Hi Vansters,

I feel like I’ve been neglecting this blog due to my business coaching and consultancy company, Ignite the Screen, and wonderfully managing to get clients before the site was even launched. Things are going at a nice pace there now although I’m still very busy with it having just put out a brand new free guide which talks about customizing Facebook pages for business. If you’ve got your own business please feel free to download it.

Due to me being busy there have been no fit posts which is a shame but unfortunately they do take up quite a bit of time to compose and I’ve kind of made the decision to pull back from doing them because they took up a lot of time I needed to dedicate to my business.

But I wanted to use this post to answer a question by the beautiful, fashionable business woman  Monif C as well as share with you some ASOS related news.

This is a long post so please don’t speed read.

Monif said

Hi Vanessa, hope you are doing good…drop a line in the ASOS Curve folks ear that they should consider carrying some of the designer plus size labels on their site similar to how they do with the str8 size lines. I think Monif C., Anna Scholz, Svoboda and the like would be great on the site! Read your blog the other day, keep up the good work!

I wanted to spend some time thinking of a response. It is not the official response; it is my personal response which is very much constructed from observation. So please remember than as you read on.

Having been with Curve for nearly six months I can say it is still a very small subsidiary of the ASOS brand. It may seem big (pardon the pun) to many in the full figured fashion world but it by no means takes the amount of money its mainline does. That is just a simple fact. Curve was only ever meant to give fuller figured women the option of having select core line styles in the sizes of 20-26 (UK) and over time it’s managed to stick in a few exclusives which aren’t on core.

It’s not like Simply Be or Evans; these companies are solely set up for the full figured fashion market. Curve is classed like maternity or petite, so as a business at this point it would not serve ASOS to bring in new full figured lines as Monif has suggested. Not at this point.

This may not seem fair but from a business perspective it makes sense to leverage their own brand first before they even think of bringing in new lines.

But there is also a flip side which no one really likes to talk about but being as it’s me writing this (and not a cookie cutter PR) I’ll just go ahead and say it.

Have you ever wondered why Curve (at time of writing) is never featured in Asos magazine? Have you wondered why there isn’t a huge amount of press around ASOS Curve in mainstream media? It’s not that team don’t want this – it’s in my view because the hierarchy that runs ASOS don’t seem ready to want to put full figure out there as a main marketing niche. They market to ‘straight’ size young fashionables.

This used to make me quite angry but really from a PR perspective I can see why a predominantly ‘slim’ niche clothing company would be hesitant to show full figure women anywhere on their site. This is why I believe you will never see size 20 models on Curve.

The knee jerk reaction would be to claim ASOS don’t like fat people. That is rubbish. I know this because I’ve never worked in a place I’ve had so much love and respect from my peers as I do at ASOS. They are very dedicated and focused to giving you good clothes.

The simple fact is, in my view, they (the puppet masters at ASOS) don’t understand the power of the full figured market on a global scale, yet. Their image is slim pretty young women, not fat pretty women and therein lies the difference between ASOS and a company such as Simply Be or Lane Bryant.

It’s like asking Porsche to promote a style that looks like a Jaguar. Both are beautiful cars but each have a specific look and target market and while Porche may incorporate some Jaguar features you will always have a Porsche looking like a Porsche. I hope that makes some sort of sense?

This is exactly what ASOS do, they take elements from main line but never go all out with changing the way they brand and promote on the whole.

Why is this? It’s because the UK (where ASOS is based) have not yet caught up with the US. The UK is a very small country and we are surrounded by magazines that simply want to show off ‘slim, slim’ and more ‘slim.’  Occasionally we have a flush of  plus love but it is more to do with trending rather than a constant perspective.

Summer is the worst time to be a fat Gal in the UK. Its ‘summer diet’ and ‘that bikini look’ overload. Not many of us can say in the UK that we are not affected by the media. Even me – for the first time in my fat adult life it has got to me this year. I mean terribly. I’ll explain more, further down.

Is it any wonder that a company that is based in this small ‘slim loving’ country targets the customers with the most sway? Not at all. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of big people in the UK but its not anything like the US.

As you can see this was too long for a Facebook note but I’m very happy Monif brought it up. J

Never Say Never

Looking forward and with Curve’s continuing success you may find the size range expanded. You may ever find it expands to other items like shoes or possibly maternity. But that’s in the future and all we can do is to continue to support Curve and its team.

They really adore making these clothes for you. They don’t see why fat Gals shouldn’t look high fashion. They are pretty particular bunch of people who will not hesitate to demand several fits if an inside leg is not correct or the bust dart is one cm too far over from what it should be.

There have been things I’ve really loved but they’ve been cancelled because the team are not getting them perfect. Of course it’s a very true fit line and also one based on my shape (not all look like me LOL and you’ll note that if you’ve followed Curve from the beginning then the previous fit model was a slightly different shape to me) but surface to say they aim to please the majority. Judging by the activity on the Curve Facebook group they are pleasing a lot of people. I love them a lot.

