the world, blogs and money...

Bonjour mes douces,

Today I'd like to talk to you about a subject that's causing a bit of a stir (a little, so little). I thought that opening up a debate might be a good way to start the year and, above all, I'd like to be sincere with you. Last month I was lucky enough to be featured in an article in Le Monde's M magazine, written with great intelligence by the brilliant Lili. The article was about professional bloggers, and without criticizing them, she describes the increasingly important role that blogs are taking in the communication of various luxury, fashion and beauty brands. The article also attempts to define the different ways of making money with a blog, a kind of new business model. 

It'll soon be a year since I opened this blog, and at first it was more a sort of hobby in which I tried out different things, but little by little, driven by the desire to do better and nourished by different images, I got the urge to progress. Progress, yes, but above all it's a huge investment of TIME, and a lot of hard work, you have no idea. But that doesn't mean I feel like a "professional", I don't think, because I do have a job, of course, but I've recently started freelancing, so the boundary between my different activities is blurred, and as I show you everything (or almost everything), the blog even becomes a working tool, a sort of interactive portfolio.  

But if tomorrow I had the opportunity to be free to choose my own content and partners, and to be paid for it, I'd do it without hesitation. Do you think it's wrong to earn a living doing what you love? If I can remain honest while keeping my "editorial line", and earn a living, a good living, I'll do it. Today, I'm often approached by different brands, and I say no to a lot of things, but when I feel that the project is worthwhile and that I have carte blanche to create content without being a billboard, I do it. I'm not a money-maker, and quality will always take precedence over monetization. I'm well aware that thanks to you, who come in greater numbers every day, in just under a year I've acquired a kind of privileged status, and that's why I won't take you for fools by forcing you to buy, click or other hidden advertizing... As Mai says so well in her article on the same subject, if I do or have done this kind of operation with brands, I'll tell you about it by talking to you about collaboration. In fact, I invite you to read Mai's article, which discusses the subject with great finesse. 

Admittedly, the advertising is here, but I hope that after reading the above you'll understand my position on it... and rest assured that Do-it-yourself, recipes and nonsensical phrases will always be the biggest part of Make My Lemonade...