I have been sitting on this post for almost a year now. I’ve talked about what my typical work day looks like, but until more recently never actually sat and really broke things down with real numbers.
Today On The Podcast
We are talking about time management (really, the episode is about how I am a failure at time management!) which inspired me to FINALLY post this. To be honest, I was a little nervous to write this. I never would want to come across as whiney or negative. But I do think there are a lot of misconceptions out there about what bloggers actually do all day. And whether it’s actually a “hard” job. Spoiler alert: I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but it can be v v time consuming, if you want to do a good job with it.
I LOVE My Job–
And I think that’s pretty evident. I wake up every day energized excited to make this site the best it can be. And we all have hard jobs. Over in the Facebook group we talk about work a lot and many of you are doctors and lawyers, political lobbyists, etc. Meanwhile I’m writing about face serums and fluffy thrillers. So yeah. Is it hard work? Not really. Is it a lot of work? Absolutely. There’s a big difference, I think. It definitely isn’t rocket science but it can be a total grind. At the end of the day, running a successful blog is a total hustle and if you want to be good at it you have to be really, really disciplined and self motivated. Sure, it isn’t saving any lives, but work is work! What you see is just the finished product.
The Biggest Challenge
This, for me, is that I haven’t really figured out how to step away. Even if I’m traveling, I make sure I have a new post up for you every day Monday through Saturday. And I’m always on email. When I did my yoga retreat in Costa Rica this March, even though I’d scheduled most of my blog content in advance, I spent at least 4-5 hours a day working in between class and meals, etc. Of course that is still NOT a full day of work. But leading up to the trip I pulled a few 16 hour days to make sure everything was perfect before I left.
It’s the communication (the back and forth between both readers and brands) that adds up. I have two groups I need to cater to: my readers (which are always top priority) and the brands I work with. When you step away, you risk pissing off a reader because you didn’t respond quickly enough (this has actually happened, someone went ballistic in my comments section when I was traveling once as she thought I was screening her comments – I just hadn’t had a chance to approve them!), or being perceived as rude.
Or, you could miss out on a campaign with a brand you love because you didn’t write back in time and the brand chose someone else because you didn’t reply quickly enough. I have a policy of responding to all emails + comments (blog, instagram, other social media channels) within 24 hours and that itself could be a full time job. There are some amazing perks of doing what I do and being able to do it from anywhere is at the very top of that list. But there are definitely days where I miss leaving the office at 6 or 7 and not thinking about work! Or the days where I had four weeks of paid vacation and holidays. But if I have any say in the matter, I won’t go back to the corporate world. I like having a more flexible lifestyle.
The way I give myself a break is to take Instagram off of my phone or (sorry) disabling DM’s for a few days. My DMs have been off for a week now and it’s because right now the podcast has been taking up a lot more time and I can’t be attached to my phone replying to DMs. I like sitting at my desk and working but I don’t love being on the phone all the time. Being constantly on your phone just can’t be good for you. Besides, I figure if someone has a really pressing question they can always send me an email. I also try to take one weekend day completely off. One full day off from social media and the Internet can be really restorative.
How Long Do Bloggers Spend Actually Working?
I think what surprises people most is that the time spent creating content (the best part!) actually takes up the least amount of time.
I added up all of the different things (breakdown below!) that I spend time on and actual content creation takes up less than 50% of my time. The biggest areas I spend my day on are the administrative stuff (I’m at my desk a lot, just like all of you probably are), and community management (all of the responding, which I mentioned above!) Every blogger is different though. A lot of my friends have their significant other shoot their images and spend hours and hours editing their own images.
- Contracts + Emails + Admin stuff: I spend about 3-4 hours every day doing the administrative stuff – there is a LOT of it with blogging – any full time blogger who is running their blog like a business will tell you that they are actually at a desk quite a bit. There are countless PR emails + pitches, reader emails, contracts, back and forth with my manager + brands (from negotiating to sending performance recaps), accounting stuff in Quickbooks, invoicing, tracking down late payments and blah blah blah. I have a good (at least I hope!) reputation in the industry as I am easy to work with and return all emails within 24 hours and want it to keep it that way! I tend to do a little of this on weekends too as I like to be at inbox zero-ish, but we will call this 15 hours per week.