But it’s Time to Say Goodbye to Curve

My friends, it is with a heavy heart I tell you that I will be leaving Curve soon. Plus my contract with my agency comes to an end next year. It has been an amazing journey with this team and with this brand and it’s with eyes filled with tears I write this. If I seem dramatic then it’s because it has been truly amazing. This was not an easy decision to make because those two days a week in fit sessions make me so happy. However on the whole I am not happy within myself or in my skin.

That’s right one of your poster girls is not happy. But we’ve been through this before right? You know I made a conscious effort to lose weight and get in shape last year. I dropped two dress sizes and then Curve came and I was excited but in hindsight I didn’t think it through. I didn’t think what a heavy strain on my mind it would be to never be able to change whilst in this job. Of course it makes sense I wouldn’t be a size 14 but in my mind I never thought as time went on I would get out of shape by doing this job. And I have.

I never realised that if a first time garment came in that was simply not cut right I’d have to go through the mind hell of thinking I had failed to comply with what has been asked of me. Every month (you know the time Gals) I bloat terribly. This can often cause me to gain a few cm on my stomach but reduce around my waist. This is bizarre and obviously the team are great with taking this into account but it’s still a head screw for me.

For the past few months I’ve found it very difficult to handle the fact I must stay the exact same size. Plus I’ve had to watch a family member very close to me gain and gain and now struggle to move. This person is active but as the years go by they are finding it harder and harder to lose the excess and keep active.

This could be me in 10 years time and I don’t want that. As I mentioned summer makes it worse because their is an overload of slim everything. Mostly for vanity and not really due to long term health. But still if you spend four hours a week looking in a mirror (as I have to in fit session) whilst also being in a place where super slim models are the norm to see walking the corridors you can see that plays some head games. Of course I wouldn’t feel so bad surrounded by people that looked like me as the norm.

I’m not saying I’m ugly – I’m just saying I don’t feel fantastic anymore. Not like I once did.

I like curves a lot. I don’t want to be a size 8 or even 10. My goal is to be back to a 14 (uk)

In the ‘Community’

This could be seen as conceding defeat against the machine of ‘slim is beautiful.’ I feel it’s just a personal decision of doing what I want with my body; just like you wish to be accepted for being fat (if you are). I think the bottom line is I don’t want to end up like the family member I speak of. I’m 35 nearly 36 and it’s time to make a huge life change and not be distracted by anything else.

You notice we are not all equal as plus either. In modelling I can never be booked for anything that showcases fashion. I’m stuck behind the scenes of fashion. I’ll leave you to ponder how that makes me feel.

I’ve had a good run as fat woman in the community who is known for many things, but in order for me to have more energy etc I need to make these drastic changes.

For the record I think ‘health at any size’ is a very misleading statement and we’d do well to define it better. You may not like hearing that but it’s true. I once was one of those people who said that, so I am guilty but over the last few months my eyes have been opened (once again.)

I always said I didn’t want to grow really old so screw it – let me stay fat. But over time and with the possibilities my new business has thrown up I realise I want long term health and I just want to walk into a store again and pick up a size 12/14 (UK).

I’ll never bash anyone who wants to stay as they are. That’s their choice.

To Evolve and Inspire

What’s so scary about this is that there are thousands of women who read my blog every month and love what I do but what’s scarier are the ones that have written to me when I was losing weight and said they wished they could do the same but feel that they would not be accepted if they did.

Ladies this is BS and we need to stop it. I cannot stress enough how deeply angered I am at the way some of you behave if someone is not ‘the right size.’ It throws the whole size acceptance thing out of the window. How can you expect to be accepted when you won’t accept others for their choices? If a slim woman wants to make and sell full figured clothes who are you to discredit her goal? That is just one example of what I’ve witnessed over the years.

There are ladies out there in the BBW community for instance who are hailed as goddesses and paid to be fat. But don’t believe the hype people. Many of them eventually resent it. Yep it’s money in the bank for them but when the party is over and they struggle to lose the weight they find it difficult and they also find it difficult to stay within the community they have built friendships in because of their new slimmer size.

This is not bitterness talking its fact and truth and if you read my blog you’ll know I give it in spades.

I will evolve and maybe I will inspire some along the way.

Looking Forward

So I just want to let you know that I will still be with Curve until they find a new fit model. Beyond that I will still be in contact with the team. As one team member has said, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to replace you?’ She wasn’t talking about the size issue she was talking about the connection I’ve helped make between lovers of the range, bloggers and the brand.

I have tried my very best to let you enjoy this journey with me and to understand how the process of making these clothes happens. I think I’ve done more than the PR team at ASOS have. I’m proud of that and I’m proud of each and every blogger who’s shared their pictures and write ups about the clothes.

Please don’t stop enjoying the range. The Facebook group will stay open so you can share things and let the team know how you feel and of course I will pop in and let you know if there is anything exciting happening if the team let me know.

The word on the ASOS street is they are reading blogs avidly with a view to having a Blogger’s day. It’s a rumour I hope comes true. The A/W collection is slowly coming in for fit and I’m just like WOW. Of course most of it I’ll be able to enjoy because these garments are coming to main line – but there are a few exclusives so enjoy them. And note, Curvettes that looking forward these exclusives and some other garments will be limited for exclusivity so don’t rely on them going in sale! J

I’m going to enjoy my new journey as a business coaching consultant (and occasional MUA) as well as keep this blog going with life, fashion and beauty news. And of course I’ll be updating you on my progression in weight loss and a healthier lifestyle for me. I may have to get the amazing Debra Mazda on board for some pep talks! J

Thank you to those who continue to support me and my life choices. My new mascot as you may have noticed by visiting my coaching site is a butterfly. I’ll leave you to ponder why it is so significant to me and my life path.

