Tuesday 18 January 2011

Beauty & Bloggers!

Blogging is so trendy these days! Every minute, a blog is born in some part of the world! People blog for different reasons, mine being enjoying writing! Many of you keep boosting my ego saying I write well, thank you for that! Not that I missed product reviews, but the core reason I came back to blogging after a long hiatus was I missed writing terribly!

To be honest, I didnt want to be a beauty blogger in the beginning! Shocker? Now you know the reason for my blog's name! Identity is one thing I dont compromise on! I wanted my blog to be random about everything under sun that involves me, but my blog later turned out to be a beauty blog for unexpected reasons!

The journey so far was memorable as I discovered great bunch of virtual friends! I hardly know them, but they inspire me in lot of ways! No names, but they are the ones that keep me going! There are things in every aspect of life which are not documented any where, but you learn only from experience! I thought they might help others, especially if you are about to start! I dont mind if you call it the Guide To Blogging! In fact, many of these are from my own experience!

Make sure what do you want your blog to be about! Name it accordingly! Not that it should be that way, but it looks apt for a beauty blog to carry a name accordingly! Unlike mine! Why? You dont want to change your blog name often and keep updating your friends! It can be irritating after an extent!

Blogging is not about followers! Please! Do not visit blogs for that purpose and leave messages on random blogs! Never start the conversation saying "Lovely blog! Just found! Please find time to visit my blog!" Such a bad one-liner! We all know we abandon such blogs if they dont respond! Or they follow yours, but you dont find time to follow them! Or you follow them only if they follow yours! Why? It degrades your skills! Everybody is blessed with talent, but different aspect may be! Followers and regular comments mean a lot as they inspire you, of course! Let things take their own course, instead! Leave your blog link on their blogs, rather! Not everybody can trace back your blogs with your comments! If they find your blog good enough, they will definitely extend the courtesy of following you back! Some might even go to the extent of making a special post about a new-found blog!

Unless the blogger is hyper-friendly, you need not know more than what the bloggers wish to reveal about themselves! The more you wish to know, the sour the reply will be! Worst case, you might be ignored! For instance, "Would love to know your name or more about you!" Why? The more you are ignored, the more you get hurt! Who wants that? Nobody deserves hurt!

Wait till the blogger responds to your comment! No reply to your comment on my blog doesnt mean I ignore you or I dont wish to reply! It might be for many reasons! See if the blogger is active for a while! Such cases, better mail your questions! You will surely get a response sooner or later, unless the blogger is in a remote place without basic facilities like internet! Never think negative!

Give Away! One thing I dont bother about! Bloggers give away free stuff to a set of winners! The rule for entry being you following, commenting often and posting about the Give Away on your blog so your followers too get to know about their blog! Every blogger has a set of different rules for their Give Away, National or Inter-national! Its just fun, but dont take part unless you are super-sportive! Just because bloggers dont notice, its not fair to subscribe during Give Away and unsubscribe later! Dont blame bloggers as winners are selected on a random basis! Why? I assume there are sensitive people around like me if they dont make it!

Never make your blog a debate-platform! Nasty, aye! This applies to you and your followers, too! Dont let people misuse your space! For instance, dont let some C speak about B on A's blog justifying who's better around! Your friend need not be mine! Why? Things as such do not make a huge difference in anybody's life! Good or bad! What's the point, then?

Treat others the way you wish to be treated! Good happens only to good! What goes around comes around definitely, one day or the other! Consider Internet a platform to make virtual friends and maintain good rapport! Why justify blogger A just listening to blogger B whom you hardly know either? Dont get influenced in a bad way! Know the person in real! If you cannot, dont develop hatred towards that blogger! We are all here for fun, sharing our knowledge! Let nothing spoil the sport! Listen to your gut! If you suspect a foul play anywhere, kindly ignore such places! Hope for peace and happiness around! That happens only when you spread some on your own! Not a Herculean task, right?

Just because your favorite blogger does huge hauls all the time, doesnt mean its time you do the same! We all have our budget limits! For instance, not every teenager can afford high-end brands! Especially, the word "Limited Edition" puts hell lot of pressure! There is nothing as "Never comes back"! Cult favorites remain forever where as limited editions come back as repromotions some way or the other! You might miss some that way, but there is no harm in looking out for the exact shade in other brands instead! Nothing is worth your hard-earned! Unless you are a professional and you know your things!

