Wednesday, January 06, 2021

How to know if I'm sharing a sponsored post

I've been blogging for 15 years by May this year. And, boy, have things changed! Before 2010, bloggers just wrote about everything they fancied. That's why bloggers were so trusted. Reviews were always from personal experience and since these were paid for from our own pockets, readers knew we had every right to say whatever we wanted - positive or negative.

Oh, those were the days! Such freedom! I didn't do reviews, though. I couldn't because I was the editor in chief of a magazine. I once wrote a glowing review of Olay on my blog. Pond's, a major advertiser of my magazine, complained. I protested, "My blog is a personal hobby. It has nothing to do with my job!" But my bosses persisted and so I deleted the Olay post and avoided doing reviews thereafter. It's okay. Reviews are an expensive thing to do anyway! (But do it because people Google reviews all the time!)

Around the start of the decade, brands started taking note of the huge following of bloggers and so advertising budgets were shifted from print publications to blogs. But with bloggers now taking payment for featuring a product, a restaurant, a salon, or a hotel, readers began doubting their credibility. I avoided this by choosing to work only with brands I believe in. That meant not raking it in, however. Sometimes, I will admit, I wished I could just say yes to all the offers since who's to know anyway? Well, I would. My family, too. And eventually, my readers would, too. The loss of my integrity is the most costly of all so I can't do it. 

I wanted to be transparent so all my blog posts were marked at the beginning or at the end with a "This blog post is brought to you by [brand]." And they were also tagged as sponsored posts. On Instagram and Facebook, I used the hashtags #THx[Brand] and #thblogsp (Topaz Horizon Blog Sponsored Post) until the platforms added the Paid Partnership feature. 

Now, it's my 15th year in the blogging world, and I know from emails from my Loyal Readers that they don't like blogs and Instagram accounts that are all about products and services because they never can tell if what they're reading is paid for or not. Influencers usually don't like marking posts as sponsored because followers don't trust paid posts. While it would be nice for bloggers to never charge for anything, a blog isn't a cheap hobby. And for influencers with massive followings, it really makes sense to earn from their influence, right? 

I'm not a huge blogger but I've built enough credibility to be considered an influencer (or in agency speak, KOL - key opinion leader). Even though disclosing sponsorships usually means fewer likes and views, I'll still disclose anyway and hope you'll still support me by liking the IG/FB post and reading the blog feature. I'm making it easier for you all to know if what I'm sharing is a sponsored post or a press gift. Here's how to know:

SPONSORED POST


Sponsored posts on the blog, Instagram, and Facebook will all have my face on it! That will differentiate it from the other products that I share. That way, you'll immediately know I'm endorsing it. And brands like it when people pose with their products. 

I want to make sponsored posts more special because a few years ago, a sponsor complained that I'm posting and writing about other brands for free. The brand felt gypped. Struck me as a little petty but I've thought about it and I'll do something about it. Hence this blog post!

PRESS GIFT (NOT PAID)

This is actually tricky. Some press gifts are sooo nice or I really love them that I blog about them happily and people assume it's a paid post. I will always always always disclose if a post is sponsored. Always have, always will. But to differentiate them further, press gifts will not have my face on them when I share on social media. And they can be lumped together with other similar gifts in a thank you post or a blog feature. 

On the blog, however, I haven't decided. Some gifts need to be worn (clothes, makeup, jewelry) or experienced (a resort, a salon makeover, restaurant). I figured I'll present the gifts the best way I can on the blog even if that includes me with the product/service and then just disclose that it's a gift. But I'll only share the experience on IG Stories. Same goes for events.

Some bloggers advised that they share gifts and events on Instagram as a carousel, but the first photo will not have the brand in it at all. That seems like a good idea. 

Oh, and all gifts will be shared on my blog's Facebook page, in the Blogger Gifts album. If I extra love them, then they get an IG post and a blog feature, too! But as a thank you, every gift will be shared in this album.

