Where Is This Blog Going?

So it’s been a while

I went to university and came back and in between all that Infinity Reads sat neglected.

It’s funny how when you move to college your priorities shift completely. I mean for me grocery shopping and cramming at the library took precedence over blogging

And that is understandable I suppose

But I miss blogging. I’ve never cared much about the numbers but I miss the feeling of sending something that is so completely mine out into the world! I miss the creative process

So I’m back.

I’m not going to make any promises of regular posts or anything but at this point I have quite a lot of content I want to share

On a side note. Do people read blogs anymore?

I hope they do

Anyways, if you’ve been gone a while like I have, welcome back to Infinity Reads!

You can expect the usual book related posts, travel posts (tons of those!) and also lifestyle posts because I’ve become something of a life coach this past year

 

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The Harsh Truth About Blogging That No One Ever Tells You

Blogging is hard

Now I’m sure you’ve heard that from every content creator out there but trust me blogging is hard.

There are periods where you’ll be bursting with ideas and your content will be on its A-game. You’ll express a rush and a high like no other.

And then one day, you’ll sit down at your laptop and the words just won’t come.

This darker period could last weeks or months and there is nothing you can do about it.

You dnn’t like the content you’re generating, you don’t like your stats but don’t wanna do anything to change it.

I call it being stuck in a rut.

Above everything else, there are so many distractions pulling you from blogging. Social media, other people’s blogs, school, friends, life.

Soon enough your blog goes neglected for months on end and the next thing you know it is harder than ever to come back.

There comes a point when you just run out of ideas. I’ve been doing this thing for three years and I’m wearing thin. There’s only so many book reviews you can write in your lifetime.

I crave that period when I’m on top of my blogging world.

5 Tips To Gain More Followers On Your Blog

Even though we all say “numbers don’t matter”  deep down we all know that we have a burning desire to get our content across to as many people as possible. So, how do you go about getting those numbers without wanting to rip your head off?

1. Be Consistent 

A bit hypocritical coming from me I realise but if you have a schedule of posting two times a week on mondays and wednesdays people will catch on to that schedule and keep coming back. So just make a schedule, stick to it and reap results. It’s easier said than done but once habits are formed they’re hard to break

2. Advertise 

While blogging might be your primary platform, realistically you’re not going to reach a large audience unless you put yourself out there on other social media. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or Goodreads for us booktubers.

I have an instagram account specifically dedicated to book blogging (@infinity.reads)

My Twitter updates automatically every time there is a new post on my  blog

So on and so forth

3. Review your stats 

At least once a month take time out to sit down and go through your stats. Some key things to observe besides the numbers are:

What kind of posts did viewers like the most this month? make an effort to create similar content

What didn’t fare so well this month? Perhaps you could present that same information in a more interesting fashion this month

Where are most of your viewers coming from? Through Gooogle or Twitter or WordPress?

4. Be original but not 

While it is amazing to create content that is unique to your blog, do realise that doing some tags or discussing a popular issue can get your name up there too. I would know because my feature Cover To Cover took a while to gain viewers

5. Be patient 

Good things take time. Even if you implement ALL of the things mentioned above and more, you won’t just gain 10000 followers in one night. But keep at it, have faith and things will turn out for the better I promise!

 

How To Start A Blog

With the new year do you feel the itch to start a new journey? Have you always thought about starting a blog but never got around to it or never had the right direction? Well this post is dedicated to all the newbies out there.

A step-by-step guide on starting your own blog from a rather experienced blogger.

Step #1: Choose a passion 

Before you get down to the technicalities, it’s important to first know exactly WHAT you would like to blog about.

Have you always loved reading? start a book blog

Like putting together outfits? start a fashion blog

Does taking photos interest you? start a photography blog

Whatever path you choose, make sure it’s something you’re highly passionate about because blogging is a commitment and it’s going to show if you don’t absolutely love what you’re writing about.

Step #2: Choose a platform

Nowadays you’ve got the option of starting your blog from wherever the heck you want. There’s Squarespace. WordPress, Blogger.

Of course I work from WordPress and as someone who isn’t tech-savvy I’ve found it pretty easy to handle. But make sure you do your research

Step #3: Choose a name

I cannot stress the importance of choosing a catchy blog title. It is the first thing people will see and the first thing they’ll remember. It is your identity.

As more people start blogging, it means there are fewer names for you to choose from. Just let your creativity wander and the right name will come to you.

