How To Earn A Living As A Blogger With Meghan Nicole Ross of YourDarlingStyle

We all know it’s extremely difficult to live off an actor’s salary. With so few jobs and little pay - actors are constantly on the hunt for survival jobs. Learn how one actress was inspired by her experience waiting in audition holding rooms to create a business of her own!

Meghan Nicole Ross

Meghan Nicole Ross is an actor/entreprenuer based out of Long Island. As an actress, Meghan performed off-broadway in Peace, Love and Cupcakes:The Musical with the Vital Theatre Company, and regionally at Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Gateway Playhouse, Woodstock Playhouse, The Palace Theatre in New Hampshire, and the Engeman Theatre. As a business owner and social media influencer, she is the creator of the fashion blog and shop, YourDarlingStyle. Meghan holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Long Island University. Find her on instagram @yourdarlingstyle.

In episode 71 of the Actor Aesthetic Podcast, Meghan chats with host Maggie Bera about growing up as a dancer, breaking boundaries, recovering from illness, and owning her own business. 

Here’s a snippet of our conversation.

Tell us about your backstory for Yourdarlingstyle. When and why did you first create it?

It started in 2013 in the holding rooms for auditions. It's funny because other actors would come up to me and say, “Where did you get your shoes? Where did you get your dress? Where did you get this? Where'd you get that?” And I was so overwhelmed.

I was in callbacks for Beauty and the Beast and I hurt my neck really badly so I could not attend the call. I remember being so frustrated, so upset. I was devastated. I really wanted to go. So I sat at my parents house and said, “You know what? I'm going to take this negativity, and I'm going to turn this into a positive thing. I'm going to start a blog.”

I stayed up all night and launched Yourdarlingstyle the next morning.

Soon, brands were reaching out to me. I was getting collaborations left and right. I started doing “try-on hauls” where basically you try on clothing that a brand provides you with - in exchange for getting free clothes (new audition dresses!)

I'll never forget when I got my first paid campaign offer… and I was pretty shocked. I said, “Wow, I guess people actually make a living off of this!” So I was blogging through all my performance contracts.

I think it's so important in this business to find something else that you're passionate about. I wanted to find something else that could distract me so that I could unplug from theater. That way when I returned to auditions, I would have a clear and fresh mind.

I've always loved fashion. I love creating content, I love creating visual design and graphic design and things like that. It just started as a hobby. I was sitting in holding rooms, you know, just linking outfits and editing photos and it was a good way to pass time. And then when I started getting these actual offers, I knew and said to myself, “Wow, this, this is a full-time job.”

So I took it on full-time last year and it's been a crazy journey. I absolutely love it.

I saw you signed a big contract with an agency. Tell us about that!

Yes! I actually signed as a blogger and influencer with CEG talent. We felt like we would be a great partnership. I started working with them and now they're going to be managing that career for me.

How are they similar to an agent in the theater industry?

They’re very similar. So basically, they will pitch me to a brand. And if the brand wants to make a deal or offer a contract, they will offer to my agent and then negotiate from there. My agent also gets me in the door for meetings with brands. Just like in theatre - if you want to get in the room for, say, Hamilton - your agent will do everything he can to pitch you to the casting directors and get you in the room.

What’s your end goal with your blog?

I want to come out with a line for Nordstrom or for a huge department. I'm excited for this new journey… I think it's definitely going to be a lot for me to balance with theater. And because this is pretty much another full-time career, it's going to be a lot. But it's doable because I can take it with me and work from wherever.

Is it easy to balance your own job, when you're setting the hours, with auditioning and performing?

Totally. You are your own boss. I bring my laptop anywhere and if I had to go away on a contract, I would make it work. You can definitely manage both.

If there is something that is on your heart and something that you really want to do, I say go for it. Because now I can live the life of an actress and not worry about financial things. Blogging isn't consistent - it's going to be a different amount of income every month. It just depends on you know, affiliate links and how much I make.

Can you explain the different ways that you get income from your blog - like affiliate marketing and sponsorships?

I work with a company called LIKEtoKNOW.it. It's a free app for people to use. If you see an outfit that you like, an outfit that I'm wearing on my Instagram feed, all you have to do is screenshot the picture. Then, open up the app and click on each piece clothing you like. You click on the shirt, it will go through the link and I make commission if they purchase that. I try to link everything, which is very time consuming, but worth it because that's where my income is coming from.

I've also been working on collaborations now for a little over a year. Sometimes I pitch myself to brands, sometimes brands reach out to me or I’ll go through a PR agency. There are a couple platforms that bloggers use. One of the good ones is Obviously. You can promote skincare beauty and they pay you directly through PayPal after you complete the campaign. It’s a great way for me to make some extra money.

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To hear the rest of the conversation, head on over to Episode 71 of the Actor Aesthetic Podcast.