Hey everyone, I'll be blogging over at Radium Girl...I'm leaving this up for you know, shits and giggles. :)
Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog. Show all posts
This Blog Is Dead & I've Moved On
Hey everyone, I'll be blogging over at Radium Girl...I'm leaving this up for you know, shits and giggles. :)
My Little Hiatus
Hey guys, so I've kind of been MIA for two weeks now. I started a new job so I'm literally gone from 7AM until 7PM and when I get home I eat, relax/shower and then go to sleep.
It's not exactly what I would consider conducive to blogging. It takes a lot of time and dedication to consistently churn out blogs as you might know. I am going to get back into it now that there's a pay check. I'm going to devote my Saturdays to scheduling content and making sure it gets out on time.
I was also slacking because I wasn't making any money so it was hard for me to buy products to test for Make Up Monday. Then it became a lovely vacation by not doing WWL. But that's going to stop. I get paid April 10th and so that is when I will be off my hiatus.
It's not exactly what I would consider conducive to blogging. It takes a lot of time and dedication to consistently churn out blogs as you might know. I am going to get back into it now that there's a pay check. I'm going to devote my Saturdays to scheduling content and making sure it gets out on time.
I was also slacking because I wasn't making any money so it was hard for me to buy products to test for Make Up Monday. Then it became a lovely vacation by not doing WWL. But that's going to stop. I get paid April 10th and so that is when I will be off my hiatus.
SEE YOU THEN.
13 Ways To Drive Me Away From Your Giveaway
You know what I discovered? People are actually driving me AWAY from their giveaways. After hosting a few giveaways I can't say that I'm an expert at doing it. Apparently, neither are a lot of other people. I've entered more than I'd like to admit and it's actually cluttering up all of my social media. I had to spend 3 hours combing my twitter to purge it of all these junk accounts that I only followed because of a contest. Same with my facebook and now I'm getting that way with my Google Reader/ Bloglovin and other readers. I'm compiling a list of reasons why I am NOT entering anymore giveaways no matter how delicious the prize.
Don't get me wrong, I do understand that for some of these prizes, like giving away $500, you would need a large number of people to chip in to help keep the cost per person down. But you know what? Don't give away $500. Just don't. It's not worth my time to enter and maybe get it. I'd rather win something small like a piece of jewelry or a $5 Gift Card to Starbucks than have to follow 50+ blogs just to have to go back and unfollow them because they don't fit my tastes and they are clogging up my feed. I want to follow people who's writing I enjoy not for a contest entry.
I would also like to add that I am aware that no one is forcing me to enter these giveaways. I've passed several of them up do to their entry requirement. I'm more concerned with my next point.
Bloggers are getting particularly greedy lately and I don't like it. Why is your whole life about page views and readers? What happened to the joy of blogging? Of doing something you love just to do it and not because it helps you get money? I'm unemployed right now so I understand needing money. I do. But I also have a strict moral obligation to myself to retain my voice and the integrity of my blog. I don't want to become a corporate machine. That is important to me. You may not see yourself that way and that's fine. I'm simply offering up a point of view that may not have crossed your mind.
- This should be the most important thing for any giveaway: KEEP IT SIMPLE. We aren't trying to win the cure for cancer or a vial of water from the fountain of youth. Unless you are giving away $1000+ the requirements to enter should be simple, one click ordeals and not a scavenger hunt for the lost city of Atlantis.
- Don't have me follow anyone who isn't in the giveaway. For example, if there's 3 different blogs who are giving away ad space I shouldn't have to follow 13 different facebooks, twitters and blogs when 10 of those aren't giving anything away.
- It shouldn't be mandatory to complete all tasks before I am fully entered into the contest/giveaway. If you have 50 tasks that's too much. See number 1.
- Don't have me follow you on Bloglovin + GFC + Hello Cotton. PICK ONE, I shouldn't have to get 3 alerts about your one blog post. I also shouldn't have to suffer & get 3 alerts for your 3 blog posts a day.
- Speaking of GFC, don't make me hunt you down. You want me to follow you remember? If I click "GFC" on rafflecopter, it better take me directly to the thing that says "follow publicly/privately" or to Feedburner to add to my Google Reader. DO NOT send me to the main blog page. See last sentence of number 1.
- If you do require GFC and send me to the blog make sure they have an RSS icon or the little GFC box. If all they have are FB, twitter and e-mail social media icons WTF is that? BYYYEEEE
- Do not make me follow a twitter that posts more tweets about other giveaways or just promotional bullshit. Especially if that number of tweets is more than once per hour. You're clogging up my timeline and I will delete you. The point of gaining twitter followers is to actually retain them, not drive them away. CHILL OUT.
- Make sure the links work. Don't tell me to go follow your boards on Pinterest only to discover the link doesn't work. I will sometimes go to the blog to see if maybe the person has a pinterest link there. If they don't - SEE YOU LATER!
- If you make me post to someone's FB. Unless it's a contest being run specifically on FB I'm not posting to their wall. They can check to see that I liked the page. They'll know if I'm fibbing
- Make me subscribe by e-mail. Maybe I have enough shit clogging my inbox that I don't want your 16 blogs a day also begging to be deleted too, okay?
- My computer runs pretty slow these days, make sure the blogs you are asking me to visit for whatever reason are optimized for their content. If you are crazy with the graphics or if it's a photoblog just loading your page is going to be a nightmare for me. Try breaking up your picture posts with the "read more" link. Everyone who uses blogger has one of those and if you use wordpress then you can either add a plugin or you should have something similar. If you make my computer freeze I'm going to give up completely. I'm not coming back for extra entries. Fuck that noise.
- I'm not jumping through hoops for an entry. Keep it simple. That means a blog comment, like on FB, follow on twitter, follow on pinterest and ONE subscription site PER blog participating in the giveaway. Anything else is just greedy and I'm not down for it. SEE NUMBER ONE!
- Is your time precious? Yeah, so is mine. I don't want to spend 6 hours trying to get through all your requirements. The max amount of time I'm willing to spend is 5 minutes. If it takes me longer then that, bu-bye.
Don't get me wrong, I do understand that for some of these prizes, like giving away $500, you would need a large number of people to chip in to help keep the cost per person down. But you know what? Don't give away $500. Just don't. It's not worth my time to enter and maybe get it. I'd rather win something small like a piece of jewelry or a $5 Gift Card to Starbucks than have to follow 50+ blogs just to have to go back and unfollow them because they don't fit my tastes and they are clogging up my feed. I want to follow people who's writing I enjoy not for a contest entry.
I would also like to add that I am aware that no one is forcing me to enter these giveaways. I've passed several of them up do to their entry requirement. I'm more concerned with my next point.
Bloggers are getting particularly greedy lately and I don't like it. Why is your whole life about page views and readers? What happened to the joy of blogging? Of doing something you love just to do it and not because it helps you get money? I'm unemployed right now so I understand needing money. I do. But I also have a strict moral obligation to myself to retain my voice and the integrity of my blog. I don't want to become a corporate machine. That is important to me. You may not see yourself that way and that's fine. I'm simply offering up a point of view that may not have crossed your mind.
What is the craziest amount of entries you've had to endure for a prize you really wanted?
Did you win?
Spellbound Soaps Giveaway
Hi guys, so I've been warning you like crazy about this giveaway. If you follow me on instagram then you'll have seen a while ago a couple of pictures of some stuff I was working on, you know before I decided to make an individual account for my soaps. That account is @spellboundsoaps and if you'd like pictures of newest products, that would be the way to get them. There is also the FB/Twitter pages if you do not have instagram.
I've decided to do a cute little giveaway to help promote my business. First, there are two prizes to giveaway, so there will be two different winners on two different platforms. One from here on the blog and another from the Spellbound Soaps Facebook Page (Not the page for this blog & yes you may enter both).
