Happy Blogiversary Kimi Who! + $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Many of you probably know my good friend and sponsor Kimi from Kimi Who?.  This girl is fabulously geeky, an animal lover, and a great friend to have on your side-especially in the bloggy world.  I mean just look at this cute face (and that adorable cat!):

Well, Kimi is celebrating her 1 Year Blogiversary-HAPPY ONE YEAR OF BLOGGING KIMI! Which is super exciting, and she's doing 7 whole days of giveaways.  I was happy to get in on some of her giveaway action, but I am also happy to take a moment and introduce you to her here on the blog today.  I asked her a few anniversary-esque questions today.

What are some of the most important things you have learned in your one year of blogging?
I have learned to be less envious of other bloggers. I spent so many years trying to do as other bloggers did because they seemed to be doing well, probably making tons of money and surely they must be famous! This year, I learned how much it costs to actually maintain a blog and while there are plenty of bloggers out there making a steady flow of cash, I realize that most of us aren't. Blogging is truly a labor of love and somewhere down the road, you probably pour more money and time into it than you ever get back.

What was the best advice you have been given during the past year?
I wish I could remember where I first read this advice, but commenting regularly on other blogs has easily been a game changer for my blog. It's been really important to me to pass that advice on to other bloggers because it has worked so well for me.

What is one thing you wish you could have done differently on your blog?
I wish I had maintained a blogging schedule. It was easy to do in the beginning because my full time job had me working stable hours where I was possible for me to consistently post certain types of content. With the constant change in my scheduled days off, my blogging became inconsistent and it definitely cost me some traffic.

Where do you see (or hope to see) your blog in five years?
I have so many great ideas that I sincerely hope to see come to life. I know that I plan to do a lot more posts about blogging and I will eventually write an e-book and offer some courses for blogging and WordPress. It's all in the hopefully not as distant future as I think it is, but definitely part of a 5 year plan!

What do you expect the next year to bring to your blog?
I suspect that in the next year, there will be a lot of posts related to buying a home and decorating it because that's where our lives will be. Hopefully that means some great tips, tricks and money saving ideas.

What is your favorite post you wrote during that year, and why?
Narrowing down 185 blog posts over the last year is definitely a challenge! I think we all lose sight of what blogging is at some point. It's putting yourself out there and really being honest about who you are. I have always wanted my blog to inspire and to touch the lives of my readers and I think that's why my post about My Tattoo and the Serious Reason Behind It is one of my favorites.

 It's a very raw and very real post where I open up and share one of the darkest corners of my life. It's something I don't do too often - not even outside of my blog with friends and loved ones. Sharing that post has been a pretty big deal for me and every time I share it, I feel a little more empowered.

If you could offer one tip for a blogger just starting out, what would it be?
Be authentic. It's tempting to try to do everything like everyone else... but you really need to find your own voice and let it shine.

So as I said above, Kimi has SEVEN days of giveaways.  You can enter day 1-a $100 Amazon Gift Card below, but make sure you run over to Kimi Who for the rest of the days.  So far you can enter to win an art print from Liana Kangas, a Body Naturals bath and body set, and a Funko Princess Cadence.  Plus, make sure to check back for the rest of the seven giveaways.  All end on the 15th!  You can fill out her blogiversary questionaire HERE!

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Want to be intereviewed here on My So-Called Chaos like this?  Check out my sponsor options! 

A New Simplified Ad Experience and Discount + A Giveaway!

Offering sponsored ads on my blog (along with all the goodies I offer with those) has been such a great experience, and it's been one that is constantly growing and improving with time.  It changes with each new sponsor, each new experience sponsoring someone else, and the direction the blog is taking.

So every so often (typically once or twice a year) the ad experience here has to change too.  Now is one of those times, but it's only changing ever-so-slightly.  The emphasis of this change is to simplify the experience and offer a more well-rounded and organized experience for those who choose to support this blog and advertise their blogs/shops/companies with me.  I want to always be making it better, as there is always room for improvement.

So what changes have I made?  Read on!

