them is so awesome.

But I'm also so lucky to have this support and that has allowed us to grow and Nichelle, last year it was just Nichelle and I, and then we've started hiring more people and. It's been really exciting and we're, hitting and reaching and defining what some new goals are going to be for the brand.

And so that's been really exciting to see some of those things like come to life. 

Nichelle: One thing that I think you and I took for granted was how to hire people in this industry. . Yeah. Like where do you get their resources for that? How do you screen for that? What other, strengths should they have experience?

Should they have, that was one thing that we were like, whoa, I come from a business, of almost 20 years of hiring people. But it was for a very specific black and white job. The job descriptions were written out for me to interview. And I knew what the skillset needed to be.

Whereas. We were creating the job description and we were creating the things that needed to happen moving forward. Which is it's so fun. But I think that if you are going into this industry, that something that you need to have somebody beside you, or to help you to guide you in how to hire the right people.

Brittany: . And I don't know if we've really even mentioned like how Nichelle came on board. But Nichelle and I have a mutual friend and she actually lives in California. We used to work at the same company years ago and I got to know her. . And then she, I left to do Loverly Grey she left to do move to another company and then now is out on her own.

And we were just talking last year and I was giving her some ideas of like really what I was looking for in somebody. And she was like, wait a second. I think I know somebody in Atlanta that would be the perfect fit. And I'm like, You live in California? What, like how did you meet this person that is like potentially going to be a great fit?

And so she reached out to Nichelle and they had met at. sales training . And so it just ended up like being, it was crazy just like how it aligned and that might not be how we find any other future employees

Nichelle: . No, I think that we crossed our fingers behind our back, hoping that was how it happened. but that was definitely. A string of God things happening. Oh my goodness. In a row. Yeah. Literally crying in the back room of my, the job at the time. And Lindsay's do you know, Loverly Grey and I'm like, how do you know Loverly Grey I'm like offended. Like you don't even live in Georgia. How do you know her?

Brittany: I know it's just so wild, like the way that things happen, but we have a great group here and. I don't know. I feel like we all thoroughly love coming to work every day and we get to do something new. And while it's every, like some days are similar, there's always like new things happening. So that's the long and short of, who else is behind the scenes at Loverly Grey 

Nichelle: love that. It's so much fun. How do you gain the courage to start stories, to get on stories and to talk to all of those people out there that you can't see? 

Brittany: So when I started, we, there were no stories. There was not that feature on Instagram. So for me at the beginning, it was just like posting a picture and hoping people would want to see more pictures.

And then they would go to my blog to see like more pictures of the outfit. And then we, I knew a few other influencers who were on Snapchat. Yeah. And so then I had a Loverly Grey Snapchat to where it was what can I like utilize video for you?

Nichelle: I wish that I would've known about this.

Brittany: I know, I don't think it's still a, I don't even have Snapchat anymore, but then when Instagram stories became a thing, I remember being like, this is funny. I'm just going to post my photos. I'm not going to get on there and talk like it's weird. I, and the futures were so like minimal compared to what they are now, but I was like, how can I make.

Stories or this video part and help my audience out. And so that's when I started doing like story Tryons and I can confidently say I was one of the very first influencers to go into a store. And while I was trying on clothes, That I was going to buy and go home and shoot and write a blog post about, I would just record a video and be like, okay, here's this skirt on?

This is the size that I went with and you should size down because it fits a little tight. And I was showing how it looked on and was really giving like a better experience. Because you couldn't really just do that in one photo. And so that's where stories started for me. And because I was showing like outfits on that's where I got used to talking on 

Nichelle: it's like a slope growth, at least because you started with your business before they even existed.

And then there was this new feature. Yeah. And then you were like, let me just use it a little bit here a little bit there, but it was like this growth of you seeing payback off of it. 

Brittany: Yeah. And then I started. I started doing it like more conversational. Like I would just open up my stories and be like, Hey, let me tell you a funny story that I would call, like maybe it would be something I would normally call my best friend and be like, Hey, this happened today.

Like so crazy. Instead I would just say it to my friends on the internet. , and then people started to get invested. She's funny or she's I like listening to her voice or her stories, like that's really relatable. . And so I feel like there was a time where stories, like it was a make or break that situ exactly.

Cause if you didn't know how to do stories or you weren't organized in your stories, then that would like annoy people because it was a new feature. And so people were able to be like, I don't like the way they're doing that. Unfollow and I'm sure there were plenty of people who unfollowed me based off of my stories, but I think now I'm just so used to being on stories.

Yeah. And I don't ever think Hey, this is me talking to 850,000 people. That is scary. I just think there's a couple hundred people out here. Who's probably going to watch this and we'll see what happens in reality. Thousands. Yeah. But it I feel like if I can just feel like I'm talking to a friend or talking in a way that's going to help somebody else.

 That gives me the confidence to continue posting. And I also think it's like, again, going back to posting with intention, there was definitely times where I would just get on and be like, I don't really have anything to say, but Hey, what's going on? whereas now I feel like it's I'm coming to you with intention, but also as a friend and kind of checking in and encouraging you to have a great day or whatever.

But I think you just have to go for it if you're scared or if you're worried, don't let the number. Get to you and just stay true to yourself. And don't try to be a different person on stories than what you are in the rest of your Instagram or in real life. And just. It's funny.

