Boyana Atanasova reports:

Random thoughts about a UK journalism journey from a Bulgarian girl living in Scotland.

[batanasova-blog]

Digital marketer in East Lothian!

It seems that it takes me longer than predicted to update this page, but I’m promising this time to be more consistent. 

One of the main reasons is that now that I have been working as a digital communications assistant at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in Scotland for more than a year, I’m on the lookout for extra work. Having moved to East Lothian at the beginning of the year, I am now ready to offer my digital marketing skills to businesses from all sizes and shapes with their social media work or anything they need help with online. 

So what?

Do you have a business in East Lothian that needs a good online presence? Well, drop me a line at boyanaa at gmail. I have almost 8 years of experience in social media management, online copywriting, digital marketing and everything in between. Most of my recent work already lives on this site, so please do have a look. I’m not looking for a lot of money and I don’t mind giving advice for free if you really believe that social media is for you... Happy to help and build a good product together. Just let me know!

Hooray for a new adventure! :)

[batanasova-blog]

Something old, something new

Hey everyone,

It’s been a while since I last wrote here... That’s old, isn’t it? Well, yeah, it’s been more than six months since my last publication here and I’m happy to say quite a few things have changed in my life. First of all, my little baby girl is now 8 months and she’s growing and learning new things very fast. I am very grateful that this time around I have more time with her before I start work again but I’m also a bit sad that this time is coming to an end. 

I am returning to work on 15th August. The very good news is that I’m actually starting a new job. I still don’t want to disclose too much information about it but I’m pretty excited that I will be working again in Edinburgh city centre. This means less time on buses, more time with my children. Sophia will start nursery in September so until then we’ll have some help from family with her.

Anyway! Once I start my job, I’ll write more about it and brag about it. :)

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few links and post about our family project Our User Reviews. Since October last year, my husband and I have been working hard on our YouTube channel and since a few months now on our official website too. We have more than 1600 subscribers and more than 810 000 channel views so far, so I would love if you check both out and give us a thumbs up. :) It’s been very fun having our own personal project. Working on it, I learned quite a lot about video marketing and YouTube in general. I’m excited to share this knowledge with any future employers hehe. 

Here are the links to some of my latest articles, all written while I was on maternity leave. I hope you’ll enjoy them. Thanks a lot for reading and I hope I have more news soon! :) 

Modern Japanese Architects You Should Know About

Ten Buildings You Won’t Believe Are Real

Top Graphic Design Awards for 2016

The Power of Storytelling in Childhood

[batanasova-blog]

2015 wrap up

Let’s face it - it wasn’t my best year in terms of blogging... I started great on the first day of 2015 and that was that, haha. Oh, well... Much has happened since then but I’ll stick to the most important - I’m currently again on maternity leave. I had my wonderful baby girl Sophia on 19th November and I’m enjoying some great baby time with her at home. I will be off work for the next couple of months, so I decided it’s about time I share links to some of the many articles and interviews I had the pleasure to create for Creative Drum during the rest of 2015. 

To all of you who are still active here and are following me - thanks for sticking around and happy holidays! 

See you in the new year! :)

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST MACRO PHOTOS

TOP INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN AWARDS TO GET YOU NOTICED

12 FACTS ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHERS EVERYONE THINKS ARE TRUE

TOP BRITISH STREET PHOTOGRAPHERS IN 2015

RUIN A PHOTO: 10 EASY WAYS TO DO IT

AMAZING DOG PHOTOGRAPHERS SHARE THEIR SECRETS

THE BEST PLACES TO FIND INTERIOR DESIGN INSPIRATION

MY ADVICE? DON’T LISTEN TO ADVICE! AN INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST NUNZIO PACI

THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL FREELANCE CAREER: INTERVIEW WITH ALEXIS MARCOU

TOP MACRO PHOTOGRAPHERS SHARE THEIR SECRETS

[batanasova-blog]

New year, old news

For the five people who follow me here, I want to share a few links. These are some articles and interviews I wrote recently for IDI's blog Creative Drum. Let me know what you think!

TOP PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2015

FREELANCE: MISSION POSSIBLE – INTERVIEW WITH ILLUSTRATOR CHRIS CHATTERTON

TOP 11 FOOD PHOTOGRAPHERS OF 2014

HOW TO EXHIBIT, PART 2: TIPS AND ADVICE FROM CURATOR JASON JONES

FROM DENTIST TO ARTIST: INTERVIEW WITH BRENT ESTABROOK

BRAVING THE WAVES: INTERVIEW WITH PHOTOGRAPHER ANDRE SILVA

TOP 10 GRAPHIC DESIGN AWARDS TO GET YOU NOTICED

THE HUMAN SIDE OF RIOTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH PHOTOGRAPHER EARL WAN

TOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS TO GET YOU NOTICED

FAMOUS COSTUMES TURN VIRAL: AN INTERVIEW WITH FRED BIRCHAL

APPLYING FOR A CREATIVE JOB: TOP TIPS TO GET HIRED

[batanasova-blog]

Time flies

Honestly, is it August already? I didn't believe my eyes when I saw that my last post here was at the start of the year. Oh my, having a baby makes the time go so fast... Brrrr! 

Just a quick update then, with all the latest news about me

- I went back to work when Deyan was six months old

- Yes, I have a job and I love it. I met some lovely people there - you know who you are! :)

- In just over a week, we're going back to Bulgaria for the first time in three years and I can't wait. I'm super excited because everyone will meet Deyan for the first time

- I'm getting married! Woohooo! :)))

- I've signed up for a 5k run in January 2015 - this is it, there's no turning back now!

