#UKDA2014 Winner’s Interview – Blogger of the Year

Posted on December 8, 2014 in 30 Dates, uk dating awards

This month on 30 Dates, I’ll be showcasing some of the winners from last month’s UK Dating Awards.

I’ll kick things off with two which were particularly close to my heart – Dating Blog of the Year, and Dating Blogger of the Year.

Back in April when I set up the Awards, the reason I stumbled across the idea was because, as a dating blogger myself, I realised very few competitions existed which actually recognised Dating as a stand-alone dating topic. The more I thought about it, the more I realised none of the areas of the dating industry were recognised by Awards. And so the UK Dating Awards was born.

The inaugural UK Dating Awards saw Katy Horwood awarded not just Dating Blogger of the Year, but also Blog of the Year for her blog All Sweetness & Life. The blog is celebrating its fifth year next year, and Katy’s writing has also appeared regularly on the Huffington Post and Metro blogs.

How does it feel to win not one, but two UK Dating Awards?

I’m absolutely thrilled! I had no idea I’d won anything so to walk away with two Awards was fantastic. It really means so much to be recognised as part of such an amazing industry and to have my writing so publicly appreciated!

Why do you think you won your category?

Yikes! That’s a tricky question! I think I won Best Dating Blog because I’ve been at it for 4 years!!

I take great pride in my blog. It is not just a platform for an opinion but something which I feel I have ‘crafted’ for my audience. I take such pleasure from writing it and I hope that this translates. I have also tried to keep it specifically dating and relationship related. I come across blogs which ‘branch out’ and cover lifestyle, fashion etc which is fine but it has always been very important to me that I stay true to my subject and don’t sell out with sponsored posts etc.

My blog is about my writing not promoting products and I hope my readers pick up on that.

I guess the same could be said for winning ‘Blogger of the Year’ I hope to think that my writing is regular, consistent and delivers in terms of content … which I try to keep both original and current!

What was the highlight of your evening at the Award Show?

The champagne ha! … Seriously, though, I thought the whole event was brilliantly executed, it had a real red carpet feel to it and was such fun. I’d say the highlight for me was putting names to so many faces and meeting some really inspiring people from the industry. There really isn’t enough opportunity for Dating industry people to network so it really was a treat to meet so many people doing such a lot of great work!

What will you do with your Award?

Hang them in the loo! … Isn’t that what people say when they win Oscars!?

Why did you decide to get involved with the very first year of the Awards?

Because it was exciting to see an award organised solely for the British dating industry and I wanted to be a part of it!

What did you think of the first year of the UK Dating Awards?

Really awesome. From the venue, the organisation, the programme on the actual night – really super. On a more general note I really liked that the UKDA wasn’t based on public votes. I think a lot of awards these days work by using bloggers to increase their own profile, endless vote for me tweets etc. The fact that this was judged by a panel of experts made me feel like the Awards really had the interests of the nominees at heart and were a much more accurate portrayal of the talent in the industry.

What are your plans for 2015?

I plan to continue to grow my writing. I’d love a column at some point … or maybe a book, either way writing is my true passion, I feel blessed to be doing something I love so much everyday and to be recognised by the UKDA for it is a really honour.