Be Happy,

V x

P.S I will let you all know when I’ve officially stopped being Curve’s fit model.

Find me here: facebook/ignitethescreen

New email vanessareece (at) gmail.com (please use this from now on and if you’ve sent me mail I have not replied to please send it again to this new address)

Fashion Picture courtesy of Asos.com

I’ve been asked a few times about how to become successful at blogging. This is a very open question but as I see so many new bloggers (especially in fashion and beauty) popping up I thought I’d share some of my tips.

Of course there are other bloggers who have their own ways of doing things, but I always like to think like a consumer when I invest time in reading something. That’s not to say this post is geared to making money with your blog, but if you strip it down it means; if you have a blog and you want to attract people to visit, comment, and share your blog posts on their blogs, you have to realise that equates to a selling technique.

The process is simple. Let’s hypothetically compare your blog to a product. You want people to see it, invest time looking at it, and in essence you want to sell on them the idea that your blog is worth investing time to visit again, and again.

Regardless of whether you have your blog monetized with sponsor ads, affiliate links, Google Adsense or not you still need to think of your blog as product you deliver to people.

To make things easier you can look at it like this:-

You blog is your product.

Your blog posts are like the instructions of what your product is about and who you are as a person (brand.)

Promoting your blog on social networks is promoting your product.

A person leaving comments on your blog is like customer feedback.

Setting up giveaways and the like equates to rewarding your customers and attracting potential customers.

Collaborating on other people’s blogs is like joint company ventures to equally promote the products both parties have.

Checking your blog statistics is like company analysis of how well your product is doing on the market. And if you check other people’s statistics you are comparing your product against another.

So you get the point. Whether for business or pleasure your blog is like a product you deliver to people and want them to invest time in reading. If you didn’t want anyone to read it you would simply make it private right?

When you break it down that way you can focus better on how to make it successful.

Aesthetics and functions of a blog:

This is where you think not just how nice your blog looks but also how appealing it is for people to visit.

Ask the questions:-

Is it easy to access your blog?

Do your visitors need to adjust their screens to view it?

Is the font big enough for people to read?

Is the colour scheme easy on the eye?

Do you have various ways for your blog visitors to share your blog posts on social media sites? If so check they are working? I know a few well known blogs where the social media buttons work but then they don’t allow for a post title to be auto placed and that means visitors have to copy and paste themselves – that equals time, and more often than not visitors don’t have the time nor can they be bothered to copy and paste.

Do you offer the most options to have your blog read in other ways like an RSS feed? Regardless of what you prefer think of what your blog visitors prefer. My readership for instance shot up once I’d made my RSS feed button much easier to find. I’ve also noticed a RSS subscriber increase since I made my posts full view as opposed to summery in RSS feed. It took me time to get over the mentality of,  ’I want my blog readers to do this.’ Thinking of the bigger picture has most definitely increased my readership levels and my opt-ins.

Are you varying your content? You may have one topic you discuss but if you’re just going to deliver it the same way every time you post then that can be a little samey for the majority of blog readers and will not open up your niche to potential blog readers.

Are you asking for suggestions from your blog visitors about what they like to read?

Are you answering your comments?

Are you collaborating with other bloggers and or companies to deliver interesting unique content? This could be joint giveaways, articles, interviews etc.

Are you jumping at opportunities to have guest posts up on other people’s blogs? For instance a few months ago I asked people to submit articles to my site. Now bearing in mind I have a high traffic blog only a few people did. I wasn’t upset but more disappointed people missed the opportunity to have permanent static back links to their own blogs. Remember your post will be up on someone else’s blog and will give you secure back links back to you. Back links are vital when you’re trying to raise your Google page rank.

Are you submitting old blog posts to article sites to build more back links to your blog and increase the chances of new unique visitors hitting your site? This is something I’m implementing right now and it’s a very trusted and proven method in increasing traffic. You can just change the title of your blog post, edit it and possibly include something that the original didn’t have and then voila – a brand new article to upload to an article website.

Are you making yourself known to big players in your niche? You can either contact them or wait for them to contact you; either way if you are making your blog known to companies and sponsors either by making it prevalent in your niche or directly contacting the company you will gain various things from collaborations with companies or well respected people in your niche. Companies want to connect to as many people who are moving forward and getting exposure with their blog. In a small niche it can often feel like saturation but understand companies want as much exposure as they can, they are money making businesses after all. It’s just the same as if you were to be showcased on three different blogs in a week. There is room for everyone, it just depends how you want to play the game of exposure.

You may be doing all of those things and if you are all you need to do is rinse and repeat.

The Little Things Some Bloggers Forget.

Some bloggers expect people to always hit their site when they put up a new post. They get upset when their blog stats are down. My advice is not to get upset but understand why and what you can improve with your blogging or the way you let people know about new posts.