Fantastic Sponsors Section
Well I'm getting rid of the Cream & Sugar spots.  Those that currently have one be allowed to continue it until the end of the term they've paid for/been assigned, but no more will be sold.  Instead, under my main sidebar sponsors section there will only be two sizes.  A featured size of 450x300 at the top (The Coffee Date) and regular spots below it (The Espresso Shots) sized at 450x200.

This will be limiting the number of ads I provide-but that's a good thing! This ensures that my paying sponsors get a big eye-catching placement and that I am able to focus on promoting these ads more thoroughly throughout the month.

New Cup O'Tea Spot
This is basically the Cream and Sugar spot (size wise anyway) at 450x100, however it will no longer be shown in the Sponsors section, and it wont come with extra promotion.  It's just a sidebar ad much like my swap ads (it will still have the opportunity to join the Group Giveaway), but at a cheap affordable rate.  It will be shown in the Affiliate Ads section, as I've decided to move away from most traditional affiliate advertising.

Swap Ads
I will still be accepting regular blog swap ads, but they've been moved down in the sidebar under my "Check Out These Blogs" section.  This pulls them out of the paid sponsors section, but they'll still be treated the same as they have been previously.

Free Ads for First Timers & Small Blogs
A while back I accepted applications for free ad spots for small handmade businesses and bloggers under 300 followers.  I still have a long list of people to get through for that (I've just emailed everyone who filled out the request back in February-so if you did, check your email!), but I will no longer be offering a sidebar ad, instead I'll be scheduling them for Saturday Spotlights.  These small businesses and bloggers will have the opportunity to guest post or be interviewed, as well as combine it with a giveaway for maximum exposure.

If you are a small business or blogger with less than 300 followers that has never advertised with me before, and you would like a free Saturday Spotlight, please fill out this form.

No More Holiday Ad Changes
I've decided in order to keep the ad experience simple and fun I wont be announcing a Holiday Hotlist Ad Setup (as I've done in previous years) with big ad changes any longer.  Instead, the ad set up that is now running will continue on as is through the holidays.  There may be an additional holiday hotlist ad in the future, but the entire set up will not change.

Free Giveaway Entries & Community Post
All sponsors in my Fantastic Sponsors section will get a free entry option (even if they're not participating) in the Group Giveaway.  That entry will be a visit with a comment or item favorite.  There will be options to purchase further entries.

I will also be bringing back my Sponsors Spotlight/Community post options with different themes accompanying the Group Giveaways each month.  Whether or not a sponsor (in the Fantastic Sponsors section) is participating, they will be included in this.

The Cup O'Tea and Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans (swappers) spots will both have the option to buy into the Group Giveaway, and if they do, they will also be included in the Community Post.

Group Giveaway Organization
Each month will be much more organized now. I've planned out and scheduled the Group Giveaways for the rest of the year and created the forms for them so I'm ready to go right off the bat (I told you I'm getting more organized) and here are the planned giveaways so far:

• August: Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Instant Film Camera ($70 value + Accessories Allowance TBD)
• September: eGift Card to The Container Store (Value TBD)
• October: eGift Card to Williams Sonoma (Value TBD)
• November: eGift Card to Etsy (Value TBD)
• December: eGift to Erin Condren (Value TBD)

Mega Social Media Love

All sponsors will receive 3-5 tweets a week sharing their content, and one Facebook share featuring them for the month.  I will also be pinning, stumbling, favoriting, commenting, etc.  I'm upping the Social Media game!

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Take 10% off any ad purchased in August with code SIMPLIFY at checkout

To celebrate my new ad system, I'm giving two lucky winners a free month of my Espresso Shots (450x200) ad spaces!  Yay! Open worldwide and ends on 08/18/15 at 12AM. Entering below agrees to all T&C in the widget.

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Giveaway: Enter to Win a Free Pair of Firmoo Glasses!

