If you have been featured on Blogger Chicks, we would love to have you post this cute little button on your blog/website.
HTML Code
<a href=”http://bloggerchicks.wordpress.com”><img title=”Featured on Blogger Chicks” src=”http://bloggerchicks.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/featured-on-blogger-chicks.jpg” alt=”" width=”200″ height=”200″ /></a>
xx
Blogger Chicks
Always supporting and promoting blogger and business chicks through social media.
Blogging is fun! It is a way of getting you thoughts out that are started to cram up in your head. But, you’re not blogging just to hear yourself, are you?? Let’s face it…we all want a blog with good, solid daily traffic. If you don’t make the effort to get more traffic though, you surely aren’t just going to get it by writing endlessly with no outside work.
Here are 5 quick ways of building more traffic for your blog:
1. Entertain your readers! Everyone loves a good laugh every now and again, if not daily. Trust me, it gets the people’s attention.
2. Involve your readers and followers. Engage them in posts by, for example, posting their favorite people, places, and things, or whatever is in relevance to your niche/post of the day.
3. Submit articles that are in relevance to your blog niche. Virtual Toolbar is reporting the high numbers of traffic that these sites are seeing and their Alexa ranking
Good Article Sites Are: AssociatedContent, Hubpages, Squidoo, and Examiner
4. Join a variety of social media communities and stay active! Take advantage of every, single feature on each one.
Solid Social Media Communities Are: Facebook, Youtube, and Flickr
5. Pay attention to which of your posts receive the most feedback, reposts, and retweets. Take this into consideration, and think about stay close to those types of posts. When the readers have a positive reaction, take that and RUN!
*Bonus* Expand your horizon as a writer. Don’t always focus solely on your 1st niche. Write about other topics to reach an audience outside of the regulars. For example, if you’re an interior designer, try writing about fashion, or even other home and lifestyle topics like food, travel, and entertaining. They all connect on some level.
Finally, do not get discouraged. What’s that old saying??? “Rome was not built in a day!” Stay in the game. The more you blog, the better you will get. The more you network, the more readers will come.
Fashion blogs are some of the most visited and interesting blogs out there. I, for one, enjoy reading them because they are informative, while being colorful with photos, inspiring, and FUN! I have also observed that the most successful fashion blogs, though all unique in their own right, have several things in common.
Here’s a list of these common things that make successful fashion blogs more successful than the rest:
A Niche
It’s important to start out with a niche to keep yourself focussed. This is also important because like most fashionistas, you probably have your specific fashion addiction (Like Carrie Bradshaw’s heavy appetite for shoes). You can always add other interests to your blog later.
Examples: Running with Heels (Niche-Shoes), Vintage Virgin (Niche-Vintage Fashion)
Thorough Time Spent Building the Blog
Diligent, Continuous, and Unique Marketing & Promo
The most important thing I can start off with here is that no one starts off with 2,000 readers. You have to build your way up to that point with a lot of posting great material and then, PROMOTING it! So many bloggers spend 95% of their time blogging and the rest of their time trying to get their work out there. I advice spending half of your time blogging and half of your time marketing and promoting your blog. Getting readers doesn’t necessarily come easily either. Like anything in life, you have to keep at it. You can’t let yourself get discouraged. And, if you’re posting about something you love, you’ll more than likely be more motivated.
Great Ways of Marketing and Promoting Your Fashion Blog
Socializing and Networking:
Social networking sites are free to join and booming with new members everyday! USE THIS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!! Spend as much time on Twitter/Facebook as you do on your blog. In fact, while you are blogging, I would keep two other windows open to Twitter and Facebook. Everytime you post a post or you’re working on a post, Tweet it or write it on your wall. If you’re out shopping and see something you like and may not want to do an entire post about it, tweet it or post it on facebook. Don’t make any hesitations about tweeting or posting anything that’s inspiring or informative to you to your followers/friends. With that said, tweeting and facebooking is really of no good use unless you have followers/friends. So, you should make it your business to follow/friend/like a certain amount of people a day. For example, if you follow 50 new, relevant people to your business, there is a chance that at least 10 or more of them will follow/friend/like you back. Some folks won’t follow you back, and that’s ok. Don’t be discouraged by that because there is a good chance that their followers may follow you! Always thank people for following you and try to follow them back. However, sometimes people who run smut organizations like porn sites, etc. will follow you. I advice you to block these people and leave it at that.
Both hosting and attending events are good ways of promoting your fashion blog. Hosting a small event with like-minded associates, friends, and family can really help people in your circle get to know what it is you do, and give them the chance to become intrigued. An event like this will have some cost, like beverage and appetizers, invitations (or you can do them free through Evite), venue cost(I would recommend doing something like this at your home or a clubhouse, where you can use the venue by just putting down a refundable deposit to keep costs down), promo materials to have at the event (flyers, giveaways with blog logo and address on them, etc., and projection equipment rental, if you want to do something like project visuals from your blog. It would be in your best interest to invite people who have an interest in fashion, shopping, etc. to this event. I mean, there really isn’t any reason to invite your friends and family that don’t care about this kind of thing. The event can basically consist of introducing your blog, having guests sign up for the newsletter, and sending them home with promo giveaways. Once your blog gets off the ground pretty well, you can start having these events periodically, and adding to them as you move forward.
Attending networking events is also good for promoting your blog because it gives you a chance to get out and meet new people. I advice attending local events and events outside of your city/state to network. Great networking events for the fashion industry are fashion shows, apparel markets, and shopping events. Google Fashion Networking Events and Twitter Networking Events and see what’s out there. *Note: Attending these events also create material for your blog. Don’t be afraid to be social and ALWAYS have your business cards at these events. Most importantly, you are a walking advertisement for your blog. Dress to impress, but be yourself. There’s no need in wearing a suit when your style is bohemian chic.
Don’t Be Shy
A lot of independent fashion bloggers use themselves as models to keep down costs. Why pay models to present the look you’re trying to convey, when you have yourself?! True fashionistas have a cute outfit on at least half of the week, if not EVERYDAY! Have someone take pictures of you in your cutest fits. If you just got a new fit, post it! Use your fashionable friends to your advantage too. If you are out on a night on the town, snap shots of each other and post it. At lunch or dinner together? Post your looks. And again, if you don’t want to create an entire post about it, you can always tweet or facebook it. This adds value to your social networking pages. Many fashion bloggers are taking their blog to the next level by creating a Youtube page to go with their blog. They usually post how to videos or videos of them sharing their new pieces that they’ve added to their collection.
Don’t Stop Blogging
The biggest mistake that a lot of bloggers make is they may take a day or so off, and either don’t return for weeks or possibly never return. Continuous blogging is what is going to build readership. Sometimes, you may take a few hours off or even a day or two to regroup and think of different posts, but NEVER, NEVER stop blogging.
Never Delete Posts
People generally decide to delete posts that they are working on if the ideas aren’t flowing smoothly. My advice would be DON’T do this. Sometimes you need to log out, let your brain recharge, and regroup. If you save your draft, instead of deleting the post, you can return with better ideas once your juices are back flowing.
It may sound cliche, but there is no better way to get your blogging knowledge up than to do some good old fashion reading! Although there are some great articles online with tips for blogging, there are also some really good books out there. There is some good info about how to use social media to promote your blog, what content is best for your blog niche, etc. I am currently reading a couple of good reads, but I have also gotten some good recomendations. I’ve put together a list that I think you guys will find interesting. Click on the book covers for more info like customer reviews, price, and how to purchase.
The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie
By: Katherine Scoleri
Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (And Other Social Networks)
By: Dave Kerpen
Blogging Your Way to the Front Row
By: Yuli Ziv
The Social Media Bible (Tactics, Tools, & Strategies for Business Success)
By: Lon Safko and David K. Brake
Small Business Smarts (Building Buzz with Social Media)
By: Steve O’Leary
By: Karen G. Pipps
Blogger: Beyond the Basics: Customize and promote your blog with original templates, analytics, advertising, and SEO (From Technologies to Solutions)
By: Lee Jordan
301 Ways to Use Social Media to Boost Your Marketing
By: Catherine Parker
I’m just going to get down to business on this one. Blogging is exciting and fun for most writers, but when it comes to promoting, it can be challenging and tedious. I’ve put together a list of 5 free and easy ways you can promote your blog!
1. Twitter
First, you need to follow Twitter users that are of relevance to your blog. For instance, if you have a fashion blog, following other fashion blogs is a really good idea because sometimes they will follow you, but more than likely, their followers/readers will be interested in following you. Always follow your followers! (unless of course you find their content offensive-porn and what not) It is the courteous, supportive, and respectful thing to do. Being a supportive blogger to other bloggers will stir the same support for your own blog. Tweet every blog post!
2. Join Blogger Forums
This can be somewhat time-consuming, but its a great way to get your blog posts out to the world of bloggers. Afterall, I find that fellow bloggers are often who read blogs. I have gotten a pretty good number of followers from blogger forums. First, register with the forums, then post your blogs to the appropriate threads.
Blog forums I like are:
You can also find blogs within your niche i.e. food, fashion, travel, etc.
3. YAHOO! Answers
Soooo many people use Yahoo! Answers to ask all types of questions. You should search for questions that are being asked within your niche and post answers. Always, leave the link to your blog!
4. Guest Blogging
Whether you be the guest blogger or you invite another blogger to write on your blog, this is a great way of exposure, as well as supporting another blogger.
5. Join Blogger Chicks
And last but certainly not least, let me and my team support and promote your blog with Blogger Chicks. We endlessly support women who blog through social networking(Twitter, Forums, Blogging, and many more to come). To join us, just follow us on Twitter and/or WordPress, and the promo will begin instantly!