I always feel personally my blog is a work in progress. Some articles are better received than others and whilst I could concentrate on the most well received post niches it is more advantageous to me as a blogger to actually broaden my content. Eventually you will have several topics that are well received and in turn you will increase your blog’s return visitor ratio.

Try and move elements of your site around. I constantly tweak my blog and with WordPress it’s really simple to shift the side widgets around so they are more visible. There is nothing wrong with showcasing an element you want to be seen. People get used to how a site looks very quickly, but if you change it around sometimes they see things that have been sitting there for a while but not noticed before.

Don’t be scared to be a little controversial sometimes. When I say controversial I mean talking about things you feel passionate about. If these topics spark a debate then that’s really good, not only from a blog success perspective but also for the fact you are allowing differences of opinion to be showcased on your blog. What you should try and do is spread out your controversial posts so it doesn’t seem like you are on a debating / rant fest constantly. That is never appealing, unless you’re Perez Hilton and know controversy brings hits. In my opinion it’s not the greatest thing to do where Karma is concerned.

Don’t be afraid to reply to comments that are less than positive. This is where debate starts. You’ll remember on one of my recent posts someone got upset by what I’d written. Whilst the post was never meant to upset anyone their response comment made me think I really needed to explain things further and how I wasn’t sorry for what I’d written. You may agree or disagree with that stance, but either way I’m not a robot. I have the right to answer comments as I see fit and I noticed that one post got an amazing amount of hits. But my intention with that post was not to get a crazy amount of hits but to touch on something I felt strongly about it was actually that one person’s objection to it and my response (as well as others) that got those hits high.

Don’t view suggestions or critique as negative. You know the difference between a nasty comment and a polite suggestion or critique. Do not take things personally but think of them as positive growth towards a better blog.

Understand there is always room for improvement. No site, blog, company is ever DONE. Growing your brand and blog is a  forward process and should be embraced as a positive rather than a step back.

Be honest with your site visitors and let them know about any changes you’ve made to your site. For instance I recently removed my blogroll and I openly told people why and also said if they wished to remove me from their blogroll that was fine. From my experience I can give the same link love to people through articles, interviews and collaborations (which I have personally found far more effective than long blogrolls) and I wanted to encourage more of that rather than have people on my blogroll that didn’t update for weeks/months or have the blog close completely.

Self hosted WordPress Vs Blogger (or other blogging platforms)

There is no better platform to house your blog than WordPress. There are a few reasons for this.

1. Here’s the biggie. Google owns your content when you have a blogspot blogger) account that means they can shut your account down without warning if they don’t like what you’re writing about. In most cases this will not apply but what a frightening thought knowing that all your content is in the hands of someone else? I hope everyone who uses blogger has a back up of each and every post.
2. Yes it’s free and easy to set up a blogspot account but let me break it down for you. I pay $4 a month for my hosting plan. I pay $8 a year for my domain vanessareece.com and with my hosting plan came a lovely little thing called a Cpanel. I logged into that clicked ‘install WordPress’ and voila my WordPress blog was installed in less than a minute. Once you have it installed you can go into WordPress and upgrade to the latest version if it asks you to. How simple can it be? For $4 a month I’m pretty sure I prefer sole ownership rather than be at the mercy of Google.
3. WordPress has a ton more theme choices than blogger (blogspot) does. By that I mean you know when you’ve hit a blogger site. The themes are simple but not enough to make them unique. With WordPress you can make a blog look like a website if you want to. Take a look at this site http://www.mezzerestaurant.com/ that site is delivered via self hosted WordPress.
4. Tweaking themes in WordPress can be a headache. Yes, if you want to tweak some themes you firstly have to make your theme writable (which I know has some people’s eyes glazing over already) but I have to say that if you keep at it and get the look you want with your theme then it’s worth it. Obviously this is only if you want to tweak your theme. If not you can just leave the coding alone. I’m a geek so I play with my coding a lot. PHP, CSS and I are not best friends but with perseverance and some searching how-to’s I think I have them both working in my favour. J
5. WordPress has some amazing Plugins. Plugins add more functionality to your blog, which is never a bad thing. You can even set up shopping carts and the like in WordPress by using Plugins.
6. Going beyond Adsense for monetization. Of course it goes without saying that monetizing your blog via Adsense when you have a blogger account is a synch because they are run by the same company, but don’t let that put you off using WordPress as your blogging platform. Installing Adsense in WordPress is easy if you want to install it in a side bar but can get a little more complicated when you want to put it anywhere else, as I and other bloggers have done. However this should not dissuade you from using a self hosted WordPress platform. Like I said, the fact that I own this blog and not Google allows me to advertise anything in any way I wish and I don’t just mean sticking banner ads up (which I’ve done before) but I will spare you the details of my blog monetization.

Work in Progress

In closing; your blog should always be viewed as a work in progress. Something you can build upon. All blogs start out small, but it’s up to owner of that blog to make it bigger (if they want to). Some people are just content to have a small readership or share their posts openly but not really with a view to attracting visitors. I think deep down though even they have to admit that they get a buzz when they see their site stats go up or they get someone comment (who’s not a spammer).