Dont just stick to one brand just because the other blogger talks only about that! Keep trying new brands you have super-sensitive skin! Who knows what lies where! High-end always doesnt mean it should meet your expectations and match you exactly! There are wonder products from budget-friendly brands, too! Explore and do your own research if you cannot find great reviews!

Dont shop online unless you hardly bother about scams! Not every website out there is a genuine one! Your fellow bloggers are always there to help you, so find out the best available! Regarding E-Bay, find about particular sellers! Some sites charge you a bomb for shipping, so its better you cross-check with your friends! Particular time of the year like New Year, X-mas or holidays, you might get lucky with free shipping! Wait till then, if you can!

Try to visit and comment your follower's blogs often if not regularly! We all have our own reasons for being busy, but make sure you extend the courtesy! No harm in leaving a friendly mail once in a while to your blogger friends! If you are sure about their special days, better leave them a mail instead! A message on social networking site means they are just somebody from the lot, but a mail means they are special! My way of staying in touch with friends need not necessarily be yours, so its up to you to choose!

No harm in posting updates about all brands, especially new launches! But review your own products, tested and tried! If you are too busy to take pictures of the products reviewed and wish to pick from the internet, extend the courtesy of linking back! You can mention the site name, at least! Last but not the least, do not blog for freebies! I can't exaggerate about this, so its for you understand!

P.S -  We all get hurt at some point of our lives, but time and tide waits for none! Move on! Nothing stays forever! Always remember, "Nobody is worth your tears! If they are, they dont hurt you!" Be good to friends and ignore those you consider unfriendly! If you cant be close friends with some hundreds, at least be nice to every one! Dont even think of the word "Enemy", not even in your dreams! It literally ruins everything! I dont make the rules, so you decide how you wish to survive around! You all will get to know more once blogging gets into your nerves! Good luck is all I can say! Shivani @ Adorable On Your Vanity passively inspired me to post this! I owe you, honey!

13 comments:

  1. Great post Divs! Very good advice there :)

    ♥xx♥

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  2. Excellent! Divija,the post looks very genuine & straight from the heart! I loved the 10th paragraph!
    I liked this part " Treat others the way you wish to be treated! Good happens only to good! What goes around comes around definitely, one day or the other! "
    Thanks!
    Uzma

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  3. boy oh boy blogging ettiquetes! seriously you are to the point n straight forward :)

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  4. Awesome post Divija!!! Each word is soo true!!

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  5. thnq all :) was badly waiting for comments on this as i wanted to know how others perceive blogging :)

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  6. You touched on some of the core points which I have been thinking about....the thing which I would like to say is that seeing others do giveaways or hauls definitely puts pressure...not that its the specific blogger's responsibility or that they should be faulted...but it ultimately becomes competition sorts...followers n following is another arena...one-liner comments are a strict no no....they irk bloggers more than providing support ven the comments are something general...
    btw reading other blogs has definitely taken my expenses high :) I don blame it on anyone but myself..its simply too tempting...thats one downside of blogging but then I am fine with it....I am trying to curb it tho :)

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  7. Hey,

    Think my comment was swallowed up :( A very relevant and nice post Divija. Though am not sure everybody is blogging because they are passionate about writing or sharing their knowledge. For some it's just a job or a commercial venture. Nothing wrong with that though, just that a personal touch is never amiss. Because after all people are not going to stay true to you or your blog because of freebies and giveaways, there are a million blogs out there...those were my two bits :)

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  8. swati,

    welcome to my blog. thnq very much for the response. Yes, my expenses have gone up thanks to blogging, but as u said i shd be taking the blame job :) i too call it a downside, but thats how i got to know my staples :)

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  9. Anamika,

    thnq very much for your 2 cents. there is no harm in earning honest :) bcoz its you finally who takes all the effort for the credits...

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  10. hon, i agree 100% with you. Blogging has changed so much lately and some of us went through so many changes while you were gone...now that you are back, I think you know what you are up for and how it will be. I missed you. xo

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  11. lovely post divs .. how come I missed this .. glad to read and will try to improve myself wherever i lack ...

    loved it :)

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  12. heylo.. even i just started with blogging i do want to review beauty products, but dont want it to be a hardcore beauty blog either.. uff..really needed guidance... thanks a ton..:)

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