Monday, September 12, 2011

Thanks for Attending!


Hi guys! Thanks so much for attending the conference. We were so glad that we could put it on. The content will continue to be available for you, so don't worry! You can come back and refresh your memory, use a tutorial, find a link, or just browse through at your leisure! Your same username and password will still work. We'll going to be drawing the giveaway winner soon, so watch out for that!

Here are a few pages We've included for you guys to check out. For those of you who didn't get to participate in the live chats, We've included the transcripts, so you can go back and have a look at what we talked about! We've compiled a list of resources that are helpful links we've used in the past and full of some really great knowledge. Last but not least... you guys! We've included a page where you can leave your blog URL and name so we can check out the blogs of all you lovelies who have participated in the e-conference!

Fashion communities


by Tieka, Selective Potential

Chictopia:


Chictopia is an online fashion community where anyone can sign up for an account. They call themselves the largest online community that gives everyone a voice in fashion. They have over 100,000 users and are always growing. They are one of the top 4 style sites and have a huge presence in the online fashion community. I'm sure you've seen hundreds of blogs with their Chictopia badge on it. They have several features that I'll quickly explain and I'll tell how how I use Chictopia to my benefit.


Style Gallery is one of my favorite features. They have a gallery of photos of girls whose photos have been rated "chic" by members. I use this daily for inspiration. They filter the photos by making members vote photos "chic" or not… so that way you don't have to sift through a bunch of mediocre, dark, blurry, fuzzy, photos. This gallery gives you the best of what is on Chictopia so you can be inspired. You can browse by clothing type, colors, trends, everything. It's so helpful if you want to style up an olive green article of clothing… you can click on the color and find hundreds of outfits styling up an item that is olive green. I love that feature.


Rewards are items Chictopia posts from sponsors! You can earn chic points by doing several things: uploading a photo, commenting, gaining "chic" votes, gaining "fans" or "favorites" to build up enough points to purchase a chic reward! Keep on the look out though - they go super fast. I've only been able to snag one item from them!


Chic Swap is where you can sign up to become a Chic VIP so you can upload to the swap. You can post items, sign up for items and swap clothing online!


Forum They have a great forum with over 10,000 topics and over 164,000 posts on everything from living and advice, to current events, to culture and interests.


Community is where you can find out about recent contests Chictopia is holding (they hold SO many great ones!), they talk about Style Icons (hang tight, I'll give you some tips on how to become a style icon soon!) and the Best of Chictopia with some of the top-rated photos and outfits.


So go in, create an account and start updating with outfits! It's a fun community; make the most of it!


Tips on how to become a style icon:

- Post everyday: I know, it can be really tough to post everyday, but it's the best way to ensure you are constantly exposed to readers so they can add you as a favorite during the month.


- Step out of the box: When I was in the running for style icon, I had to be really really creative. I used a scarf as a cardigan, wore the funkiest floral tights I could find and tried to work my closet in a completely fresh and unique way.


- Comment on other photos: It's all about networking. If you comment on other photos, comment back on who has commented on your photos, you'll just be exposing yourself to so many more people who can add you as a favorite! The trick of the game is to get as many "favorites" as possible!


- DO NOT message or comment on people's photos and ask them to add you as a favorite. That will never work, plus it's annoying spam!



Weardrobe:


Weardrobe is a great online fashion community. It's a bit more low-key, more focused on the actual outfit photos instead of trying to filter it out by trend or color. Let's focus on the benefits of Weardrobe!


Featured: If you upload your outfit pictures to Weardrobe, you have the opportunity to get featured! They pick only the best outfits in the community and put it on their "featured" page along with links to shop similar styles! It's super helpful if you spot something you like on the featured page… you can shop it really easily.


Recent: Recent shows you a quick and easy look at some of the most recent outfit posts that have been styled. I love the simplicity of Weardrobe and how they let the bloggers do the talking mostly.


Explore: They haven't been keeping up on Weardrobe as much as I'd like to see, but they used to do interviews and features on bloggers! I like to check out their "blogs we love" sidebar. Such a great resource to some amazing blogs out there!


My favorite feature about Weardrobe:

You can name your clothing articles anything you like. So, whenever I upload a photo to Weardrobe, I am very very particular on what I name the item, so I never name the same clothing article the same name. Why? Because it's AWESOME to be able to click on your outfit photo, click on the name of the clothing article and see all the different ways you've remixed that item (like so!). Weardrobe is like… a remixer's dream! You can't do that on any other online fashion community.



