TOPAZ HORIZON: Blogs & Blogging

Showing posts with label Blogs & Blogging. Show all posts

Monday, May 29, 2017

Blog Biz: Become a blog queen with these 3 steps

This post is dedicated to my Loyal Reader MJ Lagrimas who sent me messages via my Facebook page. She was asking for blogging tips and I was happy to answer. I know I need to do a blogging workshop soon because my readers keep asking me about my blogging career! When I can breathe again, folks! Lots on my plate these days but, yes, let's do one again soon. Meanwhile, let me quickly throw out a few blogging tips today!

Blogging is such a popular option for moms who want to still make a living while being there for their little ones. I'm living proof it can be done. However, making a living from a blog is harder than it looks. In fact, a lot of people are unsure of how to get started.

Here are three steps for beginner bloggers to ensure you are on the right path to successful blogging.

Write what you know.
One of the first things you need to do is think about what to write about. I can't stress it enough that you need to write about something you're passionate about. You want a topic that you can talk about in great detail and that you actually enjoy writing about. A lot of moms head down the route of parenting when it comes to their blog. This is a good idea because not only is this a topic you'll always have a passion for, you'll also never run out of readers. There are always new moms trying to hunt down help and advice when they start their journey into parenthood. As your kids get older, you'll find new things to talk about. This topic is an endless source of stories!

But if you would rather keep your personal life private, that's okay, too. Lots of bloggers have found success writing about the clothes they wear, doing beauty reviews, dishing out household DIY tips, sharing recipes, and whatever topic there is under the sun.

Once you have a topic, make sure you stick with it on your blog. After blogging for 11 years, I've found that focusing on a topic keeps readers loyal and brings more advertising opportunities. People know what to expect from you, they think you become the expert on that particular issue, and brands that are aligned with what you write about want to be identified with you.

Always use good photos.
Even if your stories are good, blocks of endless text can be a strain on the eye. Often, online readers need photos to give them a break from reading. Plus, photos are a great tool for making a story more memorable. You know what they say about pictures being worth a thousand words!

Now this is important: Make sure that whichever photos you use, you have the legal right to use them. If it’s not copyright-free, you could be heading down the road to a legal battle! With practically everyone owning a smart phone these days, you seriously don't have an excuse not to take your own photos for your blog.

Lazy to take your own photos? Well, thank goodness there's stock photography! The photo I used up there is from Pexels, for example, and it was free. The problem with free stock photos, however, is they're not very good. Again, see the photo I used as an example. While I like orange and gingham, I must say that is not a fabulous blouse! Plus, she's pretending she's typing but her laptop is obviously not on (see screen). Oh well. That's what you get when you get free! So shoot your own pics!

(Hehe, did anyone notice I ignored my advice and picked a bad photo?)

Work on your branding.
At my recent and oh so successful Boss Bellas: Mompreneurship 01 workshop, we talked about passion, purpose and plans. Branding falls under plans. You may have a dream and the heart but when you don't know how to execute it, nothing will happen.

Blogging—if you want to earn from it—is your product. So it’s important that you work on your branding to ensure your blog is a success. You want people to instantly recognize it’s your blog when they land on it. For one thing, you should create a logo. This can go at the top of your homepage and then can be repeated as they click through the blog. (I'm introducing a logo for Topaz Horizon, by the way! Watch for it as my friend, Patricia Villa of Fancy Girl Designs, works on it.) You also might want to stick to a specific color theme on your blog, which you maintain throughout your social media accounts. Creating a look that's all your own will make your blog unique to you and ensure it’s memorable.

Now, no matter how pretty your blog is, if the content is worthless, then it won't succeed. Again, I'm proof that a blog doesn't need to look perfect to be successful. For me, compelling content and authenticity matter more than looking pretty. My best example for this is gorgeous packaging—it may make you take it off the shelves and buy it but if the product isn't good, you'll never buy it again. So work on your content—writing and photos—before you think of design.

After all, it's the stories you tell that make readers want to stay longer. More readers means more influence. And that's how brands start paying attention... and paying money.

Good luck, mommies! Send me your blogging questions and maybe I'll do a blogging workshop again soon. I want every mom who wants to earn from blogging succeed. Any work that can help us stay with our kids more is always a good thing!

Monday, May 01, 2017

Blog Biz: 5 Reasons Your Blog Might Not Be Getting Any Readers

It's May! Another month whizzed by and, boy, things have sure been busy for me lately. Thanks for still sticking around and for engaging with me on Facebook and Instagram. I've also tried Twitter again because I want to see if it's still an effective platform for me. If it proves to be a howling wilderness after a month of Tweets (check out #TopazTweetsOnTues), then I guess I'll just delete my Twitter account.

Anyway! Because I've been busy elsewhere, this blog was the one that turned into a howling wilderness. Don't worry! I am not quitting blogging. I've just been busy with work but my contract is done and so this May, I'm going to blog again! Here's what I'm going to share with you, dear Loyal Readers: my online shopping finds from Calyxta, Adobomall, and Kamiseta, my wedding anniversary celebration at Baguio, my new finds for the home (Simply Modular shelves and Cheers picnic party sets, my new ways to look more fabulous (Kilo Off and Flawless treatments, and more! I'm so happy I'm blogging again!

I'll also be doing workshops again this month, and Manila Workshops is hosting my first workshop this year! It's called Boss Bellas: Mompreneurship 101 - a workshop exclusively for moms who want to go into business. Please sign up! We'll have fun! Lots of prizes!

This also means I'll do a Facebook Live post soon. I always do a Facebook Live broadcast before a workshop. It's how I practice! I'm very nervous doing workshops, you see. I almost always throw up just before! But ever since I started doing FB Live before a workshop, I found that it calms me down. My most popular FB Live topic was "5 Reasons Why No One is Reading Your Blog." So here's a blog post about five more!

Tip to get more readers: Share your blog posts everywhere!!!

You may have heard the success stories of bloggers getting thousands of readers a day. You may have thought to yourself, "Why can’t my blog be like that?" The truth is that growing an audience for any blog is difficult – especially nowadays when there are so many out there. Here are some of the reasons why your blog may be suffering, and how you can fix this and get the readership you deserve.

1. You promote only your blog posts on social media.

The biggest reason why so many blogs fail is because they're not promoted well or not at all by their authors. Social media is key for keeping people up to track with your latest content as well as interacting with your readers. If you haven’t already, create a Facebook page and a Twitter page for your blog. Invite all your friends to follow these pages and then make sure that you keep posting any new content the moment it’s published (you can use plug-ins as found at CoSchedule.com to automatically post your content to social media). There’s even the option to promote posts for a small payment and guarantee more readers.

