The Blogger Interviews: Laurence Borel

OK OK OK, so today is Tuesday and there hasn’t been an update to the weekly Blogger Interviews, but for those who aren’t aware it was a Bank Holiday yesterday in the UK. Anyway, I’m back up and running today with another cracking interview for you. This time we are taking a look into the world of blogging and PR with internet troublemaker Laurence Borel (known to most as Lolly).

Lolly’s an interesting character who I’ve got to know and like over a couple of years at the London Bloggers Meetup. I also worked with Lolly on freelance PR assignment we took on in late 2009 where Lolly taught me a great deal about digital PR, for which I am extremely grateful.

If you’re looking for some insight into digital PR it’s worth keeping tabs on Lolly’s blog. You might even be able to convince her to put up a guest post if you have something interesting to add to the conversation. It’s pretty clear Lolly has a passion for the internet and all things digital PR related, but if this isn’t really your thing, you might still get a few ideas about how to setup a great looking and working blog.

Well, enough of the rambling intro, let’s hear from Laurence herself. Enjoy…

1. What’s your blog called and what’s the URL?

My blog is called blog till you drop! and can be found at www.laurenceborel.com

2. What’s your blog all about (in 20 words or less)?

blog till you drop is a blog about internet culture in the UK and around the world

3. When and why did you start blogging?

I started blogging in February 2006 on MSN Live Space (back in the days when hotmail was very trendy!) where I kept a blog / diary of my expat life. It was all fun, very light in terms of the subjects I was covering but I quickly became addicted to blogging!

A few months later, a friend of mine suggested I start a ‘proper blog’ to enhance my career prospects and I created ‘blog till you drop’ in August 2006.

I can’t believe my blog is almost 4 years old!

4. Which blog platform do you use?

WordPress

5. Can you give an example of how blogging has enriched your life?

Blogging has changed my life in many ways. It has helped me and awful lot with my career as I now work in the digital space, but I’ve also been very lucky to meet some amazing bloggers from around the world (France, Italy, Switzerland  USA…) and ended up creating myself a brand new network of friends!

6. Are there any blogs you recommend reading and why?

There are a handful of Social Media blogs which I read on a daily basis to keep up with the latest social media trends including the Viral Garden, Digital Buzz Blog, Social Mouths, Social Media Explorer, and our very own Matt Churchill’s Seldom seen Kid but I also enjoy reading The Business Of Fashion, and I absolutely love street art blog Art of the State.

7. What three tips would you give to someone just starting out in blogging?

A. Enjoy yourself – if you don’t feel like writing for a week, then don’t!

B. Engage with your community – always reply to comments, send thank you Tweets, engage in conversations with your readers – it’ll keep them coming back for more. And don’t forget to comment on other people’s blogs too!

C. Don’t be afraid to show some personality!

8. If you could change one thing about your blog what would it be?

It took me 3 years to self-host my blog, and I lost all of my hard-earned back links. If you like blogging, then self-host as soon as you can! A friend of mine is designing my logo, and I can’t wait to get that too!

9. What is the key to getting readers to your blog?

• Engage with your community,
• Create new fresh content, and
• Connect with people with similar interests on Twitter. Twitter is great tool (used in moderation) for sending traffic onto a site.

10. And finally, why do you come to the London Bloggers Meetups?

I’ve been coming to LBM for over 2 years now and some of the bloggers who attend have become close friends and I regularly meet new people too. Great choice of venues, great people. Love it!