Behind the Seams with Courtney Smith: The Business of Blogging

IMAGE.ie and Samsung are delighted to join Courtney Smith on her mini-series ‘Behind the Seams’, where she meets Ireland’s brightest sparks in the world of fashion, to shine a light on the vast spectrum of opportunities in fashion and what it takes to truly make it.

In this week’s episode, Courtney is focusing on an area of the fashion industry that many dream of, but few can really turn into a successful career: fashion blogging. While still a relatively new industry in Ireland, there is a cohort of hugely popular bloggers on the scene who have made waves both at home and abroad. In this week’s Behind the Seams, Courtney chats to three of them, asking about how they carved their careers in such a competitive area of the fashion world.

First up is Ciara O’Doherty, who has been blogging for over eight years. As Ciara explains, because the blogging industry is still so new, there is no rule book — if you want to start a blog of your own, do what feels right for you. She also shows Courtney some exclusive tips on how to achieve those Insta-perfect snaps that seem so elusive when scrolling online.

If you want to find out more about the business side of blogging, look no further than Erika Fox (or Retro Flame, as you’d know her online). Erika has built an international following with her blog, which has seen her through college, making the move from Kerry to Manhattan, and garnering over 136,000 followers on Instagram. She cites a business-minded approach as the reason behind the success of Retro Flame; office hours, scheduling, and plenty of planning has turned her blog into what it is today.

And finally, it’s Tar Mar (real name Tara Marzuki) who originally hails from Ireland but has also made the move to NYC to blog full time. She’s often praised by her fans for her honesty and down-to-earth blogging style, and her trend-setting way of using YouTube to express herself has set her apart from many of the Instagram set. Tara goes through her journey to blogging success, and what makes the perfect pitch when collaborating with clients.

Check out this week’s episode of Behind the Seams above, powered by Samsung and in collaboration with IMAGE.ie.