August Q&A

Lemon Stripes Q&A

As promised in this week’s Snapchat Q&A, I put together a list of my most commonly asked questions below. I get asked most of these weekly either via email or on Snap so going forward, I can just reference this page when they’re asked time and time again. A bit self-serving but whatever!

Before I get started, I wanted to let you know that one of my all time favorite dress brands (which makes the one I’m wearing above and is still available in all sizes) is having a major sale. Everything on the site is 50% off this week only with code WAREHOUSE. I also have and love this one, this one, and this one. And remember this hot pink romper? It also comes in this version which I’m obsessed with and they still have all sizes. Everything fits so well and lasts year after year!

I usually size down in these dresses, so the one I’m wearing here is an XS and isn’t tight at all.

Ok Q&A time, let’s get started!

Lemon Stripes in a Sail to Sable Dress

Dress c/o / Shoes / Hat

Personal Questions:

Where did you meet your husband?
At work! We worked together at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, a holistic nutrition school that we attended as well. Fun fact: We’re both certified health coaches! We met seven years ago and have been married for four years.

How do you pronounce your last name?
Dzafic (JAH-fick). My husband is Bosnian so that’s the origin. It’s a real pain to make dinner reservations, trust me…

What color is on your nails?
I pretty much exclusively wear Essie Ballet Slippers on my nails and Fiji on my toes but once in a while I’ll “go crazy” and change up my colors. That’s rare though.

What kind of dog is Boots?
He’s half German Shepard and half Pit Bull. It sounds like a scary mix on paper but he’s the sweetest, most loving, well-behaved dog on earth. His favorite things include: cuddling, licking your face, playing fetch, swimming, and napping. More on raising a puppy here.

How did you decide where to move when you left New York?
We thought about a lot of suburbs around the city but ended up narrowing it down to somewhere Connecticut because we wanted to be closer to my family in New Hampshire and, at the time, closer to my job which was based here. My husband also wanted to open his business in Greenwich so that kind of sealed the deal. We rented for a year in Stamford before we bought our house to be sure that we liked the area. I highly recommend renting for a while if you move to a new place. It will help you get your bearings and make the right decision.

There are a million adorable coastal towns around us so people often ask why we chose the least coastal of them all but it’s purely a matter of what we could afford!

Do you want to have kids?
Absolutely. I hate when people ask me this because of what I’ve been through in the last year, but I understand why they do.

Blogging Questions:

What kind of camera do you use?
My husband takes the majority of my photos and uses a Canon 5D Mark II with a 50 mm lens. You can read his photography tips here. Sometimes I use my iPhone when the situation is “dire” but almost everything you see me post here or on my Instagram is from that camera.

How did you grow your blog following?
A lot of new bloggers ask this because they want to grow theirs as well which I totally get. I always have the same answer. Create consistent authentic content that’s beautiful and well written and push it out everywhere on social media. Start a newsletter with all of your friends and family (ask permission before adding them to the list) and have them forward it around. At first, it will be all about word of mouth. While you’re growing your blog, work to grow your social following by posting not only your blog content there but other everyday photos and thoughts.

Connect and engage with people on social and keep it real! It isn’t going to happen overnight but as more and more people find you and realize that your content is helpful to them, you’ll continue to grow

How can I start making money from my (new) blog?
Great question! When I started blogging, no one was making money from it so I didn’t have that same sense of urgency that new bloggers have today. My advice is (again!) to start creating consistently good content, organically mentioning the brands that you love. Once you have some great examples of how you can showcase brands, you can reach out to them about working together. At the beginning, never ask for money. Offer to post about them in exchange

I’m a new blogger. How do I reach out to brands for partnerships?
Don’t! Start by creating content about the brand you want to work with. If it’s a clothing company, wear one of their dresses and do a post on it. Later, send the brand that post just as an FYI. Don’t ask for anything. Once you’ve grown a bit, reach out to them again and ask if you can do a collaboration where they send you something in exchange for the post. At first you’ll start with this kind of partnership, then move to paid.

After you’ve done a bunch of those (always tagging the brand on social, btw), people will start to notice and reach out to you. Never ever reach out to a company asking for product and money. So tacky!

How do you keep track of your content and partnerships?
I have a Google doc with three tabs. The first is a calendar for the year with the post title for each day color coded by category (fashion, decor, travel, etc) and then a bit.ly link to that post so I can go back and easily find it whenever I need it. The second tab is a list of my paid partnerships for the month with the brand, amount, the “ask”, and whether or not it’s been paid. I’m super OCD about staying on top of this so nothing ever gets lost in the mix.

How did you know you were ready to quit your job and blog full time?
That was a tough decision for us but it was really threefold: 1. I was no longer feeling fulfilled or happy at my work and it felt more stressful than anything else. 2. I was making enough income off of Lemon Stripes that we could live off of that and my husband’s income without me having a second job. That took six full years of blogging though! 3. For personal health reasons, it was time to take a step back somewhere. And that’s what made the most sense. Read about that journey here.

View all posts in:

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Brittany S said:

    This is such a great post, thanks for sharing!! I always love your Snapchat Q&A!

    Brittany,
    http://www.lawyerlookbook.com

    8.11.16 · Reply
  2. Nikki Bohorquez said:

    Love this post since I don’t use snapchat!
    Just bought two dresses from there with the discount, so excited!

    8.11.16 · Reply
  3. Caitlin said:

    Great post Julia!

    8.11.16 · Reply
  4. Allie Provost said:

    haha i can imagine dinner reservations are tough! these are such good blogging tips as well! happy thursday!!

    xo
    allie

    pretaprovost.com

    8.11.16 · Reply
  5. Christine Marie said:

    I love reading your blog! So inspiring!!! 🙂

    I did have a quick question.. what kind of camera and lens do you use or would suggest to someone who is new to the photography world! 🙂 Your photos are always so beautiful.

    Thanks bunches!!
    Christine Marie

    8.11.16 · Reply
  6. June Pope said:

    I love this dress and want to order it. We seem to be built similarly and you bought XS? I’m normally a 2. Is that about what you’d wear? It’s a Final Sale item so I want to be sure of ordering the right size.
    I love your openness and honesty

    8.11.16 · Reply
    • Julia Dzafic said:

      Yes! I’m usually a 2 or 4 and wear an XS which never feels tight!

      8.12.16 · Reply
  7. Johanna said:

    This is such a beautiful outfit, I love the shoes too!!
    Have a wonderful weekend doll,
    Johanna ❤

    http://www.dreamscolorsandglitter.blogspot.com

    8.12.16 · Reply
  8. Maggie said:

    Thanks Julia for answering these questions!
    http://www.thatgirlmags.com

    8.18.16 · Reply
  9. Victoria McGinley said:

    Do you have any San Francisco recommendations?

    8.25.16 · Reply