From Passion To a Real Business – An Interview With Blogger And Entrepreneur Maria Velniceriu

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Your background, education and family

My name is Maria Velniceriu and I am the founder of Missmv.com a fashion & lifestyle online publication where I share my own ideas to styling your outfits, beauty tips, home décor and DIY. 

Apart from creating content on my blog, I run a small business selling boho décor accessories and whenever I have time, I try to update my photography portfolio too. 

Photography is my recent hobby and I find great pleasure in capturing the moment through my lens. 

What inspired you to start blogging and how long have you been blogging for?

I have been blogging for 5 years now and I have only taken my blog seriously in the last 3 years. What inspired me to start a blog is the freedom of sharing whatever I want and connecting with my audience without being limited by some kind of algorithm. Before I started my blog, I had a YouTube channel where I was sharing videos of trying new outfits, and I thought that these two will go hand in hand. I’m really glad that I decided to start a blog back then, even though I didn’t have much knowledge of what I was doing. 

Why should we read your blog?

On my blog, you will find a mix of educational posts, from DIY tutorials to home décor ideas, and personal finance tips. Is a go-to for inspiration to style your bedroom/living room or other area in your home if you like, or to find budget-friendly décor pieces and help you decide which gift to buy for your loved ones. But my main focus is fashion and beauty tips. So fashionistas, if you looking for ideas to style your jeans, dresses or looking for nail ideas, you should definitely check my website. 

What is the best thing about blogging and why?

Opportunities and free time to enjoy my hobbies. The best thing about blogging is that it allows me to work for myself, when I want, how much I want, and where I want. Is a tool for making your voice heard and a way of helping small brands be discovered in a very competitive market. Another thing that I’d like to add is that blogging is a scalable business. 

How do you manage time to run your blog efficiently?

So to get things done fast and efficiently, I set a schedule. The first 4 hours when I woke up I spend checking emails and prepare the topic and headings of a new blog post. To avoid a boring routine, the next 3 hours I spend outdoors or doing the house chores if there is any. In the evening, I then finish and publish a new article on my website which I try to keep it as a routine and a constant schedule. 

If something intervene with my routine and it creates disruption, I then outsource a few tasks which will help me keep up with the content load that I have scheduled. Outsourcing content, or hiring a VA is what most successful bloggers do and that’s how you manage to get things done without exhausting entirely.

What do you think is the best strategy that worked well for you to get more traffic to your blog?

Focusing on SEO. That’s a game changing for any website. Once you learn and apply the best SEO strategy for your niche, things start to make sense and traffic will follow. 

What’s the best opportunity your blog has given you?

I think that the best opportunity my blog gave me is the ability to learn so much about the whole process. I’m grateful for everything I have learned, from web designing to writing content, marketing, SEO, and all the other bits that come with being a blogger. 

Then, the opportunity of working with brands such as Beko, London Pairfum, Square meal, and many others to being invited to festivals and events, are just a few things that my blog opened up for me. 

Also, being part of blogging communities and connecting with professional freelancers, and learning from their success is what motivates me to set and achieve goals. 

How do you relax in your spare time?

I love reading and taking photographs and spending as much time outdoors as possible. Long walks help me relax and recharge which is vital when spend long hours in front of computer. Photography has the same effect and every time I have the opportunity or inspiration I try to shoot as much as I can. You know, inspiration isn’t striking all the time, so I have to capture the moment straight away. 

Would you encourage other people to start a blog?

I do, but only if you are committed to invest time and money. Starting a blog isn’t free like many bragging about. You have many costs before you have the website up and running. 

First is the domain name, then hosting, plugins to make the site faster and obviously you have to invest in promoting the blog afterwards. Even if you are good at writing, unless you do keyword research to find out what people are searching for, you won’t become successful or make a full time income from a blog. 

And lastly, you have to follow the trends and learn constantly.

Maria Velniceriu is a 35 year old fashion content creator from United Kingdom.