Lookbook.nu:


Lookbook.nu is a "collective fashion consciousness". The home page is empowering. These are real people.. and they look like they've come out of a fashion magazine! It's such a great resource for inspiration. Lookbook used to be an invite only community, but now they've opened it up and anyone can join!


Hot: Lookbook.nu judges looks based on hypes. Users can "hype" a look and it will rise to the top of the "hot" page. It's a big deal to be placed on the "hot" page!


New: The new page showcases all of the newest photos that have been put on Lookbook. It's a great way to see all of the looks instead of just the "hyped" ones.


Top: The top page contains the top looks of the week, by total hype.


Leader: This page showcases all of the big names on Lookbook.nu. Check here to see the most popular Lookbookers of today, this week and of all time on Lookbook.


The Pros:

The GUYS! On Chictopia and Weardobe, we are lacking some major guy fashion inspiration! I love using Lookbook.nu to look for new ideas for Brett. He secretly denies me and says he hates what they are all wearing… but he'll be peeking over my shoulder and I'll spot him picking up an item that he saw on Lookbook. :)


The Cons:

The lack of variety in body type and ethnicity. There's definitely a lack of diversity on Lookbook. While there are tons of people on Lookbook with amazing style, I do love seeing more of a variety of people in all colors, shapes and sizes.




I hope that helps you learn more about the online fashion communities! There are several out there that can help you, but these three are the biggest ones that have helped me in my fashion blogging journey. Keep your eyes peeled though - there are so many online communities popping up and another one might fit what you need more!

Writing your "about" page


by Elizabeth, Delightfully Tacky

Once you start blogging, you're probably eventually going to want to post an "About Me" page, so your readers have a place to go and find out more about you, and maybe answer questions they may have. A good way of figuring out how to write your About Me/what to include is by checking out other bloggers' about me sections.
Mini Bio Section
Since your About page is about you and your blog, it's probably a good idea to include at least a little section giving people a mini bio of yourself. You can include what you blog about, things you like, where you are in life (student, married, mother, etc), where you live (if you feel comfortable disclosing your general location), and so on.

F.A.Q. Section
A great thing to include in your About page is an F.A.Q. section. Oftentimes you'll get a lot of the same questions asked of you and by including the answers to those types of questions in your F.A.Q. you can avoid having to answer it over and over. You can also use formspring or a general call for questions people would like answered to find questions for your F.A.Q. You might discover some things people were wondering that you'd never thought to share before!

Favorite posts
I like to include links to some of my favorite or most popular posts, so if people are just starting to read my blog and might have missed some of my favorite posts from the past, they can check them out! On my blog, this is actually on a separate page from my About page-- my Start Here! page, which I created as sort of a mini About for people who've just discovered my blog.

Info for sponsors
Potential sponsors will often go to a blogger's About Me page to find out more about how they can sponsor. It's good to include a link over to the page you've created with all your sponsorship info, so potential sponsors can find the information they're looking for.

Your contact info
Don't forget to let people know what your contact info is! Make sure to include your email address and if you haven't elsewhere on your blog, link to your blog's facebook page and twitter.

Fun pictures!
Because reading a huge block of text is no fun. Include some fun photos of yourself (this is, after all your about ME page. Haha!)

Tips & Tricks for swapping


by Elizabeth, Delightfully Tacky

One thing that has been a really fun part of blogging is swapping. Swapping is a great way to not only interact with fellow bloggers in concrete way, but to increase the variety in your wardrobe in a fun and free way. A cool thing that I've discovered about swapping is that it lets me try styles that may be a bit outside of my comfort zone or just styles that I thought might not work well on me. Because the clothes are swapped, though, I don't have to invest in clothes that I'm skeptical will work on me, I can try it out for free!

I started the Delightful Dozen back in 2009 because I loved the idea of a sort of "sisterhood of the traveling pants." Plus, I thought it would be really cool to see how 12 different girls styled up the same item. I knew they would all style it completely differently, and it's such a great way to show how the items in our closets have so many different options, we just don't always have the mindset to see it. Someone with a different brain could see the same clothing item and think to style it totally differently than you would! Another swap group that started up in 2010 is the Take Ten girls in the UK. They decided to make their own swap group after seeing what the Delightful Dozen was doing in the US! Don't feel like you can't start up your own swapping group, just find some of your closer blog friends and bring it up! Chances are, they'll think it's a really fun idea and would love to be involved.


Another way to swap is by going to local clothing swaps where you take some of your clothes and a ton of other people bring theirs too, you put it all in a pile and then start picking what you want! I've never been to one before but I want to so bad! The Swapaholics do swaps all the time and they even have listings of swap events all over the world at their event page (pssst, there's one coming up on Sept 29th in Boston!). You can search for swaps based on your country and state. If you're hosting a swap, you can list it too, so more people find out about it!

