Category Archives: Articles of Importance

How to Grow your Blog Audience

I’ve been thinking about the direction of this blog lately. Trying to decide what I want to get out of this blog, and why you would want to read it. That’s why I’ve been trying to share a bit more, trying to impart some of my wisdom & skills to hopefully help people, and I dunno… just trying to up my game a little where it comes to blogging. I recently bought the Red Velvet Shop blogging e-course and I’ve been plotting how to improve my blog. Maybe I should do a poll about what you’d like to see more of on here?!

IMG 0421 How to Grow your Blog Audience

Where I blog – this is my current workspace, needs tidying!

In the midst of all that it just so happened that a lovely lady named Holly wanted to share her advice and tips on blogging with you all! Perfect timing! Lots of useful tips, advice and suggestions on upping the pace of your blog – Thanks Holly!

dashed How to Grow your Blog Audience

Whether you are new to blogging or have been writing for the internet since Geocities (RIP), one of the hardest things to do is establish and maintain an audience. Five paragraphs of text and some .gifs do not make an exciting blog, at least not anymore. Luckily, if your subject is interesting to readers they will naturally gravitate towards it. The trick is staying relevant to them once they make that initial visit. Some blogs will provide a relevant service for readers like providing custom mixes, or original artwork that the readers come back again and again for. Here are a few tips for making your blog relevant to current and potential readers.

The first rule of blogging is to define your audience. Different tools on the internet, such as Mobile Analytics, allow you to track where your readers are coming from, how they find you and what other sites they are interested in. Being able to track flow in and out of your site, allows you to develop content similar and relevant to those readers. When you write to the masses, won’t they always come back for more? Keeping an audience’s interests in mind just shows your commitment to them as a reader, making them feel like you are blogging just for them.

Next you should blog, but blog well. Imagine your blog is like your own personal magazine and you want to get as many subscriptions as you can. If a magazine focuses on something I love, but looks and reads poorly I will not continue to read it. So if you write your blog, write it well. If it’s a photo blog, make sure your photos are the best they can be, even if that means just uploading high resolution images. Make sure your format is good. Pick a good theme or design a better one.

Update regularly. Nothing turns would-be subscribers off faster than seeing your blog defunct. Frequent updates give readers a reason to keep coming back to your blog. Try setting up a publishing schedule and hold yourself to it. Many blogs publish three times a week and update on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. If that’s too intensive, you can try just Tuesday and Thursday. Whatever timetable you choose, make sure that each post maintains integrity and thoughtfulness and does not turn into a series
of half-effort posts. The point is to have new, interesting content at the same time all the time, so that readers can get familiar with your schedule, look forward to your next update and read happily based on a schedule you’ve created.

A sure-fire tactic for staying relevant is writing about current events as they pertain to your blog. Political blogs have no problem doing this, and music blogs are very good at it as well. Search for news stories about what you’re writing about. If there are big happenings in the world of gerbil farming (that is what your blog is about, right?), report on them!

Diversify content. Blogs are still largely a textual medium, photo blogs and video blogs have become extremely popular. Even the most lexophilic reader needs a break from walls of text. Since many internet users expect a multimeda-infused online experience, link to videos that enrich your topics or serve as a jump off point for the idea(s) you want to discuss in the post. Add photos that illustrate what you’re talking about, but be sure that a balance exists between text and visual media. If after every two sentences there is a photo, a reader will become bored very quickly.

When you can, create the media content yourself. Anyone can link to a picture they found on the first page of a Google Image search. Circumstances permitting, take the photos yourself, edit a custom watermark in so people know where it came from. If you run a music blog, cut together a mix and release it only on your blog.

Utilizing these strategies will not only bring new readers to your blog but it will also keep them coming back, sharing and enriching it for as long as you keep it interesting and relevant.

dashed How to Grow your Blog AudienceHollyL How to Grow your Blog Audience
Holly Lee is a graduate student in Florida. She enjoys yoga, running, wine and writing. She is an avid traveler and cooking enthusiast who is working towards being a self-made marketing guru. She started her blog,  http://cooksandtravelbooks.com with a friend to explore different avenues of food and travel.

dashed How to Grow your Blog Audience

Detox Diets & Why I Won’t Take Part

It appears to be that time of year again where the blogosphere erupts with the claims of wonderful detox diets that’ll set you on the righteous path to healthy living. With many highly prolific bloggers touting their latest escapades with the most demanding, dangerous & expensive fad diets I decided to write about them too and tell you why I won’t be going anywhere near one of these detox regimes.

Before I start I’d like to highlight that throughout this article I will be talking about the dangerous detox diets that promote fasting, juice diets, restricted food groups and water fasting. It’s worth noting that there are several detox diets that simply suggest cutting down on caffeine, overly processed foods, red meats, and dairy products. Also this is all personal opinion, like that of the other bloggers advocating their current fad detox, so I won’t be held responsible if you live a long and happy life without the help of an annual starvation attempt.

no detox Detox Diets & Why I Wont Take Part

The Detox

What is a detox?  A detox is an attempt at ‘detoxifying’ your body, removing ‘harmful’ toxins and/or giving your digestive system a break (because, you know, it apparently needs some down time…). Medically, detoxifications are used alongside counselling for patients addicted to drugs and alcohol.

