{"id":102434,"date":"2017-04-25T09:12:45","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T09:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=102434"},"modified":"2017-04-25T09:12:45","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T09:12:45","slug":"blogger-spotlight-%ef%bb%bflauretta-wright-home-and-horizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/blogger-spotlight-%ef%bb%bflauretta-wright-home-and-horizon\/","title":{"rendered":"Blogger Spotlight: \ufeffLauretta Wright, Home and Horizon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lauretta Wright, author of Home and Horizon<\/a> is a travel journalist by day and blogger by night. Mother to two tweens, Lauretta is constantly busy, but always makes time for her main passions in life, which is interiors and travel. Lauretta uses her corner of the internet to chat about trends and news in interiors and amazing travel offers. In this spotlight, Lauretta chats to us about what inspired her to create her blog, how she has built up an audience, and how she likes to work with PRs.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lauretta<\/a><\/p>\n

What inspired you to create your blog?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>It was actually my work as a full-time travel editor. Every day I receive hundreds of emails on the latest products, new launches and special deals. Most of them I can\u2019t include in the magazine (I simply run out of room). Originally, I\u2019d send these on to family and friends, but then it occurred to me that there must be hundreds of people out there who would want to know which airline has a sale on and where to find discounted rail tickets \u2013 and so my idea for the blog site was born.<\/p>\n

As my other passion is interiors – in particular, sourcing value for money home accessories – the two topics went hand-in-hand and I created Home and Horizon to represent interiors and travel.<\/p>\n

What opportunities have been presented to you through blogging?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>As my blog has grown I\u2019ve been lucky enough to engage in a variety of collaborations with brands that I love. I\u2019ve taken part in product reviews, press trips, worked on sponsored posts and met a whole heap of people (and new friends) through blogging.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve also had the opportunity to boost my own knowledge of technology, websites and blogging in general. Some 18 months ago I didn\u2019t even know what SEO meant or what a Linky was; it\u2019s amazing how quickly we learn when we\u2019re passionate about something isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m hoping that this year I\u2019ll have the opportunity to become a brand ambassador, so I\u2019m keeping my eyes peeled for the right opportunity.<\/p>\n

How have you built up your audience?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>I\u2019m sure it\u2019s been said many times before, but it\u2019s not enough to just have a blog and update it every week; one of the challenges is finding time to promote posts across different channels and, more importantly, engage with readers.<\/p>\n

The job is made even harder if, like me, you still work full time and\/or have a dependent family that needs taking care of.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve tried a variety of ways to build up my readership including social media engagement, guest posting and trying to learn more about the technical side of blogging, such as learning to optimise for SEO.<\/p>\n

I also try to post articles that offer something extra to my readers, with an underlying theme of saving them money on their travel or interior purchases.<\/p>\n

What has been your proudest achievement as a blogger?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>I\u2019ve been blogging for less than two years and there has been a couple of stand-out experiences that I\u2019m really proud of.\u00a0One is being accepted by BritMums as their Round-up Editor for Shopping Hauls and another and another is getting my first speaking gig at Traverse 17.\u00a0I\u2019m hoping to get some more speaking roles at blog or vlog conferences as I get a lot of pleasure from helping others and sharing my knowledge.\u00a0And who knows, maybe one day I\u2019ll win an award! Being acknowledged for all the research, hard work and effort that goes into my little piece of the internet would be the icing on the cake.<\/p>\n

How do you prefer to be approached by PRs? How can they improve their strategy?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Working in publishing for the last 18 years, I know that it\u2019s PRs that make an editor\u2019s job an easier one \u2013 and I can honestly say that I couldn\u2019t do my full-time job without them. So when I say I\u2019m PR-friendly, I mean it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m often \u2018on the move\u2019 or travelling, so I prefer it for people\/PRs to email me with a brief of what they\u2019re looking for \u2013 and as much detail as possible.<\/p>\n

I have a few strategy suggestions for PRs and these include:<\/p>\n