Collective Voice

A place for all the tips and tricks to best monetize your Collective Voice links.

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Create Text Links on ShopStyle Collective

| How-To, Money Monday

One of the easiest ways to earn money and incorporate our affiliate links into your blog is by creating a text link. Your readers are looking to see how much and where they can purchase the item you just posted, so make it easy for them while earning money at the same time. There are two ways to create a text link on ShopStyle Collective.

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  1. Log in and click on the top left Search text box.
  2. Type in the item you are searching for, e.g. denim
  3. Hover over your preferred item and click “Copy Link.”
  4. Paste the link you just copied and embed it in the text you are hoping to afiliatize.

Another way to create a text link is to go directly to the retailer site you are looking to link to. For example:

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  1. Go to the retailer website, e.g. Shopbop.com.
  2. Make sure you have our LinkIt bookmarklet tool installed.
  3. Search for your specific item, e.g. FRAME Le Color Cropped Skinny, and click the LinkIt button.
  4. The box above will prepopulate, and you can copy your newly created text link from there.

xo,

Carlina

J. Crew Summer Sale!

| Sales to Talk About

J. Crew never fails to make us want Jenna Lyons in our apartment every morning to help get us photoshoot ready. Seriously, the styling, the looks, the wispy-carefree-but-oh-so-chic flyaway hair is just so picture perfect. We want it all. Currently J. Crew is having an extra 30% off all of thier sale styles, and an extra 50% of all final sale. Here is our end of summer wishlist. What’s on your list?

Some of our favorite items from the top, L to R.

Sophia Webster™ for J.Crew Nicole block heels

Short-sleeve popover shirt 
Contoured spike cuff
Tall vertical-striped shirt 
Corsica espadrille wedges 
Broken-in boyfriend jean in Walker wash
Harper woven mules 
Crystal tortoise chandelier earrings 
Linen cargo pencil skirt 

New Retailers on ShopStyle Collective!

| Retailer & Brand Updates

We are always adding great new retailers that we know you are already wearing, loving, and linking back to, but here are three that we wanted to highlight for you. Check them out . . .

Kendra Scott: We wear this American jewelry designer’s looks already. We’re obsessed with her gorgeous statement earrings and delicate necklaces. We can’t wait for you to link to her items; they are the epitome of fabulous. Take a look!

Halston Heritage: The designer brand that Carrie Bradshaw swore by and the one she rocked the hell out of in the opening scene of Sex and the City 2, Halston is officially on ShopStyle Collective. We need to find that white, flowy SJP dress — let us know if you link to it!

Uniqlo: This brand amazes us with its übercheap pricing, fancy Parisian collaborations, and all-around accessibility. Since we all know you have a ton of basics from Uniqlo, we can’t wait to start shopping your blogs for more of its clothing! 

Image credit via Warner Bros.

Blogger Happenings

| Must Know

With thoughts of Fall fashion looming and the idea that Summer is close to coming to a close (gasp!), we are savoring those last moments to wear our off-the-shoulder tops and enjoy this fine season in all its glory. And there are lots of ways to savor in style, from music festivals to blogger conferences to Fashion Weeks. Check them out.

Outside Lands, Aug. 7-9 — This San Francisco music festival is just around the corner, so up the ante and style your #OOTDs to the nines with fringe, macramé, and flowers in your hair. Share your content with your readers and create widgets so they can shop your festival closet too! 

Create and Cultivate, Aug. 14-15 — This blogger conference with panels, workshops, and networking happy hours is back and bigger than ever! This year it takes place in Chicago, your favorite bloggers will be attending, and your favorite affiliate network (ahem, us) will be speaking on a panel. If you are heading there this year, please stop by and say hi!

London Fashion Week, Sep. 18-22 — The quintessentially cool capital of Europe is back with another Fashion Week. We wait for the street style, models parading around town after shows hair and makeup ready, and our IG feeds filling up with FOMO-inducing fabulousness. Create your very own London style widgets — from what you’d wear to how you’d style it — and show your readers some Londontown style.

xo,
Carlina

*Photo credit via Create & Cultivate

Blogger Spotlight: Mint Arrow

| Blogger Feature, Blogger Spotlight

Hey, ShopStyle Collective! You are a very special and exclusive community, so we are always striving to help support you as a brand! We started doing Blogger Spotlights to showcase our unique members and highlight their blogs so you can learn a little bit more about them as fellow bloggers. Today, I’d love to introduce you to Corrine from the blog Mint Arrow; she’s a professional shopper, blogger, and deal hunter. She’s pretty much an all-around superwoman, not to mention a mama of two. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself. 

I’m a mom of two little girls, wife, foodie, and finder of all good deals.

When did you start blogging? What made you want to start a blog?

