Social media – Lifexperiment Blog

Influencers Behaving Badly in Difficult Times

Influencers. Instagram, blogs, tv personalities… We see them everywhere!

What makes an ‘influencer’? How do we know those? Well, we know them by the amazing numbers of follows, array of product reviews and promotions, and generally the amazing content that is shared.

Influencers come in a variety. For example, some might consider me as an ‘influencer’ because of this blog and the fact that I do sometimes share promotions or reviews. However, I do not consider myself as such because speaking the truth, I am not making not one cent of profit from this blog. And the fact that I more feel like I am having a nice chat with friends here, as opposed to writing at you and expecting you to adore me for everything I say. *Hah! It would be so odd if that happened!

The influencers I am referring to particularly today though are those highly popular influencers who are publishing that kind of content that makes us all envious and long for a lifestyle that’s similar. You know the ones – the ones making many thousands in a month and traveling, shopping, eating and visiting the spa all for free + big pay! The person who is able to make this kind of luxury living a profitable job, is rare. And these are the influencers to which I am talking about today.

I have been disgusted to read that influencers have taken to asking their readers for gifts and donations. There is no nice way to say it. This is not something that should be happening! Especially when these influencers have been making far more money than the average person who has helped to make them famous, the thought that they would actually expect more from people than they have already given, is difficult to understand. Even more difficult to understand is how their followers aren’t making A LOT of noise about it.

Whether one is a highly popular influencer or just starting out, asking others for financial help when the world has found itself in an anxiety-inducing downward spiral of economic depression, is not acceptable! I truly think, that especially in times like these, asking for money is one of the most selfish things a person could do. We understand, we all need to pay the bills. But if you weren’t able to save enough money from your 10 000- 50 000 monthly pay to keep you continuing for many months in a situation when money is not coming in, then that really isn’t anyone’s responsibility but your own.

Maybe I can’t be objective about it because I never had a pay coming from the site, so I don’t expect anything different now. But in my mind, I would rather have no money but a genuine relationship with my readers, as opposed to begging people who are quite many of them, having very bad money situations of their own.

There is benefit in appreciating what one already has.

-Mliae

Bad Blogger? Why I Don’t Keep A Mailing List and Other Items.

Google anything about blogging and the one item you will see that every ‘successful’ blogger must have, is a mailing list. Why? Why are mailing lists such a key item? Because it seems that I should take your loyal readership to the next level and….start sending you private emails to sell you things. Ah. Ok, so this is how those high-level bloggers are able to pay their bills. Hmm…I think that not for me.

Would I like to make money blogging? Of course. Do I? No. (Any rare benefits from affiliate links are used to maintain this beautiful website.) WordPress sends my subscribers an email of posts. I think that is enough email you are receiving from me, no? Who wants a follow-up asking you to buy my course (in…I don’t know what)? Mmmmm….nobody wants that. I don’t want that. So, please have comfort knowing that the only use your email has here is that WordPress emails you my updated posts so you don’t have to get yourself here to read them.

The next must for any successful blogger is…..Social Media. I know, I know, a blog is social media. Apparently, I’m also supposed to be sharing every moment of my daily life on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, jne. Ugh. No. I often wonder if people’s lives are truly that interesting, or if they are actually do many of these activities only to provide content on social media. That seems like quite a bit of pressure to be a much more interesting person than I actually am. Also, I take horrible photos. My photography skills need much improvement, and for some reason, whenever I am in front of the camera – I have a need to make stupid faces.

Also, we are supposed to ask all of our friends and family to follow our blogs. I just….can’t. I know that I am not alone in this. I think that many bloggers don’t tell people they are blogging. There are quite many reasons for this that I understand totally. This topic is a post by itself. (One which I will be writing at some time.)