Blogging can be incredibly rewarding but if you feel you’ve got nothing to say, or feel like blogging is a chore you need to take a break, or better still let someone put an article up on your blog and ask for a return link back so at least your blog isn’t sitting idle for a month.

Happy Blogging,

V x

P.S My word is not the only one on this subject. Search the internet like I have to find different ways and tools to increase your blog awareness.

If you’ve been following my ‘Get a Grip’ series and have been enjoying my knowledge and thoughts within it then here’s the place where we join together and take it to the next level.

I am really excited about this exstention to www.vanessareece.com because it’s going to be based on helping bloggers and non bloggers take the knowledge and expertise they share and take it to the next level. I’m also going to be addressing product selling if you have a product or service you wish to sell.

Knowledge = product / service = sales

I’ve set up a separate newsletter which many of you have already joined and each week I’ll be motivating, inspiring and sharing my knowledge for free on how you can take what you love to do and know lots about, and not only spread the word effectively but package it to sell as a product.

Now most of you share knowledge already for free in your blogs. Without realising it you are allowing your voices to be heard, passing your knowledge to others and gaining interest. But it doesn’t stop there. Oh no!

I realise with some people giving knowledge away for free sits well, but packaging and selling your knowledge doesn’t sit quite so well. I used to be the same, believe me. I thought my knowledge was only something that should be given for free because I worried it wasn’t worth any money at all. It took me a long time to wake up and realise that packaging my knowledge into a saleable product was not wrong. It was no different from me packaging my knowledge in beauty and delivering a service as a make-up artist or consultant and being paid for that.

As you know free does not pay the bills, or get a new item of clothing, a new beauty product or a download of your favourite music off iTunes. It all costs money.

Whilst I’ll always embrace the passing on of a certain degree of knowledge for free I also think at some point one must look at the bigger picture and realise not everyone wants to scout around websites looking for every little detail they need. Why not put your knowledge and the finer details of it into something people can just buy and save them time searching for? If you don’t someone else will.

If I turned around to you and said. ‘Hey I’d like to know how you are able to get sponsors for your website, free clothes or beauty products.’  Well you may think this information is precious because you worked super hard to get to a point where that was possible. If I then said, ‘I’d pay for a good ebook or audio CD where you explain exactly what you did and other useful links that helped you,’ would you be tempted? You know  if someone is willing to pay for a service or product it means they are aren’t playing.

I read lots of blogs, facebooks updates and tweets each week and I cannot understand why aside from affiliate marketing and paid site advertisements people do not package some of their key knowledge in a niche and sell it to others. I also see how new businesses who are selling tangible goods don’t utilise the power of social media in building their customer or prospective customer base.

On average I write 12 blog posts a week – that’s like 12 chapters of a book if you think about it. Or possibly a few hours that I could be paid to do guest speaking and demonstrations. The point is I love, love, love having this blog, but I also know I love being paid to share my advice and expertise.

There are lots of behind the scenes work that I do that doesn’t even get mentioned on here but is vital to this site progressing and getting my voice heard. This newsletter will put a lot of what I do behind the scenes into a format you can easily take on board and use yourselves.

Just recently I bought two very different books. One was about mind sets and the other was about make-up. Both authors have readily given their knowledge on these subjects for free elsewhere but they have also packaged it into something that someone interested in that niche of their work can pay for, own and refer to without going through a gazillion site pages to find.

I have done it myself via an eBook on modelling. I know the mistakes I made in setting that up and the successes will be useful to anyone who wants to share their knowledge to people who want to buy it, whether it be from ebooks, audio CD’s, or public speaking.

Knowledge = product / service = sales

Even if you don’t blog but are selling an item or a service the newsletters may just help you in targeting your products to the people who want it.

You each have a voice/skill in a  field you love. If you’re ready to embrace that and learn how to make it heard, seen, and purchased then join my free ‘Get a Grip’ newsletter.

If you’re unsure ask yourself why?

Do you feel you have no authority on the subject because you haven’t got the site hits others do?

Do you feel that no one would pay for the knowledge you have?

Do you feel embarrassed to charge for your knowledge?

Do you think your products or service don’t really need much more than a website and a few flyers to spread the word?

The list is endless as to all the reasons why you wouldn’t want to take your knowledge in your niche to the next level.

Yes, it takes time and motivation. But if you have your own website or blog and you regularly post what you think or know on any given subject that gains you visitors then you are on the right path.

If you have a product or service then you have the ability to get a lot more interest in it.

Each week in this newsletter I’m going to share with you tips and advice I’ve found work for me, and some that haven’t, but they may work for you. We are each individual and may not necessary attract the same sort of people to our niche. Conversely we may all attract the same group and this is where identifying a key element on a subject you know lots about can set you apart from another person talking about the same thing.

Once again, look how many fashion and beauty books there are on the market. Look at how many fashion houses there are out there. Each one is delivering key products but they all have their own styles of delivery which attract different people.

Subjects or Objects.

If you know a subject well and enjoy discussing it then there are ways to mold it in your own way that would be appealing for someone to invest money in it and buy that knowledge.

If you supply a service like photography or styling, or maybe make clothes or accessories then your delivery of how you showcase your products is equally as important.

