BRITISH BEAUTY ADDICT: blogging

21.2.16

How To Grow Your Blog With Pinterest

Pinterest and I have become the best of buds over the last year and in that time I've learnt that the power of Pinterest is incredible. It's so much more than just another social media platform, it's effectively a search engine. And with that in mind, although my blog visits are relatively modest, just over 30% of referral traffic to my blog comes via Pinterest. In short, pinning my blogs images to Pinterest drives new traffic and readers to my blog. And whilst I'm still learning, today I'm going to share with you 5 ways you can grow your blog with Pinterest.
1. Create a business account First up you need to create a Pinterest business Account. The difference? A business account has features like analytics. And if you already have a Pinterest account no fear, you can convert and it won't affect your boards or pins. It's simple; follow the step by step guide. Make sure you upload a profile picture, write a good about me paragraph and include links to your social networks and blog. Once your profile is created follow a few bloggers and businesses that you find interesting and turn off your search privacy in your settings, as Google likes Pinterest!
2. Make your blog Pinterest friendly Next you need to make sure it's easy for your readers to share images from your blog. Now there are a couple of ways you can make your blog images more pinnable including a "Pin it" button which pops up when you roll over any of your blogs images. It's easy to install and easy to use, as within a couple of clicks your image will be pinned and automatically include a backlink to your blog. You can also add a Pinterest widget onto your sidebar, which displays your latest pins. Widgets aside, bearing in mind Pinterest is a visual platform, its key that your blogs images are pin-worthy. Meaning when creating and taking photos for your blog, consider if your readers would pin them. Vertical images, taller images, infographics and how-to images are very popular.
2. Create a board dedicated to your blog This step is simple. Using the title of your blog create a board dedicated to your blog so anyone can find your posts. You can directly pin your images from your blog using the 'Pin it' button, or directly upload from your device. But if you do this, make sure to edit the source, as it will not automatically include a backlink. I've arranged my boards in order of importance and have put my blog board first. And whilst you want to showcase your posts and entice new readers, it's important to avoid self promotion, so don't spam your followers by dumping them all at once as they will become diluted (if not irritating).
3. Pin like mad (well consistency) On a regular basis, I discover a lot of beautiful images and at one point last year I questioned if I was pinning too much! But in reality pinning too much is near enough impossible. It is however important to pin quality images over quantity. So whilst I pin every day, I always pin and repin images that I love, or are in my niche. A few of my Pinterest boards include; hair, beautiful makeup and eyeshadow (duh!). With your business account, you can refer back to your analytics to see which pins are popular and the more people repin from your Pinterest account, the more influence and reach you'll achieve. And if you're lucky, you may pin or repin an image that then goes viral, meaning it is pinned, then repined again, again, again and so on. And as mentioned before it's important whilst finding inspiration to give a little back to by pinning your own images. You can also pin images directly from Bloglovin'. And don't disregard the basics, share the love; comment, like and follow.
4. Participate in group boards Talking of networking, joining and participating in active and relevant group boards is a great way to promote networking and recognition for your blog. Group boards are simply regular boards with multiple pinners/contributors. You can discover group boards via PinGroupie. And if you're a fellow blogger you can join my group blogger board by dropping me an email (you must be following me and the board for me to send you an invite). Group boards are also a great place start if you don't have any, or many Pinterest followers, as participating in group boards will increase exposure dramatically. As when someone accepts your invite to become a contributor, that board is automatically added to their Pinterest page. Easy promotion at its finest. Just remember to respect the rules.
5. Apply for rich pins Oh rich pins! I'll be honest in saying that I've only just got my head around this one. So to put simply rich pins are regular pins but include a little extra information on the pin itself and also adds your favicon to the pin. It's not a necessity, but a nice touch (branding and all that jazz). There are different types of rich pins, 6 to be exact: product, place, article, recipe, app and move. As a blogger I use article pins. You can learn how to set up rich pins here.
Do you use Pinterest for your blog? Let me know your tips and tricks in the comments below and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Happy pinning! Emily

blogging

7.2.16

71 Beauty Blog Post Ideas

Looking for beauty blog post ideas? I for one know how much of a struggle it can be to consistently come up with new blog post ideas. So I've compiled a list 71 beauty blog post ideas to help combat the dreaded bloggers block. What you waiting for? Grab your notepads. Here we go...