Now the next question is how do you get people to follow your social media accounts and how do you keep them? Through engagement. While of course your social media is about you, if you keep it exclusively about you, it can be a turn off. People want community, people want to engage. So while of course you'll share with your followers your blog posts as they're published, do also share links to articles that your community will like. For example, my blog is now a working mama blog. So on my Facebook page, I also share articles from parenting and business sites about the working woman life. I share news about how our government makes (or unmakes) policies and laws that will affect a working mother's career. This is a value-added service to my blog readers. Plus, they won't think my page is all about my blog—it's also a place where they can be updated about issues that matter to working mothers. Be relevant. Be useful.

2. Your content is too niche (or too broad).

Having to accept your content is the problem is never easy. It may not so much be the writing style or the layout, but could simply be the nature of the content. There may be not enough people out there with an interest in it. On the other hand, there may be too many blogs relying on the same content.

That's what happened to me. After a while, my readership had reached a plateau. I guess there was just too many mommy blogs out there. So I had to find a niche in the mommy blogging scene. Hence, this became a working mama blog! It's still about motherhood but instead of exploiting my kids (hahaha), I now talk about something that matters to me and to many mothers — our careers!

Get help improving your content using sites such as http://blogging.com/. Research other blogs related to your content and see what you can do to make yours more inclusive, or alternatively make yours stand out.

3. You’re not using analytics.

By this point you’ve probably used some form of analytics to realise your posts aren’t getting any traffic. However, you may not be using these analytics to your advantage. I got this tip early on from Jackie Go. She really learned how to leverage the data she got from Google Analytics down to when she publishes her posts. So I paid more attention to mine (I just checked it for the site stats before) and realized that when I publish and promote posts mid-morning and late at night, more people visited my blog. And that is why it's now 10pm and I'm writing this post!

If you’ve got the Google analytics plug-in installed (Blogger users will already have it installed), use this to check the age, location and gender of your audience so that you can cater your content more towards them. Find out the times when people are most regularly visiting your website so that you can post new content at this time. Stop being afraid of these figures and charts and use them to help improve the effectiveness of your blog.

4. You’re not using links.

Why do blogs need links? This hyperlink ought to explain. Search engines such as Google appreciate websites and blogs that aren’t all about them. You may think that putting links to another website will deter readers to other places on the web, but it can actually cause search engines to improve your rankings. This is a common practice used by SEO companies. You can also use internal links that lead from one post to another post on your blog. I use Linkwithin. It really helps drive traffic to old and forgotten blog posts. Try it!

5. You aren’t blogging regularly enough.

Last and most important reason of all why no one is reading your blog: You're not blogging regularly. I say this all the time at my blogging workshops because I've seen it time and again happen to my blogs. When I'm not updating my blog, the visits drop. What can I do? I have a life to live! But it's true. Update regularly and they will come!

So remember: You may not be getting the readers simply because you’re not blogging regularly enough. You’re never going to get lots of traffic by blogging once a month. Readers like a blog that feels busy. Try to aim to publish new content at least once a week. And make sure people know that you usually update on a certain day. Say, Mondays are for your family's weekend escapades, Wednesdays are for your healthy kiddie recipes, Fridays are for your thoughts on motherhood. Things like that help readers to look forward to visiting your blog. You can opt to blog daily – just make sure you’re not sacrificing the quality for quantity though.

So that's why I'm excited to blog again after soooo many weeks gone! I miss blogging, I miss my readers, and I have so much to tell! Come back this week for more updates! See you!

To find out more reasons why people aren't reading your blog, watch this!

To sign up for my workshop, click here!

Friday, April 07, 2017

Mom & Blogger: Finding The Balance To Maximize Both Roles

Hi, dear Loyal Readers! I know I've been missing from this blog for a few weeks now (I blogged just twice last month!). I'm busy with my job as consulting editor for beauty website, Calyxta.com, and also with my new column about work-at-home moms at parenting website, Juana.com.ph. Between these two new projects, home management, mothering and blogging, I didn't realize that I'll have such a hard time juggling! Life was much easier when I was just a mom blogger!

I'm not complaining, though. It feels good to be writing regularly for a publication again (and about parenting, too!). I'm also grateful for Calyxta because I got to experience corporate life again without the full time commitment. I still work from home and only check in at the office three times a week. It's helped me and my family adjust our expectations for when I go back to the corporate world. The Calyxta project ends this April so I can blog regularly again in May! I'm so excited. I miss blogging so much!

If you're a mom who wants to stay home with your kids and yet earn money, too, do try blogging. I know the web seems overpopulated with mom bloggers but believe me when I say that all mom voices are welcome here. We all need a community and it's so nice to find similar voices and feel comfort knowing you're not alone with your parenting struggles. If you don't want to be a mom blogger, that's great, too. You can write about your hobbies and interests instead. If you can earn from your blog, that's even better!

Blogging for business is an attractive career choice for any mother. Not only does it present the potential to earn good money from doing something you love, but it also offers versatility and control. Ultimately, that means you can build a work schedule on your terms, enabling more quality time with the children.

Juggling the two roles of mother and blogger isn’t an easy task, though. Frankly, failing to manage your time in an effective manner will cause major damage to both. As I've proven myself recently, I failed to juggle. Thankfully, it was my blogging that suffered—not my kids! This made me think of how I can keep things under control. Here are a few tips I found:

1. Build an organized workspace.

The toughest challenge facing any home-based entrepreneur is finding a way to use the property as both a home and a workplace. Building a quality home office should be top of the agenda. It will help separate the two elements of your life and is also a clear indication for your family too. If you’re in the office, you’re at work. My friend, personal branding coach Martine de Luna, says in my Juana article, 5 Tips to Battle the Cons of Working from Home, "When I have to work at home, I separate myself from the kids and go to my workspace on the second floor. When they see me at the desk, they know it’s [do not disturb] time."

Speaking of workspace, my husband moved my desk to our bedroom so I can close the door when I work. But as a mommy of little kids, I haven't been able to do this yet haha. Another challenge I have is organizing my paperwork. Running a business from one small room can feel daunting, so going paperless is key. Fortunately, being a digital operation gives you a great starting point. Meanwhile, an online p.o box address can save you from facing huge amounts of paperwork. Either way, finding the right balance in this arena can only work wonders for your aspirations.

2. Know your blogging goals.

While I started blogging more than a decade ago as just a hobby, I've turned blogging into a business because of my work with many brands. Of course, since it became a business, I've had to be more serious about blogging. I had to set goals beyond just sharing my stories.

Many people scoff at it but blogging is a serious job. It requires a lot of time, hard work and money. Without a sense of direction, though, you’ll find that you'll falter on the job. Unfortunately, the productivity and outcomes will be far worse, too. So as a businesswoman, know why you're blogging, who you're blogging for, and what do you want to achieve through your blog.

Planning ahead to ensure your blogging platform grows in the right way is essential. You can schedule posts regularly, make sure you share your posts on every relevant social media account, engage your readers on your Facebook page, use the right hashtags. This will help grow your blog and your influence, which will get the interest of sponsors.

