10 Mistakes Every First-Time Blogger Makes

 

Hello lovelies! Since I shared a post last week about a few milestones I’ve recently reached on my blog, I wanted to give some unsolicited advice about the mistakes new bloggers make. I started out on my blogging adventure in May 2014 and did so many crazy things that crack me up now. Many of you have commented on other blog posts saying that you’re new to the blogging world. I’d love to help you out with a few suggestions on what you shouldn’t do when blogging!

Blogging Mistakes

Inconsistent Blogging –

I’ve had many bloggers approach me and want to collaborate, which is great! However, the first thing I do is check their blogs to see how consistent they are in their blogging. Why? Because it says a lot about how serious they are, the size of their (potential) audience, and how much my time will be worth collaborating on a project with them. Additionally, your own audience will become disinterested in you if they don’t know when you’ll post next.

Poorly Lit Photos-

The first months of my blogging were the worst for this! Shadowy pictures, grainy photos, and just awful imagery were all over my posts. It was bad. No one likes to look at that! People love pretty pictures that are well lit and taken with a steady hand. The best light is natural light. 

Writing Mysterious Titles-

“Pumpkins and Bicycles.” What does that even mean? Bloggers seem to think that mysterious blog titles will get people interested in what they wrote. It doesn’t do that at all. If people don’t clearly understand the topic of your blog post, then they are very unlikely to click it on to find out more.

Strange Font Colors-

When I first started blogging, I thought it was a fun idea to make my fonts bright and exciting. I actually made some of the font colors pink! Yes, I would write my entire post in pink. Guess what? No one can read that, so don’t do it.

Keeping the .Wordpress-

Starting out, you aren’t sure if you want to invest money in your blog. Believe me, I get it. However, if you want brands and other bloggers to take you seriously and collaborate with you, you have to get rid of that “.Wordpress” in your blog’s url and that means buying the domain name.

Relying on Polyvore for Content-

I love Polyvore, but it shouldn’t be your main source to create content. I use it specifically to help me with illustrations for my blog, but I do not let that become the centerpiece. For example, I might create a little something about a seasonal coffee bar, but I don’t plop that on my blog post and say “enjoy guys!” That doesn’t help anyone or give them ideas. You need to write something!

Writing About Yourself-

Talking about your experiences adds life to your posts, but your blog isn’t your online diary. If you truly want to grow your blog, then you need to have content that somehow helps or inspires the readers.

Promoting Your Blog-

I’ve had people comment on my blog or Instagram saying something like “Great” and then leaving their blog link. Obviously, they’re trying to get me and my readers to visit their blog. Leave a substantive comment and it’s more likely to happen.

Forgetting to Spell Check-

Even I still forget to do this. It’s the thing that can add or take away credibility from your website. Similar to applying for a job, you can’t have mistakes on your resume because no one will take you seriously.

Writing More Than You Promote-

For whatever reason, we think all we have to do is promote our blog posts on our Facebook pages and our Twitters, but it’s so much more than that. Collaborating with other bloggers, writing for websites, and leaving genuine comments on other’s blogs is promotion.

If you have tips, experiences, or advice to share, then please leave a comment! I always enjoy hearing what you have to say and so does everyone else!

 

 

Blog Tip Tuesday

Good morning beauties! It’s a lovely day here in Maryland and I’m happy to see the sun shining and a breeze blowing. I was scrolling through a Facebook group I’m apart of that’s specifically for fashion and lifestyle bloggers such as myself. One blogger posted about how no matter how small your blog is, you should value the audience has and so should anyone who approaches you for a collaboration. Especially, businesses that want to collaborate. I’m going to piggy back on what she said and give some words of wisdom to newer bloggers out there!

When I first started blogging (over a year ago), I knew nothing about how it’s done and how to gain followers. Being so inexperienced, people could very easily take advantage of me. And they did. Several times I was approached by big name brands (Warby Parker, Majestic Sp0rts and others) to write about their products on my blog. In exchange for doing this, they would be selecting their favorite blog posts and sharing them on their social media accounts. Thinking of how talented I was (or so I thought), I hopped on board and wrote a post about their products and how cute they are. I bet you can guess what didn’t happen next! Yep, my posts were never selected to be shared on social media.

Here’s what happens when companies approach you like this and you take the bait: they get free advertising and you get nothing. Typically, when bloggers are approached by companies for legitimate collaborations the blogger at least gets a free item if not monetary payment in addition to it. I follow several bloggers that are paid to wear clothes or take pictures of how they “styled” a certain piece of furniture in their home. To be honest, at times it gets annoying because you wonder if these products are any good or is said blogger just doing it for the money. However, it can also be a really great tool to use if done honestly.

The bottom line is, no matter how small your blog is, you should always be compensated for your time and blog space when companies want you to write about their products or services. It’s just that simple.

