Blogging + biz

The Other Side of My Brand: Embracing the Chaos, Color, and Cravings

Caroline — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 04:52:49 +0000

There’s a version of my brand that’s polished, intentional, and carefully curated. That’s the side most people see first — the cohesive outfits, the thoughtful edits, the calm confidence. But this? This moodboard? This is the other side of the story.

This is the part of my brand that’s louder, sweeter, messier, more impulsive. The part that craves cherry cola, heart-shaped sunglasses, glossy lips, strawberry motifs, and little moments of indulgence that don’t need to make sense to anyone else. It’s not a departure from my brand — it’s the pulse underneath it.

For a long time, I thought a “real” personal brand had to be consistent to the point of being almost sterile. Same colors, same mood, same energy at all times. But the truth is, people aren’t built that way — and neither is creativity. This secondary moodboard exists because I finally gave myself permission to let my brand breathe.

Why a Secondary Moodboard Matters

Your primary brand is how you introduce yourself to the world. Your secondary brand is how you stay honest once people are paying attention.

This moodboard isn’t about visual perfection. It’s about emotional resonance. It’s about the things I’m drawn to instinctively — even when they don’t fit neatly into a grid or a preset color palette. Strawberries tied with bows. Pink ice cream sundaes. Glossy cherry lips. Soft toys that feel nostalgic. Red accents that hit like a Shirley Temple cherry at the bottom of the glass.

All of it tells the truth: I like things that feel good. I like color. I like sweetness. I like a little chaos — as long as it’s intentional.

The Color Story: Sweet, Warm, and Unapologetic

At first glance, this board feels playful and maybe even unhinged. But look closer, and there’s still structure here.

The palette leans heavily into warm pinks, creamy neutrals, rich reds, olive greens, and caramel browns. These colors feel indulgent, comforting, and a little nostalgic — like dessert menus, vintage accessories, or lipstick shades you keep buying because they just work.

Red shows up not as aggression, but as confidence. Pink isn’t delicate — it’s bold, sugary, and joyful. The greens ground everything, keeping the palette from floating away into pure fantasy. Together, they create a mood that’s feminine without being precious and playful without being juvenile.

This is color as emotion, not just aesthetics.

Motifs That Keep Reappearing (For a Reason)

Strawberries show up again and again — tied with bows, illustrated, stylized, sweet but slightly cheeky. They’ve become a symbol of how I approach femininity: soft, but not fragile. Cute, but not naive. Playful, but self-aware.

The bows, the glossy textures, the heart-shaped sunglasses — they all point to the same idea. This brand doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it does take pleasure seriously. Pleasure in how things look. Pleasure in how they feel. Pleasure in leaning into what delights you, even if it doesn’t fit the minimalist rulebook.

This moodboard gives me permission to romanticize the small stuff again.

Fashion as Play, Not Performance

The outfits represented here aren’t about dressing for approval. They’re about dressing for joy. A pink sweater paired with a flirty skirt. Chunky boots grounding something otherwise sweet. Accessories that feel almost novelty-like but still intentional.

This is where my style gets to be experimental without explanation. Where I don’t need every look to be “elevated” or “timeless.” Sometimes it just needs to be fun.

This side of my brand reminds me that style doesn’t always have to signal maturity or taste. Sometimes it just needs to signal you.

Beauty That Feels Edible (In the Best Way)

Glossy lips. Cherry tones. Sweet fragrances. Products that look as good on a vanity as they feel to use.

This board leans into beauty that feels indulgent and sensory — textures you want to touch, shades you want to reapply, scents that feel comforting rather than impressive. It’s not about trends or routines. It’s about instinct.

This is beauty as a mood booster, not a performance.

The Emotional Core of This Moodboard

If my primary brand is how I show up professionally and publicly, this moodboard is how I show up privately — late at night, scrolling, saving images, craving softness and color and a little bit of whimsy.

It represents:

Creative freedom
Emotional honesty
Letting taste evolve without guilt
Trusting intuition over perfection

This isn’t chaos for chaos’s sake. It’s controlled chaos. It’s knowing when to let things be messy because that’s where the magic happens.

How This Board Supports (Not Conflicts With) My Brand

The biggest misconception about personal branding is that everything has to match perfectly all the time. In reality, the strongest brands have depth. They have contrast. They have layers.

This moodboard doesn’t replace my primary aesthetic — it feeds it. It gives me a place to experiment so that my polished output never feels stale. It reminds me why I started creating in the first place: because it felt good.

