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Blogging Series Vol. 13 – How to improve traffic on the blog?

Swathy · August 28, 2013 · 11 Comments

So, if you follow me on the blog’s facebook page, you would have seen a particular status update. Actually what it was about was something on these lines.

Just day before yesterday, I was talking to my colleague. He was asking my opinion on a launcher or landing page he had created for his sister’s upcoming food blog. And, we got talking about blogging. Suddenly he asks me if I blog and without thinking I give him an affirmative answer. Well, if you are not already aware, no one in my close friend or family circle knows about my hidden hobbies. So, he was obviously interested in the domain name and what I blog about when my self-preservation instinct took over and I kept my lips sealed.

But, then the topic moved to hosting of the blogs and everything when I told him it is too expensive actually to host the blog instead of using blogspot where you get away by paying 10$ a year. Well, actually, let me say that this is not necessarily true but we will debate over this in some other post coz its highly technical. But, the whole point he said was the entire costing depends on how much traffic the blog gets. I was like yeah that’s true! And, then, he asked me about this blog’s traffic. I was like its 5k right now but generally its 8k a day. And, he was like wow! that’s awesome. It must have taken a lot of work and many years. I was like yup. It did. 3 years almost and then I realize its gonna be 4 this December. So, yup, we have definitely hit a good threshold and its all thanks to all my lovely readers who make me blog.

Now, coming back to today’s blogging topic, how to get traffic and what are the principles. Actually, the blog hit a major snag this Independence Day weekend. The traffic had a spike drop from 8 to 5k a day and its not raising up even though I am doing all what I have been doing. Well, we can always say that it might have been excess of spam visits in such a case but whatever it be, it is quite disheartening. So, to avoid such downward spikes in the blog, you can do your own bit.

Write the Content in advance

This has to be the only principle of blogging if life was easy but unfortunately its not! But, still, its the 90% stakeholder. So, write and write and write and don’t copy or plagiarize or steal. Create! The content might deliver the same message but give it your own voice. Tweak it to your style. But, whatever you do, make it your own.

Blogging remains exciting in the starting but after a while it can become monotonous so try out some different ways or diversify your blog enough that you do not go out of your niche or specialization but it keeps you excited enough to keep writing. And, I have also mentioned some of the ways to overcome Blogger’s block sometime back. Keep a chunk of posts in the drafts which you can publish or schedule when you don’t feel like blogging.

Post regularly

Most of the bloggers are part-time! So, I would say daily but twice a week or thrice a week. Whatever you do but you should time your posts properly so that your readers get what they expect and a proper posting schedule gets registered with the search engines as well.

Of course, posting daily does keep the blog updated so it ranks higher in the searches. That is why you would find multiple posts on professionally managed blogs or community blogs. But, for a personal blog, it can be a bit ambitious to achieve. So, set targets which you can plausibly reach.

Here I would like to add that howsoever much you might try, sometimes its just not possible to put up the posts on a timely basis so expect a traffic crunch at that time. Do not be disheartened and keep trying. Also, scheduling of the posts works really well in such cases.

Spreading a Word

Publicizing your blog is obviously important. Use social platforms like facebook, google+, twitter to give regular updates. More your content is exposed, more traffic it gets. Now, this is something I totally suck at. I have hardly tried to publicize my blog and whatever meager efforts I have put have definitely borne results.

I have recently started posting status messages on the blog’s facebook page. But, let me also say that posting on blog’s facebook page is more to interact with your readers than to publicize the blog but that has also worked in my case. If you are using twitter or facebook groups, it then becomes a way to promote the blog to other audiences who do not know about your blog.

One of the simplest way to reach out is to comment on other blogs. But, always remember to leave a meaningful comment. No one likes to read great blog or this is amazing, follow me back! Create a relationship with the blogger. And, yes, it does take a long time so don’t be impatient.

So, I would again say that content is the key and it does take a bit of time to get faithful readers to the blog. And, stop comparing your blog to other blogs because they might be doing something which you are not and reaping those benefits. But, at the end of day, every blogger works hard whether it looks like it or not.

What do you say? How do you improve your blogs traffic and statistics?

Blogging Series Vol. 11 – Setting goals for the blog!

Blogging Series Vol. 9 – Reviving Old Posts!

How to make the skin clear and get rid of scars and blemishes and dark spots? {Skin Care}

Swathy · August 27, 2013 · 7 Comments

So, last week I had left you with the post on melanin production. So, in that post, I had specifically mentioned that you can do nothing to lighten your skin color but you can always keep your skin clear and avoid from getting tanned. So, how to go about doing that?