Delightful Dozen3

Some tips for swapping

1. Find a blogger (or bloggers) who are similar in size to you. This isn't absolutely necessary, but it can help you guys fit into each other's clothes. Sometimes it's interesting, though, to style things that aren't exactly your size. More problem-solving and innovation happens!

2. Start a flickr group where you can post discussion topics with photos of the item you're putting up for swap. That way if you have more people in your swapping group, they can take a look at it and comment if they'd like to swap that item.

3. Create an address directory of the girls in your swap group. This makes it easier to find the address you need to mail the item to. Not so much a big deal if you're swapping with one or two people, but if you have a group of swappers it's nice to have on hand.

4. If someone doesn't style your item, don't feel bad. Sometimes it's just too hard to style, or doesn't fit, or the person just can't figure out how to incorporate it into an outfit.

5. Ask one of your sponsors if they'd be interested in sending you guys an item to all style up. The Delightful Dozen did this with a top from Ruche and it was way fun!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

NYFW: A Very Stylish Picnic

Saturday was a wonderfully relaxing day after the craziness of fashion week. There was a picnic hosted in Central Park by Calivintage, The Clothes Horse and Fancy Fine. It was delightful to sit around with other bloggers, meet a few new girls, eat fruit, snap outfit photos and enjoy the beautiful weather NYC had to offer! Every girl dresses so romantic and whimsical almost. Must be the picnic style! ;)


BONUS: Creating a working environment


A working environment is a huge deal when you have a blog! More than likely, you'll be working from home a lot and you need to set aside the distractions that might come from working at home. Create a little corner, clear off a desk, set up at the kitchen table… whatever it is, make sure you have a special working environment that suits your needs.



Steps to take to create a working environment:

  • Find your space. Find a space in your home you can set aside for a work-space. Like I said, it can be a small desk in the corner, a mini end table inside a closet, whatever it is… find a space that will work for you. I'm lucky enough to have a little nook in our recreation room that I devoted completely to my blog studio.

  • EMPTY your space. Huh? Seriously. Empty it. Bare. Nada. Zip. It is so helpful to see the area alone, with no clutter, nothing. That way you can map out where everything will need to go! (Plus it's a great opportunity to clean from top to bottom!)


  • Furnish. You'll need a tabletop or desktop of some sort! That way you'll have your computer in one spot, along with sticky-notes, books that are of importance and anything you'll need on a daily basis. I also included an enclosed shelf where I can store giveaway items, samples that I throw into packages and other miscellaneous items I might need. I also have a filing cabinet full of cards, papers I need to store and a pen drawer for all of my writing utensils and supplies. Include a comfy item for visitors. I purchased a cute chair from IKEA with a footstool, but it can be something as simple as a floor pillow or bean bag. Plus, if you're flipping through magazines or need a comfy place to think, you'll have it right there.

  • Purge. Before placing anything into your space, think about it. Are you putting a box in your space that hasn't been sifted through? It's full of old dust bunnies and calculators that don't work? Get rid of those items! If you know you're not going to use it, now is the perfect time to sift through everything and figure out what you need and don't need to keep.


  • Organize. Purchase some inexpensive file storage. I have boxes, magazine files and binders to store all of my papers, envelopes, you name it. Tip: Find ones with a place to label the box! My most used boxes are: shipping materials, envelopes and letters I've received in the mail from readers/friends/bloggers.

  • Lighting. If you're working on your computer a lot, you're going to want to avoid bright lights if you can. It strains your eyes to have too much light while you're trying to look at your computer screen, so try to place a nice warm-light. I have two lamps in my studio… a table top one and a paper lantern. They are both very warm and it's cozy and inviting to be there at night, reading blogs and catching up on emails.


  • Decorate. You'll want to add personal touches to your space! Include pictures frames, quotes, inspiration, magazine rip-outs, whatever makes you happy. When you are stressed and trying to get through a hundred emails, you can look up at something… be inspired and get right back to work. I keep a magazine rack so I can stop what I'm working on, get into my cozy chair and read a magazine. I also have a magnet board where I can rip out magazine spreads or print off pictures from the web and put up on my inspiration board. Whenever I can't find an outfit or need something to inspire me, I refer to my magnet board. It's a huge help!

