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December Recap: Blogger Roundtable at Wisteria

One of the most beneficial things about being a Blogger Union member is having access to successful content creators in the community who are willing to share their knowledge. Last Sunday, an intimate group of Houston Blogger Union members gathered at Wisteria for a special blogger brunch. Over light bites and mimosas, our members got to ask Anastasia Hansen and Natalie Harms about their accomplished careers as bloggers.

Anastasia and Natalie recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of their thriving blog, It’s Not Hou It’s Me. The two hosted our blogger roundtable at Wisteria, Houston’s newest destination for home decor. Wisteria offers traditional furniture and home decor featuring unique designs and one of a kind items. Before the informative workshop took place, we had a full tour of the Wisteria showroom. From a rainbow-hued pillow wall to holiday decor and gifts, the location has all you could ever want for decorating your space.

Photo by member @shanna.jin
Photo by member @shanna.jin

When we finally sat down to chat with Anastasia and Natalie about their exciting five years in the industry, we pressed them on everything from their favorite tools to how they manage their busy schedules. Here are a few of the key takeaways from our conversation:

It’s Not Hou It’s Me has participated in a multitude of partnerships. What tips do you have for bloggers looking to work with companies, both in Houston and nationally?

I think most of the things that we do are things that we would probably cover anyways, most of the things that we do for pay. Keeping yourself accountable is important. Be picky when you can, maintain relationships, be very clear and make sure you understand your contract and know what your deliverables are and your timeline. – Natalie

On pricing posts:

Anytime you accept something for free, you’re potentially hurting the industry as a whole because someone else might go out there and spend a lot of time and effort on that; you want there to be value. – Anastasia

You’ve been featured in the media and even have a recurring morning show segment. What tips do you have for bloggers looking to become contribute their voice in local media?

In five years, how have you seen the industry change and how can we stay ahead?
I would say there’s a bigger focus now on like short-form content and video. Instagram stories are important. Instagram was not a thing when we started blogging if you can imagine that. We created our blog first and launched our Instagram several weeks later. – Anastasia

Having a niche to set yourself apart from the crowd is a big deal. – Natalie

What tools do you use to communicate with each other, schedule content, and blog?

Tweetdeck for scheduling tweets, Canva for graphics, Camtasia for video editing, and Google Docs for sharing items between each other.

How do you handle changes in the algorithm and what do you anticipate will happen to Instagram?

I don’t think we’re in the position where Instagram is going away, but I do like the fact that our websites aren’t going away. We have a website that’s a wealth of knowledge. – Natalie

Photo by member @anetefreimane
Photo by member @shanna.jin

Thanks to everyone who came out and joined us! Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay posted on the next Blogger Union event.

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