3. Consider letting your family play a role.

Because mommy blogging is so lucrative these days, mom bloggers usually get accused of exploiting their children. Mining their kids' lives for entertainment, they say. As any proud mommy will tell you, sharing our kids' adorable photos and telling stories about how wonderful family life is is not about entertainment. We genuinely LOVE our kids and we're so proud of our happiness! We want to share away—whether we get paid or not!

Readers also love having that insider's peek into the blogger’s life—and nothing is more authentic than a mommy's stories on her parenting adventures. Motherhood is just so huge, demanding, surprising and profound that it's impossible to fake. Plus, everyone loves kiddies. As many readers have oh-so-honestly told me, they don't read my blog because of me; they read it because they love my kids! And it's always so amazing when a parent feels the love of people for her kids. Mommy blogging is the best!

Now, as the kids get bigger, I do believe they need more privacy. But they can still be involved in your blog. Technology plays a huge role in modern society, and today’s youth probably know more about the internet than most adults. Once yours are at the right age, it could be worth giving them a little job within the work. Whether it’s writing, building SEO, or managing your blog's Instagram or Pinterest accounts doesn’t matter. It’s a great way to bond together while they develop skills they'll need for this social media-obsessed world.

4. Invest in ideas that benefit both worlds.

If your blog is about parenting, then virtually every day doubles up as content for the blog. But as you may know by now if you've been following my blogging adventures, there will come a time when you'll want to give your kids privacy. So what will you blog about then? I've chosen to blog about being a working mama. It's still about my insights on motherhood but my kids aren't as exposed.

Many mom bloggers have transitioned successfully from baby stories to niche interests but still within motherhood. A music blogger might review the instrument that they’ve just bought their child. A food blogger may discuss family recipes. I love how my friend, Denise Rayala of Royal Domesticity, found even greater blogging success when she started her #Baonserye, where she showed the packed lunches she made for her daughter. It's brilliant really—she moved the focus away from her daughter but her mother's love is still so evident through the lovingly made lunches, plus she offers priceless tips and ideas for other moms! Squeezing great content out of your everyday life will reduce your research time and just be more fun to do.

As a blogger, you should have a creative mindset. Use it to find ways of merging blogging and mom duties, and you’ll save loads of time and effort. Good luck, mommies!

*photos by Mark Yao for Biogenic

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Blog Biz: Where is Your Blog Heading? Some Ideas to Take it Forward!

Hi, working mamas! Been away for a while because I started a new project with Calyxta (more about that soon!). But I'm here again today because a few readers asked me why I turned my blog into a working mama's journal. Well, I've been blogging for almost 11 years and I've changed a lot in those 11 years so naturally my blog will evolve with me. Right now, I'm a working mom and that's the aspect of my life that I want to share with people. Right now and for the near future, I'm making Topaz Horizon a place for me and fellow working moms to come together.

If you’ve been running your blog for a long time, you might be starting to wonder where its future lies. It probably can’t continue in the same way forever. Blogs reach a certain point when they either have to make that step up or get stuck in a rut. For you, the best thing to do is look for ways in which your blog can be grown and improved. It’s always tricky to make this happen, but there are loads of things you could be doing.

Rather than let your blog run into the ground, look at it objectively, and decide where the areas of weakness lie. Your blog certainly won’t be perfect, and that gives you plenty to work on. I still have a ton of things to fix on my blog, and I'm so intimidated with all the things I need to do, but slowly, I'm doing them all. If you’re like me and you're also struggling to get started with these changes, here are some great ideas that could kickstart your blog and push it in a new direction.

Make your overall editorial outlook clear.

First of all, you need to make sure that your blog has a clear editorial stance. This is something that all professional publications have. Gone are the days when blogs are just online diaries that meander here and there. These days, you have to find your niche, your specialty, so that readers know exactly what your blog is about and what they're getting.

If you want your blog to become a little more professional, this is one of the things that you will need to do. It will mean that your blog posts are more unified and you put across a consistent worldview in your posts. It will give you and your blog a concrete identity that people can easily recognise and believe as authentic.

Grab readers’ attention with good headlines.

If you can grab people’s attention better, you will become more equipped to improve your blog traffic. Most people will see the headline of your blog before anything else. And if they are not instantly intrigued by what the piece is about, they probably won’t go any further. As a reader, you probably do this yourself. Pay attention to your headlines. If you get this wrong, then it doesn’t matter how good the blog post is because no one will read it. You can’t underestimate the power of good headlines.

Implement categories.

Oh, this is the change that I'm having such a hard time with! Because my blog's more than a decade old and it's evolved so much, I've covered sooooo many topics. Organizing them into categories is driving me crazy! I've been tempted to delete entire posts from my early years of blogging (the rambling, nonsense posts) just so I have less categories!

Implementing categories is a simple logistical step that should make your blog a bit more user-friendly. This is particularly important if you write on a series of different topics on your blog. When the new categories are in place, users will have more control over how they want to view the content that’s on offer. They could go straight to the section that interests them most, while ignoring the other sections and topics that your blog covers. It will also make the blog a bit more easy to navigate and a lot more organised that it was before.

Bring in new voices.

It can be a great idea to bring new voices into the mix if you want to get people more interested in your blog. When one person is producing all the content, it can limit the scope of the blog. Not to mention that it can be extremely exhausting!

You can’t be an expert on everything, so having someone who is able to make things clearer and share their stories and thoughts can add some much-needed variety. I know many bloggers who let other bloggers guest post on their blog. How to start? Ask your friends who have similar interests to guest post and offer a link exchange. You could also just let people know that you’re looking for new writers and see what response you get. If you want new perspectives while remaining the face of the blog, you could use a ghost blog writer.

Be more social.

It can really help if you get your blog brand out there and try to be a little more social. This is best done via social media platforms. If you’re not already promoting your blog on Facebook and Twitter, as well as some of the other platforms that might be applicable to your blog, this is something that has to change. These days, all the major blogs and bloggers have a strong presence on these social sites. Create dedicated accounts on as many of these platforms as possible, and then see what you can do to build a followers. It will also allow you to share posts and reach new people.

Use the power of images and videos.

Images and videos can help you so much when it comes to promoting the writing you do. If you don’t use images on your posts, you are missing out. For a start, social media links are a lot more likely to be interacted with when they have some sort of media attached to them. This could be an image or a video. I always make sure my blog posts have a photo—if not mine, then an image from a photo agency. Posts with pictures are more likely to be clicked on and read so always have an image!

Right now, vlogging is the hottest thing. Even my blog sponsors are now asking for videos. I'm not very good with videos so this is a struggle. But I will try it this year. Please help me and tell me what you want to watch!

Make your blog mobile-friendly.