I guess that's the most important in just a few lines. I'll try and post here more often. Well, I should...

[batanasova-blog]

My 2013

I think it is a good idea to make a short review of 2013 here, so I can later read it and make comparison with my past/future years...

So, in 2013:

- I've become mother - I have the loveliest boy in the world - his name is Deyan and I love him to bits

- I had a good time at my old job and found a very good partner for future work related projects

- I've been on a British train for the first time; visited Berwick-upon-Tweed - had a wonderful birthday on the beach side

- Met a bunch of lovely people - both local and Bulgarians living in Edinburgh, and made good friends

- Learned how to be more patient and to live with a flat-mate

- Had the most wonderful moments with my partner and soul mate. I love you!

All in all, 2013 was probably the most important year in my life. Becoming a parent can't be beaten by any other event.

Let's see how exciting 2014 will be. I can't wait! :)

[batanasova-blog]

News on me

It's been ages (well, months really) since my last post here, and I have a few news to share with you. 

First, and most important - I'm pregnant. That's news to everyone who doesn't really know me... In less than a month, we're expecting our first baby. They say it will be a boy and we're very excited to meet him! Woohooo! :)

I've been working at the SLCC until the end of September and found myself a new part time job as of November. I'm currently doing some very interesting social media work for a few clients, part of Mash Marketing's portfolio. I'm pleased to be back doing what I enjoy the most on social networks and it's even greater that I can do it from the comfort of my home. 

As we're waiting for the little one to arrive, I think this is the perfect time to learn new skills and implement them on real clients.

Well, that's it, I guess. More on me and other things - when the time comes. Until then - wish me luck (I think I'll need it)! :)

[batanasova-blog]

Being Yourself

It is easier said than done. Random thoughts streaming through my head, wondering about and disturbing my comfort. How tough is it to be yourself, to express yourself as you like, to listen to your inner voice rather than the one of others... How difficult is to achieve something when you want to do what you want - the way you want it. 

While abandoning Twitter for a couple of weeks and trying to go back to the habit of writing (the thing I think I do the best!), these are just some random thoughts. Because this blog is not a journalism journey anymore - it evolved, and now it is more about "ME, NOW, AT THIS MOMENT", than anything else.

Am I lost in the search of the right thing??

[batanasova-blog]

A time for change!

A lot of time has passed since my last post here. In the past 7 months, I've found a very good job, met a lot of interesting people, had a birthday and went to Berwick-Upon-Tweed for a short railway trip.

Lots of things changed, but others didn't, and I'm now again at the stage where I'm looking for a new exciting work-related opportunity.

Yes, I'm looking for a new job, ideally based in Edinburgh. For those of you who don't know me, here's my current LinkedIn profile - it shows my experience to date in a more detailed manner. In general - I want to work in an inspiring environment, managing social media profiles, building and maintaining communication strategies, applying my design skills and implementing all my creative ideas on a day to day basis. I'm also keen to apply all my academic knowledge on media relations, PR and journalism. I can write, create, design, code, help, interact, suggest new ideas and make good projects reality.

If you want to know more about me, please do write me a message.

I'll be happy to hear from you, wether you have a big company or a small-sized project. Until then... I'll keep on posting links to my old work here.

Thanks!

[batanasova-blog]

Another article for World Record Label that I have written recently. :)

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Here is another short article I've written recently. :) It is about the biggest music story of the last year, so I am very curious to see which one will be 2013's. 

[batanasova-blog]

2012 from my point of view

It is this time of the year again - to look back at the past 12 months and to reflect on everything that happened. It is easier to put my memories in a list, isn't it?

- the first five months of 2012 were horrendous - no money, no hope for work, no fun, no going out, nothing cheerful

- after that, a very nice (and very WET!) Scottish summer - more time for nice things and some money to spend

- between May and August - my greatest effort of the year - my MA dissertation which has taken me ages to complete. It is the first time when I didn't waste a lot of time and everything was ready before the final deadline.

- from September - my search for new job and new opportunities 

- October - my graduation and my parents here with us for the official ceremony. I can still remember the excitement.

- November - until now - my new great job and the chance to meet new people, make friends, build connections and learn a lot. I hope that the good things are still to come.

All in all - a very hard but very successful year. The year of some personal difficulties and professional achievements. 2012 has made me bullet proof (or at least I want to see it that way) - let's see how I get on with the lucky 2013!

Happy New Year to you all!

[batanasova-blog]

You can officially congratulate me for achieving one of my dreams - my MA degree in Journalism. :) It was a lovely graduation day and I am most happy about the fact that I had the opportunity to share it with my family.

Luckily enough, on the same day I have received my official letter confirming my next journey - my work as social media and video specialist at the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. :) This next chapter will start on the 12th of November. 

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Inspired by my latest return to piano playing, here is another article from me, published on the World Record Label website. :)

[batanasova-blog]

Here is another publication from me. It is a short article about my experience of moving to study and live abroad. :) There's a little bit of misunderstanding about my university (it's not the University of Edinburgh, but Edinburgh Napier University), but I am still very happy with it. 

[batanasova-blog]

Here is one of my latest articles, written for The Student Guide. I have written it over the summer and I'm expecting a few more similar pieces to be published in the hard copy which can be found on the news stands from October. :) I hope you like it! :)

[batanasova-blog]

No more dissertation

My struggle with the dissertation is finally over. I handed in last week and I am now awaiting for my final mark. It is a very odd feeling - when you have dedicated so much time to one project, it is so hard to go back to the ‘normal’ life. I hope the whole thing was worth it.