Luci Petlack is everything California, raised and born in Northern California. She now lives in sunny Los Angeles with her husband. You can usually find her in jeans sipping iced coffee, dreaming of a recipe to be made, and a trip to be planned. After earning her PhD in History in 2013, she moved on to a more creative and social career, her blog, Luci’s Morsels. Her style can be described as comfortably chic, her taste deliciously healthy, a homebody at heart who loves day trips and overnight treks to nearby cities. She’s had her passport practically since birth and is always ready to wander across the globe.
How to create relationships and partnerships with lucismorsels #blissfulbitespodcast
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In this episode you’ll learn:
How Luci started the successful blog Luci’s Morsels
How she found her blogging niche and subjects to write about
How you can build relationships for the long term
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Tell us a little bit about you, Luci Petlack, and what you do.
I just turned 30, and I feel like I’ve kind of had to re-evaluate my life for who I am. I’m a fashion and food blogger, and basically it’s an avenue for me to share everything that I’m interested in. I talk about the clothes that I’m wearing or the recipes that I’ve been making or the travels that I’ve been doing, and that’s a recent addition to the blog. I recently started teaching blogging and social media which has been fun. On a more personal side I am more of a homebody. My husband and I look for fun ways to hang out whether it’s just coffee shop or day trip or whatever. I think that there is a lot of joy in small things and it goes unappreciated.
How did you figure out what your niche was? Did you start writing about food and then it transformed into writing about different areas or did you start writing about everything?
I started my blog when I was in my fourth year of grad school. I returned from the last of my research trips, and I was emotionally and mentally worn out. I woke up really early one morning and just decided that my only therapy was baking. I needed to bake far more than my husband and I could eat. I created this business at 5:00 am on my phone under the covers so I wouldn’t wake my husband up. I called it Luci’s Morsels, and I was going to sell baked goods to friends, family, and colleagues. As part of my business plan I decided I would create a blog and talk about the desserts. Also, before this is I had lost at least 30 pounds, and I was on my way to losing 40 pounds. I quickly discovered that talking about dessert everyday wasn’t feasible for me. By the end of the first week I wrote a blog post and said, Luci’s Morsels is more than just about food. A morsel is anything that brings you just a little bit of joy in your life. I wrote primarily about fashion and food. In January of this year when I added travel on a much more consistent and intentional basis.
Can you talk a little bit about that transition from getting your PhD in History, being a teacher, and then now?
I think its interesting people say, “Your life must be so different.” There are a lot of things from grad school that have help me a lot. I’m good at working at home by myself which is something people underestimate when you work for yourself. I’m organized. I can maintain a schedule. I’m really good at setting my own deadlines. I went from working at home by myself staring at a word document, to working at home by myself staring at the blogger platform. There are a lot of similarities.
It’s been struggle breaking into networking for me because when you work at home by yourself there’s no network around you. You have to go out and put yourself out there. Frankly I want to be home at night with my husband hanging out. I love being around others, but it’s completely different thing from being in academia in a whole new way.
Can you talk a little bit about how you got into teaching about blogging and social media?
Teaching started because of a relationship. I joined the food bloggers of LA group a few years ago. One of the women who heads up the group works in PR. One of her contacts asked her if she’ll be interested in teaching a blogging course. She wasn’t interested, but because she knew me and she could speak to my abilities and my degree, she referred her friend to me. The last time I taught a class I hated it, and I dreaded going. I said yes and as it turns out I loved it. I love teaching. I love talking about what I do everyday.
Do you have any tips on how to build relationships to get more long term partnerships?
I think one of them is being honest and grateful. If I’ve agreed to work with a company, I email that representative when the post goes live. Keep that line of communication open. I max out communication during a campaign just so they know who I am, they know that I’m professional, they know I’m dependable. If an opportunity comes up again I don’t want them saying, “She is okay to work with.” I want them saying, “She’s fantastic to work with. She’s really professional. She’s always on time. No issues.” I’m huge about following up.
Any last advice for bloggers who are really starting to get on their game and take this seriously on how they can really grow?
Identify your strength and go to town.
Luci Petlack is the blogger behind Luci’s Morsels where she shares all things food, fashion, and travel. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband. You can usually find her in jeans sipping iced coffee, dreaming of a recipe to be made, and a trip to be planned.
Find Luci!
Website: lucismorsels.com
Instagram: @lucismorsels
Twitter: @lucismorsels
Facebook: Luci’s Morsels
This podcast was sponsored by Kit Life!
You Foodies in particular will love the meal planning features and nutrition and fitness add-ons . Kitlife has these unique daily tracker stickers you can use to customize your day. There’s even a social media sticker that can help you manage your efforts to build your brand. For photos, reviews and more information check out kitlife.net and become a #kitgirl today!
And as a special promo for Blissful Bites Podcast listeners if you enter my name – Nicole Culver in the comments section at check-out Team KIT will add in a set of adorable snail –mail postcards just for fun. This variety pack of 10 postcards are so cute – and they are themed for the Holidays too – so you can send some love to friends and family near or far!
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