once again, my photo has nothing to do with the topic of todays fbff, but this is me at about 7mo pregnant w/ eep. photo by amanda doublin.

todays fbff topic is about what 5 blogging lessons i’ve learned that have helped make me a better blogger.

1. BE GENUINE-it is easy to start comparing yourself to other bloggers and to get a teensy bit jealous of those that have all of the extra bells and whistles on their sites (let alone those that have thousands of followers). although this blog is new, i am not new to blogging and i have come to realize that if you are just yourself and are having fun…people will eventually come back and maybe even follow you!

2. BE SOCIAL-by “be social” i mean comment on other blogs. and reply to comments on your blog. i never really used to reply to comments until i started noticing bloggers responding to MY comments. i am always impressed when some of the most popular bloggers take the time to respond. it is just such a nice thing to do. at least imho.

3. NETWORK-they say that an ounce of twitter is worth a pound of facebook. twitter is amazing. i am always amazed when i see very popular bloggers not utilizing twitter as much as they could. imagine how many more followers they could have if they tweeted more (not that followers are ALL it is about, but you know what i mean)! oh, and you can follow me here! =)

4. GIVE CREDIT-when i first started blogging years ago (a different blog), i had no idea what i was doing. i had no idea that i was supposed to link to sources of where i got images. i learned everything by trial and error. now i cringe when i see images that i know (especially when i know WHO they belong to) and there is no credit given. of course accidents happen…i forget A LOT of things…especially now that i am a new mom (which i guess means…a woman who no longer sleeps therefore is VERY forgetful)!

5. HAVE FUN-this goes back to #1. be yourself…have FUN…and when you have those days where you are just staring at your computer with nothing to say, don’t force it. your blog will still be waiting for you when you get back =)

{to see what other fbff bloggers have to say on this topic, be sure and visit modlychic!}

P.S. many bloggers are participating in for japan with love today, a bloggers day of silence. i already committed to fbff so while i am not participating in the day of silence, i would like to thank livingsocial for generously matching my donation to american red cross. if you happen to stumble across my blog today and haven’t donated yet, you can donate directly to red cross here.

categories: fashion beauty friend friday15 comments

15 Comments ( Reply )

  1. Michelle
    Mar 18, 2011 @ 4:27 am

    Hi- Seems like being social and networking is a common response. I wrote something similar on my blog 🙂

    Congratulations on your upcoming arrival.

    Michelle

    • jennifer
      Mar 18, 2011 @ 6:49 am

      oops…i guess i should have made that clear on my pic for new visitors…eep is now 5 1/2 months old! =) ha ha…thank u!!!

  2. MyFavouriteThings
    Mar 18, 2011 @ 5:45 am

    Hi, it’s my first time visiting your blog, and I really liked your answers to this weeks FBFF. And thanks for reminding me about giving credit, I need to get better at that, particularly when I use photos from Google albums and so on. Have a great weekend!

    • jennifer
      Mar 18, 2011 @ 10:09 pm

      thank you! you too!

  3. Rachael
    Mar 18, 2011 @ 9:58 am

    Hi, I’ve been reading your blog for a couple of weeks now and just wanted to say thanks for posting these useful tips! I’ve just started blogging recently and am trying to figure it all out – it’s nice when other bloggers are willing to share what they know with the newbies! (By the way, this photo is gorgeous!)

    • jennifer
      Mar 18, 2011 @ 10:10 pm

      aw thanks rachael! and welcome to the wonderful world of blogging! =)

  4. Daphne
    Mar 18, 2011 @ 10:32 am

    I totally agree with your comments. I have couple questions for you:
    1. The only way I know how to respond to comments is to go their blog and comment back. I see some post a comment on their own blog as a respond but if the commenter did not subscribe to see rest of the comments they won’t see it.
    2. Is there a way to see a response to your comment only without ‘subscribing’ to comments? I hate subscribing to comments cause it blogs my email especiallyt he popular blogs who get over 100s of comments.
    3. twitter. So I have a twitter account too but I only ‘tweet’ when I have a new post. Do you recommend tweeting besides that and about what?
    I just started following your twitter act by the way.
    Thank you so much.
    https://fashiondivamommy.blogspot.com

    • jennifer
      Mar 18, 2011 @ 9:58 pm

      hi daphne!

      it is really weird…when i click on your link, it re-routes me to google’s homepage. and then when i manually typed it, it warned that your site is a phishing site. i hope not =( i went over to modlychic and clicked on your link and it worked?!?! random.

      1. i use wordpress and it allows me to reply right here in the comments. i do not know how some people are able to email responses without doing it manually (as katy does @modlychic). i am going to look into it though. so the only way i know is to come back and check for responses.
      2. see answer 1 =) i do not subscribe to comments either but i am looking into it…you have me curious now!
      3. as for twitter…i tweet when i have a new post. i pretty much tweet whatever is on my mind. i know there are people who think twitter is just a bunch of people tweeting what they ate for lunch. sometimes you do get that but i can honestly find out what is going on locally and globally faster by checking twitter than watching the news. a lot of people tweet helpful and useful information so i retweet and favorite them so i can go back for reference. depending on who you follow, you can get awesome mommy advice, opinions on style and i have even gone to twitter to settle debates with my husband =) if you follow and reply to people, most of the time they will follow you back. twitter is an awesome community. i hope that helps!

  5. natalie
    Mar 18, 2011 @ 11:47 am

    I am so glad I stumbled on your blog! AS a Mom to four small children ( yes,four,yes I’m CRAZY…) it is a constant struggle to stylish,but I’m happy to say,I’m working it out! Your beautiful,and I LOVE seeing mama’s who dont let it all go,just bc they are married with children! Keep the posts coming,I love your style! 🙂

    • jennifer
      Mar 18, 2011 @ 10:06 pm

      thank you thank you thank you…and YOU are my hero…FOUR kiddos?!?!? seriously…how do you do it all? xo

  6. Shin
    Mar 18, 2011 @ 2:41 pm

    Beautiful picture! I agree with all of your tips! It’s all about supporting each other and having fun! xoxoxoo

    • jennifer
      Mar 18, 2011 @ 10:07 pm

      thank you! =)

  7. Gregory
    Mar 18, 2011 @ 7:48 pm

    Love these blogging tips, I’ve been meaning to set up a Twitter account for a while!!

    AnUnrefinedGentleman.Blogspot.com

    • jennifer
      Mar 18, 2011 @ 10:08 pm

      twitter is a MUST HAVE! i think you should get an account TODAY! =)

  8. loftyappetite
    Mar 23, 2011 @ 5:17 am

    Thank you for sharing your blogging tips! I am relatively new to the blogging world and starting out I never expected the wonderful supportive community it would bring along with it! I love the concept of your blog, and look forward to reading more!