Faux fur. Animal print. I told you I'm addicted. If I combined all my animal print items, all I would be missing is a pair of cat ears to complete a full on wild cat look. I'd look ridiculous, but it could be done. I paired my leather mini and a sheer, oversized top with my new faux fur vest. It keeps me warm and I've since layered it over my leather jackets for extra warmth and awesomeness. It's such a versatile vest to wear out in snazzed up in night outfit or something less sassy for work. So many more plans to wear this vest! I picked up this great piece from Forever 21! (And I'm staying away from anything animal print for awhile, because I own too much. Friends, hold me accountable and don't let me buy anything.)
[faux fur vest by f21, sheer top by american apparel, leather mini skirt by bb dakota, wedges by steve madden]
This week I'm going to rejoin the conversation with the Fashion Beauty Friend Friday post. Questions and my answers below!
1. How important do you think reader connectedness is to the success of your blog?
Reader connectedness is very important. Lots of people will come by a blog, take a look, maybe even comment but never return. You want readers to value your blog, get to know you and share your blog with friends. Plus, it's fun making friends with readers and fellow bloggers. I know the more I feel connected to a blogger, the more I spend on reading and commenting on their blog. If you're a blogger interested in monetizing your blog, this is integral.
2. What do you do to draw readers in and create that writer-reader bond?
I think authenticity is the most important thing when it comes to blogging. If you're not writing like yourself or if you're a fashion blogger, dressing in a style that makes you feel confident, it shows. No one wants to read about an overly-censored, shell of a person lacking any sort of personality. When I read others' blogs, I want them to be conversational and I want to get to know them. I try to share as much information about myself as possible, dress the way I want to and provide high quality photography--either with me in the photos or featuring my friends with amazing style that I hope inspires readers.
3. What is one way you could improve this connection?
My biggest area to improve upon is taking more time to comment back to everyone who leaves such sweet comments. I appreciate everyone of you who stops by here and takes the time to comment and I'm sorry for being an asshole.
4. Is there a blogger you think does a great job creating that writer-reader bond? Why?
Taylor of Sterling Style, Kim of eat.sleep.wear and Tieka of Selective Potential are fabulous at this. I remember when I first started this blog, I felt the love from Taylor right away and she's one of my favesies! Kim is a genuinely amazing person and everyone's e-cheerleader. You can't help but love her. I know personally how thoughtful Tieka is with everything she shares in her blog. Tieka is a ball of sunshine and you want to read not just because she dresses so cute, but you want to see her and Brett's adventures and it's because you feel like you know them so well. These three ladies all comment on blogs and respond to lots of individuals on Twitter. They've really gone above and beyond in establishing a personal connection with readers.
5. What do you do to cultivate new readers? How do you get them to your site in the first place?
I hope that a lot of this happens organically. Ugh, I want to punch myself in the face for using that word, but I can't think of any other word to use. If people dig my blog or anyone''s blog, other bloggers will reach out to ask you to guest post, feature you, etc. This all increases traffic to my own blog. When my sponsors tweet or retweet my outfit posts containing items from their site, that also helps new people stumble across my blog. I focus on consistently updating, providing some sort of narrative that isn't too dry to read, quality photography and hopefully a style that inspires others.