Blogger Spotlight: Tarnya Smith, Sweet Allure

Tarnya Smith is a beauty, fashion lifestyle blogger and the founder of Sweet Allure. In this spotlight Tarnya talks to us about how she got into blogging, her desire to talk more about feminism, self-love and confidence, and the relationships she is building with PRs. 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what made you start writing your blog? I first started blogging in my teens, it started as more of an online diary which morphed into an art blog during university years and then it became Sweet Allure. I wanted a place I could write about all things lifestyle because my hobbies and interests are varied and wide and sticking to one subject didn’t interest me.

What’s new on Sweet Allure? Since Christmas I’ve really been trying to inject more of my personality into the blog, so I write about topics closer to home, for example I’m currently writing about planning my wedding. I’ve also touched on topics such as buying your first house as this is something I recently experienced. I really want to talk more about feminism, self-love and confidence, so keep your eyes peeled for those soon!

Why should people read your blog? What makes it different? As the saying goes, ‘you do you’. For me blogging is about just being myself in that my views and opinions are my own, you won’t find them anywhere else!

How do you measure the success of your website? For me, success is when someone makes an effort to interact with me, a comment on a blog post, a tweet to say ‘oh I loved this’ or even a friend mentioning something to me in passing about something I’ve written. It’s a small gesture to someone else but it really does mean the world to me.

What has been your blogging highlight? Making new friends for sure. I was finding it hard making friends in a new city and took the plunge and headed to some blogging meet ups, I’m met one of my closest friends and a bunch of lovely people, all brought together by common interests.

How do you work with marketers and PRs? I find it very flattering when a company has found me and contacted me! I enjoy working with brands, it’s all relatively new and exciting to me at the moment, but I tend to get sent products to review or asked to attend events.

How do you use social media to promote/share content? What are the challenges? I use social media all the time. I used to hate twitter, but now I can’t seem to tear myself away from it. I think the challenge with self-promotion on social media is finding a balance, you don’t want to under or over share your content and it’s tricky to find the middle ground that works for everyone, but it’s probably one of the best things to get new readers coming your way.

What can PRs do to work better with you? I haven’t had any problems with the people I’ve worked with so far, I guess I’m lucky, but communication is always important, if you have any issues, speak up and don’t be pushed around doing things you are unhappy with.

What do you feel about sponsorship disclosure? I touched on this before, but I honestly think sponsored posts aren’t a problem. The writers deserve to get paid for working, and the readers deserve to know what’s going on, honesty is key.

List three best practices PRs need to follow for better blogger outreach? Research who you are pitching your brand to before emailing, it’s important to know if what you are selling will fit the blog/readership. Respect the blogger, don’t expect to be given the earth for very little in return. No-one should be expected to work for free. And please, please research the name of the person who you are contacting, I often get my name spelt wrong, and it just looks sloppy and unprofessional.

What will be big in your blogosphere in the coming months? Definitely more wedding discussions, women’s issues and interiors, I absolutely love interior design.