1. Tell us about your background and journey.
I'm Faith, a content creator, blogger, student, and freelance writer from Singapore. Writing and creating content has always been a passion of mine, and I started blogging at a young age - often getting into trouble for it because of the mean things I wrote about my school headmistress!
I also had a passion for music as my mother was a music teacher and wanted me to learn every musical instrument under the sun. I wanted to pursue a career in music, but after a while decided that writing was a more profitable career.
While I was originally born in Malaysia, I moved to Singapore to further my studies and am currently pursuing my studies at the National University of Singapore as a Psychology student. Before freelancing, I had to work many weird jobs to fund my tuition fees, including as a video jockey at one of Singapore's top nightclubs.
One day I decided that I was tired of working part-time and getting paid so little, so I reached out to companies offering to write content for them for free. I did this for a year or two, and eventually, my portfolio grew, and I went on to work in media companies such as The Smart Local and Nas Daily.
2. Describe your writing process, from concept to publishing. How do you stay motivated?
My writing is largely inspired by fun - I love to write about things that inspire people to get up and enjoy themselves, such as a luxury hotel review or Instagrammable cafe.
When people read my blog, I want them to think, "that's so cool, I want to try that out!". But of course, I get writer's block every now and then, and the best way to get over it is to take a power nap and have a good cup of coffee.
I'm quite the perfectionist and tend to edit and re-edit my articles over and over again. With so much going on in the world right now, I also hope to make my content as positive as possible and spread good vibes to anyone reading it.
3. What type of networking do you think is better to enhance your traffic to the blog?
Social media is a very powerful tool, and I often leverage it to draw readers to my blog. Thanks to my following on Instagram and TikTok, I've managed to get traffic from all around the world!
But of course, good ol' SEO is also very useful, and during Singapore's lockdown, I took up an SEO course in a bid to increase traffic to my blog.
Afterr completing the course, I applied what I learned, and the views for my blog shot up like crazy in a matter of weeks. Just a few months later, I reached half a million hits!
4. How do you manage time to run your blog efficiently?
Between studying full-time and working freelance, I have to force myself to write an article every week, no matter how tired or busy I am. I believe that consistency is key when it comes to creating content, and if you don't come up with interesting articles frequently, people aren't going to be interested in the long run.
That's why sometimes I find myself typing furiously into my laptop at 3 in the morning, because I am hard bent on publishing at least an article a week, even if I have to lose sleep over it. It seems to pay off since I have a healthy amount of traffic to my blog every week. Discipline is important!
5. What is the most challenging thing about your work?
It can be difficult to come up with interesting content especially in today's pandemic world. Last time, it was easy to just hop on a plane and travel to a faraway place to seek content. Now my content has to be more localized, and it's difficult to uncover new things to do since most businesses are shutting down and the economy isn't doing very well.
However, I do make an effort to keep tabs on upcoming restaurants or new things to do on a monthly basis and visit a new place every week. I often have to pay out of my own pocket to try these new experiences, but it's absolutely worth it for the sake of content.
It's also tough to compete with bigger publishers with a larger audience base, so what I can do to stand it out is to frame my content in a more informal, casual, and honest way. I hope that when readers identify with what I write, they will keep coming back!
6. How do you deal with writing about things you’re not an expert in?
Research - lots of research! As a freelance writer, I've had to write about lots of things I have little knowledge or interest in, such as financial schemes, home loans, or even software development! When I'm assigned an unfamiliar topic, I take half a day to round up all the research I can get on it, and then put it in my own words.
It can be difficult writing about something that is super boring, such as pest control, for example, but if you can come up with a creative spin to it, it will have the potential to reach a larger audience!
7. What’s your philosophy about what makes content great?
The content has to be authentic, relatable, and honest! I try my best to write content in a positive light, but at the same time, it has to be as honest as possible as the last thing I want to do is mislead my readers.
8. What is the common misconception people have about what you do?
Many people don't see the hard work that goes into creating content, especially sponsored ones. Most people see the fun part - going for free tastings, fun media events, free hotel stays, or receiving free samples, but they don't see the hard work that goes into curating angles for the articles or the hours that go into taking the pictures and editing them.
Sometimes a simple product photoshoot in my home may take up to three or four hours, just to make sure that it's perfect! So yes, it looks really fun and all on the outside, but there's a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes as well!
9. What is your long-term plan/ future plan?
I hope to expand my blog and become the go-to blog when people search up about fun things to do in Singapore. I also hope to continue creating YouTube content (something I'm still experimenting on) with a focus on hotel and staycation videos.
I also wish to start hiring freelance writers to contribute to my blog one day and expand on deeper topics such as mental health.
10. Which is your favorite book and why?
My favorite book is The Shack, by William P. Young. It's about a man who after his daughter's murder, receives an invitation from God to meet Him at a shack in the woods - the place where his daughter was murdered. It's such a moving book that left me in tears.
While this may sound like a religious book, it's actually a moving story about love, life, and loss. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves pondering about philosophical questions and sobbing themselves to sleep after a heart-wrenching read!
- Faith Joan Chua
- Instagram: Faith Joan Chua
- Blog: FAITHFULLYYOURS
- Interviewed By Pearlina Marie Rein
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