Tag, You're it! The Blogger Interview

This is my very first tag blog post. I was tagged by the wonderful Nerida at Space of Beauty to do the Blogger Interview Tag.

How did you get into blogging?

It's ironic because I never knew what a blog was. I had heard the term before but had no idea what it was. I worked for one of the biggest airlines for over 17 years and believe it or not, we were not allowed Internet access! I know, barbaric!  So, I only had Internet when I was at home (which wasn't much) and I would basically check emails, use google and that's about it. 

After I took a package and left my job, I found myself on my computer a lot. I had always searched for product reviews, but now, I suddenly discovered the world of YouTube and blogs, plus Twitter and Instagram! It was a whole new world for me. I was amazed at this massive online community of people who also had a love for all things beauty, fashion and health. 

I never actually considered starting a blog. It was as spontaneous as you can get. I couldn't sleep one night and I was bored and restless, so I just decided right then and there to start a blog, and i did. I didn't know what I was doing, but I just went with it and had a lot of help from google.

What advice would you give to beginner bloggers?

Well, I am a beginning blogger. I've only been blogging since March of this year, so I still have a ton to learn. But, I have definitely learned a few things in the months I've been blogging. Here are a few suggestions.

Don't try to be like any other bloggers, just be you. Take inspiration from others but put your own spin on things and let your own personality shine through.  We are all unique and special in our own ways. 

Schedule time to blog. When you're starting out, blogging can be overwhelming, especially in the beginning when you are setting up your blog. If you're not careful you can end up working late into the night and wearing yourself out. As they say, your inbox will always be full. So, set aside a specific amount of time to work on your blog and then shut the computer down. Even if you have a lot more work to do, write it down and get back to it with a fresh mind the next day.

I had no idea how much time blogging takes, I definitely developed a respect for bloggers when I found out how much time and effort it takes. I suggest to either set a schedule for  when to blog and post, or just write when you are inspired. I do have somewhat of a schedule but I prefer to blog when I'm inspired. I don't enjoy the process if it's forced. Do what works for you!

Bring readers back. Create some series with some of your posts and link back to other posts in your series. For example, you could do some sort of challenge or favourites where you would post weekly or monthly on the topic. This is not only fun (IMO) but also gives your readers something to come back for. 

What would be your dream campaign?

At this time, I can't think of a dream campaign. I'm just happy to be doing what I enjoy and doing it on my own time. I love being my own boss for once and being able to create anything I want. I really appreciate that having a blog gives me a platform to be heard and to share information with others. 

In the future, I would love to work with socially responsible companies in the health, fashion, and beauty industries.

Do you have a plan for your blog?

My only plan for now is to continue blogging for as long as I'm enjoying it. Who knows where it may go, if anywhere. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the creative process, and along the way I've been getting to know some of the nicest people I've ever met, even if it is through the interwebs.

Thanks again for tagging me Nerida!

I would like to tag:

fabulousandfunlife 
katscolourings  and raincouverbeauty

Anyone who wants to do the tag is more than welcome, I tag you!!

Amy

Nielsen Homescan: The Facts/ My Experience- Is it All They Say!? #Review

I wanted to share my experience with Nielsen Homescan. I heard about this company for at least a year. I would constantly see people raving about them online. People raved about how they reaped such wonderful rewards so easily, getting gift cards sent to them from this company every month. So, of course, I wanted in, who wouldn't!? But, there was always a wait list since it was in such "high demand." I got on the wait list, then, in November 2014 I got in! I was so excited. I got sent the scanner to scan and upload all of my purchases and I was on my way to easily, earning such wonderful rewards. At least that's what I thought.

All the comments I read online talked about how easy the program was and how it took no time at all and suddenly you would be sent all these gift cards for very little effort. I started scanning my purchases and let me tell you, it is not so easy. In fact, it is VERY time consuming. They want to know about ALL of your shopping habits. I found myself scanning things daily. Whether it was a coffee purchase, grocery, hair care, drugstore, clothing, beauty, gas, online purchase, whatever, you have to scan everything that you purchase! And, they expect everyone in the household to participate and scan their purchases as well. You need all of your receipts handy as most of the time you have to manually enter prices for each purchase that you make. Then, at the end of each week you upload your scanner to send them your information about all your purchases for that week.

I did this for over 7 months without fail, scanning daily and uploading weekly, from November 2014 to June 2015. And, what did I have to show for it in over 7 months? NOTHING! Nothing but 3000 points in my account with them and the lowest gift card of $10 requires 8000 points to redeem it. So, by my calculations it would take over 1 year of scanning all of your purchases and weekly uploading just to earn a $10 movie gift card (at this time it's a movie gift card, but that could change.) 

Let me break it down:

You get 150 points each week IF you upload your scanner.

Multiply 150 X 52 weeks (1 year)

=7800 (just short of the 8000 minimum to redeem for the lowest gift card of $10!)

There are supposed to be surveys to earn extra points, but in 7 months, I got one survey that earned me a whopping 200 points!

I was so tired of scanning everything that me and my family purchased and having nothing to show for it, so I contacted the company and told them about my displeasure. They didn't even respond to me regarding this. So, I packed up the scanner and all the materials and bar codes for scanning and shipped it back. Good riddance!

I was so relieved to no longer have to scan everything me and my family purchased. But, I was also angry for being mislead and for wasting over 7 months of my life doing this for absolutely nothing! They got all of my hard work, all of my information for their research purposes and rewarded me with nothing! Nothing but lost time that I cannot get back.

So, why am I writing this? Because I want to save YOU 7 months or however many months of your life and time! This was my experience and I have a voice and I want to share this with you and save you some grief so all of my lost time, work and grief was not all in vain.

I'm not sure why so many coupon and savings bloggers rave about this service, maybe they are getting a kick back or maybe, somehow, they got their $10 gift card in less than 53 months!

This is just my experience and the facts and I hope that it helps someone out there!