Every week we bring you a featured blogger who inspires us. This week we’re so excited to share with you Kelly of A Side of Sweet! Sharing her favorite recipes, DIYs, style, travel, fitness and design that fit into your busy lifestyle. A Side of Sweet is an essential read to help feel balanced and confident in an often hectic world! Read more about Kelly here.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background?
I’m the blogger behind A Side of Sweet! I live in San Francisco with my husband and our Labrador retriever, Maddie. I’ve been blogging for 10 years (!), but really only seriously for the last four or so. In addition to blogging what feels like full time, I’m also a pediatrician, taking care of the children of the San Francisco bay area.
What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?
Efficient, well rounded and a perfectionist
What Profession other than yours would you love to attempt?
Other than pediatrician and blogger? J I’d have to go with food stylist and photographer, which I guess I am already doing quite a bit of as a blogger
What is your favorite quote?
“It never gets easier, you just go faster.” An amazing quote by professional cyclist Greg LeMond that I used to live by when I was a competitive athlete. It’s also true for other things that require hard work, like blogging. It’s important to always keep pushing yourself, even as you improve.
What inspired your blog?
I actually started it when I was studying abroad in Spain in college as a way to keep in touch with friends and family.
What is your favorite social media platform and why?
Snapchat for sure! Instagram used to be my favorite, but it’s become very curated and impersonal. Snapchat allows me to present my real self for my followers and I share everything from photography tutorials, cooking tips, silliness, restaurant reviews to ‘unboxings’ where I open up some of the random fun things that I get in the mail as a blogger. It’s so much fun and the response has been huge! My views have quadrupled in the last four months.
Where do you find inspiration for blog posts?
Everywhere! The nice thing about having a lifestyle blog is I actually do get to share what’s going on in my life. What I’m cooking, what I’m wearing and wear I’m going is all fair game for sharing on the blog. Living in San Francisco also makes it easy to find inspiration because there are so many amazing things to do and eat, and also a ton of amazing brands based here that have been great to work with.
What do you think it is about your blog that keeps people coming back for more?
I strive to provide a really high quality experience for my followers with beautiful photos and ideas that they can actually use at home. I want every post I do to provide value for the reader, which is why I rarely do straight product reviews. I also share new content several times a week.
How does a brand get your attention for a feature?
A personalized email that makes it easy for me to get a feel for them as a brand. I want to get the sense that they actually looked at my blog before emailing me. Things that are frustrating – emails that don’t have direct links to the website or product, emails without a clear call to action, and brands that don’t want to compensate me adequately for my hard work and the influence I provide. I pride myself in responded to every email I get personally and within a day or two so it’s important that I can get the important information from the email quickly and efficiently.
What do you love most about blogging?
Blogging has given me a community and a purpose. Most of my friends I met in some way though blogging, whether it was from commenting on each others’ blogs, or meeting at blogging events. I also love meeting readers in real life and having people tag me on social media when they make something that I shared on my blog!
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
It’s so hard to know what blogging will look like in ten years. I think that’s one of the most exciting but also scary things about being a blogger. It’s so important to constantly adapt what you’re doing to stay relevant. I think I’ll still be both a pediatrician and blogger, but stay tuned for how I balance those!
In your opinion, what separates a great blog from an unsuccessful blog?
I think you have to really be passionate about blogging to be successful. For me, blogging absolutely consumes me, but in the best way. It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up and I usually fall asleep thinking about the things I want to accomplish in the coming days. There’s never truly a day off in order to keep my social channels active and to keep providing fresh and relevant content. It’s definitely not for everyone – some people probably read that and think that I’m crazy. I’m proud to so committed to making my blog a success.
