This is a post where YOU get to answer all of my questions! Yay! You see, just as we learned with this face wash ordeal, I am easily persuaded and listen to what other people say way too often (or maybe just often enough...).
Anyways, welcome to Teach Emily A Thing Or Two Wednesday.
Sorry I didn't make it alliteration. Blogging fail #1 and/or 528.
Sidebar: I have read so many posts from bloggers that discuss these very topics about which I am going to ask you. Like so many. As in too many. I just want a straight up easy answer telling me exactly what you think about questions 1-5. Is that asking for too much? No? Kthx.
1) How important is a Facebook page for your blog? Like truly, seriously, for realsies. I obviously do not have 500 million followers. I also do not have 500 followers. So give me the scoop, does a little bitty blog like mine need a separate page?
2) Should I buy a domain? If I do, will it completely screw up Bloglovin and other sites I have linked to this blog? Because that sounds complicated and annoying, but mostly scary.
3) I need a detailed list of post ideas. HA, September Fools. Ignore #3. I've got a great list of posts coming. Fasten yer seatbelts.
4) Affiliate programs. What are the best ones to use? I've read a ton about this and the two that stick out are Amazon Associates and ShareaSale. Am I right? Am I wrong? Should I quit reading?
5) Which kind of posts are your favorite? Obviously you are not getting fashion ideas from me or learning how to rock a half-up top knot from me, so what are you getting from me?
5.5) Should I get faux leather leggings?! And a floppy, fall hat??
5.5) Should I get faux leather leggings?! And a floppy, fall hat??
I've gone back and forth a lot (read: more than a lot) about how seriously I want to take this blog and what I want to put in/get out of it. Obviously I'm not in this to try to blow up my blog with 500 million followers or anything, but I would like to spruce it up a bit and make it real niiiiiiice. Ultimately I want to give it my best, no matter what. As my good best friend Ron would say:
I'm ready to Whole-Booty this thang.
Thanks ahead for any and all expert advice/answers/words!
Thanks ahead for any and all expert advice/answers/words!
11 comments:
Hah!!! yes!! Whole booty this thing. Blogging really is hard, isn't it? Especially when you're not sure if you want to put all your effort into it (it requires SO much effort!!)
Ok, YES...you need a FB page. Invite all your FB friends to like your page. My main page views come from FB.
Yes! Buy your domain. It's not a major, major deal...but it looks really nice to have a .com (I think it's like $10 a year on godaddy )
Can't wait to see all your posts. I'm a huge fan of everything you do, so that's that!!
Thanks for this post! I don't have any advice for you because I am only six months into blogging but I was so happy to see all the questions you asked because it is the stuff that has been running around in my brain as well! I'll be interested to see what people say. And just so I can give some sort of advice, I say YES to a floppy hat :)
So I don't have the answers to may of these questions (sorry!), but I do know how to change your URL with Bloglovin. All you have to do is email support when you make the switch and they'll move all of your followers over.
I'm going to try and remember to come back and check your comments so I can learn things.
xo, Carly | carly blogs
I'm not even kidding, my webinar tonight goes over almost every single topic. but to skim it for you
you need it
yes
LOL
seriously... the webinar tonight
posts that are authentic, funny and classicly you!
First of all, I LOVE all of your funny posts. I bought my domain for literally like $9 last year, and it's definitely helped brands see me as more "authentic." It didn't mess up bloglovin or anything, and I still use Blogger. I have an FB page for my blog that I post to (when I remember) and not many people read posts from there. My mom and a couple of IRL friends do, so I keep it going. Brans sometimes also want specifically Facebook mentions, so it's good to have it for that too, I guess. Hope that helped - I know I'm not anywhere near to a blogger genius lol.
Sooo I don't know if you read Pinterest Told Me To, A Little Bit of Everything, or Franish, but those are three maaajor bloggers with blogspot URLs. So I'm like...ehhh why should I care? I know everyone says to change it but I'm like, if they can have sixty million followers without it, why do I need one?
