Blogger Spotlight: Mimi of Chasing Bleu

Herbert Kikoy

Our featured blogger for this week is not new in the blogging scene. She has been blogging for quite some time now and writes about food and lifestyle as well as her travel chronicles.

Let’s cut to the chase folks and head into the blue. Let’s meet our featured blogger Mimi Gonzales of Chasing Bleu

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND HOW YOU GOT INTO BLOGGING?

Mimi: Hi, I’m Mimi Gonzales. I’m the foodie girl who wishes to get fit yet eats another round of cheesecake out of the blue. I’m a teenager filled with aspirations. I dream to travel the world one day and make a change in people’s lives through my blog.

I got into blogging when I got in love — 5 years ago. Well, it wasn’t normal for me that time for a heartthrob to have a crush on me, so I spoke to my online diary everyday until I realized that love wasn’t all there is to it. I discovered some means to make my contents more useful and entertaining for my readers, so here I am basically splitting myself into a lifestyle – foodie – travel blogger.

SO WHY, CHASING BLEU?

Mimi: Chasing Bleu can also be interpreted as ‘chasing the blue’ (blue = bleu in French) skies from other parts of the world’. It means I’m not staying foot just in my homeland — I desire to travel and leave my footprints under the blue sky. The sky is vast and clear, just like my dreams, that is why I’ll always chase it.

Chasing Bleu is a blog where other than sharing helpful insights to other bloggers like me, it is also where I document my growth and aspirations. I’m still 18 and I’ve still got a long way to go in life. This blog will serve as a memoir in the long run — to take account how many particular places under the blue sky I had stepped on. I want to be able to just look at my blog somewhere in the future and say, “I didn’t have an idea I’ll be where I am right at this day” for coming such a long way.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT BLOGGING?

Mimi: What I love most about blogging is the fact that I could never stop stretching myself into a better person. With each article that I write, every event that I experience, each person that I meet — I continuously expand myself. I learned most of my skills through blogging — content writing, photography, web & graphic design, social media marketing, and so much more. It keeps me dynamic, more creative, and open.

Also, blogging is my form of therapy whenever I’m stressed out (like I am right now), and it helps that it tranquilizes my system through the blogging communities that support me tremendously.

WHAT IS THE NICHE OF YOUR BLOG AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE IT?

Mimi: My blog is primarily about Lifestyle & Travel, and under the Lifestyle category, I’d moved forward to being a Food Blogger. I’m not really much of a travel blogger (YET, but I’m already planning some trips around the country to make myself legit — yeah!). Seriously, I’m still a student who struggles with her everyday baon. I get offered with freelance jobs once in a while, so with that, I slowly save them up to cross out my travel bucketlist!

I chose these niches because I figured out that it’s going to be a great avenue to document my life adventures and simultaneously inspire other people to move and dig deeper in their lives as well. I want people to view me as a girl who never stops chasing her dreams, thus the name Chasing Bleu. (Blue = Bleu in French, because I want to chase the blue skies from other parts of the world… someday).

ARE YOU MONETIZING YOUR BLOG? HOW DO YOU MONETIZE YOUR BLOG’S TRAFFIC?

Mimi: Unexpectedly, yes. I get most of my earnings from sponsored blog posts and ShareASale affiliate marketing, however my Google Adsense and Nuffnang ads also earn a decent amount enough for a cup of coffee everyday.

TOP 5 SITES YOU VISIT (ALMOST) EVERYDAY

Other than my blog, these are sites that I visit almost everyday.

Upwork.com (This is where I currently get most of my clients!)
Email (Gmail and Outlook)
byRegina.com
ElleandCompanyDesign.com
TheNectarCollective.com

TOOLS YOU USE WITH YOUR BLOGGING

Laptop
Fujifilm X-A2
Notebook & pen
Adobe Photoshop & Lightroom
Hootsuite

WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION FOR YOUR BLOG POSTS?

Mimi: I actually find inspiration almost everywhere — even in the most mundane things in life. When I sit on the jeep on my way to school, I think. Before I go to sleep, my imagination runs wild. When I’m working, my mind wanders off. Usually I mix it with a casual insight or connect it to a recent happening, whether it’s controversial or not, and then write my thoughts down in a notebook (which I always bring with me — remember, one of my Top 5 tools!).

BESIDES BLOGGING, WHAT OTHER INTERESTS DO YOU HAVE?

Mimi: Before I committed myself entirely to blogging, I was really passionate about dancing and I’d always dreamed to become a professional dancer like Chachi Gonzales. Also, I want to develop sites that serve as a foundation for businesses online to start prospering. I’d always been passionate about coding, but I’m still in the process of learning it further.

GIVE US 5 OF YOUR BEST BLOG POSTS

HOW WAS YOUR BLOGGING SO FAR? HAVE YOU RECEIVED AWARDS AND RECOGNITION SINCE YOU STARTED?

Mimi: I’m still at loss on what to say for the many blessings I’d received so far because of blogging! I blog since around 5 years ago, but I never really got around to blogging seriously not until I joined some blogging communities here in Cebu and yearned to become one of the top bloggers. Though I am seriously still far away from that (and I do acknowledge that it’s just a product of my ambitious mind), I am working very hard for my blog and for my readers who make everything quite possible for me.

Since the launch of my recent blog, ChasingBleu.net, last September 19th, 2015, I have received two blogging recognitions such as:

Bloggys 2015 Philippine Blogging Awards Top Finalist under the Lifestyle & Hobbies category
Best Cebu Blogs Awards Top Finalist under the Best Cebu Food Blog category

WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO JUST STARTED BLOGGING

Mimi: Just work hard and stay true to yourself. Many times I notice aspiring bloggers aiming for money, recognition, and high blog traffics right away. However, that isn’t really the case. Later on you’ll realize that you’re better off with a small community of readers rather than a huge traffic but with no real readership. Also, it’s not all about the money and perks. It’s about building yourself and becoming a purpose to others — whether you inspire, teach, inform, or entertain your readers.

LASTLY, WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR BLOG IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?

Mimi: That’s quite a long way to go, but hopefully my blog is in a stable place where it could independently earn on its own! (Yes, a blogger can dream.) I hope to make blogging a full-time job in the future and derive most of my income from there, together with an online business connected to my niche. Also, I hope to see my blog as the primary go-to resource by Philippines and foreign readers alike for anything lifestyle- or travel-related.

MY FAVORITES