Blogging 101: Lessons Learned From One Year of Blogging

By Javacia Harris Bowser

When Birmingham-based blogger Bertha Hidalgo started her style blog Chic In Academia one year ago she didn’t have much of a plan and didn’t think her site would be much more than an outlet for her love for fashion.

But when she threw a blogiversary party for Chic In Academia late last month she had plenty to celebrate. Thanks to her blog Hidalgo has had the opportunity to work with a number of brands and has even been featured in B-Metro magazine.

We had a chat with Hidalgo at her blogiversary party about the lessons she’s learned from one year of blogging.

“Because I started my blog for fun I didn’t invest in a camera and I didn’t put much effort into my pictures,” Hidalgo says when asked what she wishes she had done differently this past year. Hidalgo says she also didn’t realize how important it would be to frequently post fresh content.

Finding time to blog can sometimes be difficult for Hidalgo. Not only is she a wife and mother of two, but she is also a PhD-level genetic epidemiologist. Hidalgo firmly believes that it should be socially acceptable for a woman to be both intelligent and fashionable, and that those two qualities should not be mutually exclusive.  She started her blog, in part, to show the world that a woman can indeed be both.

Hidalgo usually find time to blog in the evenings after she’s put her two sons to bed.

Hidalgo believes that one thing she has done well this past year is be original. Chic In Academia is not just another fashion blog simply featuring one “Outfit of the Day” post after another.

“If I just did that I knew I would be a guppy in a sea of Shamus if I did that,” Hidalgo says. “I talk about how I shop and how I find deals.” And, as the blog’s title might suggest, Hidalgo also blogs about fashion for the workplace. Sometimes she also blogs about fitness.

Though she’s only been blogging a year, Hidalgo has already garnered much attention for her site. Betabrand included her in a campaign that featured women with doctorates. B-Metro magazine recognized her as a style icon in its July 2014 issue. And when Hidalgo announced on social media that she was attending this year’s Birmingham Fashion Week, Lotus Boutique offered to provide her with outfits for the week.

Some of the opportunities she’s landed has been through social media. Hidalgo is very active on Instagram, for example, and uses this platform to engage with brands. Her Instagram tip: hashtag, hashtag, hashtag.

Hidalgo is also a great networker although she doesn’t see it as networking. She’s just passionate about blogging and passionate about fashion, so she loves to talk about both.

“I talk to everybody about what I’m doing,” she says. “If you do that enough with the right people then you’re at the forefront of their thoughts when opportunities arise.”

Javacia Harris Bowser is founding editor of See Jane Write Magazine.