Tiffany Lorde , our August Ladybrille Woman of the Month, launched her blog, Beauty Is Diverse, in December 2009, to showcase the diversity of women from various ethnic backgrounds working as models in the fashion industry. Almost two years later, Lorde’s blog has become the go to source for viewing beautiful editorials of models and celebrities from all corners of the earth. She describes her blog as follows:
Beauty Is Diverse takes an in-depth look at models from South America, the Caribbean,Africa, and Asia who are working their way up in the changing face of fashion. Beauty Is Diverse is more than just the color of one’s skin. It’s about our cultures, languages and lifestyles.
Beauty Is Diverse covers up to date editorials, runway, campaigns, catalog celebrity style, red carpet events and day to day fashion news.
The fashion industry spans the entire globe from New York, to Paris, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and more. When we as citizens of the globe take the time to look at the industry in it’s entirety, we will realize how diverse it is not just in terms of the models displaying the clothes. But in terms of all of the designers, the stylist, the pattern makers, photographers, fashion editors, everyone who makes fashion a multi-billion dollar industry. . . “
Enjoy our exclusive with Tiffany Lorde.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: Ms. Tiffany Lorde! What a delight to interview you for our Blogger’s Edition. How are you?
Beauty is Diverse: Hello, I’m doing well and glad to speak to you.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: We have so much to cover about you and your personal journey into blogging. But, let’s start first with general discussions about the impact blogging has had offline and online. What are your thoughts on this remarkable phenomenon?
Beauty is Diverse: Blogging sure has had a huge impact online and offline not just in fashion but all across the board in different fields. It’s given everyone a place to voice their own thoughts, opinions and truths and none truths about any subject they choose to speak about.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: Do you think it is a fad?
Beauty is Diverse: No I don’t think blogging is a fad but those who are really good at will last the longest.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: One of the key things I have noticed is the power blogging has given to ethnic minorities to tell their own stories. The Blogging While Brown conference just finished this past July. How cool is that?!
Beauty is Diverse: Very true I’ve learned a lot about the daily lives of black women and men and other ethnic groups from different countries via blogging and that’s what makes it so powerful.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: So Tiffany, let’s talk about you blogging. This is where it gets weird. (Laughs) Here you are, a Black Canadian who instead of writing a blog only about black celebrities like The YBF or black women issues like Clutch Magazine, you author Beauty is Diverse. Why?
Beauty is Diverse:Well I grew up in a very multi-cultural city that has become even more diverse over the past 25 years and I’ve always been a big fan of fashion growing up and earned a diploma in Fashion Design, so I combined the two. Ever since I started reading fashion blogs the number one complaint I always heard was ” why aren’t black models being used in shows or for editorial content in magazine etc”. So I decided to use the knowledge that I knew about models of various ethnic backgrounds who were working in the industry and created a website so that everyone can see that yes major cosmetic companies do hire black models or yes major designer do cast Asian or black models etc in their shows.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: I really want you to take us back to when you started. For Tiffany, what was your personal thought process when you decided to start Beauty is Diverse. What were the factors you took into consideration?
Beauty is Diverse:The main factors that I took into consideration were I wanted to make sure that I represented as much different ethnic groups as possible. I did research about models from different countries and started to follow their work in order to develop the content for my site.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: How did you know you were specifically going to blog about the diverse beauty of people in the world?
Beauty is Diverse: I knew that I was going to blog about the diversity of people globally because I felt many blogs were missing out on this.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: One of the things I notice is when bloggers begin blogging, they realize the amount of energy, discipline and time it takes to own and manage a blog. Most never did that time audit at the onset so when it gets that demanding, they quit. There are thousands of abandoned blogs. How were you able to keep going during the times you felt like quitting?
Beauty is Diverse:Blogging is extremely time consuming especially if your blogging yourself and don’t have team members. I keep going by always giving my self a break and making sure that I organize the photos that I want to post ahead of time to eliminate the amount of time consumed.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: I like your blogging style. It is cool, informative yet concise. Is this an extension of your personality? How did you discover your blogging style?
Beauty is Diverse:Yes I would say that it is an extension of my personality, I feel that a lot can been learned without having to write or speak a very long story.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: Alright let’s really roll our sleeves and get into the business of blogging. Give us seven important tips that those looking to begin blogging should know?
Beauty is Diverse: Tip 1. Focus on what you want to write about and the demographic of people you want to target.