In recently years the idea of a January detox has become more and more popular, ranging from raw food diets, juice diets, right to the extreme of water only detoxes. Many of these span several days, with the benefits claiming to include a heightened mental state, weightloss, clear skin, an adjusted sleeping regime (for insomniacs), first class travel to a higher plane blah, blah, blah.

Some Science Bits

There is no scientific evidence to support many of the detox products that are touted on the high street1, let alone all the powders, supplements and vitamins on the internet. If I were you, I wouldn’t bother buying that $50 ‘colon cleanser’, I’m pretty sure your colon is just fine.

Colons don’t need flushing unless you are prepping for a medical procedure like a colonoscopy. Colonic enemas tamper with the body’s natural fluid and electrolyte balance and can lead to infection, irregularity, and dehydration.
Demystifying Detox Diets

I know it might be quite hard to believe but your body is pretty neat at removing crap from your body without the hinderance of you starving it with detox diets2. Your liver and kidneys are well adapted to removing all manner of toxins from your body, but to do this you need to stay hydrated, pumped full of energy & healthy – not something achieved by starving yourself and restricting major food groups.

You don’t need to ‘detox’ because there is no evidence that it does you any good. The human body gets rid of excess metabolites, excess food or alcohol in a number of ways using normal processes. Some of this occurs by excretion through the kidney, metabolism in the liver, and occasionally through sweat. Generally, this happens constantly.
NHS – Detox Tincture Q&A

Holier Than Thou

Let’s say you make it to day 2 of your detox, breakdown in floods of tears and proclaim “I can’t do this! I’m rubbish, shit at everything and can’t even manage to just drink juice for 7 fucking days! I HATE JUICE”… yeah, I’ve been there.

A couple of years ago I attempted a 7 day juice diet. After going out and buying a crate of various fruit & vegetables that the book suggested, and spending a ridiculous amount on vitamins and supplements, I was all set to take part on this wonderful detox adventure. I’d lose weight! I’d be healthy! God like!
It really didn’t last long, I was so bitterly disappointed in myself. And no where near Omnipotent.

There seems to be this notion that people who can complete these super strict detoxes must be some kind of higher-being. OH such dedication you have! Such will power! … Such stupidity. Why should we feel impressed with someone who has taken the cheats route to what they think is healthy? Surely we should have more props for someone who enjoys their food, with a responsible diet, exercise and healthy lifestyle throughout the entire year? yes? Yes.

I also think it’s worth noting the psychological harm that many of these diets can do to people, especially those who have had eating problems in the past. I don’t want to go too much into this subject, other than to say that promoting ideas of food restriction can resurrect dangerous ideas in people who have tried very hard to be follow a normal diet.

Life Without Detox

I won’t be detoxing this year, next year, or any time soon. Instead, I’ve made some considerations to my daily routine and diet that I hope will increase my health. This year I’ll be:

  1. Stuffing my face with fruit, cutting down (but not cutting out) on fat & sugar, making wiser choices on what I’m eating, and continuing to enjoy my favourite foods.
  2. Increasing my exercise and picking up my running again, think I could do this on a 7 day juice diet? No.
  3. Cutting down on alcohol, I don’t drink excessive amounts and I definitely don’t binge like I did in my youth, but over Christmas I found myself having a drink most days.. bad!

And Finally…

A little bit of what you fancy does you good

The best detox for your body is a varied and healthy diet coupled with exercise. Treat your body well and you won’t need to detox at all, let alone spend upwards of £200 on a detox regime.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this subject, do you detox? have you detoxed?


1 http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/jan/05/detox-science, http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/
2 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/detox-diets/AN01334

Magasin Giveaway Winner!

Well, it’s been a week..! Here’s the lucky winner of the Magasin giveaway using the wonder that is random.org.

We had 23 entries in total, thanks so much for commenting and reading the interview :)

Screen shot 2010 09 22 at 20.28.36 e1285183769637 Magasin Giveaway Winner!

And so the winner is commenter number 17, Jessie (who has her own folksy store here). Jessie, I’ll pass your details on to Magasin who will be in touch to organise your prize :)

Thanks again everyone, I’m hoping to run some more giveaways soon… if anyone would like to be interviewed or run a give away here then just shout!

What is Cost Per Wear?

Cost Per Wear (CPW) is a concept that’s intrigued me for a while. Whilst I think it has many good uses in deciding whether or not to buy that bag/dress/pair of shoes, I do think that it can be used irresponsibly as an excuse to splurge on certain items. I’ve decided that after my wardrobe clearout (mentioned in 27 things) I’ll be making my new purchases using CPW as a guide.

So, what is Cost per wear?