  • Make life easy. Is there something you use every single day? Keep it out! You don't have to have a perfectly organized and clean space. Every single week I need the address directory for the Delightful Dozen. So, I printed out the address directory which is on a cute map and framed it by my desk! I refer to it daily and so not only does it work in a functional-way but also an aesthetic way! I'm also constantly using my calculator, so I keep it out and don't put it away. I also keep a cup full of things I need constantly instead of putting them into a drawer. My cup contains my favorite pens, a ruler, scissors, you name it.

  • Keep your space cozy. For me, that means the lighting is right, there are no crumbs on the carpet and things are organized. If something bugs you… like how too much natural light comes in through the window, purchase an inexpensive pair of blinds! Keeping your space cozy and up-to-par will encourage you to continue to visit the space and maintain the space. The more time you spend in your space, the better it will become.

Promoting sponsors


by Elizabeth, Delightfully Tacky

The basic reason that companies, shops, or other blogs will want to sponsor your blog is: they can get traffic from the ad placed on your blog. It's just advertising basics. The more traffic your blog gets, the more likely companies will want to sponsor your blog. Don't feel bad if a larger brand or company turns you down or stops sponsoring after a bit, it might just be because your blog doesn't draw in the number of clicks that they're looking for. They are, after all, paying you to get their ad clicked on. It might sound a little harsh, but it's business. I've had some advertisers stop sponsoring because I didn't give them enough clicks. Don't take it personally.
One of the good things about sponsorship, at least for me, is that it pushes me to be a better blogger. I want to create great content, not only because I want to have a good blog, but also because I like the companies and shops and blogs that sponsor me and I would love to be able to send traffic their way!
A good way to support your sponsors while still staying true to yourself (and not becoming a blogger whose posts are only dedicated to shilling their sponsor's wares) is by incorporating your sponsor into your posts in ways that are natural, and also by doing it sparingly. This shouldn't be too hard if you're taking on sponsors that reflect who you are and the products you love.

Some tips!

1) Create a "wish list" post and include some sponsored items that you love! (Remember: if you are only working with sponsors you are passionate about, this will be SO easy) This is fun to do at the beginning of a new season when you're craving new things for the changing climate.

2) Give them a shout out on Twitter or Facebook! This is fun to do if you're window shopping and find something you really love. I like to tweet stuff like, "Ah! I love this dress from @shopruche! So pretty. http//...." I usually do this anyway, not even thinking that it's a promotion. It's a great way to share little things you find with your readers.

3) Inform your readers of a really good sale they are having or a promotion that will be expiring soon. Or, if your sponsor has a special discount code they've created for your readers, let your readers know about it! Tweet, Facebook, mention it in a post... let your readers know that they get a special discount for following your blog!

4) If you love one of your sponsor's clothing articles, wear it on the blog and link to their website! Your readers will trust the company if they see you wearing one of their items and you really do love it. Note that readers will notice if you're wearing something totally out of character just to promote a sponsor, always be yourself!

5) Don't ever give praise to an item if you hate it, or if it's bad quality. Readers won't want to read awful, snarky reviews… just be honest. Say you received a dress from a sponsor and it's poor quality, that's all that's necessary. If a sponsor continually sends you poor quality items, it might be time to consider removing them from sponsorship. You don't want to be promoting a brand or shop that you don't feel confident is in the best interests of your readers. People will buy things from them and then wonder why you support such a low-quality brand. This has never happened to me though, so I don't feel like it's a frequent occurance.

Tips for Networking


by Elizabeth, Delightfully Tacky

10 Tips and Ideas on How to Network:

1. Using your twitter account, respond to @ mentions! If you get #FF @ mentions, you should thank them! You should also do your own #FF! It's also nice to shout out someone on Twitter saying how much you really liked their outfit. Or, if you're wearing a brand you like on your blog, @ mention them and let them know!

2. Promote others! If you find someone that you really love their style and feel like they deserve the spotlight, promote them! Talk about them on Twitter, Facebook, in a blog post. They'll appreciate it and spread the word. If you find a new blog you like, tweet about it!

3. Create a "favorite blogs" section in your sidebar or on a separate page in your blog. It's a great way to support your favorite blogs.

4. Create a little button for your blog to put inside a widget on your sidebar! That way readers can grab your button, paste it on their blogs and draw traffic to you!

5. Feature other bloggers. I used to do a feature called "Blogger of the Moment" where I would feature cool bloggers that I love. It was a fun way to learn more about bloggers and share them with my readers. One cool thing about it was introducing my readers to bloggers I like who they'd never seen before. Since people come to your blog and have similar taste to you, they'll probably enjoy the blogs you enjoy!

