secrets of style blogging success

77 Pages·2011·19.15 MB·English

by  Ashley Kaposta

The Decorista
SECRETS OF STYLE BLOGGING SUCCESS
BY: ASHLINA KAPOSTA
SECRETS OF STYLE BLOGGING SUCCESS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: setting up shop
getting you familiar with how blogging works
{BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT--MADE BY GIRL}
CHAPTER 2: making it pretty
blog graphics and more pretty goodies
{BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT--CAMILLE STYLES}
CHAPTER 3: giving good content
determining how much effort you need to give
{BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT--BRIGHT BAZAAR}
CHAPTER 4: schmooz or you lose
how to begin to make friends in blogland
{BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT--FAB ON A BUDGET}
CHAPTER 5: social-izing
the ins and outs of social media and how to make it work for you
{BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT--LA DOLCE VITA}
CHAPTER 6: the power of seo
all you really need to know about search engines
{BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT--EVERYTHING FABULOUS}
CHAPTER 7: make that money honey
becoming business minded
{BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT--LOVE LIVE SMALL}
CHAPTER 8: workin’ it
how to promote your business, brand and be your own PR
{BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT--WITH STYLE & GRACE}
RESOURCES
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO...
LOUIS J. KAPOSTA,
THE MOST INCREDIBLY TALENTED,
WILDLY ENTHUSIASTIC & EXTREMELY
ENCOURAGING GRANDFATHER A GIRL
COULD HAVE EVER HAD!
Thank you all for readin g
!
Introduction
I’ve heard people say that if you do what you
love, you will end up being successful. In my
wildest dreams, I never actually thought that
could happen to me. It wasn’t until I took a step
out of my comfort zone and started a blog, that
my dreams have come true. As I find myself
staring out of the window gazing upon the
beautiful buildings of Manhattan writing this very
book, I lean back in my chair, take a deep sigh
and realize I am living my wildest dream. This is
why I am writing this book, to show you step by
step how I found my dreams through blogging
and I want to let you know, that you can do it too.
Blogging, the internet and social media have
taken my life, my dream, my career, from
practically just a cute business card to a full time
job and business brand. Upon graduation from
college, I set out to southern california to pursue
my dreams of being an interior designer.
After many failed attempts to land the job of my
dreams, I took a job at a real estate
development firm in Beverly Hills, learning the ins
and out of building a hotel from the ground up. It
was a great job, but I was hardly pursuing my
passion.
Then, after the big economy crash, our firm shut
down and I received the biggest blessing of my
life....I was laid off. At the time I had no idea, but
getting pushed out of a steady job was the
beginning of my career.
Shortly after getting laid off, a huge tragedy
came upon my life. My grandfather, my hero,
was diagnosed with acute lukemia and passed
away in the same week. I felt like I was
punched in the stomach. My whole world
stopped making sense. He was the ultimate
creative person in my family, I always admired
his ability to pursue his passions. He was a
fantastic writer and was always encouraging
me to write too. After he passed, I knew that I
had to start writing I just had no idea where,
when or how but at that moment I just knew
that is what I had to do.
Then my boyfriend at the time said to me, “Why
don’t you start a blog and write about interior
design. You love interior design and you want
to write. So, do that.” The very next day, my
blog was born.
Chapter 1
:
SETTING UP SHOP
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Choosing a blogging platform
Luckily, starting a blog can be absolutely
free if you want it to. It will be the
cheapest business investment you will
ever make. There are plenty of options
when it comes to free blogging
platforms. Most people gravitate
towards Blogger or Wordpress. They
both are fantastic options with great
technology that can basically allow you
to customize your blog to look anyway
you want. There are several others such
as squarespace, tumblr and livejournal.
Honestly this decision was way too
overwhelming for me.
So let me break it down for you...
When I first started my blog, I wanted the easiest
program because I felt extremely intimidated. I could
hardly even get around my myspace page. Graphics
were so not my specialty and because Blogger goes
hand and hand with Gmail, I just went for it. To my
surprise, it was extremely easy and effortless. All of
the icons are super self explanatory and the back
end is very easy to navigate. Because I was a novice
blogger, it was the perfect fit for me.
Conversely, after a lot of late nights at my laptop, I
was able to teach myself how to navigate the
platform so well, that now I almost feel like an expert.
I am ready to graduate to the next level and I feel
limited in terms of platform capabilities. Blogger only
allows you to customize so much, eventually you might
feel like you want to do more, which can be
frustrating.