I have questions. So many questions. Can a blog be successful without trying to force it to be so? What even is a successful blog? And is it something that I want, even? I blog because, well, for me its like having a coffee with a friend. It’s just a bit of a mystery which friend I am talking to – until I read the comments of the friend talking back to me. I can write about my wishes, my difficulties, the odd things I think are funny and the topics that interest me. And you…you either schedule interest for a different day (different topic) or stay and discuss with me about it. That’s the thing. So I have trouble to understand why all of these – ‘have to’s’ – are required.

Is it just me?

-Mliae

The Blogger That Doesn’t Love Social Media

Good evening all,

Social media is a thing. A big thing that has really made itself a ‘must’ in our modern world. So what do you do when….you aren’t just loving it? Is it even allowed to not be a huge fan of social media? Or must we all be living by our smart phones 24-7?

I’m not averse to all social media. Twitter I check on sometimes. Vero I have actually found myself liking, but still maybe on a bi-weekly basis. But when it comes to things like Instagram or Facebook, I’m just not that interested. I’ve been thinking about this quite often. As in, why? I did, formerly, spend quite a bit of time on social media. But then I seem to have hit a time in my life where I just began wondering if it really is as important as (the mysterious) they say. I think that the reason may be a combination between the impulsive need to overshare every aspect of ones life with the world with the fact that people’s lives on social media are, for the most part, complete falsehood.

I’m a blogger. I love blogging. This is my happy place. Which is what makes this so weird, because I love oversharing about my life, here, on the blog. But I do not like sharing my personal world with social media. One would ask themselves, what is the difference between sharing your personal life on the internet, and sharing your personal life on…well, the internet? And that person would win, because I do not know.

Having said that; While I do try to keep this blog as realistic to my life as possible, I do not share every small strange thing that happens during my day either. I am certain that if you, my readers, realized what a boring person I can be, that on some days I forego the heels/designer/makeup all together and opt for a rather ‘do you have a hangover?’ look, or how hilarious I find fart jokes, you would abandon me all together in search of someone a bit more ‘presentable’. (I really hope not!) But I feel like you know me, here. You know my interests, you know that I am camera shy, you know that I stumble in heels sometimes, that I am a fail with domestic duties and that I cannot seem to be able to follow a proper recipe. And yet, you still create a community with me here. (Thank you!!!) So, I can be me here.

However on social media, especially Instagram & FB, its all about the image. Yes, we can all take a 1 second photo of ourselves in perfect hair and make-up and heels, before life makes us normal people again. But is that really the healthiest version of ourselves to share with the world? And what about the pressure to continue the performance once our 1 second photo becomes old? Oh, you want another one? A different location? I’m a traveller now, no, I’m a glamour mom, oops, I’m a pilot! And once that gets old? Lunch…here’s my lunch! Let’s be honest people: Does anyone actually want to see what kind of food blob I have on my plate?? No. I didn’t think so. And I just cannot keep up pretense. This puts me in a difficult position because I love my blog and the internet says I need to be as active as possible on social media because I want people to read my blog. Hmph. I think I will just stay with blogging, thank you. (Also, thank you to those of you who do share my blog posts on twitter!)

In a world where it is becoming increasingly unpopular for one to be themselves & hold their own thoughts, wouldn’t it be nice to just be boring, weird selves?

-Mliae

Lifexperiment Blog Has Been Nominated For Best Lifestyle Blog At The Annual Bloggers Bash 2019! #bloggersbash

This is exciting! 😀 😀 😀

Very, very cool! I am all smiles at the moment 😀 😀 😀 You can imagine my reaction when I looked at my email yesterday evening and noticed an email from Bloggers Bash. I have seen some of the posts about Bloggers Bash shared on some of my favourite sites, so I knew it was a real thing. At first, I didn’t completely understand what was happening. And then…Eureka!