TO ENTER THE BLOG CONTEST:
TO ENTER THE FACEBOOK CONTEST:
Open to U.S Residents only! Both contests will be open from
12:00AM ET on Feb 1st, 2012 and will end at 11:00PM ET on Tuesday Feb
5th (Punchtabs settings not mine). I will announce the winner with next Wednesday's WWL and e-mail them. The winners will have 48 hours to respond, if they don't respond
within the time frame I will be forced to select a new winner.
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| Pinning this image using punchtab earns you an entry into the drawing! |
TO ENTER THE BLOG CONTEST:
TO ENTER THE FACEBOOK CONTEST:
Please see the Spellbound Soaps Facebook Page for details.
GOOD LUCK, ONE AND ALL!
Double Post Monday: Welcome my lovely SITStahs!
Today is my turn to be featured by the lovely SITS Girls community. The SITS Girls is a huge community of web bloggers (over 40,000 - wowza) that basically help drive traffic to your website in several different ways. For one you can sign up to be featured (which is probably why you're here. I DID IT!). Another way is to comment on the featured blogger of the day post (then their blog too).
The SITS girls also help with tips on how to - do basically everything blogging related. They can tell you how to build up your social media, give you tips on things you may or may not be doing right like displaying photographs in blog posts or setting up a commenting system. If they haven't created a tutorial for it yet you can also go into the forums and ask for help. The forums are another great way to drive traffic to your website. There's a niche for guest blogging as well as help with contests and giveaways and all sorts of stuff.
If you already know about SITS and are coming from there then I thank you very much for stopping by and I am hoping you will stick around for a bit. I know that they give you a little intro about me but honestly, there's far more to me than a 300 or even 1000 word summary could ever cover. I'm sure the same can be said about you. So for a start, head on over to the About Me page and get your fill of my silliness (it's in the pictures). I'll wait.
Now that you've learned entirely too much about me I will proceed to tell you a little about my blog. You see, when I am a good girl I post a blog on MWF. Not all the time but usually. When I'm a bad girl as I have been recently due to a multitude of excuses I post, eh, once a week. This is a new thing I'm trying to nip in the bud before it becomes a habit.
Mondays are devoted to my love of Make up and thus I have dubbed them Make Up Mondays! Those posts can be found under the tab "Make Up." I either buy or am sent (courtesy of whatever company - usually Influenster. See my post here) make up and I review it. I either love it or I hate it and I give my honest opinion on it and let you know whether or not I would buy it again and if I recommend it for you too.
Wednesday's are devoted to my absolute love for clothing and fashion. I call these posts my Wednesday Want List ( or WWL. Can you tell I'm a fan of alliteration yet?). Those can be found under the "Fashion" tab. Basically I pick 6 things usually surrounding a theme (Blazers, Handbags, Shoes, ect) and make a Polyvore collage showcasing them. I write brief descriptions of what they are, why I like them, if I'd even consider buying them, where you can get them and usually the price tag.
I'd say that my Fridays are called Freebie Friday but that's misleading as I don't usually give things away for free every Friday and they aren't exactly a free-write as I'd like them to be but that's basically what they are. I'm free to write about whatever, even though that's also what Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday are for too. Every now and then I'll write up a DIY, Food post, or some kind of rant and if it isn't dependent on a current event or time sensitive in any way I'll save it for Friday and post it then. Outfit posts when I do them (they are almost as rare as my DIY's these days) are usually on a Sunday or Saturday.
I also do a "Currently" post (Example) when I'm bored letting you know the obvious. My life is extremely boring these days without a room mate to complain about, a baby to fuss over and a job to supply an income with which I am able to do interesting things. So those are on hold until I can, you know, come up with a post that has some kind of sustenance.
My biggest hobby is making Soap. Seriously, I make it and it is pretty and it smells delicious. I'm one of those people who burns through hobbies but I really love this one. So much so that I'm turning it into a business. It is small right now but I am hoping to grow it enough to where it can be a full time job. I'm usually a nanny, personal assistant or receptionist and I really would just love to be my own boss and let my freak flag fly. I'm aware of how hard it is, how often small businesses fail and that being your own boss is more work than clocking in at a 9-5 and going home on Friday without having to think about work again until Monday morning. I've gotten all the lectures. I'm good.
What else? I use SHOUTY CAPITALS when I'm excited or stressing something. I don't know if I forgot that Blogger has the bold/underline/italic feature or if I'm just so used to using capitals on Twitter/Facebook/Texting to get my point across but it's imbued in me now.
I also use parenthesis as some type of aside (but you caught that already didn't you?) and I tend to over use commas. If you read my about me you'll know that I write. Just so we are clear, how I write on my blog is very different from my professional or academic writing. You don't write how you talk do you? Well, I don't write how I blog. If that makes any sense.
For now I think that covers introductions, except well,
If you already know about SITS and are coming from there then I thank you very much for stopping by and I am hoping you will stick around for a bit. I know that they give you a little intro about me but honestly, there's far more to me than a 300 or even 1000 word summary could ever cover. I'm sure the same can be said about you. So for a start, head on over to the About Me page and get your fill of my silliness (it's in the pictures). I'll wait.
Now that you've learned entirely too much about me I will proceed to tell you a little about my blog. You see, when I am a good girl I post a blog on MWF. Not all the time but usually. When I'm a bad girl as I have been recently due to a multitude of excuses I post, eh, once a week. This is a new thing I'm trying to nip in the bud before it becomes a habit.
Mondays are devoted to my love of Make up and thus I have dubbed them Make Up Mondays! Those posts can be found under the tab "Make Up." I either buy or am sent (courtesy of whatever company - usually Influenster. See my post here) make up and I review it. I either love it or I hate it and I give my honest opinion on it and let you know whether or not I would buy it again and if I recommend it for you too.
Wednesday's are devoted to my absolute love for clothing and fashion. I call these posts my Wednesday Want List ( or WWL. Can you tell I'm a fan of alliteration yet?). Those can be found under the "Fashion" tab. Basically I pick 6 things usually surrounding a theme (Blazers, Handbags, Shoes, ect) and make a Polyvore collage showcasing them. I write brief descriptions of what they are, why I like them, if I'd even consider buying them, where you can get them and usually the price tag.
I'd say that my Fridays are called Freebie Friday but that's misleading as I don't usually give things away for free every Friday and they aren't exactly a free-write as I'd like them to be but that's basically what they are. I'm free to write about whatever, even though that's also what Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday are for too. Every now and then I'll write up a DIY, Food post, or some kind of rant and if it isn't dependent on a current event or time sensitive in any way I'll save it for Friday and post it then. Outfit posts when I do them (they are almost as rare as my DIY's these days) are usually on a Sunday or Saturday.
I also do a "Currently" post (Example) when I'm bored letting you know the obvious. My life is extremely boring these days without a room mate to complain about, a baby to fuss over and a job to supply an income with which I am able to do interesting things. So those are on hold until I can, you know, come up with a post that has some kind of sustenance.
My biggest hobby is making Soap. Seriously, I make it and it is pretty and it smells delicious. I'm one of those people who burns through hobbies but I really love this one. So much so that I'm turning it into a business. It is small right now but I am hoping to grow it enough to where it can be a full time job. I'm usually a nanny, personal assistant or receptionist and I really would just love to be my own boss and let my freak flag fly. I'm aware of how hard it is, how often small businesses fail and that being your own boss is more work than clocking in at a 9-5 and going home on Friday without having to think about work again until Monday morning. I've gotten all the lectures. I'm good.
What else? I use SHOUTY CAPITALS when I'm excited or stressing something. I don't know if I forgot that Blogger has the bold/underline/italic feature or if I'm just so used to using capitals on Twitter/Facebook/Texting to get my point across but it's imbued in me now.
I also use parenthesis as some type of aside (but you caught that already didn't you?) and I tend to over use commas. If you read my about me you'll know that I write. Just so we are clear, how I write on my blog is very different from my professional or academic writing. You don't write how you talk do you? Well, I don't write how I blog. If that makes any sense.