1. Product review

2. FOTD (face of the day) 3. How much is my face worth? 4. My everyday beauty staples 5. My everyday makeup 6. Holy grail beauty products 7. Battle of the subscription beauty boxes 8. Best budget discoveries 9. Top 3 face masks 10. Go-to beauty tools 11. Date night beauty 12. Holiday beauty essentials 13. Five product face 14. HOTD (hair of the day) 15. Shopping my stash 16. eBay beauty bargains 17. Products worth the splurge 18. Makeup wish list 19. Nail tutorial 20. Forgotten makeup favourites 21. Pamper products 22. Monthly beauty favourites 23. "No makeup" makeup look 24. Favourite beauty accounts on Instagram 25. Beauty haul 26. Disappointing beauty products 27. Handbag beauty heros 28. Favourite beauty blogs 29. My makeup collection 30. Products worth the hype 31. My hair story 32. Beauty product empties 33. Beauty hack(s) 34. Deseret island beauty picks 35. Top 5 nude lipsticks 36. Top 5 red lipsticks 37. The best beauty dupes 38. Products for spot prone skin 39. A makeup celebrity look 40. Best of the beauty sales 41. Beauty jargon defined 42. NOTD (nails of the day) 43. Brand focus 44. Skincare routine 45. My fragrance wardrobe 46. Best beauty books 47. Long lasting makeup 48. Makeup storage ideas 49. Dirty hair secrets 50. 5 glow getters 51. Skincare staples 52. Upcoming beauty 53. Bedside beauty products 54. Top 10 under £10 55. DIY beauty products 56. Budget beauty brushes 57. What's in my makeup bag 58. Summer/ Spring/ Winter beauty essentials 59. Favourite YouTube beauty tutorials 60. 5 beauty brands to try 61. Shower staples 62. SOS beauty 63. Melt proof makeup tips 64. The blogger made me buy it 65. Top 5 beauty bases 66. Seasonal inspired makeup look 67. Everyday makeup brushes 68. Top 5 nude eyeshadow palettes 69. 15 minute makeup 70. Top 10 nail polishes 71. Beauty blog post ideas

I hope these beauty blog post ideas are helpful and get your creative juices flowing! And if you have any post ideas, or ways to find inspiration share them in the comments below. I'm sure they'll be much appreciated.

Love your resident beauty addict,

Emily

blogging

10.12.15

BBC Three Counties Radio Interview

This week I appeared as a guest on BBC Three Counties Radio. And it's safe to say, being interviewed by Nick Coffer about my blog British Beauty Addict is without a doubt one of the highlights of my year.
Firstly, I want to say thank you to BBC 3CR for giving me the opportunity and inviting me to their studio in Dunstable and secondly a HUGE thank you to every single one of you who tuned in and showed your support. The whole experience was overwhelming, all whilst a little daunting; not only was this interview live meaning no second chances, 'ums', 'ahs', and brain farts, I also hadn't prepared.
Nevertheless, having anxiously picked off the majority of my nail varnish prior to the interview, I hid my hands and sat directly in front of the microphone and Nick Coffer... Now I'm by no means a veteran blogger, or blogging expert for that matter. But I was myself and I rolled with it...

I can't wait to hear your thoughts. Love your resident beauty addict,

Emily

blogging

20.11.15

Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2015

Last night I attended the eagerly anticipated Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2015. Winged liner and lashes applied, myself and Rosi headed to the venue for an evening of awards, giggles, cocktails, and a little singing...
Firstly, I want to say a MASSIVE thank you everyone who nominated me for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards and showed their support. 64,000 nominations were made and British Beauty Addict was shortlisted "Best in Beauty". I couldn’t be more honoured and grateful for the recognition! I also want to congratulate everyone else who were shortlisted across all 10 categories and to those who were awarded last night including both two time winner Brogan Tate who won "Best in Beauty" & 'Highly Commended' for "Best Vlog" and Sophia Meola 'Highly Commended' for "Best Use of Photography".
This years Cosmopolitan Blog Awards was held at One Marylebone a beautiful venue and former church just a stone's throw away from Regent's Park, London. And after a lot of deliberation, I wore a b-e-a-utiful embellished maxi dress that was kindly gifted to me by Frock and Frill and had my hair blow-dried to perfection at Colour Nation - thank you!
But the best part of the evening was meeting such passionate like-minded bloggers, including the beautiful Rosi (Rosanna Pierce), Brogan (Brogan Tate xo) and Amelia (xAmeliax). We had such a giggle stayed until the lights turned on and then ended up in a bar across the road for a cheeky jägerbomb.
Rosi and I shared a hotel room and a glass or two of Malibu and lemonade. And I have to say that this girl is so darn lovely - I wish we lived closer! It can be quite nerve-racking meeting fellow bloggers, but Rosi's so down to earth and genuine. I was in good company throughout the night and felt an immense sense of pride to be part of the blogging community.