All blogs need to be mobile-friendly these days. The number of people using mobile devices to view your blog is going up. I don't have any data to back up my theory regarding how my readers read my blog, but I know many readers do so while they're on their phone. I know this because people aren't commenting as often on my blog posts anymore; they'd rather comment on Facebook. Why? It's harder to leave comments when you're on the phone!

Mobile usage is quickly surpassing desktop usage when it comes to browsing the internet. So, if you are not up to date with this change, your blog could be left behind. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to read a blog post on a blog that is clearly not responsive in its design. You will just end up frustrating your readers, and those people will be unlikely to come back in the future.

Build a network.

Finally, you should try to build a network around your blog. When you have a core group or readers and fans that share and interact with your content, you will be able to find new ways to reach more people. I call these wonderful people my Loyal Readers. I love you, Loyal Readers! Thank you for staying throughout all my life and blog changes!!!

Anyway, back to giving tips! The people in your network - or community - will bring in other people, and that’s how word of your blog and its content can start to spread very rapidly. So talk to the people who post comments under your posts and interact with people better on social media. More than helping your blog become bigger, your community will become your online friends. If you're lucky like me and many bloggers, they'll eventually be your friends in real life!

*This is a guest post, heavily edited that it's almost like I wrote it! To place a guest post, email frances@topazhorizon.com for my rates. Image from Pixabay.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Blog Biz: How to get beautiful photos for your blog posts

Today's Blog Biz post was inspired by a reader who asked why I said some time ago that I was deleting old blog posts. Well, I have many reasons but the biggest is image copyright. I've been blogging for more than 10 years and back in the day, we bloggers just grabbed willy-nilly any and every photo and image we found on the world wide web and used those for our blog posts. So I had (or have since I'm not yet done editing!) dozens of blog posts that have images that were used without permission and credit.

Working mamas, that's called stealing intellectual property.

One of the most worrying and creativity-numbing components of blogging is sourcing images. There are many horror stories of bloggers using images that were protected by copyright, assuming they would just get a warning or takedown notice but instead, ended up paying money due to an image copyright claim—it’s a scary thought.

More and more bloggers have become law-savvy and have prepared several alternate methods of obtaining images to avoid the possibility of being sued by a disgruntled photographer. In all fairness, people who create those images have a right to enforce their copyrights, but no one wants to pay someone thousands of dollars just because they used an image without permission, so it’s best to avoid that trouble altogether.

So does this mean we won't use photos for our blog posts anymore? In this particular age of social media, beautiful images matter. They are what make your blog stand out, they help break up long text, and they make people read your blog. Sourcing beautiful images is key to creating a successful blog, so here are some tips to get the images you need:

Take your own photos.
This is an obvious one but many people seem to forget that their smartphones can take ridiculously good photographs. If you need some snaps of nature or the skyline or your outfit, then why not grab your phone and go for a little walk around the block? If you need to take generic stock photographs of a computer or a chair, then why not just snap some pictures of your house or if your house isn't Instagram-worthy, go to your friend’s home and take a few shots?

Use stock photos.
If you aren’t in a position to take your own photographs, then consider a stock photo service. These can get pretty expensive, but they offer an insanely large collection of stock photographs with comprehensive search functions. I sometimes use stock photos, too, but I use free photos. Yes, there are free ones out there! The ones I used for this blog post are from Unsplash*, just to give you an example. I'll make another blog post on stock photo services! With these services, you’re almost guaranteed to be able to find some photographs to suit your blog, but chances are your readers might notice they are stock pictures and be put off by your lack of creativity.

UPDATE Jan 31, 2023: I just deleted all the stock photos I got from Unsplash. Scrubbed my entire blog of their images. Apparently, there are disputes about copyright over some photos on their site. I know because I just got a letter about it. This lawyer's saying his client owns the photos I got from Unsplash. The photographer credited in Unsplash says the photos are his. Not worth the trouble! So no more stock photos for me. I'll just...

Learn to create images.
If it’s not photographs you’re after, then perhaps you need to get involved with the design process and learn your way around graphic design. Fortunately, there are many online tools that let you create your own posters, flyers or other images that are suited for the web or social media use. I just discovered Canva and I've used it for creating my media kit. I plan to make memes and working-mama quotes next! Now if you’re into comic art, creating banners or even mixing stock images to create infographics and other similar designs, then pick up basic skills with software like GIMP or Photoshop.

Hire a freelancer.
If you need a specific image made or a picture taken of a particular location, then there are hundreds of freelancers on the internet that are just waiting to be hired. A quick Google search will reveal thousands of results for budding freelance designers and photographers who are willing to work for less money just to build up a portfolio for when they pitch to higher profile clients. If you’re lucky, you can get a beautifully created image for less than the price of lunch. Yes—please pay. I have a lot of friends who are photographers and graphic designers who HATE bloggers who ask for ex-deals. Please offer them payment. I'm sure they'll be willing to work within your budget if you're really nice.

I still think that taking your own photos is the best and easiest solution. I use my iPhone 6 and Olympus camera. Some bloggers who have lots of money invest in cameras and equipment (lights, tripods, reflectors, etc) and their investment paid off, especially with gaining Instagram followers.

You don't have to do the same yet. Just use whatever you have, take photos in a well-lit area, use your phone's filters, use photo editing apps, and master flatlays and your perfect angle. Take your own photos! It’s easy to upload to your computer or website, you have full ownership of the images and you don’t need to worry about infringing on someone’s copyrights. Good luck, mommy bloggers!

Monday, January 02, 2017

What 2016's most popular posts can tell us about blogging in 2017

Happy New Year, everybody!

Indulge me for a moment: I want all my Loyal Readers who are bloggers to check their stats and see which of your blog posts ranked the highest. List them down and then study that list. I'll tell you why in a bit but first, here are Topaz Horizon's most popular posts in 2016:

#1 Review: Flawless Advanced Anti-Acne Facial
#2 Mama's regrets
#3 What exactly is a supermom?
#4 I saw my future in an instant
#5 Frances Finds #GiftsTheyllLoveatNBS
#6 Topaz Horizon is now officially a mommy blog
#7 Review: Physiogel Calming Relief range
#8 Life changes this year with the new school year
#9 Is blogging even still relevant this 2016?
#10 Raising kids in the time of blogging

Beauty reviews, motherhood, marriage, blogging, and shopping finds. Those are the topics that my readers liked the most. Although I'm a little suspicious about the National Book Store post because I think NBS promoted that.

Or maybe this was a popular post because people love to shop? What do you think?

In November, as I turned 40 years old, I launched a new look and a new direction for my blog. The look was cleaner and more professional yet still feminine. The new direction was my blog will now be a working mama's journal, a working mother's life shared with other working moms! It is my hope we can create a community supporting each other. That's the goal. Thing is not one career-oriented blog post made it to my popular-posts list! What to do?