For now I think that covers introductions, except well,
Who are you?
Where did you come from?
Would you like to be bloggy friends? (leave links!)
It's The Freakin' Weekend
And I'm About To Have Me Some Fun!
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| I do this - BEWARE! |
Fun Fact About Sara: I insert song lyrics into every day conversation as OFTEN as humanly possible. To the point of annoyance.
I just wanted to remind everyone that Monday I will be leaving for California from Florida. Tonight I will finish packing up my room, tomorrow I will do Christmas with Ivory and Brittany as well as say goodbye to some of my friends and then at 6AM I will begin the long drive to Cali with my car fully packed. Depending on where I make my stops this time it will take me about 4 days to get to Cali. During this time I will NOT be posting. Make Up Monday and Wednesday Want List are already done and scheduled but there will be no in between posts and I most likely will not be approving any comments or responding to them. Please follow along my twitter, instagram or facebook as I will be uploading pictures and sending periodic updates through those channels. Hopefully by Friday I will be in California and I can have a post about my trip up over the weekend. No promises though.
See you next week!
Swagbucks Saturday - Sponsored Post
If you haven't heard of Swagbucks than you haven't been living or surfing the internet in the right way! Swagbucks is a website where you complete certain tasks (surveys, polls, games, web searches, shopping at certain retailers online, complete offers, cyber treasure hunts and more) to earn virtual money called, you guessed it, swagbucks. You can then exchange these swagbuckeroos for goods in the Swagstore. I personally use all of mine for $5 Amazon Gift Cards (450 SB each). You can get things like PayPal cash, Gift Cards to Sephora, Starbucks, Chilis, Walmart, and tons of other physical prizes. In the last month I have been able to complete tasks comprised of watching videos, searching for things I would have put in Google anyways, playing games (Fyoozd is my favorite), completing a few offers and finding SwagCodes (see below) to earn $40+ in Amazon Gift Cards strictly from Swagbucks. My Goal is to use the Amazon Gift Cards from Swagbucks (and coins from my change jar) to pay for at least half of my Nikon D5100 on Amazon.
Here's a list of all the gift cards I've purchased over the years:
Also, if you have old game consoles or games you don't play anymore you can trade those in. I've traded in a few old cellphones (thought they don't do that anymore) and received swagbucks for them. Now you can also trade in books. Time to upgrade to an eReader for Christmas right?
You can earn at least 4 Swagbucks a day just by using the tool bar, answering the daily poll and completing the No Obligation Special Offers or NOSO, which is a list of offers daily that you can elect to complete or skip & regardless you are awarded 2 swagbucks at the end. It takes a grand total of 5 minutes to complete all of these if you're really slow.
Swagbucks is working to make the holidays even more rewarding with their Swagbucks Holiday Hundreds Giveaway. Starting at 12pm Pacific Time on November 14th every transaction you make through the Swagbucks Shop & Earn will get you an entry to win the $100 Gift Card of your choice from the Swag Store! As soon as the Swag Bucks show up as pending in your ledger, your entry has been earned! The first drawing will take place on the 19th and will run every day through the 14th of December - if you're the winner, Swagbucks will contact you at whatever email address you have on your account. Entries are cumulative, so the more transactions you make, the more entries you'll get. Travel Category is excluded. Haven't joined Swagbucks yet?
Sign up today and enter the code HOLIDAY100s to start with 100 Swag Bucks of your own!
Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway. Today is the last day!
12 Reasons to Avoid Black Friday & Enter My Giveaway Instead.
How many of us are regretting not stretching before running towards the items we wanted today after gorging ourselves yesterday? Or are sore from sleeping on the ground outside our favorite establishments for those door buster deals? Yeah me neither.
I worked in retail and I hate Black Friday. Stupid consumerist holiday, literally. I promised myself after Borders closed (which always had the easiest Black Friday in retail) that I wouldn't work another Black Friday. Well, I lied. Last year I worked at Best Buy. Even when I didn't have to work Black Friday I never participated. I come from a family where we have no money for x-mas presents ever. We celebrate with family and I almost always have my presents done by October because I don't want to deal with holiday retail. If I could avoid going to the store during Nov-Dec I would.
Anyways onto the real reason you are here. Back in the beginning of the month I began compiling some things for a giveaway. A massive giveaway full of all sorts of goodies with the intent of giving them away for X-Mas, you know, as it is better to give than to receive. I began to think, what could I give people for the holidays? I'll give you all of my favorite things!
Here's what you get:
I worked in retail and I hate Black Friday. Stupid consumerist holiday, literally. I promised myself after Borders closed (which always had the easiest Black Friday in retail) that I wouldn't work another Black Friday. Well, I lied. Last year I worked at Best Buy. Even when I didn't have to work Black Friday I never participated. I come from a family where we have no money for x-mas presents ever. We celebrate with family and I almost always have my presents done by October because I don't want to deal with holiday retail. If I could avoid going to the store during Nov-Dec I would.
Anyways onto the real reason you are here. Back in the beginning of the month I began compiling some things for a giveaway. A massive giveaway full of all sorts of goodies with the intent of giving them away for X-Mas, you know, as it is better to give than to receive. I began to think, what could I give people for the holidays? I'll give you all of my favorite things!
Here's what you get:
- 3 Sample Packets of Murad's Anti-Aging Moisterizer with SPF 20 for Acne Prone Skin
- 1 Package Accent False Eyelashes
- 1 NYC Nail Polish in Lincoln Center
- 1 Sephora Brand Liquid Eyeliner in Black
- 1 Maybelline's Mega Plush Gel Mascara in Very Black
- 1 Elf Eye Pack with 2 Eyeshadow and Eye Primer
- 2 Handi-Bacs from Bath & Body Works (Fresh Strawberry and Market Fresh Apple)
- 1 Ed Hardy's Love & Luck Bath & Shower Gel
- 1 Yes to Cucumbers Make Up Remover Towelettes for Sensitive Skin
- 1 White Rain Rose Soap from my homemade soap collection Spellbound Soaps
- 1 Eucalyptus Peppermint Bar of Soap from my homemade soap collection Spellbound Soaps
- 1 Month Large Ad Space on My Blog
New Diggs
Ok so you can't tell me you didn't see this coming at some point? I mean every week I'm putting something skull-esque into WWL... my mom was surprised I didn't do the sugar skull thing for Halloween since I'm so good with make up. But yes, I wanted the design to reflect a little bit more of me. I feel like the old reflected who I was trying to be. Kind of a reoccurring theme in my life.
I'm moving away from being such a trendy shithead and just going with what I like. Not that I don't like the things I post about but it's just become work. Not that I'm not hard working but I just.... I don't blog for more work. I blog to relax, to kick back, you know, fun things. I like doing fun stuff. This whole NaBloPoMo mess has helped me realize that. I've discovered that I've become too invested in my blog being "big" or "making it" that I've lost sight of myself in my blog and I think you guys as my readers as well. I want to go back to this blog just being about me. Wow, how self-centered Sara.
I love having Make Up Monday but I find myself locked in a grip of terror if it's not out on time and every Monday. I'm loosing steam on coming up with new products to try. If you have an idea, shout it out to me because honestly you've dropped the ball not me. I might go to reviewing a product every couple of weeks and just post my daily face on Mondays. Would that be ok? Y/N?
I'm never going run out of things I want to buy. I'm waaayyyy too obsessed with clothing for that to happen. Wednesday Want Lists obviously aren't going ANYWHERE. Because one hand will always be filled with want and the other SHIT. I used to tell my mom they were dead even except that I wanted what I wanted a little bit more than I wanted shit. ;) She never found it as clever or amusing as I did.
So starting in the new year I'm going to just blog. No more pushing myself towards something that may not ever work. I've been busting my ass, using charts and graphs and all this stuff. This is why I left the media company I was working for. Blogging for a business just sucks. It sounds cool and awesome but really I just want to sit back and let it come to me if it is meant to be anything. If it isn't meant to be anything huge then that's fine because I'm doing it for me. For a place to express myself. I'm sure this will change. I am sure that I'll go back to working hard or whatever but I'm burnt out. And I know when I go back home that I'll be too busy running my grandma around like I'm driving Miss Daisy and job hunting and working that I'll be too busy to schedule posts.