- Community Management: This is just responding to comments + DM’s across Instagram, the blog, my Facebook page + group, and Twitter. I would say I spend 2 hours a day doing this, and 1 hour a day on the weekends so we will call it 12 hours per week.
- Social Media: I’m only counting content creation here – every blog post I put on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ (I never schedule in advance except Facebook) as well as posting to Instagram (stories + feed posts). If I do a Q&A it’s much higher; I try to only do those when I’m traveling or have a big chunk of time to kill. Since we’re not counting responding (that’s above!) I would say I spend about an hour total per day here. We will leave off weekends and call this 5 hours per week.
- Writing: this is my favorite part! It really varies but I would say I spend about 30 minutes per blog post, and then maybe 2 or 3 hours writing a longer more thoughtful post. So we will guesstimate here and call it 5 hours per week.
- Meetings and phone calls: About 5 hours per week. This doesn’t count commuting into the city though, which is why I try to make most meetings phone calls!
- Creating Images: This includes shooting with a professional photographer once or twice a week, shooting flat lay images at home for beauty posts, reading lists etc, and snapping my daily looks for Instagram, etc.. 4 hours per week.
- Post Setup + Creating Graphics: This is the boring stuff: cropping and sizing images and creating collage graphics (for product roundups and collages) in Photoshop. 3 hours a week.
- Product Sourcing + Research: I wish I spent more time here as I feel like there is so much more I could be doing. I love having The Stripe be a place you can come to discover cool new stuff and new to me brands. But there isn’t always enough time. 4 hours per week.
- Weekend Reading Post: my Saturday post actually takes me the longest to write as it requires finding really good stuff to share with you guys. It’s become one of my most popular I try to spend at least 30 minutes every day finding good things to link to. 3 hours per week.
- Email Newsletter: I send out a Friday newsletter. Putting this together (sizing + uploading emails, linking products and posts, and writing) takes about 2 hours per week.
- Pulling Links + Creating shopping widgets: This is pretty self explanatory. Once I write a post find links to all of the products. I then add those into the post and make a shopping widget in ShopStyle. I try to batch this and do 3-4 posts at a time. 1 hour per week.
This totals 58 hours a week.
What about the podcast?
It’s funny bc I’ve had this post in my drafts since March and laughed because back then my estimate had been four hours a week. Oh how things can change in a few short months! We used to spend about 90 min recording and then switch back and forth between who edited it. So it was around 4 hours a week. In the past 6 months as really taken off which has been amazing. I wouldn’t have it any other way BUT I still have all my other work!
- Podcast Creation: Generally speaking we spend about an hour prepping for each episode. We create an outline ahead of time for every episode. If it’s just us it’s usually about 90 minutes. If we have a guest we typically spend 2 hours with them and then another 30-40 minutes recording the intro/outro + ads. So we will call this three hours. It’s a lot higher some of the time (this week we have 6 hours of recording booked but next week we only have one).
- Guesting on other podcasts: My goal is to try to be on at least one other podcast a week. Doesn’t always happen BUT the best way to grow your podcast is by going on other podcasts. So let’s call this 2 hours; but it doesn’t factor in getting there/commuting, which is usually another hour at least as most recording studios are in the city.
- Admin stuff + emails. Like with everything, once you bring on advertisers and start working with brands, you get a lot more emails and have a lot more work. I don’t work on admin stuff for the podcast for that long every day. But I would say it’s at least a half an hour a day (probably low) going back and forth with advertisers, lining up guests, working on live show stuff writing ad scripts. So we will call this 3 hours a week.
- Live show planning. This is spent working on lining up guests, lining up accommodations (I try to do a trade in every city for our hotels to make the shows more profitable), working with venues, working on the show outlines + games etc. 1 hour per week (it should be more; we are behind!!)
- Touring. When we go on tour that’s a few days away from work every week. I’m not counting this as it’s fun and exciting and hard to measure (we’re also usually on our laptops in the greenroom getting through emails!) but it’s definitely still work!
This totals 9 hours a week. That feels low but it really depends on the week!
Where does that net out?
