Ashley on Blogging Part 1

I've had several people ask me about blogging. Is blogger better than Wordpress or weebly? How do you get pageviews? How do you get an original blog title?

I really like blogging. If you're wondering, I did have two blogs before this. The first was a private blog about five years ago, where I just documented the silly things that were going on. The next was two years ago, when I started a blog for my uncle who was serving a mission for our church. After several months, it fell through. Starting at about age 6 or 7 I figured out how to operate word and began typing out my stories, so I have always been familiar with computers. This blog idea began in March when I logged into my email and there was a blogger notice. My dad and I began brainstorming name ideas. If you're curious, I had terrible names....like The idiosyncraticess. :) I get it. There are dozens of blogs for clean teen reads. But from what I found, they were mostly by moms and not by middle schoolers. I thought people might like that. 

1. Names

My friend from pinkcupcakesblog.wordpress.com, asked for name ideas.  One of the suggestions I gave her was to pick something that people will remember. I don't think people will remember the idiosyn-whatever. The Book Shelph, with a ph, though is easier. 

Anything straightforward  will already be taken. Be creative, google blog name creators. There are dozens. The Book Shelph was my own idea :) if you're curious. Alliterations are fun, pick something catchy. Dont choose a title that has nothing to do with your content. Pink Cupcakes in Pink Heels is the perfect example of what you SHOULD do. It's a fashion/food blog, it's catchy, creative, and not cliche. The Fashionista, The Daily Post, Handmade, are all way overly used. Be creative and be unique!



2. Publicity/Pageviews 

I have just seen that this blog has reached over 1000 pageviews! Thanks so much! One of the major aspects that plays into getting views is being unique. If I come across another craft blog that just has the typical t shirt scarf and macaroni necklace, I won't be bookmarking it. Now if I see a blog that has DIY wax vases and ten ways to reuse old markers-- that's pretty unique. Also, creating multiple accounts for your blog increases the number of ways to get publicity. For example, The Book Shelph has Pinterest and Google Plus. Hopefully in the next year, Facebook. Many of my views come from Google Plus, Pinterest, and other blogs. If you are starting a blog and know of somebody who also has one, ask for them to recommend you! If you are starting one, I would be more than happy to write about you :). Another way to get pageviews is to write about interesting things. If your craft blog wants to post tie-dye t shirts or sequined hats-nobody will be interested. Both are way out of the DIY world. Posts like Daily Prompts, Poetry Contest, and Movies, T.V shows, All Clean! Oh my, get the most views. Email your family and friends to post about you, and stay active on your blog, and get creative!

Over the next week I will cover which blog website to use, customizing, writing on your blog, do's and dont's, links, and more. Please comment if you have a blogging topic you would like me cover.

Ashley

Poetry Contest

Hey! Sorry I haven't been posting, I have been having WAY too much fun :)
 I also just requested about ten million books that I will be able
to read in a week, so more book reviews are coming. Remember this blog post: http://thebookshelph.blogspot.com/2014/05/poems.html about poems? Well for 
three years I 
have been 
entering a poetry contest, and all of my poems have been 
accepted to be published.
 While none have won, I still feel good about myself, knowing that 
at least someone 
recognized them. I would greatly recommend   
entering. It's open to kids in grades K-12 in the U.S and Canada. 

Go HERE for the contest web page. Have fun!

Ashley

Movies, T.V Shows, All Clean! Oh my!

Hi! As you might have seen at my "About me, the Blog, and my annoying Fandoms," page, I love movies. If there are any clean (by clean with movies I mean almost no sexual content or language) and fun PG13-PG movies you've seen recently, PLEASE comment! I just saw a really good one for ages 12 and Up about two missionaries from my church who were kidnapped in the 90's. Its a true story! Whether you are Mormon or not, you should watch it. It was clean, there was tension and violence though.

PG13

 Once again, if you have any good (CLEAN) thrillers for middle school kids (I really enjoyed Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, Blackfish, Harry Potter, etc.) please let me know!

Also...if you're looking for an exciting T.V series, BYUTV does has a recent drama out called Granite Flats. They're pretty cool, especially for kids in Middle School.


I watch them online.

Let me know of any clean, fun, thrilling movies\t.v shows! If you leave them on the SUGGESTIONS page, I will most likely see them.

Ashley

Daily Prompt

Repin, share, and recommend my logo!

Hey Guys!

Hi! So I am back from my camp. It's something that my church (for more info, click on my button on the sidebar) does for girls ages 12-18 everywhere! It was an awesome experience. How was your week? What have you been doing all summer? I have had my share of horror stories the past two weeks, so I'm in a haunting writing mood. I'm also going to check out this book next week for my next read. So I have chosen two prompts for today:


1. Imagine if you were camping, stranded, or simply walking in this forest. Suddenly you see this, and you recognize her. Who is she? Who are you? Why is she running? Do you follow? Do you chase her? Does she recognize you? I would love to read your version of this. Comment below!

2. You love to climb on your roof and watch the sky at night. Your eyes freelance on this man. You scream in terror, knowing the myths are true. He turns. You are expecting the dead man who has escaped from prison. Instead--

Finish it for me!

If you are wondering where I get all of my prompts and reading ideas, its Pinterest. You can see my profile HERE. I won't post all of my pins, so if you are stuck or need inspiration for writing or for books, check me out! If you have any suggestions, please visit my suggestions page and comment.

Thanks! I love it when you comment or recommend my stuff on google plus, so please do!

Ashley

Daily Prompt and a Heads Up

Hey guys! Just so you know I will be at a camp for my church this week so the soonest I will post again will be Saturday.

Here is the prompt for today!