Jessica Naa Adjeley Konney found living alone quite boring so she chose to stay on campus after lectures to while away time.
As spending time on campus meant more time on the internet, she discovered blogging and entertainment blogs in Ghana like Ameyaw Debrah. This led to her decision to turn her boredom into a passion to keep her busy after school hours.
Even though she knew nothing about blogging, she took a bold step and her experience in journalism/writing to set up a blog called Fashion 101 which later turned to Trendsnblendsgh as she saw the need to rebrand once her blog began to grow.
She chose fashion blogging because there was no platform specifically dedicated to fashion in Ghana especially Ghanaian fashion. Over time, her blog has grown to become one of the best in Ghana and the Harper’s Bazaar of Africa called Trendsnblendsgh the go-to online hub for everything African Fashion starting with Ghana.
Jessica now covers fashion events, features fashion entrepreneurs, offers style tips, offers professional advice to young fashion brands etc.
Describe how you first got into blogging
Blogging for me started as a hobby to while away time during my days at the Ghana Institute of Journalism. I used to spend so much time on campus after school back in the day because I had nowhere to go as I lived alone, so being at home was quite boring.
While on campus, I surfed the internet a lot and that was when I realized that there were entertainment websites like Ameyaw Debrah, Ghana gist blogging about entertainment and there were fewer blogs on fashion so that was the moment I decided to turn my boredom into a passion to keep me busy after school hours.
Interestingly, I had no clue about blogging whatsoever but I took the bold step to set up my blog using blogger.com and called it Fashion 101.
With no direction whatsoever I set out to start fashion blogging. I thought to myself that once I had experience in journalism and writing I could definitely put together some content for this blog and I guess I did.
How do you keep your social media pages lit and drive traffic to your blog?
I see myself as a fashion journalist because I’m always on the lookout for contents that will make the news.
After every post, I made sure to share the link to my blog on all my social media platforms (back then it was just Facebook and Twitter) and I consistently kept sharing.
I also attended fashion events and introduced myself as a fashion blogger because it was the most common term people could understand. This wasn’t easy initially because it was new to event organizers but consistency and relevant content got me where I am today.
With regards to keeping the social media pages lit, we take a lot of time to curate images from different sources.
We are always looking out for the best photos that will not only engage our audience but keep our timeline clean as well. We sometimes collaborate with photographers for some of the stunning images but quite often we source these photos from other pages or brands.
How do you get clients and generate revenue/income?
For a long time, I felt the numbers or traffic wasn’t enough for me to monetize so I explored other ways to raise revenue or income.
I started offering digital marketing services to clients for as low as about 100Ghc back then. Then, I also charged brands who promoted their lookbooks on my blog and platforms and that’s basically been how I make money.
Trendsnblendsgh has gone into brand consultation services and helping young brands establish themselves all at a small fee. Monetization is however on our to-do list for the year.
[bctt tweet=”People don’t see your dream as big as you do so don’t rely on them for validation – @dje_djelyn ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]
Would you say fashion blogging is a great financial plan? Do you see a future with this career path?
To be honest it’s not a great financial plan unless you’re determined to make it one. It’s new and fresh to people, especially in Ghana.
Fashion entrepreneurs here don’t understand why you need to be paid for your services and it’s quite difficult and frustrating trying to get them to understand. I’d say have a financial backing, extra sources of income so it sustains the passion.
At this point, I see it as a great career path for me. To be an editor-in-chief of one of Africa’s most renowned fashion website and some more career opportunities in this same field.
Did you encounter any challenges when you started Trendsandblendgh? What did you learn from it?
Always waiting for approval or validation/support. When I started trendsandblendsgh, I wasn’t so confident as an individual and also in what I was doing.
I was seeking validation from others to tell me if this post was good enough or this idea was great. What this did was to slow me down entirely because until I had gotten approval or even support from someone I wouldn’t move. It’s one thing I have learned to fight and rise from.
People don’t see your dream as big as you do so if you want to rely on them for validation, approval or support you might as well not start anything at all.
Other than you, which 3 fashion bloggers are your absolute favorite and why?
For style bloggers I love Irony of Ashi, her style is simply elegant.
I dote on Afua Rida, I love her uniqueness in styling.
I also love my friend Nuel Bans of debonair Afrik, I love his creative issues and admire his passion.
Who is your number one fashion inspiration, favorite fashion magazine, and designer?
With the rise of style influencers, it’s becoming extremely difficult to stick to one fashion icon or style icon. I tend to pick up inspiration from different people.
Elle Magazine is my favorite, but from Africa, it’ll be Glitz Magazine.
I love Christie Brown certainly a wish to own more CB pieces in my closet.
If you could be any fashion icon for a day, who will you be and which local or international celebrities closet would you like to raid?
I’d definitely be Anna Wintour. There’s so much I’d love to influence in the fashion industry even if it’s for a day and doing it in the perfect bob cut and dark shades definitely a yes!
I could spend the entire day in Tracee Ellis Ross and Bonang Matheba’s closets trying out their clothes, shoes etc. I would practically sleep in there.
What has been your proudest achievement?
There has been so many but I’d say my interview with BBC Africa – Lerato Mbele remains my proudest. I grew up watching BBC and secretly wanting to be on BBC.
So, to have been on BBC Africa talking fashion was definitely a winner for me and anyone who’s believed in me as well.
[bctt tweet=”I want trendsandblendsgh to become one of the largest online fashion news site in Africa with its hub in Ghana- @dje_djelyn ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”]
What is your endgame with trendsandblendsgh? Are you close to achieving it?
I’m nowhere near the endgame I must say, I want trendsandblendsgh to become one of the largest online fashion news site in Africa with its hub in Ghana, a team of writers, creatives and all that is needed to make it work.
What are some of your current fashion obsessions and beauty essentials?
I’m obsessed with jumpsuits, black outfits, and nude shoes.
Current Beauty essentials: matte lipstick in red and burgundy. Hand cream, a pack of tissues and face powder.
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