Interview Of The Week with Andjela Simsic: The truth about the influencer business
Influencer is one of the trendiest “jobs” these days. Why? Because people think it means good, easy money and a great career doing nothing but posting on social media. Andjela Simsic has been a personal blogger for years with tens of thousands of followers. She gives an insight into a blogger’s life and tells the truth about the influencer business.
Where are you from and what do you do?
I’m from Belgrade, Serbia which is in the Central Balkans. Belgrade in Serbian means The White City.
How did your personal blogger journey start?
I’ve always loved the camera and posing, especially when I moved to the US to study. People were interested in my life here and I was taking pictures and posting all the time!
I never planned to do it for a living or anything serious. I was just taking pictures for myself; my travels, my food, my bags... Everything that most girls do today. People found my posts interesting so I started doing it more and more. My number of followers started to grow. Everything came naturally and spontaneously and it was a very interesting and amazing journey to watch. My page means a lot to me, not because of the followers or likes but because of the all memories I have pictured.
A few years ago my Instagram and the feedback from my audience was way higher and better than it is now. I’m not 100% sure what happened but I know I try all the time to improve my page and make it interesting and loving.
There are so many amazing looking girls who try to become big bloggers but they never get a significant amount of followers as it is hard to stand out. What is the secret?
I adore all the girls on Instagram that kind of have a similar feed to mine. They all inspire me. But it is all luck and the people that are around you. You can just get lucky for a moment and get more likes than before or you can just be surrounded by people who are doing the same thing as you but have a bigger audience and get some clout. Both work. Just try to be unique and never fake your account!
Running a blog professionally takes a lot of energy, time and money. Sometimes I don’t sleep because I am editing my pictures and thinking what to post next. Sometimes I go to nice places and restaurants just for the picture. So yeah, energy and money!
My day starts with my Instagram. As soon as I get up, I check my phone and I respond to emails. Only then can I start to do other things: I call my family back in Serbia and I make a good breakfast.
So what benefits has social media brought to your life?
Sometimes it brings me benefits, sometimes not. People see my page and they are in love with the pictures and the lifestyle - especially girls. But sometimes I tell people that I don’t have an IG because I can tell they are not in that world and if I don’t have to be in it, I won’t. I like to be present and focused on the conversation. Having social media around us all the time can be hard sometimes.
Would you call your blogging your job?
No, because it does not bring me serious money. But I love it because it always keeps me updated on trends and with things that are happening in the world.
What is the hardest part of running a personal blog?
Probably taking pictures when there are too many people around or when the weather is bad but you have a collaboration you have to do. (Collaboration or collab means working together to create content for marketing purposes on Instagram pages – BWG note). Also, when I’m hungry but I have to take a photo of the food! Many different life situations can happen which make blogging hard.
What has changed in the social media scene in the last few years? How is the social media world now compared to when you started?
It was way easier before than it is now. I noticed that my insights were way better before when I was starting my page. Today, there are so many bloggers and wannabe bloggers who are getting way more feedback from the audience than someone who actually deserves it and we all know that, but it is okay. At the end of the day life is not about Instagram, pictures or likes.
