and then she snapped: blogging

Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts

On meeting other bloggers. #PNWBlogger

This weekend Grace and I headed up to Von Trapps (Beers, Brats, and...Bocce ball?) in Seattle for the Pacific Northwest Blogger Meet-up. You may remember we went to one in Portland about 6 months or so ago, and my friend Heidi and I went to the previous one in Seattle as well. WHY do I go to these things? Well, if I'm honest, I'm not exactly sure.

You see, I'm kind of an introvert. (Grace doesn't believe me, but I totally am). I am a homebody, and getting "out there" to see and be seen is so not my thing. And blogging isn't my job, so it's not like I have to. But I kind of want to, I guess. But it's sort of an effort for me. Because I'd much rather stay home in my yoga pants and eat ice cream and watch the Following on the DVR. So I bought two tickets the day they went on sale, because I know I won't back out if I'd paid for a ticket (because I'm cheap like that). And once it's time to go, I'm not going to drive up to Seattle, and eat sausage (yuck) and sit all by myself. So? I put on my big girl pants, and I pretend to be chit chatty and fun. (I really do HATE chit chat though...I'd SO MUCH RATHER have a one on one conversation with you, about something that matters).

My goal was to "meet" as many attendees there as I could. Maybe I'm more outgoing (brave) because I'm not all alone, I feel "safe" with my little side kick with me. Or maybe because I want to show Grace that it's good to break out of your shell every so often. We would walk up to a group, and just join in the conversation, and 9 times out of 10, it wasn't awkward at all.

I'm not going to lie, there are a few bloggers who I feel uncomfortable around. Like they don't have the time or the energy or the desire to chat with the "little" bloggers. During my years blogging I've introduced myself to some of these bloggers and they look at me like, why the hell are you talking to me. Maybe THEY are the introverts then? (Or maybe they're just bitchy?, but I think I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. For now.) And hey, if you're reading this, then NO, I'm not talking about YOU.

My friend Ruthy wrote a similar-ish post about the event, similar in the way that if you're going to go to these things you really do need to put yourself out there. Otherwise what's the point?

what we wore...because that is super important, right?

also thanks instagram friends for helping decide which shoes I should wear.

Spencer and Lindsy, doing good chatting!

Grace @gracedrechsel and Ruthy @discoverystreet, instagramming, of course.

In summary, the venue was cool (although there were SOOOOO many leftover sauerkraut brats, because really, who eats those?). The sponsors were awesome. Our swag bags were filled with fun goodies, and Grace and I both won a prize as well. (I won an ipad mini Gelaskin and a stylus, Grace won headphones). The people we talked with and exchanged cards with were really nice and friendly. And I'd say we found some new blogs/twitterers/instagrammers to be friends with. The one downside is there was no dessert, but we fixed that by stopping at McDonald's on our way home and ordering up a couple of Reese's McFlurries. Problem solved.

Do you go to these types of things? Why or why not?

and then she...switched to bloglovin

So I've been out of the blogging world for a few months. (AKA I've been a lazy lazy lazy blogger/blog reader). But it's come to my attention that Google Reader (the RSS reader that I use to keep track of all the blogs that I "follow") is shutting down this July. At first I panicked. What am I going to use instead?? Why would Google do this to ME?? There are quite a few other options but I was used to Google Reader and let's be honest, who likes change? (NOT ME!)

Anyway, I had a little time yesterday so I messed around (kinda like high school) with Bloglovin. Grace has been using it for a while (she's not afraid of change like I am, apparently), but I was hesitant because I thought it would be difficult. It was so the OPPOSITE of difficult.

Sign up with an email address (or Facebook). Under the settings icon you can create your profile name (Rachel), bloglovin username (http://bloglovin.com/andthenshesnapped), grab an avatar (from Facebook), and import the blogs you already follow from Google Reader. It was SUPER EASY and SUPER QUICK.

