Have you heard of Bookshop.org yet? If not, you’re probably not alone. Bookshop is a Certified B Corp (more on that later) specializing in – you guessed it – selling books.
But why? Doesn’t everyone just buy books from Amazon? Well, yes. And that’s kind of the problem. Since Amazon’s whole business model relies on annihilating the little guy at all cost (literally, they take a massive hit in profit to undercut an independent seller, just so they are the only ones left on the market) many independent book stores suffer in the wake. So how does another online book seller help independent stores? Kind of seems counter-intuitive.
As a Certified B Corp, Bookshop adheres to a social/environmental standard. In order to become a B Corp, a business must show that they comply with standards that essentially mean profits don’t come at the expense of the environment and consumer interests. B Corps must be transparent about their business structure and basically prove that they are going to run an ethical business that serves the public in a good way.
*This post contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase from one of my affiliate links in this post, I’ll receive a small commission – at no cost to you! Read my affiliate policy here.
How Bookshop.org Helps The Little Guy
So it seems like adding in another online book store would just add more competition and further harm the independent bookseller. However, part of Bookshop.org’s business model is that they donate 10% of EVERY purchase to a fund that is distributed to independent book stores across the U.S. Really! They also allow independent book stores to set up an online bookshop on their site where they receive the entire profit margin from purchases made in their shop. Really! And then there are people like me – people who aren’t running a book store – who can sell as well as affiliates. We design curated lists, and create links to our book recommendations. On these purchases, the 30% profit margin is distributed like this: 10% to me for driving the sale, 10% to the fund for independent book stores, and 10% for Bookshop.org.
They also, of course, sell books directly from their site, and on those purchases they make 20% profit and 10% goes to the independent book store fund. Isn’t transparency interesting?
Bookshop + Zero Waste
If you think that this business model sounds horrible – donating a portion of every profit?! – then I suppose you and I are fundamentally different. I’ve talked before about our family’s transition to living as close to “zero waste” as we can, and believe it or not, this fits in with that.
It’s probably true that the zero waste hierarchy of reading goes something like this: Read on an e-reader, borrow from the library, purchase used, purchase new. But there are times when we purchase new books. We give our kids and families books as gifts, and we also like to keep hard copies of all of our book club books (both my husband & mine and our son’s!)
While a huge part of the zero waste lifestyle is not buying anything you don’t need, another part of it is buying responsibly when you do make purchases. It has been shown time and time again that Amazon is good for Amazon. And only Amazon. Sure, sometimes we save a little bit of money, but at what cost? When we purchase responsibly, we are consciously choosing to support businesses who choose to benefit the common good. Supporting the many independent book stores around the country is, for me, better than lining Jeff Bezos’ pockets with my hard earned money.
Is Bookshop Expensive?
I’m not going to lie, when I first signed on to Bookshop I thought, “Man this is expensive!” But I took some time and did side by side comparisons between Bookshop.org and Amazon, and I found that for most books on my list Bookshop was less than $2 more expensive. That difference is fine for me, considering the difference in the business I’m supporting. And with the introduction of used books coming soon, we will likely see lower price options too! I can’t yet afford an Avocado mattress, but an extra dollar on a book? I can do that.
Go Forth and Read!
Hopefully this post has either introduced you to Bookshop or solidified your desire to purchase from them. Maybe you’re even considering starting your own lists there too! If you’re looking for a good book, here’s a sample of some of my lists:
Recently, our city announced that they may be removing public recycling bins due to the inability of our community to properly sort and dispose of recyclables (rendering them all landfill bound). It’s an issue that is not unique to our city. And it is frustrating when you think of all of the unnecessary landfill buildup.
Our landfills are a huge contributor of greenhouse gasses. Many of the items in them are usable (glass jars, fabric, items that could be repaired), compostable (food waste, grass clippings, other organic matter), or unnecessary in the first place (plastic bags, plastic bottles, other single use plastics, i.e. plastics used once then thrown away to go to their forever home in the landfill).
Additionally, it is estimated we are currently consuming and wasting resources at an unsustainable rate estimated to be about 2 Earths’ worth. There’s much debate surrounding this claim, but most of that is NOT as to whether or not our consumption is sustainable. (Most scientists agree it is not! In fact, if you go here you can learn about Earth Overshoot Day, the day each year where we use up 1 year’s worth of Earth’s resources and start diving into resources that will never be replaced. It’s usually around August 1!)
This, paired with a growing anxiety about our children’s future led my husband and I to seek something new. A way to have a positive effect on the state of our planet and do our small part to reverse the damage that’s been compounding for so long.
Enter: The Zero Waste Movement
*This post contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase from one of my links, I will receive a small commission – at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting my blog!!
What is Zero Waste?
The Zero Waste Movement is about finding ways to live a sustainable lifestyle in an effort to preserve resources that are currently just wasted. The term “zero waste” itself implies that the focus is on producing no trash, but that can be misleading.
Part of living sustainably is being mindful of all of the needless trash you produce. Naturally, if you strive for a sustainable lifestyle, you are aiming to drastically reduce your waste production. I don’t think it is possible for a modern American human to produce literally ZERO waste. Some families are able to get theirs down to the famous quart sized jar per year. Most are not there yet.
Our family has been focusing on making sustainable swaps for things we need and trying to reduce our overall consumption. We’ve been at it a few months, and our actual trash content at this point for our family of 5 is that we could wait at least a month before we’d have to roll the city issued trash bin down to the curb. (We don’t, because it stinks something crazy if left that long! One of our lingering waste items is meat byproducts, so letting them sit for a month is not an option.)
