My Daily blogging schedule

Previously, I have shared my weekly blogging schedule but what about my daily schedule. This is my Monday to Friday schedule. I do blog on weekends but it isn't as structured.

5am
Bright eyed and frizzy haired, I reach for my MacBook, check overnight emails, reply, check twitter interactions and respond.

5.30am
My scheduled post should be live. I'll reduce URL of the post in bitly and share on twitter. Then open Buffer and schedule basic tweets for the day. Then share new post on Facebook.

6am
If you participate in any linkys, link up now. It's best to get in early.

6.30am - 9am
Breakfast, children wrangling and school run

9.30am - 10am
Visit my favourite blogs, read and comment
Visit link ups, visit and comment
Check Facebook

The following activities must get worked into whatever else I have on for the day. They always get done but not in any particular order or time:

• Write new posts;
• Write any other pieces I have agreed to;
• Spend time learning something new: Currently it's Photoshop CS6. I think I'll be stuck on this for a while;
• Read bloggy blogs. These are ones that provide information to help improve my blogging;
• Respond to any comments I have received on my posts;
• Review products or movies;
• Continue to check in on Twitter and Facebook. Buffer doesn't make up for your real presence;
• Respond to emails. Delete spam;
• Work on 'the bigger picture'. Whatever that may be. Improving media kits, emailing PR, talking to advertisers etc; and
• Schedule a post to go live at 5.30am the next day. In a perfect world, my posts would be schedule much further in advance. Maybe that can be my new years resolution.

How is your daily blogging schedule? Similar to mine?

Dos and don'ts: 6 Important Selfie tips

I am not a super model, or a model of any kind. In fact, I am the opposite. Just a normal girl with an iPhone. This can get you into all sorts of trouble.

Here are a few things I have learnt:

1. I know it's tempting but the next day you will regret it. Don't let your friends take photos of you either.

 2. Check yourself, then look at the camera. Direct eye contact is better in the photo.

3. How many times have you seen this?

 4. If we are going to learn anything from Britney Spears, it's this. It looks terrible.

 5. Be selfish and think of yourself. No-one looks good hunching.

 6. I am so glad social media wasn't around when I was younger. I would have been disowned and probably would never have worked in law.

What are your tips?

Blogging Manners: The art of receiving gifts

I have spent years teaching my girls good manners. I am constantly telling them that manners don't cost anything and they mean so much. I am a little bothered when I notice that some people are skipping basic manners.

I have taught my 7 and 8 year olds that when you receive a gift, whether you like it or not, you give a big smile and thank the gift giver. They know that the gift is not as important as the thought that went into it. You are thanking the gift giver for their time and thoughts too.

AND, you never, ever complain or say ANYTHING negative about the gift.

In the blogging world, it's not unheard of to receive gifts, samples, goodie bags etc. These come from someone. Some business has spent time and money on making and distributing these items and they thought you were worth it. Maybe they are small, not our thing, not worth much or not relevant to our blog or readers. It doesn't mean they don't deserve our good manners.

There are nice ways to say thanks but no thanks.
If you receive a gift bag, thank the relevant people.
Use a hashtag to link it back to them.
and please don't bitch or complain.

Buffer: Why you should be using it

My discovery of Buffer has changed my blogging life. This application that makes it easy for you to schedule and share your social media updates. It means you no longer need to be online 24 hours a day to have an online presence 24 hours a day.

I use it to schedule and share my tweets over the day and night. This means my tweets can be going out while I am sleeping, writing, eating or hanging out with the family.

Scheduling tweets
Set up your tweeting schedule in Buffer. I have scheduled six tweets each day. Two of these are in the wee hours of the night for my overseas readers. Each morning I use my computer to top up the tweets.

Scheduling facebook updates
Buffer is not just for twitter

Analytics
Buffer has inbuilt analytics. This is a great way to see how effective a piece you posted was (or wasn't)

It's Free
Well, it's free up to a certain point. Once you start managing multiple accounts, then you may need to upgrade and pay a small monthly fee.

I still like to go onto Twitter during the day to read, comment and retweet, but I save time because I don't have to worried about sharing my own posts.

How to use Bitly.com

I have found the best way for me to share my blog posts is through Bitly.com.

After I have created my masterpiece, the first thing I do is go to Bitly to reduce the URL. This takes it

from this:   http://www.redcliffestyle.com/2012/09/inside-my-handbag.html
to this:   http://bit.ly/OMem0K

The three reasons I reduce it are:
1. It takes up less space in my tweets
2. It looks neat and consistent
3. Bitly keeps track of clicks (how many people have clicked on the shortened link)

Copy your link in your blog and then paste it in Bitly where it says Paste a link here

To share your link, click on the Facebook and twitter icons.

Then write a little something in the text box. Tick the twitter and/or facebook boxes and send it on. The new shortened URL is automatically attached to your text.

You can share as often as you like, but you need to amend the text a little each time.

And if you have trouble finding your links, just check in Search your Bitmarks, then Your shared bitmarks