how headline writing in high school changed my life ...or something like that.

so in high school, i was a journalism maven.

quite literally, during my freshman year, my journalism teacher (hi bardwella - pretty sure she reads my blog) took one look at me after i told a fellow classmate to chill out while we were waiting in line to buy yearbooks and told me to sign up for journalism 1 (j-1) my sophomore year. it was not long after that she learned my last name was "hawthorne" and that i was related, by blood, to the one and only journalism guru in her mind, bobby bawthorne.

he is my uncle. he has written books on the subject. which were, of course, our text books. cue the irrationally embarrassed and frustrated sophomore, forced to live up to the maniacally good looks and preternatural writing skills of her aforementioned uncle.

(bet you didn't know i was privy to fancy words like maniacally and preternatural, eh?)

i breezed through three yearbooks, issue after issuer of the gagger gauger (the high school news paper) and spent many an early saturday morning at geeky uil journalism meets. all of which got me a a full ride to kilgore junior college, a position on the flare staff, and a lovely associate's degree in journalism.

which i now use to blabber on to you guys! yay!

anyways - on to the point of this post - if there was one thing i learned that i have taken through the years following college it is this:

headlines are important. which translates to blog posts titles are important!

it is what lures the reader in - the nice juicy worm at the end of a long fishing rod, just waiting to capture the reader's rapt attention into a blog post that will encourage, inspire, inform, and bolster them.

nowdays, thanks to the institution that is google, you are required to have a boring, informative, and google-juice (read: SEO) worthy title to bring readers to your blog.

bo..ring. zzzzzzzzzz.

BUT WAIT! there now a nice little solution to this problem!



creating the permalink is very simple. simply click on "permalink" in your blogger sidebar and choose "custom url". type in the permalink of your choice and hit done! voila! you are now a fancy SEO utilizer. or something like that. ;)



1. look at the title of this post.
2. look at the url in your browser bar.

shazaaam baby! now, if you google "how to create a permalink in blogger" my post will pop up for you lovely little googlers and i still get to have a goofy title.

that is what we call a win-win folks.



now here are a couple of guidelines:

one. blogger will not allow spaces in your permalink. to keep it from lookinglikeacrazyhashtag, insert hyphens between the words.

two. make it something you would google if you were looking for what you just wrote about.
"how to create a permalink in blogger"
"recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies"
"decorating a childs bedroom on a budget"
"twenty five uses for duct tape"

three. use that permalink to the best of its ability! if you have pictures in your posts, go into the html editor and insert that permalink in the html of your pictures. whaaaaaa?



replace all that gobbledygook where the green box is with your new permalink.

(also - notice the name of the picture? see what i did there?)

use your permalink to make a button for your post that people can put on your blog! like for a linky party or some other such fantastic reason! :)

and now you can make up all sorts of fun and crazy titles - headlines to draw your readers in - without having to worry about losing your google juice!

need proof?

google "how to make a permalink in blogger" and click on images...



because i named my pictures and created a permalink, my picture is the first to pop up there. suh-weet!

the cardboard box diet week four

i sit here, and seriously debate whether i should even join in this week. it was nothing but one big fat party over the last weekend, with emphasis on the fat. i did nothing healthy, made no responsible decisions, and today i am dealing with the weight of my decisions. pun most assuredly intended.

however, since the cardboard box diet is a support group and is a group of girls (& guys? i don't know) going through the same thing i am - then i feel pressed to share.

i'm not going to lie - most of my motivation to get all this out there is knowing you guys will be here to say "hey - it's cool! we all have an off week! get back in the saddle guhhhh!" because i really really need it.

so here it all goes!

{week one here} {week two here}{week three here}

you can join in with us by using the hashtag #cbdiet on instagram or twitter. we are using myfitnesspal to track calories (available for android and iphone). plus, lauren is hosting a weekly linky to share our recaps.