It’s not that difficult, really, it’s all in the name. You buy an item of clothing/accessory for X amount, wear it Y number of times and Z is your ‘cost per wear’… The cost per wear formula is X/Y= Z, substituting your real figures will let you calculate cost per wear.

CPW Examples

Item A is a dress from a high street chain store notable for their cheap, mass produced but in-style fashions. The dress is basic, not incredibly well made or cut, and will probably only suffice for one season’s worth of wear. The style itself is not classic, it won’t be able to fit into a wardrobe of fashion staples nor will it be an heirloom item. Infact, chances are this will go to a charity shop within a year.
Item A cost £12, it will be worn around 4 times. Cost per wear for this item is £3.

Item B is a leather jacket from a reputable retailer of mid to high range fasions. The lining is superbly cut and finished, as is the leather seam work. The item will age well, fit comfortably with a myriad of outfits and last years & years. Looked after, this item could possibly be handed down as an heirloom piece.
Item B cost £200, it will be worn on average 60 times a year for at least 5 years (before being stored or passed along). Cost per wear for this item is 67p*

Item C is a pair of tights from a high street retailer. They ladder whilst putting them on.
Item C cost £1, cost per wear isn’t calcuable as they were never worn. The entire £1 was wasted.
Bummer. The lesson here is to consider higher priced items, it’s sometimes a false economy to purchase the cheapest option. A pair of tights that were £3 may have been wearable 10+ times, taking CPW to 33p.

And finally item D. A simple black dress from a high street fashion shop. This retailer is known to produce items of high quality & well cut design. These items are made to weather the storm and pass from season to season. The style can be transformed to accomodate evening wear or day wear, and the cut will accomodate a little weight loss or gain. This is your classic LBD.
Item D costs £200, it will be worn on average of 10 times a year for at least 10 years. Cost per wear for this item is £2.

*keep in mind that outerwear will pretty much always incur a low CPW as they’re very rewearable.

topshop duffle coat 467x700 What is Cost Per Wear?

Outerwear makes for a great example of Cost Per Wear. The duffle coat above costs £80, it’s a classic design that will transcend yearly catwalk fashion and, looked after, will resist wear & tear. Consider 90 days of winter wear, and within it’s first year the CPW is already below £1.

How can cost per wear influence everyday purchases & wardrobe choices?

The majority of people won’t be considering £200+ items of clothing on a everyday basis, however there are several instances where cost per wear can influence your regular buying activities.

Anything that can scupper an impulse buy and help reign in your spending is a good thing in my book, far too many purchases are made without due consideration, especially at sales time! If you’re not going to get the wear out of it then that £5 bargain really isn’t a bargain at all, it’s just another item of clothing that’ll get thrown to the bottom of the wardrobe to be charity shopped in a year or so.

CPW is all about making smart choices when you shop, this can be from spending a little more on a pair of better tights or stockings, to simply buying that cheaper dress alternative if you know it’s only a one-time-deal. CPW should help you consider your buying choices beyond the ‘ohh’s’ and ‘ahhh’s’ of on-hanger lust. When you pick something up in a store and start doing your CPW sum you will be forced to ask yourself the following questions:

  • What will I wear this with?
  • How often will I wear this?
  • Is this item good quality? how long will it last?
  • What will I really be paying for this item?
  • Is there an alternative that will give me a lower CPW?
  • Would I wear a higher quality version of this item more?
  • Would this lower the CPW or increase it still?

These questions alone will certainly make you think twice before heading to the checkout. Cost per wear is a great method of streamlining your wardrobe to flexible, long lasting and investment items of clothing.

Things to watch out for…

Don’t let CPW become an excuse for the extra splurges on designer goods. For CPW to work you need to be honest about how often you will wear the item in your hands. Lying to yourself that you’ll most definitely wear this bright fuchsia betsey johnson skirt every day for the next 5 years will of course result in a super low CPW, but is this really being honest?

Don’t get too caugt up in the CPW of everything you buy. We all need treats.
I know, I know, I’ve been banging on about CPW being super good for your wardrobe and wallet, but sometimes you just have to go with what your heart desires. Better just occasionally than all the time like before, though, right?

Some things that make for excellent CPW considerations

Leather jackets – whilst costly for a decently made one, these can turn into ideal heirloom pieces.

Little Black Dress – Every girl needs one! (I don’t have one yet, I’m weighing up my CPW’s)

Biker Boots – Last year I bought some biker boots in the Office sale for a nominal sum. I wore them throughout winter and their CPW is already well below 50p. When I saw they were reduced again, down to something ridiculous like £7, I snapped up another pair that currently lives in the bottom of my wardrobe ready for when the first pair die. Consider Doc Martens & similar brands, these are made to withstand more than usual shoes, and whilst they cost £100+ they will last.

Designer bags –  The only thing I’d say though is be completely, 100% sure that you’ll use this bag. Is it big enough? Will it fit all your crap in? Is it too big? When you’re 100% sure that this bag is for life then it’s time to invest! Bag’s make for great CPW. However, would you be better with several cheaper bags? think about it.