EVENTS

One thing that I do that baffles people is I don't post events in real time. My reason is I don't want anyone to know where I am. I always post about an event hours or even days after it happened. Many brands ask that I post in real time. I never say yes. And they can't make me because I never charge for event attendance.

I don't think you should follow my example, though. Agencies and brands love influencers who post in real time and stay throughout the event. So if you want lots of campaigns, go to all the events! It really helps you become visible to brands and agencies so they think of you for campaigns. It's really a good idea to go to events, guys. However, brands don't like people who charge an attendance fee but if you want to, then do so. I know why other people charge. Parking, gas, Grab fare, outfits, the time spent in traffic - all of these cost money. 

I will charge if I'm asked to work at the event as the host, part of a panel, or as a speaker. So if you notice I'm posting about an event in real time, then you know I was hired to be there. But if I'm invited as a guest, then I go as a guest. That way, if I want to leave, I can leave and no one can stop me. And because I don't have an attendance fee, I only go to events I like. It has to be worth my time and money and what makes that worth it? If it's a brand I really like, if it's for a friend, or if my friends will be there. Events are a great place to catch up - there's free food, free drinks, and everyone's all dressed up! 

Again, don't do what I do. Events are a great way to build your brand and network. Attend as many relevant events as you can!  


PRESS RELEASES

I used to publish press releases on the blog on Press Release Tuesdays. I think that some announcements are interesting for my readers to know and it makes for additional content. But now I'm putting all press releases in my News to Know album. Mostly because news gets old fast and it's easier to post them on Facebook then delete after it's no longer relevant.

And that's it! That's what's you can expect this year on my blog and social media platforms! Okay, and just in case you're not following me yet, please like my Facebook page and follow me on Instagram

Thanks so much!

Tuesday, January 05, 2021

Review: Maybelline Color Drama Brow Mascara to make brows match hair colors!

To greet the new year, I went back to an old look. Short and red! Everyone I know tells me I look much better with long hair. And I agree haha That's why I always cut my hair short once a year then I let it grow, then I cut it again. People may like me with long hair but I think I'm most me with a red bob. My hair grows really fast, about half an inch a month, so it's fun to just cut and cut and cut because it's going to grow out fast anyway.

However, in all of 2020, I wasn't able to go to the salon. In fact, the last time I had my hair cut and colored professionally was mid-2019. I gave myself trims throughout quarantine but I finally chopped it all off, colored it a deep red, and I feel like myself again! This is me from the past two decades!

Hello, 2021! Imma ready for ya!

Except my eyebrows aren't haha. To be honest, I only learned to do my brows when I turned 40 (that's 4 years ago). So if you look at my looks above, some photos have no eyebrows haha

Anyway, I used to bleach my brows to match my red hair but now I just use Maybelline Color Drama Brow Mascara in Brick Brown. It's my secret for a cohesive look without bleach. When I'm dark blonde, I use Yellow Brown. When I'm a brunette, then it's the Deep Brown. 


Again, the shade I use to match my red hair is Brick Brown. It's a nice reddish brown. In fact, I chose my hair color to match the shade of the brow mascara haha

It's super easy to apply, too. Just brush it down and then up then shape. Then let it dry. It keeps my brows' shape all day. It really coats each strand of my brows. And I like that it still looks natural. And that it's waterproof and smudge-proof. I look so pretty!!! Check it out!

Sadly, I couldn't find the Brick Brown shade in the Maybelline official store in Lazada or in BeautyMNL. So I'm kinda in panic mode haha But if you have brown or blonde hair and want to try a brow mascara, try Maybelline Color Drama Brow Mascara!

Monday, January 04, 2021

New year, time to clean! Stock up on cleaning essentials!

The last 2 weeks of the old year and the first 2 weeks of the new year is when my cleaning spirit is resurrected and I scrub and wipe and sweep and freak my husband out who goes around the house asking, "Who are you? Why are you doing this? Where is my wife???" Hahahaha my poor husband having to live with messy, cluttery me.