WEEK four

weigh in:
starting weight 171.5
weight july 5: 168
weight july 12: 165
weight july 17: 166
today: 170

hello, four pounds i was definitely expecting. but don't plan to stick around for long. your outta here.

exercise completed

um let's see...

-floating in the pool, keeping my margarita out of the water
-sweating in a hot and stuffy gym for a wedding reception
-climbing over my nephew and niece in their car seats to get to the back of the van
-cleaning the kitchen numerous times after numerous parties.

clearly - i did nothing.

splurge/guilty pleasure

margaritas, tacos, bacon, ghengis grill, margaritas, and a few margaritas.

success stories

so i did actually NOT eat any cake this week. i was at a birthday party, a wedding, and a bachelorette party, and i didn't eat anything sweet. however, i did have several alcoholic beverages and ate like crazy, so the not eating cake didn't really matter.

unless i suppose those are calories i could have consumed, that i didn't.

i also didn't log anything i ate this week. nothing. but i'm starting back today. for today is a new week.

photos

no photos this week.

recipe

no recipes this week.

about the hubs

chris, bless his heart, has been earnestly trying to get me to walk. but we are both so worn out from our weeks that we just look at each other and know it isn't happening. so we post up on the couch and watch three episodes of lie to me. so kudos to him for trying.

fair warning

the next couple of weeks will be similar to this one. i have a wedding in michigan and will probably not log in next week, and the following week will be the week after the wedding. so i'm giving myself permission to enjoy the next few days while keeping in mind that the choices i make to have consequences. but i'm not going to restrict myself either. so stick with me people - i need ya! - and i will be back in the swing of things soon!

the cardboard box diet week three

{week one here} {week two here}

i am ready for summer to be over and my "schedule" to be back to somewhat normal. i have been SO crazy busy this past week, planning for a bachelorette party, a wedding, and a birthday party. ALL OCCURRING THIS WEEKEND. so please forgive me for not having much of anything to say.

except that i'm still plugging away - trying to make smarter choices here and there as need be. i still allow myself to splurge and i'm forgiving myself for the two reese's peanut butter cups i had each night this week to help me relax after hurried afternoons. relaxing is important and sleep is important and those little bites of heaven helped bring relax and sleep about so i say reese's are important too.

can i get an amen to that?

last friday we had dinner in shreveport for my father-in-law's birthday and i had some of the best scalloped potatoes i have ever had. and i'm pretty sure there was at least a stick's worth of melted butter floating around in the bowl. but i licked it CLEAN because honestly they were amazeballs and worth every calorie.

what are some things you don't feel guilty about splurging on because they are SO good that you think they are worth ever calorie?? i'm curious to see if i'm the only one with this philosophy.

you can join in with us by using the hashtag #cbdiet on instagram or twitter. we are using myfitnesspal to track calories (available for android and iphone). plus, lauren is hosting a weekly linky to share our recaps.

WEEK three

weigh in:
starting weight 171.5
weight july 5: 168
weight july 12: 165
weight july 17: 166

i had a hunch. i didn't walk or do any sort of cardio this week because i simply did not have time. plus mother flow was in town. always an exciting time of the month, no?

but regardless of the scale i still feel better and feel more responsible for making better decisions altogether. so i am okay with that number edging back up a bit.

exercise completed

nothing, zip, zilch, nada.

unless of course crafting counts? no? darn.

splurge/guilty pleasure

like i mentioned above - the reese's and the scalloped potatoes straight from heaven were the two splurges this week.

success stories

several times this week i just wanted to give up and go out to grab something to eat. mostly because i didn't feel like washing dishes afterwards. (so lazy, i know!) but i stuck with my guns and ate at home, saving both moolah and calories. this morning however, i'm splurging on a spinach, feta, and egg white wrap from starbucks. i have to take the dogs to be boarded and that always stresses me out and totally makes me sad so i'm treating myself afterwards. #emotionaleatermuch?