Sunscreen

This is the first and foremost principle for any skin care routine. Applying sunscreen regularly keeps your skin young and also free from tan. Well, ok, lemme reiterate that sunscreen does not prevent tanning but it is comparatively lesser than if you go into sun without any protection. And, if you are using physical sunscreens, you can be assured that the tan is minimal. That does reduce a lot of your work!!

AHA’s

As I mentioned in the last post, lactic acid and glycolic acid have been believed to reduce the melanin content in the skin. So, may be a weekly routine of this might help. Let me again say MIGHT! Because, what I understand is that a 50%-70% concentration of these acids might be really successful in doing the intended but yes an occasional use can definitely give a healthy glow.

Now, lactic acid is present in milk and glycolic is mostly present in sugarcane juice or jaggery or, most available, sugar. Milk is generally considered to be safe for daily usage and it is famous since ancient times for its benefits on skin. But, I will suggest all the oily skin and acne-prone skin people to stay far away from it.

Coming to using glycolic acid, it is quite strong for skin especially when you are going to use freshly squeezed sugarcane juice so I would say go easy on the skin. Use it as a face mask mixed with any flour and wash off after 10-15 minutes and no more!

And, if sugarcane is not available, you can use brown sugar, raw sugar, powdered sugar or powdered jaggery as a face scrub mixed in honey. But, be sure not to use it more than twice a week, no matter what skin type. Exfoliating the skin everyday is not a good idea, howsoever much you might love your skin after that!!

Also, papaya and pine apple juices are quite effective. They can also remove the tan and dead skin cells and the dark spots and blemishes and scars and what not. But, these remedies should again be used only twice a week and no more because they can end up drying the skin a lot!

Vitamin C

That is another great home remedy which works absolutely fantastically. And, the best part is that not only it exfoliates but it also rejuvenates the skin. Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis which is important to keep the skin youthful and smooth.

But, here I would again suggest instead of lemon juice, tomato juice should be used on a daily or alternate day basis. It really helps! The reason being lemon is drying on skin as it is too acidic.

Other Home Remedies

There are a whole lot of other spices and vegetables and fruits which can be used on skin like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, garlic, mint, cucumber, berries, date juice, turmeric, mustard and probably all other spices in the world!!

So, what are the simple ways to keep your skin clear and avoid blemishes and dark spots?

From the Archives : Get rid of Split Ends {Hair care}

Swathy · August 27, 2013 · Leave a Comment

Split ends are ugly and make our hair look unhealthy. More than that, they actually make our hair unhealthy by climbing up the hair shaft. The only way to get rid of split ends is by trimming your hair up to the level where you are sure all your damaged hair is gone. Next step is to take care of your hair properly so that there are no split ends in the future.

First is to handle your hair very gently. Do not rub with a towel or use a rough accessory on it. Do not be harsh with it while drying it. Just gently squeeze the excess water out of the hair and let it air dry. Keep your combs and brushes smooth. If they develop jagged edges or get broken at any point, change them. The jagged edges or sharp broken points can rip off the hair.

Proper nutrition and regular exercise is necessary to maintain beautiful hair. Why? As our hair grows from the follicle, it gets old. The tips of our hair is years old actually and due to the lack of proper nutrients and exercise and loss of proper capillary action in the hair, it becomes difficult for the hair follicles to provide proper nutrition to the ends of the hair. This is one of the reasons for even the hair getting dry as it grows past a certain length. Due to the lack of nutrition, the cuticle wears off and the hair strand starts splitting.

Due to the very same reason, we need to provide the ends with extra nutrition on a regular basis. If your hair is extremely dry or is prone to lot of split ends, do a weekly pre-poo on your hair. Egg and honey is especially helpful.

Excess usage of hair products can also bring this calamity to your hair. Use only the most required of the products and make sure they are of the highest quality. Use as minimum amount as possible of any product.

Mix a tea spoon of castor oil with two tea spoons of pure coconut oil and massage in into your hair with special attention to the ends twice a week. Dip a towel into warm water and wrap your hair in it. You can even take a steam for your hair. You can leave it overnight or wait for an hour or two and wash off with a mild shampoo. Do not forget to dilute the shampoo. After washing your hair, apply a intensive hair conditioner to the ends of the hair and stay for 5-10 minutes. Wash off. You can follow with leave-in conditioner.

So, how do you prevent the splits in your hair?