April 30, 2010

Hey everyone and happy Friday! I'm in an excellent mood today. I was able to get a good night sleep so I put some thoughts into my outfit and makeup. When you look good, you feel good! You also become more creative with blog postings.

I started BeautySpot about a year and half ago and noticed today that I'm at 291 followers! Initially, I never thought anyone would like to read my rambling. I remember how excited I was when I got my first comment ever (from Shayla of ReveNoir incidentally). I thought it's about time I share some blogging pointers for those new to blogging or those of you who just like to know how I got to where I am (which is really not that far, lol!).

Here we go, these are not really in order of importance:

1. Passion
The first tip is that you have to be passionate about the topics you write about. BeautySpot is a makeup blog. I've always loved makeup, from buying to applying to finding what works best for me to discussing cosmetic topics with my readers. When I wake up in the morning, I get happy right away thinking about my makeup. I think about blog posts all the time; when I'm cooking, in the shower, during lunch break....If you're not passionate about your own blog, no one else will be.

2. Frequent Posting
There are days that I'm so stressed and busy with my personal life that the last thing I want to do is blogging when I get home. But I always try and maintain a pretty consistent blogging schedule despite all. If I find that my posts are lackluster one week (this week for example) due to personal issues, I make up for it next week. Which brings me to the next point,

3. Variety
My blog is mainly to share my FOTD's with you guys as applying makeup is my favourite part of the blogging journey. However, I like to mixe it up by adding reviews, favourites, polls, discussion topics, nail of the day or random thoughts. I find the blogs I enjoy the most are the ones that have variety yet remain on their main topic, I try to do the same.

4. Be Interactive
I try to reply to comments on my blog as fast as I can. I don't leave any comments or question unanswered for more than a day (I try to reply much faster than that). I also love to do topics like polls or cosmetic discussion to know what my readers like or get their opinion on everything beauty. It helps me learn more about my readers which I always enjoy.

5. Comment, comment, comment!
One of the best ways for your blog to get more exposure is to discover other blogs with similar contents and interact with your felow bloggers. We all have busy lives, but this is one of the best ways to improve your blogging skills. I personally have a very demanding day job, a husband (lol!) and a relatively busy social life but I allocate 30 min to an hour a day to catch up with blogs on my blog rolls, comment on fave posts and discover new blogs. You never know how much there's to learn out there till your expand your horizons.

6. Online Community
Being a member of online communities and forums will also help you meet like-minded bloggers which will result in a better blog. You'll learn more about topic trends and what ppl like to read. I'm a regular poster on Specktra and many of my followers found me through there. I also post on Makeup Alley, Makeup Talk and Love, Life Lipstick.

7. Contests and Giveaways
Contests and giveaways are sure ways to give more exposures to your blog. I've had two contests so far (one sponsored and one supported by me) and each of them have helped me tremendousely with more followers. I don't like to do giveaways just to get more followers, it's also a way to rewared my readers for their time and interest in my blog.

8. Wording is key
If you go to Google right now and type "Chanel Rouge Coco Swatch", what do you see? My blog is the second one on the list right after Temptalia's. This shows how important it is to tag your posts appropriatley and use key search words. This is especially important if you use blogger which is a Google feature.

wow, that was pretty long! Hope it helped you guys though. I know these pointers helped me :)