Blogger Spotlight: Parie Joshi, Class & Glitter

Parie Joshi started blogging at the age of fifteen as a way to de-stress. Four years on, Parie continues to maintain her blog Class & Glitter, offering readers a glimpse into her lifestyle and passion for beauty, fashion and make-up. As both a university student and a blogger, Parie manages to juggle everyday life with dedicating time to work on her blog, and welcoming opportunities to partner with brands she believes in. In this spotlight, we speak to Parie about the opportunities that blogging has presented to her, how she executes her content strategy, and her experience of working with PRs.

At the age of fifteen, you created Class & Glitter as a tool to de-stress. What has motivated you to continue blogging? The exact same thing. Stress has never been something that I have been able to deal with very well, and when I started blogging it helped me to cope with my stress. Since then, I’ve been keeping it up not only because I thoroughly enjoy it, but because it calms me down and allows me to escape.

You’re currently at university studying to become a primary school teacher. In 2015, a survey revealed that blogging was the top career choice among young Brits. What influence do you think blogging will have on your future career? At the moment my blog is very much based on beauty and fashion. As I progress into my future career, I think that the blog will evolve with me. It will include parts of my journey as a teacher – as well as my passion of beauty and fashion. In my opinion, it’s also a great thing to share with children. I will (hopefully) be teaching future generations and blogging is a great way for them to voice their opinion and express themselves.

How do you feel about blogging as a full-time career? It sounds like an absolute dream! It’s amazing that so many women and men can turn a hobby into a job. What more do you want in life than to be doing something that you love? It’s something that I would love to look at doing in the future, but being a teacher is what I have always wanted to do. Maybe balancing them both is my future pathway.

What makes Class & Glitter stand out from other beauty, fashion and lifestyle blogs? I wouldn’t say that Class & Glitter is the best blog around – but without blowing my own trumpet, it is different from other blogs because there is something for everyone. I have a whole range of different age groups visiting my blog and you are bound to find something of an interest – whether it be a luxury lipstick or a dupe for a designer pair of shoes.

How much planning, research and preparation do you need to execute your content marketing plan? Ideas come to me whenever and wherever, so as soon as they come to mind I get it down as a rough draft in my notebook. Writing is something I love to do, so I focus on this first and write the post which usually takes me a good couple of hours. Then I move on to the photos, which for some people sells the post. Over the last year my photography has improved a great deal, and really is the make or break when publishing content.

How does your approach differ when it comes to using different social media platforms to promote the content on your blog? Social media is something that I have just got my head around.  It is such a powerful tool and can be used in both the right and wrong ways. I analyse my interactions on social media and post more of what the people who follow me love – they are at the end of the day the one’s following me. Some platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are more for sharing links and new content, whereas Pinterest and Instagram is a great way to show the photos of a post and entice people through photography. It is all about finding out what works best and sticking to it.

What types of opportunities have been presented to you through blogging so far? There have been so many amazing opportunities, it’s hard to name a few! I’ve collaborated with brands such as Specsavers, DW Fitness, House of Fraser and Slimfast. I’ve blogged for Yahoo and formed relationships with other bloggers that are as good as real life friends.

How do you maintain the balance between connecting with your audience and creating copy on behalf of a brand? I have found that the best way to find a balance is by mixing things up. For example, if it’s a product, instead of having a simple review, intertwine it within a post about other products as well. It is also my personal policy to only ever work with brands that I am either genuinely interested in and want to work with. It must fit with my blog and me, otherwise I am not being honest.

What has been your experience of working with PRs and marketers? Do you have any horror stories? So far, I haven’t run into PRs and marketers that are awful. They seem to understand that bloggers aren’t machines and work well with me to create amazing content. There are always a few that pester you to push up deadlines, but by being firm and real they soon realise that they shouldn’t put pressure on you.

Will you be working on any exciting projects or campaigns this year? I have a few things coming up and it is all very exciting! Unfortunately, I am not allowed to disclose what they are but as they say – watch this space.