This is the dopamine layer of my brand. The undercurrent. The playful heartbeat beneath the polish.

Letting Yourself Be Multidimensional

If there’s one takeaway from this board, it’s this: you’re allowed to like more than one thing. You’re allowed to be refined and messy. Structured and impulsive. Calm and colorful.

This secondary moodboard exists as proof that growth doesn’t always look linear. Sometimes it looks like leaning into the things that light you up — even if they don’t fit neatly into a box.

And honestly? That’s where the best ideas usually come from.

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A Soft Reset: Why My “Minor Rebrand” Is Really About Defining My Personal Brand

Caroline — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 04:38:42 +0000

Rebrands don’t always come with fireworks, press releases, or a dramatic “before and after.” Sometimes, they arrive quietly—after months of pinning, saving, noticing patterns, and realizing that what you’re drawn to has been trying to tell you something all along.

That’s what this rebrand is for me.

This isn’t a reinvention. It’s not a pivot away from who I’ve been. It’s not even really a rebrand in the traditional sense. It’s more like a soft reset—an intentional refinement that helps me clearly define my personal brand in a way that finally feels cohesive, grounded, and unmistakably me.

If you’ve been here for a while, you might not even notice anything drastically different at first glance. And honestly? That’s kind of the point.

Not a New Me—A Clearer Me

For years, my brand has lived somewhere between personal style diary, moodboard, lifestyle blog, and creative outlet. I’ve always followed my intuition visually—colors I loved, products I gravitated toward, moments I wanted to romanticize. But intuition without definition can sometimes feel scattered, even if the heart behind it is consistent.

This minor rebrand isn’t about changing my voice or aesthetic preferences. It’s about naming them.

It’s about looking at everything I’ve created, saved, worn, written, and loved—and saying: Okay, this is the throughline.

Instead of asking “What’s trending?” or “What should my brand be?” I asked a much more grounding question:

What already feels like home to me?

The answer was softer, warmer, and more emotionally rooted than anything I could’ve forced.

The Power of Subtle Shifts

When people think of rebranding, they often think of bold changes: new fonts, shocking color swaps, completely different energy. But I’ve learned that subtle shifts can be just as powerful—sometimes more so.

This update focuses on:

Refining my color palette instead of expanding it
Choosing fonts that feel romantic and timeless rather than trendy
Leaning into warmth instead of contrast
Allowing softness to coexist with confidence

Nothing here screams for attention. Instead, it invites you in.

I wanted the brand to feel like a beautifully lived-in space—like lighting a candle at the end of the day, putting on perfume before going nowhere, or writing in the margins of a book you love.

Color as Emotion, Not Decoration

One of the biggest changes you’ll notice is the color story. This palette isn’t accidental, and it isn’t purely aesthetic—it’s emotional.

The blushes, creams, caramels, and reds reflect the things I’m consistently drawn to:

Strawberry desserts
Worn-in leather and suede
Champagne coupes and martini glasses
Vintage bows, pearls, and soft florals
Red nails wrapped around a stemmed glass

These colors feel feminine without being precious. Romantic without being overly sweet. Grounded without being boring.

Red, especially, plays a quiet but important role. It’s not overpowering—but it’s intentional. A nod to confidence, sensuality, and self-assurance. A reminder that softness doesn’t mean shrinking.

This Is About Personal Branding, Not Perfection

I want to be really clear about something: this rebrand isn’t about becoming more “polished” or more marketable. It’s about becoming more aligned.

Personal branding gets a bad reputation sometimes, like it’s about packaging yourself for approval. But for me, personal branding is the opposite—it’s about clarity.

When your personal brand is defined:

You make decisions faster
You feel less pressure to chase every trend
You stop second-guessing what “fits”
You show up more confidently because you know who you are

This update gives me a visual and emotional anchor. When I’m choosing outfits, writing blog posts, sharing links, or even just getting dressed in the morning, I have a clearer sense of what feels true to me.

Romantic, But Real

One thing I never want to lose is authenticity. My brand has always been romantic—but it’s also real. I love beauty, but I also love honesty. I love softness, but I’ve lived enough life to know strength matters too.

This rebrand holds space for both.

It’s cozy nights in and cocktails out.
It’s bows and lipstick and growth, healing, and self-trust.
It’s nostalgia without being stuck in the past.

I didn’t want a brand that felt performative. I wanted one that felt lived-in.

Why “Minor” Matters

Calling this a minor rebrand is intentional. There’s no pressure here. No grand announcement declaring a brand-new era. Just a quiet acknowledgment that growth doesn’t always need to be loud.