I started my blog in 2012 a few months after my first daughter, Anabelle, was born. I was battling postpartum depression, and it was Winter in Utah, so we would bundle up and go shopping every day looking for great deals. I’d post them on my personal Instagram for my friends, and after some encouragement to start a blog, I did! And here I am.

Any favorite bloggers who inspire you?

I really love Cara Brook from Maskcara — she believed in me when I was teeny tiny and is real to the core. The first time I met her, she was just as lovely and wonderful in person as she appears on her blog, and I’ve always kept it as a goal to be similar. Also, Susan Petersen of Freshly Picked is not a blogger, but she’s a huge “momtrepreneur” and inspiration to me as well. 

What is the one thing you never leave the house without?

If I’ve got my two girls with me, it’s a huge list of everything from diapers to binkies, but if it’s just me, I’m good with my iPhone, hobo wallet, lip gloss, and a pair of sunnies!

What is the best deal you have ever scored on?

Once I got a pair of Christian Louboutins at the Barneys outlet in Carlsbad, CA, for 40 percent off. That was a great day!

Any blogging tips for beginners?

Yes! Don’t get into it looking for the money. I was honestly 100-percent clueless about how I could make money blogging when I started. I just did it because I loved it, and I worked superhard at it for a long time before I made anything. I never got discouraged because that wasn’t my goal anyway. 

What is your dream job? Dream collaboration?

As cheesy as it may sound, my dream job is the one I have — being a mom of two girls. But gosh, a dream collaboration would maybe be creating a bag or some amazing shoes with the Kate Spade team or hand-picking items one year for the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. 

What is your favorite clothing brand to wear?

Rag & Bone and J Brand make my favorite jeans, Free People for tops and dresses, and Kate Spade for bags! I’m kind of all over the place but a girlie girl at heart.

And since it’s Summer, what would be your ideal Summer outfit?

My ideal Summer outfit is probably a flowy sundress, some Tory Burch sandals, Ray-Ban aviators, and a fun straw bag. 

Any secret sale haunts that you frequent for deals that aren’t supermainstream yet? (Websites, forums, etc.)

I’m really loving Nordstrom Rack’s online selection lately, and MyHabit is another great place to frequent!

What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you? 

I was a piano performance major in college for my first three semesters. I practiced the piano anywhere from four to eight hours a day as a kid, and I got out early from school starting in the fifth grade so I could practice and take piano lessons at the university near my home. I still play, but I’m not nearly as good as I was back then!

Flats or heels?
Flats when I’m with my kids, heels when I’m not!

Favorite social media outlet?
Instagram has been my jam for a long time, but I’m really getting into Snapchat lately! 

All your handles?
@mintarrow on Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook. Pinterest.com/corrinekama for Pinterest.

What do you love about ShopStyle Collective?
I’ve really loved the collaboration opportunities ShopStyle Collective has given me! I really enjoy the sale alerts on items I’ve favorited too. Those are so helpful!

Thanks so much for participating, Corrine! If you want to be featured or have a blogger pal in mind to be featured, email me their name, URL, and why they should be featured on the next Blogger Spotlight at charris@popsugar.com.

xo,
Carlina 

Why You Need to Create an Editorial Calendar and What to Focus On in It!

| Money Monday, Tips & Best Practices

As a blogger, you have a million new apps to download and a new social platform popping up what seems like each week. While getting up to date with the latest offerings in technology is important to your brand, what you should focus on is reeling it all in to one place and aggregating a place and a voice for your blog. This place is otherwise known as an editorial calendar. It’s something every serious blogger should create, implement, and run their blog from.

An editorial calendar will be the road map to your content production. It allows you to set deadlines and shows you an overview of all upcoming content to keep your blog focused and on brand. 

It’s easy to create a calendar, but what you put on the calendar is where you need to be strategic! This tool can allow you to focus your energy in one place and ultimately make you more money. 

Here are some tips on what you should focus on when you build your calendar.

  • Have a regularly scheduled shopping feature, like Denim Days or Tuesday Shoesday. This creates a dedicated clickable feature for your readers, equaling more links to use.
  • Create clickable posts on your highest earning category. Do you perform well on dresses? Do a weekly roundup of your favorite ones according to the season.
  • Focus on current events. NYFW, holiday sales, and blogger conferences are all great topics to cover in an upcoming blog post.
  • Focus on season changes. Around August, we all start looking towards back-to-school and fall gear, stay on top of it by incorporating similar content.
  • Keep an eye on your analytics from last year. Looking at the previous year will allow you to see which of your posts did best. Focus on creating similar content.

Using an editorial calendar should be another tool to help you build your business and grow your earnings!

xo,
Carlina

*photo credit from Elevator Musik