Speaking the truth, I really don’t know how to react. This is the first actual blog award I have ever been nominated for, so I am surprised, stupid happy and many other things which I am unable to describe at the moment. I guess ‘can’t find words’ is true in this case. (I always wondered how that was possible, now I know!) I also spent most of last evening dancing around and annoying my husband. I think I mentioned this at least 30 times. Today I will mention it more, but I did not receive the email until it was already evening. 😉

So here’s the thing: Some of you actually nominated me! (Yes, I checked the site to make sure I didn’t actually nominate myself in some weird early morning stupor. I didn’t. It’s impossible.) So to whoever of you nominated me, A VERY BIG THANK YOU!! I cannot believe it! As a blogger, having someone appreciate our work enough to nominate us for an actual award means so very much. Especially when there are days when all of us wonder if anyone is actually reading our posts. 😀 So Happy….SSSSOOOOO HAPPY!

The email told that voting does not happen for awhile yet. I will, of course, let you know when voting begins. Because, well…now that I’m in this thing, I think we should do this!

Thank you to everyone in my blog family for making this such an awesome place to be!

Stoopid happy

-Mliae

Dressember: Ladies and Gentleman, Please Give This a Glance!

Has anyone here heard of Dressember? I had not. Not until I went on a Ted talk binge watch and heard from the founder of Dressember. It is a fantastic idea and this year, I will be participating!

The central idea behind Dressember is to raise awareness, as well as donations to combat modern day slavery. Yes, slavery still exists and in many forms throughout the world. The point is to wear a dress for women, or a tie for men, every day for the 31 days of December. Why? Because people take notice and its a conversation starter. This gives one the opportunity to tell about Dressember and all the good things you are hoping to do!

The Dressember website has published their research, as well as a thorough accounting for each step of the process. Because of this, I have selected to raise $7,000. This is a huge amount, and I’m not sure that I can do it. However, this amount will cover the entire process for 1 person. That process includes paying for the actual rescue and recovery, plus housing, aftercare funds, and what is necessary to get this rescued person back into life. Their life. A life of freedom. And all the help, psychological and otherwise, that this person may need. So, after knowing all that, it seems worth it to really work hard to raise this money.

My plea to you is this: Please consider joining this movement for the month December. I have set up a team page (I have linked to it below). I would love to have you join my team, or at the very least, check out the Dressember website and make your own mind about it. I feel as if we make a team effort of this, we may actually reach this goal!

Please, I would love for you to join me in this! I have a team page set up here and would love for you to join my team!

So, I will be promoting Dressember and participating in by wearing my dress every day in December (yes, I will take pics)! I have also donated, of course.

I am tagging some good friends in the blogosphere here, in hopes that we can conquer this together! Please forgive me if I am overstepping here. This is the 1st post I have ever done of this kind in 3+ years of blogging and I would never go so far as to plead unless it was a cause that I truly believe in. And in this, I do!

I hope that these friends will join me in this endeavor and I hope that you do too!

Jess at Grubbing with Jess

Leggy Peggy

Antonio at The Struggle

Jennie at a Teacher’s Reflections

S R Bottch at S’amusing

MSW blog

Bobbi Blogger

Brigid at Watching the Daisies

Spiritual Journey Blog

Derrick Knight from Ramblings

I will be posting regular updates throughout the month of December which will include photographic evidence of my daily dress as well as possibly spotlighting some ethical, sustainable and slow fashion items from companies around the world.

I do hope you will all give this challenge some thought. I wish you a magical December and a great day!

Let’s go Lifexperiment team for Dressember! Hope to see you there!

-Mliae

*My feature photo dress from Love Justly sustainable fashion

Two Types of Affiliate Marketing: An Avenue to Earn Money Blogging Around the World

Hi there 🙂

Today, I want to talk about something I know most of us are wondering about. That something is an avenue for income in the blogging world.