That adds up to about 67 hours a week. It’s higher than I thought but makes sense. Of COURSE there are busy and less busy weeks. This week was busier as it was fashion week and we also hosted an event for the podcast. This summer I worked a little less. And this holiday season I will work more, especially when there are gift guides + demand for sponsored content. It also doesn’t include going to evening events (I a few every week).
Work and life blend together so oftentimes I will be doing work and not really thinking about it. I just hired an assistant and she will be helping me for 20 hours a week which is really nice. Also, I have to remember that 20 hours of an assistant’s time is not the same as 20 hours of my time though. I can do things much more quickly; but I need to remember that even if those 20 hours take 10 hours off of my plate I will be a little more sane!
How much does it cost to run a blog?!
Running a blog is actually pretty expensive – the costs add up! If you are just starting out or blogging just for fun, of course it doesn’t have to be like this (it shouldn’t! I barely spent anything on my blog when I first started, besides my site design), but as a more established blogger with decently high traffic, the costs add up.
- Website Development: A good site can cost anywhere from $5k to $20k to develop (this includes branding/logo work as well as the actual coding). A friend of mine was just quoted $65k by an agency (YIKES – she’s obviously not working with them – that’s literally insane), but that blew my mind. I spent $6k to buy my domain name and $5k to redesign it. My designer is a lot more expensive now I think). To maintain my site, I keep my developer on retainer; the fee for this is $400 per month. It’s expensive but worth it and allows me to be more nimble + make bigger changes to the site a few times a year.
- A good camera. I actually just have my Sony Alpha (for video) and my Fuji X-T10. Both are great beginner cameras and not absurdly expensive. I don’t use a DLSR anymore because I shoot most of my content with a professional photographer and my iPhone is fine for traveling etc. I hate lugging around a heavy camera.
- Professional Photography: I typically work with a professional photographer for an hour a week – more if I have a lot of sponsored content; less if I am traveling and am just relying on friends to take my photo. The photographers I work with charge between $150-$250 per hour.
- SEO Specialist: This year I invested in SEO. I use Influencer SEO and Jordan is the BEST. She helps me optimize my site and gives me ideas each week for things that are getting a lot of traction on google. She also gives me to-do’s: posts with broken links to fix, posts that need extra love on social media, and overall site guidance. I pay her $500 a month but the best money I spend.
- Mailchimp: Mailchimp is my email host. I have a pretty big email list (just under 40k subscribers) so my plan is on the more expensive side – $260 per month.
- Manager: I am not with a big agency but have a person helping me with some of my partnerships. I pay her a monthly retainer fee + 10% of the paid projects thats she helps with. I have a lot of relationships in the industry and really enjoy having those relationships. So she manages the bigger things that require more negotiation, with larger exclusivity clauses, etc etc.
- Web Hosting: Hosting can cost anywhere between $30-$500 per month depending on your traffic. It can be even more if you run a huge huge site! My plan is around $150 a month.
What about the podcast? Podcast expenses are pretty low. It’s about $20/month for hosting and we pay an editor around $150/episode to edit. We just hired a publicist for three months which is extremely expensive. But we made the decision to invest in that to see what happens and not pay ourselves.
What are the best parts of running a blog?
The best part to me, hands down, is the flexibility and the ability to work from home. I really love working from home. And I like being able to do things during off hours, i.e. commute into the city during off hours. Or take yoga at noon when it’s less crowded, go to the grocery store in the middle of the day when there are no lines.
The other best part is the community. Community was my big focus for 2018 and I feel really proud of the group of women here. I say this all the time but I have the best readers. I feel like I know so many of you IRL just based off of commenting back and forth here on the blog and on Instagram.
What are the worst parts?
The hardest part of all is the inconsistency. There are months where I have a ton of paid partnership. There are months that I have to turn things down. And then there are slower months where I will only have one or two. It can be tempting to take on a sponsor that isn’t quite as on brand during the slower months. I try to remember how cyclical it all is. One bad sponsored post can cost you a chunk of your readership… it isn’t worth it!
The mail and the amount of waste generated by PR mailings is also frustrating. A lot of brands don’t check before sending once they have your address. And worse yet, there are companies that will get your address and sell or share it with other companies. Stuff I don’t want (last week I got two huge boxes of hair color) arrives. And there’s nothing I can really do about it. (Trust me, I send emails asking brands very nicely to please not do this!)