Sometimes growth looks like:

Editing instead of adding
Refining instead of expanding
Choosing consistency over chaos

This shift honors who I’ve been while giving me room to move forward with more intention.

Defining My Personal Brand Going Forward

So what does this mean practically?

It means:

Content that feels more cohesive and less scattered
Styling choices that feel intentional, not impulsive
A visual identity that reflects my emotional world
Writing that leans into intimacy and warmth

It also means letting go of the idea that I need to appeal to everyone. This brand isn’t trying to be everything—it’s trying to be true.

If You’re Feeling the Urge to Refine, Not Reinvent

If you’re reading this and feeling a pull toward your own “minor rebrand,” let this be your permission slip.

You don’t need to burn it all down.
You don’t need a dramatic announcement.
You don’t need to become someone new.

You’re allowed to:

Clarify
Edit
Choose again
Define yourself on your own terms

Sometimes the most powerful change is simply naming what’s already been there.

A Love Letter to Where I Am Now

At its core, this rebrand is a love letter—to my taste, my instincts, my growth, and my willingness to trust myself more than I used to.

It’s proof that personal branding doesn’t have to be loud to be meaningful. It just has to be honest.

And this? This feels honest.

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Kitties + camo

Caroline — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 15:07:22 +0000

Last weekend, I celebrated my birthday early with the crew I effectionally think of as “my boos”. To give you a quick rundown if you’re new here – a few years ago, Dani invited a handful of other bloggers to brunch, “Bubbles & Bloggers” grew and grew, but then a solid handful of us became super close. These girls are like my DC sisters now and I’m obsessed with them.

When I told Dani that I wanted a “City Kitties in the Country” birthday (kitties and camo!) she actually got in touch with my mom to help plan and my mom RAN with it. Leopard print, pink, camo, some of my bests, at one of my favorite places. I grew up at Montgomery Country Club, and it was so cool to be able to share it. There was actually a really cool moment when I pointed out my sister’s memorial tree and then one of the balloons popped and landed on me. I like to think that was just her way of joining the party.

Aside from thanking my mom and girls for the amazing day, I wanted to thank the vendors who helped make the day special. Obviously, MCC was a huge factor. We had our own private dining area and it was perfect for our group. My mom specifically wanted me to shout out her favorite local party store, THE PARTY PLACE for the purrfect balloon bouquet. The limo that got us to and from Maryland safely and stylishly was from ABC Limo. Xavier, our driver, was so much fun and a really nice guy. He even filmed some content for us – his idea!

My mom put together really cute goodie bags for us, and the coolest thing in them were bracelets from Sashka Co –

Sashka Co. partners with several organizations in Nepal that train and employ hundreds of artisans in rural communities. Our partners are focused on gender equality and empowering women. The women at the co-ops earn a living wage that exceeds the local minimum wage. Sashka Co. was founded in 2013 with an amazing team of seventeen artisans. Thanks to the support of Sashka Co. Bracelets customers, we now provide sustainable jobs to 450+ artisans in Nepal.

It was really cute to see my friends immediately put them on and trade them like friendship bracelets.

We also made a stop at Lone Oak Farm to try out their party tents, and my dad made an appearance to say hi. I loved being in my hometown for an afternoon and showing off that where I grew up could really be a lot of fun.

Sunday was a truly amazing day and I feel so incredibly loved. I’m one lucky girl.

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3 Different Ways Of Becoming A Greener Blogger

Caroline — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 15:26:02 +0000

Everyone’s caught up in the news about climate change at the moment, largely thanks to that COP26 summit we saw a couple of weeks ago. Things were discussed amongst world leaders, and it’s encouraged a lot of us to start taking action and trying to be more eco-friendly.

As a blogger, you soon realize there are things you can do to be a little bit greener. Mainly, you want to lower your personal carbon footprint by using less energy. How can you do this without impacting your work? Well, here are three different ideas that vary in difficulty and budget:

50 Green Instagram Templates

Go paperless

This is a very simple first step to take. A paperless blogger isn’t that much of a crazy thing to think about. After all, most of your work is done online at a computer. However, some of us still like to have notebooks and diaries to help manage content schedules. As lovely and organized as this might make you, it’s bad for the environment to use so much paper – particularly when it isn’t necessary. You can still use diaries and notes, just digitally. Get apps on your phone, tablet, or computer, and you can remain organized while being a greener blogger at the same time.