Now, if you are in the U.S.A., your options are basically unlimited. There are too many platforms to mention that cater specifically to the American market. For the rest of us lone bloggers looking for the odd sponsor or affiliate, things get much more complicated. In my 3 years of blogging, I have discovered that it is very difficult to find companies that want to work with someone in a random part of the world. Most want to corner the American market. For those platforms which occasionally have a desire for the European market, it seems to be either France or the UK which they are focused on. I understand entirely, the marketing aspect of this. However it can be quite stress-inducing for a blogger not located in the USA, UK or France to find platforms which would fit their demographic. Anyway. I have found several platforms with which affiliate marketing is possible for all of us everywhere, and I have found a couple platforms which are looking for bloggers all over the world for specific posts. This is what I wanted to share. I know that I have spent many hours of frustration that could have easily been avoided if I had found a post like mine.

So here goes:

For example shareasale.com is a great site if you are looking to connect with a variety of companies that are looking for affiliates worldwide. This is strictly affiliate marketing. Share A Sale offers competitive commissions and unlimited access to apply with their companies.

Another great platform, which is relatively new is Get Blogged. This platform allows you to apply for multiple individual paid placement opportunities. It seems that Get Blogged mainly has opportunities in the UK, however there are placement opportunities globally, you just have to keep an eye out for them.

Hope this helps!

-Mliae

*Photo sourced via Pixabay

The 2 Types of Shoes Women Should Never Buy

Hi there 🙂

Today, I’m on a mission to save your money and your ankles.

I’m sure that this will most likely result in a loss of any possible affiliate connections with fashionable shoe companies for the foreseeable future. But, to be quite honest with you, having a bit of dignity and a good reputation for honesty here, far outweighs any monetary advances. After all, this is what I seek to do…right?

As I am always browsing blogs, fashion archives and the like – the other day, I was astonished to find an article by a fashionable young woman, telling me that I should wear (exactly one of the items that I’m about to rant against) and nothing else. I could not believe what I was reading. But it continued. And so did my desire to correct it. So, here I am!

As someone who has spent a good portion of my life investing in quality purchases (and quite a few trends), I’m here to do you a service…one which I wish someone had done for me, years ago. That service is to tell you, you are wasting your time with these two types of shoe purchase… and WHY.

Mules. I love a slim-lined shoe more than anyone! There is really only 1 reason to stay away from mules and that is….
- Your ankles. Shoes need ankle support of some kind. True, flip-flops and sandals…I get it. But mules always have a bit of a heel. Meaning that A) you can only shuffle forward and B) One tiny misstep and you’re in the ER with a fractured or twisted ankle.

Translucent plastic of any kind on a shoe. Don’t do it! Kardashians be damned. Remember that marketing is exactly that…marketing. Don’t believe for a moment that these women are actually walking around in these shoes. Here’s a few reasons why:
- Plastic acts like a green house for your feet. Trust me, 1 hour in and your shoes will be fogged up and dripping down. (Eeeewwww!)
- The get gunky so fast! Feet, people. No matter how clean we keep them, if we’re sweating in plastic, its going to get nasty.
- It’s virtually impossible to clean the plastic bits. For one, plastic absorbs ick and you can never get it out 100%.
- If the bacteria doesn’t bother you, the toe marks might. There’s nothing more horrid than taking off your fashionable shoes only to have marks of the tops of your toes remaining – and some dirt thrown in. Translucent shoes have to be kept immaculate in order to look ad-ready. That kind of immaculate means daily upkeep. Are you ready to invest that kind of time into a pair of kicks? Yeah, me neither.

Anyone else have a ‘No-Go’ shoe type? Please let us know!

Thanks for reading

-Mliae

*Photo sourced via Pexels

A different type of hoard

Hi there 🙂

As many of you know, when in need of some serious cleaning motivation, I watch hoarders (or a derivative thereof). Usually it only takes about 10 minutes for me to jump up and start frantically cleaning.