I’ve worked in retail and sales on and off for over ten years and what I know is this – hard sell leads to resentment from your buyer. The more personal approach leads to longevity of custom. Your service or item can look beautiful but are you really connecting with the right people who will not only buy it but also let others know how good it is?

The same goes for blogging. Who reads your site? Do they tell others about it? What about people who aren’t in your social media circle? How have they found your blog? Are you well versed in your area of blogging? The list goes on.

Our Journey

I didn’t come to this amazing ‘A-ha’ moment on my own. Oh no, I have found some amazing sites that I’ll share with you on each newsletter, plus give a shout out to people who have given me amazing advice about how best to share my knowledge and products and make money from them.

Once we start this journey within my newsletter I’m going to be asking for feedback and if anyone has any success stories then share them. I’ll share it in the newsletter so people can check out your site, product and service.

The reasons why I’m starting this new journey (or re-starting it I should say) is because I truly believe that we need to share success as we go. This will be explained in the newsletter.

I’ll also encourage you to think outside your normal mindset to make yourself more comfortable with your worth. There is a way of telling people you have something amazing to offer and ways that don’t always work in a certain niches.

You will see over the next month or so I will begin to place things on my site that are worth something to someone. I will share how I’m doing it, how I’m getting along and how I’m practically and theoretically dealing with my new adventures. All these things as well as juggle parenthood, family, fixed work obligations – the whole nine yards.

Over time the newsletter will also contain personal video links, podcasts and picture tutorials that will help you.

But why are you giving this newsletter with all your knowledge in for free, V?

Let me explain. I’d like to build this mailing list up and help people to accomplish things they’ve been told or thought for so long they couldn’t. I ask that if you learn something during the progression of the newsletter you simply share the link with someone who you feel would also be interested. They too can sign up, learn, share and do!

Not all my niche knowledge (I have a lot of niches) will be in these newsletters but a good fair amount to get you motivated and start your journey will be. You don’t have to search a million sites to find out what I can tell you in weekly newsletters. Plus, I’ve learned over time that baby steps are better than big ones. I want you to be able to consume the information in bite size pieces so you don’t feel overwhelmed.

Your success inspires and motivates me even more – which is a win win situation for us all.  I want to be able to say you know what, this person has taken my knowledge and is using it – look what they can do.

Take a look at a recent blog post by someone my words have helped motivate. I don’t know this lovely young lady, but she has found use from what I’ve talked about so far and I thank her for sharing that on her website. Please take a look.

http://catsandchocolate.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/food-for-thought/

So now click here and fill in the form, then confirm your email address when you get the confirmation email. Remember this has nothing to do with my regular monthly blog newsletter. This is separate and only for people who now feel they want to learn more about taking their niche to the next level. And if you’re struggling to identify your niche still join up because I’ll be talking about that too. Even if you’re very successful and have a product or blog which does well I still would encourage you to join, because remember – even I am a customer. The customer’s perspective is extremely useful to business owners!

Look forward to styling your minds!

V x

Click here to join the ‘Get a Grip’ newsletter

Read the ‘Get a Grip’ Series

1. Get a Grip!
2. Are You Taking a Grip of Knowledge?
3. OOOH You Make Me Wanna Shout!

Recent comments about this series. Thanks so much V x

Lauren10/05/28 16:10

This is a great post, Vanessa! I’ve read it all but probably not digested it yet. It’s a lot of food for thought as I seem to be struggling professionally – I’ve been trying to get a career in media for the past ten years, but it’s very difficult to stay afloat and as a result I feel I have no core knowledge on anything specifc…

Sorry, enough rambling about my life! It’s definitely a great post and I look forward to the next!  xx

jo10/05/26 19:13

you speak so much sense xx

this was seriously awesome.

the homework is going to take some time for me (i’ve been in a weird place lately) but i’m so glad you shared this.

Nomonde10/05/28 23:32

I loved this blog!! Not just because I was mentioned LOL! incredibly insightful and warm – thank you *huge hugz*

And I’m good at writing, loving people and making people happy. I’m growing into my voice of command – I think its a journey that pretty much teaches us something at every turn.

Additional artwork flower motif by ClaraXY

Photography by Rachel Spivey. Hair & Make-up Vanessa Reece, Model Veronica Kupcake. Jewellery by Anita Davis copyright 2010

Just a peak of some of the gorgeous shots we achieved during our photoshoot the other week showcasing the work of Anita Davies and Sam Cross. More can be found on Rachel Spivey Photograher site.

As you can see Veronica went from girl next door to showgirl (and everything in between) without batting an eyelid! She’s a natural and totally beautiful. Inside and out! Would love to work with her again. Note to would be models: Working with a good attitude like Veronica’s will get you far. Kind, gracious and calm (she had a lot of make-up and clothes changes to do in a very short space of time and not once was she flustered) Kudos!

As for working with Rachel Spivey, never again! hahhaah. No I’m joking!!! I love this woman. She’s just ace to work with. Totally great at communicating what she wants and also letting the model do her thing and the make-up artist (moi) create look upon look.

We did miss vintage hairstylist, Jeni Aldridge, though and their was a point I was faffing with some hair pieces for the last look I was wishing Jeni was there. Jeni creates amazing hair styles (some can be seen on Rachel’s site) and I really hope she’s with us on the next shoot.  It’s nice to say yes I can do hair, but it’s nicer to actually focus just on the make-up as that’s my forte. It makes it all more balanced.

