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About Jodie Filogomo
Jodie Filogomo is a retired cosmetic dentist who has always had a love of fashion.
Jodie’s mother is a Home Economics teacher who taught for nearly 30 years at a small high school in Ohio before retiring. Afterward, Jodie’s mother worked as a seamstress. Her mother’s career shaped Jodie’s interest in fashion and made her the go-to friend for friends who didn’t like to shop.
Jodie Filogomo shares, “When I sold my [dental] practice, I actually thought I’d be a personal shopper, and then I realized that it took some time to get that established, so my husband suggested I start a blog, and that was eight or nine years ago, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
A post shared by Jodie/Ageless Style (@jtouchofstyle)
Initially, Jodie’s blog started as a passion project with hopes that she’d earn a bit of extra money for shoes. Her blog’s phrase, “It’s never too late to look great,” was developed as a way to convey her mission quickly.
Jodie’s mom and stepmom also live close to her, so she began incorporating them into her blog as a way to include different body shapes, ages, and styles.
Marketing Herself
Jodie Filogomo shares that marketing is something she could have done better initially. She began marketing her blog by sending postcards to her former patients hoping they would follow her on the blog. She has also given several talks in areas where she’s lived.
Eventually, she looked more into SEO, social media, and optimizing her blog.
Jodie explains, “My husband made me do that [social media] at first. I didn’t really want to. I went kicking and screaming. I guess I considered that part of influencers. I didn’t even consider that marketing – how funny, but I love it. I’ve met so many people. I consider it actually more of checking in with my friends as opposed to marketing.”
Being a Brand Ambassador
Jodie’s first experience as a brand ambassador was with a shoe company, and she shares that it was a great experience. For the campaign, the brand sent Jodie, her mom, and her stepmom shoes to use for the post. This experience laid the foundation for what she expects from other brands going forward.
“I do love that kind of marketing as long as I believe in it, as long as I like the product. I think that’s always a nice way where I create content and then get paid for doing that.”
Jodie Filogomo shares that many of her brand campaigns are based on commission. However, she prefers taking on paid posts to increase brand recognition because she recognizes that something that works for her won’t necessarily work for someone else because everyone has individual tastes.
One thing that Jodie likes about working with brands is when they share with her what makes their company different than other brands in the industry.
“I appreciate when they [brands] give me some interesting information that I can share with my readers. As I said, I like it if they look things over, too, just to make sure everything’s on the up and up and that they’re happy with it [the post]. I feel like it’s advantageous for both of us. I want them to be happy with what I’m putting out and vice versa.”
A brand pet peeve of Jodie’s is when brands don’t communicate well. She adds that she’s constantly checking her emails and gets back to brands quickly, typically within a day. As a result, it frustrates her when companies don’t respond to her for weeks or ghost her entirely.
Jodie would also love to see more brands, whether through collaborations or ambassador programs, freely sending products for creators to try. In the past, she had brands that wanted to work with her ask her to purchase products from them first. This request didn’t feel right when she was already putting a lot of effort and time into creating the content and promoting the brand.
Creating Authentic Content
When creating authentic content, Jodie finds that showing the versatility of a product is helpful to her viewers.
“People will say to me, well, you can wear that because you’re thin. I don’t believe that. I think that’s a terrible truth that we’ve fallen into, and so that’s why I love showing my mom and my friend because they aren’t thin per se, but they can look just as fabulous. Sometimes you need a different size, or you style it differently, but I think that’s really what makes me unique in that respect.”
Jodie’s Favorite Brand Campaign
Jodie’s favorite brand campaign was with a small shoe company that isn’t in department shoe stores because they are such a small brand. However, many of Jodie’s readers reached out to her and thanked her for sharing the brand because of their extended sizes and how comfortable the shoes are.
“One of the things that really helped [me with this campaign] was actually going out to their factory. They invited me. This was before COVID. They invited me out. They were having a fashion show.”
Jodie Filogomo adds that the fashion show benefited her because she could see the behind-the-scenes of the shoemaking process. She shared this inside scoop with her readers.
“That’s been a huge thing, at least for me. Knowing the people, what they’re like. That makes any kind of collaboration so much better.”
Career Highlights
Jodie has been featured in magazines, including Woman’s World, where the magazine showcased her and her team in a piece on swimsuits for older women.
Jodie’s favorite part of her work? Hearing from her readers.
“The best feeling is when I get emails from readers saying how I’ve inspired them to wear color or get more creative with their closets. In fact, I have my ten favorite testimonials on my home page. Those emails really make my work feel valuable.”
Her Thoughts on the Future
In the future, Jodie would love to see more older women create content online.
“I know it’s hard because we weren’t brought up with technology and using our phones and social media as much, but I think the more we see ourselves, real older women, embracing aging. Embracing this is our body right now. I think that’s a huge message I’d love to see more of.”
As for her brand, Jodie excitedly shares that she is working on some eBooks.
Amy DeYoung is a freelance blog post writer covering influencer marketing and business topics. As the daughter of two business owners, she’s been fascinated by all things business from a young age, which led her to graduate from college with a bachelor’s degree in business. When she’s not typing away, she spends her time reading nonfiction books and mystery novels, baking scrumptious desserts, and playing with her dog.
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