Today we’d like to introduce you to Vilma Gonzalez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
For as long as I can remember, I was a reader — the obsessive kind who couldn’t put a book down until the last page was read. So it’s apt that my story starts with books. I read voraciously through my school years, but when I had kids and they were little, my reading slowed, feeling just too exhausted between a full-time job and raising two boys. But once they grew out of toddlerdom, my reading picked up again, inadvertently inspiring friends and co-workers to start reading too. Soon an excel sheet with book titles, authors, ratings started getting passed around the office and shortly after that, I started my book blog in 2013.
Vilma’s Book Blog grew faster than I expected, through relationships with publishers and authors whom I would IM through social media. I started attending book events and meeting like-minded people. It was the first time in my life I’d felt a part of a community.
My blog grew, the community associated with my blog grew too, and slowly my hobby turned into a business. In 2015, I hosted the first Austin Book Fest — an event that over the years would be attended annually by thousands of readers from all over the world, with dozens of bestselling authors like Caroline Kepnes, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Anna Todd.
Soon, I was speaking at other book events, supporting authors and publishers with marketing and advertising opportunities, writing a column for USA Today’s blog, attending movie premieres for books turned into film, and forging friendships I value to this day. It was — and continues to be — incredibly fulfilling. In 2017, as my content continued to evolve and expand, the book blog morphed into a lifestyle blog (Vilma Iris Blog) to allow me the runway to dive deeper into my other passions — home decor, beauty and style. I’ve been able to work with brands I love and admire, hosted classes on decorating and building charcuterie boards, all while continuing to work with authors and publishers, sharing my love for the many books I continue to read.
I’m a full-time Marketing Director by day, and Small Business owner by night and it’s been a wonderful journey so far. Despite the natural struggles with balancing time between work, home, and my business, I can’t imagine not having this creative outlet and community. More than ever, I feel there are so many others like me, who’ve turned their passions into something special, embracing all sides of who they are. As a Latina creator, it’s especially important to continue nurturing a diverse community that advocates for each other and other creators who are doing amazing things in the world.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There were numerous struggles along the way. In the beginning, I didn’t know where or how to start. I didn’t have any existing relationships with publishers or authors. I didn’t even know how to contact people to get on lists. It took a lot of emails, social media messages, cold calls and time, to make inroads in the book community.
Blogging then was also extremely competitive, and it also took some time and out-of-the-box thinking to get noticed and start building a community that helped support me along the way. Now, there are so many creators/bloggers/influencers that it’s become even harder to break through. I believe, however, that in being who you are authentically, you’ll build a community that’s truly engaged and that will flourish over time.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m known for diverse content, from home decor to books to style and more. On my website – vilmairis.com – you can search books based on numerous categories, or you read up on the latest home decor trends to help inspire your projects, or you can learn how to assemble a perfect charcuterie board for your next gathering.
Contact Info:
- Email: vilma@vilmairis.com
- Website: https://vilmairis.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vilmairisblog/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vilmairisblog
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/vilmairisblog