photos



so i finally got the nerve to try on some colored skinnies. i actually bought them too, after the frantic urging of the sixteen year old girls in my youth group. i actually like them though - they are super comfy believe it or not and they are totally OUTSIDE my comfort zone so i'm pushing myself to try something new here. what do you think about my skinnies??

recipe

this isn't really a recipe, per se, but i've discovered the idea of putting protein powder in my greek yogurt. i have strawberry protein powder and it mixes right in with my greek yogurt and i'm shocked by the texture and how well it tastes. have you tried this? am i late on the bandwagon?

about the hubs
chris has been at umarmy all week - simutaneously burning 1000s of calories a day working out in the heat with a ton of youth to build porches and whatnot AND eating like a king i'm sure to keep his energy up. he will also come home very dehydrated. i know this because it happens every summer. so i'm leaving him out of the reports this week. i will let you know how he is doing next week. ;)

things on my mind

... dude. life is crazy, no? just when i think i'm headed in the right direction and figuring things out, God puts a huge fork in my road and i'm forced to prepare to make a decision.

... sometimes, as i scroll through my reader, i feel like i'm reading the same blog post, fifty different times from fifty different people. it is kind of boring - this repetitive nature of blogging. blogs i used to love are now copying emulating "being inspired by" other blogs and it is like they are all writing the same thing.

... i've only been blogging for two years but i've seen such a dramatic change in the blogging community in these two years. there are so many blogs and it both overwhelms me and irritates me at the same time. does this make sense or am i just crazy?

... i've been stuck in writer's block mode for a couple of weeks. perhaps it is just the summer time, or the fact that i have been going non stop for about six weeks, but seriously i'm just not feeling it. i don't want to write. i don't want to edit pictures. i don't want to create content to keep a blog alive. i just want to write when i feel like it about what makes me happy.

... i'm totally head over heels in love with blueberries in a salad. have you tried this? seriously, my current addiction is grilled chicken salad with feta cheese and blueberries. if you haven't tried it, get on the bandwagon. i'm sure it will be the next big thing.

... my heart is changing. i feel like i'm being called to do some things i haven't felt comfortable with in the past and these things are also leading me away from the blogging community. that scares me. i've invested so much time, money, and creativity in this little world. but i know if i follow what i feel God is calling me to do it will bless me ten-fold what this blog has done. maybe i have just grown too comfortable here and it is time to move on?

... i will never stop blogging. but i might be less focused on it. i don't know.

... i could really really use a pedicure.

... there should be a button, like the easy button from staples, that when i push gives me a totally inspiring thought to keep my going. is there one of those on the interwebs that i don't know about?

... i'm trying to find that delicate balance in life right now between job, life, and hobby that allows me to be fulfilled by all three and fulfill all three. it seems like a period of transition and processing for me - an opportunity stand back and check what is important and what i can let go of. have you let go of anything lately?

... and to round out the completely random nature of this post, here are some things i'd like to own:

this clutch from aubrey plays. i love the shape and construction of it. totally original.

this incredibly adorable bracelet from twillypop. because it will go perfectly with every oklahoma state outfit i own. and it is only 45 days until football season starts. (oh it is a necklace - but i'd double wrap it as a bracelet)

it is obvious that i'd like to have one of everything in maggie's shop, but i am seriously loving this floral + mint gussy sews wristlet. good for holding all kinds of things i'd like to carry around with me.

and if not that little bag, this leather & fabric pouch from scout and catalogue will do.

a true love ring from amy cornwell would make a perfect anniversary gift for me. (attention: are you listening chris?)

i'm about out of thank you cards and just because cards. i think this little set from sparrow nest script would be a good place to start restocking.

okay. what's going on in your head?

blogging basics why you must name your pictures!

oh hello strangers! i've been in a bit of a writer's block mode. but i think i'm back. sometimes we just need a break, no? i'm also busting out with a blogging tutorial (first one in AGES) to get me going again!

first of all - let us talk about WHY naming your pictures is important.