You can also "claim" your blog if you write one, so that it will show up under your profile. My blog was already on there (since it was already followed by people on Bloglovin), but it was on there twice (which annoyed me). And under my way old blogspot address rather than www.andthen-shesnapped.com (which also annoyed me). So, I emailed customer service and they combined the two and changed the blog address (and responded that they had down so within about thirty minutes!). THAT was AWESOME.

Now that I've got it I actually like it BETTER than Google Reader. It's way easier to MANAGE blogs that I follow. Google Reader had blogger blogs segregated from non-blogger blogs, which really makes no sense when I'm reading them. But in Bloglovin I just deleted the "blogger" group (which just deletes the group, NOT the blogs IN the group). It also makes it easier to un-follow blogs that I'm just not interested in anymore. Google Reader pretty much made that impossible for some reason. Anytime I'd try and unfollow a certain blog they'd be right back in my feed the next day!

The only con I've found so far is I don't love the Bloglovin app on my ipad mini. It's formatted for the phone so it doesn't look great on my ipad. Let me know if you've got a better alternative for reading blogs there. Or Bloglovin, if you're listening, can you make an app sized for the ipad? Pretty please?

So give it a try! If you like it please follow me there (you can click the picture of the bald lady below, or the "follow this blog on bloglovin" button over on the right). If you use something else, let me know in the comments!

steppin out to the #pnwblogger meetup!

Grace and I stepped out to the Pacific Northwest Blogger meet up in Portland this weekend at West Elm. Um, how had I never been to West Elm before? And when can I go back? We saw some old blogger friends and met some new ones as well. We had fun. And topped it off with a day and a half of tax free shopping. Yahoo!

I'm posting every day this month for NaBloPoMo!

evo 2012

I'm on my first ever big girl trip. I flew ALL BY MYSELF to Salt Lake City, UT. I rented a car all by myself and drove to Park City. I met my roommate, who I met on facebook, and who is not a psycho (thank God!) and have been having a great time with some wonderful women (and even a very few men!) at the EVO 2012 Conference! I've met some friends who I had only "known" via twitter or facebook and it really is fun to meet the real person behind the avatar. The Canyons Resort is really beautiful, and today I got to ride up in gondola to a hands-on photography workshop led by Tracey Clark, of Shutter Sisters fame!

I just wanted to drop in here for a quick minute to share some photos I took during the workshop.

If you're new to And Then She Snapped after meeting me at EVO, thanks so much for stopping by!

Oh, I'm also contributing over at Paper Heart Camera today and giving away one of my camera straps, so head on over!

Laters!

it's my sits day!

Hi!

We're so excited you're here. Well, our mom is. She's been talking about it all week. She's worried she wouldn't have anything funny to say when you got here and you might get bored and leave (please don't), so I decided I'd take over and let her just relax on the couch with a glass of wine and an oreo or five. She put a cute photo of my big brother and I up here for you, (we were waving at birds, but it kinda looks like we're waving at you, huh)? Because we're so excited that you're here and all.

I should introduce myself, I'm Charlie. aka Charlie Pete. aka CP. aka Chuck P Diddy. I'm the baby in this family, and I run the show around here. My brother is named Camden and he is pretty much always in trouble. My mom tells him that since he's almost 8 he should really be able to get ready for school without being reminded a hundred ~~million~~ times, but he just can't seem to remember all the important steps like brushing his teeth or flushing the toilet. Or making his lunch. Or putting on pit stick. But he's really fun to play with and I like him a lot. My big sister is named Grace and she does all the things she's supposed to do. I just love her. She is almost 13 and she takes good care of me when my mom has to go somewhere, or when I need a tubby. She's really good at tubby time.

My mom takes pictures all the time (mostly of me), and my dad likes bikes. I like milk and Umizoomi.

Would you do me a favor and stick around here long enough to say hi to my mom. I know it will totally make her day to meet some new friends on her special day. And if you poke around long enough you'll probably find like a ~~hundred~~ million pictures of me, or some funny things that Camden said, or maybe you'll even find out about my dad breaking his butt, or about my other sister that I never met.