I actually enjoy cleaning but having kids is so defeating. Like, what is the point of cleaning when they mess up everything within seconds? So I just do what I can to keep the mess at bay, but during that short period when the old year dies and a new one is born, I clean! And I love it!

Here are a few of the cleaning items I used:


Thanks so much to Clorox, Defensil, Smart Spray, and Aller Plasma Nano+ for the cleansing products! I had a grand time cleaning because of your gifts. Here's why:


With all the rubbing alcohol out in the market today, a gift of bottles upon bottles of Defensil was amazing! Especially since Defensil is 70% Solution Isopropyl Alcohol. Yes, not all alcohol is created equal. It needs to be in concentrations of 60% and above to be effective at disinfecting your hands and surfaces. I had to check if alcohol actually kills the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. According to Healthline, yes it does but it has to be in high concentrations, or pharmaceutical grade. So no, mouthwash, gin, beer, perfume, Eskinol - these will not protect you LOL.

Defensil 70% Solution Isopropyl Alcohol kills 99.9% of germs on contact. That said, the NCBI notes that "alcohol is flammable [so] limit its use as a surface disinfectant to small surface-areas and use it in well-ventilated spaces only. Prolonged and repeated use of alcohol as a disinfectant can also cause discoloration, swelling, hardening, and cracking of rubber and certain plastics." So the best and safest way to kill germs is still good old soap and water and washing your hands for at least 20 seconds.

For more information on how to stay protected, the Defensil Health Defense Council is inviting Filipino families to visit the Defensil Isopropyl Alcohol’s Facebook page.

 
Here's an old and credible brand I trust! Clorox! I think we've been using Clorox since I was a kid. And I'm in my 40s so that's a long relationship we have.

Bleach is a truly effective disinfectant and, yes, it can kill the coronavirus! Yes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends it. Its active ingredient is sodium hypochlorite and it can destroy bacteria, fungi, and viruses at full strength. But at full strength, bleach can be irritating to skin and the respiratory system. That's why we dilute it with water. As long as you use the recommended dilutions, that won't lessen its effectivity but it slows it down, disinfecting within 10–60 minutes' contact time.

Since you're not going to use bleach to wash your hands, this is fine. I use bleach on household surfaces like the kitchen, bathroom, and tiled or linoleum floors. I also use it on the laundry (Clorox has a color-safe bleach) to make sure our clothes are completely disinfected.

I love the Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, by the way! They don't contain bleach, but they are EPA-registered to kill SARS-CoV-2! So make sure you stock up on these wipes. Please note these wipes are for disinfecting surfaces, not for your face, nose, or private parts.

For more information, like the Facebook page of Clorox Philippines.


For those who are wary of chemicals, why not make your own chemicals? But first, I just want to establish that I'm a great believer in chemicals as everything on earth is made of chemicals. Your whole body, the air, water, the earth, our food (even organic food), every single thing you can see, smell, touch, and taste is made of chemicals. Chemicals are good. 

It's toxic chemicals that aren't good. Let us all use the correct terminology! But for those who don't want to buy bleach, make your own with Smart Spray. It's a simple bottle that uses electrolysis technology to transform water and salt to sodium hypochlorite. If you read my Clorox write-up, you'd recognize that term as the effective ingredient of Clorox bleach. 

I haven't actually used this gadget much because I have real bleach on hand but I read that the homemade disinfectant Smart Spray makes can be used to clean fruits, seafood and meat, bottles, phones, furniture, school and office supplies, car interiors, toys, packages, and all other surfaces at home. Woah. That's a lot and even on food! And it won't harm wooden furniture. 

Okay, the American Chemistry Council says that sodium hypochlorite is safe for food preparation. You can even add it to drinking water. I just don't know the amounts so until I'm sure, I'll use my Smart Spray on surfaces that we put our faces on - pillows, phones, the sofa, dining table, and the like since I don't use bleach on those things. But I'm happy that now there is a safe disinfectant for those!