I just need to slow down. I'm going to ride out NaBloPoMo but come Dec 1st, it'll slow down and by January I'll ease back into blogging just to blog.
I'm moving away from being such a trendy shithead and just going with what I like. Not that I don't like the things I post about but it's just become work. Not that I'm not hard working but I just.... I don't blog for more work. I blog to relax, to kick back, you know, fun things. I like doing fun stuff. This whole NaBloPoMo mess has helped me realize that. I've discovered that I've become too invested in my blog being "big" or "making it" that I've lost sight of myself in my blog and I think you guys as my readers as well. I want to go back to this blog just being about me. Wow, how self-centered Sara.
NEW LOWER AD PRICES: Large - $10, Medium - $6, Small - $3
I love having Make Up Monday but I find myself locked in a grip of terror if it's not out on time and every Monday. I'm loosing steam on coming up with new products to try. If you have an idea, shout it out to me because honestly you've dropped the ball not me. I might go to reviewing a product every couple of weeks and just post my daily face on Mondays. Would that be ok? Y/N?
I'm never going run out of things I want to buy. I'm waaayyyy too obsessed with clothing for that to happen. Wednesday Want Lists obviously aren't going ANYWHERE. Because one hand will always be filled with want and the other SHIT. I used to tell my mom they were dead even except that I wanted what I wanted a little bit more than I wanted shit. ;) She never found it as clever or amusing as I did.
So starting in the new year I'm going to just blog. No more pushing myself towards something that may not ever work. I've been busting my ass, using charts and graphs and all this stuff. This is why I left the media company I was working for. Blogging for a business just sucks. It sounds cool and awesome but really I just want to sit back and let it come to me if it is meant to be anything. If it isn't meant to be anything huge then that's fine because I'm doing it for me. For a place to express myself. I'm sure this will change. I am sure that I'll go back to working hard or whatever but I'm burnt out. And I know when I go back home that I'll be too busy running my grandma around like I'm driving Miss Daisy and job hunting and working that I'll be too busy to schedule posts.
I just need to slow down. I'm going to ride out NaBloPoMo but come Dec 1st, it'll slow down and by January I'll ease back into blogging just to blog.
How To Blog: SEO, Keywords and Meta Tags for Blogger
So basically I am throwing a fit right now. As in I am taking after Ivory and kicking and screaming and throwing myself onto the ground. I cannot find one article that PROPERLY goes over HOW TO ADD META TAGS. Sure, they tell you to use keywords and meta tags but where is my instruction manual? I mean, ok I know what a keyword is and I know what a tag is but how do I actually use it? HOW?! It's a how-to right? So how the EFF do I do this? I couldn't find one, probably because it is such a massive topic, so I'm writing it.
I worked for a media company, and sure I did some minor SEO for one of their many websites but the initial hardwork was already done for me. Someone had already come in and added all the keywords. I just had to do it per piece (blog). I don't consider myself an expert by any means but what I love about that phrase is how it translates. I'm being transparent right now in telling you I don't do this for a living, I make no guarantees but really what it means is I have no clue, I just hope this works so don't get your knickers in a twist if it doesn't pan out for you the way I said it *might*.
Unfortunately SEO is a guessing name. It is trial and error. This could work for you but it won't work for the next joe shmoe that comes along. Or it could work for a while and then Google re-does their algorithm (fancy math mumbo jumbo for the formula that brings up your site and not anothers based on specific parameters). Basically, it keeps changing and we have to keep re-doing our SEO tactics because well, SEO is not only trial and error but it's a massive chess game and basically we're all trying to take home the Benjamins instead of the queen.
So anyways back to these key words and tags. EVERYONE needs to do this, right now. I went over all of my favorite blogs and guess how many had this in their templates? NONE. So get on this right now because you are missing out on so much. Go to your favorite blogs and hit CONTROL + U. Then click CONTROL + F and type in "keywords" if it doesn't show up try looking under "meta" and see if it comes up then. If a string of words separated by commas does not show up this person is missing out completely on one key part of SEO.
I have found this typically of Blogger users. I've also found a tool for blogger users to generate this SEO code and all you have to do is open up your template and place it in. Copy and paste. BOOM. You're done. It's so simple and I'm trying to wrap my head around why more Blogger users don't have this? It took me about 20 minutes and three searches to find all this information. Surely you have 20 minutes to invest in your blog. If not, why do you even have one?
Instruction Manual:
Part Un (One): So I broke this down into three 5-step parts. Part one is making sure you have meta tags enabled and have a search description within blogger. Many people don't use the "blogger bar" but some do and people can find your blog based on that. But the only way Blogger will know if this person will find your blog interesting is if the description tells them it's similar. For example, if Person A's blog is about make up and your blog is about make up you want Person B looking for a make up blog to go from Person A's blog to your blog correct? Let's help you achieve that goal by enabling meta tags and by putting a good and accurate description of your blog out there.
Part Deux (Two):
This unfortunately isn't enough. You need keywords or meta tags to help boost your rankings within Google because let's face it Blogger is huge but you want more pieces of the pie than just Blogger. You want people from WordPress, Typepad and all those other platforms as well as those people who don't blog but are looking for informational stuffs that your blog SHOULD have. This is important. Professor Google isn't stupid okay? Google knows when you put "World Of Warcraft" as a keyword but your website is really about My Little Pony. It just knows those two things are not even remotely related. It's like God of the internet ok, you can't fool it and if you do it won't be for long. So this is where I show you how to put in meta tags.
Go to: http://seotools.bloggertricks.com/free/online-meta-tags-generator-tool/ and set up your basic stuffs. Insert your website's name, your name, copyright description from the previous step and now comes the hard part, those damn keywords. Initially just write "KEYWORDS" and hit continue since you can add your keywords later. I highlighted my code so you can see where the different entries are and what they look like once filled.
If you are having problems with keywords, read on my friends.
I worked for a media company, and sure I did some minor SEO for one of their many websites but the initial hardwork was already done for me. Someone had already come in and added all the keywords. I just had to do it per piece (blog). I don't consider myself an expert by any means but what I love about that phrase is how it translates. I'm being transparent right now in telling you I don't do this for a living, I make no guarantees but really what it means is I have no clue, I just hope this works so don't get your knickers in a twist if it doesn't pan out for you the way I said it *might*.
Unfortunately SEO is a guessing name. It is trial and error. This could work for you but it won't work for the next joe shmoe that comes along. Or it could work for a while and then Google re-does their algorithm (fancy math mumbo jumbo for the formula that brings up your site and not anothers based on specific parameters). Basically, it keeps changing and we have to keep re-doing our SEO tactics because well, SEO is not only trial and error but it's a massive chess game and basically we're all trying to take home the Benjamins instead of the queen.
So anyways back to these key words and tags. EVERYONE needs to do this, right now. I went over all of my favorite blogs and guess how many had this in their templates? NONE. So get on this right now because you are missing out on so much. Go to your favorite blogs and hit CONTROL + U. Then click CONTROL + F and type in "keywords" if it doesn't show up try looking under "meta" and see if it comes up then. If a string of words separated by commas does not show up this person is missing out completely on one key part of SEO.
I have found this typically of Blogger users. I've also found a tool for blogger users to generate this SEO code and all you have to do is open up your template and place it in. Copy and paste. BOOM. You're done. It's so simple and I'm trying to wrap my head around why more Blogger users don't have this? It took me about 20 minutes and three searches to find all this information. Surely you have 20 minutes to invest in your blog. If not, why do you even have one?
