The Closet Coach

This week for Fashion Beauty Friend Friday, we’re talking about technology, specifically the tech behind our style and fashion blogs.

1. What are the tools you use to blog?

In my life as a blogger, I use a lot of different tools, for different reasons. They fall into these main groups:

• Blog post creation and publication. These tools are the nuts and bolts of getting a blog post up and running.
• WordPress. This blog runs on self-hosted WordPress; my host is HostGator. Within WordPress, I have several plug-ins, but the ones that are key are Akismet for catching spam comments; Google Analytics for WordPress to insert my GA code into every page; WordPress SEO to easily manage title tags, descriptions and keywords; and Yet Another Related Posts to add related post links at the bottom of every post automatically.
• Google Docs. I write my blog posts in Google Docs, then copy and paste them into WordPress. I do this instead of creating the drafts in WordPress itself because I have some recurring pieces of text and it’s easier to grab them and re-use when I write several posts in one place.
• Picnik. I’ve been using Picnik to edit my personal style photos. Sadly, Google is absorbing it and it’s disappearing as a stand-alone service in April so I’ll have to find another online photo editor.
• Polyvore. For advice posts, I frequently create associated collages of garment ideas in Polyvore. It makes a good-looking, original image with automatically generated links to the products, plus being on Polyvore provides another way for me and my blog to be found.
• Blog promotion. Once a post is published, I promote it to offer another way it can be found.
• Bit.ly. I shorten my post links here, then auto-post them to …
• Twitter. Who doesn’t use Twitter? It’s so key. Don’t forget to use hashtags!
• Facebook. Another given. A zillion users can’t be wrong.
• Pinterest. The new popular kid, based both on usage stats and breathless “ZOMG Everyone Is Using Pinterest!” posts that seem to appear daily. This isn’t a huge traffic driver for me yet, but I think it’s worth building a following and community anyway, plus it’s fun and great for inspiration.
• Quora. Haven’t heard of it? It’s a question-and-answer site populated by lots and lots of really smart people from all walks of life all over the world. I try to visit once or twice a week to answer questions in the fashion-related topics. Every time I do, I look up and suddenly an hour has gone by.
• Google+. I haven’t quite gotten into the rhythm of this one yet, I confess. (I’m not really in love with it.) But it’s unavoidable now that Google has changed the way it ranks pages to include shares and other social signals from Plus.
• Mobile. Crossing over between creation and promotion are the apps I use on my iPhone.
• Instagram. I tend to use this one mostly for fun, but I follow a lot of fashion folks here, too. Talk about inspiration.
• Pinterest. Sometimes the only way I find time for it is by surfing it via the mobile app.
• Twitter. Ditto.
• WordPress. I rarely use it on the phone because it’s so cumbersome to write a post that way, but I have used it to generate a draft of an idea I had while on the go.

And then there’s Tumblr. I’m not sure where it fits in these categories. For me, it’s sort of a third space in between my blog and Twitter: content that’s too long for Twitter but not worthy of the editorial treatment of a full blog post.

It’s also another way for me and my main blog to be discovered.

2. What technology item is on your wish-list?

I really need to get a timer and proper tripod for my digital camera so I don’t always have to rely on the hubby’s availability for photo shoots. My daughter could even help with that!

3. Through the barrage of posts, tweets, pics, poses, messages, etc., how do you avoid becoming a slave to the constant infiltration of information?

Very carefully–and it doesn’t always work.

First, I try to be targeted. For each channel, I try to have a specific reason for using it, such as direct promotion, community building, inspiration, or SEO.

Then, I try to be scheduled. I set aside certain times of the day or days of the week for using each one. It’s the only way I can keep Twitter and Facebook and Pinterest and Quora from being a total time suck!

• That’s how I use my blogging tools? What about you? Are there any I’ve missed?

[This post is part of Modly Chic’s Fashion Beauty Friend Fridays.]

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Amy of BiblioMOMia

This month in the Site Spotlight is Amy L. of BiblioMOMia, a style blog that proves that fashion, motherhood and academia are not mutually exclusive. (Smart girls love shoes, too!)

About Amy L.

I am a 29-year-old perpetual student raising an adventurous toddler.  I live in a house inside of DC with my husband (The Doc), my son (The Pup) and my two wild pooches, and no one is more surprised than I am that I started a style blog.

I am working on my Ph.D. in literature; while I have spent lots of time in the classroom as both student and teacher, I just made the decision to write my dissertation from home full-time so I can focus all my energy on my ideas and on my child. I am an academic, I am a mom, and I love shoes – and many people seem to believe that those three things cannot coexist.

When I’m not writing, reading, or thinking about writing (or being distracted by my real life), I like to collect folk art and dream of travel.  I’m also a master of the Crock Pot.  I have also recently become a contributing writer for the blog Ain’t No Mom Jeans, where I’m doing a series on Southern Gal Style.

About BiblioMOMia

Academia, motherhood, and style are not opposing subjects.  A major part of my identity is revealed through my clothing choices, whether I am presenting a paper at a national literature conference or taking my son to the Zoo.