It's no secret that I love my Firmoo glasses.  I've shared many a selfie sporting my new ones, both when talking about them and when just being out there living my life.  They're my favorite, and I get commented on them daily.  Just look:

   

Haven't heard of Firmoo? Firmoo is an online company that sells glasses, both prescription and not, and saves you money since they don't have to pay for a brick and mortar store.  Since it's all online, those of us buying glasses reap the benefits of the savings.  They have tons of options to choose from, with new collections available all the time, and they ship quick and easy.  I've also had nothing but good experiences ordering from them and working with their customer service team.

Firmoo is giving one lucky winner their choice of glasses from their collection for bloggers.  Giveaway is open to the US only, and includes the frames and standard 1.50 index single vision lenses. Upgraded lenses and add-ons will be charged additional fees.  Entering below agrees to all the terms and conditions in the Rafflecopter widget.

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Giveaway: Enter to win a $65 Gift Card to Ann Taylor Loft

I was able to join up with a few other bloggers over at Keeping Up with Ashley and Cody this month for a fun Community Post.  We each picked our favorite outfits from Ann Taylor Loft, and then offered up a giveaway.  The gift card will be $65.

If you'd like to see the favorite outfits-go HERE! (You can enter the giveaway there also, or you can enter below!)

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Reader Survey + $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway

Hey friends!  It occurred to me that I haven't done a reader survey in a while.  I'd like to know what you think, so if you could be so kind as to fill out the following survey and share your opinion with me, I'd be most grateful!  I'm also offering a $25 Amazon Gift Card to one lucky winner!

One lucky winner will win a $25 Amazon Gift Card (or they can opt for Paypal Cash-International will automatically get Paypal instead of Amazon).  Giveaway is open Worldwide and ends on 08/10/15 at 12AM. Entering below agrees to all terms and conditions within the widget.

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Summer Sponsor BOGO Sale! More Bang for Your Buck + Ad Space Giveaway!

This is a call for sponsors here on My So-Called Chaos!  There are going to be lots of wonderful growth opportunities and promotions over the next few months, and I want your blog or shop to be a part of it!  So between now and September 1st, 2015-purchase any ad and get an extra month free!

All ads come with Giveaway opportunities and lots of social media love across many platforms!  I've been sharing my sponsors mostly on Twitter & Pinterest, but I'll be sharing more on Facebook and StumbleUpon, as well as some other sites too!  I want to customize your experience to you, so don't hesitate to make suggestions or reach out with any questions.

Here are my stats as of July 1st (they have grown since then):

Here are a couple of my most recent testimonials: 

From Colleen at The Lunchbox Diaries-July 16th, 2015

"Angie blogs over at My So-Called Chaos, and a few months ago she held a contest in which I was voted the winner in the “funniest blog” category (thank you everyone, your checks are in the mail.) My understanding was that I’d won a month of free ad space on her blog, and I was totally stoked! But Angie has gone above and beyond, not only giving me ad space on her blog, but she tweets about my posts, and she’s even doing an interview post with me. If you’re looking to invest in ad space with a fellow blogger, I’d HIGHLY suggest Angie!"

From Nikki at NikMakeupJunkie-April 2nd, 2015
"Purchasing the ad space on My-so-called-chaos was a great decision. She's the best and easiest to work with, and goes well out of her way to advertise for you. She's really great, and I totally recommend advertising with her. I will continue to sponsor her because of how amazing she is and how much traffic she's brought me, and I recommend that you do the same!"

Check out more information about the ads, more recommendations, and sign up for an ad HERE!

I'm giving one lucky winner 1 month of in-post ad space absolutely free!  

That's a $45 value-and the only ad that shows up in RSS feeds!

Giveaway is open Worldwide and ends 7/27/15 at 12AM.

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Meet Heather of The Nerdy Fox & Cheaha Soaps + Enter to Win a $25 Etsy Gift Card

One of my favorite new-ish blogs I've found is this lovely lady, Heather from The Nerdy Fox & Cheaha Soaps. She's a geek girl, who is also from Utah, but lives in Alabama now.  Too bad we didn't connect when we were practically neighbors! Anyway, I've loved getting to know her better, so today I want you to get to know her better!  I interviewed her, and here's what she had to say:

How did you get started blogging at The Nerdy Fox?
I’ve blogged on and off for years. The Nerdy Fox has always been something I’ve wanted to do and never gotten around to doing. You don’t see a lot of geeky blogs and less that are kind of all-encompassing. The hardest part was thinking of a name that wasn’t already taken. My bestie was actually the one that was like, “Why not something like, The Nerdy Fox?” and that’s what stuck and has been.

