Let's Get Personal: Personal Blogging

I've always been a 'get-down-to-business' blogger. My posts are 'articles' or 'reviews' and I 'cover events.' I (presumptuously, perhaps) have always considered my site to be more of a one-woman magazine than a simple journal or diary. I even read magazine's just to get different ideas and angles for blog posts. As long as I've been blogging, I've often felt that the 'personal post' was a cop-out. By 'personal blogs' I mean those that make up a big chunk of the blogosphere: you know, your typical slice-of-life blogs with pictures of your dog, dates, food photography, and the occasional outfit shot. Who could possibly be interested in my dull life, I thought. This is what I wore to the dentist. Afterwards I broke protocol and ate this contraband chain-restaurant donut. Enjoy the subsequent twelve photos.

Some bloggers have got this down to an artform: beautiful snaps that make your chain-store donuts look delectable and outfit shots of ordinary coordinates look romantic and inspired. Or perhaps as a personal blogger your skill is sharing your daily stories in an engaging way, that both speak to the reader emotionally and garner a few laughs. While I've read and enjoyed many a personal blog, I never figured that genre would work for me.

After a long tradition on my blogging 'editorial' style, I was moved to consider personal blogging after reading this touching 'love letter' post from Anika (ByAnika.com) To be honest, I didn't even know 'personal blogging' was a term until I read this! But this post really opened my eyes to the soulfulness and contribution of the ordinary personal blog. A personal blog, Anika writes lovingly, is like a conversation with a good friend. A personal blog is unafraid to share the real life and personality of the blogger, not just their writing style or opinions on niche topics. You really get a homey, comfortable feeling reading a good personal blog, like sitting down to tea on a cold day.

I've always been worried about 'staying on topic' with Lolita Charm and one aim of the new site (coming soon, next-week-soo!) is to allow myself to wander off-topic. Now that I have 'license' to do that, however, I find myself clinging to my stalwart topics more than ever. It's a big, scary, topic-filled world out there! What if I write about something nobody cares about? Cue the horror music and screeching violins, of course. Personal blogging, as Anika notes, takes bravery. It takes bravery to say yes, my life and personality, simple as it is, has something to offer to the world. Someone, somewhere, can take happiness, or hope, or just a smile from your blog when you offer up yourself. It's especially brave in the ever-present shadow of the Haters^TM, those people who, in the words of comedian Katt Williams, 'hate good shit'. There's always going to be someone who tells you that you're not that 'special, sorry', that no one really wants to see pictures of your doily collection, or that your personal(ity) has no worth in general.

But I find, in the quiet spaces between articles and comments and page breaks, the personal blog does something the editorial doesn't. For a handful of people, the personal blog touches hearts. The highlight of my day is when I get a note from a reader saying that my blog made them smile, or helped them along the path to becoming a lolita. I have to say that the true allure of personal blogging is its promise to connect with your readers on a whole other level.

You keep posting, spending hours writing your posts, taking your pictures, feeling vulnerable and not successful at times, and yet you keep going. For you. And for me.  You keep at it, staying true to your self, not getting caught up in the whirlwind of popularity. No, you hold on to your blogging balls and you don`t give up. And eventually I find you and am happy you did not give up on blogging.

-Anika (A love letter to personal bloggers)

Good blogging, like good fashion, takes proverbial balls. Lolita Charm is about fashion and unicorns, yes, but it's also about my renewed journey about what it means - to me - to be a good blogger. This article is personal to me. I hope to write more, and keep hanging onto my blogger balls for dear life. Now, don't worry, there won't be any TMI play-by-play of my feminine issues on the horizon. But in between talking about favorite lipgloss colors or this season's new lucky packs, occasionally, I may share something realer.

So to all you personal bloggers, I salute you. Keep writing.

Labels: blogging, discussion

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 9:22 AM 13 Comments

10 More Tips to a Better Blog

1. Join a blogging community. If you're interested in becoming a better blogger, this is the place to be. A blogging community will have articles on topics like promoting your blog, handling writer's block and writing up killer articles. You can also chat with lots of other bloggers and see what they do differently than you! My favorite blogging community right now is just for fashion blogs - IFB, or Independent Fashion Bloggers.

2. Leave comments on other blogs. As a blogger, I'm sure you love receiving comments on your work - feedback on your writing or topic choice is really helpful! So commenting on other blog posts that interests you is obvious. Not only that, your comment may attract other readers to check out your blog! You most likely do not need to link to it in the comments, which may actually cause your comment to run through a spam filter. Instead, adding it to the comment's 'website' info will usually make your name a clickable link back to your own blog. But don't just comment without anything to say - really thinking and adding to a blog's conversation will help in the exchange of ideas online, for your blog and others'.

