Join’s influencer managers have frequent contact with influencers internationally. Quite the fun, but we also want our readers to get to know them! Therefore we have special highlights in which we interview our influencers. Up this week: Dutch influencer Dionne Knooren.
Online marketeer, PR-consultant, freelancer, copywriter, editor and influencer. Excuse me? We’re talking about Dionne Knooren, the person behind the blog Diolifestyle. She made some time in her busy schedule to answer some of our questions. Dionne, who are you and what do you do?
Interview
My name is Dionne Knooren, I’m 26 years old and I live in Amersfoort. I’m marketeer at an online marketing agency and PR-consultant. Besides that I have my own blog and I work as freelance copywriter and event manager.
Nothing you don’t do! A lot of these things have something to do with online. What’s the reason for that?
I really like the online market, that’s why I started my own blog. It’s interesting to work in this market, as a marketer and freelancer as well as an influencer.
So I guess you studied something like digital marketing?
No, not at all! I studied social management, an HBO study. The topics varied from social problems like criminality and poverty. I ended up somewhere completely different.
And your own blog, how did that start?
I started Diolifestyle over 5 years ago. It started when I was quite young, and the focus was mainly on fashion then. As I’ve grown older the blog has matured, especially since I work in online marketing and social media. Online marketing, productivity and working with social media channels might as well be topics on my blog now. I still have a fashion post every now and then, for example about my favorite handbags. These are, however, less present on the website. Apart from the topics I mentioned I also write about different lifestyle topics, among which travel, hotspots and citytrips within Europe.
Great! What do you know about your readers?
What I know about my audience? A lot. As an online marketeer I’m used to working with tools like Google Analytics. I’ve gotten really good in finding out who reads my blog. Moreover, I tend to explore my Facebook statistics as well. I find the outcome rather interesting, for being a marketeer and an influencer.
Collaborations
Quite the exact influencer if you ask me. How do you think about collaborations with brands?
That depends on a lot of things, for example frequency. I used to post on a daily basis, but I can’t keep up anymore. I’m simply too busy for that. I try to post 2 times a week. The amount of collaborations I do in a month depends on the supply. First of all, a collaboration should suit the content I make. I’ve been approached by an apothecary, or a car brand, even though those brands really don’t fit with me. That used to be a shady area for me, but now I’ve learned to say no to collaborations like that. Besides my gigs as an influencer I also of a lot of freelance copywriting jobs for brands. Paid collaborations on my brands don’t happen more often than 2 or 3 times a month.
You could you say you’ve matured in working with brands?
Absolutely, and I think that’s a very good development. As an influencer you tend to become an entrepreneur, and you start handling things professionally. A lof of big companies are still very condescending to influencers. They just “assume” you’ll make content for them in exchange for some products. They obviously don’t understand how the market works.
Very clear. You’d say people don’t always take influencers seriously?
They don’t always treat you as a professional. Brands obviously think it’s not that much of an effort to make a post. That’s why they offer barter deals for most of these “immature” collaborations. I make content as a professional, and that’s the way I’ll behave in a negotiation with a brand. You have to prove yourself as a blogger. That’s why I think it’s important that bloggers choose for quality, and stand up for that choice.
So a blogger is not a hobbyist, but a professional. What do you think about the collabs you did using Join?
I thought they were great! The brands that have approached me were all good clients who really matched with my blog. Moreover, I like the fact that, as an influencer, you have a clear dashboard. You’ll see straight away how it works, what the current status of your collaborations is and you can directly communicate with the brands.
“Spare” time
Good to hear! We really like the content you make. Speaking of nice things: what do you like to do in your spare time?
Besides working, you mean?
That says about enough! Yes, if you’re not working.
Haha, yeah those things have got something to with work after all. I like to write about traveling, that’s definitely something I like to do. I try to make a citytrip within Europe every month, that’s really been a blast. In 2017 I managed to go on 11 citytrips! There are so many beautiful sites and places to be seen in Europe. And I can make a lot of pictures for my Instagram!
I see blogging is both work and spare time – good to hear you can combine those like that. What results do you think you can accomplish for brands?
I think bloggers in general can do a lot of useful things for brands. If you make content that matches with your own, you can create a lot of organic traffic. Furthermore, collaborations are positive for linkbuilding and authority within Google. You can promote a brand, and with affiliate link you can very accurately measure sales.
You obviously know what you’re talking about. Does that change anything about your proposals, being a blogger as well as a marketeer?
Definitely. I know what I can accomplish as a blogger far better, and therefore I see myself more as a marketing channel than a blogger. That’s why I look at it from a different perspective, and I think I ask higher rates than other influencers. I’m very aware of the quality of my database. I find it a pity that other bloggers try to ruin the market with bots and fake or bought followers. I don’t believe that’s necessary; I’d like to keep it pure.
Another remark we love hearing at Join. The Join content team would like to thank Dionne a lot for her time and honest answers. We’ll be back with you with another interview shortly! Are you an influencer and would you like to be signed up to Join as well? Then sign-up through this link.
