Our first Campus Celeb of the semester is Olivia Bleeker, junior International Textile and Apparel Management major from Wildwood, MO. We’ve all thought having a blog would be fun, and maybe even tried it out, but Olivia has gone above and beyond. Olivia’s blog, A Drop in the Ocean (http://adropintheocean.us), has won VIP Blogger for St. Louis Fashion Week 2013 and 2014 and was a Nominee for Best Lifestyle Blog and Best Use of Photography for St. Louis Fashion Week 2014. We talked to Olivia about her blog, which covers a variety of topics like such beauty, fashion, and lifestyle, and how she got started.
Her Campus Mizzou: What inspired you to create your blog?
Olivia Bleeker: When I was a senior in high school, I was obsessed with writing but I wanted another outlet for more creative articles. So, I started a blog. For a while, this was something that I didn’t tell anyone about, not even my closest friends, because I wanted to have a blog as a tool to become a better storyteller. Then, as the months went on and I loved blogging more and more, a St. Louis magazine contacted me and said that they had read my blog and wanted to work with me. The moment when I opened their email was the first moment I had the thought that I had the dream of making my blog bigger and better.
HCM: Where do you draw inspiration from? What topics can one find on your blog?
OB: Anything that involves traveling is my biggest inspiration. When I was 18, I lived in an indigenous village in Guatemala for a few months, and this year, I spent the spring 2016 semester studying in Alicante, Spain. When I read stories or see photos of other people and their adventures abroad, it inspires me to work even harder so that I can keep traveling in the future. From the start, I always wanted fashion to be a central focus of my blog because it’s something I’m incredibly passionate about, and I’m an International Fashion Marketing major. However, as I’ve developed my blog further, I really wanted to turn it into a lifestyle blog that included a little more than fashion. It has evolved into a fashion, DIY, and travel blog.
HCM: How do you use your blog to help you in your professional life?
OB: I have had the opportunity to use my blog as a portfolio to share with companies so that they can see my creative skills, writing, and photography all in one place. This has helped me not only land several incredible internships, but also work with amazing companies such as Clinique, Teen Vogue, and Victoria’s Secret PINK to name a few. Definitely having a website to direct people to is so helpful whether I’m job or internship searching, or simply looking for a brand to collaborate with.
HCM: How did you feel finding out that your blog was nominated for the Best Lifestyle Blog + Photography category at St. Louis Fashion Week?
OB: I definitely was shocked to say the least. I was nominated even towards the beginning of my blogging journey, so the fact that my blog caught ALIVE Network’s attention was incredible. The nomination itself was something that kept me even more motivated to get better and make progress as a blogger. If I could receive a nomination like that shortly after starting a blog, what bigger and better things could I accomplish down the road once I put even more work and dedication into it?
HCM: What media outlets have featured you and how did you brand yourself in a way that got their attention?
OB: I have worked with and been featured by companies such as Clinique, Victoria’s Secret PINK, Clarisonic, Teen Vogue, and then many brands that have more of a Midwest reach. Every company that I add to my resume, it propels me to work harder and harder. I’m actually in the process of a huge rebrand right now. I’ve been working with a designer to give my blog an entirely new logo and layout. This has been a long time coming, but as I really begin working with bigger brands, it’s a necessary change. Before this rebrand, my brand was a little scattered. It’s usually “fun” and “colorful”, which are two words I like to keep consistent in whatever content I put out. However, now with my rebrand, I forsee things being a bit more streamlined and consistent.
HCM: What is your favorite part about having your blog?
OB: My favorite part about my blog is the community that it has brought along with it. I’m from St. Louis and we have an incredible blogger network, in which I’ve met some of my best friends. I love meeting up with other bloggers and right from the start having something in common. Having a blog and pushing yourself to stay creative is something that people can really come together over, so it’s really crazy to think about all the bloggers I’ve met but wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet had I not started my blog.
HCM: Any advice for fellow/aspiring bloggers?
OB: If you are thinking about starting a blog, just do it. You don’t need to launch this picture perfect blog from day one. You’ll hear all kinds of different information on this topic, but I truly believe that you should just start a blog when you want to. Then, watch it over time grow, develop, and evolve into something so much bigger and better than the day you started. You’ll be able to look back to where you started and be so proud of all your hard work. You don’t just become a famous celebrity blogger overnight, and clearly I’m nowhere near there! But, you can give your readers consistency and that’s something that they will come back for. My biggest takeaway from blogging is that it is so time consuming, but so worth it in the end!
Olivia’s Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest handles are all @oliviableeker and her Facebook Page is A Drop in the Ocean Blog!