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Friday, 13 July 2012

Friday Friends - Jody from Soflajo

Hi Goddesses



I have a lovely friend for you today - Jody from Soflajo.   I know Jody from a lot of Facebook groups, although we're not super-close.  Jody is one of those hyphenate people - she blogs, she has her own line of polishes, she's a personal trainer - you know, one of these people who manage to make 36 hours in a day :)



She's also the lady who was almost in my birthday group, but we had 2 people wanting the last space.   I reluctantly said no to Jody .... and then she went and became a polish-making Queen!   Lol ... talk about bad timing.   Anyway, here's Jody, it's a fascinating piece, and finally I found out why her line is called Soflajo.  Enjoy xxx


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What is your name and what is your blog?
Jody Alu     www.soflajo.com
FB - Soflajo          Twitter - @Soflajo         Pinterest - Soflajo
Instagram - Soflajo        etsy - Soflajo        ebay - Soflajo
Fort Lauderdale, FL       (Seeing a pattern? LOL)


What can we expect to see on your blog / How would you describe your style / your blog’s style
I write conversationally, just like we'd be talking to each other. I write about my stash, groups I participate in on fb, my family, an animal charity I'm involved in, riding my Harley, workouts, and my line of nail polishes. A little bit of everything.


Why did you decide to start the blog –
I've had blogs for my business and for when I did extra work for tv shows filmed locally, but I'd been wanting one for awhile about me and what I like.


How many followers do you have / how many visitors do you get a day / if you have an established blog, how have you “built” your following
I have a couple hundred on my blog, over 750 on fb, and over 1650 on twitter. I get a couple hundred visitors a day. I've given my polishes as giveaways to other bloggers who have included one of their entries as a sign up on my page. I also pimp my blog in my groups. I have business cards that I give out and include with ebay sales. I have a nail polish line and people follow looking for info and updates as well as buying through my storefront.


What do you do in the real world, and how do you fit blogging in with your lifestyle ?
I'm a personal trainer and fitness instructor. I post workouts on my blog and have a tab where I copy them to so that people can get a ready made workout to follow.


What is the favourite post you have done
This is my favorite post. I was in a Valentines swap and although I didn't know who got me at the time, it turned out to be someone I've become friends with for some time and we are both cat lovers and both support animal charities. I had told my bunny that I didn't really need anything and to please donate to their favorite animal charity - and she did! I was so touched and I choke up every time I think about it!



What is your most popular ever post 
It would have to be the bunny post above


Which blogger do you most admire / who do you follow / who are your go to bloggers
I really like NailsAdored, Polish Fixation, Captivating Claws
Goto would have to be Scrangie, hands down. LOL


When blog posts go wrong – pls share a photo and link of a blog post of your own that you are ashamed of / wish you could redo / didn’t turn out how you wanted it to. 
I really like to think of myself as socially conscious and try to be a philanthropist. I made a post about donating old cellphones and other charitable things and I got no response to it at all. I should have maybe given it a little more pizzazz.

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Pick a further 3 manis of your choice from your blog 
This is one of my polishes - Shirley Temple. I had it on as my base for my first water marble. It was really a fun post http://www.soflajo.com/?p=689


I copied (and gave credit) for this Mardi Gras mani. I love Mardi Gras and these colors
jody mardi

I know that's only 2 because even though I have a ton of photos on my phone and computer of my manis I haven't really posted that many on my blog, although I've been posting them in the groups for over a year.



Finally your stash – talk about your favourite brands, colours, must have tools, your “number” etc
My favorite brand is OPI. I have hundreds of them. I love purples with blues and reds right behind. I have around 2,000 polishes but I've pretty much quit keeping track and counting since I've gotten so busy with  my own line. I love my buffer and my nailtek glass files. If that's all I could own to take care of my nails I would be ok.


Oh and one last thing – what tip would you share with someone who is thinking about starting a blog ?
Do it because you want to. Not because you think people will want to see something in particular. Don't do it just because you think you'll be able to get free stuff to review. Do it for you.



Let’s Get Personal
What’s your earliest polish memory Putting nail polish on my Barbie's when I was prolly 6.

Fave film Blues Brothers

Fave type of music The Blues

How old are you lol 56

Are you a cat or dog person Both but we have 4 cats

Fave book It's a toss up and they're both more of a series of books - The Cat Who series by Lillian Jackson Braun and the novels about South Florida by Carl Haissen

If you won £5million on the lottery, what would you do Give to animal charities I support, save some for a rainy day

What inspires you Life


Share a quote that means a lot to you The one I have on my blog by Lucille Ball - I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not.