I’m still trying to figure out how to get legitimate offers from companies and how to actually make a living (or at least some spending money) off of blogging. I’ll let you know when I figure this out.

Channeling Our Inner Audrey

I’ve always been an Audrey Hepburn fan, and apparently so has Kim Kardashian, or so it appears. In a new ad for Hype energy drinks, Kim channels her inner Audrey Hepburn while riding a bicycle similar to the famous photos of Audrey on the set of “Sabrina”.

Quite honestly, I’m not a fan of this ad. Audrey is famous for her movies and Kim is famous for… “home” movies and her rather large bum. It was a good try on Kim’s part, but she has her own brand and it makes no sense for her to attempt a look that doesn’t line up with it. Maybe she should try for Madonna next time. It’s a little closer to her brand.

For those of us who aren’t know for our bums or anything else, we can try to recreate the adorable outfits Hepburn has been famously photographed in. Better yet, create your own classics. To do this, I’m buying black, white, and red. I’ve always believed that classic clothing is the best, most economical choice a woman can make. Having the basics in your closet is the one thing I recommend you spend a little extra on because they’ll last for many seasons. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the latest trends because you’re always in style anyway. I truly believe that “trendy is one step away from tacky.” Why do people recreate Audrey’s outfits? Because they’re still stylish and classy!

Red lipstick, fitted trousers, pearls, little black dresses, and so many other signature Audrey items are still up for grabs even now as staples for every woman’s wardrobe. Embrace them, just not in the way Kim did.

My Favorite (simple) Home-Based Exercises

It’s Thursday and I’m happy (and so is my body)! I’ve been hitting the gym hard the last few days and every muscle aches. Staying in shape is not easy and it’s taken me a few years to learn how to do exercises properly and a few months to really get into a routine. I joined a local gym back in April to motivate myself to workout more. Believe it or not, it worked! I go 5 days a week for about an hour each day.

Honestly, you don’t have to join a gym to get in a great workout. There are quite a few of us that simply don’t have the extra time or money to get a gym membership and that’s fine! Many of the exercises that I do at my gym can be done pretty much anywhere. If you can’t join a gym right now, here are a few exercises I love to do that you can do at home (and it’s free).

• Lunges- I do about 40 of them (20 on each leg) back and forth across the floor. For an added challenge I hold weights in each hand to make my abs and arms work a little harder.
• Standing push-up- I can’t get on the floor and do a legitimate push-up so I like to lean against a counter top or even a wall and do about 20 of them that way. It’s much less stress on my back!
• Donkey kicks- Get on all fours and push your left leg back as if you’re kicking something behind you. Switch to the opposite leg. I do this about 20 times for each leg and it really helps to tone your butt and the back of the leg.
• Hyperextensions- Using a weight (can be anything from a dumb bell to a jug of milk) spread your feet shoulder-width apart, keep your shoulders back, and slowly bend forward at the hips until you are at a 90 degree angle. Then, come back up to a standing position. This works your abs and your back!

As always, doing 20 minutes of cardio really helps to take off those calories. I like to walk at an incline if I can to work the back of my legs and get my heart pumping faster. People who like to run might consider doing it on something softer like sand or even grass because pavement can be bad to run on for your knees.

If you have any suggestions for exercises that don’t require being at the gym to do, leave me a comment!

 

The Golden Rules of Shopping

Happy Friday loves! On Wednesday, I was super excited to find out that an article I wrote was published on the Money Saving Mom blog! I’m certainly not a mom, but I know how important it is to learn how to save money. In the article, I talk about my addiction to shopping and how I’ve slowly found ways to break free from it and save money too!

Today, I’m going to give you my golden rules for shopping so you can get the best deal wherever you are and no matter what you’re looking for.

• Read the fine print
  • I get so many emails from stores like Old Navy advertising a “great” sale their having. I get all excited at first that whatever I want is on sale until I realize that in order to get the sale price, I have to either spend a certain amount of money or I have to use my Old Navy credit card. Rarely is this a good deal. If I just need a blouse but I have to spend $50 to get the sale price, it’s not a good deal.
• Shop often
  • I get the best prices on things that I genuinely love by browsing the stores at least once a week. For example, I had been eyeing a really cute Lauren Conrad dress for awhile. I checked back at the store every Saturday for about a month. Finally, it came down in price from $64 to $34 and then finally to $15! It pays to wait awhile.
• Skip the BOGO
  • Since when did I want to buy one to get another one? Usually, I only need 1 of something, not multiples. This is only worth it if you’ve found a great layering t-shirt because you can always use several of those (necessary in every wardrobe, see post about this here).
• Shop in the opposite season
  • For example, if it’s the beginning of summer, look for things on clearance from the late winter season. I never pay full price for clothing. I don’t buy summer clothes during the summer, I only by them in the mid-late fall because that’s when they will be the lowest price.

Do you have any golden rules for shopping? I’d love to hear them! Leave me a comment!