Instruction Manual:
Part Un (One): So I broke this down into three 5-step parts. Part one is making sure you have meta tags enabled and have a search description within blogger. Many people don't use the "blogger bar" but some do and people can find your blog based on that. But the only way Blogger will know if this person will find your blog interesting is if the description tells them it's similar. For example, if Person A's blog is about make up and your blog is about make up you want Person B looking for a make up blog to go from Person A's blog to your blog correct? Let's help you achieve that goal by enabling meta tags and by putting a good and accurate description of your blog out there.
- Go to Settings
- Then go to Search Preferences
- At the top of the page, enable Meta Tags if it hasn't already been done
- Write up your cute little description for search engines to find.
- Save your changes
Part Deux (Two):
This unfortunately isn't enough. You need keywords or meta tags to help boost your rankings within Google because let's face it Blogger is huge but you want more pieces of the pie than just Blogger. You want people from WordPress, Typepad and all those other platforms as well as those people who don't blog but are looking for informational stuffs that your blog SHOULD have. This is important. Professor Google isn't stupid okay? Google knows when you put "World Of Warcraft" as a keyword but your website is really about My Little Pony. It just knows those two things are not even remotely related. It's like God of the internet ok, you can't fool it and if you do it won't be for long. So this is where I show you how to put in meta tags.
- Go to Template
- Click "Back Up/ Restore"
- Download your Template (IMPORTANT!)
- Close this pop-up window
- Click the Edit HTML button.
Go to: http://seotools.bloggertricks.com/free/online-meta-tags-generator-tool/ and set up your basic stuffs. Insert your website's name, your name, copyright description from the previous step and now comes the hard part, those damn keywords. Initially just write "KEYWORDS" and hit continue since you can add your keywords later. I highlighted my code so you can see where the different entries are and what they look like once filled.
- Make Sure "Expand Widget Templates" is checked.
- Find the line (CTL + F) highlighted yellow.
- Copy the code from Part Deux and paste it DIRECTLY BELOW #2.
- Preview what your blog looks like, if you get an error in the preview DO NOT SAVE as it will mess up your whole template. Fix whatever error it gave you and try again.
- If you see your website and no error from #4 then come back and hit save and you're done!
If you are having problems with keywords, read on my friends.
5 Things Interning For a Major Media Company Taught Me About Blogging
When I last lived in Los Angeles I met someone who worked for a major website that I enjoyed while at a concert. When she got a promotion she needed an intern who lived in Los Angeles and I fit her criteria (know how to write, use photoshop and not be a psycho). I thought I fit, so I applied and interviewed. I'm not sure if my portfolio and resume got me the job or that I knew her boots where L.A.M.B without having to ask, or that I knew my music (since she was the music editor) or that we shared an avid love for tights. All I know is I was in and I discovered why she asked the things she did of her applicants throughout the year that I worked for this particular website.
My experience at this website was fabulous, trying, exciting but above all educational. I learned so much and I guess I never realized how much until I started blogging on my own. Here are the 5 things I learned from interning for a major media company:
CommentLuv, We Are Never Getting Back Together. Like Ever.
So I decided to remove CommentLuv from my blog. Remember how excited I was when I announced it? Well, it looks like it runs better with WordPress than Blogger. I couldn't get the links to work or customize the comment section so it integrated better with my template and there is virtually no support. It looks like just the owner going around and e-mailing anyone who complains to send him their template.
While I understand that he is just one person and that every case is different as he so eloquently put it on one website if you fixed what was wrong with your program (links not working, uninstalls not working, easier coding edits, ect) then people wouldn't want to uninstall. It was just a lot of hassle for nothing. So back to blogger I go. I don't want to try Disquis or anything like that right now. Maybe in the future.
I am extremely bummed that all my comments are gone however but at least this way now I know when people comment because blogger will tell me. That was another beef I had. I had it set to moderate and comments got pushed through, so I took that off because what good is that option if it doesn't work? Then I selected for them to e-mail me for every comment and I haven't gotten a single e-mail. Even through the contest where people commented away I got nothing. I had to do extra work to double check my posts every hour to make sure I got to everyone and even then I still missed some! Forgot about if someone comments on a post from way back when! I'll never find them. :( So stinky o' blogger comment form it is!
BTW, I hated this song when it first came out but it has seriously grown on me. Taylor Swift is just so cute and nice, I feel like we could be besties. Don't you feel that way too? I honestly wanted to punch Kanye for interrupting her acceptance speech. If it was me, I would have gone totally ghetto on his ass. How dare you! You're a big meanie Kanye! Beyonce was doing the same damn video over and over there for awhile. I honestly just wanted to sit down and say, "Look B, I can tell you miss being in Destiny's Child what with your dancing with two ladies behind you so just ask Kelly and Michelle to take you back. You know their careers need it and you obviously need it emotionally like I do. What do you say?" and call it a day. Obviously I still haven't forgiven Kanye for this little incident, even if it has been years.
This kind of reminds me of the time I used TLC's "No Scrubs" to break up with my first ever boyfriend. It was kind of awful of me and I think I'm still getting bad karma for it.
Have you ever used a song to break up with someone? What was your worst break up like?
And the winners are....
Drum roll please...
7 Goals To Acheive Before The World Ends
Goals are good to have. Gives you some motivation right? If you're like one of those doomsday preparer people I salute you. Unless you are my brother because that's weird. But I'm glad there is something you believe in so vehemently that you are willing to spend thousands of dollars to prepare for the end of the world on Dec 22nd. As if you are a cockroach and could survive it or something. Kudos. I'm actually one of those people who are bracing for the Zombie Apocalypse and got uber excited about the whole bath salts incident in Miami. Not excited that someone ate someone else's face or that it was so close to me mind you, just that everyone said they were zombies. Made it kind of exciting in a morbid-OH-MY-GLOB-shut-up-Sara kind of way.
So, in case the world does indeed end this is what I would like to achieve on the blog before then (or if the world doesn't end, by the new year):
So, in case the world does indeed end this is what I would like to achieve on the blog before then (or if the world doesn't end, by the new year):
New On The Blog: Sponsorship and a Contest!
I have thought long and hard about whether or not to do this. It is actually a pretty big decision. A lot of people start out blogging as a hobby or a release and then offers come in and it becomes this huge deal. Then there are people who accept all this money and sponsorship and their blog becomes one giant commercial. Where every post is not about them or the things they like but the things they are paid to say they like. You lose their voice and instead find yourself bored and turned off. I feel that way about some of the blogs I read and I want to stress that will never be me. There are also those people who donate the money from ads (which is something I will most likely do in the future) or people who are absolutely against it. I'm of the pro-choice attitude where in this case "choice" is the equivalent to "do-whatever-you-like-I-won't-judge-much" attitude.
If you skate on over to the new sponsorship page there is your usual mumbo jumbo stating how I will present anything sent to me in a post, that I'm only going to pick items I like, giveaways and sponsor posts will only be available to those who purchase "Large" Ads and that I have rule over everything. I mean, I'm really putting my foot down.
"I'm pleased to be able to offer sponsorship through my blog. All profit from ad sales will be directly cycled back into the website. Sales from ads will allow me to do things such as purchase more make up, a better camera (no more horrible cellphone pictures right?), things for giveaways, ad's from other websites, ect. As the website grows so do the possibilities..."
To kick things off I am offering a contest that will start today, Oct 2nd and run through Oct 9th. I will be giving away 5 ad spaces!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Winner's will be picked via the Rafflecopter's suggested method of picking winners, please make sure that I have a valid e-mail address for you. I will be contacting the winners via e-mail. The first winner chosen will get the Large ad space, the next two the Medium ad spaces and the last two will win the Small ad spaces. You will need to create your own ad and it should fit these dimensions:
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| Large Ad |
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| Medium Ad |
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| Small Ad |
The winners will be announced and posted during my Wednesday Want List post on the 10th. Good luck to everyone. If you want to go ahead and purchase some ad space please head over to the sponsor page. Keep in mind that I will not be approving ANY ads until this contest has finished.