Well, I've decided to marry what my readers want with what I want. I will still continue to talk about beauty, motherhood, marriage, and shopping but all in the context of working motherhood. To tie it all neatly together! So I've found my niche (working mamas unite!) and I'm so excited to blog this 2017!

You see, last year was a bit of a limbo for me. I decided to kill my mommy blog so I can stop mommy blogging and be a lifestyle blogger. However, my lifestyle was very much dominated by my kids—from what I wore and what I ate to what I read and watched! What else am I going to write about?!? As a writer, I have always been told by my writing teachers and mentors: Write what you know. And all I know now in this stage of my life is being a mommy so here we go! Mommy blogging again! But I needed focus. And after many tries, I found it, I found my focus! Working mamas unite!

Throughout 2016, I also experimented with different topics seen in blog series. I did Ask Frances, Frances Finds, Topaz Talks, and Blog Biz. Here's what you'll still see in 2017 and what will stay in 2016:

Ask Frances was an advice column but I quickly found out that I couldn't sustain it. First, the questions sent were too hard—marriage trouble, OFWs resenting their families, mothers resenting their kids and their husbands. I'm sorry if I didn't answer your questions, readers. I didn't because I couldn't. Second, the questions were mostly sent anonymously so when I ended each Ask Frances post with a request for contact info so I can send their gift, only two replied and got their gifts! So that didn't fly.

Frances Finds will continue! I have lots of products and goodies to tell you about!

Topaz Talks is fun—it's me chatting with other working mamas and they reveal tips and tricks about work and motherhood, plus information relevant to the season. I have three Topaz Talks lined up! I just haven't been able to transcribe my interviews because the holidays were much too much! Stay tuned for those!

Blog Biz was my favorite series! I was only supposed to do that every other month but I liked talking about blogging so much, I did it every month. I even did two Blog Biz broadcasts on Facebook Live! I realized I love sharing my blogging secrets, and I really want everyone to have a blog. I like telling stories and I love reading other people's stories so let's all write our stories! Plus, if I can help other people, mommies especially, to earn from blogging like I do and be able to stay home with their kids like I do, then my blogging has been worthwhile!

So there you go! My blogging strategy for 2017! Focusing my blog to be by and for working mamas will also help me with everything—from the sponsors I work with, the workshops I'll do, and the speaking engagements I hope to get. It's easier to explain my blog to brands now! I'm so happy that after 10 years, I've finally understood what to do with my blog! Imagine that!

Okay, now tell me what you plan to do with your career and your blog this 2017. Tell me about your blog's most popular posts and what it told you. I'd really love to know!

Happy New Year!!!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Blog Biz: 7 tips to improve quality no matter what you produce

This post is brought to you by Solane.

I've been in the publishing industry for 18 years. I started as a writer for magazines, websites and newspapers, then I became the editor-in-chief of a magazine. In the middle of all that, I started blogging as a hobby, but my blog soon turned into an income-generating activity and now baliktad na—writing for magazines is now a hobby while I've turned my blogging into a business. This post, for example, is a collaboration between my blog and Solane, and when major companies like Solane want to work with me, I know that I made the right decision to become a digital entrepreneur.

Solane wants working moms like me to be part of their "Dapat Lang" campaign, which encourages everyone—mom, dad, single or married, young and old!—to always do what is right. Kasi ang tama ay dapat lang nating gawin! The campaign hopes to bring back traditional Filipino values of kasipagan, katapatan, paggalang sa matanda, and just being good and decent folk. Part of being a good person is having integrity. For working moms like me, that means being committed to always delivering quality work. Today, I will share with you tips on how to improve the quality of your work. For me, that's my blogging business and if you have a blog, too, then these tips might help.

When I began my blog ten years ago, it was just an online journal. So I just wrote whatever I wanted and published it without really thinking about how it reads or how it will affect the readers, because back then I had no readers. As the blog's audience grew, I slowly realized that I had to create quality content because I was taking people's time and whatever they read should be worth their time.

This realization was stressed when brands started paying me to work with them. When people are paying you good money, you can't just wing it anymore. I had to make sure what I produce will be worth the brand's budget and will be useful and appreciated by my readers.

Here are a few tips on how I improved the quality of my blog so that both my clients and readers will love it:

1. Plan ahead.
Whether you work from home or in an office, planning always makes your day easier to manage. In my case, as a professional blogger, I create an editorial calendar of blog posts helps me plan out my content better. I can research, do interviews, look for stock photos, and style products and take photos of them well ahead of time. This is especially important when I have a lot of brand collaborations because I have to schedule their sponsored posts and balance them with my own personal stories. No one wants back-to-back sponsored posts—not my clients and definitely not my readers.

2. Pay attention to details.
With my personal posts, I'm usually more relaxed. But when I'm writing a sponsored post, I have to consider the client's instructions and still make sure that what I write still sounds like me and not a press release. Readers are turned off by press release-types of blog posts. So I have to plan every word in consideration of the needs of both my client and my readers.

3. Use the right images.
Fact: Blog posts that are accompanied by great photos are read more. So always put at least one photo for every post you write. But it can't be just any kind of photo. It has to support the content of your post and it has to be beautiful. Blog posts that have Pinterest-worthy images are also more likely to be shared so when you plan your calendar and your post, think of the best photos that will accompany your post and prepare to create them.

4. Edit mercilessly.
Write with the heart, edit with the brain. Read what you wrote at least 10 times, then look at it again in the morning. Check for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes, especially on sponsored posts because your client has an image to protect. Check the links, especially if they're links provided by your client.

5. Be visually appealing.
Sometimes, even if you're the best writer in the world, if the reader has a hard time reading what you wrote, they're not going to read it. Your content is your product and the design of your blog is its packaging. Heaven knows that a lot of blogs aren't even that well written but because they look so nice, the blogs become popular. So choose a good design—you can either download free templates or buy them from many designers. You can also hire a designer. Just make sure to keep your blog free of clutter, choose fonts that are easy to read, and pick colors that won't hurt eyes.

6. Be useful.
If you want to succeed in blogging, you have to create content that matters. It's not enough you say what you think about a product, you should also provide information about where it's sold and for how much. When you review restaurants, say how much the dish costs and where the parking is. Always try to add something useful to your blog post so that your readers can take away good things—especially when it's a sponsored post because readers are usually leery of sponsored content but if you included useful tips, not only will they read the whole thing, they might also share it!

7. Engage with readers.
Your readers are your customers. They devour your content and if you're really lucky, they'll tell everyone about you. So always open the comments section and pay attention to what your readers like and dislike. Not only will this help you plan your content better, it also creates a friendship with your readers. And once they're loyal, they'll be your best marketers ever!