Use energy-conscious equipment

Next, if you want to go even further in your pursuit of being green, you could opt for energy-conscious equipment. This is a fancy term for things that don’t use much energy. If you’re using a PC, you can find monitors and PCs themselves that are more eco-friendly and put less demand on your energy usage. Alternatively, you can recycle or sell your PC in favor of a laptop/tablet, both of which require much less energy usage as they aren’t plugged in and powered all day long. Making adjustments like this will reduce your energy consumption and dramatically lower your carbon footprint.

Get solar panels

If you are super serious about being greener, this is a big step for you to take. Getting solar panels lets you fuel your home with renewable electricity. As such, you can basically blog and do all your work without calling on electricity from the National Grid. Of course, solar panels are going to be more expensive than going paperless or using energy-conscious equipment. Still, it will provide the most benefits for the planet. If this is something you’re considering, the best advice is to search for solar providers near me, helping you find the options in your area. From here, it’s a case of choosing something that suits your budget – you don’t need a full roof of solar panels if you can’t afford it; one or two will still provide some energy-saving benefits.

The whole point of this post is to show that there are different levels of being a green blogger. Start by going paperless as it is cheap and easy for you to do. Consider investing in more energy-friendly equipment to reduce energy usage if you want, and possibly even opt for solar panels if you want to make a massive difference. In any case, you will be doing your bit to lower your personal carbon footprint while you work.

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Essential Tech That You Need To Be A Successful Blogger

Caroline — Sat, 30 Oct 2021 17:31:56 +0000

When you decide to pursue a career as a blogger, you’ll soon find out that you need an array of different devices to complete your daily tasks. Figuring out which tech you need to buy so that you can operate to your full potential can be a confusing process, as there are thousands of different options available and it’s hard to make a choice between them all. Thankfully, identifying and investing in the most essential tech that you will need to become a successful blogger doesn’t actually have to be as difficult as you might expect, as there are just a few simple steps that you can follow to turn your dreams into a reality today. So, if you’re ready to find out more, then read on to uncover some of the handiest hacks and most informative ideas that you can utilize now!

Computer Desk With Marble Table Top & Storage

A Strong Internet Connection

First and foremost, before you purchase any other tech, you need to invest in a super strong internet connection that boasts very high uninterrupted speeds for both uploading and downloading. Without a good internet connection, every task that you complete will take far longer than it needs to – you’ll spend hours finishing a task that should take 15 minutes, and you even risk losing your work due to crashes and disconnection. Thankfully it’s easier than ever to access amazing internet in the modern day, as you can purchase a WiFi 6 box that maintains super fast speeds for both downloads and uploads. You can also find extra additions such as an Ethernet cable that allows you to plug straight into the system rather than using wireless internet that may be interrupted somehow, so this is ideal when uploading new posts to your blog or performing other tasks that require a better connection. It’s always a good idea to check online to see which WiFi hub is the best on the market, as each day new devices fly onto the shelves boasting better and better features.

A High-Quality Laptop

Next, it’s time to source the perfect laptop (or PC, if that’s what you prefer). This is probably the most time consuming step of all, as there are thousands upon thousands of different laptops or PC’s that you can invest in at any given time. However, a blogger needs a specific kind of laptop that boasts a few key features to make sure you can work to your full potential every day. You’ll need a device that maintains a fair amount of RAM to support the numerous different tasks that you’ll be performing at any one time, as you’ll likely be writing content in one tab while searching for information or photos in another. The screen size can often play a part too, as the bigger the screen is the more you’ll be able to see (and do). Having the space to fit two pages in one can make for seamless working, as you won’t need to flick back and forth between the two as you would on a device that has smaller dimensions. If you choose a laptop over a PC, then you may wish to look into the battery capacity too. Taking your laptop somewhere without the charger shouldn’t be a problem if you want to be a successful blogger, so make sure you find a device that offers a long battery life so that you can work all day without fear.

A Handy Smartphone

Sometimes it’s not possible to take your laptop with you everywhere you go, but you still need a way to stay on top of emails, make notes and perform research while you’re out and about. Investing in a handy smartphone is generally the best way to go, as it’s small enough to fit inside your pocket while still being powerful enough to perform every task that you need to complete. Choosing a smartphone with a simple operating system and easy controls such as an iPhone is likely the most productive option, as you don’t want to have to spend lots of time setting up different settings and processes just to start using your device. Figuring out how to activate a new iphone couldn’t be simpler, so you can make the most of your purchase almost immediately after switching it on.