6. Have a commenting system that allows you to reply. For years I'd been hoping that Blogger would update their commenting system to allow replying directly to comments, but I gave up and switched my commenting over to IntenseDebate. I love that I can reply directly to comments, so if someone has a question I can answer them right there! There are a few different commenting systems you can install on your blog if your blog doesn't have a commenting system that allows for replying. Disqus, CoComment, and IntenseDebate are a few and there are plenty more!

7. Guest blog for another blogger, or have guest bloggers on your own blog. If you guest blog on someone else's blog, you'll be reaching out to all of their readers, many of whom probably have never seen your blog before. After they read your guest blog, they'll probably click over to your blog and check out more, and maybe become followers! If you have a guest blogger on your blog, they'll likely link over to the post on their blog, sending their readers directly to your blog to check out the post they did for you.

8. Be a part of online communities. Depending on what kind of blogging you're doing, there are tons of online communities where like-minded folks gather. Think Lookbook or Chictopia if you're a fashion blogger and MadeThis/LoveThis or Project Restyle for DIY folks.

9. Go to blogger meet ups! Try to find out if there is a blogger meet up anywhere in your vicinity. If you're anywhere near New York, there are always fashion blogger meet ups during NYFW. You might have to make a little road trip out of it, but it'll be worth it and so much fun to meet bloggers in person! You'll probably end up meeting some new folks too! If you can't find a blogger meet up nearby, consider coordinating one! It doesn't have to be a fancy shindig, you could all meet up in a park for a little picnic or go out to coffee.

10. If you're a fashion blogger start swapping with some of your blog friends! One of the main reasons I started the Delightful Dozen was because I wanted a more concrete way of interacting with blog friends. Whenever you post an outfit with a swap item in it, you can link to the person's blog who you got it from. And when they post an outfit wearing something you've loaned to them, they'll link to your blog! Pretty cool. Plus, it's an affordable way to style new items without having to buy clothes. Win/win.

Working with sponsors 101


By Elizabeth, Delightfully Tacky

When to start taking on sponsors
Working with sponsors has become a huge part of blogging for some bloggers, and for those of you just starting out, it'd definitely something you'll want to think long and hard about. Some people are adamant about keeping their blogs ad-free, while others are gung-ho about taking on sponsors. It's a personal preference and people will likely criticize you for taking either route, so just be sure of your decision when it comes to accepting sponsors. Make sure to only accept sponsors that you are passionate about! You don't want to have a beauty blog and promote barstools on your blog! Your readers will be annoyed and confused and may not return. You want your sponsor
Before taking on sponsors you'll want to do the following:

1. Do your stats research: You'll need to figure out your stats! You can sign up for Google Analytics or if you use Blogger, you can track your stats through the stats tab.
What will you want to know? Monthly/daily page views, daily unique visitors and how many readers/subscribers/followers you have. Jot these down.. you'll need them soon.

2. Figure out sizes: What size ads do you want on your blog? Make sure the width will fit perfectly into your right sidebar, you'll want all of your sizes have the same width. Then you can decide if you're going to offer more than one size of ad. I have three sizes: large, small and mini. It's nice to create multiple ad sizes at different price points, that way people who run smaller shops and aren't yet able to afford a larger size ad can still get the exposure of having their ad on your blog!

3. Create a sponsor page or post: You'll need to create a place where you can put down your sponsorship details, ad sizes and stats so potential sponsors can check them out. You can link to it on your blog so that companies can easily find information if they want to sponsor you, plus I always link to that page in my sponsor call posts.

4. Create a spreadsheet or notebook: You'll need a way to track sponsors! It's key to organization. This is the hardest part for me. I just recently switched over to using spreadsheets to track sponsors, and I think it'll me much easier than my previous method of writing it by hand in a little notebook! You'll need to make sure you remember the name of the person you're working with, what size they ordered, how much they paid, and when their ad starts and stops! You'll also want to keep track of which sponsors you need to do outfit feature posts for, giveaways, and discount codes. You want to make sure your sponsors are getting what they paid for!

Sponsor calls
Sponsor calls are a good idea because it gives you an opportunity to alert potential sponsors to the fact that you're accepting sponsors, but you aren't pestering shops to come sponsor you. It's a neutral post that simply tells people that you're accepting sponsors and gives them a little bit more information and then can direct them to a page where you have more information about rates/stats/options and more.
Sponsorships vs. Affiliate programs
While sponsorships are basically you selling ad space on your blog, affiliate programs are based off of getting a percentage of the sales you send to a company. So say during one month people click that ad on your blog and buy $2,000 worth of clothing from that company. If you make a 10% commission, you just earned yourself $200! Affiliate programs are great if you know you can make sales for that company.