Oh! And if you like taking pictures as much as my mom does (or even just a little bit) you should come back here on Monday for "Show Off Your Shot". Chances are it will be another picture of me. And who wouldn't want to see that?

Laters!
C to the P

Wait. Where are you going? Was it something I said?

#hallmarkTOUR blogger event

I was invited to a blogger event put on by Hallmark. Yes, THE Hallmark! So on Friday, Chris took the day off to hang out with Charlie and I got to ~~be a grownup and~~ drive up to Seattle (in the rain. in traffic) to a really great restaurant called Local 360. There were probably about 15 of us bloggers there, and our speakers were 3 Hallmark writers. They were entertaining, and funny. It was a hands on morning, with us getting to learn about Hallmark's "tell me" campaign, where we were encouraged to share what it is that we need to hear most (maybe you've seen the commercial?). We also broke into groups and wrote our own greeting card based on a pre-selected photo. (our photo involved dentures, a dirty shirt and leopard print curtains). We were treated to a delicious breakfast (seriously, I wish I had eaten more, it was so good), and sent home with a goodie bag filled with Hallmark gifts including a couple of books and of course, a handful of Hallmark greeting cards! (Charlie is loving the "Nugget" stuffed doggie toy that responds to the book as you read to him)!

All in all it was a really great event. I saw some old friends, I made some new friends, and I really enjoyed getting to learn more about Hallmark. And I am totally motivated to send some real live cards, you know the kind that arrive in the mailbox?

Thank you, Hallmark, for this great morning.

The view from my seat.

The Hallmark "swag" table.

Keion Jackson (one of Hallmark's humor writers), and Kerri "The Maven" Jablonski (one of my "old" friends) working on our card language.

Me and my "new" friend, Liz Hawks!

remember that time I went to bloggy boot camp?

Remember last June when I surprised even myself and went to Bloggy Boot Camp in Seattle? I was so glad I did. It was scary, I literally knew NOBODY there, but I forced myself to buy a ticket, knowing full well that I am cheap and am not going to let that money go to waste, so I HAD to go!

I had so much fun. I wore a cute outfit (which is totally what blog conferences are about, amiright?), I pretended to be outgoing, I met FAMOUS BLOGGERS, I was inspired myself to become a FAMOUS BLOGGER (still working on that), and (?) there was wine!

Bloggy Boot Camp is an awesome conference for first time conference goers because it is ONE DAY ONLY, there are four stops (so chances are there will be one near you), it is NOT EXPENSIVE, and it is NOT HUGE or OVERWHELMING.

I totally want to go back this year because now I KNOW PEOPLE! I want to see my bloggy friends again! Oh, and I still want to be a FAMOUS BLOGGER.

I'm writing this post with hopes of winning my trip to Bloggy Boot Camp this year!

how I made money blogging

Want to know how to make money blogging? I don't consider myself a professional blogger, but I have actually made a little bit of money with this little hobby of mine, and I thought I'd share with you how I did so. In case you're trying to figure out how you're going to afford those new boots you TOTALLY need. Keep in mind that this is just what has worked (or didn't work) for ME. You may be very different.

Will Blog for Dollars.

Or Shoes.

JOIN A BLOGGING NETWORK:
There are many networks that will pay you for your posts. I've heard of social spark and business2blogger aside from the ones I joined myself. I'd love to learn about others you've had success with in the comments section.

First off, I joined the Clever Girls Collective. Through the Clever Girls I have applied for numerous paid posting opportunities, and have been selected for a handful of them as well! Companies like Claritin, Yahoo, Crocs, and Walgreens have paid me to write a blog post about them. The assignments usually come with guidelines and specific links that need to be mentioned, and they usually request that the post be tweeted and/or facebooked as well, but the content is always all mine. I decide what I want to write about. And I decide which "jobs" I want to apply for.

