I love a good dupe, especially an affordable one. During my last visit to New York City, I ventured into Forever 21 ( because the ones there are just pure amaze-balls ) and I came across these beautiful Metallic Mules. They also come in Gold, but since I wear more silver, I figured they would be the better option.

These beauties will be styled for display on the blog soon. You know, once the weather gets a little better! Until then I will be keeping an eye on them, despite their taunting. 

You can purchase these beautiful dupes here. You can also shop different styles down below! 

I have been getting a crazy amount of views for my Blogger insight blog posts! Wow! Thank you guys so much! Now I know what you guys want to see on the blog! With that being said, I wanted to share some more blogging tips for those of you who want to start blogging, but don't know where to start. If you are already a blogger and really want to up your game this year, this post is for you! So sit back, relax, grab a glass of wine, and let's get started. 

Step 1 - Know your niche and topic inside-out

This step is really all about knowing your blog's voice. What do I mean by voice? Well by 'voice' I mean that you know who you are writing for and what your reader's questions are.

If you chose to write about random interests then you are building a hobby, not a professional blog. 

It's fine to branch out from your original topic and include something a little different every now and again. However, it's more effective if that branch is closely related with the theme of your usual topic.

Step 2 - Organize to shoot images to go along with the blog post

The images that you use for your blog posts should be an extension of your voice.

They should be very engaging in the same way and tell a story with the same mood that you are aiming for. This also means that your photos should be consistent.

Organizing which shots to take, where to shoot them & when are all important steps.

If you rush an image, you will regret it later. Trust me when I say this: images, once online, stay there ( forever ).

When you are shooting clothing, make sure to try on the outfits, and snap a picture in your mirror. This way you can emphasize and add extra details to keep the drama interesting.

*Step 3 - Draft your post, edit your images & upload photos

When writing your posts, it is important to keep your SEO in mind but also try to write it in an engaging way.

Whenever I am writing my posts, I tend to start with some keywords and phrases and build a copy of my post around them.

When uploading photos, it is important to take the time to name the files correctly and enter alternative text & descriptions.

I find this task so boring but SEO is important to do, so please make sure you don't skip that step!

Step 4 - Schedule

Every blog post I schedule, I make use of a scheduling app to help incorporate it into my social media.

Step 5 - Publish & Engage

Throughout the week I schedule time to read and engage with other blogs ( and instagram ).

Outside of my blog, I am always engaging with my readers ( I do respond to emails ) on the various social media apps that I use.

I mainly use Instagram and tumblr for some odd reason. I find that each platform that I use has a slightly different audience, so trust me when I say it is important to keep up with them.

Why is this such an important step? Well it's also good to engage with other bloggers as well. Make use of the blogging community by communicating with its members.

To clarify, you should not comment on other blogs just to gain followers or traffic to your blog or social media.

I despise those bloggers who follow you, comment on your content and when you follow them back, they unfollow you. What is the point in going through all of that work if you're just going to unfollow the person?

A successful blog post should not be defined by a heap of comments underneath it. The majority of your readers do not even bother setting up an account to comment with. If you leave genuine comments on other blogs without the intention being traffic then, my dears, you should consider that a bonus!

Step 6 - Review & Re-share

After a post has gone live, I schedule time to go back and review the post. What that means is that you need to make sure that the links are up to date and the information is still relevant.

Even though I am still going back and re-adding all of my old photos from when I switched from Wordpress to Blogger, I then re-share the old content on Instagram to make sure that the content is still being read.

* All images were taken off Tumblr * 

News:

January is officially over and it was pretty hectic! From working overnights at work to celebrating my birthday. From visiting New York City and hanging out with my friend Ingrid to working a broadway production and meeting Taye Diggs! Let's just say January has been a good month for me and the year just started! It is exciting to be networking and putting myself out there. I always say that I am a hard worker and nothing comes hand given to me.

Plans:

Well for the wonderful month of February aka Black History Month. I am actually currently writing this as I am packing for a weekend getaway to my second home! As you all know its NYC! Why? Well remember I stated that I was going to be working with none other than Taye Diggs? Well the grand premiere of his broadway production is on Saturday and I am so excited to see all of our hard work and vision come to life on stage!

Shopping:

I am not sure if I am going to be doing some shopping whilst I am in New York but I mean who can go to NYC and NOT do a little shopping? Am I right?

Watched:

I have been watching all sorts of TV shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Golden Girls, Criminal Minds & Friends.

Song Of The Week:

Cave Me In by Gallant ft Tablo & Eric Nam

Video Of The Week:

PS: I will be writing reviews and showing you guys TONS of pictures from my weekend in NYC! So, make sure that you guys stay tuned! I didn't get to post much outfit posts this month but I will be getting back on that this month for sure!

My Instagram photos have definitely transformed over this past year. When I first started, I overused filters, frames and those damn bokeh effects that I swear everyone and their Mum was obsessed with at the time. What the hell was I thinking? I never truly liked any of those filters. I was just doing it cause everyone else was doing it. Some of those photos are still on my Instagram page ( I have been deleting them slowly ). I seriously need to get rid of them and start fresh.

The photo editing apps that I have been using lately are VSCO Cam, Snapseed, and if I don't have to do much editing then I always just end up using Instagram for some light editing.

In the next blog post, I will share how I edit my Instagram photos. I am no pro at this but I am hoping that my tips help!

xoxo

Jia

PS: I also use this app called PreviewGrid which helps me look at my entire Instagram as a whole and create an aesthetic feed!