The struggles of being a nail blogger, and a big thank you to my Followers!

Hi everyone grab some coffee or a snack, this is going to be a long post.

So this topic has been on my mind for some time.  The nail blogger world has gotten huge!  There have been often times when I wonder if it’s even worth my time to post as often as I do.  Sometimes I post up swatches only to find that they don’t show up in Google Image search and sometimes my posts hardly get any views at all.  I know I’m not the only one struggling with this issue.  I even spent money and bought a nice camera to take close-up quality photos of my swatches.  Eventually I started to ask myself, why do I do this?  Why even keep going if no one is listening?  There are literally thousands of nail blogs out on the web today.  It’s very overwhelming and tough to figure out how to make yours stand out from the crowd.  Putting out quality content is a must.  Read on to see some tips on how to make the most of your blog post.

The truth is, I keep doing this because I hope to help someone in the future make the right choice when they’re looking for a specific polish.  And also, because I LOVE nail polish.  I love just sitting on my bed and staring at my collection.  The glitters, the colors- I could just keep on going!  I want to thank all of YOU for making my blog what it is today.  Thank you for reading, thank you for staying with me for as long as you have.  I also want to say thank you to my new followers.  You all are what keep me going and keep me posting.  I’ll be honest.  There was a time when I thought about throwing my hands up and giving up.  Hopefully some of my tips in this post will help your name get out there, and your content read.

First of all, if you’re a nail blogger, you need to take quality photos.  I use a Nikon L830 for my swatches and it performs pretty good without being a DSLR camera.  I done extensive research for months on cameras with good Macro mode without having to shell out a small fortune.  This camera is on Best Buy for $180 which in my book is a good deal.  Secondly as a nail blogger, cuticle care is a Must!  I use Aquaphor on my hands and cuticles over night and it makes a world of difference.  Pushing back your cuticles is also a great idea as well.  It can make your nail beds longer and your hands just look all around more elegant.  Third you need to practice on application.  I can’t stress this enough!  Flooded cuticles never looks appealing in any picture.  Capping the tip of your nail is also important.  It keeps your manicure lasting longer and overall improves the look of the pictures your taking.  I’ll insert some pictures of my manicures when I first started out, and then some of my recent manicures after practice and pushing back my cuticles.  You’ll be amazed!

Another tip for helping to get traffic to your blog is naming your pictures correctly.  I didn’t realize this until recently when I started using Picasa for editing my photos and watching YouTube videos on how to edit with it.  Using the underscore to rename your photos helps Google put them in the search easier.  An example of renaming your photos with an underscore in your photos would be nail_swatch_wheel.  When Google image see’s the underscores it actually see’s them as this: nail-swatch-wheel.  Trust me, this works.  I started making the change just recently and my blog posts have been getting a lot more hits because my photos are showing up at the top of the search.

These are just a few tips that I hope helps you all that are struggling.  Don’t give up!  I thought about giving up, but nail polish is my passion.  I also Love to type/write.  You’re not alone, and if you ever need support or someone to talk to I’m here.  Just shoot me a message, or comment.  I always make it a point to respond.  If you’re still reading, thank you so much for making it this far.  When I hit my 100th post I have a special giveaway for you guys and I can’t wait to share it with you!  It’s almost surreal to think that I’ve almost done 100 posts and I couldn’t have made it far without you all.  I’ll talk to you all soon!