1. it can help drive traffic to your blog!

when someone googles "how to spray paint vases" and your pictures is called "how to spray paint vases - step one" and not "0982934709872_9.jpg" your picture, blog, and tutorial is more likely to show up in the google results.

(in essence, it ups your google juice!)

(also - can we discuss why google still isn't recognized by my computer's dictionary? i would think it would be a legitimate word by now...)

2. when someone pins your image (and they are going to, right?) pinterest has now inserted coding that automatically pulls the name of the picture into the pin description! which is super handy for lazy people like me, IF the name of the picture accurately describes it!



there are two really simple ways to do this!

one!

the easiest way is to name your pictures on your hard drive. this name will carry through the life of the picture, including any coding for websites i believe. you might double check your HTML though if you are hosting through photobucket just to be sure.

two!

you can go into your HTML and edit the coding of the picture to accurately represent it!

three very simple steps:







this might take a few extra minutes per post but if you are serious about growing your blog, upping your google juice, and really taking advantage of SEO, then it is worth the extra five minutes!

the cardboard box diet - week 2

{week one here}

this week was interesting - i started to notice very tiny changes in my body, physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

1. i definitely don't "look" any smaller and i'm not taking measurements so i can't be sure. but i feel better. i'm standing up a little bit taller. i feel like i don't have to suck in as much. feeling better about myself is one of the goals and i'm beginning to be on my way!

2. i've started to notice when i'm really hungry. not bored or sad or, well, mostly just bored. boredom is a huge trigger for me. so it has helped that i have been crazy busy this week! but i've made that connection and now i can be wary of that "hungry" feeling when i have nothing else to do.

3. i've stopped to think about how eating certain foods will make me feel. will i feel better about myself if i have a piece of reese's peanut butter pie (which i REALLY REALLY WANTED) or a skinny cow chocolate snack? i'm not going to lie - i had two bites of pie but i reallllly enjoyed them (i guess i could be totally awkward and say that i quite literally made love to the bites...) and then i had some skinny cow chocolate. and i didn't feel like i had undone an entire day of eating right!

you can join in with us by using the hashtag #cbdiet on instagram or twitter. we are using myfitnesspal to track calories (available for android and iphone). plus, lauren is hosting a weekly linky to share our recaps.

WEEK TWO

weigh in:
starting weight 171.5
weight july 5: 168
weight july 12: 165
okay i kind of WAS expecting to lose a pound or two this week because i was really careful about what i ate. but three pounds was exciting!

exercise completed
i walked one day this week - it has rained nearly every day! :(

splurge/guilty pleasure
so let's talk about saturday. for starters my husband was out of town. i never do really well when chris isn't here. it is like if no one sees me eat it it never happened. secondly, i was busy all day, painting and packaging signs. so i didn't "have time" to cook something healthy. and third. zaxby's just opened and i have been dying to eat there. so i did. twice. :/ not the healthiest of choices by far but i did it, confessed, got over it, and moved on.

success stories
sunday night we had a welcome party for our new pastor at the church. i was already dangerously close to my calories for the day (taco bell on sunday is kind of a tradition but i had a cantina bowl - delicious FYI) and all they were serving was desserts. cakes, pies, cookies, cupcakes & brownies. i can do without the first four but the brownies? yum. HOWEVER, i immediately had a cup of coffee to get something in my stomach, and i didn't touch any of them. then i had two bites of pie (see above) when we got home.

photos


my new favorite breakfast - fried egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich with strawberries. (362 calories)

recipe



basil pasta salad

.8 cup suddenly salad basil pasta salad, prepared
1 tomato, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
1 1/2 ounces grilled chicken, chopped
2 TBSP rothbury farms FF croutons
4 TBSP walden farms creamy bacon

this was filling, creamy and delicious. i will definitely be making it again!



about the hubs
chris doesn't seem as deterred by the rain as i do and he has run maybe four days this week? he has also been tracking his calories and making better decisions about what he eats and i am SO PROUD OF HIM. he has lost four pounds!

