June + July Review

Hello friends, and Welcome to Claireabeth's Corner! 

June and July have come and gone in the blink of an eye and I've learned some pretty awesome stuff these months that I can't wait to share with you! To keep this post organized, I'm going to begin with talking a little bit about my blog stats, and then I'll continue by addressing my month long absence, and conclude with all the things I've learned during my first months back at blogging!

First, I just want to say thank you for the average of 24 pageviews per post! I think it's so cool that after such a short time that my blog is starting with that number of page views! I'm very excited to start advertising my posts more often on social media! I want to see if I can increase my page view average next month by using my several other social media platforms to advertise and put myself out there. (I would love it if you guys shared my links to help!) I don't have a specific number of page views I want, but I would love to see if I can increase that average! I have not been posting often about my posts and I think that's probably why the pageview count is lower than it could be. So far, I think I've only posted about them 1-2 times a week, because I don't mention the link super often on my social media, it hasn't gotten far our into the web. I will have to plan on regularly posting on my social media multiple nights a week consistently. Another way I can see myself improving my "marketing strategy," per-say, is through the using of hashtags. Although I use them, I try not to overwhelm my posts with them, but I may choose to start using them more often, considering that my posts aren't being so easily found, and that I want to increase my view average! 

Now, let me explain my month long absence! The first week I was gone, I completely lost my voice and had to take two days off of work to recover. Those two days happened to be the days that I needed to be writing my blog post. So I last minute decided to take the week off. Naturally, I hadn't sat down to write any backup posts and any of the ones I had ideas for fell through.

The following week, I was still fighting my bug, but what really got to me was the business of life. Every evening I ended up doing something different! As a result, I ended up skipping that week's post as well and so the several other weeks following that for the same reason. Life is an interesting cycle, no two stages of which are the same. 

What's getting me back on track? An apple keyboard that is small enough that it lets me set up my google docs offline or online anywhere that I want to! it fits into my bag with my phone and hardly weighs anything, which is crucial for me, personally, since I carry so much paper and other random accessories with me wherever I go! I may look into a better phone case that will allow me to more conveniently prop up my phone, but for now I am just using the couple cases I have with pop-sockets on them! (Phone case collection post?) So I'm hoping that my set up progress will continue to motivate me to write in new settings and write more often!

Finally, what have I learned these months? Here comes the list! (You guys will find that I post a lot of lists. Lists keep my brain organized so that I don't rant in circles! You can only make a point so many times.)

1. I learned that you need to write when you feel inspired. I can't tell you guys how many post ideas that I would jot down but then not touch because I thought I would have the motivation to write about all those topics later! Having a backup list of topics is super helpful, but if I'm going to have backup posts, I need to write those posts when I feel inspired, not whenever I need to write a post. 
2. Marketing has to be regular. I can't expect to find people who want to read and discuss my blog topics unless I am consistently posting about my new posts to get their titles out there and start building my "Blog Tribe". (I believe that is the term for a fan base for a blog.) 
3. Good blogging takes time. I learned that I need more time to put together a blog post than what I originally allotted to ensure the quality of my blog content. I need a day set aside just for uploading pictures and formatting my content.
4. Finally, I learned that stress can take away the joy out of everything, even the things that you love doing the most! Personally, the past couple of months have been extremely stressful. Because my stress levels have been so high, my joy in writing and doing any of the creative things that I love to do has disappeared. My turn around moment was when I filmed a quick youtube video on how to take a glamorous office look and turn it into a pool party look. It focused on making the transition from wearing false lashes to not wearing any false lashes smooth and flawless! Also, bonus content! check out my glitter brows in that video! You can get the link to my youtube video here!

I think that just about sums up the things that I've learned over my first months back at blogging! I'm looking forward to writing the upcoming weeks' posts!  

As always, thank you guys so much for reading! You can be sure to find any schedule changes on my Twitter! If you want to be regularly updated on the blog, please follow me! You can also follow me on Instagram, @claire_a_beth. Instagram should keep you more up to date on the things I am trying on a semi daily basis! I would also love to network with everyone over these platforms as well! I am very open to constructive and positive criticism! However, if you have anything negative to say in any degree, make it positive, forget it, or don’t share it. Thanks for reading this week’s post, and I look forward to writing for you all in the upcoming months! 

Weekly Wisdom: Sing your favorite worship song as you go about your day! Meditate on the words and make it a time to praise and worship God amidst the busyness of the day!