Today was no exception. However, this episode was so different than usual, I actually watched the whole thing through. I guess what set it apart was that it really WAS a collection. Granted, a collection which lookup 3 houses and they couldn’t afford the mortgage, but a collection nonetheless. It was really interesting to me to see how this was hoarding. I mean, its clearly hoarding, but…. Organized hoarding. Or, as it was referred to – hoarding for the wealthy.

It’s very rare that I post links – especially to youtube. I think this is the 3rd time in 2 years. I know that some of you are in the same ‘hoarders and panic clean’ boat as I am, so I felt the need to share the link. Maybe you’ll be as fascinated as I was.

S09 E01 Linda & Lonnie

Anyone else seen a memorable hoarding episode?

-Mliae

Is it just me, or do you currently dread reading the daily news too?

Hello there sunshine-y people 🙂

I am generally a pretty happy person. I’m slow in the mornings, but I have a routine that helps me get both eyes open. I wake up, stumble into the kitchen for coffee (which my hubby lovingly has ready and waiting…Love that guy!) I sit at the table and sip and mumble, and then when I find myself alone, I open my pc and read the world news. I have done this for as long as I can remember everyday before work and it’s nice to go about my day not wondering if I’m in the dark about something that will have an affect on my day. It wakes me up, gets me going and makes me happy.

But now, I have to vent. I just have to do it. For months now, reading the news (World & local) feels more like I’m getting a damage report, and less like I’m in the know. I mean really. I dread opening my PC some mornings now. I just don’t want to know. The entire world is in upheaval, or so it seems. I know that much of it is sensationalism, and globalism. Horrible things have always happened, but we haven’t always had that information at our fingertips. But, it seems like good things don’t happen anymore. I know they do, and there has to be somewhere I can find happy news. Isn’t there?

I keep a close watch on economic and marketing trends, so its not like I can just stick my head in the sand and pretend the world doesn’t exist. But seriously, I feel like I’m watching the world burn everyday after breakfast. What is this all about?

Is it just me, or are you feeling this way too?

-Mliae

*Photo source: Imgur

Look at my perfect life!

Say goodbye to your budget, Instagram just made it easier to buy the products you love to love

As of next week, Instagram will be doing a test run with 20 U.S. retailers, that will enable viewers to shop on instagram. From what I see, this test run will only apply to iOS users in the Continental United States. But I think that you know as well as I do, that this will be an international happening open to all retailers, in just a matter of time.

This is how it’s supposed to go down: Normally, when you see a picture of an item you fall in love with, its easy to practice some self control merely by not being able to hunt down the item that moment. Well, say goodbye to this self control. Now, viewers will be able to expand the picture, see item details such as fabric content, size and price. Some retailers will be allowed to include a ‘shop now’ button on the description which will take the viewer directly to the purchase point. Viola! Instant, Instagram gratification!

In my opinion, this will again change the way that social media is used as we know it. Influencers will have more influence (we all know how gorgeous that glamazon 20-something looks in a sweater that makes most of us look like grannies. Now we can buy it while still on the photo high). Promo code purchases will escalate and our savings will gradually…dwindle. I equate this move to being able to purchase direct while reading Vogue magazine (the actual paper one). Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous… And a potential goldmine for those precious few select retailers and those they employ to market them.

The upside? Shopping with your friends 😉

Who knows? Maybe it will find itself in the same situation as Facebook marketing. More annoying to its users than beneficial. I guess we’ll soon see!

What do you think about this little marketing test?

-Mliae

My unsolicited advice to beginning bloggers

Hi there, and thanks for stopping by to scan my unsolicited advice for beginning bloggers post! Now, I am well aware that this post is a bit of a risk. I am not a professional blogger, and I absolutely do not claim to have a plethora of knowledge on the subject. I definitely don’t want to come across as saying ‘blog like me’. The reason I felt compelled to write this post (and am a bit nervous as to how this will be perceived) is that, well, honestly, I’m big on etiquette. As in – saying ‘Please’, ‘Thank you’, ‘May I’ and telling someone when they have something in their teeth. I’ve spent a lot of time cringing at posts with something in their teeth. Although I’m sure that there are plenty of people out there who cringe at some of my posts with the same vigor.