I’m looking forward to seeing these on Anita Davies’s site (it’s being revamped to include the jewellery). I can vouch for their beauty!

I would like to thank Rachel for giving me a chance to prove my worth as a make-up artist and to hopefully continue to work for her again x lots.

I’m happy that everyone got the shots they wanted.

Go and have a look at more fine pictures on Rachel’s site.

Vx

P.S There was a few shots where Veronica was rocking an ASOS dress. She was very keen to tell me when she put it on, very proudly, ‘This is from ASOS’ hahah. Bless her!

The sun shone today and was filled with lots of laughter and fun! I was shooting today with Rachel Spivey. Nope I wasn’t modelling I was the make-up artist. Veronica Kupcake was our model and we were showcasing a new range of jewellery for a lady called Anita Davis. Anita is best known for her beautiful mosaic work but she’s now set up her hand made jewellery business. Her new site will be up soon!

We had a lot of different pieces to shoot today but boy what a shoot! The shoot was at one of the most beautiful houses I’d ever seen, here in my home town of Leamington Spa. It fitted perfectly with the elegance of the jewellery plus our model who is quite the demure pin-up.

The first shot was a clean make-up look and after Rachel shot a few pictures I was like, ‘hang on, something is not right.’ The loose powder was a tad too yellow on Veronica’s skin,  which at first non of us spotted in the light and sometimes the oil in people’s skin can turn the colour of a foundation or powder. However once I mentioned it and we looked at the pictures we all agreed it needed correcting.  It took two minutes to do and I was really glad I said something because the make-up worked so well after that. I suppose the reason why I mention it is because sometimes even professionals have to admit if something is not right with their work and change it.

Never be too proud to admit something can be made better.

The looks went up a notch with more and more adventure in regards to the make-up. We did one set which  I won’t go into too much detail on but suffice to say it shouted pure bygone elegance.

I was so proud of all of us. We truly worked as a team! That is what it’s all about. Team work!

I think in regards to make-up I pretty much did clean, classy, smoky, vixen and then Showgirl. Not bad for a days shooting.

I’m excited for Anita – this is an extension of her business and she’s just learning about all the possibilities with networking online with twitter and Facebook. You can follow her here. Help her get used to the place I know you’ll love her work when you see it!!

Tomorrow…

I have to finally get to some  questions together for another spotlight interview! I think you’ll love it just as much as the Sakina / Saks In The City one, and then tomorrow evening (Ms Kimmoy (The Curvy Coach) and I have a meeting to discuss plans for a rather special feature on her site!!  I hope you’ll bookmark her site and check it regularly. She remains one of my favourite people to connect with – because she’s smart (oh and also a real hoot too!)

I bid you all a peaceful and fabulous Sunday. Wherever you are in the world may you spend the day relaxed and stress free!

V x

P.S I received another award but will do a post about it during the week.

Update: Here’s a sneak peak Rachel posted today (Sunday) of one of the shots from the photoshoot this posts talks about. I think we can say, elegant and beautiful. http://twitpic.com/1if36c

Just to update you all and let you know I’m officially back on YouTube posting my beauty advice.
It has been a while since I posted my series on basic make-up for the evening, with Mallory which was shot with the help of the fabulous and patient Jay, whilst we were in Vegas last year.

I look tired in those videos! That’s because the whole thing was rather last minute and we were rushing to go to a formal dinner. But people seemed to like them and I had a lot of emails about doing more.

I had huge issues with YouTube and my video editing software though. I’m happy to say, touch wood, all is well now.

My channel is really aimed at the lady or teen who’s trying to understand the basics of make-up and skincare. There are tons of make-up tutorials on YouTube and they are great, but I know for sure there are many women who just need to get confident with make-up, learn some tricks, and/or understand how skincare works.

I’ve been in the business on and off for well over 10 years. I still have to second guess if this or that product will suit my skin or should I really buy that canary yellow eyeshadow, lol. You know it’s all about fun and learning.

A few months ago I had a HUGE breakout because I went through a food detox and exercise regime and oh boy! I thought I knew everything, but turning 35 and having a huge breakout the likes I’d never seen before made me re-address my whole beauty regime. I’ve learned lots of new things about new products- because beauty is ever changing. But ultimately I knew I had to go back to basics with everything!

I hope the channel gives you something interesting to think about.

For the first few videos I talk about brushes. It doesn’t seem very interesting to some but they are good to invest in and there is a big difference between cheap ones and more expensive ones as you’ll see.

You can subscribe to my channel by clicking here.

In the next few videos we’ll break down skin types and the best ways to care for each skin type. I’ll also show you what I use currently which is actually another back-to-basic rule in dealing with a certain problem that troubles most of us at some point or other!

Thanks for visiting and let me know if there is anything you’d like to see me talk about, demonstrate or review!

V x

I just got a new phone and it so happens to be an iPhone. So I was looking at beauty Apps which are downloaded from the Apple Store to make my job as a Make-up artist fun and gather information on new products.