For more information on Smart Spray, please go to www.smarthomephils.com


Okay, this is our new nifty gadget for fighting off viruses and bacteria in the air! Meet Aller Plasma Nano+ Sterilizer. We did the research and cold plasma technology kills viruses and bacteria suspended in the air. And, according to Science Daily, plasma can kill SARS-CoV-2 cultures not just in the air but also on surfaces in less than three minutes, destroying most of the virus after 30 seconds. 

We love it! I'll do a more detailed review next week. Just all I want to do now is buy 2 more units of this small hero so that our entire condo can be sterilized.

For more information on Plasma Technology and Aller Plasma Nano+, you may visit allerplasma.com, like the Aller Plasma Sterilizer Facebook page and Instagram: @allerplasma.

There you have it - my cleaning essentials to start off 2021 right! Check them out, too!

Sunday, January 03, 2021

All I want in life now really

Well, it's the third day of the new year. I dunno about you but everyone seems to be treading softly. It's not celebration I can feel in the air, but an overall feeling of exhausted relief. "We made it. We're still here. We hope to stay this way throughout 2021." Seems like everyone's goal for the year is to stay alive. On any regular year, most of us will think that's the bare minimum. But with a contagious disease spreading insidiously all over the world, that's the biggest goal.   

That's mine, too, for me and my family. And then I have a second one. It's not a goal really. More of a wish. It's a wish because I don't know how I can make it come true given the pandemic and the loss of projects. What's my wish? I want to have our whole condo unit renovated.

My husband and I have been talking about it once in a while over the years. Our eldest son will be a teenager in a few years. Well, all three of our boys will be teens soon so we need to give them more space and privacy. Our home is almost 14 years old so things need to be updated - the air conditioners, the TV, the kitchen, the floors. I want more lights. My eyesight has gotten worse with age and I need more light, especially when I cook. My husband wants to freshen up the walls with paint and wallpaper. He also wants a bigger TV for the gaming devices he just bought and will buy. I want a big Persian rug in the living room, new curtains, new beds, new sheets, new closets. 

I want shelves in the living room so I can move all the books from the boys' room outside. Loyal Readers will know that the boys' room used to be our home office so all our books are on one whole wall. I want to move those out. When I was a kid, my parents used to drag us around to visit the homes of their hundreds of friends. I remember that the one thing that impressed me among all those houses was a wall of books in the living room. So I want one in my own home.

But talks of renovating remained just that - talks. When we were quarantined last year, however, I became more acutely aware of our home and everything that needs to be fixed and upgraded. I'm also aware that even if I had the means to have our home fixed, the pandemic makes that complicated. Our condo admin is leery of letting non-residents in the complex so good luck getting any renovating done. 

So let's strip down my wish, shall we. My home is actually quite wonderful. Sure, it needs a little freshening up but our home is so nice that my family - even the kids! - didn't feel the desire to go out at all for the last 10 months. I've mentioned this before. Because my husband is an introvert and I hate traveling, we've built our home to be complete in entertainment, comfortable and cozy. Video games? Books? Movies? Board games? Toys? They're all here. We've been cooped up for almost a year and we haven't gotten bored yet.

So what's my itch to renovate all about? Well, it's the thought that the vaccines won't reach our shores for months. So that means at least half a year or even a year inside our home again. I don't know if we can distract them for yet another year.

All I want in life now really is for my kids to be safe and happy. Safe from the virus. Happy with just us. So all I want to do is make our home not just a refuge and respite but also an even more fascinating place for them, a wonderland to make them forget the world outside, if only for one year more.

Friday, January 01, 2021

My first vision board ever and it's for 2021

Happy 2021! First day of the new year. I super love the hope new beginnings bring. So last night, as we were all waiting for midnight to ring in the new year, I went through magazines to make something I've never done before: a vision board.

Many of the powerful and successful women I know say they create a vision board for their life, their business, their family, their year. So it sounds like a great idea to start any project, any aspect of your life, or every year. And yet I've never made one till today. I dunno why. But I do know why I'm making one for the first time now. I never needed it before because I was always fairly successful in most everything I've done. But that's the thing: fairly successful. Not spectacularly successful. Maybe a vision board will help! 

