The Bloggers Blog Awards 2015

(Photo: C/O HelloApril)

Hello my lovely readers! After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting, last Saturday was (finally) the day of the Bloggers Blog Awards ceremony - organised by the lovely Hayley of Tea Party Beauty. I don't think I ever actually mentioned it here on my blog, but I was actually nominated in the Best Up and Coming Beauty Blogger category! Of course I couldn't pass up the opportunity to be in a room full of some of my favourite human beings, so I immediately RSPVd to the invite! 

(Photo: C/O HelloApril)

The event was held at Lamberts Yard in Leeds, and I've only recently found that this place existed! I really wanted to come and see the Humans Of Leeds exhibition when it was on earlier in the year - but I never got the chance! So I was delighted to hear that it was the venue! I met up with Lucy in the train station and together we managed to find it without much trouble, and when we arrived I was amazed by how beautiful the industrial decor was! We were offered Prosecco, but unfortunately for me I was driving (DAMN UK WITH THEIR NO DRINK DRIVING RULES LOL)  or as Joe called me 'A bad student', and were given a quick tour round their clothes shop (they have some gorgeous pieces in if you're ever in the area!). Although I've been to a few blogger related events, this was my biggest yet and the first one I've gone to alone (without dragging a mate along as a plus one haha) so I was incredibly anxious! Within in moments of arriving, bloggers starting pouring into the room in groups and conversation was soon flowing! 

One of the only photos I actually took myself AHAHAHAHA #badblogger

All being bloggers, everybody had something in common and so you could start a conversation with literally anyone in the room and it was absolutely brilliant! We mingled for about an hour and then we took or seats ready for the winners to be announced! I sat with three of the loveliest bloggers (Ana, Sam and Amy) that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting (see next photo) and we spent ages chatting (mainly about shoes but that's what bloggers do best!). When flicking through the event programme, we discovered that myself, Ana and Sam were all nominees in the same category! Which was lovely as we were rooting for each other! Ana was awarded Highly Commended and the winner of our category was Lily of Pint Sized Beauty. 

Sam, Ana and Amy! (Photo: Ana of Ravishing Roses)

Once all the awards had been dished out, it was time for the raffle in aid of Alzheimer's Research UK. And OHMYGOD it was the best raffle I have ever seen in my life! There were prizes from the likes of Pandora, Magnitone, TheBalm and Jurlique - amongst many others! As always, I didn't win anything! Although Sam was getting really excited whenever the colour of my tickets were called out hahaha! A few of us joked(!!!) that it was rigged as Jemma seemed to win almost everything ;)

Afterwards, most of us headed over to The Black Swan on Call Lane for some dinner! The staff were absolutely brilliant and seated over 40 of us and served us with no complaints or issues. We filled over half the restaurant, and the food was absolutely delicious! I got one of their sourdough pizzas and it was  soooo tasty! I had to dash off for the train towards the end, but I had a massive grin plastered across my face the whole way home. I met lots of lovely bloggers and I can't wait to see some of them again soon!

Group selfie! (Photo: @lovedbylaurac on Twitter)

I would just like to thank Hayley for organising such a brilliant event and I think she really did herself proud! I'd also like to thank all the bloggers for being so lovely and to you guys reading as I'd never have got there if it wasn't for you!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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How To Gain Blog Followers and Page Views

Hi Friends! First things first, I'd like to apologise for the irrelevant photo (I like flowers ok?), and the slightly misleading title - I'm not going to reel off a list of things that will be a given way to drive up followers. But I am going to give a few suggestions on how you may be able to say hello to a few new (and hopefully returning) faces. 

Get yourself out there
This is a phrase I like to use an awful lot on my blog, and it seems only fitting to include it here. How are you supposed to attract new readers when you don't put yourself out there! Try sending emails to other bloggers asking if you could guest post on their blog. If they agree, it will put your content out to a whole other audience and some of them may really like your style!

Followers are real people too
They want engaging content, fresh ideas and something that makes your blog worth reading. So before you worry about building up the follower count, start focusing on putting out some kick-ass content. Usually, bringing in fresh new content attracts new readers! I recently read somewhere, that blog posts should be at least 300 words long in order to stimulate readers and optimise results on search engines such as Google. 

