How to Become a Successful Blogger?

Dec 29, 2011

LeeAnn B.

So I did it, I made a blog in an attempt to share my knowledge with other people as wells learn the knowledge of health & beauty from others. My only question is, how do you become a successful blogger/beauty reviewer? I would love any tips on how to achieve this, I am assuming it has a lot to do with the number of followers that you accumulate given that so many people leave links to blogs on here! =]

Dec 29, 2011

Theresa G.

It is extremely hard. I would like to get some tips also : )

Dec 30, 2011

Anastasia D.

Make sure of regular update, to keep up people's attention. A good way is to post teasers on FB or twitter about your upcoming reviews. When writing a review, pay attention to all the details: package, usability, color, smell, lasting of the effect etc. You may use a rating system at the end, to make it quick and clear. Language is also important: be catchy and fun, but informative at the same time. Pay attention to the design of your blog: it's the first thing that catches your readers. Make it clear and pretty, rather than overdone.

That's all I have to say. It's not professional advice, just my personal view. :)

Dec 30, 2011

LeeAnn B.

@ Anastasia D. Thank you so much for replying! I wrote 2 blogs today and and aside from a couple grammar areas feel I did cover what you mentioned. I seriously wrote down those tips on a sticky note at my desk! ha I will go into further detail about products I don't know why I didn't include the packaging or all of the senses? Great advice thank you so much! 

Dec 30, 2011

Anastasia D.

I'm glad you found it useful, you're welcome. :)
Just had a quick check on your blog. A good thing is to take photos of the product applied, to make its effect actually visible for the reader. Always use natural light, it's always better than artificial, especially when it comes to a portrait. 

Dec 30, 2011

Myrna P.

It's a big job! I blog, go to school and work full time. "talk" to ur audience as u would ur friends and spelling/grammar is a must. 

Dec 30, 2011

LeeAnn B.

@ Myrna that's a great point you made about talking to my audience as I would my friends! I will do this better in my next blog.

@ Anatasia for right now all I have to work with is my Blackberry =[ my camera broke a few months back going to get one as soon as I can! Any suggestions as to what type of camera I should get? And I didn't even do pictures of the product applied since my camera and lighting were off =[ Will keep that in mind for the next one! Thank you so much for taking the time to look at it! =]

Jan 3, 2012

Joyce W.

great job on writing your posts so far! i think photos are the hardest part! i am working on that too!

Team

Jan 3, 2012

Nils J.

One of the most important things to building an audience is blogging consistently. If you look at some of the most successful beauty bloggers like Christine at Temptalia she's only missed posting like 1 day in 3 years because she was sick. 

Jan 3, 2012

LeeAnn B.

@ Nils - I am glad that you replied because I was wondering about how consistent I should be with it. On one hand, I was afraid of running out of topics or ideas while on the other, I wanted to have my blog something readers checked daily. I think finding that balance is very important and will definitely try to stay consistent when my schedules become turbulent again!

I had the time to create my blog while I was on winter break from school and work so hopefully I can find consistency and balance within my daily routine to write these. Thank you so much for the helpful tip! =]

Jan 3, 2012

LeeAnn B.

@ Joyce- YES I agree about the photos! At least that is an easy fix once I finally purchase my camera! BTW any suggestions as to what camera's I should look into?

Jan 3, 2012

Noelle M.

I think the best way to become a successful blogger is to update frequently,have a good layout, and be passionate about whatever you're blogging about as well as honest and good photos doesn't hurt =P

Team

Jan 3, 2012

Nils J.

@leeann Remember the most important thing to ask yourself is who are you writing for and what's unique about the perspective you can offer. Your content should flow naturally around the topics you are most passionate about. For example if you're in school maybe you cover beauty and fashion topics relevant to other students. You'll have a better understanding of your readers and be able to come up with timely ideas for them to keep it interesting. Once you know your target then it becomes more simple to figure out how to market your blog as well. Make sense?

Re: consistency You don't need to post everyday but just make sure the frequency is regular so readers know when to check back. Maybe you start out M, W, F and post at 10am those days. 

Jan 3, 2012

Joyce W.

Leeann - I'm still trying to figure it out but I think natural light (or a daylight bulb) are great. I have a Samsung point & shoot which has been great but plan on getting a dslr in the spring (I used to be really into photography and have film slrs around that need repair so I'm really looking forward to this purchase!)

Canon powershots are nice too but I think the big thing is really reading your camera manual and figuring out what it's capable of - its alot easier than the trial and error and playing around I did! Lol. 

Jan 3, 2012

LeeAnn B.