ARE YOU READING THIS CHRIS? I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK!!

so not only do i have the support of the internets but i also have some on the homefront as well. i'm stoked to be doing this with YOU GUYS and with HIM.

here is to a successful week three!

the #cbdiet: salads

catch up on this whole cardboard box diet here!

so i'm going to reveal one of my big secrets, time savers, and calorie savers.

i've done this before in the past but i started it again with a new dedication when i started tracking my calories and workouts with the other girls participating in the cardboard box diet.

every sunday night i fix myself a huge bowl of salad. then i eat it for lunch every day. i got the idea from can you stay for dinner, who did a great post on creating a 400-calorie salad every day for lunch. it makes my mornings a snap to fix a lunch plus i can get really creative with my toppings and still stay within that 300-400 calorie range.

i cut up one big head of romaine lettuce (that is my personal favorite, but you could get creative and add any kind of greens you like), dice two stalks of celery, slice up some button mushrooms, mince a red onion, chunk up a cucumber, and add some shredded carrot. i mix it up in one huge lidded bowl, lay a paper towel over the top to collect moisture and then stick the whole shebang in the fridge. it usually lasts about a week (it gets a little iffy by the next saturday evening) but i can get five lunches and a couple of small dinner side salads out of it.

the best part is getting creative with the toppings! here are some combos i've done in the past:



blueberries + feta cheese + grilled chicken



feta cheese + southwestern chicken + tortilla strips + creamy bacon dressing



shredded BBQ chicken + cheddar cheese + tortilla strips + rotel + cholulas + ranch



grilled chicken + tortilla strips + rotel tomatoes



grilled chicken, feta and avocado

here are a couple of tips and secrets



- invest in several bottles of walden farms calorie free dressing. they have so many flavors and seriously - for calorie free they are pretty darn tasty! my favorites are creamy bacon and ranch but i see a TON of flavors on their site i'd like to try!

- try new stuff - i use 1/4 of an avocado and a serving of light sour cream as dressing on a southwestern salad. or squeeze some lime juice and honey over a salad with asian chicken and almonds. the point is to mix it up so the salads never get boring. everyone hates boring food.

- replace the paper towel on your salad about twice a week. once it starts to get damp i chunk it and replace it with a dry one. it helps keep the lettuce fresh and crispy.

- load that salad up with all kinds of veggies - snap peas, radishes, bell peppers, tomatoes - anything your heart desires. they are super filling with little impact on your caloric intake.

- don't be afraid to add fruit - the sweet of the fruit can add a great balance to a spicy salad or a tangy vinegar based dressing.

- add crunch and extra texture with rothbury farms fat free croutons, dry roasted peanuts or almonds, a few raisins, or southwestern tortilla strips. just be sure to stick to the serving size (no guesstimating) to keep the calories in check.

okay so let's hear it - what salad combination are you going to try out?

cardboard box diet - week one

today i'm going to talk about my jiggly parts. if that sort of thing isn't really your cup of tea, then feel free to go on about your day. i promise - no hard feelings. but if you'd like to hear about them, along with my thoughts on my body and my health, then i invite you to stick around.

plus i'm posting pictures of yummy food. what's not to like about that?

if i am going to be honest, i think i have a pretty positive self image. i'm not all high and mighty - i definitely have some places that need improvement (hence the jiggly parts) but i'm not sitting around, moaning and crying about being fat or anything.

not all the time anyways. i have my moments. i'm not 100% secure in my bathing suit. i look at other women and wonder why i don't have a flat stomach and a toned booty.

and then i go on munching on potato chips and drinking a dr. pepper.

i dress in ways that i know flatters my good parts and hides my bad parts. and i get that most likely, i will never be as fit and toned as all the women i see on pinterest. and i'm okay with that. all the stuff i am about to tell you isn't about me gaining the perfect body or being the envy of all.