How did Cheaha soaps get started?
My mom has been making soap for oodles of years. Like, 20 + years. It’s something she did while I was growing up and as soon as we moved closer to each other, we decided to get a business going.

What first inspired your love of geek culture?
I’ve always been a gamer, I grew up with them. I remember waking up early and playing Yoshi’s Island and Fester’s Quest. It’s always been a part of my life. I’ve never not had geeky interests. It’s funny because my parents are particularly geeky. My dad is a hardcore outdoorsman and my mom was always really crafty. She was always reading, though. I think that might have contributed to it. She read a book a day and I remember being so impressed and wanting to be able to do that. My parents were always very supportive and wanted me to be the person I wanted to be. I didn’t really realize I was a geek until Junior High when I started seeing Lord of the Rings a ridiculous amount of times in theaters! That’s what really sealed the deal. I had these two friends, Sam and Chelsea, and we went every chance we got. When we weren’t watching the movies, we were in the LotR chat rooms. Chelsea’s mom was super cool, she started a Tolkien discussion group at the bookstore. She taught everyone elvish and we had a pretty big group of people talking about it. Sam and Chelsea were so cool, they were into Sailor Moon and read these really awesome books. Without those two, I don’t know if I’d be as geeky as I am today.

What are your top three favorite fandoms?
Oh man, I can only pick three? This is rough. Tolkien, Doctor Who, Star Wars……. And Star Trek. I know. I can’t pick only three. Tolkien because the Middle Earth universe is just SO cool. Doctor Who is a more recent obsession, like within the last couple of years. I am a fan of Nine. Crazy, I know. I love the others, but Nine is my doctor. Star Wars because who doesn’t love light sabers and the Jedi?? Star Trek has always been amazing. I recently watched The Next Generation from beginning to end and let me tell you, I thought I had watched every episode. Nope, there were definitely episodes I had never seen or forgotten.

Have you ever been to a Comic or other nerdy convention? If so, tell us about it.
I worked at a booth for the first Salt Lake Comic Con. It was amazing. I worked it with my friend Anne, she was working for a local artist that makes tshirts. It was a crazy, whirlwind experience but we had so much fun. We were totally dead by the end of it. I met Manu Bennett and he hugged me. I met Peter Mayhew and I totally almost cried. I met so many awesome people at that one. I went to the Fan X right before I left Utah, the one with Patrick Stewart, and it was a totally different experience. It was a lot of fun, I saw a lot of people. I saw Patrick Stewart and the guard said, “You look like you’re going to cry!” which was true and kind of embarrassing. I missed the Comic Con here a couple months back. I had no idea there was one. I’m planning on attending next year.

Do you cosplay? If so, what is your favorite thing to cosplay as? Any new costumes in the works?
I love to cosplay. I love making costumes. I have been making costumes with my bestie for years. It started out as simple things… Zombie Ballerina and Pikachu and has gradually evolved into bigger things. My first real cosplay was dressing up for Lord of the Rings midnight premieres. My most recent one was Sonic and Tails. I was Tails. It was a lot of fun. My favorite cosplay was Poison Ivy – that’s one that I’d like to remake one of these days. My next cosplay is going to be a Harley Quinn cosplay. I’m pretty excited about it. I have been planning it for months. I just need to actually start making it at this point. I’m sure it’ll be on my blog soon!

What made you move from Utah to the south?
The question that never gets old. The short and sweet version is that I moved to be closer to my parents who were stationed here. The real version is that I was (technically, still am) going through a messy divorce and couldn’t stand to be in a state that brought me so many sad memories any longer. I had always said I would want to move closer to my parents when they got back from Germany and this was the perfect opportunity. I didn’t realize it was going to be Alabama but here I am.