I spend a silly amount of time breaking down boxes and figuring out where to donate things I don’t want. (And finding places to store it which drives me bonkers as I’m a neat freak). I think brands are still learning; many of them are used to working with beauty editors who have huge beauty closets to store everything in. They don’t know what to do with us!
It’s also hard when people making assumptions about you. I’ve read quite a few things about myself online over the years that aren’t true.
Lastly, it’s especially hard with men. Dating is super weird when you have over a hundred thousand instagram followers. Your life is pretty publicly out there. That’s why I don’t talk about dating specifics her. I wouldn’t want anyone I meet to worry about becoming fodder for the blog. Plus, I’ve had a lot of really awkward situations over the years – one guy did some stuff that was actually insane. Like, I want to tell you guys the whole story but I can’t, it would break code.
But in all honestly, I think I have the best job in the world. I feel really, really lucky to have been able to carve out this path for myself. And that’s mostly all because of you! I am grateful every day and I really mean that.
I hope this was interesting!!! If you want more on this, listen to today’s episode on time management!
I can imagine how hard blogging is! I work for a lifestyle magazine so it’s sort of like a blog, and you’re right, creating content actually takes the least amount of time! It’ll probably be more hardcore for bloggers because usually they’re working alone. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
Thanks Charmaine! That’s so cool that you work for a magazine!
Thank you so much for this article! I blog full time too. It was very interesting to see how another blogger divides their time. SEO has always been a challenge for me. I just signed up for Influencer SEO- thank for the recommendation!
Oh good! I really like their service!!!
Wow, thank you so much for this detailed description of all your work and also the cost! I enjoy reading your blog every day and I am glad you love your job 🙂
Thank you so much Jana!!!
Wow what was a great read! I appreciate how responsive you are and engaging but also fully support you taking the time off you need to refresh! congrats on hiring an assistant 🙂 At work I find half the battle is realizing at first, it will hopefully improve as time goes on, the assistant, mentee, etc. will not achieve results as quickly as you. 50% is a great estimate on initial efficiency to get you in the right frame of mind 🙂
Thank you so much Shana! I’m glad you enjoyed the post (and that you agree on that 50%!)
I loved this post – so informative and a real peek behind the curtain. It’s so interesting learning in detail what other people’s days and jobs look like. The ONE thing I didn’t like though was how you minimize your career in the first paragraph – seriously, you have created an incredible community and space on the Internet for women. It’s empowering, fun, engaging, educational, and motivating. Please don’t dismiss your HARD WORK as “writing about face serums and fluffy thrillers”. It is so much more than that! This is one of the most substantive, smart, all-encompassing blogs out there – yours and Cup of Jo are my go-tos.
As women it’s so easy to couch our successes or talk them down (I do this too, but I’m making a real effort of pointing out my girl friends’ successes and achievements, and I consider you one of my Internet friends!) but you are a total boss, you easily work 70-80 hour weeks (!) and most impressive of all, you’re an entrepreneur who created all of this yourself. You write that you’re not saving any lives but even if that is true (but you actually never know the impact of your writing, you very well could be!) you are making everyone who visits your site, listens to your podcast or follows you on Instagram enjoy life and all its complexities – from simple, fun things like face masks and cute shoes to weighty, heavier topics explored in a variety of books and the power and confidence boost that a really great outfit can give.
Did not mean to write a novel, but needed to say this!!
I second this comment! Do not minimize what you have accomplished and that you are a writer, an account, a marketing director, and and and – you’ve built a great community and are also one of my “go-to’s” and some days you may not save my life but you sure do brighten my day!!
Thank you so much!!!!
Awww man, thank you so much for this kind comment! You made me cry!! (I’m getting my period so a little emotional, lol)
I completely agree with this!! I hate when people compare careers/professions and say one is better than the other. I felt this a lot with my family. My brother was an engineering major in college and I was history education. My family definitely had this perception that my brother worked harder and would have a more profitable/important career because he was in STEM. It took me a while to move past my family’s perceptions and realize that the work that I do is valuable even if I’m not doing biochem or something like that. Katie is right, you have created a wonderful, kind, and positive space for this community and that is something we all desperately need in this day and age. You definitely deserve to pat yourself on the back.
