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It Takes Two: The Benefits of Blogging As A Pair

takes two in blogging

We all know that blogging is hard work, and that the actual act of blogging (writing, posting, editing) can be a solitary endeavor. Recently, though, we've noticed a proliferation of amazing blogs – run by pairs! From sisters to friends to couples – these blogs are doubling the fun, doubling the fashion, and showing that two perspectives can be better than one.

We caught up with a trio of blogging couples (ha!) who's sites we love, to find out how they make their shared sites work, what challenges they face and why they love blogging with two heads instead of one.

Brittany Hebb and Whitney Powell write the aptly titled personal style blog, Britt + Whit. Based out of San Francisco, the two met and became friends while working together in media, and bonded over their mutual love of fashion blogs. One weekend they decided to put that passion to use, and voila – one of the most popular style blogs in the Bay Area, with featurs on FabSugar, Refinery29 and the Bergdorf Goodman blog.

For Anthony Urbano and Dustin Moore, who co-author Closet Freaks, their relationship came first, then the blog. In their own words, “We're in the unique situation of being a couple that lives together, shares one closet, and can wear the same size clothes (and shoes!) When the decision to start blogging about our personal style came up it just seemed natural that we would do it together.”

Sally and Molly Miller are two sisters who live together in Texas, and write the lifestyle blog, A Piece of Toast. They say their shared interests and relationship that's akin to that of best friends (they were born just 15 months apart) made starting a blog feel like a natural extensiion of their lives.

Friends, lovers, sisters – here's how these blogging duos share responsibilities, create great content and maintain their relationships offline, too…

blogging duos

Divide and conquer.

All three blogging pairs mentioned that having specific tasks deligated to each author is critical to maintaining their sites and achieving a balanced approach. From social media to posting times to site management, having clearly defined roles is key.

Along with individual weekly features (Toast Talk by Molly, Sally Shops from Sally), the aPoT girls have their strategies pretty well divided. Molly's post are typically first up an in the morning, and Sally's go up in the afternoon.  “Molly sits at a desk all day so it makes sense for her to be the main correspondent for all emails and to post to Facebook.  She is also the “site manager and creative director” because she keeps up with changing the header each month and creates all the collages. Sally is always on the go and hardly ever near a computer so she is the queen of Twitter and Instagram.  She also does most (if not all) our work on with the affiliate site we use, rewardStyle.”

For Dustin and Anthony, their individual roles ont he blog grew and evolved with their site. Anthony styles the looks, edits the photos and handles graphic design, but both he and Dustin take their turn in front of and behind the camera lens. Writing is Dustin's specialty, so he creates most of the written content and affiliate marketing tools. They share social media responsibilities, but have individual Instagram accounts to create a more personal relationship with their readers.

Not without it's challenges.

As silly as it might sound, adding a blog into a close, important relationship can have a huge effect on the nature of that relationship. How you solve problems, face challenges and make business decisions is just as important as who posts when and about what.

“We often get caught up in the blog and forget to also make time for our friendship,” says Brit and Whit. “We learned that we need to keep friendship first, as that is really the most important thing, and then address the blog.”

“Probably the biggest challenge for us is the fact that we are blogging not only as a team but as a couple,” Dustin and Anthony say of balancing their blog and their relationship. “It can be hard to not let our blog (business) affect our personal relationship and vice versa – especially since there's such a social/personal aspect to what we do – the lines can often be very confusing.”

“Learning how to navigate uncharted waters [of blog business] was stressful and yes, we did get in some sisterly tiffs,” admits Molly. “Things were passive aggressive at times but we finally made time to sit down and hash out a plan of how to move forward as sisters, co-bloggers, and business partners. Knowing each other's expectations and limits made a world of difference.We may know each other better than anyone else but sometimes it can be difficult to be upfront.”

Their best tips:

Sally & Molly: “Be upfront about what you both want to get out of it and how much time each of you are willing to commit to the blog.  The last thing you want is for one person to be doing more than half the work while both of you get 50% of the credit… Keep things “even” by distributing parts and pieces associated with the upkeep and play to one another's strengths.”

Dustin & Anthony: “It's okay to have different visions as long as you share the same end goal. For any couple bloggers out there – remember why you started blogging in the first place and keep it fun. If it's a disagreement about the blogging side of your relationship, try to separate those feelings from your personal feelings about each other. Also hug each other a lot. Hugs make everything better. FACT. And cookies. Cookies will solve a lot of relationship problems.”

Britt & Whit: “Make sure you are like-minded, work well together, and have a tendency to want the same things. We were fortunate enough to have already worked together, so we understood that side of the relationship prior to starting the blog.  At the end of the day we need to agree on everything before we move forward (including partnerships, sponsorships, events, trips etc.).”

