We had the pleasure of speaking with one of our WP Live customers, Alana, with Island Beauty Habits. Her blog has a unique blend of beauty, health, and fitness advice which was built with the help of WP Live. We want share the story of how one MOJO customer, prompted by a pin on Pinterest about how to start a blog, launched a fully functional site in just 30 days with the help of WordPress and WP Live.
Why don’t you tell us a little bit about Island Beauty Habits and where the idea came from.
I have been a stay at home mom for 9 years and wanted to find the next thing to do. I’ve always read beauty blogs and watched YouTube channels for advice on beauty. I wanted to find something that I enjoyed and I already had a passion for beauty, recipes, and fitness.
Why did you choose to blog about beauty?
That is what I am most interested in and where I believe I have a lot to offer. I know a lot about beauty and makeup and the industry. I am constantly trying to stay on top of the beauty industry trends and since I was already sharing it with family and friends, it was a great topic for me to focus on.
So, I went for it. I didn’t have much experience in the realm of technology but jumped into it right away. I did it knowing that I would get better the more I worked on the site. That is the only way to get better.
That is excellent encouragement to others in your same place wanting to jump into building a WordPress website of their own.
Yeah, it was super intimidating at first but it’s amazing how much I have already learned. There are all of these things that I had no idea about before. It’s been a huge learning curve and I am still learning all the time. It has been fun!
Would you say that beauty blogging is a hobby or do you plan to take it further?
I have plans to take it further. I have already had a beauty supply company reach out to me that allows me to make money promoting their products along with Amazon affiliates. I am hoping to do the same with Sephora as well and want to build up my followers to take it even further.
What was your favorite thing about the MOJO Marketplace experience?
Creating something of my own.
I would say getting everything up and running. It was exciting to have this thing that started as nothing and I was able to make it into something.
We see that you are working the back end and consistently posting blog posts. You have come that far in a short amount of time.
With the help of WP Live. I was able to call anytime with whatever question I have which has been super helpful.
That is great to hear. That is our goal, to build a product that is helpful.
I’m so glad that I found you guys and feel so grateful for knowing what I know now. I could trust what was being said and knew I can trust you and I know what I need to do. WordPress is where it’s at and where I need to be for my site.
Speaking of WPLive – How did you become exposed to it?
I actually found a pin on Pinterest about how to start a blog and it included steps regarding WordPress. I went through and followed along with those steps and everything just happened so quickly from there. I received an email from Scott who then helped me out by recommending the help of WPLive.
How was your overall experience with WPLive?
I originally had my site set up the same way the theme had it. I then went through and removed the content there and started to replace it with my own stuff. The WPLive reps had a ton of patience and help on how to build the site and with terminology.
It was extremely helpful and I couldn’t have done it without them.
How is the site doing so far?
It is doing great, looking good, and now I am working on promoting myself on social media.
Any advice for people looking to blog?
If you really want to do it and it is something that you are interested in just know it takes time and is hard work. Just be patient with yourself. There will be some high highs and low lows. There will be times where you think you can’t do it and other times where you finally have figured something out.
Be patient and keep at it. Know that there will always be things you can change and things you can improve on.
WP Live offers a lot to help people like Alana looking to start a business, blog, or build an online presence. We are there to not only help build your site but to also assist beyond that in goals such as boosting subscribers. The tech space can seem intimidating but it is amazing how much Alana (and others like her) learned from building her own website. She has improved on everything like working the back-end, posting blogs, and even photography. To see someone like Alana who has used our service to help her build something of her own is so empowering.
Congratulations on the success, Alana! We plan to stay up to date on your blog and it’s growth.