Is there anything you miss about your home state?
I miss Utah every single day. The list of things I miss is endless but off the top of my head: Mountains, a grid system, visible street signs, Beans & Brew, Juice N Java, Coffee Pod, Café Rio, Zupas, parks with shade, sidewalks, and snow. Now, because I know someone is going to ask, no we really don’t have sidewalks. The only places I’ve seen them are places like strip malls. The neighborhoods don’t have them. It’s really the strangest thing to me.

Is there anything cool and exciting you love about your new state?
Alabama is surreally green. There is an abnormal amount of trees. I mean, an abnormal amount. It’s beautiful. Coming from a place like Salt Lake where you can see across the valley and have kind of a sense of direction, it is really … surreal, there isn’t another word for it, to live in a place where you really are just surrounded by trees. All the time.

If you could offer one piece of advice to any other geek girl, what would it be?
Embrace geek culture. Don’t hide it and don’t downplay it.

If you could offer one piece of advice to a new Etsy shop owner, what would it be? 
Patience. It’s not going to get big overnight. Keep making high quality items and it’ll eventually take off.

Giveaway is open worldwide, one lucky winner will receive a $25 Etsy Gift Card curteousy of Heather. See T&C in Rafflecopter.

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June Group Giveaway: My Sponsors Try Something New + One of 2 $15 Starbucks Gift Cards!

In the spirit of the June 12x30 Challenge: Try Something New (which is almost over-where did June go?) I decided to ask my June sponsors to tell us about a time they tried something new.  Also, Kimi Who and The Lunchbox Diaries even went in to add a special treat-a $20 Starbucks gift card!  Maybe you can try a new drink if you win?

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Saturday Spotlight: The Truth About Pink Tax + a Giveaway from Kimi Who

I've been watching the way that I spend my money as I am looking to change some of my negative spending habits. One of my largest expenditures each month is health and beauty products - shampoo, deodorant, face wash, razors, etc. I've heard a lot about the so-called "Pink Tax" - the idea that women are willing to spend extra on products that are pink, are "made for women", or seem more cutesy for lack of better term. As much as I like pink, I like having extra money much more and so I decided to investigate and see if I could walk away from the store with a few extra dollars in hand.


I've read several articles pertaining to the Pink Tax and decided to try researching those specific items and comparing their prices for myself. I chose to compare Target's prices since that's where I purchase the majority of my items. I went into this whole blog post with the thought in mind that I was going to raise hell about the cost difference and throw some feminist fit or something. But guess what? I found that the supposedly higher cost of pink is a myth...

 Let's compare these two similar Degree brand deodorants...

Women's Degree Dry Protection Shower Clean Invisible Solid Deodorant Health Concern: Body Odor For Use On: Under Arm Scent: Fresh Product Form: Solid Capacity (volume): 2.6 Oz.

Men's Degree Men Dry Protection Extreme Blast Antiperspirant & Deodorant Health Concern: Body Odor For Use On: Under Arm Scent: Fresh Product Form: Solid Capacity (volume): 2.7 Oz.

According to Target.com both of these products cost $3.99 + tax. Now, to be fair... the women's deodorant contains 2.6 ounces VS that 2.7 ounces in the men's. But let's be realistic here: How often do you actually get everything out of a deodorant container? I doubt that .1 is really going to make a difference.

 In my search, I noticed that there aren't very many deodorant brands that are marketed and/or designed for both genders. Brands like Secret cater to women whereas Old Spice caters towards men. The idea behind those brands is that Secret often comes in floral, "feminine scents" while Old Spice produces stronger, musky "masculine scents". So to be fair, it's hard to compare prices when you start comparing completely different brands.

 In this case, I don't really see a Pink Tax. I don't feel like I am paying more money for the "preferred" or "feminine scented" deodorant. But let's try comparing some razors - something that legitimately comes in pink or otherwise more girly colors.