Step #4: Choose a theme

Speaking of my experience with WordPress, there is an abundance of free themes to choose from. These have colour schemes and different fonts you can choose from. Of course if you wanna go the extra mile you can buy a paid theme.

But trust me, you’re gonna change your theme. If not often then at least twice in your blogging career.

Step #5: Start Writing!

So, you have your platform. You have your name. You have your theme and you have your passion. Now it’s time to channel that passion out into the world. Show them what you’ve got. Follow my tips on how to write a kick-ass blog post.

Starting out a blog can be daunting and it can feel like you’re not reaping any rewards but here are some life lessons I’ve learnt from blogging, which shows you that it really is worth it in the end.

Where Is All This Going?

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the future of this blog.

Now that I have a lot of time on my hands I’m able to post more often and in an ideal situation I would be buzzing with post ideas and new creations. However, something has been lacking lately. I’ve always been the kind of person that works on creating genuine connections rather than focusing on the numbers. But it gets hard sometimes.

This blog has been static for the majority of the year and that’s because school took priority for me. I now wonder if that will be the case next year as university and finally my career takes priority. It’s just really hard to rise above that feeling of being stuck, with post ideas and inspiration, just being stuck.

I mean there are only so many book reviews a person can write or only so many cover to covers I can do. I’ve always been the sort of person who likes being challenged and whenever things start to get repetitive I take off. I mean do you guys even like the stuff I do here?

When you think about it, less and less people are starting to read these days. We just wanna lay on our beanbags and watch Youtube right?

I’m sorry I guess I’m just a little frustrated. I’ll see you tomorrow.

FOMO (On Reading)

FOMO- short for Fear of Missing Out is when a person is afraid of not following the crowd or being unaware of a social trend which causes them immense anxiety.

For the past year, I’ve been really out of the loop not just with reading but also with blogging and the blogging community. I was connecting well with other Australian bloggers, my blog post inspirations were at an all-time high and BAM. Year 12 happened.

I stopped checking my Goodreads notification, the book club challenge I’d so enthusiastically started got lost amongst task sheets and due dates. Most importantly, I stopped interacting on Twitter or Facebook or Email with readers, bloggers and publishers.

Not reading many books this year wasn’t even the worst of it since I understandably did not have time for leisure reading and hey I have my entire life ahead of me to just.read.books.

Whenever I feel like I’m out of the loop or giving my fullest to something I always remember what Felicity-a former Penguin Teen employee once told us at a Young Adult event. She told us not to feel in a rush to read the latest book or finish a series. Take your time.

I guess that’s what I have to remember. I have three months’ holiday ahead of me and all the time in the world to read and blog. I have my entire life ahead of me.

Do you ever feel left out?

20 Bookish Blog Post Ideas

It’s hard to keep posting frequently and create unique content everytime which is why I came up with 20 blog post ideas for book bloggers. And if you’re not a book blogger simply tell me in the comments and I can make a similar post for blogs in general!

1. Book review ( pretty self explanatory)

2. Bookish Tags- these are especially handy during holiday season because everyone can get into the spirit!  See Tis the season book tag from last year 

3. A post about your To Be Read pile. Tell your readers what you’re excited to start reading 

4.A weekly or monthly or yearly favourite reads post 

5. Make a post about your favourite place to read ( is it a cubby hole? Or simply your bed?) 

6. A book box Unboxing post. There’s a trend where like a million book boxes are up for subscription these days. Maybe review one and let your readers know how you like it 

7. A book inspired outfit post 

8. A book inspired makeup post 

9. Create your own book related quiz (I’ll be doing this one soon!)

10. Share a fictional piece of writing by you or write a short story

11. Discuss a contemporary topic related to books (LGBTQ, the rise of audiobooks) 

12. Write a post expressing an unpopular opinion 

13. Review a book to film adaptation 

14. Do a prediction post for the sequel of a book or predict how an entire series will pan out.

15. Cook something from a book and make a post about it 

16. Review a bookish event or conference that you attended 

17. Create an appreciation post where you shout out all your favourite bloggers 

18. Create a bookish gift guide for this holiday season 

19. Share your favourite quotes from a book or books 

20. Make a blogging advice or tutorial post (How to get ARCs or Promote got blog on Twitter) 

I hope these helped and if you have any more please leave them in the comments below! 

Blogging for the sake of blogging

Hello my dears, remember me?

