Elle’s Écrit, Ils Parlent: Chloe Chats

Hi everyone, and welcome back to another ‘Elle’s Écrit, Ils Parlent’! Today I’m talking to Chloe from Chloe Chats. She is primarily a mental health blogger although she sometimes posts lifestyle content. Read on to find out her motivations for blogging and what she dislikes about blogging!

Ellen: How did you build your following on your blog?

Chloe: I actually have had my blog for a good while [but] it was only October 2018 that I decided to get on social media- and I’m very glad I did! Twitter has been the best for me for building a following on my blog. I think just being supportive to other bloggers was how I gained followers/subscribers. It’s one of my favourite things though, meeting, chatting and supporting other bloggers.

E: You’ve recently collaborated with a few brands. How did you find these opportunities?

C: I have! It’s been really fun. I actually felt nervous to begin with because it’s a bit terrifying that maybe what you write about isn’t what they were hoping to see. But if it’s a review of something then being honest is what you should do! Everyone I’ve worked with so far has been lovely so I haven’t received any negative experiences…yet!

E: I really enjoyed reading your post ‘Horror films and how they exploit mental health issues’. What was your inspiration behind this post?

C: Thank you so much! I really enjoyed researching that one. It was around Halloween and I wanted to do something related to it and I started to read about horror films and found a few other articles and blogs of where people have spoken about the exploitation of mental health. A few years back I wouldn’t have really thought about it that way, but of course they exploit these issues. You can find it in so many horror movies. Even though I found a few other articles on it, there wasn’t that many, and I felt like it’s an important topic and we should all be a bit more aware. I wasn’t trying to turn people against horror films. I will still watch them, but it’s definitely worth bringing attention to it.

E: What is your favourite blog post you have written?

C: This is a hard question. I’d probably say the one called ‘Living with someone who has anxiety’. I hadn’t really seen anyone write about it before from the perspective of someone- like a loved one- who lives with someone that has anxiety. I know that sometimes my anxiety can be difficult to deal with and sometimes my partner struggles so I wanted to tell everyone my advice and what I have learned from my partner’s perspective. I also enjoyed writing my ‘How blogging has helped my mental health’ just because it’s a personal one to me and it was one of [those posts] that you pour your heart into. It was very therapeutic to write.

E: Is there anything you dislike about blogging?

C: There’s not much I hate about blogging. I’d say perhaps when you get the odd person who isn’t very supportive and brings all the drama in the blogging community. I think as well, I don’t ‘hate’ it, but when you write a blog post and someone comments on it saying ‘great post’ and then puts their URL… you know that they’re just looking for a comment back and it’s understandable that you’d want a comment returned if you comment on someone else’s blog, but at least read the blog post!

E: Do you find it difficult to write about your feelings?

C: I used to find it difficult, but now I find that I just talk about my feelings openly on my blog. I won’t talk about everything, there might be some private things that I’m dealing with at the time and won’t want to talk about it, but anxiety wise, I try to be open about it and talk about it a lot. For one, talking about it really helps me, and also, I have found it can inspire others to speak out too.

E: What message do you want people to receive after reading your blog?

C: Hmm, message wise, just that they feel positive or they feel that they’ve learned something from it. I will sometimes write about some general lifestyle things, but my main posts are usually to do with mental health so if anyone feels it helps them a little that’s a massive plus for me and puts a big smile on my face. A big reason [for] talking about my personal mental health issues is so that I can help others and let them know that they’re not alone.

E: What are your future plans for your blog?

C: I’m not sure really, just carry on going with it! I would love for it to be my full-time job, that would be amazing. I know it’s a lot of work to get it to that point, but perhaps I can get close to it this year.

E: You’ve written about lots of places that you have visited. Where has been your favourite?

C: My favourite place [is] maybe Northern Ireland! I had a really nice time. I got to see my uni friend and her new baby, I got to go on the Game of Thrones tour which was amazing, and just having time with my boyfriend was really nice. At that time as well I know that he needed a break from work so it was lovely.

E: What is your favourite quote?

C: My all-time favourite quote is: “You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Winnie the Pooh.

What a lovely quote that perfectly sums up the essence of Chloe’s blog! If you enjoyed reading this post, make sure you read the previous post where I interviewed Abby from MyLifelines. And if you’d like to be involved, you can sign up here!

You can find Chloe on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!