What a great comment. Most of us don’t have jobs that possess gravitas in the traditional sense. And even if we ARE doctors or lawyers or whatever, the spectrum of available jobs and their importance isn’t a zero-sum game. Yes, OF COURSE some jobs are more like vocations and are integral to a functioning society, but largely, what is important to one person may be superfluous to another. That doesn’t mean we have to collectively decide that some jobs are better or more important than others.
I think, honestly, that there’s some internalized misogyny inherent in the belief that female-centric blogging is cushy or doesn’t matter. It’s a female-dominated industry, for one. Fashion and beauty are seen as superficial interests, for another (which: WHY? Why can’t they be viewed with more weight? Answer: because they’re largely female pursuits. You don’t often see a collective dismissal of ESPN employees whose jobs are to report on fantasy football!).
Grace has created a community and keeps it not just running, but THRIVING, through a ton of hard work, ingenuity, and serious know-how. How amazing is that?! Own that influencer title!
Yes, love this celebration of success. Like you, Katie, this and Cup of Jo are ‘my’ blogs and you’re so right these spaces that Grace and Joanna have created matter.
Grace, I was so thrilled to see you referenced by the Fug Girls in Fugs and Pieces the other month. Amother amazing space created by women. Please say they’ll be on the podcast soon!
Sooo interesting! I haven’t ever seen the finances behind running a blog and it is definitely a lot more than I thought.
Yeah, it definitely adds up!!! Last summer was a little scary as I was traveling a lot and not doing a lot of sponsored content. But then I had a busy fall which helped to counteract that.
As someone with a pretty traditional 9-5 job, I found this super interesting! Thanks for being so transparent!
I’m so happy it was interesting!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this!! As your avid followers, we of course, see how hard you work but really seeing it broken down like this – wow! Thank you for fostering this unbelievable community!
Aw, thank you Nora!!!!
I have been following you from your start and I have to agree with Katie. Please don’t minimize what you do and have done. Between all the fluff (even though we haven’t met in person yet, can’t wait to see you in SF!) you and I have had many heart felt comments back and forth to each other over the years. Saved lives? Maybe not, but made someone’s day brighter? for certain. All those little drops of rain make up the mighty ocean. You have written some very deep, caring posts. As women and ours lives are hard work, ups and downs, fluff, fashion, politics ,etc. You content is always well rounded. It’s clear that you care about your readers and we care about you. I find integrity to be a rare thing and you have it Grace. Your honesty and sincerity shine through every post. Thank you for sharing what it takes to make a great blog!
Thank you so so much Cy! Much appreciate the kind words (and always appreciate your comments!!!) xx
This is one of my most favorite blog posts ever. SO interesting.
I would have guessed you work more than that (and still suspect that you do). When comparing the hours, I think it is important to remember that many people who work 9-5’s take lunch breaks and also do some personal stuff during work hours (ie, me reading this post and writing this comment).
I wish I could gush more, but I’m not very eloquent and my coworker is waiting for me to go to lunch!
I am so happy that you enjoyed it! And lol I probably do. But thank you so much for the kind words!!!
This is so fascinating! I’m always curious about what goes on behind the scenes in the blogging/influencer space and this is the most detailed picture I’ve ever seen!! Thank you for sharing and being so transparent.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Erin!!
I loved this, thank you!!
Grace, you have an amazing blog, the only one that I visit on a daily basis. I love the podcast as well. You are doing an amazing job! It is clear that the world needs artists, writers, bloggers, etc who deliver great content and create beautiful things. We should not all be trying to save a physical life.
Greetings from Prague.
Thank you so much, Andrea!!!
I love this post! This is something I thought about emailing you about to see if you would create a post like this but it sounded like it would be a huge burden to write, so I didn’t! Thank you! It’s so interesting to me how businesses other than mine function and I love peeking into other people’s workflow.
Aw thanks Betsy! I am so happy you enjoyed it!
Grace, this post is everything!!! I’ve been an aspiring blogger for the last year and I feel that every five steps forward I take, I move five backwards because of all of the new things I’ve had to learn. Thanks for the encouragement to keep going. Blogging is work, but it’s so worth it! xo
Thank you Ann Marie! I’m really happy to hear that. Good luck – hang in there!
