Today we’d like to introduce you to Lydia Guanga.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started my blog The Artful Attempt in 2014. I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences with others and have a creative outlet for myself. I focused primarily on interior design, food, and travel. Over the years I’ve continued to post on the blog as ideas come to me, but I been moving more towards using Instagram as my primary way of sharing. I’ve always loved images and photography, and I love how inspirational content on Instagram can be. It’s a fun way to get to know people and express yourself!
Because blogging/influencing has never been my full-time job (I work as an art teacher!), it can be difficult to keep up with everything. I’ve never wanted to make “filler” blog posts just to hit a schedule, and although I try to post on Instagram most days of the week, I always want my posts to be authentic. It’s great if you can partner with other businesses/products via social media of course, but I feel it’s really important to be honest in a place where we are also constantly arranging and “editing” our lives. The image needs to look good, but it also should connect you to the person, places, or experiences in the image. That’s what makes accounts inspirational to me, and how I hope others connect to my contribution in the social media world.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s definitely difficult to narrow down what you want to blog about! Finding a niche that works for you and provides enough content is a lot more challenging than I expected. I love blogging about design and travel, but those are definitely things I can’t do all the time. It’s been helpful to use Instagram during those “down times”. It’s also hard to know how to grow a following when you’ve got another full-time job! Growing a community on social media takes a lot of work, and it can be difficult to decide who to partner with and how and when to put yourself out there. With that, another huge difficulty is learning not to compare yourself to others. Especially with social media, I try to keep my focus on loving and being intentional about everything I write or post, and not comparing myself to those who seem to have more engagement, followers, or brand partnerships. Every blog is different, and every blogger is too, and I love that so I work to embrace it!
Please tell us about The Artful Attempt.
The Artful Attempt (@artfulattempt on Insta and Twitter) is a lifestyle blog focusing on food, travel, and interior design. Its purpose is to learn from others and hopefully help them learn from myself as well. It’s meant to inspire people to get out there, try new things, and have fun with the successes and non-successes of their artful attempts.
I think The Artful Attempt stands apart from other lifestyle blogs because of its intent and natural content. I want to be as authentic as possible, so I write my posts like I’d talk to you in real life. I try to write in the way that I’m searching for when I’m trying to make a recipe, plan a trip, or just get some helpful hints on decorating my space. I love blogging because of the connection it can create between people, not because of the follower count it can bring. The Artful Attempt has always been fun for me to create, and I love the natural and authentic growth it has had.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I probably would have done more intentional work with my Instagram, hashtags, and Pinterest from the beginning. Those are the biggest drivers of traffic to my blog, and I didn’t have an Instagram account for my blog until I was already almost a year in. Now it’s the content I update the most and connect with more people with, so it’s really important.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theartfulattempt.wordpress.com/
- Email: artfulattempt@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artfulattempt/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theartfulattempt/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/artfulattempt
Image Credit:
All taken by me
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