The Lovely Pink Diva May. 2012 | Page 20

What advice would you give a new blogger?

My advice would be to do your research first, and don't think that it's going to be easy. I feel like I had an advantage, because as a freelancer, I was almost forced to learn about search engine optimization and similar topics, so I had already spent a lot of time learning the basics. I think it's really important that people keep that in mind before starting out--you have to do your research first. Another thing that I would tell new bloggers is that it isn't a get-rich-quick type of thing. Those people who make a lot of money off of blogging have been doing

it for years. As a new blogger myself, I don't expect to make much money for a long time yet, and I think that's what's going to help me become successful--I set realistic goals. Another thing is that you can't just be in it for the money. I like to call blogging my "hobby" because I'm not making any money off of it, and I really love it! That's why I eventually chose a topic I wanted to learn about rather than what I thought people wanted to read.

Your blog is about personal development. What area for women do you think we need the the most help in in terms of personal development?

There are plenty of areas in which I think women can enhance their life, but every woman is different. Maintaining good relationships is important, but I believe that striving for a happy, healthy lifestyle, trying to relieve stress, and attempting to maintain self-