By: Ally Roden
This upcoming semester, Belmont student Lauren Strand will be studying abroad in Florence, Italy at Florence University of the Arts. Lauren, a Communication Studies major and Writing minor, runs her own fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog called The Linen Diaries. She began blogging during her sophomore year of high school after realizing it was a creative way to express her love for travel and fashion. Lauren states, “Although I created my blog for the public to see and draw inspiration from, I also view my blog as my own personal journal/scrapbook that I can look back on for years to come!”
One of the classes that she is looking forward to the most is Writing for the Fashion Industry. Not only does she get the benefit of education from her classes and the culture in Italy, Lauren is also excited for the content she will be able to create for her blog. After graduating from Belmont, Lauren hopes to write for a fashion/lifestyle magazine while continuing to run her blog on the side.
Although Lauren has always thrived at blogging, the guidance and classes she has received at Belmont have helped her improve her blog. A class that she enjoyed and learned a lot from was Communication Tools. In this class, Lauren was required to create a blog on WordPress. Learning the ins and outs of WordPress allowed her to become stronger with the technological side of her blog and resulted in her revamping her blog. Lauren urges students who are interested in blogging — for fun or for career purposes — to take Communication Tools.
Along with the benefits of becoming a better writer, Lauren has also opened many other opportunities for herself while writing her blog, including brand ambassador deals, monetizing her blog, and internships. She explained that various brands have reached out in hopes of a partnership deal, such as including the link of the clothing brands she displays in her outfit posts. Lauren makes a profit whenever viewers use her link to buy the clothing items. She also betters her writing skills by learning how to communicate with professionals who are making the deals. She has been able to work with bigger brands like Free People, who asked her to be a part of their Spring Trend Takeover and featured some of the photos in their New York Fashion Week party. Having a big enough audience that allows her to get these partnerships has taught Lauren how to brand herself which is an important skill to possess for her future field.
Lauren advises students who are interested in blogging to take Communication Tools and Creative Writing. Those two classes gave her the tools to successfully run the technology side of her blog, while also strengthening her writing skills. She believes that it is important to take advantage of the opportunities Belmont offers to learn and apply these topics because “the skills you attain and sharpen will only make your blog better.”