CommentLuv Because I Love You And Your Smart Mouth
So we are friends right? And you like talking to me, or at least hearing about me and my life right? Well, why are you here? You know what, that doesn't matter. What matters is that we can now share in something beautiful. That something is called communication.
Now, maybe you are a little scared and that's fine. I'm here to soothe your woes, baby. Ok that was a little creepy/uncomfortable even for me. Anyways, this whole thing is about CommentLuv, a plugin by IntenseDebate. They make it possible for you to subscribe to my blog posts, comment on my posts and (this is my favorite feature) you can suggest a post of yours for me to visit. Did you hear me people? C'mon SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!
Literally, it is my favorite part of the commenting system. I found this via SITS and I love it. Every time I comment on any SITS post I have the option to add a link to something I've recently posted.
CHECK IT OUT:
I'm back with my shouty capitals because I'm TOTES EXCITED YEW GUISE. I want you to share with me things you think I should be reading of yours. I want you to talk to me because I love the things you have to say and I love what you share with me. Even if it is something smartass, I still love your smart mouth. I want you to tell me your thoughts your hopes, your dreams and what I should be reading of yours. What's more is that my readers who go to comment will see it also and they will visit you.
Ok, so maybe you aren't as nuts about this as I am but it's good to get excited over silly little things because then bad things aren't so bad. I'm a little concerned with all the junk flying around on here. I like things neat and ORGANIZED. Not all jumbled up but I hate the blogger default comment structure and I was looking for something a little more embedded and not so pop-up or generic. This is much better for me.
If you'd like to install CommentLuv to your Blogger there is a nice little tutorial that I used located here. All WordPress users get to cheat because they can just search for the plugin. I kind of miss WordPress for that reason but c'est la vie!
Now, maybe you are a little scared and that's fine. I'm here to soothe your woes, baby. Ok that was a little creepy/uncomfortable even for me. Anyways, this whole thing is about CommentLuv, a plugin by IntenseDebate. They make it possible for you to subscribe to my blog posts, comment on my posts and (this is my favorite feature) you can suggest a post of yours for me to visit. Did you hear me people? C'mon SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!
Literally, it is my favorite part of the commenting system. I found this via SITS and I love it. Every time I comment on any SITS post I have the option to add a link to something I've recently posted.
CHECK IT OUT:
Traffic, guys. I'm talking page views here.
Ok, so maybe you aren't as nuts about this as I am but it's good to get excited over silly little things because then bad things aren't so bad. I'm a little concerned with all the junk flying around on here. I like things neat and ORGANIZED. Not all jumbled up but I hate the blogger default comment structure and I was looking for something a little more embedded and not so pop-up or generic. This is much better for me.
If you'd like to install CommentLuv to your Blogger there is a nice little tutorial that I used located here. All WordPress users get to cheat because they can just search for the plugin. I kind of miss WordPress for that reason but c'est la vie!
So what's the verdict on this?
Do you like it Yes/No/Maybe?
What type of comment system do you use?
P.S: I'm also thinking about opening up to advertising, so keep that milling around in your brains for a minute.
Vlog: Being Considerate
I thought that perhaps I would try a vlog this weekend, my first ever. I want you guys to know my voice and how my humor works and sometimes that doesn't come across unless you've actually heard me talk. Keep in mind I made this on my computer in iMovie so nothing fancy.
Also, all the background noise is Ivory and her toys or Adventure Time, which was playing the background. Enjoy the special appearance from Princess Ivory! As I was editing this Ivory was going "bu-bye" and "baby? baybe BAAAYYYYBEEE" over and over. It was hilarious. Oh and can anyone explain to me how people think that I, a brown haired olive skinned brown eyed woman could create a porcelain skinned redhead with bright blue eyes after seeing us side-by-side? Yeah, baffles me too.
Also, all the background noise is Ivory and her toys or Adventure Time, which was playing the background. Enjoy the special appearance from Princess Ivory! As I was editing this Ivory was going "bu-bye" and "baby? baybe BAAAYYYYBEEE" over and over. It was hilarious. Oh and can anyone explain to me how people think that I, a brown haired olive skinned brown eyed woman could create a porcelain skinned redhead with bright blue eyes after seeing us side-by-side? Yeah, baffles me too.
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| Bow: Rue 21 Necklace: Me Cardigan: Body Shop Tank Top: Old Navy Polka Dot Shorts: Urban Outfitters Tights: Ann Taylor |
What do you do to be nice to others? Should I ever vlog again (LOL)?
How-To-Blog: Posts
Here is my fourth and final post in my How-To-Blog series. If you are just now find this then perhaps you might want to catch up: Part One | Part Two | Part Three.
Posting:
Links:
Always try to incorporate a few links into your post. Links out are fine but try to link to other content you have posted. Keep generating traffic within your site to keep people engaged longer.
Tags:
You are the graffiti artist of your own website so tag everything. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is based off tagging and Google (you know the biggest search engine ever?) finds your page and lists you as an authority on that topic ONLY if you tag your posts. So do it. I'm going to run down a few of the Do's and Don'ts of tagging.
My Girl Thursday has a very interesting article/vlog about making your blog pretty for nothing and basically have written a whole slew of blogs geared towards this exact topic. Expand your mind with their "blogging" label.
But basically it boils down to this image:
Posting:
So you have your blog with your cute layout that was designed just for you and you have a purpose and now you are going to start posting your content that is directly related to your purpose right? So how do you begin? If it is your very first post try doing an introduction. Make a "Welcome to My Blog" post. It's generic but it will help you learn formatting.
Here are some tips for you:
White Space:
HAVE SOME! Try to keep your posts between 300-600 words. If your post is going to be extremely long, break it up with white space and pictures. Look at your favorite blogs. What do they look like? Long streams of text or paragraphs separated by lovely white spaces?
HAVE SOME! Try to keep your posts between 300-600 words. If your post is going to be extremely long, break it up with white space and pictures. Look at your favorite blogs. What do they look like? Long streams of text or paragraphs separated by lovely white spaces?
Links:
Always try to incorporate a few links into your post. Links out are fine but try to link to other content you have posted. Keep generating traffic within your site to keep people engaged longer.
Tags:
You are the graffiti artist of your own website so tag everything. SEO or Search Engine Optimization is based off tagging and Google (you know the biggest search engine ever?) finds your page and lists you as an authority on that topic ONLY if you tag your posts. So do it. I'm going to run down a few of the Do's and Don'ts of tagging.
- DO tag every single post with at least THREE tags.
- DON'T tag everything "Britney Spears" just because you like her. Unless you are a Britney fan site, have a photo of Britney Spears on that page or mention her somewhere in the post there is no need for it. Google isn't stupid and haven't you ever been annoyed by searching for something and something completely irrelevant popped up? Yeah, don't be that guy/girl/jackass.
- DO keep track of your site(or Google) analytics and see which tags are driving the most traffic to your website. Then continue to post content so you can reuse that tag!
- DON'T keep using that tag on posts that it doesn't pertain to. Again, Google probably helped you pass a bajillion tests so you know it isn't stupid. It will learn the difference and you will have thrown all your hard work away.
- DO create tags for your posts based on how you would search for them. For example, if you write a blog on make up what would you yourself type in Google to find it and get it to come up? I'm not saying type "website-name.org, make up" but for example if I want someone to find my latest Make Up Monday post, you better believe I tagged that post as 'Make Up Monday' and loved every minute of it.
- DO use tags as navigation! Tags are also an excellent way for people to find things within your website, so if they only come for your fashion posts they can click "Fashion" and every post tagged with fashion will come up. This helps them navigate away from the things they don't want to read about and keeps them coming back for the things they do want to read about.