It’s weird how time in the real world is so distinct from time in the internet world. I’ve been absent for about two weeks and it feels like an eternity doesn’t it? at least to me it does.

I cannot stress enough how busy and stressed I’ve been because of Year 12 and there comes a point in your life where you have to prioritize and put some things on the backbench such as this blog.

For a while now, I haven’t been able to get through a book and that’s because my mind is so caught up on my future and my assignments and what my friends are doing AHH it’s all a chaos

I entertained the idea of just whipping up some content and publishing it but my heart wasn’t in it.

The thing with me is, I can’t bear the idea of publishing something on here when I’m not genuinely excited to share it. I can’t publish a Cover to Cover unless I absolutely LOVE the pretty covers, I can’t review a book unless I have an honest opinion I want to share etc.

So, the point of this rambly post is, I don’t want to blog for the sake of blogging, I want to blog so we can all be excited about the same things together. So bear with me while I try to get through some of the toughest times and am back with renewed passion and energy because I will be. Soon

 

I’m a Co-Blogger now??

About a week ago or so My Trending Stories approached me and asked if I’d like my content displayed on their website.

My Trending Stories is a new website which features content from a large number of bloggers on topics from entertainment to religion and basically everything. It’s a company based in New York who support the ideology of freedom of speech and expression which as a creative person means everything to me.

What does this mean?

Well this means that along with running this blog I’l also be writing for their website. I’ve already published two articles, notice that the content will overlap from time to time because having completely unique articles for two blogs is double the workload AHH.

Writing on their website is like writing on this platform, a platform guys, and it makes me feel like an author (not that I am an author haha)

You can check out the articles I wrote here and here give me a follow if you’d like

I just like keeping you updated on all the stuff going on in my life so I just had to let you know that I AM A CO-BLOGGER (among many other bloggers but still)

5 Tips On Writing A Kick-Ass Blog Post

The key to having a successful blog lies in creating appealing content, right?

After all, that is what makes people hit that ‘follow’ button and ultimately a Kick-Ass blog post is what will make people want more and keep coming back.

As a result of a few agony aunts I’ve received about blogging and advice on blogging and also because I totally consider myself a professional in this field I’ve decided to give some advice on what consists of a good blog post.

1] Plan

ALWAYS ALWAYS have a plan. I mean sure it’s good to be impulsive and spontaneous with your content sometimes however, quality content comes out when you have a basic plan or a general outline of where you’re heading.

Planning is as simple as jotting down things in your notebook or as complex as scheduling your posts for the next two months. Whatever floats your boat and whatever calls for the situation.

Just remember, people will appreciate you having put some thought into your post before hitting that ‘publish’ button.

2] Keep It To The Point

This is pretty self explanatory but say for example, you were writing a review post about the book Pride & Prejudice, as tempting as it might be, don’t go off topic and write two meaningless paragraphs about how hot Mr. Darcy is (meaningless as in meaningless to the post, I’m not attacking your feelings okay). Keep it to the point, what did you like about the book? what did you not like? why?

Having a purpose in mind and reminding yourself of this purpose as you write the post will help you from wandering off. In the case of my example the purpose would be to inform people about your views on Pride & Prejudice.

3] Less is More

Having a post that is straight to the point and minimal wandering off topic will ensure this. Here’s the truth, NO ONE has time to read six long paragraphs about your thoughts on Pride & Prejudice okay. Come to think of it, it doesn’t look appealing either.

First impressions are everything. In a short amount of time you have the task of grabbing the reader’s attention, keeping it and ideally by the end making them wanting more.

Use dot points, Use a few pictures, avoid clutter.

A neat, tidy blog post never hurt anybody.

4] Format

This ties in with the last tip.

FORMATTING IS EVERYTHING. Not really but.

Present your blog post in a neat fashion by avoiding huge chunks of information or like ten consecutive GIFs.

As I said before:

• Dot Points
• Pictures/GIFs
• Highlighting important points by making them bold or italic
• Using appealing colours

Which reminds me, it is HIGHLY IMPORTANT that your blog is easy on the eyes, I mean white writing on a neon green background? hurts to even think

5] Proof-Read

PLEASE PLEASE proof read. I personally cannot stand spelling errors. I mean blogging is about self-expression so it’s okay to skip punctuation altogether however, all I ask is you don’t butcher the words.

Proof-reading also ensures you’re getting your point across correctly, which is important.

I hope that helps and that now we’ll all be writing kick-ass blog posts!

Let me know if you’d like more blog posts providing advice