The Blogger Recognition Award

The Blogger Recognition Award

Thank you so much to Katie at lifeshelives for nominating Blondedlights for the Blogger Recognition award! It's Such an honor and compliment to know that people are acknowledging and  reading my blog.

How Blondedlights started:
After following other blogs and vlogs for years I started watching people grow and thought "how hard could it be" I then started doing my research about a year ago. I genuinely love talking and networking with people so that side of blogging comes naturally. I also really enjoy the business side to everything. Working in Finance and sales I learned a thing or two that really carried over in this industry. Over all, I started this journey to document my day-to-day life as a creative outlet to connect with other people with similar interest. I am involved with so many networking avenues and people I figured I might as well use that and have a place to share. It has been the most rewarding and uplifting hobby ever. I’m so glad I started this and can't wait to see where all it takes me.

Advice to new bloggers: 
1.Do some research but the sooner you get going the better, your website doesn't have to be perfect. Sure some brands will look for perfection and your traffic numbers but I can say I now know MOST do not. My website and writing are still a work in progress but I learn more every day and get better and better with each post. You should, by all means, try to get your post as perfect as possible and try not to be sloppy with it. I have dramatically grown my following and worked with many brands by winging it and really just going for it. I have made some profits just by pitching and putting myself out there and gained tons of free products just because of my growing following and engagement. Growing your traffic and following is key. Don’t get caught up on all the technical things you need to do. You will get there. There is some truth to faking it until you make it. With all that said do your basics and get going. This was the number one piece of advice my mentors and fellow blogging friends gave me and I still procrastinated. Knowing what I know now it wasn't necessary. Be consistent, likable and connect with people and your followers and everything else will follow. Be open minded as much as possible because trust me you never know.

2.Find your blog tribe:
These people are everything for your blog. Your tribe will act as a support system, they help grow your page, give helpful advice, and it's just nice in general to have that support system and know the struggles of others who have the same goals. Join groups on Facebook to get involved as much as possible. I will be making a post on that later so stay tuned for that information.

3. Focus on Social media:
Grow that baby and actively participate daily. If you want to grow and make a profit you have to treat your blog as a business. Set aside time daily to actively engage and post to your own pages. For me personally, I use Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. I have a Twitter and a Bloglovin account but I think you have to find what works for you and use that. Those three platforms I mentioned work best for me. Pinterest is key once you figure out how to drive traffic to your website.Try tinkering around with tailwind and going from there. That itself is a game changer. Many people skip this step or over look it but this is huge for traffic. There’s so much more but for now, that is my advice for new bloggers. I will be making a new post soon about how to grow and get going. I’m not a professional by any means but I do know how to connect with people and grow pretty quickly on social media. It can be so overwhelming with the information overload out there but take it all one step at a time and enjoy the ride. Moving forward my nominees are below. These women are on my list because they all have something special in my opinion. They are genuine and supportive women that I have grown fond of. Take a gander and see if you find something you like as much as I do.

My blog nominees:
1. daveanderin
2.thebargainbelle
3.mascarainthecity
4.heyjodeblog
5.everythingmeli 
6.vine-living
7.thetrendyvoyager
8.artistbymarissa
9.myanci
10.tailoredtruths
11.samashleigh
12.thetullytales
13.embersbeneathme
14.theblondelaw
15.smalltownglamwy

Rules Of the Awards

• Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog
• Write a post to show your award
• Give a brief story of how your blog started
• Give pieces of advice to new bloggers
• Select 15 other bloggers you want to give this award to
• Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.