My name is Doreen and i’m currently in my Jordan year (23), working on living my best life, and learning everything I can. I’ve been blogging for about 3 years with varying topics. When I started out, blogging was a form of therapy for me. I used it as an outlet to put my experiences into writing,  in the hopes of helping someone else who was going through similar experiences as I was. This February however, I decided I wanted to start a new chapter and talk about the things I’ve grown into liking, and that is where Doreenmokeira.com was born! Between my blog and my  instagram,I talk lifestyle, fashion and beauty. Here’s what I’ve learned in my two months of blogging and navigating within a community of creatives.

When I started out, I didn’t have much knowledge about any blogging networks, let alone any bloggers aside from the few bigger ones in Minneapolis. Needless to say, I didn’t have the confidence to reach out to a blogger with over 10K followers, let alone 2K. So I had to figure out a way to start building a network while getting great content on my instagram and my blog.

Soon enough the term “collaboration” became synonymous with my grind.

Here’s a list of 8 tips to help you gain the most out of your collaborations.

1. Collaboration means the trading of services. If you’re a blogger and want to collaborate with a photographer, they’re going to take your picture and you’re going to either write something about them on your social media, or you’re going to write a blog post about them. It depends on your agreement.
2. Respect other creatives. Creativity is personal and so the way one expresses may be different from you but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.  Respect goes a long way!
3. Have a clear outline of expectations and deadlines for both parties to ensure smooth sailing.
4. Be clear with your intentions when reaching out to people. Let them know you’re not planning on spending money, what you’re bringing to the table, what you want from them, and when you want to do said activity.
5. Be the first person to reach out to potential collaborators. Not only does this allow you to have more control of your activities, but it shows that you have the skills it takes to take charge, work and interact with others.
6. Be patient. Sometimes you’re going to reach out to people you want to work with and they may take weeks to reach back or not even respond at all. That is ok! You win some and lose some. It builds character.
7. Speak up! The whole point of collaboration is to trade ideas in order to produce the best outcome. So if you think there’s a better way to do something say it, if there’s a suggestion you don’t like say that too and if your fellow collaborator has a great idea, acknowledge it. Constructive criticism is key!
8. Have fun! Isn’t the whole point of this to be creative and not stress out? Don’t lose sight of that!

With this knowledge you should be able to make connections as you continue navigating the creative environment you’re in!  Have fun and good luck!

– X, Doreen