I’m happy that beauty is represented and some Apps simply come under the search term make-up, but I’m also very put out by the fact that so many beauty companies are not utilizing this fantastic platform to educate and sell products. What are they playing at?

Let’s start with the ultimate leader of the pack when it comes to beauty Apps for iPhone that I’ve found so far!

Barry M. Yes not only has Barry M got a very well designed and functional App for their make-up line they’ve also got a separate one for nails too!

So lets start with their make-up one, aptly titled, Barry M Lookz.

The interface varies slightly from the picture below but as you can see the first thing you notice is colour and the next thing is interactive opportunities.

I know it may look a little teeny bopper but it’s actually quite fun. The basis is really the quick make-up videos they have complete with instructions.

You can also browse wallpapers (which satisfied my need to personalize my iPhone) You can also join the M-Club (it’s also available to view on the main Barry M website) via your App which allows you to upload your Barry M make-up pictures plus view other people’s photo.

Some reviewers were disappointed with this App but it’s FREE so I’m really not sure why they were grumbling. The videos are quick and show what can be possible in Barry M make-up and have a few other things thrown into the mix.

The Nailz Apps by Barry M is really just the same – but if you love styling your nails then this would be a good app to get for video tutorials.

I will talk about my experience with Barry M products  in another post.

Next up: – Lancome..

So I was surprised to see Lancome have their own app. I did get rather excited until I realized it’s really just promotion for an make-up campaign they had last year. However, that said, there is a rather nifty little piece of kit inside the app itself and although it’s a little limited its still fun to play with for about five minutes. It’s a blank face which you can add colours from the make-up range from. As I said, its limited because if the choice of colours.

In my opinion this App is fun to play with for a short time and then deleted. You’d be better off going to the Lancome blog for new looks and make-up video tutorials.

Now we move on to an App called Celebrity Make-up Looks which features celebrity make-up inspired video tutorials. Each look links to a youtube video. It’s pretty interesting and it seems to be updated regularly with new looks.  I enjoyed the diversity of the looks and also seeing different artists do their thing.  Give it a try – once again – it’s FREE!

So there’s three iPhone apps to get you going. Enjoy!

V x

Hello Vansters!

I feel like I haven’t really done a personal post in about a week. I don’t count posting new gigs a personal post although this one stems from getting out there and pavement stomping in order to realise my goals.

What’s a gal to do with lots of strings to her bow? I do a lot of things but I’ve realised recently I need to concentrate on two of those things specifically in order to give them time to ferment, grow, and thrive.

So today I’ve solely been concentrating on my make-up artistry and trying to get new clients interested in working with me and also gaining a top end make-up brand to provide me with products so I can in effect sell it to them. As any make-up artist knows products are expensive and the amount I carry in my kit are very costly to replace.

My first pitch today was with a local boutique that specialises in second hand designer clothes. My pitch was simple. You let me do make-overs in your shop that will give a lady buying your clothes the experience of seeing the finished look. A % will be taken off my fee to go towards a garment she chooses. It’s not a huge money maker but I want to build my client base in my town and this boutique not only has stunning designer outfits but also has the right clientele I want to attract.

The owner was very excited about the idea and said she had often toyed with the idea of getting a make-up artist in to do just what I proposed.

There was also a reason why I chose her above many other boutiques. Over the past 18 months many fashion businesses (in fact any business) has struggled to stay afloat due to the economic climate.  Her’s hasn’t and I know why. She has consistently been excelling in her customer service. She spends a lot of time with people (I know because I’ve seen it.) She’s almost like a personal stylist and with the clients she deals with –  this is invaluable to them. She doesn’t just hand clothes into the dressing booth to let the client get on with it – she does in fact take great care in dressing the lady and recommends colours and styles to suit the lady.  This is another reason why she never gets returns!

I showed her my mock up of the leaflet I designed which she really loved also. Tomorrow I’m going in to do a demo for her so she can see exactly how I work – and we can swap ideas on how to make the make-overs and style days successful.

My next pitch…

I’d been planning to approach this rather well known beauty company for a while and I’d made up a pitch brief for them to look through. Today I got (by surprise) the opportunity to meet up with one of the area managers from this company who was visiting the town. Two things came to my head: A) Oh heck I should have printed that brief and carried it with me and B) why won’t the brief show up on my iPhone. I had to think fast and try and pitch the best I could.

Pitching face to face is always difficult – even for a season gift of the gab gal like me. You want to remember the key points and not ramble on too much. So I just hit her with it. Her eyes were fixed dead on me throughout the whole thing and at the end she said, ‘WOW, that seems like a great idea.’ I added a few more bonuses at the end just to cement in her mind that my idea was going to work for her company too.

‘I’m really interested,’ she said, ‘but print me out a brief  to take to head office next week.’
‘Consider it done,’ I replied.

We ended the meeting with smiles and excitement. Of course head office could turn around and say no, which is cool. I’ll just approached another company. In the end it’s all good experience.

I think what I’m trying to convey in this post is that as someone who is creative I understand the importance of doing something I enjoy and getting paid for it – but there is also a point when you have to get out there and network and join forces with others in order to get more work or get things you need for your work to be seen by the majority.

Working this way makes the possibilities of achieving your goals endless!

V x