- DON'T tag your post with generic tags like 'blog' or 'girl' because that's not specific. Be creative, it pays off
Social Media:
Everyone is in contact with some form of social media. If you want to keep in contact with people, have some type of authority on the internet and drive traffic to your website? Then you need social media and you need to know how to play up each network's strengths to your advantage. For example; tumblr is simple to use but only really generates traffic within its confines, it doesn't do a lot of out sourcing. If you are only getting 20 visitors a month from tumblr it's time to make a decision; either step it up on tumblr or let that sinking ship go down. However, if you are getting 100 unique visitors per day from twitter? Forget Tumblr, keep on top of Twitter and drive that traffic, keep up those interactions, ect.
Everyone is in contact with some form of social media. If you want to keep in contact with people, have some type of authority on the internet and drive traffic to your website? Then you need social media and you need to know how to play up each network's strengths to your advantage. For example; tumblr is simple to use but only really generates traffic within its confines, it doesn't do a lot of out sourcing. If you are only getting 20 visitors a month from tumblr it's time to make a decision; either step it up on tumblr or let that sinking ship go down. However, if you are getting 100 unique visitors per day from twitter? Forget Tumblr, keep on top of Twitter and drive that traffic, keep up those interactions, ect.
There are ways to cultivate each social media network and grow your presence on them. Perhaps I'll go into deeper detail about this on a later date, maybe in a separate series? I did do social media marketing for an internet company I worked for so it's not like I'm a beginner or anything but for right now I'll leave you with this cheat sheet and offer this piece of advice; KEEP UP.
Photos:
You are going to hear a lot of contradicting information when it comes to photos: yes have them, no don't have them, never center them, center them, keep them all one size, have them expand the whole width of your page, ect. Follow your gut. Preview your posts before publishing them and make sure that they look good. As long as you think they look good then that's really all that matters because it is your blog. You won't be able to please everyone and you will drive yourself mad hater insane trying to do so. My suggestion is to make sure you have CLEAR, bright photo's that look good with your layout (as in they don't extend out of your main frame into your side bar, no broken images and aren't too big or too small to be seen properly) and beyond that aim for just pleasing yourself.
You are going to hear a lot of contradicting information when it comes to photos: yes have them, no don't have them, never center them, center them, keep them all one size, have them expand the whole width of your page, ect. Follow your gut. Preview your posts before publishing them and make sure that they look good. As long as you think they look good then that's really all that matters because it is your blog. You won't be able to please everyone and you will drive yourself mad hater insane trying to do so. My suggestion is to make sure you have CLEAR, bright photo's that look good with your layout (as in they don't extend out of your main frame into your side bar, no broken images and aren't too big or too small to be seen properly) and beyond that aim for just pleasing yourself.
Finding Time To Blog:
Ok, so maybe you've done a few posts on this blog of yours and between work, school, social life, ect you are wondering where the heck do these people who churn out posts every couple of days keep up with the demands on their blog? Well that's solved in one word: SCHEDULING! I have pre-written and scheduled every single one of these posts about blogging way ahead of time. I usually use my weekends for writing up large pieces of content. For example my Make Up Monday posts are written a week ahead of time. My Wednesday Want List polyvore collages are usually done a few days in advance and then I write them up and schedule the post to be published on Wednesday the Tuesday before it comes out. That way I spend more time enjoying life than blogging about the life I wish I had if my blog didn't take up so much of my damn time! <- Sarcasm.
Ok, so maybe you've done a few posts on this blog of yours and between work, school, social life, ect you are wondering where the heck do these people who churn out posts every couple of days keep up with the demands on their blog? Well that's solved in one word: SCHEDULING! I have pre-written and scheduled every single one of these posts about blogging way ahead of time. I usually use my weekends for writing up large pieces of content. For example my Make Up Monday posts are written a week ahead of time. My Wednesday Want List polyvore collages are usually done a few days in advance and then I write them up and schedule the post to be published on Wednesday the Tuesday before it comes out. That way I spend more time enjoying life than blogging about the life I wish I had if my blog didn't take up so much of my damn time! <- Sarcasm.
Basically organization is key. I showed you my calendar for my blog but I didn't show you my calendar for me paired with my blog:
It looks like a lot but trust me, it is much better to schedule out reminders and schedule time for things. This isn't set in stone. I can always prep my Make Up Monday (MUM) post on Sundays if I'm too busy on Saturday and sometimes I have a whole week scheduled so I can live during that week and not once look at my blog!
More Advice:
My Girl Thursday has a very interesting article/vlog about making your blog pretty for nothing and basically have written a whole slew of blogs geared towards this exact topic. Expand your mind with their "blogging" label.
But basically it boils down to this image:
I promise you, as long as you follow the above mantra you will never be steered wrong as far as blogging goes.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and allowing me to guide you a bit through the blogging process. I'm always available for questions beyond this and would love to go in-depth or expand on any of the topics I've covered if need be. Just drop me an e-mail, comment or contact me on any of my various social networks. Thanks again for reading!
How-To-Blog: Purpose and Content
Welcome to part three of my How-To-Blog series. If you missed it: Part One | Part Two . I decided to put the concepts of Purpose and Content together because they go hand-in-hand like pea and carrots or love and marriage you can't have one without the other.
Purpose:
You can say your purpose is to blog but what do you blog about? You blog about content or if you are simply ranting about your day diary style then your blog is your content. This is where your organization skills will come in handy. I use a notebook and Google to keep track of my stuff so I recommend getting one of those tiny notebooks and writing down your ideas, thoughts, hopes, ect. You could create a vision board like I did for my blog out of things I found in my office:
So if your purpose is to be a resource for DIY projects then obviously you have the content all figured out. Your will blog about DIY projects. If your purpose is to inform on the latest fashions then obviously you'll be a fashion blog with fashion posts, ect.
Content:
Next you'll need content. I don't mean that you have to make dolls, or that you have to create graphics but that there needs to be something on your blog that the visitors who come to your blog can see, read, take, gain something from it that ties into your purpose. So my first websites where for the purpose of people taking graphics I created for them. Then it was to vent my emotions and create graphics for people. I actually sold and coded blogs throughout high school for pay. Now the purpose of my blog is to create, inspire and inform. I create little DIY's and share them with you. Hopefully my blog as a whole inspires you in some way and I hope that this post as well as my fashion posts either inspire or inform you on certain topics. If I'm not doing these things then I've failed my blog, you as readers and myself because I didn't fulfill my purpose. Damn it!
Another thing you may want to do is jot down your ideas (hence the notebook) for content because they may pop into your head while you are out and about or you may want that notebook for scheduling. Blogs take a lot of work, so planning ahead so your blog does not stagnate or go without content for a long period of time. Obviously you won't blog every day, who has the time for that. I try to make sure I have something planned for Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. I use Tuesdays and Thursdays to build content for the next "posting" day and weekends for my projects. You don't have to do this but I like to keep it steady. Obviously you can plan out whatever you'd like.
I have "Make Up Mondays" so that my make up loving guys and gals can come back every Monday to find something they will enjoy. For my fashionista's I have my Wednesday Want List. Obviously Fridays I don't have a set thing going. I wanted to do Photo Friday because I love those repeating consonants but that doesn't seem to be working so well for me. Foodie Friday, Fashion Friday, Tutorial Tuesdays, Thrifty Thursdays (ALLITERATIONS - I love them!) seemed kind of like what I was geared towards in the beginning.
But this M/W/F schedule works for me. For now I just have a random piece of content on Fridays. So not everything is thought of ahead. Also, I like the idea of being free to do whatever I want on Fridays. Having the same thing every Monday and Wednesday may also be seen as boring but I like to think of it as structure. I also have pieces written and stacked up for when I don't have any earthly idea of what to do but know that I need a post. See the Task list? I keep my ace in the hole right where I can see them in case I get stuck.
Here is a tiny list of content ideas that I have come up with for my blog. I don't mind if you use them because it's really hard to be original these days so as long as it has your flavor to it there's no way to say you ripped it from me. ;) Hell, if anything you can say I ripped it from you.
