“Handy tips for Bloggers” – by Shari Cortes
This weeks guest-writer on SL Blogger Support is the lovely Shari Cortes, a fellow blogger and member of our group, who has some handy tips for all of us!
Hi, I am Shari and I have been a Blogger Manager for over 2 years for 7 Deadly s{K}ins and during that time also an Events Manager, and Event Blogger Manager, I am also a Store Manager and have been involved in the Retail Industry in Real Life and Second Life for more years than I care to think about! I was SLBorn on the 20th February 2007.
I have a few personal rules with Blogger applications that I would like to share with you, from a Blogger’s point of view firstly, these I have found to be helpful and saves having to tackle them when speaking to the Manager in person or filling out the form –
Firstly check whether blog applications are open – It usually states on the Blog Manager or Store/ Event Owners profile if they are accepting Blogger applications. If they are not then do not send – It is always useful to check on the [SL] logger Support pages frequently as they have a current and up to date list of who is looking for Bloggers both for stores and events.
‘Get rid of the music auto-play – If you wish to put a music link on your blog, by all means but let it be the choice of the reader to listen to it.’
If you are interested in a store to blog for then I would always have blogged some of their items previously, I find this is polite and quite often now one of the questions on an application form. I suggest at least 2 blogs – to say you love their items but have never shown any in your blogs does not show that you love their product range. I always personalise my application with the name of whomever I am applying to, mention their products that you love, preferably by name – show you know their products and their range.
Be concise and ALWAYS spell check. I appreciate that the application may be going to someone who speaks a different language to yourself, but still spell check as it makes it a lot easier to translate, if necessary, when everything is spelt correctly.
Now from a Blogger Manager’s point of view.
My advise is the following, it is just my advice and my own personal preferences and also quite a few I have seen on Forms and NC’s for applying for positions – A clean and smart blog page is always so nice to read. Messy, cluttered and disorganised blogs are not the easiest to navigate not just for whomever you are applying to but also for your readers.
Get rid of the music auto-play – If you wish to put a music link on your blog, by all means but let it be the choice of the reader to listen to it. I hate opening a blog page and being blasted with music and trying to find where or how to turn it off, not everyone loves your favourite song of the moment – Be kind to our ears 🙂
Make sure all your links and details are up to date – I check mine every 3 or 4 months or when I have major changes to make, even something as simple as a store LM to your own details – Check them twice, they speak volumes about you.
For someone to apply and tell me they LOVE our range but never to have shown any interest in the store or when asked to go to the store to collect something and they ask for the landmark – DO YOUR RESEARCH – It is always valuable, trust me on this as I would take someone who has blogged our items and has some clear knowledge of our products than someone who clearly has not – Even if you haven’t blogged any yet then say that and why – it does improve your chances.
I hope this helps and feel free to contact me for any tips 🙂 We all help each other ♥
Additional links:
Shari’s Blog
Shari on Flickr
SL Blogger Support 
Reblogged this on Shari The Cat – Not so New Blogger – Still Old Soul! .
Great note about the music but would also like to suggest that some pages have things falling down like little hearts or other items that to me distract from the page itself ~
I have been blogging for approximately three years in Second Life and I had to chuckle a bit as Ms. Cortes is in my group in which I have a blog and yes I do use music. That is how I express the pictures in which I set the stage for my blog. I am not quite sure who she is comparing to but I can assure many seasoned bloggers have praised me for the professional page in which I present and like herself I have worked in the retail business in real life. A “Nordies girl” here. So I think each blog is an individual expression and each person has a right to do their blog especially if they are not being sponsored and chose to do it “their way” just saying big smiles Gabby.
I can see your point about every individual but am seeing more and more blogging invites that do not want music when they visit a blog site ~ its fine if you give the reader a choice to turn on the music or not but look at a lot of professional websites they do not blast a customer with music as soon as they land for me and for others it is annoying ~ again we each have our own opinions but that point on the music has been brought up on various discussions and as been discussed at length with the SL Support team during the SL13 event..
Gabriella, I have not been able to find your blog to have a look (and listen, feel free to drop me a link to your blog), but from what I get from your comment here is that you use music to enhance a blogpost – as in: add a YouTube or whatever link to accompany a specific article. I do that too, sometimes. But that is not what Shari means in her blog-post. I am sure Shari refers to blogs/websites which have a playlist on auto-play, the moment you enter the site you get the music; in my case right in my headphones on a pretty loud volume while I am listening to my own music already.
Embedding a YouTube or other link to a post is no issue, as the reader/visitor has to actively click the link to listen.
Auto-playing music on a blog the moment you arrive is, for me too, a big NO. Specially when I cannot find the button to mute it in 2 secs, if I cannot mute the auto-playing music I will close the site and probably never return to it. It is very 1997 and unnecessary. It is the perfect way to scare visitors away, no matter how brilliant your content is.
I find this tips very good, they’re very helpful, and yes me as a blogger I can’t stand the blogs who are having the music turned on when I’m on their page. I mean, if you want me to hear your music, give me a chance to decide, not push it down to my throat to say it like this. I love music, and art in general, but I want to have a choice to listen when I want it, because not every time we’re able to hear the music from a blog we’re visiting.
And I totally agree to show the appreciation and love to a designer before we’re requesting something, always give and share and expect or not expect something in return, because not every time we get what we want. 🙂
Hey Ladies 🙂 Yes I totally get what you are all saying, Yes Starr those lil lipstick and heart cursor things are a bit of an annoyance too, and yes my point was the auto playing of some track I have never heard of, really loud, in my ears or worse if I haven’t got my headphones in, out of my speakers – eeeks – I love it when people put a Youtube link in to go with their post Gabs, but I do not enjoy being forced to listen to something when I cannot find hte source or the OFF button! I have found some super bands through the Youtube links some folks put in their blogs and also have had some memories from a lot of others but yes IT SHOULD be my choice to listen is my point. Glad you all seem to have liked the post and thank you ♥♥♥