One of my best friends, Shay, she's like my biggest fan. Whenever we meet people in public or somebody will come up to us and say Hey, I follow you on Instagram. She will immediately be like she's exactly how she is in on Instagram, in real life. Like you're getting the real Life Loverly Grey right now.

And I'm always think it's so funny, but she. You really are the same way that you are in real life as you are on stories. And so I guess I say that to just encourage you to just be who you are in real life. And just give it a go. 

Nichelle: Yeah. This comes from being a leader in the sales industry, but if you are wanting to get on stories, I've heard this a.

where people are. Like, I don't know if I'm comfortable getting on stories. It's not about you at the end of the day. So when you get on there, you're getting on there for your followers. And with the purpose, that's your, that should be your why, right?

Brittany: It's just kind of part of the way that this business works right now.

 And there is a confidence that comes with sharing your life on the internet for sure. That's essentially what this business is me sharing my life and sharing. Outfits and style tips and that type of thing, but there's also, it's done with a purpose and what my, why is why I'm here.

Nichelle: Yeah. I would say that if you are nervous to get on stories or you're scared really check into your why, again, really like hone in on that why, and it needs to be so strong that like you would die on a mountain for that. Why? Yeah, let's talk about the truth behind main or nasty messages. It's loaded.

It's loaded right there. 

Brittany: Yeah. It's hard. That's definitely. Something I wasn't prepared for. Yeah. Because in my mind, I was always just taught if you don't have something nice to say, don't say it at all. Which applies to like being a random person on the internet that you're going to say to a stranger essentially.

. And so I remember not even preparing for that type of conversations to happen when I started this, because I was just like, I'm all for some like feedback and thankfully I would say I don't get a ton of like nasty messages all the time. I also think it's. if you don't like the outfits I'm sharing, then like you just don't have to follow me.

Like it's, that's it's pretty clear what I'm here doing. But they sting for sure. Like it's, it sucks to read something that is like rude or ugly or a mean message about somebody doesn't like the way that my kid looks or , and it definitely hurts. And I feel like sometimes I like just immediately want to respond back with all this like fire, but then.

also just not worth it. 

Nichelle: And it's not who you are at the end of the day, right? One of the core pillars of Loverly Grey because of who you are is kindness and anything, you always take a breather. It would be so hard for somebody to say, oh, that doesn't bother me because deep down, there's probably a part of every single person that it's going to hurt for sure.

The culture that is social media. Now, there is no filter. 

Brittany: It's wild and some, and there will definitely be times where I would say not necessarily a mean message, but somebody will say something that's got like this tone to it. That's a little bit like rude and I'll respond back and just be like I'm sorry you feel that way, but this is.

X Y Z like why we're doing it. And then they will immediately be like, oh my gosh, I am so sorry. I can't believe I even typed that out. That is not my place to say. And they will apologize. And then I'm like, okay, we all make mistakes and everybody's entitled to their opinion, but it's not a reflection of me.

No, like these mean messages it's a reflection back on this person and what they're going through. that they felt the need to come out and attack or say whatever. And the same goes for buddy who gets mean messages. It's going to be about the person writing it,

Nichelle: but you're having to go through that process of reminding yourself that, because the initial sting it's there, 

Brittany: I feel like unfortunately in this world, there's just no way around it. And it's just, you get a thick skin over time. Or sometimes I feel like it'll sting harder when it's like something I'm like self-conscious about , and it's I was already feeling that way. And then you just confirmed that's a flaw.

That like really hurts.

Nichelle: Yeah. The one thing that I will say is because you do show up with the intention of, you are a kind person, that's the space that you've created. That is why I think you're very lucky that it is a very tiny percentage of nasty that does come through. It's going to come through.

If you go into it, thinking that it's not going to redirect your mindset, because it will happen. You just have to be prepared for it. . But I think that is the important takeaway is you created this space to be what it is. And if this is something that you are trying to build, just remembering that, like you're going to get what you create back in return.

Brittany: Exactly. So I feel like we had a lot of really good conversation and covered a lot of topics that kind of go hand in this business. A little bit more information just on how I approach. Blogging and being an influencer and like my business advice here. 

Nichelle: It's been a great conversation.

Brittany: Yeah, there's a lot, but it's crazy because I feel like there's so much, we didn't even touch that. I think we'll have another third or fourth or fifth episode. And I think one thing when I started this podcast, I wanted to be able to share some more of this type. Information. I wanted to have the opportunity to maybe mentor a few people and share my knowledge in this industry.

And while, what I do is not the like, end all be all like the only way to do things. I think I do have a successful business. And so being able to share some tips and tricks and things like that, so I genuinely enjoy. having these types of conversations and this was one thing I really wanted to talk about on the podcast.

So it's definitely something we'll continue to share. 

Nichelle: We're currently still learning every single day. 

Brittany: Yes, exactly. so lots more exciting conversations will be coming soon. We will leave some great information in the show notes. Just if you have any questions about my website or how to follow me on the, Like to Know It app, there will be tons of great information.

And then I have a request for you guys. I would love to get some feedback. If you are loving this podcast and you have enjoyed what you've heard so far, we would love if you could subscribe to the podcast and then leave a rating, we would love to hear what you have to say. And that does wonders for us over here at Life with Loverly

so we greatly appreciate you guys, and we can't wait to talk to you next week on Life with Loverly.

Thanks for listening to today's episode. I can't wait to continue these conversations with you over on Instagram, at Life with Loverly. Until next time.

Nichelle: That was perfect.