Good mornin’, ladies. How’s it going? Are you glad it’s Saturday? It’s just after 8 a.m. here on my last day in Las Vegas. I’m taking it easy and blogging to you from bed in the hotel, whee! I thought I’d skip the morning keynote at Blog World to tell you about the convention yesterday and share what I learned about a topic that interests a lot of bloggers, monetization, aka Blogging for Benjamins.

Now, most of the 70+ million blogs out there aren’t run as businesses. They’re small personal endeavors or not-for-profit initiatives, but I think some of these tips can be applied to those kinds of blogs as well. For example, if you’re blogging about a local church or charity, consider the tip on using YouTube to drive donations, or the tip on placing your most important messages “above the fold.”

I have A LOT more information from the convention (tips on using video, Twitter, Facebook and more), but some of it will have to wait until I get back home to share.

In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Tip 1: Maintain a regular posting schedule

There are a couple of different reasons for this one, and the first one has to do with Google. Posting on a regular schedule — say once per day or week — actually trains the Google bot (that’s really what they call it), the program that scours the web looking for new content to include in the Google search listings.

The second reason to maintain a regular posting schedule has to do with people. We come to expect and appreciate things that follow a recognizable pattern.

Tip 2: If it’s your business, don’t be shy

Be considerate, but don’t be shy. It’s never easy to talk about money, particularly in a public place (like on a blog), but if you’re hoping to earn more money online, don’t be ashamed to let your readers know.

Tip 3: Diversify revenue streams

The most widespread and common way to earn money from a blog is by placing ads. Google Adsense is the industry standard because of how quick, easy and effective it is. I’m running them here on MBB (below the masthead at the top and in the right sidebar).

But look for additional revenue streams if you’re serious about earning a stable income with your blog. You wouldn’t want a policy change at Google HQ to suddenly cut your earnings in half.

Things to consider: writing and selling a book (or an e-book), incorporating more than one ad network (Kontera is one that was mentioned a lot yesterday), creating a product to sell, joining affiliate programs (Amazon.com, Clickbank, Commission Junction) or creating a paid membership site.

Tip 4: Placing ads above the fold

I’ve always struggled with this one… The experts suggest placing all of your ads right up near the top of the page where visitors will see them as soon as they open the page. The problem with that is it’s kinda annoying to open a webpage and see nothing but ads, right?

My suggestion: Try to balance ad placement “above the fold” (which basically means at/near the top of the page) with a dash of common sense and design appreciation.

The World’s Littlest Showgirl…

Tip 5: Affiliate programs

I mentioned some of these in Tip 3, but the experts yesterday all agreed that affiliate programs can be great ways to earn money from your blog, particularly if you blog about a topic tied to something people actually buy (beauty products, books, clothes, shoes, food, baby products, household supplies, etc.).

Continue Reading…

What’s a blog?

Because I blog and I know that some of you do, too, I wanted to share what I’ve been learning about here at the Blog World and New Media Expo 2009 (new media as in Twitter, Facebook and YouTube).

The first question I get a lot when I tell people I blog is, “What’s that [blogs]? Like a website?”

Yup, you got it. The word’s just a contraction of the term “Web log.” They come in countless shapes and sizes but usually contain regular entries (articles/journal entries) of commentary, descriptions of events or fancy stuff like graphics or video. Most (but not all) of them display content in reverse-chronological order.

I came to Blog World 1) because it’s held here in Vegas , 2) because I spend a big chunk of my life blogging, 3) because I’d like to be able to express myself in new and more creative ways, 4) because blogging is more fun for me when I know that it’s also fun for my readers and 5) because I’d like to grow the blog’s traffic and find out about income opportunities/blogging for a living.

I’ll report more specific tips than the ones in this post as the Expo progresses, but one of my favorite sessions so far has been Stimulating Conversations with Women in the Social Mediasphere, with Aliza Sherman, author of The Everything Blogging Book.

Aliza and some of the speakers talked about the differences between how men and women tend to communicate and how those differences are reflected in blogs and social media (speaking very generally, women tend to appreciate building relationships more than most men do).

That blogs are about community and interaction are growing themes. The social aspects of the web have taken the internet by storm. Specifically, what can bloggers do to tap into an increasingly social internet?

They can focus on building authentic relationships with readers, which I read to mean being honest, respectful, useful, and speaking with people vs. talking at them.

But what if you want to start a blog in a highly competitive niche (like beauty)? Is it too late to start?

No, none of the experts thought so, but competition can impact the size of your audience. It may be harder to reach thousands of readers/day (if that’s even your goal), but it’s still possible.

When you want to blog

Figure out what you want out of blogging or Twitter or Facebook (but not necessarily the day you start). If you’ve never blogged before, take it slowly, remembering that you’re putting yourself out there in front of the entire planet (only share what you’re comfortable sharing with the world). Eventually, though, the experts agree, know your goals and objectives. It’ll help you get where you’re trying to go.

