5 Quick Tips for Newbie Bloggers!

Okay so can i just say that first of all i hate preachy posts. I absolutely detest posts which say “Bloggers should do xyz“and not do “abc“. Apart from the usual plagiarism rules, lets admit it. There are no rules people. We talk about makeup and fashion mostly, and honestly i dont think those things are serious enough to be all ‘preachy’and ‘judgemental’ about. (Believe me, iv been subject to a lot of ‘judgment-alism’ if thats a words when i started out). But since so many new bloggers keep emailing me asking me ‘How to write  a successful blog’, here are just my 2 cents on the topic  okaiiii????

1. Find your niche: Sounds simple right? I feel like if you have to be known, you have got to find something you do differently from the other If i look at the blogs i follow, each of them has one unique characteristic that sets them apart. Indian Vanity Case has the most stunning pictures and tutorials, Addicted to blush has the most well-researched and honest reviews, and Karen from Makeupandbeauty has the most fun, funny style of writing. I knew early on that i didnt have the time to match the amazing picture taking skills of some bloggers, and that i wasnt good at makeup tutorials….so i just focused on doing what i know i do best. Writing well,  making it fun, and involving my life into the blog. I think slowly thats become the USP of P&B, you kind of need to find YOUR USP.

2. Post BIG Pictures, and Organise Your Posts I think a very simple method is to click BIG pictures. I started off with medium size pictures too, but over time when you are talking about things like beauty or fashion, half your readers are only going to look at the pictures and browse some other blog after that. So click the biggest, clearest photos that is possible. Even if you think that swatch looks like a giant swipe on your comp screen go and post it. Secondly, have a method to your writing- when people come to your page from google, they really dont have the time to go through what you write even if you write 1500 words of it. So either do a pros/cons bullet list to your reviews, or find some other way to give the readers a snap shot. This is why i came up with the ‘verdict’ and the final recommendation of 2-3 lines. SO those with a short attention span can get a gist of what im saying.

3. Comment on other blogs with meaningful comments If you post insightful, meaningful comments regularly on other blogs and not the kinds that are “Nice post. Check out my giveaway” kind of posts, you are bound to get noticed.  People will start to notice you around, click on your blog and maybe get hooked to that. I know it seems like there are already 4-5 popular bloggers and its difficult to break in right now but slowly and steadily you can get there. When i started blogging, i almost shut down the blog after 2 months. But slowly i found out about the other bloggers, i read their posts, i commented on their posts and it just kind of started from there.

4. Be objective while reviewing products, and find a set of Parameters: It helps to have a set of parameters you review products on… like Packaging, Texture, Pigmentation etc. If you dont have those parameters, then sometimes your review can totally be influenced by one aspect alone. Eg: You love hello kitty, and those Mac Hello Kitty Lipsticks are just so ADORABLE to look and hold that you have to give them an A+ ! Now if you had a set list of parameters, then maybe you would score them an A+ on packaging, but once you go to the other parameters, it would force you to think about those and affect your overall score if any of them are not totally up to the mark. Just a suggestion, its just something that helps me stay objective.

5. Dont indulge in Idle Blogger Gossip or  Politics, Be nice to People , Its ok to not have fellow Blogger ‘Best friends’ Now, dont get me wrong. I dont want to come off sounding snooty.But the Indian Beauty Blogging world is a bit of a gossip fest.  There are some amazing people out there  but there are also some people who remind me of high school- cliques , and groups and cattyness. There are snide comments made ánonymously’ on your blog, there are people who fly false allegations of you ‘plagiarising’ work, there are even people who genuinely, shamelessly plagiarise your work. Shit Happens. This is life. Move on. You dont need it,  you have a life. Focus on your blog, be nice to everyone and don’t get overly involved. Trust me. You would rather stay away from gossip.

6. Develop a thick skin and Learn how to Have Fun!   You are going to be assaulted with a ton of negative comments. Lets see, some of the funniest ones iv gotten “You look like a dead person” , or “You moron, that is not Mac Mehr that is Mac xyz. Just because Mehr is the ONLY pink lipstick you own doesnt mean everything is Mehr. Its so sad that anyone can become a blogger these days” or even “Yuck you curry eating filthy woman, i bet your nails stink of curry”. Hmmm..my response, i laugh. I reply with a big LOL because its just so sad that some people take this fun things so seriously. Moreover, come onnnn! Blogging is FUN…just dial down the negativity, and up the Fun quotient and you shall be good !

Thats all folks. Lecture over, you can break for recess now . Some fun stuff coming up! Till then dont forget to vote in the P&B Beauty Awards!

Tagged as: Indian Beauty blogging, Random