@ Nils - That does make sense! I admit, I have been writing without an idea of who my audience is, I will start to tailor my blogs towards the audience I intend it to be for. It was a bit hard at first to decide what I was going to write about because I am passionate about so many things; I wanted to make my blog open to everything that I care about whether its fitness, beauty, crafting, etc.

I think its silly that the first thing I learned in my composition classes was about, " knowing your audience" and here I am forgetting the most simple thing! I want my topics to basically get people motivated to be the best they can be while at the most affordable and healthiest ways possible.Thank you so much for all of the feedback on this topic it is greatly appreciated! I realize that this is going to be a hard task but with welcomed criticism and some changes I feel that I can handle this challenge.

@ Joyce- I think anything is better than my Blackberry's camera ( It doesn't even have flash)! I have been using that and will probably continue to until I can get my hands on a Canon which will hopefully be soon. 

Jan 4, 2012

Shelley W.

Keeping up on your postings first and foremost. The bloggers/YouTubers that I follow keep a constant stream of material going so I never "forget" about them unlike some who have fallen off the face of the earth for whatever reason. And responding to fan questions and comments...even if its a few weeks later is well embraced in my book. :)

Jan 8, 2012

Samantha G.

hmm i just answered this for someone else in another post so i'll just copy that over haha

i'd make lists of what you want to post about so you can never have the excuse of "i don't know what to post about today". also, try and dedicate 2-3 days week (could be at night before you go to bed) to putting up a post. a lot of people will overlook your blog if you don't post often on it.
once you have your list set up (and some free time), i would take pictures of everything you'll need, edit them as needed, and then write a few posts. it's a good way to be prepared so if you find yourself too busy one week to type up an entry, you'll always have one on hand you can just toss up.

on the note of pictures, try not to post anything too painfully large. i know i tend to click off a blog if the pictures are too large (as they take too long to load).

try and be yourself in your posts as well. play a little and be funny- the more geniune you are, the more likely readers will be drawn to your blog. i try to write in the same way i'd talk about a product. for example, if i'm writing about a pink blush, i'd probably never write something like: this pink blush is exquisite with it's fine shimmers and silky texture haha i dont talk like that! it makes the post read uncomfortably if you type differently from how you talk (if that makes sense), it's easy to tell!

Jan 8, 2012

LeeAnn B.

@ samantha I actually have been getting ideas together and writing them down so I already have two lists! That idea has been extremely helpful, I have so many ideas at the moment but am creating a reserve for when I am busy or just cannot think of anything. Have you checked my blog out? I would appreciate it 

Jan 8, 2012

Samantha G.

@leeann that's what i'm trying to do :) it makes it a lot easier especially when you lack motivation haha and i think your blog looks great! you're headed in an awesome direction :))

Jan 8, 2012

LeeAnn B.

Thank you!!! =]

Jan 8, 2012

LeeAnn B.

@ samantha to follow your blog do I have to be a member of Tumblr?

Jan 8, 2012

Samantha G.

welcome! and you do. you could just bookmark it too lol that's what i do with blogspots :)

Jan 9, 2012

Tia B.

Great advice!!!!! I have to work on my consistency but I have my post done for this month already because 2012 I am determined to be more consistent!

Jan 12, 2012

Kelly C.

I think all of this advice is great and true!

I've been blogging for about 7 months now and have learned a lot. I had no idea everything that went into it. But I really love blogging. I would say that SEO is pretty important. Join as many social networks as you can; twitter, fb, bloglovin, blogaholic, and other beauty sites. Getting involved, itwitter chats. blog hops. like #bbloggers. If you have twitter, search #bbloggers, thats where a lot of beauty bloggers tweet their posts and you can too. There;s also a beauty chat on twitter every Sunday at 8pm , (GMT) where a bunch of beauty bloggers talk about a different topic every week. Then I co-host a blog hop every Sunday, and that's a big way to gain followers. All you do is enter your blog url and its on a list with a lot of other beauty blogs. Both of these are actually really fun too. Remember every Sunday at 8pm (GTM) on twitter, just enter #bbloggers in the search box and you'll be part of the discussion. If you want to join the blog hop thats really easy too. Its open on Sunday afternoons until Tuesday evenings every week. Here's the link where you'll find the blog hop: http://bitly.com/yXVBNV
Remember its only from Sundays to Tuesdays. If you have any questions, feel free to ask :))))

Jan 12, 2012

Jane W.

Good photographs! I'm put off a blog instantly if they contain bad images. I guess i notice this more cos i'm actually a photographer, but out of focus images with a cluttered background and bad lighting really do put me off.