Tip 2. Make sure your readers are able to read your content clearly and navigate through your website.
Tip 3. Read a variety of blogs to get new ideas or inspiration
Tip 4. Interact with your readers who leave comments
Tip 5. Promote your site via social media
Tip 6 . Ask for feedback about your site either from readers or other bloggers; and Tip
7, always credit your sources.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: I am a firm believer that whatever product or service you offer to your clientele/customers, there has to be some “experience” and packaging where they say, “Oh! That is Beauty is Diverse or Oh! That is Ladybrille.” Can you speak on the importance of having a consistent brand in terms of look, feel, content and style for bloggers?
Beauty is Diverse:A brand (voice and consistency) is very important. Something as simple as site design that reflects the content or post headings that readers will know that information comes from your site.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: There has been a trend and shift in the online world when it comes blog content. Content is king now. There is a lot more emphasis being placed on content. Could you speak on how bloggers can go about obtaining quality content for their readers?
Beauty is Diverse: The best way to create quality content is research and always knowing the up to date information on the focus of your blog.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: Actually, let me also step back and get into the actual platforms that are available for bloggers to use. Share with our audience some of those platforms.
Beauty is Diverse: Many platforms are available for bloggers such as wordpress, blogger and typepad.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: I don’t want this topic to be above the heads of our audience but could you touch lightly on search engine optimization and search engine marketing in relation to blogging?
Beauty is Diverse: Top search engines are Google, Bing and Yahoo! and bloggers can submit their websites to all three which will help optimize their site .
LADYBRILLEmag.com: Do you keep a weekly or monthly editorial calendar for your blog? Why or why not?
Beauty is Diverse: I keep a weekly calendar for my blog it helps me stay on track and keep up with all the fashion related events going on.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: I read a lot and I can tell you, so far, I am yet to see a blog like Beauty is Diverse. But as you know, blogging is now a very competitive business. What should bloggers know about assessing competition before they begin blogging and after they start blogging?
Beauty is Diverse: New bloggers should research the types of sites they will be compared to and create ways to be different or original.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: Let me take you a different direction, the marketing and PR direction. As you and I know, media coverage is just as important to bloggers as much as it is to those they blog about. Share with our audience, especially the professional bloggers or those looking to make blogging a business, how to gain media coverage?
Beauty is Diverse:Those who want to gain media coverage should have a press or media kit available which gives detailed information about their site, bio etc. Attend events within your own city and start doing coverage of those events for your readers.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: We will wrap up the blogging discussions with a discussion on money. There are many streams of income that you can leverage as a blog if you are looking to make money. Could you share with our audience a few tips on making money as a blogger? Ads v. sponsorships, Affiliate programs?
Beauty is Diverse: Making money from your blog does take [m]any different avenues to gain revenue. Overall you have to be very patient and test out different options such as google adsense or linkshare.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: A bit more on the personal side and questions I like to ask when I interview folks.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: What drives you Ms. Tiffany Lorde?
Beauty is Diverse:Passion , curiosity, and knowing that I can always do better than the day before.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: What are the daily principles you live by?
Beauty is Diverse: Daily principles I live by are honesty, respecting others and work hard to gain a return.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: What makes you get up everyday to do the whole blog thing all over again?
Beauty is Diverse: Seeing more and more new faces of women from the Caribbean, South America, Asia & more get opportunities to work in the fashion industry makes me get up everyday to blog.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: When all is said and done, what do you hope you contribute to the world and your community through blogging?
Beauty is Diverse: I hope people learn from my blog that women of all ethnicities are beautiful and that women from different ethnic backgrounds also have the potential and ability to sell products and be Spokesmodels for any company.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: How do you define a brilliant blogger? (Laughs)
Beauty is Diverse: A brilliant blogger is someone who just loves to write , loves to share and connect.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: What about a brilliant (The Ladybrille) woman?
Beauty is Diverse: A brilliant women is one who goes after what she wants.
LADYBRILLEmag.com: Thank you Tiffany.
Beauty is Diverse: Your welcome (smiles)
-Uduak Oduok
A running feature for 12 years on Ladybrille.com, The ‘Ladybrille Woman of the Month’ celebrates women in business and leadership, who empower themselves and others through their contributions and actions in their local and international communities. In 2014, the feature expanded to include a podcast show. If you would like to nominate a woman to be celebrated, please email [email protected].