it is about health. my health. my husband's health. these are the things that are important to me.

i come from a long line of women with heart disease and men with diabetes. my maternal grandmother suffered from several heart attacks. my mom, maternal grandfather, and half-uncle all dropped dead in an instant from a fatal heart attack. my father and maternal grandfather both have some form of diabetes. high cholesterol, high blood pressure, high stress... all of these things have plagued my family for years.

you would think this would be enough motivation to get with the program, eat healthy and take better care of my body, right? not so much.

enter lauren from texas (better known probably as LfT ;]). i have been following her blog for a while - she is quite funny, stylish, and beautiful to boot. not someone you would consider to be worrying about her body. but she wrote a post about a cardboard box of clothes she has. and it put my lifestyle in a new perspective. i decided what the heck - i will give this idea a try.

you can join in with us by using the hashtag #cbdiet on instagram or twitter. we are using myfitnesspal to track calories (available for android and iphone). plus, lauren is hosting a weekly linky to share our recaps.

WEEK ONE

weigh in:
starting weight 171.5
weight july 5: 168
HOLY CRAP I LOST 3.5 POUNDS!!! I was NOT expecting that!!

exercise completed
walked 4 miles (burned 381 calories)
cleaned for an hour (burned 194 calories)
90 minutes of yardwork (burned 294 calories)

splurge/guilty pleasure
beer. it was july 4th! so that is what my splurge was - i had a few beers. and i didn't track them. :]

success stories

1. learning that i like fruit. i just have to add fruit to my food and not eat it alone. strawberries - yuck! strawberries on toast with nutella? gimme. blueberries - yuck! blueberries on my yogurt and granola for breakfast? nom. this is a breakthrough for me!


1 slice wonder whole grain white wheat (toasted)
+ 1 tsp nutella
+ sliced strawberry
272 calories of creamy, yummy snack after a walk


1 container of plain oikos greek fat free yogurt
+ 1/2 cup food club natural granola cereal
+ 1 tbsp thrifty bee natural honey
+ 1/3 cup blueberries
398 calorie filling, fruity, delicious breakfast

2. learning that tracking what i eat is good for me! tracking helps me plan. i started tracking as i went but i figured out quickly that if i plan my meals for the day and track them first thing in the morning, i know exactly (roughly - i don't think you can ever know exactly) how many calories i'm planning on consuming. it was like a light bulb went off! :) also - i'm WAY less likely to splurge if i know i have to record it and fess up to you folks. :)


first day of tracking

3. having my husband on board! (more on that in a second though)


walking with the hubs and dogs

photos


salad from quiznos - see above for calorie count


it felt goooood to walk. hopefully i will build up to running again too. but just to sweat and get my muscles moving felt amazing.


homemade salad! romaine, mushrooms, carrots, celery, cucumber, tortilla strips, hot sauce, southwestern chicken and walden farms creamy bacon. (all for 208 calories)

about the hubs

i can't believe that my husband is ALSO on board with me for this. he doesn't exactly know about the cardboard box diet (although, now he most likely has been clued in. hi honey!). anyways - he signed up for his first half marathon in december. so he has started training for that (he even has this fancy watch/heart monitor/gps thingy) and i could not be MORE proud of him.

he even put myfitnesspal on his phone and has been tracking his calories! can i get a woot woot for my hubby??? ;}

so not only do i have the support of the internets but i also have some on the homefront as well. i'm stoked to be doing this with YOU GUYS and with HIM.

here is to a successful week two!

fadeless memories review and giveaway

okay so i have a confession.

chris and i got married four years ago in august. four glorious, happy, adventure-filled years. i'm definitely stuck with the right person. :)

our wedding was fun and crowded (we had almost 500 people there - let's not get started on THAT story though) and our photographer was awesome. mostly because she was bossy (like me) and had a specific list of pictures i had requested and wanted to get them taken.