I was inspired to write about these tips because I was studying Solane's 7-Point Safety Check, a system they created to make sure their LPG is the best their customers can get. I've been a Solane user for 4 years now and I've been very happy with their service and their product. I like how they have a system for quality control and it made me think: Do I have a system, too? I knew I had one but I've never written it down. And now I have so I can share it with all of you so that your blogs will also improve!

If you're an entrepreneur like me, you can tweak my tips to apply to your own business. For example, if your business is planners, your quality-improvement tips can look like this:
1. Create a production plan.
2. Design the planner down to the very last detail.
3. Use the right illustrations and fonts.
4. Edit mercilessly.
5. Create a planner and a marketing campaign that is visually appealing.
6. Make sure every feature in the planner will be useful.
7. Ask what customers think and take action on improvements they suggest.

I hope you liked my 7 tips to improve the quality of your blog and your business! If you have more tips or a special system for your own blog or business, I hope you can share them in the comments below. Thank you!

For more information or to order your very own Solane LPG tank (like I do!), go to Solane.com.ph or like their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/solane.ph.

Friday, December 09, 2016

Money-making tips while you're in between jobs

I'm a blogger. That's my job now and it's making me good money. Problem is the money doesn't come in regularly and collection is a painful task. So I've decided that next year, looking for a job is my top priority. With two kids in big school by June 2017, I need regular income to sustain us especially when my blogging income is sporadic.

If you're job-hunting like me, the money situation can be stressful. Landing your dream job can take time, and time is expensive! Plus, all those interviews, procurement of documents, and ticking off the list of requirements will cost money. So what to do? Don't wait for that dream job. Make money now! Income can come from anything at all—something I learned quickly when I left my cushy corporate magazine job and entered the world of freelancing.

Brands call me an "influencer" yet I can't seem to put that on my résumé!

Knowing that you’ve got enough to tide you over will take off a lot of the job-hunt pressure. Getting creative with money-making ideas is essential for getting through the hard times. There are many more ways to make money from home than you might realize! I should know because I've been hustling like crazy for the past 4 years! Here’s a list of what I've done over the years:

Sell your stuff!

Selling household items you don’t use can be lucrative. One time I sold my preloved stuff on eBay and made 20K in one weekend! It’s surprising, once you start selling, how much you find you don’t need anymore. Go through everything—your closets, jewelry box, bookshelves, attic, basement, garage. You are going to find sooooo much stuff and most of it will earn you so much cash! If you're lucky, you might even come across old items in your house that have tons of value. Check paintings, jewelry, the labels of your old clothes, first-edition books, and even your old stamp collection. Vintage stuff is big business. Selling things couldn’t be easier, with sites like eBay there to do the hard work for you. Put your old stuff online and see how much money you can make!

Every so often, I'd post all my preloved stuff or all the press products still lying around in my house on eBay and I'd earn enough for a nice dinner, a new dress, or even a fun shopping expedition. In fact, I'm going to start selling stuff on eBay next week!

Blog your loves!

As I can attest, blogging can be a fun way to make money. Have you got a niche subject you’re dying to tell the world about? Setting up a blog is much easier than you’d think, and could lead you to massive success. Blogging isn’t just a way to make a little extra cash either. If you put in a fair amount of effort, you might find this is the dream job you never knew you wanted. I seriously never thought blogging would become my highest-paying job!

You can have a lot of fun with a blog. Most importantly, it's an easy way to get yourself out there. In fact, a blog can be one effective way of getting noticed by brands who might become your future employer. So start a blog and learn how to draw traffic to your blog. Getting a large enough audience is essential if you want to start making money. Most of the money you’ll make is off of advertising (banner ads, sponsored posts, paid links, etc) and companies will pay well if you have a strong-enough audience. It’s also essential that you integrate yourself into the blogging community. As my BeautyBizBliss community advocates—collaboration over competition! Get your name out there by becoming familiar to existing bloggers. Be friendly and be nice!

Sell what you know and do

Got crazy crafting skills? Homemade items are always desirable. It’ll amaze you how much people are willing to pay for your crafting goods. If you’ve got a knack for knitting, use it to make you money! Knitted goods sell for top money. If you’re a wiz on the sewing machine, why not get to grips with your inner designer, and sell your creations? Take a look at what’s on the market and see if you can do anything a little different. If knitting and sewing aren’t for you, there are many other options. How about making candles? If you’re good with design, you could create your own art prints. If you're amazing at baking, make cookies, cupcakes and other pastries to sell.

As for me, I offer services. As a blogger of 10 years, I hold workshops where I share blogging tips. As a former magazine editor, I also do workshops on beauty and fashion. And soon, as a writer and editor, I plan to teach creative writing to kids! If you have a skill you can teach others—anything from journaling, calligraphy, baking, cooking, playing an instrument to building a business or making a relationship work—offering your services can be fulfilling and lucrative!

Answer surveys
Various online panels offer cash rewards for the completion of surveys. The money's not much (I tried around 8 years ago) and signing up for one of these is unlikely to make you rich, but it will give you a little extra spending money each month. Studies usually last between 10-30 minutes. You’ll be required to answer a series of questions about a variety of subjects, ranging from shopping habits to your opinions on a product. This is a hassle-free way to make money. Once you’ve signed up, survey invitations will go straight to your inbox. Many survey sites even offer the option to take part in control groups. If you’re able to travel to these, you could make even more money! Remember to check that you will be making money, even after travel expenses. If you’re not making money, don’t go!

Enter competitions
Early in my blogging career, I loved joining contests. It's a great way to get stuff I otherwise couldn't afford. That's how I got my Gucci bag, a Samsung phone, and Evita Peroni hair accessories, for example. Some of my blogger friends have won trips abroad. So fun! Sites like Loquax give you a low-down of a variety of competitions. Most of these are free to enter and offer anything from money to rewards. Even if a competition offers a reward, it’s worth entering. You can sell any prizes you don’t want and get your money that way! Take the time to enter as many free competitions as you can. You have to be in it to win it, after all!

Invest your extra money
If all your work up there earns you decent cash, you could look into the investment world. Investing in stocks and shares can be a lucrative money-making scheme if you do it right. Yes, you have to do it right. My husband and I invested a few years ago in the stock market and we lost money. Be aware that investing in the wrong shares could result in losing your money. Take care and study the market.

If you want market information, find it from Money Morning. Sites like this are a huge help in giving you an idea of where it’s worth investing. There’s no denying that the world of stocks and shares can be overwhelming. I can't knock it even though we've tried it (and failed) because we know so many people who have become millionaires simply by investing wisely in the market. So do your research and don’t jump into anything. If you think you’ve got the hang of the market, investing could be the perfect thing for you!

Getting creative can take your mind off your job-hunting dilemmas, at the same time as making you some money. It gives you something to focus your energy on during your unemployment, as well as offering potentially large payouts! In fact, whatever you do now to make money might become your new career. Look at what happened to me and my blogging hobby! Good luck!

