The Best Part About Blogging is Meeting People IRL

When I first started blogging, I didn’t know why I was really doing it. I knew I liked spending way too many hours on Tumblr and reading other people’s words on the screen. Little did I know that the blogging community would open up so many doors to creating friendships and meeting new people.

Dress (thrifted) | Jacket (thrifted) | Shoes (Toms) | Bag (Feed)

How I’m Making Friends in NYC

Luckily for me, I came to New York City with friends sprinkled throughout the area. I know I’m very fortunate and definitely in the minority when it comes to moving to New York City. However, one of my goals in 2019 was to reach out to more bloggers and man have I done that in the past two weeks. I ‘creepily’ reached out to Francesca from Life According to Francesca and laid down my whole life story. She was incredibly kind and immediately wanted to meet up. Turns out she works near my office and was incredibly kind hearted. After hanging out, she sent a few NYC bloggers profile’s and told me to reach out to them. Later that weekend, we all hung out and explored Flatiron and Washington Square Park. It’s crazy how things unfold if you just be brave and reach out.

Just Reach Out

My best advice to creating blogging relationships is to reach out and ask if they want to meet up for a drink or a photo shoot. Most bloggers have a hard time finding someone to take their picture so they’ll be pretty open to meeting up for photos. Plus, if you’ve been engaging with each other for a while there is really no reason to say no.

One of My Really Good Friends Reached Out to Me

The first time I ever made plans to meet up with a blogger outside of my computer world was when Juliette from Juliettiful reached out to me. I remember being super nervous about meeting her (laughing at that now) because I had never met a stranger online. Turns out she was incredibly kind and has really showed me how to be more confident in front of the camera. Don’t be afraid to get out of that comfort zone!

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Connected on Similar Interests

It is extra easy to make friends if you have a similar interest. Blogging makes a good door opener because it’s such a unique hobby. It’s something that takes up a good amount of time and usually has you talking about things your passionate about. Thus, it makes the perfect door opener. I have yet to meet up with anyone who isn’t some type of fashion blogger but that is definitely on my list.

Be Safe When Meeting Strangers

Just as you’d play it safe if you met a stranger on a dating app, be careful when you meet strangers through social media. I’m sure it is common sense but let me reiterate: meet in public spaces. Meet new friends with an open heart but make sure you can trust them before you go on long trips or with your expensive camera equipment. Trust your gut, it’s always right.

Don’t Be Afraid of Reaching Out to Bloggers with “Big” Followings

I was super scared to reach out to Aubrey from The Coastal Confidence. She published an opportunity to do an “internship” through her platform and I decided to apply. I was accepted and she started to teach me about Influencer budgets and secrets (she is seriously such a gem). But to get to my point, even bloggers with big followings want to create new friendships. Don’t be afraid reach out to them but also don’t be hurt if they don’t respond to you right away or at all. Depending on how big the following (I’m thinking Carly from the Carly the Prepster) they may or may not respond to you. But, it really doesn’t hurt to try!

Blogging Gets You Out Of Your Comfort Zone

I never thought I would be taking blog photos in the middle of New York City, in a busy area, with a complete “stranger”. When I started to take photos seriously, it really put me out of my comfort zone. It really helped me realize that no one really cares what you’re doing. Yes, sometimes you’ll get comments but you just learn to smile and nod. Plus, it helped me get out of my comfort zone and learn how to reach out to people. What a gem this platform is.

So if you’re ever visiting New York City or if you live in the city, feel free to reach out to me or other bloggers. It really isn’t as scary as it seems.

Have you ever reached out to a stranger and became friends? Let me know in the comments down below. I would love to hear your friendship stories!

As always,

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