As a blogger – that seems to have been around for awhile (comparatively speaking, as this article from 29 August, 2016 states that the current average lifespan of a blog is only 100 days…That is dismal.) This article has a few theories on why blogs don’t seem to last so long anymore. Anywho, I digress….

A bit about me: When I began blogging, I didn’t really know if anyone would even be interested in what I have to say. After all, it’s a mishmash of all things ‘my life’. Travel, thoughts, home reno, shopping, spa days, book & product reviews, and just life in general. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for me to make some golden friendships here and honestly, without their help, support & guidance, I think I would have easily foundered by now. I don’t usually write posts about blogging, because well, I am no expert. Just like most everyone else, I have had to learn by trial and error, ask for tons of help, read better blogging posts until my head hurt, and just see what happens over time. Aside from my own mistakes, I have seen several ‘goods’ and ‘bads’ that seem to be a recurrent issue in many of the blogs that I peruse. So, as your sister in the blogosphere, I feel obligated to share my thoughts on things that might help you out a bit. Agree or don’t, its completely up to you. I’m not telling you what you should do with your blog. It’s yours, keep it yours. I know that I scoured thousands of articles on this topic when I was starting out – and continue to today. So here’s a few lessons I’ve learned and would just like to pass on:

Please DO, I think it will help:

Be yourself! Everyone is different and every blogger has their style & preferences. If you do what everyone else does because you think that’s the way things should go, then all blogs would be the same and … that’s no fun.
Write what you are passionate about! People can see your passion and expertise in your posts.
Proofread your posts! If you can’t spend the time to review your writing before hitting the publish button, why should people spend the time out of their lives reading it?
Publish regularly. It doesn’t have to be daily, or even weekly. But you should maintain some sort of schedule. Personally, I now post at least three times weekly. More often if I have more to say. When I began blogging, I posted once weekly. That was enough to slowly build my blog and have the time to learn about what I was doing. Your followers will appreciate your consistency. (It is one of my blogging pet peeves when a blog I follow posts daily, or multiple times per day, and then drops off the planet without any reason given for two months, returns with an apology & 5 posts on the same day. It IS however completely understandable & acceptable if life gets in the way. We all have things to do. Just let people know and it seems to go over better if your posting schedule isn’t totally erratic.). Slow and Steady wins the race.
Set reasonable, yet challenging goals for yourself. For example, my goal was to reach 1,000 WP subscribers in my first year. Not easy, but I knew if I could do it, it was sign that I could continue blogging. It took almost a year to achieve that goal, but once I did – it felt like nothing could stop me. Thanks everybody for THAT! 🙂 🙂
Make sure your Gravitar profile is on-key! Many people will find you through this, so make sure its updated and well kept!
Sync all your social media accounts. I can’t tell you what a time-saver it is to have my posts updated on all accounts the moment they are published.
Make your posts worthy of a life/time investment! There is spending time (wasting time) and there is investing time. The point being, that people are spending time in their lives that is gone – never to return- once it’s spent, reading our blogs. Do we want this to be a waste of their time in life? OF COURSE NOT! This is where the term time investment comes into play. The difference? An investment implies ROI – or return on investment. If someone invests their time reading your article, and comes out of it enriched with something – be it motivation, knowledge, awareness, a smile, an idea or increase in blog traffic – then they have received a solid return on their investment. Well done!
Enroll in everything! Learning is the best way. WordPress Blogging University offers free online courses on a regular basis: Blogging 101, blogging 201, commenting bootcamp, branding & marketing strategies, photography, et al. Follow the link above for the sign-up page. Personally, I never stop learning. I’ve found that the more I learn about blogging, the more I realize I don’t have a clue and need to learn more.
NETWORK! There are constantly sites hosting meet and greets, networking parties, drop your link posts, et al. Do it! This is a great time investment for you! Get to know other bloggers, leave your link, repost the parties and socialize, socialize, socialize! This is hands-down the best way to get your site out there. Personally, I have followed hundreds of new sites I found on these parties that I never would have known existed otherwise.
Be considerate of your fellow bloggers. New, old and indifferent – we are ALL here to accomplish something. A large percentage of your subscribers are fellow bloggers. They are investing in you, you should invest in them. Take the time to check out their sites. Like or comment if you find a post you like.
Sharing is caring. If you stumble across a blog post that is wonderful and you think your followers would love to read it, share! However, please always ask in the comments section before you reblog or wp it. Some bloggers love to be shared, some don’t. So make sure first. Personally, I love it when someone deems my work worthy of a good share 😉 Also, when you share the post, make sure to thank the original blogger in the additional area for an introductory comment. Respect for others is key!