Saturday, November 26, 2016

Oh, what fun we had at the Alaska Ultimate Mission Camp!

This post is brought to you by Alaska Milk.

Last Sunday, my little superheroes Captain America and Iron Man were absolutely pumped to go to the Alaska Ultimate Mission Camp. I imagined a day of chaos for me but, boy, was I mistaken! The Alaska Ultimate Mission Camp was AMAZING!!!

The Mission Camp was held at SMX Convention Center at SM Mall of Asia. I don't know why I got the idea that it would be held outdoors but I slathered the kids in sunblock, brought towels and a change of clothes, and boxes of Alaska Choco milk. When we were ready, we piled into a taxi and then zoomed all the way to MOA. There's no traffic on Sundays so we did literally zoom there. Once we got there, the kids got even more excited seeing the crowd. They immediately started playing with the other kids while we were still lined up.

With Momma 'n' Manila Michelle Aventejado and her daughter Gelli.

Inside, we did a tour first, so we can develop a game plan. We wanted to experience everything that the Mission Camp had to offer! There were four main areas:

(1) Kids Activity Zone for the younger kids. This is where they can busy themselves with arts and crafts activities like coloring, cutting out masks, building with blocks and bricks, stacking Alaska Milk cartons to make a tower, face painting, and playing memory games.

(2) Disney Mission Zones for kids 4 and up. There are four Mission Zones: the Marvel Zone where the kids skate, stick to the wall, hit a target, and crawl through a tunnel; the Frozen Zone, which is basically a big skating rink; the Ultimate Zone, which is a big obstacle course where kids test out their skills in balancing, jumping, climbing, and other major physical exertions; and the Alaska Zone, which also has lots of activities to test your kid's strength and agility, plus there's a big dome the kids enter and inside they experience virtual reality.

Safety briefing from secret agents at Marvel Zone.

(3) Parents Zone, where grownups can learn about making coffee with Kreme Top, making desserts and cooking with Alaska Evaporated Milk, Alaska Condensed Milk and Alaska Crema Whipped Cream. There was also a Toy Kingdom booth which peddled Disney and Marvel goodies.

Waiting for the coffee-making workshop to start.

Pop-up shop for Disney toys

(4) Entertainment area. In the middle of it all was a big stage where games, song numbers, and educational talks were presented for the entire family.

My kids in front.

Look at what my kids did:

Listening to Ate Secret Agent finish briefing the kids.

Iñigo is Spider-Man! Sorry for blurry pic. All parents had to stay outside and
we can only look through these little windows.

Just finished their Alaska milk refreshments and about to go to the Ultimate Zone.

The obstacle course at Ultimate Zone was physically challenging!

Enjoying the ball pit at Alaska Zone.

They just missed the cupcake decorating workshop! My boys weren't happy about that but oh-so-adorable
Selene (unica hija of The Misty Mom) just jumped up to check out what new activity she can do!

We had soooo much fun! More importantly, my kids learned to be independent because the Mission Zones were parent-free. The brothers had to take care of each other and Vito was really looking out for Iñigo. So proud of my boys! They also learned how to listen carefully to instructions, and bravely take on all the physical tasks. They weren't that easy, but they did it anyway! I'm especially impressed with Iñigo because he usually has lots of reservations when it comes to new places and new things but he jumped into each new activity happily. I am oh so proud!

I'll let my kids tell you about their experience at the Alaska Ultimate Mission Camp:

Here's their video before the camp

It definitely was a winning day for my kids! As a parent, I am also happy to report that the event was so organized. I've been to other events where the organizers were just overwhelmed with all the kids. The Alaska Ultimate Mission Camp was well staffed—there was a LOT of them to make sure every kid and parent is attended to. The staff knew what every activity was so if you ask a question, you get an answer fast. The zones were all safe and secure, and they controlled the number of kids in each area so that it doesn't get too crowded and the staff can manage the kids better. Should accidents do happen, there was a medical team in a very visible area.

I had been a bit apprehensive when I found out that the mission zones didn't allow parents in, but when I saw how safe and secure the areas were and that the staff was in control of everything, I relaxed and allowed myself to have just as much fun as my boys! In hindsight, I should've not been so scared because Disney was involved in the event, and Disney has the ultimate credentials when it comes to giving families an exciting yet safe experience for all.

Tired but happy little boys.

I'm so happy that Alaska and Disney mounted this super fun day. Thanks soooo much for inviting us, Alaska and Disney! Thanks also for providing Alaska Milk for all the thirsty kids at the event. I saw that all the kids (and the parents, too!) enjoyed the delicious and nutritious milk drinks. They liked pointing out the beloved characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Princess Anna, Queen Elsa, and even Olaf whenever they pop a straw in a box of Alaska Choco, Alaska Sweet Milk (my favorite), and Alaska Yoghurt! The drinks didn't just refresh them and sustain them for the day of physical activities, it also provided them with the essential vitamins and minerals and, with the yoghurt drinks, even good bacteria for their tummies. As a mom, I am oh so happy with all that!

I'm hoping that Alaska will have another Ultimate Mission Camp next year. Pleeeeeeeeease do it again! My kids can't wait to go again. It was the most fun they've had in recent memory, so thank you and please do another one soonest!

For more information on Alaska Milk, visit www.alaskamilk.com; and like their Facebook page, Alaska Milk, to be updated on promos and other activities.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Blog Biz: Don't forget these 4 social actions to promote your blog

Hello everyone! I am fresh off my latest and oh so successful Blog Biz workshop last Friday at The White Hat Yogurt at Fully Booked BGC, and I am so happy with how smart and enthusiastic my workshop attendees were. I am confident that their blogs (when they finally start blogging!) will be bigger than mine! I am so sure of it!

One of the topics we discussed at the workshop was blog promotion. If you run a blog, you want people to read it. Whether you're sharing your opinions on politics or the latest fashion, or you might be writing tutorials or talking about your daily life—whatever you write about, you need to get people to pay attention.

There are lots of ways you can promote your blog, but social media is one of the best methods. You can connect with a community of other bloggers and blog readers. There are several channels you can use, from Facebook and Twitter to Snapchat and Instagram. If you want to get started, there are several things you should do.

1. Automate your sharing

Once you have social media accounts set up, it can be a lot of work to share your posts. I devote about 10 minutes just sharing away everywhere! Twitter, Instagram, my Facebook friends, my blog's FB page, the FB groups I belong to, and Linkedin. If 10 minutes sound like a lot of time and you're on Wordpress, you can make it much easier by setting up automated sharing. It's simple to do this using various tools.

Do keep in mind that you may not be able to use the same tool to share to different accounts. For example, Instagram lets you share to Facebook, Twitter, etc. But when you look at an IG post shared on Twitter, it doesn't really look nice. It just redirects you back to Instagram. So now I just post on Twitter itself. I no longer use IG's sharing tool.

