Newbie Blogger Boot Camp Ep 2 - Social Media

Hi Goddesses

Firstly - oops!  Has it been a whole month already?  Shocking, sorry.  These are quite wordy posts, and I've had a few weekends where I just wasn't feeling wordy.

Today's post is really the first in a 3 part arc, if you will, all pitched at how you increase your audience.  Today we're going to look at social media.  The other parts of the puzzle, which we'll look at in the next 2 episodes are Networking, and PiggyBacking.

So, let's look at the Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, pinterest, Instagram, and Google+.

Facebook is an excellent blogging resource.  I would always advocate having a page just for your blog, and there are several reasons for this.

Firstly, it helps you keep your nail obsession separate from the rest of your life - this way, you're not clogging up your personal newsfeed with a million mani shots.  Also, it consolidates your identity.  Suddenly, your blog gets a voice, and talks in soundbites.

Facebook makes it easy to share, and thus spread the word.  How many times a day do you see people sharing other people's manis ?  Answer, LOADS.   Also, it's much easier to LIKE a photo than it is to comment on a blog, so often, it gives you a better representation of what your readers are thinking.

For me, Facebook really gives you the opportunity to give your blog a personality.  FB is a chatty medium, and I love the way you can interact with your followers.   I personally think that the blogs that are strong on Facebook are the ones I feel most loyal to - for some reason, I feel they are making more of an effort to connect with me, and build a relationship.

I'm going to be honest, I still don't "get" Twitter.  Lol, it baffles me.  I feel *bombarded* by it all.  Lol, how old do I sound!!

However, loads of people love Twitter, and again, it's easy to share, or retweet.   Better still, you can link Facebook to Twitter so that it uploads every post or status automatically, giving you 2 audiences for the price of one.

If I'm honest, I don't get much Twittering, but I think that's because I'm not super active myself.

Oh, Instagram!  I have only discovered Instagram recently, but wow I am in love.  Super easy, super chatty, this is an AWESOME way to connect with people, AND you can get it to feed directly to your Facebook page AND Twitter, so this time you get a triple audience whammy.

Frankly, I was shocked by what I found on Instagram.  On Blogger, I think the biggest blogs I'm aware of have 10k followers.  On IG, several have 30k+, 50k+, I've even seen 70k+.  That's a phenomenal audience.  In this instant gratification generation, IG is definitely a requirement, and I'd also recommend you get Statigr.am, so that you can track your stats.

Personally, they are the 3 I would choose / recommend, but wait, there's more ......

Tumblr - hmmmm.  I'm not bought in, but I'm old fashioned, I like words.  Mine used to be linked to my Facebook, which was great, but I've not been near it since the link broke!  Seems old school compared to Instagram.

Pinterest - I do a LOT of pinning.  If I'm honest, it doesn't buy me a lot of traffic, but I know a lot of other people who do get a lot of hits from it.

What I love most about pinterest is that not only can I store all my manis I'd like to try or reinterpret in a cool place, but also, that it's the best way I've ever found of storing my wishlist.   It's a great way to realise you want 5 of exactly the same shade lol.

Google+ - the jury's still out on this one for me.  Because I use Blogger, I'm automatically connected, so again, I don't actually have to consciously do anything to Google+ my post.   I really don't see many people using this medium though, and I think Google need to work out what sort of a platform it is.

I guess I should also mention YouTube - for those who do it, this can be an outstanding platform - 0.5million plus.  Me, I have too many chins for TV lol, so I'll stick to the blog, or find a way to YT without getting my face in the shot :)

Now, this is probably the most important thing of all - if you  do use any of these social media you *must* keep your name consistent.   If you have different usernames in different places, all you will do is confuse your readers. If you have to add a 1 or a - or _ somewhere along the line, that's mostly ok, but don't call yourself Blue Nails in one place, and Bluish Nails somewhere else.

And finally, here are all my deets in case you want to follow me in any other ways!  Enjoy xx :)

Facebook  

Twitter 

Instagram - thecrumpet1

pinterest  

Google+

Newbie Blogger Boot Camp - So You Started A Blog?

Hi Goddesses

This started as a conversation on my Facebook page that quickly grew and grew.  I wondered how many people had decided for their New Year Resolution or Bucket List to start their own blog, and the answer was quite a lot of you!

Since then it's evolved into an idea to do some regular posts on how to start, build and grow your blog, so that you can learn from my mistakes and hopefully create something that you enjoy.   I'd also encourage you to go into the Archive and look at some of the posts from June when I did my series on why I became a blogger and how I grew my blog, as all that material is still relevant.

Today's post is very much the basics, things you've possibly already thought about.  Where we go from here is up to you - I can do posts on most things, but I need you to let me know what's useful to you, so please comment.  Ok, let's get started shall we ?

For me, the most important question is why you want to start a blog.  Why ?  Your reason for blogging will define how much you enjoy this crazy journey and whether you are able to continue with it on those days / weeks when you fall out of love with it a little.  So, why are you blogging ?

If you are doing it for you, and for your love of polish, that's GREAT.  That is a fantastic reason, and I think, the path of greatest sanity.  If you're doing it for you, YOU are the sole person who will define how enjoyable it is, and also, you will be less vulnerable to the odd snarky comment or other people's opinions.

The opposite end of this scale is glory / free polish / to be the biggest blogger in the world.  This path is fraught with stress :)   The standards are higher, the effort has to be higher, the highs are higher but the lows are also way lower.   It is also a path where you allow other people to define you.  Your success isn't defined by you, but by those who read your blog.

And then there's all the other notches in between.  I'd like to share my hobby with my friends.  I've set myself a challenge.  I need a creative outlet.  I'd like to share my passion with like minded people.  I want to see how far I can go.   It seems like fun.  

All of those are also valid reasons, and the stress factor will be somewhere between the 2 extremes I have described.

1.  decide on the name of your blog.  You have a little bit of time here, but only a little.  You need to pick something to get started, but you CAN change it while the blog is still new.  Once you have followers though, it's much harder - it will confuse your readers.

2.  Blogger or Wordpress ?    Everyone who is on Wordpress seems to love it.  I'm on Blogger.  I found it super easy.  When I set my blog up, I had NOOOO idea what I was doing or how to do it and was all very self-explanatory.  Choose wisely.  You do NOT want to be switching blogging platforms.

3.  what types of post will you be writing ?  What will be your style ?  Will you be writing factual, informative posts, or posts with hardly any words ?  Are you going to be a swatcher only, or include nail art ?  Your style will evolve, but it helps to work out what sort of post you want to be writing BEFORE you start your blog.

4.  set a reasonable schedule.  The last thing you want is for your blog to become a burden, a chore or something you "have" to do.  It's supposed to be fun.  So decide on a schedule you can keep to, and manage within your work / life balance, even if that means you will only post once a week.

5.  take decent photos.  This is a post all of its own, but make sure your photos are well lit, and clear.  Whether you use a point-and-shoot, an SLR or a phone camera doesn't matter; that your output is of a good quality DOES.

6.  clean-up.   It doesn't have to be model-perfect, but it also shouldn't look as if you put your polish on blindfolded (as mine did in the beginning).

7.  Remember - this is supposed to be fun!

And that's all she wrote for now.  This is such a MASSIVE subject, I don't want to overload you.  Please let me know what you want to see covered, and I will put some more posts up, or if I can't answer the question, I will find another blog to do us a Guest Post.

And if you're just setting off on your blogging journey - good luck, and enjoy the ride :) xxx