Please DON’T:

Sweat SEO. The search engines will pick up your articles at some point. I’m still pleasantly surprised when I see search engine views on my stats page.
Post more than twice daily (Unless you are an incredibly popular site (in excess of several thousand followers) news site or a massive site which has multiple bloggers publishing articles – then it’s a whole new ballgame and post away!) The reason for this is that it appears (to me) as though you are only inundating the web with links, photos or little snippets in order to attract more traffic to your site. Trust me, its obvious. Quantity does not mean Quality. Not to mention it gunks up people’s email inboxes. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. There are at least 5 blogs that I follow which post good quality posts, multiple times a day. But I can tell you as someone who spends a lot of time reading blogs, that this is the exception more than the rule.
Post the link to your site in the comment section of other blogs, unless it has been specifically requested. (My other major blogging pet peeve) It’s spammy, and many bloggers, including myself, will just delete it. Other people’s blogs are not your free marketing arena. People can find their way to your site via your profile name and gravitar profile which is displayed with your comments. Plus, there is always a networking party to be found where you are encouraged to drop your link. But as for comment spamming: Seriously, please, don’t do it. Send an email if you truly want to thank people for following. Comments are great! Please just don’t use them to direct traffic to your own site.
Put all your stock in numbers. True, stats are important. And the difference between 200 followers and 2,000 is huge. However, its the quality of traffic that really matters. Go with the 10% rule (personally, I think more like %6 is more realistic). Meaning: Only an average of 10% of your subscribers will actually see or like your post. Interaction is huge! If you have a higher ratio of views, likes and comments – then you have high quality traffic. A person with 200 followers can get 70 likes on a great article and a person will 2,000 followers can get 30. This is what I mean.
Let your ambition turn you into a naive nut. This is the internet. There are predators out there and we are prime prey. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If a company you’ve never heard of contacts you, do some research before replying. And NEVER-EVER pay to be an ambassador or freely hand out your personal information for anything! Companies will contact you in time, don’t you worry. Looking for fresh talent is what people do for a full-time job.
Play the follow/unfollow game. This is not instagram. You can’t expect likes & follows in return, although many people respect others enough to do so. But also because professional and business bloggers, as well as those who have popular blogs are paying a small fortune for self hosting domains with all the bells and whistles – which include google analytics. Many watch the numbers very closely, as it tells what we are doing wrong: navigation and the like. So, WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Nobody likes a cheater, so please stop doing it. Be legit, or be gone. (Another pet-peeve: on all platforms, the people who do this are kind of A-holes, in my personal opinion. I always make sure that I do NOT follow or like any of those who play this follow/unfollow game…I don’t care how great your content is.)
Invest too much money until you know where you’re going with this. I realize that this is difficult at times. We all need hosting, new programs, cameras, products and the like. Fake it, till you make it…right? BUT what happens if you spend yourself into oblivion and then decide 4 months later that blogging isn’t for you? Remember your ROI. You are left with a pile of investment and no return.
Drink and blog. Seriously. Yes, you will regret that rant in the morning. We all know you were wasted because it looks like you were typing with your face. Sleep it off and rant in the morning.