Create a brand for yourself
Try and make your social media handles the same as your blog title so readers can easily find follow you across multiple platforms. For example my Instagram handle is @charlottesophiaroberts which is clearly the same as the title of my blog. Totally not a plug ;) If only Twitter allowed a couple for characters so my Twitter handle could be the same!!

Be social
If you haven't already, go create yourself an account on pretty much every social media platform you can think of. Every time you publish a new blog post, share a link with an interesting caption instead of the cliché "NEW POST…". Give other bloggers feedback on their posts and interact with your followers. It gives a more personal touch, which a lot of people like! If you really want to make an effort, take part in the various Twitter chats (such as #bbloggers or #bdib) throughout the week. You meet so many likeminded people, and sometimes they even become readers!

Analyse
Something I have been really trying to work on recently, is using Google Analytics to keep an eye on the interests of my readers. As far as I know it only works on the Blogger platform; but it is able to tell you exactly who reads your blog, what their interests are and how many return regularly. I must stress that occasionally looking at your stats isn't enough, you need to take into account what they tell you! If the majority of your readers want beauty, post more beauty related content! 

Read
Why would people read your blog if you aren't willing to read blogs yourself? Read others' posts and take inspiration! You never know where an idea for a post could come from! As well as simply reading posts, you can show further support for others' blogs by leaving nice comments. As well as making someone's day, you may even get a few page views from other commenters!

Links
Leave your links everywhere! Within reason of course! Don't go around Twitter sending random people your link, but DO make sure you have a link in all of your description boxes. When it comes to your actual blog, make sure to include links at the bottom of each post (I've had a big increase in Bloglovin' followers since I started to do this!) - as well as being dotted around all over your site.

Thats all from me for now, but if you have any tips of your own - make sure you leave them below!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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100th Blog Post, 500 Followers and Confessions Of A Beauty Blogger

Hello lovelies! I can't quite believe it but this is my 100th blog post! I didn't really know what to write for this post, I thought about doing a 'Charlotte through the ages' sort of thing - sharing photos from my 19 years on earth. But with uni deadlines looming and working 5 days a week, I didn't have the time to sort through boxes of all my family albums. But then I hit 500 followers on Bloglovin' and this just seemed like the perfect idea for a post - letting you in on the behind the scenes secrets of being a blogger! Although if you are interested in seeing what I looked like as a child, let me know and I'll dig out some photos for my next post!

I write 99.9% of my blogposts sat in oversized band T-shirts and pyjama bottoms with my hair tied up in a messy bun - not with a full face of makeup on, wearing my best clothes

I swear that this isn't just me? Who would make that much effort to sit behind a computer screen! Unless I am shooting photos for a makeup look or outfit post, I am definitely sat at home looking like an absolute tramp. 

I don't wash my makeup brushes regularly - sorry!

Truth be told, who can actually own up to washing their makeup brushes on a regular basis? I tend to go from one extreme to another - either washing them all the time or never washing them. Infact sometimes, I've just bought more brushes so I don't have to wash them as often!

I don't remove my nail polish when it chips

I'm one of those girls that loves to have shiny painted nails, but usually when my nail polish chips, I don't take it off until there's just a small blob in the centre of the nail haha!

My bedroom doesn't look like one of those flawless Pinterest posts

My bedroom is an absolute mess! The only area that looks reasonably tidy is my window ledge because that's where I take my blog post photos (although to get there you have to make it through my army style assault course of a bedroom).

I basically wear the same makeup all the time

Don't be expecting any different and exciting makeup tutorials from me - choosing a different shade of brown eyeshadow is as exciting as it gets for me. I have absolutely no idea how to even mix up my looks!

Blogging is incredibly hard work

Even when you're not sat writing a post, you're promoting your posts on social media, replying to emails, taking photos or brainstorming ideas. It often feels like a 24/7 job - I can honestly say that it sometimes gets on top of me and I tend to go a bit M.I.A.

So I've shared my secrets! Now it's your turn! Confess in the comments!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x
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