Thank you Cosmo & thank you girls for making it so memorable, Emily

blogging

11.10.15

Shortlisted | 2015 Cosmopolitan Blog Awards

I never thought I'd be writing this post, but British Beauty Addict has been shortlisted for 'Best for Beauty' in the 2015 Cosmopolitan Blog Awards and to put it simply, I can't quite believe it!
Cosmo unveiled their shortlist on Monday whilst I was sunning myself in Kos and thinking I didn't stand a chance, I didn't even check the shortlist! I was notified by a fellow beauty blogger and shortly after congratulated by many - thank you. Being shortlisted amongst well-established beauty bloggers, I couldn't be more shocked, honoured and grateful for the recognition. I want to thank each one of you who nominated me and have shown your support. This is an exciting time for BBA! If you're an avid reader and think my blog is worthy of winning you can cast your vote online here.
Good luck to everyone who has been shortlisted! Lots of love, Your resident British Beauty Addict, Emily

blogging

11.6.15

British Beauty Addict’s 2nd Blog-Versary!

As you read this, I’ll be in Greece basking in the sun. But I couldn’t go on holiday and forget all about my Blog’s 2nd Birthday. That’s right, today British Beauty Addict is 2-years-old! A year on and I’ve had over 296,000 page views, published over 160 posts and in the last 12 months alone, another 1,000 people have subscribed to my blog via Bloglovin’.
You could say BBA is a small fish in a very large pond, but to me my little blog is a very large part of my life (what ever did I do with my free time beforehand I’ll never know!). Although I still haven’t quite got the hang of my DSLR, take a ridiculous amount of photos to get that one shot, pray for sunshine more often than not and have only just started to get on top of this scheduling lark, all in all blogging is pretty darn fun.
This is the part of the blog-versary post where I say a massive THANK YOU to every single one of you that take the time to read, share and comment on my posts.
Here at 10 of my most popular posts from the last 12 months:
1. MAC Eye Shadow x15: Warm Neutral Palette // Review & Swatches 2. MAC Fanfare Lipstick // Review & Swatches 3. My MAC Eyeshadow Palette 4. Soap & Glory Supercat Eyeliner Pen // Review 5. Makeup Must Have: Rimmel London East End Snob Lip Liner 6. Seventeen Doll’d Up Mascara 7. Charlotte Tilbury: The Dolce Vita Eyeshadow Quad // Review & Swatches 8. Beauty Packing With MUJI 9. Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask // Review 10. NARS Virtual Domination Cheek Palette // Review & Swatches
Let me know what your favourite post has been here on BBA,
Love your resident British Beauty Addict, Emily

beauty

11.6.14

British Beauty Addict’s 1st Blog-Versary!

That’s right, British Beauty Addict is 1 today [insert celebratory sound effects here]! In the space of 365 days, I have written 73 blog posts, had over 99,225 page views, read over 2,000 comments and gained over 700 readers... wow.

But for me it has never been about the numbers, I never set up my blog with the intention of 10 people reading it, let alone over 700! I set up British Beauty Addict a year ago after reading numerous beauty blogs and thinking 'I could do that!'. My blog has been a place for me to gush about my latest beauty finds and favourites, to people who are just as beauty obsessive as I am (rather than to all my friends, family and my boyfriend, who I’m sure really isn’t all that interested!). For me, my blog has been a massive learning curve; although I must admit, I still haven’t learnt how to use my DSLR properly, I have recently been having a case of ‘Oh that’s what that button does'! But yes, I have found something, which I thoroughly enjoy, that has helped me to develop my writing skills and been a place where I can be creative.

And in terms of what is to come here at British Beauty Addict, I’m excited to finally put my all into my blog, especially as I have recently finished my University degree. Question, what type of content do you guys like to read?

Well, this post has felt a little self indulgent, so I think I’ll wrap it up here! But thank you to everyone who regularly reads my posts and leave comments. I must also mention that I have met some lovely people (well, virtually!) and tapped into a community, which I wish I had known about sooner! And lastly, I just want to say a quick mention to my friends, who have all been really supportive and take the time to read my posts (you know who you are!).

Cheers to a year of non-stop beauty. Love your resident British Beauty Addict, Emily

blogging

18.9.13

Say Hello To The New & Improved British Beauty Addict!

If you hadn't already noticed... my blog has under gone a makeover. Abby, from Baggle web and design has done an amazing job of recreating my blog and I LOVE it. Thank you so much Abby, for all your hard work over the last month or so. I'm not the best at technical bits and pieces and to be honest, I would of had no idea of where to start. I wanted to go for something professional, simple and me and I feel I have got just that, if not more. I love the header and the YSL lippy (my favourite!). And the scallop border is so pretty.... To be honest I love it all! And yes, you have now all become "My lovely followers".

I highly recommend Abby, if any of you are looking to get a blog revamp. I hope you all like the new design! Let me know what you think in the comments below. Oh and I have a new review on the way for you all, so keep your eyes peeled.

Hope you are all well and having a good week.

Emily

blogging