Please Remember:

Quantity is not Quality. Quality is better.
Remember who your friends are, they are golden.
Gain a thirst for knowledge
Sharing is caring!
ROI on your followers time investment.
It’s not all about numbers
If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
Be legit, or be gone
Respect for others is key!
Enjoy yourself!

Thanks for reading, everyone! If you have any more advice you would like to add, please leave it in the comments section so we can all see!

Feel free to share this post if you would like 🙂

– Mliae

What’s with all the Turkey Posts today?

Good morning, all!

As I was scrolling through my email, instagram and followed blogs this morning, I began noticing a common theme: Turkeys.

Turkeys?!? Why? Did I miss something or somehow otherwise pull a Rip Van Winkle last night? You know, go to bed in October with all the ghouls and spooky stuff, Wake up in November with all things …Thanksgiving?

What’s with all the Turkeys?! Seriously, please enlighten me.

-Mliae

Update: Thanks to the very friendly blogger over at The Analyzed Life , I just learned that today is Canadian Thanksgiving! So THAT explains all the turkeys in my feed. Thank you for enlightening me 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving, Canada!

Networking Party: Come on in!

This is only the second blog party I have hosted. However, I thought that due to my upcoming bloggaversary of my first year blogging, that it’s the perfect time to host a Par-tay!!

Everyone here has made it possible for me to continue blogging and I would like to give you a sincere ‘Thank You!’ for being awesome!

The gig is pretty simple:

Say hello and drop your link in the comments below
Don’t be a wall flower, meet some people! Eat, chat, drop some rhymes or funny anecdotes and enjoy yourself!

Reblog this post on your site, the more, the merrier!
Grab some hors d’oeuvres & a glass of bubbly, then check out some of the other sites 🙂

Enjoy yourself!

I’ll be hosting this party for the next few days, so don’t be shy!

So here we are, let’s party!

-Mliae

Let’s Connect!

Hello my fellow bloggers and followers!

I’ve been wanting to create a networking post for awhile now. Today is the day! The longer I blog, the more I realize how saturated the blogosphere really is. With so many blogs out there and social media accounts…some for beginners, some for lifers and a multitude in between, its really difficult to expand our horizons or to follow our already beloved bloggers via other forms of social media. That is my motivation for this.

In the past several months, I have noticed a couple of my very considerate fellow bloggers trying tirelessly to create some kind of arena in which we can all get involved to not only promote ourselves and share our other social media accounts with those who might actually wish to be more actively involved, but find new and interesting blogs to check out as well.

So here’s what I’m proposing: Comment with your blog(s) url and additional social media links or handles, that way people can find you. If you follow a new blog or other form of social media, like that persons comment so they know and can look you up as well. Simple as that.

Let’s connect!

Please, comment, share, like and visit 🙂

Here’s my info:

Url: www.lifexperimentblog.com

Please like my Facebook page by clicking here

You can subscribe to my new Youtube channel here

Follow my Instagram: @my_life_is_an_experiment or by clicking here

Twitter handle: @mliaeblog or by clicking here

Reaching me through social media outlets

Social media, social media, social media…. As bloggers that’s a majority of what we’re told we have to do. So, I’ve done it. I really enjoy staying in touch with my fellow bloggers and followers. The more platforms, the better. So I thought I would take a minute to share my contact info.

I’ve been on instagram for awhile now and I must admit that I am addicted. I spend way to much time on that app. You can follow me on Instagram at my_life_is_an_experiment or click here. I always actively follow my fellow bloggers if I just know that its you! 🙂

I recently (as in..yesterday and today) opened a blog twitter and Facebook account.

My twitter handle is: @mliaeblog

My Facebook page can be found here.

Hope to see you outside of wp as well!

Thanks for reading 🙂

Mliae

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