The world of fashion and social media is changing, as we know it. Anyone who has a sense of style, basic knowledge of how to build a Wordpress or Tumblr page and a pretty handy grip on a camera can now transform into a style icon; however, not everyone can transform a simple webpage showcasing her personal style into a booming career.
Insert: Houston's own Katy Atlas of SugarLaws.com. This fashion and lifestyle blogger partners with companies including Coach and CoverGirl and is a brand ambassador for Mark Girl, she has been invited to New York Fashion Week for the past eight seasons by designers such as Jenny Packham, Jill Stewart and Herve Leger all while writing three books, creating beautiful recipes. She's also a lawyer.
In 2008 when Katy Atlas was 25, she was living in New York and had just finished up law school when she decided to "cook up" her blog, SugarLaws.com. Her specialty was in creating fun and eye-catching meals, so she started documenting her creations with photographs and writing down the recipes.
After BuzzFeed picked up one of her posts, the blog was slammed with more than 25,000 page views in one day. "I couldn't believe a post about a treat I whipped up in my kitchen caught the attention of thousands of people desiring to bake the same thing," Atlas says.
Atlas decided to add fashion and interiors to make SugarLaws more of a lifestyle blog. Readers wanted to know what she was wearing, all the time. That's when her domain captured the attention of Coach.
"Myself and other style bloggers were invited to participate in the opportunity of a lifetime," she says. "My dad, who thought blogging was a little strange, even gasped when I mentioned the brand. If a guy knows the designer, then you know it's big."
The well-known handbag and apparel line invited her to pose in a campaign and from then on, Katy was on fashion's most-wanted list.
She says she now has to turn away multiple offers a day just to keep herself dedicated to other brands and, of course, the daily upkeep on her blog. She runs her blog as a full-time business from her home in Houston, where she hosts events and collaborates with brands like CoverGirl; she hosted a small group of local bloggers to view the VMA's in style while playing with make-up.
Here's some pointers from Atlas on how to build a successful blog anywhere:
Dress for you: Don't try and follow the latest trends, as you might end up portraying a fake version of yourself that is non-relatable.
Don't start to make money: When you start a blog, it has to be because you have a passion for the hobbies, trends or talents that fit into your everyday life. If your content is unoriginal and a cookie-cutter, less impressive version of your favorite blogs, then no one will care to view a "copy-cat" website that is already five steps ahead of you.
Keep it current: The hardest part about writing a blog is being able to first capture your audience and then keep them coming back for more. If you post only once a week or, worse, once a month, then say goodbye to any hope you had for success.
It's been six years of writing, photography and shopping sprees, but Atlas has climbed her way to the top . "I think people always underestimate how much work it takes to build an audience and establish yourself. There are overnight success stories, of course, but the most successful bloggers get that way because they're devoted to producing fresh, quality content regularly for years," she says.