You always have hilarious stories and anecdotes and those are my favorite posts of yours! Also I have an FB page and I just forget to post to it and I only have like 42 likes. But as someone commented before me, if you invite all your FB friends it'd be good...BUT my blog is secret from all of them so no thank you!
I want faux leather leggings but the pair I wanted didn't fit right. So if they fit you and you like them YES. And if you don't look like a freak in hats and want a floppy one, YES. I look so dumb in hats.
Shopstylecollective.com is an affiliate network that's super easy to use. Also you can go to a store's website and down in the bottom links sometimes it'll say "affiliates" and you click that and can join whatever network they're in. There are so many separate networks it's super confusing.
i have a facebook page and rarely use it, it's not important to my blog AT ALL. however, Helene (and others) make good points about non bloggers only following your blog through facebook, so it's a good idea.
i bought a domain and it was super easy and didn't affect my bloglovin at all, i don't think. i don't remember now. but i just redirected my blogspot to my domain, so bloglovin doesn't know any different. i really don't know. lol. that being said, i don't think it's necessary if you don't want to do it.
i signed up for amazon's thing and never used it because as far as i know, it relies on people purchasing through your link and no one ever did with mine, and i rarely used it anyway. i prefer shopstyle because i get a cent or two when people click, regardless of whether they purchase or not. however. i am not a money making blog, so it doesn't bother me either way.
ahhh it's so hard to answer #5. i like all the posts.
Blogging is way harder than I remember it being, could be because my life is so damn boring at the moment.. thank god you are going to give me a list of post ideas!! I can't wait :)
I definitely think that a domain is worth the $1 investment. A lot of blogs that I enjoy reading, I just type their addresses in directly and if its too long, I get irritated. Helpful right? lol
*Amanda*
www.thisISmyrealhair.com
I honestly just hate Facebook in general so I'm like no way am I going to create another form of social media that I have to keep up with ya know? I know some people swear by it- but I guess unless you're trying to REALLY REALLY pursue blogging and being a business, I would skip it. Just my two cents on that topic ;)
And yes to the fall, floppy hat.
Following along because I need all the help with blogging I can get. I started my blog as a way to keep my family updated as my husband and I moved to Alaska but most days I'm pretty sad that my grandma is my most loyal reader. Haha!
My favorite posts to read are from real life. The kind that are easy to relate to and are more down home than glamorous. You do a great job with this already. I relate way more to your stories about bike riding with your husband and almost being eaten by an alligator than I do to a post pretending that everything is perfect and posh.
Big yes to the floppy hat and leggings. Fall styles are so fun! If you aren't already on the vest train, add that to the list too. So easy to style!
I was in the same boat a couple of years ago about wanting to keep my blog a fun hobby and having no illusions that I was ever going to have thousands of followers or make it my full time job - but still wanting to make it a little more professional/official. Two of the best things I did both for my own motivation/mental approach and for audience interest/growth was to make an editorial calendar where I post certain types of topics on certain days (and post regularly!) and also to get my own domain name. It's not too hard to do, and it motivated me to make my posts and images better and more interesting because I felt so official.
Also, I don't really do much social media at all for my blog... I'd like to do more Instagram-related stuff but then my boss somehow started following me on it, and work people don't know about my blog. Gah! Twitter I'm just bad at. And Facebook... hmmm. I follow a couple of bloggers' pages that I think are really good, but I think to be good requires posting content beyond what's on the blog (whereas most people just post a link to their post - not that interesting when I already see the post in Bloglovin if I follow them). So I'm on the fence about Facebook and don't do it myself because I'm not ready for that extra work that I think is needed.
Oh, and yes, Amazon Affiliates is good. I also use RewardStyle, which is easy but didn't start doing anything for me until I really upped my style posts. If you don't do as many of those, I would say go with Amazon because you can link to just about anything - since they sell just about everything! I don't make much off of it, but enough from my book review posts to buy myself another book to read (and review of course) every once in a while :)
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