Women's Gillette® Venus Sensitive Sensible Disposable Razor Package Quantity: 1 Number of Pieces: 1 Includes: Razor For Use On: Whole Body For Hair Type: All Hair Types Battery: no battery used Care and Cleaning: Rinse with Water

Men's Gillette Mach3 Sensitive Disposable Razor Package Quantity: 1 Number of Pieces: 1 Includes: Razor For Use On: Whole Body For Hair Type: All Hair Types Battery: no battery used Care and Cleaning: Rinse with Water

These are similar, disposable razors made by the same company, Gillette. The Venus and the Mach series both claim to be "sensitive and sensible", have the same number of blades, are for all hair types and useful on all parts of the body. Besides color and some otherwise aesthetic differences, they are the same razor. Even the packaging is similar!

 Each razor is listed on Target.com for $3.99 + tax - no pink tax here.

I Don't Feel Cheated.

Do you feel like you are paying more for cute products? I honestly thought that I was - so many people swear by this pink tax. I'm sure I could find some discrepancy somewhere if I tried hard enough, but the numbers don't lie. When you make legitimate comparisons and only put similar products against similar products made by the same company, the pink tax is a myth.

 Is this always the case? I doubt so many women would be in an uproar about this if there weren't some real cases out there. I have seen the pictures where price comparisons have been done in the past and see the noticeable price inflation on women's items for myself. But in my research, I just don't see it (and remember, I went into this post expecting to find it).  

Hooray, Giveaway!

Well, since there's no price difference, I will send one lucky winner a package of their very own pink razors! The giveaway below is for U.S. readers only (sorry, I am not sending sharp things internationally haha).

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Top Tips for Starting a Blog + an Ad Space Giveaway!

Starting a blog is completely overwhelming. There is SO much to do, so many options to choose from, and so much pressure to get it right. That's why Helene of Helene in Between and I got together to discuss how to start a blog.

Tips for Starting a Blog

Helene: First, remember this is your online space. You can mold it into whatever you want. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. You can get all the details worked out. Have an idea of what your blog is about and why you want to blog. Is it just for fun? Do you want to make money? Do you want to share your life? Whatever the reason (you can change it later) but it's a good idea to think about it.

Angie: Purchase a domain name.  While it's easy and free to stick with your basic NAME.blogspot.com or NAME.wordpress.com when blogging, I highly recommended that you purchase a domain name.  My domain name only costs about $10 a year, and it seems so much more legitimate when people visit www.mysocalledchaos.com.  It also looks a lot more professional when it comes to advertisers and companies that want to work with me. Starting right out with a domain name shows that you mean business, and it helps you make sure you can actually purchase the domain name you want, because later down the road you could go to buy one that reflects your blog name and find out that it's been taken.

Helene: Pick a platform. This can be a tough decision. In my opinion, you have two basic options: Blogger or Wordpress. I am not a Wordpress user. For me it was confusing and a lot of work. But I have heard some great things about Wordpress. Essentially, you own all of your content. I like Blogger, you get free hosting, it's easy to navigate and it's simple to change your layout. Check out why I use blogger.  

Angie: Stick with a clean design.  One mistake a see a lot of newbie bloggers make is their design-both of the main page and the blog posts. If it's too hard to read, people wont read it.  Keep it clean and easy to read and it will encourage people to actually read it.  

I recommend you pay close attention to the following:

• Fonts: Whimsical fonts are okay for your blog title or possibly for headers, but don't use them for your actual content.  They're hard to read and discourage people from actually reading everything you have to say.  Stick with a good classic and clear print font for the actual post.
• Colors: Make sure you keep your colors easily contrasted-dark writing on a light background or light writing on a dark background.  If you have a pink background and yellow writing it'll be too hard to read and people generally wont bother.
• Formatting: Make sure you format your posts.  Split it up into paragraphs (like you'd find in a news article or a book) instead of one giant blog of writing, and add photos where you can to split up the text.  It makes everything easier to read and helps keep your reader's interest.
• Sidebar: It's super easy to get that sidebar jam-packed with everything you want to showcase, but it is also a huge turn-off to readers. Just showcase the important stuff, and if there's more stick it in another page that you can just link to.

