Spend more than a few minutes on Lauryn Evart's blog The Skinny Confidential, and you will want her to be your best friend. She's smart, relatable and has a girls-night-out sense of humor. She's also drop-dead gorgeous with a passion for healthy living. Lauryn will be speaking at Create & Cultivate Dallas on our Brand Vibes: How to create a brand that lives beyond the blog bubble panel, so we caught up with her in advance here.
You recently did a post about focusing on positivity on social media. What tips do you have for using social media in a positive and proactive way, as opposed to just using it to wallow in FOMO?
I think it’s really important to follow people who radiate positivity. I like my daily social feeds to consist of inspiring entrepreneurs, people I look up to, specific charities, business tips, and people in my industry. If you follow negativity on social media, you subconsciously absorb that downer vibe, even if you don’t notice. I love waking up to a positive and motivating social media feed in the morning. It starts my day off on the right foot.
You’re very open on your blog about sometimes not having great days. How do you decide how much and what personal information to share?
I would say that I share 45% of my life on The Skinny Confidential and the remaining 55% of my life I keep to my family, my friends , and to myself. I have always referred to The Skinny Confidential as my alter ego and my alter ego is not every single part of me. Overall I’m very private in many ways; I don’t show my bedroom, family stuff, my whole relationship, etc. I think it’s really important to differentiate work life and personal life. And as a blogger that can get tricky, but I make a conscious effort to keep them separate.
I think of the blog as the meat & bun in my hamburger. The rest is just added touches.
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How do you define TSC brand and how have you worked to build it outside of the blog?
I have always viewed the blog as the platform for the brand. When I first started blogging, I knew that the blog was the foundation of the brand. I think a lot of people go into blogging thinking of starting a brand, but I have always gone back to the blog, and grew the brand from there. I think of the blog as the meat & bun in my hamburger (if the hamburger was my brand, LOL ). The rest is just added touches.
How did TSC book come about? What tips do you have for other people who want to take their blog into a book format?
"The Skinny Confidential Book" was a natural extension of the blog. Before I started the blog, I laid out a map of where I saw my brand in two years. A piece of that was a book so that's always been a goal of mine, to write a book. It was the next natural step. Ultimately it was really exciting to extend the blog into a book, and share fresh new content in the book that I had saved up over time.
If you are a blogger looking to get a book deal, I’d say it is important to keep your posting consistent ( at least 5 times a week ), find your voice, and make sure you're posting quality. Also, I think it’s also a good idea to go into blogging with the idea of eventually writing a book—that way you will know what to share on the blog and keep separate tidbits for your book. Since I knew I wanted to write a book, I was very careful about scheduling my content accordingly. As you can imagine, my iPhone notes app is FULL!
What would you say are the three keys to a successful blog?
The first key to a successful blog is to grow with your readers. The readers are what make the blog and you always want to gauge what they like and what they don't like. You also want to respond and engage with the readers. I see a lot of bloggers that get so big and don’t have time to interact with their readers. The readers are what make the blog, so I’ve always put a major effort into interacting with them. Without them, The Skinny Confidential wouldn't exist.
You list perverted humor as one of your likes. Can you tell us a dirty joke? ;)
I have a veryyyyy dirty sense of humor so I definitely wouldn’t call myself a conservative blogger. I like to tell it how it is, even if that means it’s disgusting/weird/inappropriate. Some people don't like to share that side online, but I feel like life is too serious sometimes so you should have a little fun. I also think that humor makes dry, uncomfortable subjects more interesting. If you want a dirty joke, read my posts on: camel toes, organic tampons, boob jobs, vagina steaming, and Kegels.
What tips/tricks/tools do you use to manage your time while working for yourself?
I have a lot of ideas & can sometimes be all over the place, so I rely on my team to keep me on track & help me stay focused. For someone who just started blogger, I'd recommend setting a time every day to JUST DO IT. It is kind of like brushing your teeth - you just do it. Blog every day. Even if you're sick, tired, hungover, whatever. Excuses are like assholes, everyone has one. Really though, no one is going to hold you accountable but yourself, so staying on track when it comes to blogging is so important.
What is the biggest thing you’ve learned from blogging?
The biggest thing I have learned from blogging is authenticity is golden. I've also learned how many women there are all over the world that want to connect and tell their story. Everyone truly has a story to tell. I’ve learned to step out of myself and learn from other people's experiences; I’ve learned a lot about other people’s spirituality, holistic experiences, wellness journey, boyfriend problems, life struggles, & much more. The Internet makes it possible to connect with anyone, anywhere. It's great.
How do you build a community with a blog? With readers and with other bloggers?
I love to interview other women. I am a big fan of collaborating and not competing. Supporting one another in the blogging community is so important. And really, there is no need to tear each other down; there's plenty of room for all of us. I also like to build a community with my readers. When I created TSC Bombshell Body Guide, I listened to my readers and I created the guide based on their requests/questions/suggestions. Engaging is key, the reader will tell you the right direction. Listen to them & engage.
What has been your proudest moment with your career?
The proudest moment of my career thus far is probably the launch of my book. I've also been able to work some brands that I absolutely love, which is awesome because they're organic, authentic partnerships. And stay tuned because I'm working on an upcoming project that's totally different for me. Very excited! The ultimate goal though is to continue to inspire and motivate women from all over the world.