Tip: If you know you might not be able to sell anything for a company but can provide clicks, go with sponsorship. If you know you are able to sell items for a company, an affiliate program might be the better option!

There are a few different affiliate programs online that different companies work through. Commission Junction, Google Affiliate Network, etc. Most affiliate networks will either cut you a check each month or send your earnings via direct deposit.

Interacting with sponsors

You always want to be professional when you're interacting with sponsors. Be courteous and timely and remember that they are paying to be able to put an ad up on your blog. Try to be organized so sponsors don't get lost in the shuffle, I'm guilty of that and I feel horrible when it happens, ack! It's hard sometimes to wear all the hats that blogging requires. You have to be webmaster, photographer, designer, writer, bookkeeper, PR specialist, and so on. Don't be too hard on yourself if something slips through the cracks. Just apologize and try to be more organized in the future! If it's totally beyond your abilities to juggle all that's required, you might think about outsourcing and having someone else be in charge of your sponsorships.

Tip: When your sponsors term is ending, follow up with them! Shoot them a quick email reminding them that their sponsorship will be expiring, ask them if they'd like to renew, maybe offer a discount as an incentive to continue? If they say no, ask why and you could learn a lot! They might say, "Because you didn't promote us enough, we didn't receive enough clicks," etc… and it can help you learn how to be a better blogger. For the next sponsorship, you might learn to do a few extra tricks!

Courtesy-of items
Once you start taking sponsors, you may start receiving items from those companies as a way for them to get even more exposure on your blog. It's a great way for them to have their product featured and increase the traffic that you send to their site. When you see "C/O" on someone's blog it means the item was received "courtesy of" that company, i.e. the company sent the blogger the item for "free" as a a gift or in trade for ad space to promote the product! You are legally required to announce that something was given to you, so make sure if you receive an item for free, you say it is "courtesy of" or given to you by the company. Honesty is always the best policy.

Payment

How do sponsors pay you? It's up to your personal discretion. If a company asks if you want to trade a month's worth of ad space for $100 worth of clothing decide for yourself if that makes sense. If you like the clothing and feel it's mutually beneficial to both of you, then go for it! If you want only cash, make sure you say that up front so that sponsors aren't confused. If you want a check instead of Paypal, be very clear. Typically, bloggers use Paypal to receive payment. It's quick, easy and you can keep track of your income. Plus, you can also transfer money from your Paypal account to your bank account, or even get a Paypal debit card. Once you receive payment from the sponsor you can add the blog to your sidebar and start promoting. Make sure to write down in your sponsor log when you put up the ad so you can note when it needs to come down by or when the sponsor needs to renew it!

And note: Don't feel bad if a sponsor stops sponsoring. Most of the time companies are trying out new bloggers constantly to try and draw a wide range of potential buyers from across the blogosphere! Don't get mad at a sponsor and call them out online, you'll ruin some great relationships and your readers might not trust your input! Be professional and courteous.

Also note that it's important to be honest when it comes to sponsors and things you receive from them. If a product is bad, say so. You need to be honest. You have a responsibility to your readers to not lead them into buying a crappy item! You don't have to be mean or snarky about it, just be honest about the quality and your disappointment.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

NYFW: Bloggers Night Out

Bloggers Night Out was a seriously wonderful event! It was held at Pranna Restaurant - which was a pretty swanky nightclub and restaurant. It was so fun to meet so many bloggers, get your photo taken, check out all of the sponsor booths and hang out with friends. I absolutely loved the cake pops from Stylegroove. At the LuLu*s booth, you could spin a wheel and win some items or a discount coupon. I also won a Tiffany and Co. iPhone case just by tweeting and using Foursquare at the event! The ladies who put it on were fantastic and it was wonderful to meet so many great bloggers!


Privacy on the internet


by Elizabeth, Delightfully Tacky

Blogging is kind of weird. Our lives are broadcast across the world for anyone to read, pretty scary right? It's something we all have to deal with by choosing to put ourselves out there, but it's a risk we take in exchange for being a part of the blogging community. There are measures to take, though, to make sure that you keep your privacy to at least some degree.

Email-
I keep my blog email completely separate from my personal email. This way people can't search for me with my email address. Plus, it just makes it easier to separate who is trying to contact you from your blog versus people in "real life" who are emailing you personally. There are also measures you can take to keep spammers from grabbing your email. Instead of writing your email like delightfully-tacky@hotmail.com you can write it like delightfully-tacky [at] hotmail [dot] com. It just makes it a little harder for spammers to grab your email.