I started MBB back in 2007 not really knowing what I was doing or what my goals were. Within six months, though, I’d decided that I wanted to blog daily, to grow my audience and to earn some blog rent from it if possible.

While fun, blogging can also be hard work.

It depends on your goals, but since 2007, 2,100 posts later, I’ve read through my camera’s manual at least 10 times (to learn how to take vibrant, sharp pics), have spent thousands of dollars on camera equipment and computers (I recommend Macs), have completed dozens of Photoshop tutorials and have spent thousands of hours writing more than 1 million words online. All of that’s just to restate the obvious, “Know what you’re getting into and why you want to do it.”

Other quick tips from yesterday’s event:

1. Keep an editorial calendar — I’m a firm believer in ‘em. Mine helps me plan what I’m going to blog about. I also use it to jot down the release dates of makeup collections to help me remember.
2. Are you speaking with your readers or talking at them? — Remember that there’s a real live human being on the other side of that connection, someone who doesn’t like to be talked at.


Absolutely love Problogger.net

3. Build relationships — The experts seem to agree that success in blogging (unless your goal is to use your blog as a journal) comes down to building relationships with people and doing something that both you and your readers find rewarding.

Growing your audience

Continue Reading…

Imagine it’s Monday morning; the weekend’s over, and you’re not 100% enthusiastic about work.

Why not ease your way into the workweek with some makeup and beauty?

Each morning at around 11 o’clock my time (Pacific Standard), an email with my latest posts goes out to Makeup and Beauty Blog subscribers.

If you aren’t already subscribed, the daily emails can be a nice way to start your day. I try to keep things interesting, alternating makeup and beauty news with giveaways, product reviews, photo posts, tutorials and tips. I’ll never share your address with anyone for anything. You’ll get just one email per day, delivered fresh and hot out the kitchen (not really, but you know what I mean).

Thanks for visiting.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. If you’re completely swamped with email, you can also subscribe by RSS feed or follow me on twitter or facebook.

In this guest post today, literary Lothario, Tabs, of Party With Tabs, waxes philosophic on a top spring 2010 fashion trend.

Haaay, b*tchezzz.

Tabs here, reporting live from Novato, California. Blog cutbacks forced a change in plans, and I wasn’t able to cover Paris Fashion Week in person.

But I’ve still got the scoop, and it’s all about the runway at the Miu Miu Spring 2010 show. Did you see all those cats?

Cat silhouettes on skirts, shirts and shoes! Kitty appliques on purses and collars! Finally, felines are GETTING THEIRS. It’s about ‘effin time, yo.

My editor (I see her more as an assistant) canceled my credit cards, claiming something about “responsible spending.” Whatev. Good taste comes at a price.

Which reminds me — It’s time to update my kitty couture wardrobe for spring.

Kitty Cat Top by Heritage 1981 ($17, available at Forever 21)

Ooh la la…

Keyboard Cat Tee ($20, available at Threadless)

Le sigh… It ain’t Miuccia Prada, but it’s “affordable.” That’s a word my human captor/editor/assistant seems to like.

Peace out,

Tabs

When he isn’t globetrotting, jet-setting or reporting for Makeup and Beauty Blog, Tabs can be found over at Party With Tabs. He knows he should post more updates and plans to in the near future (lacking opposable thumbs has made typing difficult). He loves gravy, things covered in rhinestones, and long pieces of ribbon.

Fellow nail polish nerds, did any of y’all spy Whitney’s blue nails on last night’s episode of The City? I am CONVINCED my girl Whit was rocking Lancome’s Indigo Paris, a favorite of mine for fall.

Can I reality TV dish with you for a sec?

It’s about The Hills and The City, two of MTV’s most progressive and enlightening programs, LOL!

LOVE The City, but I barely made it through five minute of The Hills before I had to look away.

I can’t suspend disbelief anymore when it comes to the Kristin/Justin Bobby/Audrina love triangle. It just feels kinda … fake, like a really bad counterfeit purse, ugh!

That, and I think my Speidi cup hath runneth over. I can’t take those two anymore. They made me choke on a meatball — that’s how angry I was.

After coughing it up (it even caught air and launched across the room), I said a prayer of thanks and pledged to live a Speidi-free lifestyle from now on.

Thank goodness The City was actually pretty entertaining. Whit’s fabulous blue nails were hawt!

They’re visible toward the end of the episode. Whitney and her new frenemy/roommate, Roxy, are sitting at work, discussing the previous day’s photo shoot.

I could totally be wrong, but isn’t her polish a dead ringer for Lancome’s Indigo Paris ($18)?

Continue Reading…