Also check out these links from Independent Fashion Bloggers. They are excellent resources for any type of blogger:
Credit: Independent Fashion Bloggers
Purpose:
You can say your purpose is to blog but what do you blog about? You blog about content or if you are simply ranting about your day diary style then your blog is your content. This is where your organization skills will come in handy. I use a notebook and Google to keep track of my stuff so I recommend getting one of those tiny notebooks and writing down your ideas, thoughts, hopes, ect. You could create a vision board like I did for my blog out of things I found in my office:
So if your purpose is to be a resource for DIY projects then obviously you have the content all figured out. Your will blog about DIY projects. If your purpose is to inform on the latest fashions then obviously you'll be a fashion blog with fashion posts, ect.
Content:
Next you'll need content. I don't mean that you have to make dolls, or that you have to create graphics but that there needs to be something on your blog that the visitors who come to your blog can see, read, take, gain something from it that ties into your purpose. So my first websites where for the purpose of people taking graphics I created for them. Then it was to vent my emotions and create graphics for people. I actually sold and coded blogs throughout high school for pay. Now the purpose of my blog is to create, inspire and inform. I create little DIY's and share them with you. Hopefully my blog as a whole inspires you in some way and I hope that this post as well as my fashion posts either inspire or inform you on certain topics. If I'm not doing these things then I've failed my blog, you as readers and myself because I didn't fulfill my purpose. Damn it!
Another thing you may want to do is jot down your ideas (hence the notebook) for content because they may pop into your head while you are out and about or you may want that notebook for scheduling. Blogs take a lot of work, so planning ahead so your blog does not stagnate or go without content for a long period of time. Obviously you won't blog every day, who has the time for that. I try to make sure I have something planned for Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. I use Tuesdays and Thursdays to build content for the next "posting" day and weekends for my projects. You don't have to do this but I like to keep it steady. Obviously you can plan out whatever you'd like.
I have "Make Up Mondays" so that my make up loving guys and gals can come back every Monday to find something they will enjoy. For my fashionista's I have my Wednesday Want List. Obviously Fridays I don't have a set thing going. I wanted to do Photo Friday because I love those repeating consonants but that doesn't seem to be working so well for me. Foodie Friday, Fashion Friday, Tutorial Tuesdays, Thrifty Thursdays (ALLITERATIONS - I love them!) seemed kind of like what I was geared towards in the beginning.
But this M/W/F schedule works for me. For now I just have a random piece of content on Fridays. So not everything is thought of ahead. Also, I like the idea of being free to do whatever I want on Fridays. Having the same thing every Monday and Wednesday may also be seen as boring but I like to think of it as structure. I also have pieces written and stacked up for when I don't have any earthly idea of what to do but know that I need a post. See the Task list? I keep my ace in the hole right where I can see them in case I get stuck.
Here is a tiny list of content ideas that I have come up with for my blog. I don't mind if you use them because it's really hard to be original these days so as long as it has your flavor to it there's no way to say you ripped it from me. ;) Hell, if anything you can say I ripped it from you.
- Link Love
- Giveaways
- What I am Wearing/Reading/Eating/ Listening to OR Currently
- Photo's of the Week
- Post of the Week
- Who Wore It Better
- Tutorials
- DIY Projects
- Series of Blogs on "How To...."
- GPOY
- Current Event
- Free Write
- FAQ's
- Freebie's
- This Time Last Year
- Favorite Album
- Movie/Music/Product/Website Review
- Guest Blogger Post
- Sponsor Post
- Interviews
- Recipes
- Vlogs
- http://www.probloggingsuccess.com/blog-content-ideas/
- http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/04/generate-blog-content-ideas-through-analytics/
- http://myventurepad.com/kronikseo/95945/30-great-content-ideas-your-website-or-blog
Also check out these links from Independent Fashion Bloggers. They are excellent resources for any type of blogger:
- http://heartifb.com/2012/07/23/10-pieces-bad-fashion-blogging-advice/
- http://heartifb.com/2012/07/23/5-steps-to-create-a-successful-niche-for-your-blog/
- http://heartifb.com/2012/07/22/how-to-discover-your-blogging-talents/
- http://heartifb.com/2012/07/12/5-tips-to-keeping-your-blog-relevant/
- http://heartifb.com/2012/07/24/5-tips-on-how-to-set-traffic-goals-for-yourself/
- http://heartifb.com/2012/07/17/5-ways-to-engage-your-facebook-community/
Credit: Independent Fashion Bloggers
How-To-Blog:Layout
Welcome to part two of my How-To-Blog series. If you missed it, part one is located over here.
In today's post I am going to go over layout, design, some faux-paws of design and give you a list of awesome designers whom offer their quality services at competitive rates in case you are lacking in the graphic-design-talent department. Don't worry about it if you are, they make their packages fool-proof.
So you've done it. You went somewhere and created a blog. Now you need to dress it up, give it some clothes and let your freak flag fly. Ok, while that was an awesome alliteration I have no clue where I was going with that.
Design:
Every platform has "templates" that you can pick from and most of them let you customize it to your taste.
Examples of Templates
But there are always restrictions and sometimes that isn't what you want. I can't abide blogs where I can tell what template they are using. *cough*tumblr*cough* Honestly, I am put out by it. Every time I go to a new blog I want to see a different layout. I don't want the same layout everyone else has and you shouldn't either.
You can try doing it yourself. It is definitely fun to play around in graphics programs like Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop but it can be costly. That is how I learned. I just goofed off, read tutorials on how to do certain effects, e-mailed bloggers and asked them how they did certain things, if they would write tutorials on how they did this or that and learned from that. I spent a great deal of time on Lissa and there was LOTS of trial and error. That is the lengthy and time consuming way of doing things but it is cheaper and you will ALWAYS be happy with your layout because you designed it the way you wanted it and will only put it up when you are 100% satisfied.
You will always at least have one main frame. You should probably put in navigation so people can get around because hopefully you'll have more than one page. That can be put in a header or a sidebar. If you have no clue what any of that is I have created this image to help you with terminology. It varies from person to person and these all have multiple names but these are the common terms: header, Footer, side bar(s), main frame.
The image should be self-explanatory. For example my present layout has a header, a right side bar and a main frame. You will always have a main frame. Whether you have a header, footer, one side bar or two will be completely optional and up to you. I have my navigation in my side bar but you can put that in your header if you prefer. I do not have ad space at present but it is common to sell ad space in your sidebars and have your navigation as part of your header.
You'll then want to add graphics (for example a header, or a button for people to post on their blogs) and color to your blog. One thing I can caution you about do not make a website that looks like these: Google Image Search Results For "Bad Web Design". I'm sure you can figure out why those are all terrible ideas. If not, click on some of them and find out why but be warned some have horrible flashy backgrounds that will prompt seizures so if you are prone to them best to just take my word for it.
But if you are like me and get lazy or don't know what the heck you are doing you can also pay someone to design your blog. There are several designers on Etsy that you can find. Always go with a designer that fits your vision. Every graphic artist has a style. Find a few blogs that you love the design on, they will most likely credit either themselves or who designed their blog. You can go with something premade or custom. For a custom order you will have to tell this person what you want. They will have their own questions but to get started write out a short paragraph of what you want your blog to look like. Describe to them a little bit about yourself; if you like tribal tell them. If you hate orange but love teal tell them. Give them links to websites with layouts you adore, especially if they designed any of them. These are visual people so pain them a picture. They will go over things like links, headers, navigation, ect.
Designers:
Here are a few designers who I love. If you don't know what you are doing, want to invest the money into your blog and want a kick-ass blog design then these are definitely for you. They are in no order of favoritism so visit them all and see if they strike your fancy.
- Seven Thirty-three: Very big on Chevron print and I love it.
- I Rock So What: Jess makes ridiculously cute graphics. Truly.
- Sweet Faerie Designs: Carrie, is who I got my social media buttons from that I absolutely adore
- Veda House: I love minimalism right now. I love how simplistic, clean and vibrant all of their designs are.
- Breanna Rose: Again more minimalism. Told you I loved it.
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