2. Connect your blog and social media channels

As well as doing your own sharing, you want others to share your posts, too. Sharing is caring as they say! Make sure that you have sharing buttons on your blog. Put them on the main page and on your individual blog posts, too. Make it easy for people to share your content to their own accounts straight from your website.

You can also put widgets for your social media pages on your site. For example, you can have a stream for your Twitter feed or show your latest Facebook post. I haven't done this myself but that's one of the design tweaks I plan to do soon.

Oh, and don't forget to link to your blog on your social media channels! If you look at my Twitter, Facebook accounts, and IG, all of them links back to www.topazhorizon.com. Make it easy for your followers to find your blog!

3. Paid ways to improve your reputation

If you have an advertising budget, you might want to use paid ways to grow your audience. There are tools you can use on social media to boost your reputation. One thing you can do is use advertising and promoted posts. These are available on a number of channels, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I just started doing this on my blog's Facebook page. I select a post I really really really am so proud of and then I boost it. My budget is usually just P200 and that reaches around 2,000 people. I've only done this to four posts so far but my page's likes went up dramatically in a month. So it works!

Now this next suggestion is a bit controversial and the attendees of my workshop last weekend discussed this at great length: You can buy followers and likes for your accounts. Yep. The advantage of that is when people see you have a large following, they might get curious and follow you because they want to know what the fuss is all about. My friends in PR revealed to me the Instagrammers who bought their following and, well, their padded numbers definitely helped make them successful. The disadvantage is when Instagram does a purge and then you're exposed as a fraud. But if you're willing to risk it anyway, you can use sites like buycheapfollowersfast.com/facebook/ to do this. Me, I don't want to risk it since I've built my reputation on being real. But I will judge no one who does this!

4. Connecting with your followers

Promoting your blog on social media isn't just about sharing your stuff. You also need to engage with people to encourage them to get involved. This is my favorite part of blogging—engaging with my Loyal Readers! I love replying to comments! I used to do this religiously but now that I have kids, I can't do this like I used to. But I try!

Engaging with your readers tells them you want to show them the personality behind your blog and prove that you're interested in them. Get to know your readers and they will love you for life! Many of my dearest friends now started out as my readers before!

You should find ways to connect with people on social media. For example, you might ask them questions or start a hashtag game. My friend Martine de Luna of Make It Blissful did this so well with her #makeitblissful community. I'm trying to do the same with my own #authenticmama challenge. Yes, show me your struggles and honest revelations on Instagram with the #authenticmama hashtag so we can all cry and laugh together!

Social media can help you boost your blog if you know how to use it. Remember that it's a two-way street and requires you to communicate. I'm still learning myself so if you have more tips, please share in the comments below!

*images from The White Hat Yogurt and Pixabay

Want to know why no one reads your blog? Watch my Facebook Live broadcast!

Wednesday, November 09, 2016

New look

I'm agonizing over my blog's new template. The fonts are all over the place. The size of the fonts of old blog posts are tiny and the size on new blog posts (starting with this one) is a larger size. I don't know if I have the energy to edit all 1,200 past posts!

Please be patient as I fix the bugs. Or if I don't haha. Maybe I should just start a new blog altogether! The inconsistencies in the posts from before the new design is driving me crazy!

So anyway. What do you think? Do you like Topaz Horizon's new look?

Friday, October 28, 2016

Blog Biz: 3 ways you can use social media to build your blog audience

When I started blogging 10 years ago, getting on anyone's radar was a dream. I only depended on someone stumbling on my blog posts to actually get some visits. That all changed when Facebook and Twitter exploded on the internet. Sharing posts means just a few extra clicks and reaching an audience is so easy now! I even told my students at my recent Blog Biz Blogging and Chika Workshop that it's absolutely impossible for anyone these days to say, "No one's reading my blog!"

As social media continues to advance and grow in popularity, bloggers have started using it to their advantage. It’s become a simple but effective way of driving traffic and strengthening a blog audience. From Pinterest to Instagram, there are countless social media sites you should be using to promote your blog. Using these sites not only engages potential readers, they make it easier to communicate with your loyal followers. But if you’ve only used social media for your personal life, you might be unsure how to use it to better your blog. So to help you feel less overwhelmed, use my three social media tips for bloggers.

#1 Use your blog name everywhere

When signing up for multiple social media sites, it’s vital that you use your blog name consistently. So the handle you use on Twitter should be the same on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook, too. This can help to avoid confusion while also providing promotion to your blog. I've already started doing this by changing my Instagram handle from @francesasales to @topazhorizonblog.

Another benefit of doing this is that you are making your blog easier to find across multiple platforms. This is important as you start to establish yourself on both your blog and social media. Obviously, there may be instances where you are not able to use your exact blog name on social media sites. It might be taken by someone else or be too long, for example. That's why I haven't changed my Twitter handle to @topazhorizonblog because that's already 17 characters that will take up my tweets! In which case, you might have to experiment with alternatives that are as close to your blog name as possible.

#2 Promote other bloggers

While it’s important to promote your own blog content on social media, it can get repetitive for your followers. If you do this too regularly, it may even force people to unfollow you as a result. So mix it up by promoting the work of bloggers you admire. Focus on sharing the content of bloggers who create similar content to your own. This can add more variety to your feeds while still being relevant and interesting to your followers.

A big possible plus is the blogger whose work you have shared may also reciprocate and promote your content. As you both create similar content, it’s likely their followers will be interested in reading your blog, too. This can give your audience a much-needed boost while also helping you forge positive online relationships. I can attest to this because most of my friendships today began with sharing of blog posts, comments on each other's blogs and Instagram pics, and then back-and-forth messages on Facebook. Et voila! I am now real-life friends with bloggers I used to just admire virtually!

#3 Make your icons prominent

If your followers aren’t able to find your social media icons on your blog, it makes it almost impossible for them to connect with you. So always make sure these icons are in a clear and prominent place on your blog. Popular positions are at the top and bottom of your blog homepage. Mine are at my sidebar. Just look to the right and then follow me!!!

You should also make it easy for your content to be shared by your followers on social media. This helps you earn more Facebook and Instagram followers while also increasing the number of visits to your blog. So make sure your blog content has a sharing capability that can be found and used easily. Mine are at the bottom of this blog post—please share!

And there you have it! My three little tips on how to use social media to build your blog audience. Social media and blogging go hand in hand. You just need to know how to combine the two effectively. So take what you have learned from this guide and start getting more clicks today.

If you want to learn more Blog Biz tips from me, sign up for my upcoming Blog Biz Blogging and Chika Workshop next month! I'm looking at November 17 or 18 (yes, a weekday!) at Bonifacio Global City. Follow my Facebook page for more details!

*image from Pixabay

TOPAZ HORIZON

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