Purchasing the essential tech that’s been carefully detailed above will help to ensure that your blog can achieve success, so there’s no time like the present to start investing in the most important devices now.

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Can You Run Your Blog Entirely From Your Phone?

Caroline — Sat, 30 Oct 2021 17:08:26 +0000

Around five years ago, the world made an important transition. For the first time in history, the most popular device for accessing the internet was not the personal computer, but the smartphone. Since then, mobile internet access has taken off, and now a majority of people only use their phones. They don’t bother with traditional computers.

But what about bloggers? Can they ditch their PCs as well?

Abstract Dots iPhone Case

Well, apparently they can. While typing out blogs on a phone isn’t as easy as doing it on a regular keyboard, developers have created a range of tools that allow people to run blogs without even having to sign into Windows again.

Browser-Based Blogging

Writing your blog in your browser is generally not a good idea. Despite advances in software development, most mobile browsers are still difficult to navigate – and even harder for blogging. Small screens and poor UIs make it almost impossible to format documents.

Blogger Apps

The good news, though, is that there are now a bunch of apps out there designed to make your life easier. In fact, there are around half a dozen that you could use.

What’s more, there are a bunch of different kinds of apps that let you do different things, replacing how you might use your PC.

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the tools that you might want to use.

Traffic analysers: Do you want to find out how many people are reading your blog and where they’re coming from? If so, you might want to check out Google Analytics. The platform shows you how users are accessing your blog, how long they stay there, and where they go next.

Social outreach: There are also apps that make it easy for you to share your blog on social media. Buffer, for instance, lets you connect with Facebook, Pinterest, Polyvore, Twitter and many other sites. Instead of trying to post via clunky browsers on your phone, it uses easy push-buttons to do it for you.

Photo editing: Bloggers also need to edit their photos to accompany their writing. Again, there are apps with specifically-designed UIs that make this easy. There are many options here, but Pixlr is available on both Android and iOS. It is well worth checking out.

Text Editors: Text editors are your bread and butter as a blogger. And now there are many for mobile as well as desktop. Perhaps your best bet on mobile is simply Google Docs. This syncs with the cloud so if you want to edit your work on your computer, you can.

Blogging platforms: Finally, you’ll want to experiment with different blogging platforms. These are essentially apps that do all the work of organizing, managing and uploading your blog to your site. Two big ones right now are Blogger and WordPress. However, there are many other options available.

Getting Started

Before you start using your smartphone for blogging, you’ll need to learn how to activate new iPhone or Android handsets.

Once you’re set up, the next step is to download some version of all of the apps described above. You’ll then need to take additional steps to ensure that your writing is correct and that you’re able to distribute it to a large number of people.

Start off by signing up to a grammar checking service. There are many out there, some famous, some not so.

Then make sure that you have an SEO plugin so that you can determine whether your content is going to be able to target various niches and keywords successfully.

SEO plugins are actually extremely user-friendly. Many, for instance, evaluate your work for things like using the passive voice and constructing sentences that are too long. Others actually list the words that you need to include to target your chosen keyword and then check them off once you include them in the document.

You can also get advice on the length of articles that you should write on a given topic. In some cases, 5,000 words will be more than enough, but in others, you’ll need more.

Wrapping Up

Overall, you no longer need a desktop to manage a blog. It is something that you can do from your phone. On the plus side, this offers convenience and flexibility. No matter where you are in the world, you can work on your blog. On the down side, though, it is clunky. Even though mobile user interfaces are improving, they’re still not perfect. If you’re stuck, you can always ask blogger friends about the tools and techniques they use.

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Ditch The Spam To Boost Your Insta Engagement

Caroline — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 13:48:08 +0000

Whether you’re promoting your blog, trying to get the most out of brand sponsorships, or are just building a platform from which to launch your dream side hustle, Instagram is quickly becoming an outlet of choice. Quick-fire posts and almost immediate engagement certainly offer a fantastic opportunity to let people know what you’re about and why they should be interested.

Instagram Post Templates Canva

All of that said, making the most of Instagram is about more than just shamelessly flogging your wares. After all, blatant one-track advertising is never going to boost your engagement, a fact that will see the algorithm turning against you faster than you can click ‘post’. Avoiding this is largely about ditching the spam, but we’re going to delve a little deeper into a few of the more specific ways that you can make Instagram work for rather than against you.