So here's my vision board:


It's all words, I know. I'm inspired by words. I love pictures but they don't really stir much in me. That's why when I was a kid, I never really believed in "a picture is worth a thousand words." When I was going through magazines, these were the words that called out to me. To me, they mean a lot more than what they read. So let me explain:

Be a better business owner.
I'm an entrepreneur with a thriving writing, editing, PR consulting, and blogging business. Yet I know I can do better. Here's how: Be kinder to myself and not say yes to everything in the contract. Stick to my rates. Meet deadlines. Make better content for clients. Send invoices ASAP. Don't be shy to follow up my checks. Update my accounting books every month instead of every end of the year. See? Lots of areas for improvement!

It is time to bloom where you are planted.
The key phrase here is "it is time." That's the whole reason I cut out that sentence. I almost always bloom where I'm planted because I planted myself there to begin with. But in 2020, plans were derailed. I was planted at home. I was okay with staying put but frustrated with being a housewife. I'm not a good housewife. But maybe this 2021, it's time for me to bloom into a good one!

Be yourself. Work hard.
I'm an advocate for being yourself. I'm so self-aware, however, that I realized I'm turning down opportunities more often than I should because I know I can't do it - either because I lack the talent and skills or because it will take me away from my kids (and I tell myself that this is a noble excuse). I mean, there's saying no because it's truly not worth it but then there's saying no because you're scared or you're lazy. So the important part is "work hard." Enough of navel-gazing and let's start doing! This year, I should say yes more to projects people believe I can do. I mean, if they can see me doing it, then I must be capable, right? No more self-doubt!

Create.
Last year, I spent more time consuming than creating. Binged on Netflix shows and movies. Watched makeup-and-murder videos, tiny home tours, and royal docus on YouTube. Read books. Read tons of articles. Listened to Taylor Swift's folklore album too many times. All good, of course. I keep thinking of Stephen King when he said that his consumption of other art is part of his work. It feeds him. So he spends 4 hours every day reading... and then he spends the rest of the day writing. Consume - create. That should be my pattern. 

(I did create something wonderful in 2020! I'll tell you all about it soon!)

Bring goodness to the world through everyday living.
That's the key phrase: "everyday living." We all have big goals of changing the world in an impactful way then make small evil decisions to get there. You know, for the greater good. It should be my goal to make the world a better place with my daily choices. That means small but good decisions all the time. 

Hold the babies. Run the errands. Do all the things.
Okay, dangerous territory. I can't possibly do ALL the things. But it called out to me. It told me, "Be a good mom. Do the good work. You can do it all and have it all and it's not going to be easy but try it anyway!" Ya. Like I said a few paragraphs ago, sometimes I don't try because I know it's too hard, and as Yoda said, "Do or do not. There is no try." So I don't. Now I think that that's prevented me from doing a lot of things I could've been good at, or maybe I could've failed at. That's not the point. The point is to try. This 2021, I will try to do all the things.

Change the world.
Big goal but that world doesn't have to literally be the planet (although if we all take two tiny jabs of the COVID-19 vaccine, for example, that can truly change the world!). The world can be my kids' world. Or my husband's world. Or my friend's world. As we talked about earlier, small decisions, small kindnesses, small favors can actually change someone's life in a big way. Never ever underestimate the small things we do for others!

Just enjoy.
Lots of goals and, to be honest, I don't know if I can do them all or consistently. So this is a reminder to pause sometimes and appreciate my amazing life. It's already good where I am now and, yes, lots of improvement needed in many areas, but that shouldn't make me unhappy and full of discontent. Just enjoy the ride while we move towards new destinations!

And that's my 2021 vision board!!!

I used the Dream Board spread of the 2021 Belle de Jour Power Planner for my vision board. If you want to do the same, I'm giving away one BDJ Power Planner 2021! Join join join! I pick a winner on Sunday!