The fashion blogger speaks to Blogosphere about her social media success, embracing our quirks and striking the perfect work/life balance.
Photography: Alexandra Cameron
The rooms in flat 407 of the Design House, Manchester are bold and multi-hued. Yellow and blue, green and red, hot pink – its interiors are unashamedly loud. The mismatched chairs, cushions and carpets – which work so seamlessly together – could only have been picked by a true creative. Bright and beautiful, it’s the perfect location to photograph Instagram queen of colour Megan Ellaby.
The 25-year-old, who has more than 180,000 followers on the picture-sharing platform, is renowned for her unique style, fashion finds and colourful feed.
“I’ve wanted to be in the fashion industry for as long as I can remember,” she says.
“When I was growing up I thought that the only fashion-related career choice was as a Fashion Designer. I quickly realised I wasn’t very good at sewing or drawing, but I loved photography and I found a course – Fashion Communication and Promotion – at university and absolutely loved it.
“When I was on my placement year at university in 2014, we went out into the world of industry and that’s when I started my Instagram. I was supposed to be keeping a diary to take back to my tutor and show what I had been up to. I naively googled ‘online diary’ and Blogger came up and I thought ‘this will do’.
“I was so into fashion, but I had no idea about blogs. I had heard of Bryanboy and Susie Bubble, but I didn’t realise that there were amateurs and normal people writing about fashion online. Looking back, I think it was the perfect time for me to start because the whole blogging and Instagram world blew up soon after that.”
Although her beginnings in the online world of content creation may have been accidental, it’s clear that Megan has a talent for capturing outfits and sharing them on her blog. Instagram is her most popular social media platform, and although she has found changes to the algorithm frustrating, she believes content creators can still thrive, as long as they are creating something unique and authentic to their personality.
“Instagram’s not a one size fits all platform and there’s not an Instagram- by-numbers, so if somebody is doing something and it works for them it’s not necessarily going to work for you. That’s something that being in this industry for four years has taught me.
“We’ve all tried to come up with tips and tricks to beat the algorithm, but I think as long as you’re enjoying what you’re putting out there and people are reacting to it that’s the main thing. “I’ve been bogged down about it, don’t get me wrong, but now as long as I’m proud of what I’m putting out there with each and every post that’s all that really matters. Things will fluctuate, it’s the same for everybody, so you’ve just got to roll with it.
“You’ve got to do you, because no- one else can do you like you. Nobody else has got your quirks, and flaws, and interests in exactly the same way. I’m always saying we’ve all got a unique voice, so we should express it.”
Online, and especially on Instagram, there seems to be a fine line between imitation and inspiration. Although Megan feels imitation is part and parcel of sharing content online (and enjoys seeing others take inspiration from the outfits she shares), she feels those who do copy aren’t likely to find the success they’re looking for.
“I’m always so chuffed when I see girls wearing things that I’ve worn, and when I’ve done meet and greets and events with brands it’s always amazing to see people who really get me and are inspired by my outfits. But there’s a difference between wearing something and ripping off an entire photograph with the same backdrop, same pose and same head-to-toe outfit.”
With over one billion monthly users, Instagram is a tough platform to stand out on and growing an audience can seem near impossible for those who are new to it. However, as tempting as buying fake followers or engagement may be for some individuals, Megan believes that this is damaging both for the person doing it and the Instagram community – and is a guaranteed path to failure in the long-term.
“I hate the whole buying of followers and engagement, especially the engagement, that’s the worst to me. It’s so weird. Brands, influencers and audiences are all getting savvy to it now and know what to look out for. We know that people are buying followers and engagement, there’s just no point to it, you ruin it for yourself and for others. Why would you want to get to the top knowing you’ve faked it? I couldn’t sleep if I did that.”
Megan has worked her way to the top organically – and although in the past she has found herself working all hours, she now has a good work/life balance – something a lot of bloggers find a struggle.
“I’m very into balance and I thrive off having a balance. I’m not driven
by money, popularity or anything like that. I love what I do, but I also love my boyfriend, my family and my friends. So I am now always switched off by 7pm each night.
“I think that’s really helped me in what I do because I have time for me. I’ll have a bath, or cuddle with my dogs on the sofa, or go out for food and a few drinks. And I never work during the weekends, if I can help it.”
While many influencers are based in London, or feel they need to be, Megan is both a proud Mancunian and based in Manchester. Returning to the city, she says, was one of the best decisions she has ever made.
“When I finished uni, I moved down to London for my first job. I was there for around two years, and although I had fun, it was never home. I never felt settled and I was always waiting for an excuse to come back up North. “So when the chance came I decided to take my blog full-time and that’s when I ran back home to Manchester. It was the best move because I am happier. Not everyone is in London, but everyone thinks you should be, especially if you’re creative.
“I really don’t think you need to be. Manchester is thriving at the minute, especially in terms of fashion and media, I think that’s probably the case with a lot of other northern cities too.”
Megan’s focus for this year is her fashion content and forming stronger connections with her audience, but given the chance she would love to create a fashion collection of her own.
“I’d love to eventually design clothing and come out with a collection – that’s always been a dream of mine. I used to play fashion designer with my sister when I was a little girl even though I couldn’t draw. So I would love to do something along those lines one day.
“This year is about fashion and styling posts for me, and really getting to know my audience. I met quite a lot of them last year, which is a new area for me because I’ve never been very confident with talking to groups of people but I loved it, so I would like to do more of that and get to know my audience better. I love my Instagram DMs because I can have a real good chat to people there.”
As we wrap up our interview we ask Megan if she has any final words of advice for us and, after pondering for a short moment, she replies in true Megan Ellaby style:
“Wear colour. Wear all the colour. And be yourself, always.”