Location-
One thing I'm pretty conscious about it not letting people know where I live. While I'll talk a lot about Tacoma and my favorite places in Tacoma, I won't let people know my address and I'll try to not show landmarks near my home. I guess if someone was really adamant about trying to find my house they might be able to, but I like to keep it as difficult as possible. I'll even go so far as to photoshop out the address number on my house or apartment to keep people from seeing it in my photos. Sometimes I've photoshopped out my license plate on my car too. Another thing that you might want to do is keep your workplace off of your blog too. It's just another way that someone can find you.


One thing that I've started doing is not letting people know when I'm on vacation until after the fact (if possible). I once heard about how someone's house was broken into after they tweeted that they were out of town. I figure it's best to protect yourself from people who may be out to take advantage of you. You never know who is following you online. Most likely it's just people who are interested in your blog, but there could also be weird creeps that live near you and don't have good intentions!

Your Life-
This one is really up to your personal preference as to how much of yourself you want to put out there. How much about your personal life do you want to share? Some people will choose to share very little about their real lives, and others will just lay it all out there. I like to keep a good balance of being open and honest, but also not simply unloading all the crap from my day onto the internet. For me, I like to keep my blog positive and upbeat. I figure there's already so much unhappiness and ugliness in the world and I don't need to contribute to it. That doesn't mean that I'll sugarcoat everything or pretend that I'm super happy if I'm not, but I'm not going to go of on a rant about something terrible that happened if I don't feel like it's uplifting or helpful to others. It's always up to you to how much you share with the world wide web. Make sure you think about what you feel comfortable sharing, and if you feel like you're starting to share too much, dial it down. I think it's important to share at least some of your life with your readers, just because they're interested in you and your life! It creates a connection between you and your readers and they start feeling invested in you.


One thing that I've never really dealt much with is keeping people from your real world from knowing about your blog. This is more important for people who feel like it wouldn't be beneficial if coworkers or friends knew about it, or if your employer would feel odd about you having a blog. Some bloggers are teachers or work with youth and they try to keep their students from finding out about their blog. Other people feel like they might lose credibility at their job if people knew about their blog. I know some people have family members who are uncomfortable with blogging, so in that case they even have to keep their blog from their family. Sometimes it's unavoidable to have people finding out about your blog (since it is online and readily available for anybody to see), but you can definitely take measures to keep people from finding out about it.

For about the first two years of blogging I didn't let any of my readers even know my first name! I still don't have my last name on my blog. It keeps people from being able to google your name and find your blog.

Photos-
One thing that is kind of annoying is the fact that once you put your photos up on the internet, they're kind of up for grabs. You could watermark your photos, but I personally hate the way that watermarked photos look-- the watermark is just always so distracting to me. But the downside of not protecting your photos is that people can take them and not give proper credit or even pretend to be you! If you think that's crazy, trust me, I've had it happen. Most of the time, though, when you find that happening, you can usually email the site's administrator and have them remove the person. So decide if you want to watermark your photos or protect them in some way.

There are a lot of ways to protect yourself on the internet. Make sure that you're really intentional about how much you want to share about yourself. It's a crazy world out there and sometimes we can get caught up in how nice all of our blogging friends are that we forget that there are those crazies out there as well. Protect yourself and your privacy!

NYFW: Beauty Tips

I thought it would be fun to pop in and give some tips on beauty tips for big events! My getting ready process is usually about 30-45 minutes which is so long compared to my at-home getting ready period, but you have to spend a little extra time if you're heading out for a big event! Here are my tips!
  • Feel free to go a little bit daring with your makeup! Try the cat-eye, try a bold coral lipstick, try anything. Especially in dim lighting in bars and clubs, you'll stand out.
  • Don't worry about looking perfect. If you're making a bold statement with your eyes or lips, people won't even notice any red blemishes on your skin.
  • Take care of your lips! If you're constantly wearing lipstick, try using a bit of chapstick or Burt's Bees in between reapplies. It'll keep your lips moist!
  • Keep a little mirror in your purse for little checks like fuzz in your hair, lipstick on your teeth, mascara marks under your eyes. It's natural to quick check yourself in the mirror.
  • Always wash your make up off at night. Being in the city - all of the dirt, grime and makeup - you just have to.
  • Use a brush - if you can - to apply your foundation. It'll help prevent outbreaks and it will also stretch your makeup bottle. By using a brush, it helps cover more skin... which leads you to use less makeup!
  • Use a moisturizer at night while you sleep! It'll help replenish your skin from the harsh wear and tear of the day.
Hope you enjoyed a few tips on things that have helped me during fashion week so far!