Another group that I am a part of is The Sits Girls. I just LOVE the Sits Girls website, and even attended Bloggy Boot Camp last year (and LOVED it!). The Sits Girls have recently started offering some paid opportunities and I have been selected for a few of them. They have paid per post in the form of an Amazon gift card, which works for me, since that way I HAVE to shop.

I've also earned income as a member of the Social Fabric through Collective Bias. Once you are accepted into the community you can apply for "Shopportunities" where you shop for and blog about a specific product at a specific store. I have done just one of these (remember my KMart holiday decor post?), as most of the Shopportunities don't fit with my blog. But I do apply when I feel like the product would be a good fit.

JOIN AN AD NETWORK:
For a time I also ran ads through Federated Media (as a result of my membership in Clever Girls). I opted for the higher CPM (cost per impression), but in exchange for the higher rate I was restricted in doing any other paid posts or ads (other than CleverGirls/Federated Media). This particular ad network paid me solely on page views (my readers didn't have to actually click on the ads), but in the end I decided it wasn't worth it to me. The ads took up a lot of valuable blog space, the payment schedule was V-E-R-Y slow. (I still haven't been paid in full), and my contract prohibited me from monetizing my blog in other ways. If my traffic was WAY more than it is this could be a very lucrative and EASY way to earn a living blogging, but at my current page views it could barely support my latte habit. Also, when I was running the ads on my blog I felt like I was overly concerned with pageviews. Since I stopped running them I don't care as much whether you read my blog in your reader or whatever. BlogHer also runs an ad campaign that I believe may be similar, so if you're interested you may want to apply there as well (or instead).

JOIN AN AFFILIATE PROGRAM:
I'm an Amazon affiliate! There are a ton of affiliate programs out there, but the thing I love about the amazon program is that they will pay out after just $10. The way they work is anytime I link to something available on amazon (like everything on my gear page) I use my special affiliate link. Anytime you click on one of those links and eventually buy something through amazon (even if it's not the thing that I linked to), I earn a teeny tiny commission! The cool thing about affiliate programs is that they don't cost you (the reader) anything. So, IF you are going to buy something from amazon, feel free to start your browsing from my gear page, or one of the "what I shoot people with" links in the right sidebar. I've made about $40 worth of Amazon gift cards in the past year, which really isn't much, I know, but since it doesn't cost me anything (or you), I'll keep using those affiliate links as appropriate.

PRODUCT REVIEWS & GIVEAWAYS:
I've been pitched by companies to review and or giveaway their product. I generally only do it if there's something in it for me (and I like their product). But I have done a few giveaways where I got nothing, just because I love you. I've done reviews or giveaways for clothes, movies, christmas cards, usb drives, bloggy boot camp tickets, a custom framed photo, a photo canvas. I have also done the pitching myself sometimes and had it work! Including a super awesome amazing review and giveaway I have coming up in the next week or so. Seriously, i am ridiculously excited about this one.

BLOG "SPONSORSHIPS" OR SELLING BUTTON SPACE:
This is one area I've had zip zilch nada luck in, in terms of cash money. But I see it happening all over the place, and with blogs no bigger than mine, so maybe this works? I have swapped "ad space" meaning I post your blog button on my page in exchange for mine on yours. It's ok, but really it kind of seems like more work than it's worth. I don't think I've gotten that much traffic from it, and I know I've gotten exactly ZERO dollars from it. If somebody has had better luck with this perhaps they'll share some tips in the comments.

THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT:
I hope that helps just a little bit. It's hard to talk about money among friends, but I just wanted to share what has worked for me in the hopes that YOU'LL share what's worked for you as well (or hasn't worked). Because we are all in this together!

Oh, and PS, if you know anybody at Nikon who might want me to review this lens or maybe this one, PLEASE, feel free to give them my name and email. For reals.

december sponsors

Have you given my December sponsors any love? What's holding you back?

I'm not sure what January brings as far as sponsors go, if I'll keep doing them or not...if you've got an interest in sponsoring and then, she snapped, please just shoot me an email.