A B & Me Blogger in Focus : Girl La Roche

I’m so excited for my next feature! I’ve known her from my forum moderating days. She was one of the trolls. LOL. But seriously, she is a nice person and very good at what she does. If you’ve read the post Dear Blogger, you’d know what I’m talking about. (If you haven’t read it… go read it! 😀 ) Now this friend/blogger is getting paid to do what she loves … being on Facebook all the time! HAH! That is the life of a digital marketer and it is amazing to know how it started. Learn more about her  … 

Name: Roche Leonor
Location: Manila, Philippines
Blogs: Girl La Roche  / A Day in the Life of a Digital Palengkera  

How did you start blogging?

I started in 2008 through my Pinay and Money blog. http://pinayandmoney.wordpress.com/. I was very much interested in personal finance that time and was disappointed that most personal finance blogs are for the US audience. I couldn’t find blogs where tips are applicable in the Philippines so I decided to start my own blog.

During that time, I was an active member of GirlTalk, especially in the personal finance section. For about a year, I was also one of the moderators of PinoyMoneyTalk. I learned a lot from these two fora, which I shared in my blog.

I also had another blog Women’s Central womenscentral.blogspot.com, which focused on everything lifestyle. But I shut it down since my friend and I could no longer meet the demands of blogging every day.

What do you write about?

Now, I stick to my two blogs. One is my personal blog Girl La Roche, where I talk about anything and everything under the sun. My other blog A Day in the Life of a Digital Palengkera focuses more on my learning and insights as a digital marketing practitioner.

Tips for new Bloggers?

Read, read, read. Write, write, write. I hate reading blogs that are full of grammatical errors. I can forgive the basic lapses, but there are just so many blogs that are written lousily. If English is not your strength, it’s okay to write in Taglish or even pure Filipino.

But to improve on your writing, keep reading and writing. It will definitely improve your craft.

Another important tip is blog for the love of it. Don’t blog because you are after the money or you want to be invited to events. As a digital marketer, I’ve seen how “professional Facebook contestants” shifted from joining online contests to become bloggers. I usually stay away from bloggers who are obviously just blogging for the money or gift packs.

Blog from your heart. The rest will follow.

What are the challenges you face with blogging?

It’s always a struggle to find a topic that is worth writing about. My personal blog is mostly about of my life so writing is a little bit easier. But my other blog is much more difficult for me to write (as reflected by the very few posts I’ve done). Writing about digital marketing takes time and a lot of research.

What do you do outside of blogging?

I am paid to use Facebook. Hahahaha! 😀 I am a corporate communication practitioner, specializing in digital marketing. I take care of the online presence of the company I work for. This means, I make sure that my brand is on major social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and that these accounts are updated daily with new content. I work directly with a lot of bloggers and online influencers to make sure they talk about my brand in a positive light. I make sure that my brand’s website is current, and that SEO techniques are in place so that Google sees our website as useful and relevant.

I also monitor online conversations about my brand and our other products that we market. If you so much mention the name of my company, you can bet that I will see that.

Blogs you recommend my readers should read/follow?

Yung seryoso? Hahaha! I follow very, very few blogs like your blog and Pot’s. As it is, I already read a lot of articles online because I need to stay updated with digital and social media trends. I follow yours and Pot’s blog because these have nothing to do with my work. It’s my way of doing something online that is just for myself. 😀

Name 3 Random Facts about you

1. I have an MBA and working on my second Master’s degree.
2. I’ve been a freelance writer since college.
3. The only time I am not online is when I’m sleeping or when I’m in school

Roche is also on Twitter. Thanks for reading and till next feature!