Post personal and business content

People interact with brands, influencers, etc. on social media because they value personal connections. As such, if every post that you send out into the Instaphere is a shameless attempt at self-promotion, you’re never going to find real success. Splitting Your posts pretty evenly down the middle with more personal, connection-building content that breaks that marketing monotony is your best chance at avoiding that downfall. This is where the true value of this platform lies and is the foundation on which your marketing content (when you do post it) will be far better able to land.

Dedicate true time to your marketing content

Even if you’re working on the personal side of your social presence, ill-thought, clunky marketing is never going to do you any favors. As such, you also need to make sure that you’re dedicating a decent amount of time to marketing content that fits with your brand and the general needs of your audience. For one thing, this means making sure not to accept more than one MLM or brand deal at any given time, thus guaranteeing that you can get your marketing calendar in order and never have to rush uploads. With time on your side, you should then get to work creating good marketing content that fits seamlessly with what you’re doing, e.g. creating a recipe to advertise a kitchen sponsorship, or filming a hair how-do to get the message across about a new hair product.

Make it worth your audience’s while

Your audience understands that you need to make money, and they’re not going to hate you for posting (well-done) marketing content now and again. Unfortunately, even this isn’t going to necessarily boost your engagement or conversions if you don’t also think about ways to make these efforts worth your audience’s while. Discount codes are perhaps the most obvious modern example of this, but further efforts like giveaways and competitions can also be a great way to get people engaged at last, especially if entry is dependent on all-important likes, shares, and comments.

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PS Post

Caroline — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 10:00:37 +0000

Keller Anne Ruble – founder of PS Post

I first heard about PS Post via one of their writers, Clair, either on Twitter or Instagram. I can’t remember because this past year has been a blur of social media. Regardless, I loved the concept from jump.

A gift card that is also a greeting card that is also eco-friendly? What an amazing idea! I love gift cards as a concept, but I am embarrassed to say that it has happened on more than one occasion that I physically lose them or lose them in my mess of an e-mail inbox to be found (hopefully) much later. I literally had to apologize to my cousin for never thanking her for a gift certificate to J. Crew from my birthday that I didn’t see until close to Christmas this year. YIKES.

Clair put me in touch with the founder at PS Post, Keller Anne, who was gracious enough to answer my question about what I think is one of the coolest startups! In a time where we all are working harder than ever to stay connected, fun mail like a card from PS Post is the best surprise! (Not to mention- the cards are AH-MAZE-ING and are an easily-frameable 5×7 size!)

Flowers in Concrete

Did you always know you were going to start a business? What is your background as far as what you studied and what you did in your “past life”?

No, never. My background is very “Jill of all Trades.” My academic background is in history, economics, and public policy, and my professional background is in early childhood public policy and nonprofit finance. Starting a business has always been the furthest thing from my mind. However at my last job at a local philanthropy/impact investing firm, I worked closely with a lot of entrepreneurs and social-impact-oriented innovators and was always energized at the ways they threw their whole selves at the problems they’re trying to solve.

Even though I never thought of myself owning my own business, I grew up around small business ownership. My second home basically was my dad’s dental practice. My mom is his office manager and is exceptionally business-savvy. I grew up watching her negotiate contracts, manage finances and keep the books balanced, and work with vendors for the best prices. Seeing all the emotional labor that goes into building a business helped me go in with eyes open a little wider than they would be otherwise.

How did the idea of PS Post come about? And how did you form your (mostly female!) team?

In truth, I am terrible at sending gifts. I love sending cards and notes to friends but when it comes to putting physical gifts in the mail, I struggle. But I don’t want to send them something from an online retailer and have it come with a tiny little note on receipt paper that says “enjoy your gift from Keller Anne.” The idea came to me one night as I was trying to fall asleep, I thought “wait, wouldn’t it be cool to put a QR code on the inside of a greeting card so that you can send everything all at once, all for the price of a stamp?” I immediately turned on the light, got up, and sketched it out. Once I had the basic concept the ideas for growth just kept tumbling out. I have always loved making my own cards and finding really fun and funny greeting cards at boutiques, and the idea just consumed me. I couldn’t find anything like it on the market anywhere, so I asked a senior developer friend of mine to help me think through the feasibility of the tech. With the confidence of feasibility, I decided to just go for it and make this a reality myself!

When it came to building the team I really had to think creatively and strategically. We couldn’t afford to pay people, so we had to find people who both could devote time outside of their 9-5s and who were excited enough about this idea they’d just work for equity stakes. We had some people join the team who in the end decided it wasn’t the right time for different reasons.