i know i'm high maintenance what i want. teehee.

anywho - i loved our pictures. they were such a great reminder of how much fun we had, all the people we got to see, and honestly one of the happiest days of my life. we purchased the rights to all the photos after the wedding, she sent us the cds, rolls of film and proofs. exciting stuff.

except i didn't even take the time to get them out and look at them until about a week ago. yeah. i'm that lame. our house is full of empty picture frames hanging on the walls just begging for fun wedding pictures to fill them.

and then i got an email from jennifer at fadeless memories. jennifer takes images and carves them into acrylic.

um this is brilliant. so i sent her a few pictures from our wedding (after finally getting them out of the dusty old box they were in and scrolling through hundreds of them...) and she sent me this...



to be more specific, this is what i got in the mail.



it is a 3.5 x 5 piece of acrylic with the details of the picture carved out of it. laying on the table it doesn't look like much, but put a light source behind it and SHAZAM - you can see every detail - the curls in my flowers, the beadwork on my dress, the buttons on chris' jacket... even the stones on the church in the blurry background



this thing is downright amazing and i was floored buy how the image popped when i held it up to the light for the first time. i literally yelled out at my husband "CHRIS COME HERE" who consequentially thought i had hurt myself - not unheard of - and came running.

chris gave it the old "oh - that is cool." and a nonchalant head nod. which in his speak is "wow that is the total bomb and i love it."

now let me tell you how "fadeless" this thing is. i keep this propped up in my kitchen window and look at it every day. it is quite possible that i have dropped in the sink a couple of times... maybe even once in dirty dishwater. and it still looks good as new.

so not only are you getting a really cool and totally unique product - this thing will stand the absolute test of time - meaning that it will make a great keepsake or hand-me-down for your kiddos. pretty cool huh!

and guess what - jennifer is going to give you guys a chance to own one of your very own!



jennifer is graciously giving away a $25 credit to her store which will cover the cost of one 3.5 x 5 carving or can be used towards one of the larger items as well! just use the rafflecopter widget below to enter and win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


disclosure: i was provided with a product of my own to review by fadeless memories. these are my own opinions of the product. i truly only represent people and bloggers that i stand behind 100%!

five tips on blog sponsorship

what's up?? this post was originally posted on the hollie rogue but i really wanted to share it with you guys here too! plus i have several new followers (hello new friends!) so i wanted to introduce myself and tell you a bit about me! :) xoxo

hey everyone! i'm skye but you can call me rindercella! :) i blog about inspiration, random life stuff, and my love of all things handmade over at neathering our fest and sell my custom upcycled artwork in my shop, thumbprint designs. i live in louisiana with my hubby chris and our two furbabies, rebel and sadie. life is crazy, busy, and hectic for us but at the same time, awesome, beautiful, and full of blessings.



i'm very excited to be here today! andi is such a sweet girl and i'm always inspired by her heart for our Lord. i've known about andi's blog since i started blogging and trading ad spots - she was one of the first girls that traded spots with me! i have recently started purchasing ad spots for my shop on different blogs and when i asked around about where i should invest my money, the hollie rogue was mentioned. over and over. so here i am, very happily sponsoring this little blog that i also happen to enjoy reading every day. it is a win/win for me.

in the same vein of sponsorship, even though i'm very new at this whole gig, i wanted to share a few tips that i think have helped me get more out of sponsoring other blogs. by no means am i an expert but these are things i thought about before deciding where to sponsor and did once i decided.

1. start with swapping

i have been swapping ads with people on my blog for quite some time now. i will continue to swap ads for quite some time as well. swapping ads has helped me learn how much work goes into having ads on your blog. there is information to gather, promoting to do, and another fifty extra emails in your in box every month. because i swap ads myself, i truly understand what goes in to it and all the extra work that comes with it. it makes me really appreciate all the work that the blogs i sponsor do for me. it also helps me see how i actually get my money's worth out of it!