At the end of the day, all three duos we interviewed said that trust was both the reason they blogged with their partner and the most important element in their relationship. Working as a team means sharing in both your successes and your failures – and in the case of style bloggers – a shared closet too!

[Images courtesy of: Closet Freaks, A Piece of Toast and Britt & Whit.]

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15 Responses

  1. Chaucee from Streets and Stripes

    My blog Streetsandstripes.com originally started out as a partnership as well. But my partner had just started grad school and eventually couldn’t post anymore. I wish we could have been able to continue to do it, but I also like having the creative freedom to pursue things the way I like to on Streets & Stripes!

    Reply
  2. cathy lu

    Great tip! I love the idea of blogging together with a friend.

    onceuponasprinkle.blogspot.com

    Reply
  3. ANGELA

    Great article! I blog as a duo with my best friend and, although there are definitely times when it can be stressful, there is no one else I’d rather have by my side sharing our passion and love of fashion and fun with the world 🙂

    Reply
  4. Kait

    This is great-thank you for sharing! Being a part of a blogging duo, it’s great to hear how others do it! Corey and I started our blog this past May after discussing our favorite blogs and what we would do if we ever had our own every day for over a year. We’re best friends to the point of feeling like sisters and it always seemed to make sense to do a blog together, rather than individually, but it was also a bit scary to take the leap. What if we end up having differing viewpoints? Would the blog come between us? How will this effect our friendship? Thus far, we’re having SO much fun with it and I’m so grateful to be doing it with someone who shares my like mind, but also has a very unique perspective from mine. It’s great to have Corey to talk excitedly to about all-things-blog (and every other life detail) and experience the ups and downs together! It’s a nice balance.
    www.whenwewander.blogspot.com

    Reply
  5. Kait & Corey

    Hi Taylor,

    I submitted a comment this morning, but it hasn’t shown up and won’t let me post again. Just wanted to let you know something seems not to be working properly!

    Best,
    Kait

    Reply
  6. Rachelle Porsenna

    great article, I actually started my blog with my sister. Then she kind of lost interest in it, but after a long hiatus I decided to give it a try by myself. And it’s working out fine so far. I love Britt&Whit! so happy for them.
    xo
    Rachelle
    htt://pinksole.com

    Reply
  7. Lee

    I love Dustony!! (Dustin + Anthony) I check out their blog everyday! Absolutely love the style and look. I’m a freak for their closet!

    I’m not going to plug my blog because the only blog to follow here is ClosetFreaks.

    Ciao

    Reply
  8. Stefanie Grace

    This is such a great post! Yes, blogging can be extremely solitary (Ive been at it for over 4 years!) and I love the idea of this… In fact, I’m looking into starting a project with all of my friends to help us to keep in touch across the world too. 🙂

    Reply
  9. Lola

    I love this post! I’ve blogged as a duo with for three years and love it. Its so lovely having someone else you can talk to about everything fashion related and take your pictures as well haha.

    Reply
  10. Morgan

    From one half of a blogging-duo, this is a great account of daily life and has awesome tips for those thinking of headed down this path! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  11. Olivia & Mollie

    Love this article! We our a blogging duo as well & couldn’t agree more with all of the tips from the contributing bloggers 🙂

    Reply
  12. Delaila

    This blog is so relevant to what I’m going through currently with a friend. I have my own blog site and it has been such a challenge to keep up with it alone. I am trying to devise a plan that can get me back on track. In the mean time my best friend needs assistance with her project so a collaboration naturally grew out of it and this article shared some really great insight on how to make it work. Looking forward to applying some of these. Thanks

    Stay tuned for the website it’s called inSHEwetrust.com a women’s empowering site inspired by a mothers lost battle with breast cancer and the people’s lives who are affected afterwards. S.H.E stands for Strength Health & Empowerment. A place where we strive for the betterment of all women emotionally,physically, mentally & spiritually.

    Reply
  13. Oh Seven Days

    I’d love to start blogging with a partner – as they say, two heads are better than one! I think it’s important to have a very streamlined objective and concept for the blog to ensure everyone is on the same page. If anyone is in London and looking to team up – check out my blog and get in touch.

    Reply
  14. Keiran Kainth

    Our page fashspiration.com has been created by both me and my partner as a pair. As a couple we’ve found our ideas bounce off each other very positively. I give my partner tips about her blog content and she does to me too, this we found has been advantageous, not only does it have proof reading benefits, but constructive criticism is always at hand as well. As we’re male and female blogging about the same topics, our blogs aim is to draw a wider audience of both male and female viewers.

    Keiran and Leanne

    Reply
  15. Jeka

    My twin sister and I have a shared blog. While its easier to run a blog together because we can split the time between each other, its still difficult because we have to meet, brainstorm, shoot, write and go to events together. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I won’t deny that we butt heads but its worth it in the end.

    Xo,
    Jeka

    LaMaisonDeux.com

    Reply