I have to compliment your candor in this post, it’s really rare in any business to have so much transparency. I’m not a blogger nor am I interested becoming one, but I always find it interesting to understand more about what people do for a living and the real ins and outs of HOW they do it, and sometimes it seems like there’s so much secrecy around work, particularly in the blogging/influencer world. This was a really interesting read, thank you!
Aw thank you so much Emily! I’m so happy it was interesting!
I loved this post Grace. I kind of rolled my eyes when I saw the headline because I’ve seen so many posts from bloggers claiming that they’re sharing what it is that they do, and then give some vague description of what they do. I get it – its hard to really break down the day to day details of any job. This was so informative and having followed tons of bloggers for years, I learned more from this post than any other.
Despite our lifestyle differences (age, location, style) I love following you for exactly this reason – you’re relatable and transparent. I so admire how grateful you are for the career you have!
Aw thank you Stacy! I am happy you enjoyed the post! xx
THIS POST GRACE!
I truly have admired your work ethic for YEARS and now seeing JUST what you do weekly justifies how much I admire you. You’re one of the few who really just “gets” the purpose of doing this crazy thing full time.
Dana | The Champagne Edit
Aw Dana, you are the sweetest! Thank you!!!!
OK, I geeked out over this post! I absolutely LOVE seeing the inner workings of a blogger’s life—really, a creative’s life in general. Thank you for taking the time to break this all down. I found it super interesting and always appreciate the work you put into the blog, podcast, and (of course) your bookish content. <3
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kind words.
Listening to your podcast on time management, and Grace, please please please, you do not need to respond to everyone. You definitely do not sound like a bitch (I think you said you that at least 3 times). Ignore those DMs and meeting requests! It’s not an equal relationship, and these people are sucking up your time. As a test, don’t respond to this comment ;-). I don’t mind! Love the podcast but also love the old school blog. I love reading while I drink coffee in the morning. Keep it up.
Hahahahah I can’t not reply!! It’s my own fault!
Thank you so much for sharing this! I can somewhat relate as I write a food blog on the side in addition to working full time. It’s a lot more work then people thing it is! Love everything you write keep it up!
thank you so much rebecca!!
I am really glad that you broke down the time and money involved in your job. I think you do a fantastic job with your blog (been a follower since 2011) and the podcast with Becca. If you decide to do a Patreon option for the podcast, I will totally pay a monthly fee to support what you two provide us!
You are so sweet! Thanks Johanna!!!!
This was such an interesting post, and I so appreciate your candor. I always love seeing how people “get it done”. I agree with the other commenters that you are doing great things! Positively impacting so many people has a significant ripple effect. You are one of the only bloggers I follow, and I always appreciate your variety of posts and your genuine passion for your career. While I have a very different job, your comments on taking meetings made me think of how I can protect my time. A lot of recent grads reach out to me to meet for career advice, and I need to be better about suggesting a call instead. You can’t please everyone all the time! Also – don’t feel bad about taking time off! I had to learn to disconnect so that I wouldn’t burn out. And selfishly, I never want you to burn out :). Thanks for all that you do!!
I am so happy you enjoyed it!!! And thank you for the kind words. XOXO
Cool post, thanks for sharing a glimpse of your day to day reality!
glad you enjoyed it!!
Grace, thank you for sharing and revisiting this draft to post! Since beginning listening to BoP and hearing a bit about influencer/blogging life from you, I have been very intrigued by what goes into it, how things have evolved over time, etc. I could probably read a book about it – it’s fascinating! Keep doing what you do!
Thanks so much Erin!!! xx
I really enjoyed reading this!! I personally love finding out more about other people’s jobs and all what happens in the background. There is so much work that goes into being a blogger that I’d never would have guessed. Thank you so much for posting this! You put a lot of thought and effort on your blog, and it definitely shows. I hope you’re proud of it!
I know, I love it too! Those day in a life career features are always my favorite!
From readings these comments Grace, not only do they affirm and validate how loved you and your blog are by your readers, but it also highlights how through your work you have created a community of readers all around the world who willingly come together to support you, your work and each other in such a positive and encouraging manner. Thank you Grace.