**check out their sponsor page for stats, testimonials, and prices. i check every blog i visit's sponsor page because you never know when you will find a great blog to sponsor!**

2. compare prices + perks

there are so so so many blogs and websites and platforms where you can advertise your shop or blog. they range in prices from a few dollars a month to the thousands. clearly - the thousands is out of my range! i set myself a very small but workable budget for each month until i have drummed up enough business to advertise on larger blogs later. so i sat down one day and asked where i should invest my money. i took the list of people i was given and looked at their prices, the perks that came with those prices, and explored their blogs a little to see how actively engaged their readers were. here are a few specific things i looked for:

a >> how many comments were they getting on each post? i know that the number of followers they have doesn't matter if their readers are actually engaged in the content. the more comments, the more i figure the readers actually read and the more interactive i assume the blogger must be.

b >> how are they currently promoting other advertisers? i scrolled through their tweets and facebook page, looking for links to products and posts.

c >> check out one of their giveaways. how many entries are there? how does the post look? is your product going to be displayed with a nice description? overall - do you just jive with the feel of how they run their giveaways? it is important that they support you and display you in a positive light - after all you are giving them your hard earned money, right?


**these are the perks and prices for andi's blog (if you didn't already know them). lots of bloggers offer many different ways to advertise your shop and will be willing to work with any new ideas you might have too!**

3. check out who they sponsor

most bloggers i know invest their sponsorship money into bigger blogs, resulting in more traffic for them which eventually trickles down to me. since i don't have any sponsor income coming in, i want to make sure i know where blogs i sponsor choose to invest their (my) money! i'm getting double the sponsorship (sometimes triple, depending on where they sponsor) for a fraction of the price. it is definitely worth looking into. and if you can't tell where they sponsor, do not be afraid to ask. again i say - you are giving them your hard earned money, you deserve to know where it is going, right?

4. engage with their readers.

so many times in the past i have put my button on a blog and then forgotten about it. i check my stats at the end of the month (and only once a month otherwise i drive myself crazy) and i only look at one thing: did i get any hits from blogs i invested money in/swapped with? it took me about three months to realize that the blogs i didn't interact with produce very little, if any, traffic. but blogs that i advertised on that i commented on their posts, engaged with the owner on twitter and facebook, and took an interest in produced more traffic for me.

if you are actively engaged in a blog, why not sponsor it? in the same frame of mind, if you are sponsoring a blog, why not be actively engaged in it? you will be a somewhat familiar face over there and people will begin to recognize you as "oh that girl with that shop! she seems nice/thoughtful/etc. maybe i should check her out?!"


**shameless plug for the travel tips series i've got going on over at my blog!**

5. ask them for help.

do you have a cool series coming up? are you introducing a sweet new item in your shop? maybe there is an awesome giveaway happenin on your blog. do not be afraid to ask for help in spreading the word about these things. you have paid your money to these blogs you are sponsoring, so you are basically hiring them to help market you and your awesomeness, right? the worst they can do is say no and if it is something as simple as sharing a quick link or tweeting about your new product, then i'm pretty sure they will be willing to help you out!

6. provide feedback

(yep - you get a freebie!) once the month is over, email these ladies who have helped you out all month and tell them THANK YOU! if you have done your homework and been active around their blog then you have probably just received the result of a lot of hard work on their part and they deserve it! tell them where you saw increases and when, what worked and what didn't. if there is one thing bloggers love - that is feedback! we can't really tell who clicks where and when they do and who uses that discount code as the host sponsor. but you can and that feedback is essential! they can provide better services for bloggers in the future because of what we tell them and we all want better blogs to sponsor, right? ;)



thanks for stopping by today! :) i'm excited to meet you and say hi so leave your blog link in the comments and i will come visit you! i hope you have learned something and if you have something to share i'd love to read about it in the comments! what is your favorite blog to sponsor??