Inside Influence with Angela Giakas from The Sunday Chapter
Name: Angela Giakas
Social Handles:
Instagram: @thesundaychapter
Blog: thesundaychapter.com
Twitter: @sunday_chapter
Facebook: @TheSundayChapter
Category: Fashion and Travel
This week on Inside Influence, we catch up with the gorgeous Angela Giakas from The Sunday Chapter. Angela’s blog is “a digital destination for all things fashion, travel, beauty, health and lifestyle”, and is well-known for her fresh, creative and STUNNING content. She gives us some serious feed-envy.
Read more to get a glimpse of her work as an influencer, her current favorites, her viral Insta-Story templates and some handy collaboration tips for both influencers and brands.
On life as a full-time blogger and influencer
What inspired you to start blogging?
I would spend hours every day reading blogs and I became completely immersed in them. At the same time, I had just finished my studies in PR and was feeling incredibly lost. I created my blog as an escape to everyday life and to document the things I love; whether it be a new outfit, a latest lipstick obsession, or ticking somewhere off my bucket list.
What does an average day as a full-time influencer entail?
I spend most mornings doing emails, admin and planning. I begin outlining upcoming posts and I go over my calendar and make sure everything is scheduled, especially when it comes to coordinating campaigns with shoots and live dates. I spend a lot of time planning outfits as well for shoots and upcoming travel, which means visiting stores, showrooms or the post office to organise postage/returns (it feels like I live there sometimes).
I take any phone calls and meetings around lunch time. In the afternoon is when I prefer to create content and organise shoots. If there’s photos to be edited, I usually try to get that done now so I can schedule them onto social or submit them to brands if they’re for a campaign. I have a break in the evening unless I have events planned, and then end up doing emails again after dinner which is a habit I’m trying to break.
Other times, I might have a full day of events, be traveling (and planning travel, which takes up a serious amount of time), or spend most of the day working more closely with a brand & creating content if it’s a big project. It’s what I love being an influencer/blogger; no two days are ever the same.
On fashion and travel…
What is your favorite place to travel and why?
Probably Greece (so far)! I have a real soft spot for the country after spending a few summers traveling between the islands. The people, food, beaches and experiences I’ve had there makes me more than happy to return each year!
Where do you get your fashion inspiration from?
More often than not, my style is greatly influenced by other fashion bloggers. I could spend hours scrolling through their content for inspiration on how they’ve styled a particular piece. From that, I take my ideas and start my own online retail hunt. Speaking of, a lot of retailers online also provide me with plenty of inspiration such as Revolve, ASOS, Shopbop & Net-A-Porter.
What fashion trend are you loving right now?
I’ve been really into power suiting at the moment. I love it’s ability to combine both power and style. So fun!
**We noticed you were filming a Q&A for your YouTube channel soon… what kind of video content can we expect to see in the future? **
I hope my YouTube to be another extension of my blog so it will definitely be fashion and travel focused. Think clothing hauls, travel vlogs and maybe some beauty tutorials!
On her Instagram Templates…
We love your templates! What was your process and why did you start them in the first place?
Thank you! I have previous experience as a graphic designer so I was able to create them in Adobe Photoshop. I started it as a way to connect with my audience by finding out more about them and vice versa.
Why do you think they were so successful?
Despite wanting to connect with your audience, sometimes it’s hard to share real things about yourself on Instagram. It’s a very filtered space. I think templates give people a fun and lighthearted way to get to know each other that the space was otherwise missing.
How has your business changed since they became so popular?
It hasn’t changed all that much. My goals are still the same and I was already a full-time content creator before the templates. The only difference is now I’m able to work with even more brands that I love on bigger and more exciting collaborations.
On tips for collaboration…
When you’re reviewing brand requests to collaborate, what makes a brand stand out?
I usually know straight away whether I’m going to work with a brand or not. The brand has to align with my aesthetic and it has to be something I would genuinely buy or use myself. I understand my audience really well and if I believe they’re going to benefit from the collaboration, then I want them to know about it. In terms of brands reaching out, email is always best. The thing is, a lot of us get so many emails a day, therefore it’s important to be personal but pertinent. I tend to quickly overlook emails that don’t even greet me using my name. The subject line is one way to really stand out too.
What has been your favorite campaign to work on and why?
That’s a hard question! I’ve honestly loved being apart of every campaign I’ve worked on. I worked with Uber Eats earlier this year on a multi-post campaign which I was granted complete creative freedom on. I prefer working with brands on long term partnerships because the fact I’m constantly reinforcing the message is a testament to my genuine love for the product. Uber Eats is a service I already loved and used regularly for years so it felt like a very natural partnership.
What advice do you have for brands or agencies who want to start collaborating with influencers?
It’s important for brands to have a strategy in place first. You should have a clear idea of the kind of content you’d like produced, your budget, timeframe and demographic. Not enough brands do their research on the influencer before committing to them. Not every influencer is the same, even if we’re apart of the same niche. They need to find influencers that engage with their audience rather than be swept away by the number of followers. It’s also important for influencers to have creative freedom – it’s what makes influencer marketing so powerful. In every collaboration, I need to be able to tell the story using my voice, otherwise it can come off as really inauthentic. No one understands how to appeal to their audience more than the influencer themselves.
You can follow Angela on Instagram at @thesundaychapter and don’t forget to check out our Inside Influence series on the Scrunch blog.