The purpose of BiblioMOMia is to help myself – and maybe even other people – understand the foundation of these multiple re-fashionings of my identity.  Clothing is an exterior marker of self–pretending that what you wear doesn’t matter (as both academics and moms like to do) ignores a big part of who you really are. [H: Love this! Love!]

BiblioMOMia is not an outfit-of-the-day blog, although I certainly post a lot of daily fashion choices.  My larger interest is discovering ways to help women like me realize that style doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming or belittling, but that finding your personal style can be empowering, practical, and illuminating.

There’s a lot more to style blogs than “look at my pretty shoes” – how about the different ways that flats and heels are viewed in your profession, or what kind of shoes to wear in the snow in public with your toddler?  I am a book lover who loves boots and happened to have a baby along the way, and I write about my closet in order to share stories and experiences from my life.  That being said … “look at my pretty shoes!”

What She Writes About

This blog is the most intensely personal project I’ve ever undertaken.  In so many other parts of my life, I find that I’m forced to be The Mom or The Scholar or The Girl Who Shops.  However, none of those people are me, not all of me at least.

I have to crawl around the library stacks in heels, and I get dog hair and goldfish crackers in my cashmere sweaters, and I have a whole closet full of shoes.  I have to find time to write at the same time as raising my son, and many of my recent posts are about discovering the tenuous balance of a work-from-home mom.

A main feature of my blog are my “Mom-ula” posts, or style formulas for fashionable moms complete with inspiration outfits – the concept is that every individual woman needs more than some type of mom uniform, but that formulas can still be a useful way to help you organize your ideas about getting dressed.

I also try to focus on the financial and emotional consumption aspects of fashion, and I therefore often participate in challenges that force me to stretch my wardrobe instead of buying something new.  Poetry is known to creep in to posts, too, as well as ideas about home décor.

As a former ballet dancer, I’m also incredibly conscious of personal and social body image, and one of my main goals – for myself as well as for my readers – is to help every woman find their best version of what is beautiful, regardless of size or shape.

I try to be funny, I try to write from the heart, and I try to be real – many of my posts are inspired by questions from my friends, family, and readers, so please don’t be shy!

Her Favorite Posts:

• Conference Week:  The Big Day (A Guide)
• Fail Better
• Playgroup Practice
• Bland to Bright (Mom-ula)
• My Grumpy Leprechaun

[Site Spotlight is an occasional feature that brings you a new or noteworthy style and fashion blog or site.]

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Thanks to Amy for participating in this month’s Site Spotlight, and thank you for reading. Did you like this post? Please leave a comment or share it with someone else; just use the handy sharing widget below.

(Want to get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff? Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox! And when you join, you’ll get my free email series, 7 Days to Better Shopping. It’s my gift to you!)

This month in the Site Spotlight is Alison Gary of Wardrobe Oxygen, the first Spotlight member I’ve ever met in person! We both attended the DC FABB meet-up at Carbon in July. I like Wardrobe Oxygen for its straightforward approach to real-world dressing for working women and moms.

About Alison Gary

I am a 36-year old full-time working mother living and working in the Washington, DC area. My day job is as a web communications manager; after hours I am a freelance writer and blogger focusing on fashion.

When I am not working or writing, I love spending time with my family – we love to spend time outdoors, travel, and go to concerts together. I also enjoy music, yoga, cooking, and reading.

About Wardrobe Oxygen

Wardrobe Oxygen is a site where women can find realistic fashion advice and tips on how to achieve personal style, regardless of age, figure, budget, or lifestyle. After many years as a personal shopper and wardrobe consultant, I learned that there are some wardrobe staples that every woman should have in her wardrobe. By having these staples, a woman is prepared for most any event life can throw her way and also gains the perspective to find her personal style and build her perfect wardrobe.

I started Wardrobe Oxygen in 2005 as a place to organize my thoughts about personal style and fashion, not trying to be famous or acquire readers. However, over the years it has gotten quite an audience and through it I have had many opportunities to write for other sites such as AOL Patch, BlogHer, Savings.com, and The Savvy Life. My blog has been featured on sites such as Sugar Media, Forbes, MSNBC, and Get Rich Slowly.

What She Writes About

I think I am a pretty average woman – I am neither rich nor thin, I am busy and have many responsibilities on my plate. I feel this helps me provide realistic, real-life fashion advice for fellow busy women. I showcase my personal fashion with daily photographs and details of what I am wearing, but I also write articles about how to find one’s personal style, stay on top of trends without becoming a fashion victim, and how best to build and maintain a carefully curated wardrobe.

I love hearing from my readers and often use their emails and questions as blog post topics – if one woman is asking that question, it’s very possible that others have the same query!

Her Favorite Posts

• Staples for Every Woman’s Wardrobe
• Being Cool
• Age is But a Number

[Site Spotlight is an occasional feature that brings you a new or noteworthy style and fashion blog or site.]

Share the love

Thanks to Alison for participating in this month’s Site Spotlight, and thank you for reading. Did you like this post? Please leave a comment or share it with someone else; just use the handy sharing widget below.

(Want to get more shopping tips and fun insider stuff? Join The Style List. It’s like a secret club in your email inbox! And when you join, you’ll get my free email series, 7 Days to Better Shopping. It’s my gift to you!)