PS Post’s co founder and COO is a good friend of mine who has incredibly dynamic professional chops. She and I complement each other in many ways, and when I shared the idea with her and asked her if she wanted to build it together, she was all in. Not only did she design our aesthetic and build the front end of the website, she is the true bolt to my nut, always looking at opportunities and product developments from every angle.

For the creative team, I thought a lot about our customer. Greeting cards are our core product, and so we needed to create cards that people wanted to buy, both aesthetically and message-wise. We needed a balance of writing styles to have range, and a graphic designer who could match that emotional range. I reached out to friends and friends of friends first whose work I respected, and found 2 incredible writers and a phenomenal graphic designer.

Finding a developer and technical co-founder was more challenging but through putting out calls on various forms of social media and vetting a lot of people, we found a great full-stack developer who has tons of experience with growing startups and inventory management-oriented dev work.

Our team is full of rock stars. The really amazing thing is that we get along very well with one another and share similar philosophies around continual learning, iterative development, and constructive feedback. I’m so proud of all that we’ve built together so far.

Happy Birthday, Pisces

What was the hardest part about getting PS Post off the ground? (During a pandemic, no less!)

Getting over my own fears. Truly. I dragged my feet a lot out of fear I’d make mistakes. Which is really silly, because not only are mistakes totally and completely inevitable, but you learn the most from your mistakes.

Lizzo Your Way Through

I love the PS Post has a sustainability mission! Was this part of the original plan for PS Post? And how did you end up sourcing recycled paper?

Thank you so much! Sustainability was always core to our mission and something we refused to deviate from. Part of the inspiration to encode e-gift cards onto a QR code was to dramatically reduce plastic gift card usage. They’re so wasteful! Gift cards are made of the most toxic types of plastics, aren’t recyclable, and frequently littered. Sure, e-gift cards are already an option, but opening an email with your gift card is really impersonal and unexciting.

We’re proud to only use 100% recycled paper for our cards and envelopes. Choosing recycled paper over virgin paper reduces production waste by ~45% and greenhouse emissions by ~37%.

My cofounder and I are personally dedicated to environmental conservation and more sustainable living, so not only are we only using 100% recycled paper, we’re also only working with printing companies who are committed to corporate social responsibility and who use environmentally friendly printing practices.

Miss Your Smile

Can you describe the process of your card creations? What are the steps from inspiration to finished product?

It looks different every time! Sometimes we have more formal idea generating meetings but often ideas come from us shooting the shit with each other. Inspiration strikes a lot, so we workshop ideas a lot via Slack and have a robust database to organize ideas by category and work them through the editorial and design processes.

Now Is Not Forever

Do you have a favorite card? What makes it stand out for you?

This is SO hard! I love so many of them. My current favorite is one that we’ll be releasing very soon: “Your Now Is Not Your Forever.”

The cards that have meant the most to me over the years are the ones from friends that come during the hard times. They communicate a simple and beautiful, “I see you and I’m here for you.”

Getting mail that isn’t a bill or a piece of junk mail is refreshing and exciting. We built PS Post so that it is easy to give that feeling. Seeing a luxurious, forest green envelope with a sleek address label

I wanted people to feel the same joy, comfort, and the warmth I feel when I get a card for a friend, and to make that process way easier for people.

What’s some great advice you received while starting your business?

My dear friend and mentor Sara Gibson often says, “If you aren’t hearing no, you aren’t pushing hard enough.” While nos are hard to hear, each no presents a new learning opportunity. Sometimes you realize that a hurdle was really just a speed bump or the wall you can’t climb over has a path around it.

12 Ft Skeleton

Have you learned anything the hard way as a startup that you wish you had been warned about?

Ugh, yes. Remember your team’s skills and expertise and go to them when you’re having trouble with things! I sometimes have a tendency to want to fix any problem I create on my own but why work harder when you can work smarter? Just yesterday I stressed and fumed and tried to troubleshoot an issue for 3 hours before I slacked my cofounder my exact problem. She called me and we solved the problem in 10 minutes. It was a really humbling reminder that the team is a team for a reason: we all bring different skills to the table that complement one another.

Do you have advice for other women looking to start their own business?

Asking for money can be super intimidating. It helped me to reframe it not as asking for money but offering investors an opportunity to make more money by betting on you. It helped even more to think about how much not asking is costing you. Claire Wasserman, the founder of Ladies Get Paid, wrote in a blog post, “how much is your discomfort worth? How much money are you willing to lose because of your silence? If not asking or talking about money will lose you say, $20,000, will you stay quiet?”

