New Direction

I've been trying to keep everything separate:

• Writer
• Redhead
• Mother

All these things make up me and diving it up is limiting my posts.  From now on, I shall blog whatever I like and not be restrictive.  I think it will make my posts my frequent and personal.  It will give readers a better understanding of where I am coming from and my life.

We'll see how it goes...

Modelgateway.net

Feb to April, I was very busy moving house.  During this time I also discovered I was pregnant.  It's been a very exciting 6 months, my mind has been all over the place and writing has taken a back seat - I never thought I'd say that.  Keeping my blog up-to-date... well, there has been no time for that either.

Pregnancy has meant that my modelling has come to a standstill too.  My really cute bump isn't quite the ethereal look I'm famous for.  However, the agency I worked for has decided to go in a new direction and has become a fashion industry consultancy for models and aspiring models.  Their change of direction meant they were looking for writers for their blog.  This sounded like a perfect opportunity for me and they were willing to give me a try.

Writing for someone else is a brand new challenge.  My writing has always been for myself and my personal enjoyment.  A lot of what I write is never seen by anyone.  I tweet'd the news to share with my followers.  I am followed by a number of writers and models who I thought may be interested in giving it a go too.

I now have written some of my first articles for the blog which have been published:

My first article was on make-up brand Illamasqua.  I love the morals they've built their company on varying from the typical animal friendly products to supporting the charity S.O.P.H.I.E.  Their ideals are aspiring and they embrace the unique beauty of all their customers:  http://www.modelgateway.net/post/54297799068/morals-by-brand-this-is-not-an-advertorial-an

Using my experience from trying to conceive I next wrote a piece on how sex can be used to keep fit.  I've written one based on a different position for each month.  For July I based it on the good old traditional missionary position.  Sexercise:  http://www.modelgateway.net/post/54753578626/sexercise-in-july-by-mg-female-interest-editor

My last entry for July was about the power of getting some shut eye.  A simple beauty secret neglected by many creative geniuses.  We're all guilty of burning the candle at both ends but I thought I'd share how simply going to sleep can make you look more beautiful:
http://www.modelgateway.net/post/55340904895/beauty-sleep-by-mg-female-interest-editor-alison

I have some ideas for my August pieces so be sure to check out modelgateway.net to see more and contributions by other writers.

Blogging

Blogger

 

Over the years, I've tried a range of websites and blogs. This is my most current and most up-to-date blog.  Over the past two years I have had various different blogs & websites. These are listed below:

 

Mar 2012 to Current	Blogger	http://allyaldridge.blogspot.co.uk/
Jan 2012 to Feb 2013	Webpage	https://sites.google.com/site/aldridgeally/Blogger/blog
Dec 2011 to Jan 2012	Webs	http://www.alisonaldridge.webs.com/
Mar 2011 to Dec 2011	Wordpress	http://redfae.wordpress.com/
Jan 2010 to Mar 2011	Weebly	http://redfae.weebly.com/

 

Blogging Advice

Tip 1: Write about what interests you, that way if nobody else wants to read it then you've at least enjoyed writing it. In addition, if you are writing about what interests you then when you do get followers it'll be easier to maintain their interest as it'll be the same as yours.

Tip 2: Blog frequently to show that your blog is maintained and up-to-date. This also provides your readers with fresh news and will encourage them to check back more frequently.

Tip 3: When relevant, promote your blog. For example, you could direct someone to an article in your blog that you think they'll find of interest. This will be recieved much better than if you spam forums or social sites. You could tweet when you have a new post and what the post about to enable people to find you.

Tip 4: If you find another blog that is of intererst then share it. Bloggers tend to be supportive of each other so by promoting someone else there is a good chance that they'll promote you back to their readers.

Tip 5: Take you're time to check that your blog is well written. Check and amend any spelling, grammar or punctuation mistakes. If it doesn't make sense then people will be instantly turned off and not take your seriously.

 

Blog Site Reviews

Blogger: I currently use this site and would recommend it. It alows a wide range of sharing options for your readers (email, facebook, twitter, blogger, google+). There is a mobile app so you can blog on the go and you are able to email posts to your blog. It is very easy to use and shows you how many views you've had.

Tumblr:I currently use this site for personal use and would recommend it. Tumblr has a strong community of "follow back" so you can obtain a good number of readers and find people with similar interests. The site allows people to share posts (reblog) meaning your article can be read by their followers. There is a mobile app so you can blog on the go and you are able to email your posts to your blog. It is very easy to use and very social.

Webpage: Writing a blog as a webpage is very cumbersome, I would not recommend it. It basically meant I had to edit the website. This did mean the blog was nicely intergrated into my website, however, it was not easy to keep up-to-date. It did allow RSS feeds.

Webs:I created this as a free website after Weebly. However, I did not like the appearance and the free ads all over my site. The ads were part of the freeservice but seemed to take over. It also wasn't very user friendly either.

Weebly: I loved this website and it was free too (the ads were not that bad). The blog was easy to use, update and I like the way it looked. The only problem is that I got a few hits from "robots" placing odd comments on my posts. Otherwise, I would have happily stayed here forever.

Independent Author Network Prize

The independent Author Blog is giving away a Kindle Fire HD 8.9 pre-loaded with titles by Indie Authors (and members of IAN).  To enter you just have to send them an email with the subject title being "Kindle Fire Contest Entry".

The contest is open from 1st November 2012 until Christmas Eve (24 December 2012).

This is a very exciting prize, especially for someone who loves to read.  It is also a great way to promote the Indie Authors who have donated their stories to be includ-ed.  Hopefully the winner will read and review, giving them all the recognition.  It may attract the support of more Indie Authors creating a stronger network.  

Screen shot about the prize from their website is below:  

Link:  http://www.indieauthorsnetwork.com/2012/10/enter-to-win-ian-christmas-kindle.html
Link:  http://www.indieauthorsnetwork.com/p/kindle-fire-giveaway.html