Aw thank you so much for the kind words Jennifer!!! Have a great weekend. xoxo
Wonderful post! I’ve been blogging full-time for a little over a year now, and I’ve learned so much and fine-tuned my schedule to just include tasks that are really making an impact and eliminating busy work. It takes so much more effort than many people realize.
Dee ~ Vanilla Papers
Agreed! Thanks Dee!
Thanks for sharing, Grace! I’m a new follower/listener and have loved hearing both yours and Becca’s perspective on life in your 30’s in NYC. I’m also floored how you find so much time to read – it’s certainly aspirational for me as I try to be more mindful of how I spend my time and not just “get through the week” – an easy rut for me to fall into.
Keep it up!
Thanks Morgan!!!
Thank you so much for making this post, I find it slightly hard to relate to because I’m such a new blogger but I love that I can read this in an *aspirational* way, you know? 😉
Oh, and I LOVE your pictures. Love the authenticity, love the skincare, and I really love that you haven’t had botox and you look so gorgeous.
xoxo
Aw I’m so glad you enjoyed it! xx
Hi Grace! Question – HOW do you disable DMs? I would love to do this when I go on vacation and have googled and spent a bunch of time trying to figure it out but no luck, and I feel terrible not replying to people. Maybe you have to be verified to do that? Thank you!
I don’t remember exactly but it’s under settings and story controls!
this is so interesting! blogging is sooo much work – between writing, editing photos, posting, working to get traffic, i really had no idea what i was getting into but i love it! after so many years of meaning to it’s nice to actually have it out there and i’ve never felt more creative. i share lots of lists and ways to live mindfully, creatively and sustainably here: https://tps-steph.blogspot.com/
It is!! Thanks Steph!
Thanks for the breakdown.
you’re welcome. have a great weekend!
I haven’t read all the comments but I know I am not the only fellow blogger who wants to thank you for writing this. Blogging, especially when you have a quality site like yours, is hard work and a lot of hours! On social it can look like all we do is laugh through photo shoots, drink coffee with friends, and go to fancy events but that’s such a small percentage of our job and the easy parts! I really appreciate this post, thanks Grace!
Yes!!! Thank you so much Allie!!! I wanted to write this post for that reason! Have a great weekend. xx
Well, we just love you and I can’t wait to meet you at the Atlanta live show!!
Aw thank you! So excited for Atlanta!!!!
As a blogger myself I didn’t even realize how much time I was putting into the blog until recently when I was trying to balance having a baby, spending time with my family and running a blog by myself. It helps to much when your able to reach out for help.
Loved this thou thanks for sharing! I just joined your facebook group too.
Stephanie Vainer | a learning story blog
Yeah, sometimes I don’t even know where my time goes! And yay, welcome to the FB group! xo
Loved this ! I just finished work myself today and I was like ” 18 hrs /day? That’s amazingly awesome . Thanks for sharing, Grace!
Oh man!! It can really add up!!!
Hi Grace. Thank you for your candor in this post. One of the best things about your blog is how open you are with your followers and also how real your blog is. There are so few bloggers/influences out there who are real in what they wear/do and it makes it hard to relate to them. I really appreciate your transparency with the mechanics of running a blog. It does not sound easy.
Aw thank you so much Neda!!!
Thank you so much for sharing and breaking it all down. And congrats on hiring an assistant! Excited to see where the blog takes you.
Thank you!!
Posts like this are the reason I love your blog and your content so much…you are refreshingly open and candid about your approach and your priorities. Thank you for sharing all of this! I’m looking forward to seeing where your podcast goes in the next year…I think you and Becca are really onto something.
Aw thanks Stacy!!! Hope you had a great weekend!
loved this post and your transparency.
This was such a fascinating post, and I loved reading it! It’s funny because as I was reading the top portion, I thought “It would be so interesting to learn what experienced bloggers have for expenses” and then you included it – which is so rare! Great post!
Lauren
http://oliverstwistblog.com
Love this post! It’s nice to have a little peek behind the curtain, as this is an industry most of us don’t know the nuts and bolts of. Really fascinated by how much time you spend doing admin and business work, which of course makes sense but isn’t the first thing I think about when I read the blog.
Just wanted to say I’m glad you love it because we love it too! You’re one of the only blogs I still read regularly and BOP is a must-listen.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post!