I believe in myself, my team, and our ability to provide an exceptional new service for people. If you do too, project that as much as you can to your investors. Even if you’re nervous as hell to talk to whoever you’re talking to, faking confidence will eventually turn into authentic confidence.

Thank you so much to Keller Anne for taking the time to answer these questions! I wish her and her team every success with this amazing venture!

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I fell for a scam but looked adorable doing it

Caroline — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 10:00:14 +0000

Boy, do I have egg on my face.

Remember how just last month I told you all to beware of the insta-brand? Yea. Should have taken my own advice. For the sake of transparency, and because I LOVE being a little messy, I’m going to tell you how it happened.

I got an email from a supposed PR Team for The Gentic, saying that if I bought their face brush for about $40 (converted from Euros) they would pay me about $600. They actually had me sign a contract, so I figured that it was legit and since what they were paying me obviously covered more than the product, it was probably just an SEO thing. For those of you who don’t know, SEO stands for Search engine optimization. I thought maybe they were having me BUY the product so it would look like their site had more sales, or something.

I even ran it by some of my bloggers friends, who were weary, but with the “contract” it seemed like it was ok. So I purchased the little bugger and it came about four weeks later. I started feeling a little suspect when it came in a weird little package from Hong Kong, even with the website currency being in euros.

Of course, I also Googled “The Gentic scam,” when they first contacted me and nothing came up. That’s because although they have been scamming content creators for a while, they changed their name recently from The SkinGlo to The Gentic. At least that’s so far as I can tell? They might have just added The Gentic to their on-going SkinGlo scam. Really, all I can find on it is this article.

So yea, I spent like three hours creating content and I’m going to show it off. I’ve also disputed the charge with PNC. I’m lucky that <$50 won’t make or break me, but I am TICKED that I was so excited to have this partnership and now I look SILLY that I can’t even follow my own advice.

I’m embarrassed, but I’m nothing if not authentic, so thank you for coming on this journey with me.

And remember – don’t enter a brand “partnership” if you have to buy ANYTHING first. Even if you think you’re getting more out of it.

For what it’s worth, the product isn’t bad. I especially like the messaging feature that I used for my under eye gel masks. I just wouldn’t have purchased it myself.

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How to Make the Most of Instagram

Caroline — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 21:48:15 +0000

If you’re new to Instagram or if you don’t get the results that others seem to get from it, it’s possible you’re under-utilizing the website. You need to make the right choices on Instagram to improve your chances of audience engagement, as well as deliver interesting content regularly. If you want to find out more about using Instagram more effectively, then read on.

Pick a Username

Your username on Instagram is an important feature of your profile and your success on the platform. Since your username is your identity on Instagram you want to be interesting and relevant to your content and niche.

If you have a username on a different platform or from a blog, it’s a good idea to use that. Keeping your username consistent across platforms is friendly to search engines and helps build your online reputation.

Select a Niche

Selecting a niche is also an important part of Instagram. You want people to be able to identify what you stand for immediately when they encounter your page. This helps people decide if they want to follow or not, it also focuses your interest.

For some people choosing a niche will be easy. It will be whatever topic they are passionate about in other internet spaces. However, many people like to choose a different niche on Instagram to add variation to their Fans Accounts. This also helps to segment blogs online.

Tell a Story

One thing that sets Instagram apart from other social media sites is the ‘story’. Instagram has a tradition of users creating stories for followers and supports this trend with various features. Photos are essential on Instagram but so is the story they tell.

When you upload your images to Instagram think about what story you’re talking and what value that will bring to your audience. Use the caption area to introduce the place you are visiting and add in any odd things you found or facts about the area.

Use Hashtags

Instead of keywords like with search engines, Instagram uses hashtags. Hashtags can be used as quick search terms for what you’re looking for on the site or can be useful for suggesting new content for you to view.

Always use hashtags when you post something on Instagram. The site allows you to use 30 hashtags per post and while you do have to use them all it’s well known that 11 or more helps with audience engagement. Use a combination of general hashtags and more specific ones to cover all bases.

Use a Slideshow

As previously mentioned Instagram supports storytelling with several innovative features. One of those easily the sideshow that allows you to string together a series of images that tell a story about an event. The event could be a travel story or the story of a meal.

When you use this slideshow feature remember to create effective hashtags for the images and to credit images for places that helped you create the images, restaurants etc. A sideshow is an excellent way to engage your audience for longer and generate more interest in your profile.