We have some great featured retailers for the month of October. Check them out below – you might even find a new retailer you love!
BaubleBar – Shop the Salvador Perez Collection Exclusively at BaubleBar – Costume designer of The Mindy Project and Pitch Perfect 2!
Swell – Get 15% off with code OCTBOOK15
AG Jeans – New fall styles
CHOiES
Cosabella
eBags – 20% of your first purchase
eDressMe – Wide selection of holiday dresses
Ice – Great holiday jewelry
Igigi
James Perse
John Hardy
Lucy – Free shipping on all orders
Max Studio – Free Shipping Offer
NYDJ – Free shipping when you order from their shirt selection + $100 steals
Sephora
Stuart Weitzman – Fall boots
Serena and Lily
‘Tis the Season Blogger School Hangout Recap
Thank you so much to everyone who attended the Blogger School Hangout! We always love chatting about blogging on a more personal level than just through email. We threw a TON of information at you so we have provided our presentation below so you can go through everything we talked about.
Let us know your thoughts on the hangout, if you’d like to see more, and what topics you’d like us to cover.
Click here to download the Blogger School presentation.
Key Holiday Dates and Sales
Mark your calendars with these key dates. The holidays are the biggest time of year for shopping, so keep you readers updated with the latest sales!First Week of November Sale season kick offNov 27th Thanksgiving Pre-black Friday salesNov 28th Black FridayDec 1st Cyber MondayDec 2-7th Cyber WeekDec 8th Green MondayDec 17th Last day for free shippingDec 22nd Last day for in store pick up ordersDec 26th After Holiday Sales
How to Edit Permalinks
A simple SEO tip is matching your blog’s permalinks, or URL, to your blog post titles. It helps Google find your content, but it also looks prettier! Look at one of your blog posts to see if your permalinks match. If the URL matches the title of the blog post, you are already doing this!
Here’s a good example:
If you aren’t, follow the quick steps below to change your permalinks in WordPress.org so they automatically match your blog post title. If you are using Blogger, they automatically do it for you, so you can skip this post!
1. Login to your WordPress.org dashboard.
2. On the left-hand side menu, hover over Settings and click on Permalinks.
3. Select Post Name option.
Now all of your permalinks will match your post titles.
WordPress SEO by Yoast Plugin Instructions
You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again, SEO is essential for your blog, espcially if you are just starting out. SEO is how people find your blog, so you can imagine how important it is when growing your blog. While there are many things you can do to improve your SEO ranking, I’m going to show you one simple way to help boost your blog’s SEO.
Follow these quick steps to download the SEO plugin by Yoast for WordPress.org to help optimize your SEO ranking for your blog!
1. Login to your WordPress.org dashboard.
2. Click on Plugins in the left hand side menu.
3. Then click Add New.
4. In the search bar, type in “WordPress SEO by Yoast”
5. Click on install Now for the first result that pops up.
6. You will be directed to a page asking you to activivate plugin. Click Activate Plugin.
7. That’s it! Now you will find the SEO Yoast Plugin at the bottom of your new draft posts so you can fill out the SEO keyword and description for your post and get your ranking.
This plugin tells you how your post ranks in SEO using Good, Poor, or Bad. If you have a ranking of Poor or Bad, it gives suggestions so you can increase it to Good.
If you are using Blogger and looking to make the switch to WordPress.org for more capabilities (like the SEO plugin mentioned above!), I highly suggest Bluehost as a hosting platform. I know many bloggers that use them that have said their 24/7 customer support and ease of use is great.
Blogger Spotlight: Kimberly Smith of Penny Pincher Fashion
One of the most common responses I hear about blogging is the sense of community. With common interests and a shared entrepreneurial spirit, bloggers just “get each other.” We work with so many amazing bloggers so we decided to create an opportunity for bloggers to discover new friends and learn tips from each other. Our new series features a blogger and gives a glimpse into their life.
Meet Kimberly Smith of Penny Pincher Fashion. Kimberly is a stylish mom of two living in upstate New York. Her blog is focused on tips to building a wardrobe without breaking the bank.
1. What is your best blogging tip for new bloggers?
Invest in a good quality camera, be kind, stay true to yourself & always say thank you.
2. If you weren’t blogging and could do anything, what would you choose?
Open a gluten-free bakery & become a Zumba instructor.
3. Who is your go-to brand/designer?
Mango and H&M have really been impressing me this season.
4. Your best fashion advice.
Don’t be a slave to trends – wear what flatters your shape & what you feel best in. Also, find a good tailor – alterations make a HUGE difference!
5. One thing you wish you knew before you started blogging.
I wish I had been more selective with brand partnerships early on.
6. One thing people would be surprised to know about you.
I was on Season 2 of American Idol.
7. Favorite holiday tradition.
At Thanksgiving, everyone in my family gets 2 Indian corn kernels at their place setting. At the end of the meal, we pass around a small basket and each person places their kernels in the basket & shares two things they are the most thankful for that year.