Fun fact? My favorite lip color to wear in NYC so far has been my Maybelline Coral Crush lipstick. I've worn it for several events so far. When I showed up to the ModCloth Swap, I saw Veronika of Tick Tock Vintage and we instantly said in unison, "Coral crush!" It's the perfect lip color to make a statement, but not be too much. We love it.

Networking: Using Facebook & Twitter


by Elizabeth, Delightfully Tacky

Facebook and Twitter are easy ways to stay connected to your readers. They are the two social networking sites that I really use pretty heavily. There are other networking sites that are available for specific demographics (like Lookbook or Chictopia for fashion bloggers), but Facebook and Twitter are universal networking sites that almost everyone has.

Twitter

Twitter a great way to share information with your followers and fellow bloggers in a quick and efficient way. Plus, with all the smart phones out there, a lot of people have access to that information wherever they go with their phones! For bloggers, Twitter has become a really great resource. You can let your readers know when you've put up a new post, quickly share something awesome you found on the internet, retweet great tweets from other people, and have conversations with people in a really easy way. Replying to people on twitter is just so quick and easy that it's one of my favorite ways to interact with fellow bloggers and readers.

I only follow Twitter feeds that I feel are important to me, or will tweet information that I'll want to check out. If you follow too many people, the sheer volume of tweets to sift through becomes totally unmanageable! There are also different platforms for organizing twitter like Tweetdeck which you can try out to see if they work for you.


Facebook

It took me a lot longer to join twitter than to make a page for Delightfully Tacky on Facebook. Since Facebook is such an invaluable networking site in general life, it only makes sense that it would be useful for meeting your readers where they already are. It makes it so easy to update your readers via Facebook because it posts right to their newsfeed! You can also use apps that link up your blog to your Facebook page so it automatically updates your page when you publish a new post. One cool thing about Facebook is the way that readers can interact too. I've had readers post cool photos on my Facebook page or share links with me. If you don't feel like updating both your Facebook and your Twitter, you can also link your Facebook page to your twitter account so that when you post a status update to Facebook, it automatically tweets that status update also!


Both Facebook and Twitter are always in my top ten referring sites. They're a great way to connect to your readers in an organic way. Since most people already use Facebook and/or Twitter, you're simply making it easier for them to connect to your blog! And that's what you want. You want it to be easy for your audience to access your blog and relevant information associated with it. Facebook and Twitter are perfect in this capacity!

BONUS: 10 Ideas for a Blog Post!

10 Ideas for a Blog Post!

1. Post a "what's in my bag" post (repeat with your makeup bag, camera bag, computer bag!)
2. Create a "wish list" of your favorite items at the moment (Polyvore is great for this!)
3. Going on vacation? Show how you packed your suitcase!
4. Show the inner workings of your closet in a fun video blog.
5. Have a fun DIY tutorial? Nail polish tricks? Share them!
6. Do a Q&A post! (Break it into different sessions!)
7. Cover one of your favorite lines! Include photos of your favorite items and smart research about the designer.
8. Post a weekly or monthly recap with lifestyle photos or things that make you happy. (Think Delightful Dozen's '12 Delightful Things' feature!)
9. Create a slideshow of your favorite outfits from other bloggers. (iMovie is the best and SO easy!)
10. Show bloopers of silly photos of you!

Behind the Scenes: Lucky Headquarters

by Tieka, Selective Potential

Note: You guys are all going to see this in my blog in the coming weeks, but this is just a quick snapshot of what I'm seeing during fashion week so you can stay up-to-date on what's happening (or happened!)

I had a huge opportunity to attend a breakfast for bloggers at Lucky Magazine headquarters. It was so amazing to walk into the Conde Nast building, check in with the front desk and head up the elevators to their headquarters. I felt like I was in The Devil Wears Prada! Except the Lucky Magazine staff is incredibly kind, especially editor-in-chief, Brandon Holley.

We all grabbed danishes, muffins and coffee and gathered in the conference room with about 20 bloggers and 10 members of the Lucky staff, including editor-in-chief herself, Brandon Holley. We discussed some ideas for upcoming magazines, ways that brands can work with bloggers a bit more and other fun things - like what happened during FNO!

I was so excited to be able to check out where all of the magic happens behind Lucky Magazine. They have some amazing content coming in the future - and even more ways to work with bloggers, so be sure to keep up with this magazine especially. They are on the forefront of working with bloggers - more so than any other magazine! I absolutely love how they support what we are doing as bloggers and are looking to us for our amazing ideas!