Instagram has proved to be a great medium for those people who are willing to work hard on their passion and are ready to transform the digital marketing world with their unique content. When it comes to Fashion & Lifestyle niche, there are many myths that make people think that it is not a full-time profession or the content creators are just posting whatever they are doing in life. To break such myths, we had a talk with Jeanette Mesquita who is a popular digital influencer with over 143k followers on Instagram. Read what she has to say on her journey and how blogging is evolving as a career option.
What made you choose this industry?
So to give you a little background about myself, I was born in Goa, and currently, I am pursuing a degree in law from the School of Law, Christ in Bangalore. As for choosing fashion as a niche for my blogging, I would say that fashion came naturally to me. Ever since I was a child, I was drawn towards it, but with limited options available in Goa, I did not how to go about it. From whatever options I knew of law seemed most interesting to me and hence I went ahead to get a degree in the same. As I stepped out and started exploring things I learnt about blogging and I instantly felt this was something even I could do. Though it started as a passion initially, once I started picking up, I became more serious about my content. As of now, I wish to complete my graduation and then pursue blogging full time as a career. Just to sum up, my two reasons for choosing this industry are, firstly my passion towards fashion, which would be like a dream career and secondly the flexibility that this work offers. We can choose our work timings, our style of content and even our clients. The flexibility to be creative is the best thing about this career and hence I want to take it ahead as soon as possible.
What was the turning point for you?
Well, the day I learnt about blogging I got interested in it., although blogging started as a backup option for me after law. I am a person who believes in having options in case something doesn’t work out. But what started as mere option took foreground the moment I received a good response. From then on I started taking blogging as my primary career and pursued law as a backup option. So I would say the overwhelming response and growth served as turning points for me.
What are some difficulties that you face as a digital influencer?
The biggest challenge that comes with this profession is that one is always under the scrutiny and judged by people. Most of the times small issues get glorified just because we are public figures, people forget that it is just a profession for us, the same that one can be a doctor or lawyer; you can be a blogger too. And beneath this profession, we also are simple humans. Where in other professions when people make mistakes, they are not judged the way we are held up for judgments.
Share some life lessons you experienced during your journey.
One of the biggest life lessons that I learnt through this journey is that it is never too late to turn things around. When I started with law, I wasn’t aware of available prospects into blogging. I gave my 100% in law, but for some reasons, my efforts did not meet fruitful results, whereas when I switched to blogging, my efforts were instantly rewarded. So I learnt that one can always choose a different path if things aren’t working out on one. If you fail in one aspect doesn’t mean you will fail in all, so making a switch is definitely a good option to explore. You may find your true calling lying somewhere else rather than where you started. Also whatever the kind of experience you may gather, you should always hold it close because it teaches us something valuable for our future
What are some tips about Marketing and Blogging you want to share with our audience?
To begin with, I would say that content is king, so focus on your content and try to make is stand out. Almost every industry is saturated these days and the only thing that can help you differentiate from others is your content. Secondly, if you want to target on a varied audience, your content should also be diversified. There should be something for everyone. Thirdly I would say keep patience, like any other work, this also involves a struggle period. You will face hardships, not get barter deals or paid much initially, but then if you keep trust in your content and yourself, things will surely turn around.
Which other bloggers do you follow?
Santoshi Shetty, she was the one who inspired me greatly and I think I relate to her style. Also, I follow Larrisa and Shirin because I love their work
To sum it up I would like to say that the day I learnt about blogging I instantly developed an interest in it, although initially, I considered it to be a backup option after law. People tend to forget that this is just our profession. The same way that one can be a doctor or lawyer; you can be a blogger too
