I’ve known Carlton Jordan for at least two years now, and we’ve joked over drinks plenty of times when I lived in LA, so when he reached out to ask if he could interview me for his site, I said, “Sure, why not?”
I was interviewed by his music editor Jerrod, who grilled me on my celeb crushes, biggest blogging regret and how I feel when I read negative stories about myself. I also dished my thoughts on branding, my most memorable moment and my personal life.
Check out the interview below:
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If blogging were high school Necole Bitchie would be prom queen, head cheerleader, and school president all rolled into one. Yeah, we’re kissing her ass – but her ass deserves to be kissed! The social media mogul is one of the few Black female bloggers to brand her name in the gossip world and make $$$$$!
But being head cheerleader comes with all the jealously, hate, and pressure that comes with the title. How has Necole managed to rise above the rest and still keep her brand growing and her squad in check? Jerrod Hobbs of CarltonJordan.com got a chance to chit chat with Ms. Bitchie about her life as Ms. Popular.
Jerrod: Do you think you have to be in a certain part of the world to be a
successful blogger?
Necole: Well, it definitely depends on what your goals are. If your goal is to be an entertainment news and celebrity gossip blogger who has exclusives in terms of event coverage, on camera interviews with celebs, red carpet coverage etc, then yes, you may need to live near a major city like Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, London and so forth. The good thing about living in other cities across the nation is that you can be that ‘It person’ for your city. Every time an artist does a show, or has a promo run in your town, if you network and market yourself right, you can be one of the select outlets that their label reps and PR calls every time an artist hits your market. You can cover the events in your specific city, get interviews and grow your brand in that way. So it all depends.
Jerrod: How many years have you been blogging? Does it ever get tiresome?

Necole: December will mark my 5th year anniversary and to be honest that’s a milestone for me. I’ve never been that dedicated to anything. I remember watching Drake’s High School graduation speech recently and the one thing that touched me was that he said that the most important lesson he’s learned is the art of following through. I’ve hit quite a few rough spots and I have wanted to quit a lot of times but the fact that I followed through and kept going is what helps me sleep well at night.
I’ve realized that the way to stay motivated and inspired is to continue to do what makes you happy so that you can stay passionate about it. If you start doing what everyone else wants you to do and covering what everyone else wants you to cover, then yes, it will get tiresome. It will become your day job, all of these random folks with opinions about what you should be covering will become your boss and you will feel like you are on the punch clock every day.
Jerrod: How important is branding in the new era of blogging?

Necole: A company’s brand is equivalent to a person’s reputation. So with that being said, it’s very important. A good brand makes people feel a certain way and gives a certain experience. People are loyal to things because of the way they make them feel. I am loyal to Target vs. Walmart because of my overall shopping experience in Target. I feel good while I am there shopping. The same thing applies when you are building a brand and that’s why it’s important to be consistent. Whether they are coming to your site to listen to new music, get the latest fashion tips, etc, they have to know that they are consistently going to get that same experience and feeling every single time they visit your site or they will start to stray.
Jerrod: Who/what were some of the blogs/bloggers you looked up to?

Necole: Well before blogging was even something that I wanted to do, I was a huge fan of Angie Martinez. I remember interning at a radio station and I would run home and download her podcast or celebrity interview for that day. I loved how her interviews sounded like I was listening to a conversation between two friends and that always stuck with me. I still admire her till this day. I also was and still am a big fan of Miss Info because I loved that if anything went down in New York, people would call her to set the record straight. Being respected is very important in this business. In terms of bloggers, I’ve always looked up to Fresh of Crunktastical and Angel Law has always been like my Oprah. I love that as the blogging world started to shift, they expanded their brands and pursued other things like writing books and so forth and they aren’t in the rat race. They are blogging on their own terms versus trying to keep up with the Joneses.
Jerrod: What has been the biggest highlight of your career?

Necole: There are two moments that come to mind. Watching VH1 Single Ladies and hearing my name mentioned at least 3 times throughout this one episode. Like, that was surreal to me. I don’t know why they chose me but I was so grateful. I wasn’t even home when it aired. I had to hear about it through Twitter and then catch a rerun. [laughs]. My second would be accepting the Soul Train Music Award. Like you could have never told me in a million years that my website would ever win a Soul Train Award. I got up there and I couldn’t help but cry. That made me realize that everything that anyone has ever told me, it couldn’t be done, it proved them wrong. Impossible is just an opinion.
Jerrod: Lowest point?

Necole: Between March 2011 and May 2012, I took a break mentally from the site. My heart wasn’t in it and I had some personal things I had to take care of within me. My spirit was broken.
I moved to LA, I went through therapy, adopted a healthier lifestyle and found peace within me. Meanwhile, my brand was hi-jacked. It became something other than what I created and I fell out of love with it. It hurt because that was ‘my baby’ and it was like I had given up on my child. When you fall out of love with something, how do you expect someone else to love it? People can tell. My site visitors could tell.
Jerrod: What is the hardest part about blogging?

Necole: Staying out of the rat race. And what I mean by that is, we are in a day and age where there are so many blogs, news sites, radio stations, etc and everyone wants to get the information out first. So to some, it is more important to get the information out first versus waiting for all of the details. I wait for as many details as possible before I post a story. Trying to keep up in the rat race will wear you out and wear you down.
Jerrod: What is one of your goals that you’ve set but yet to accomplish?

Necole: I always wanted to be a good interviewer. The kind of person that can get anyone to open up but my fear of being in front of the camera has held me back from doing a lot of interviews. I am now challenging that fear.
Jerrod: With such a busy schedule. How do you manage to still run blog, posting stories?

Necole: Well, I will be completely honest when I say I don’t post as much as I could be. I’m not as interested in posting everything that’s going on in celeb news as I am in the things that spark my interest. That’s how I keep a passion for this…by only blogging about the things that I’m interested in versus blogging about everything.
Jerrod: You’re very pretty. Do many artist hit on you because you are so beautiful? How do you handle that?

Necole: That is nice of you to say. Thank you! No, they don’t. The one thing that I can say that I am grateful for, is that every artist that I have come in contact with has treated me with respect. It’s all in the way that you carry yourself and I don’t think I give off the vibe that I would even be receptive to those type of advances. I’m 100% about my business.
Jerrod: As a blogger, you blog about other celebs. How does it feel when you read blog that are about you?

Necole: I’m in a really good space right now so I try not to read blogs about myself, especially when it’s not positive. I can’t control what someone thinks of me, or chooses to write. That’s their opinion and they have a right to it. All I can do is continue to be the best version of myself and hope that people will make their own judgments of me and who I am as a person through their own individual experiences of dealing with me. The rest is out of my control.
Jerrod: What is the legacy you want to leave behind?

Necole: In a weird way, I don’t want people to remember me for what I did for a living. I want people to remember me as a person and how I made them feel. The good I did in my community, the people I helped and inspired. I’m not even remotely close to being there yet but I am working hard to become that person that I want to be remembered for years from now.
Jerrod: What’s your love life like at the moment?

Necole: My heart is open… I give the love I seek!
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To read my thoughts on biggest blogging regret, rumors of me being on a new VH1 Reality Show, how having celeb friends affects my blogging and my celebrity crush, head on over to CarltonJordan.com.