3. Get a blog reader! Following and reading lots of other blogs is one of the best ways to improve your own blogging. But how to handle all those blogs? If you don't have one, start using a blog reader! A blog reader collects all of your subscriptions in one place, so that you can read all of your blog in one easy feed. I use Google Reader, but Bloglovin will actually email you a 'this week on Bloglovin' with entries posted by your favorite blogs this week. This makes all those blogs easier to skim for ideas, trends, and networking opportunities.

4. Be aesthetically pleasing. When designing your blog or working on your webpage's layout, try to shoot for two goals: 1) easy to read and navigate; 2) a style that expresses your blog's content and tastes. An easy-to-read blog has legible, large-enough fonts, a clean look, and links handy to navigate the site. The usual sins are easy to spot, as we've all see them - swirly text you can't read, busy backgrounds, etc. If I can't read a site, I'm not going to hang around!  Also try to choose a look that expresses your blog's content and theme. My theme is a clean, pinky-princess feel, which is why I chose the understated pink-and-white vertical stripes. Your blog might be more at home with lots of white space, or with black and pink accents. Choose something that easily communicates your blog's style, and people will feel right at home, and glad to come back.

6. Stop putting music on webpages. This gets its own bullet for good reason. While cute music players you can embed in your website are popular these days, I find them more annoying than ambiance-setting. I might be listening to my own music, watching TV, or just having a quiet night when jpop suddenly screeches through my speakers, and I scramble to find the pause button on the website. Even worse is when it's tucked away. If you MUST have music on your site, include it in a prominent spot where the reader can turn it off, or have it on 'pause' until the reader wants to hear it, not on autoplay.

7. Flesh out your topics. Part One of writing a blog post is research (finding a good topic to jump off of) or simple inspiration (thinking up a good topic to jump off of). The second part is about taking that idea and drawing your own conclusions and opinions about it, or teaching something about it based on your conclusions. The problem is that lots of great blogging ideas stop at part one - being great ideas - and never get any further. Posting a link, photo or video is a great start, but ending there won't cut it. Even offering your own views or interpretations can beef up a thin post. If you're of two minds or can't pick a side, say so - and then invite your readers to express their opinions after you've weighed pros and cons.

8. Set quantitative goals. Setting quantitative goals just means goals you can count, measure, and tick off when completed. They could be anything from commenting on a number of blogs, reading a number of blogs, or how many posts you want to finish for that month. My new monthly blog posting goal is 15 articles, or roughly an 'every other day' schedule. This month I am also aiming to post 5 outfit shots! Having a goal to meet makes it more likely that you'll expand in the areas you want, instead of having the vague goal to 'post more'.

9. Play 'dress up'. This is specifically a fashion blogger's tip! Fashion blogs thrive off of the daily outfit shot. The only problem with this kind of content is that it requires a lot of time - not to get dressed up, but to shoot the right photos and lighting. I often get dressed and run out the door, instead of fiddling with my self-timer and tripod. Solution: when you have a lazy day, re-create some of your favorite outfits you've worn and wished you had photographed. Then you can spend as much time as you need posing, getting the right lighting, or fixing your botched eyeliner job. This way you can share your fashion examples without being late to class or work.

10. Learn at least a little about typography. Whether you design your own blog images and graphics or just want to make sure your site is legible, it doesn't hurt to do a little study of typography. Typography is essentially the study of fonts - originally letter faces for the printing press, now the fonts we use on our computers and websites. This can be good to know if you want your site to be as easy-on-the-eyes as possible, or best viewed on the screen rather than on a printed sheet. You can also use fonts creatively (such as part of the image I composed above, by adding my own text, font choice, and layer styles) to create interesting styles and motifs for your site. Many people get really into it and even consider it to be an art form.

I hope you've enjoyed reading 10 MORE Tips to a Better Blog! Naturally as I rounded off number 10 I found myself thinking of number 11... so don't be surprised if you end up seeing 10 (Even) More Tips To Better Blogging in the future! If you haven't, you can read the first article (tips 1 - 10) here.

Labels: blogging, guide

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 8:49 AM 0 Comments

10 Tips to a Better Blog

1. Follow as many blogs as you can! Reading other blogs is one of the best ways to get ideas and inspirations for your own blog. Whether you love a feature post, find great tutorials to share the results of on your blog, or just an inspiring header, every blog has something useful to teach you. Sharing methods and ideas is exactly what the Internet is for, use it!