Angie: Think about the direction you want to go in.  You don't have to commit to writing about only one thing for the entire life cycle of your blog, but it's good to know what direction you're going in.  Is this a lifestyle blog where you'll write about lots of different things?  Is it a family blog where you're going to talk about your kids?  Do you want to share more recipes and cooking than anything?  Direction is good.  It's not set in stone, but it definitely helps you stay focused on the theme of your blog.

Angie: Create social media profiles for your blog.  Social media is perhaps the best marketing tool there is these days.  Make sure you create a Facebook Page, Twitter account, Pinterest account, Instagram, etc.  If you already have all of these accounts, consider making your usernames fluid so that they match your blog and are easily associated with it.  For example, since my blog is My So-Called Chaos, I use the handle mysocalledchaos on nearly all of my social networks.  It's easy to associate, and easy for me to tell people how to find me.

Helene: Sponsor. If you're interested in getting your blog's name out there, this is a great way to do it. No, it's not the only way, but it helps. Sponsoring allows you to have your blog "button" (which is on the right side of my blog and links back to your blog). People will click that link and find you. Other options include sponsoring or advertising with other bloggers: guest posting, giveaways, social media shout outs, etc. Still up in the air? Check out why sponsorship works. 

Angie: Start making friends with other bloggers.  One of the best things about blogging is the community it builds.  Take the time to go out and meet other bloggers so you can start building your community.  Comment on their blogs, join linky parties or Facebook groups, etc.  The more you interact with other bloggers and their blogs the more likely they are to interact back and come visit your blog.  Bloggy BFFs are real, and amazing to have!

Helene: Write for you and do whatever you want. It's your space, you don't have to follow the rules!

For more tips and tricks on better blogging, check out Angie's New Blogger Series!

I'm offering one lucky reader a free Caffeine IV In-Post ad spot!  That's a $45 value! Enter below:

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Giveaway: $100 Paypal Cash

Who couldn't use an extra $100 in Paypal Cash?  Hello-you can spend that just about anywhere, or even transfer it to your bank and then really spend it anywhere.  Luckily, I've teamed up with The Nerdy Fox, Dreaming of Leaving, Sincerely Sara, Dreams, Etc., Storybook Apothecary, and West Coast Mama to bring you a wonderful $100 cash giveaway.  Don't miss out, enter below!

Giveaway is open Worldwide and ends on July 1st. Entering agrees to all T&C in widget below.

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Review & Giveaway: JOJO's Chocolate

Who among us doesn't like chocolate?  I mean I'm sure there is someone, but that person is a rare oddity.  One of the hardest things about eating healthy and getting in shape is having to give up sweets, and especially chocolate.  Sugar is as addictive as heroin, and kicking it can be a painful process.

Enter JOJO's Chocolate.  JOJO's Chocolate was created Jodie Jones, who was diagnosed with breast cancer and throughout all of her treatments she realized she needed to change her eating habits. It started with handmade chocolate bark made right in the kitchen of her home in between radiation and chemotherapy treatments, and has since blossomed into a much bigger organization helping to promote fitness and good health.

JOJO's Chocolate is made with dark chocolate, pistachios, almonds, and cranberries to create a flavorful experience that is full of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and more.  The idea is that one ounce of JOJO's chocolate a day will help you kick your sugar craving, and they even have a money-back guarantee if you don't crave sugar less by week three.  It's great with a company stands behind their product so much that they're willing to offer a satisfaction guarantee policy like that.

I received a week supply of JOJO's Chocolate, and I'm happy to say I can definitely see the health benefits.  When I have a chocolate craving I can have a small piece and feel satisfied, and the satisfaction lasts longer due to the pistachios and almonds inside that help me feel more full for longer.  I totally approve of and recommend JOJO's Chocolate as a healthy alternative to the sweets you crave as you kick the sugar habit.  It's a much better and more helpful alternative!

Just look at these health benefits, and learn more about them HERE.

The wonderful people at JOJO's Chocolate have offered one lucky winner a one week supply of JOJO's Chocolate.

Giveaway is open to the continental USA only and ends on 5/24/15.

Entering below agrees to all Terms and Conditions in the Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway