This week we chitchat to Abigail Royston, the latest blogger to jump aboard the train of online postings of various travels trips, fashion and beauty find and food experiments. Now living in London having grown up in a very small mountain village in the South of France called Mosset, the ex-pro tennis player cat lover shares an insight on her blog My Girls On Tour.
Hey, Abigail lets start with asking what prompted you to start a career in blogging?
When I was working as a paralegal in the City of London, I thought that it would be really cool to combine the light-hearted fun aspect of a reality TV series with the information and culture of a documentary, because there are so many reality TV series for young people but most documentaries are presented and pitched at the older generations. I looked into the different ways to do it and the word “blog” kept popping up. So I thought that I would give it a go and write about my tales of my time on the world tennis tour and cover topics like my outfits, friends, beauty, fashion & parties to make it light-hearted and also cover culture, history, haut-couture, travel and art to make it informative and interesting.
But you are an ex pro-tennis player is that right?
Yes, I am. When I was 16 I moved to Barcelona to attend the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy. There I played first on the ITF Tour and then on the WTA tour for 3 years.
Can you talk us through a day in the life of My Girls On Tour?
What I love about My Girls On Tour is that there is never one day that goes by that is the same. One day I could be flying to Amsterdam with Samsonite or waking up in New York in -30C trying to figure out how I am going to shoot my outfit in the street without freezing and then make it across town in time for the next fashion show. One thing is for sure though, my day pretty much always starts with a coffee and with me checking my Instagram. I then get ready and head out for the day into town, to meetings, to events, to showrooms, to press days and I shoot my outfit somewhere in between. I always share the looks that I wear out and so really where I am and what I am doing influences my choice of clothes. I will never be one of those bloggers who run around town with a bag and shoots the week’s 7 looks in one day. I also tend to write my blog posts late at night because during the day I have events or I am shooting pictures.
2017 what is next?
So many incredible things have happened in 2016 I am still trying to get to grips with it and I haven’t had much time to think about 2017. I have just started my Youtube Channel – AbigailRoyston, so I think that 2017 could be a big year for me in terms of videos.
Your blog is becoming very popular, talk to us about leaping into the unknown
I love blogging and it makes me so happy that people take the time to read what I say, but as it grows I am conscious of it not becoming too “industry focused”. When I first started my blog I had no idea that there was a blogging community, I had no idea that there were so many people out there writing and taking pictures and companies willing to work with them. I think that helped me to be free and to just write and blog exactly what I wanted, when I wanted and also without any influences because until I started my blog, I had never even read a fashion blog before.Sometimes when I work with brands, they are very keen for you to tell their story and at times forget that actually, it is actually my story that I am telling and that they are just a part of that. When you are growing sometimes you are not in a position to dictate to big companies and I have sometimes been taken advantage of, so now I make sure to consider every project that I am offered very carefully and only choose those that I think would be of interest to my readers and followers. It is for this reason why I only share photos that I have taken or blog about events that I have attended.
Do you ever get stuck for ideas to blog about?
Funnily enough, I don’t.My problem is having too many ideas and not knowing where to start.
Can you shed a slice of advice for establishing a career as a Blogger?
Write about something that you enjoy and something which at the beginning comes naturally to you.You have to be regular and consistent, real and honest. Set up an Instagram, Twitter & Facebook account and get connecting with people. Also, make sure that when they find you your feeds they are looking attractive and clearly represent you and your blog. I didn’t give this a lot of consideration but try to get your blog and all your accounts to have matching names so that people can find you easier. I love pictures and videos as they immediately make blog posts pop & look more professional, so invest in a good camera and spend time editing your photos. I would also say to write, comment & subscribe by getting to know other bloggers, why not meet them in real life. Most importantly, have fun and love what you are doing!