2. Diversify - don't just read lolita-specific blogs! Most of you reading this article right now are probably somewhere in the lolita subculture - whether as bloggers or just lovers of the fashion. And there are plenty of lolita blogs to choose from it's that your favorite kind of reading! But don't just read lolita blogs - read anything that sparks you up! Fairytale blogs, mori girl blogs, makeup blogs, or blogs on knitting. Any kind of blog can open you up to something new! Which brings me directly to Point #3 -

3. Think outside your niche! Usually when I say niche, I mean your fashion niche. (By the way, show of hands - who says 'nitch' and who says 'neesh'? I'm a 'neesh' person.) But in this case I'm talking about your blogging niche. One of the biggest moments in my blogging career is when I realized it's not just about lolita blogs - (yeah, that's me dreamin' big), it's also about fashion blogs in general. Lolita blogging is pretty small puddle, but jumping into the huge world of fashion blogs or even just the entire blogosphere is a very big ocean! Just because you're a lolita blog, doesn't mean you need to pigeonhole yourself. Read fashion blogs. Redefine what you want your blog to say or represent, on your own vision, not just in the frame of lolita.


4. Write ahead of time. I know everyone says this, but it's true - writing ahead is a great strategy. Lazy Sunday afternoon equals a great Monday morning blog post - while you're off jetting to school or work, your blog is ticked off the list. I end up writing a lot of my posts late at night or on the weekends, and then setting them a scheduled time to post. This morning my blog updated at 9 am - but hey, I was free to sleep in until 10! Even better, if you suddenly have a gap of time or a burst of inspiration, stockpile them for a rainy day. Why? So you can...

5. Post often. Let's start out by redefining 'often'. The Internet attention span is probably about fifteen seconds. Maybe less. If you want people reading your blog, once a week posting is not gonna cut it! I recommend at least three times a week, two at the absolute minimum. For the super dedicated, every other day without weekend breaks - and for the very inspired and crazy persevering, there is the daily schedule! (On the flip side - if you post more than once a day, it can wind up just looking like noise!) You want to keep your blog fresh and new, and updating is the way to do that. If you're routinely a no-show, people will lose interest and your reader base will suffer.

6. Pick a blog theme or a day theme for easier updating. You've probably seen lots of blogs do this - one example is the new Reader Appreciation Sunday, where every Sunday's post will be spotlighting reader contributions to Lolia Charm. Another blog that does this is Ramble Rori - she has Thrills Thursday, which is an update on goings-on in the lolita world, and Frills Friday, where she spotlights a gorgeous daily_lolita snapshot. Once you have your basic calendar - say, a Tuesday theme and a Saturday theme, you can fill in the gaps with other topics. At least you always know what you'll be writing about for two posts every week! (Tip: make sure it's something you CAN write about every week - like a new product, a links roundup, etc.) Even theming your entire blog can be a great idea - like a brand updates blog, a daily outfit blog, or a blog just about, say, lolita crafting. Make sure it's something your passionate about, or else you might feel boxed in.

7. Make commenting easy. There's nothing worse than commenting and realizing you have to go through rigorous human identification, checking off terms of agreement, or a comment that plain won't post! Nested comments are also a great way to encourage conversation.

8. Get offline! The internet is great for inspiration and finding new ideas, but sometimes inspirations isn't going to find you sitting on your sofa. Sometimes a great article can happen just by getting up, dressed, and out! Especially true if you are writing a lolita blog - don't spend all your time in unicorn printed PJs writing and none dolled up and on the streets! Some of my best articles, like the Dangers of Standing Out, are from interacting with the world. Trust me: turn off the computer - turn your real experiences into good writing.

9. Lose the numbers. Things I rarely check? My analytics account. Obsessing over your views, page hits, or followers isn't worth it. So what if you lost a follower, or you had a slow day. It doesn't determine the overall value of your blog - or your ability as a lolita, or a blogger. Like watching the scale, numbers are only going to bring you down. How you feel about your blog, feel satisfied and if you're achieving your goals or general aim - is more important than how many people are reading.


10. Be a service. What are you writing about? Is it going to help others? I always feel that the mark of a good blog article is its usefulness to its readers - are you teaching something, providing a guide, a tutorial? Or is the reading experience your gift - whether it's entertaining, inspiring, or thought-provoking. For the most part, bloggers don't get paid. We do it for free, because we have a passion and a drive that makes us want to share something with the world. What we write and produce is freely given - a gift. So give back; to your community, your niche, to your readers. That's what really makes a blog successful.

Labels: blogging, guide

posted by Victoria Suzanne @ 3:20 PM 0 Comments