The 5 R’s
For more about zero waste itself, read The Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson. She is one of the most prominent spokespersons for the lifestyle, and her book is a great place to start. Her expansion of the 3 R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to 5: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (in that order) is really the best way to sum up zero waste.
The primary focus is not necessarily on trash, but rather on refusing unnecessary items and reducing consumption altogether. Then, for things you do consume, choose sustainable options and dispose of waste responsibly. This includes seeing if you can use something you already own before buying something new and aiming to, at the very least, eliminate all single use plastics from your lifestyle.
Zero Waste Swaps
We have been consistently adapting our lifestyle for about 3 months now. It’s important to note that we did not make every change or implement every system at one time. When possible, we are really trying to adhere to the “use what you have” rule. After all, the most zero waste you can possibly be is not consuming something new in the first place (and not sending something still usable on its way to you know where!)
Part two of this post will be more detailed information about some of these changes (let me know if there’s one or more you’re particularly interested in!)
The Easiest Swaps
One cute boy and two easy kitchen swaps!
From paper towels to cloth napkins and rags. We’ve eliminated all paper waste of this sort from our kitchen. They go into a well ventilated bin hanging above the washing machine when dirty and are washed with other loads throughout the week. We use old cloth rags and burp cloths for cleaning.
From water bottles to reusable cups. We were never huge water bottle consumers anyhow, but I can safely say we are in a position to not need to purchase them again. Our kids have ones that seal and can be tossed in a bag, and we’ve got plenty of cups for when friends come over. We just wrapped up a water bottle free camping trip – so it is very possible!
From plastic grocery/produce bags to reusable bags. This is a single use plastic that nearly everyone consumes and nearly everyone could cut out. Start with your totes to get the groceries home, then work on replacing produce bags with reusables. Sadly, this meant I had to give up curbside pickup.
Examples of our reusable produce bags. We use a mixture of crocheted and t-shirt bags.
Our Favorite Swaps
Combination of thrifted and upcycled jars for bulk items. The stock pot is our countertop compost collector.
Adding a bidet attachment to the toilet. This has drastically reduced our toilet paper consumption and eliminated our “flushable” wipe situation. And I love it. I will never be without one of these in my home ever again. It’s that great.
Turning food waste into compost. There’s something inexplicably satisfying about the process of food returning to the soil. Did you know that food in landfills can be discovered years later completely unchanged? There’s no oxygen for the composting process to take place. It’s wild! We’ve got two piles going. One that’s on its way to being usable, another we’re actively adding to. They’ll swap roles when #1 is spread around my butterfly garden.
From store bought to homemade treats. Granola bars, Larabars, cinnamon raisin bread. They’re all from scratch and package free now. We’re having a lot of fun learning how to make all kinds of things now. I’ve currently got my weekly batch of yogurt cooking in the Instant Pot!
Our Most Innovative Systems
Water reuse/conservation. One of the areas I’m most proud of is our steps involving water conservation. My husband taught me that you can dump water into a toilet (fast) and it’ll flush itself. We have a bucket in our shower collecting the water that would’ve been wasted waiting for the water to get hot. We use this for flushes until its empty. I’ve also got a bowl in the kitchen sink catching all of the very close to clean water there. (Think water from washing berries, rinsing out a measuring cup, etc. It adds up FAST.) I use this for watering non-edible plants, and of course, flushing.
Dog waste disposal. Turns out, we threw away a lot of dog poop. Our German Shepherd is quite the producer. Did you know the EPA endorses flushing pet waste down the toilet? (They also say the trash is fine, but we are trying to keep things out of the landfills, yeah?) There’s an outside access to our sewage line, and we add our dog waste to it (nearly) daily.
The Hardest Parts (So Far)
Our favorite low waste breakfast.
Accessibility. Buying from the bulk bins is about a thousand times harder when the only thing your town serves up in bulk is rice and pinto beans. (Which we ARE buying, but aren’t planning to live on!) A trip to Sprouts or HEB with bulk is about 30-45 minutes, depending on where we go, so we are having to do some long term planning when we make our trips to stock up.
Out and about. We’ve taken our cloth napkins into restaurants. We’ve got the silverware stash in my purse. But most waste is unavoidable at fast food restaurants. Even if you ask for no fork or napkins, you’re probably going to get a fork and napkin mountain. And you know when you hand them back, they’re not putting it back in the bin, it’s going in the trash. We are still working on ways to cut out waste when we are out of the home.
Cleaning and hygiene. We are first and foremost using what we already have, so I haven’t switched many of my beauty products to sustainable choices yet. Dishwasher detergent is proving to be the hardest cleaning swap so far. I’m settling into my new hair care routine after running out of conditioner a month ago. It’s a process y’all! I’ve put more food products in my hair this month than I’ve thrown away.
Quitting convenience foods. There have been weeks when I have felt like I had literally nothing to eat as a snack in the house. We’re learning just how much of everything we need on hand to avoid these issues. In turn, we have less food waste because we’re not overbuying and are eating fresh foods first.
Unwanted trash. The most frustrating trash of all is the trash I didn’t even ask for. Junk mail that is unrecyclable. (Recyclable junk mail is just as frustrating.) The papers from school. Random Easter eggs for my son from the ladies at the antique store. These things are HIGH on my list.
So Much More
There’s so much more going on in our house. I’m freezing random scraps of veggies (with purpose), I’ve cooked an egg in my hair (not on purpose), and we are growing some of our own veggies in the only sunny spot we’ve got left (the driveway).
Most importantly, our kids are seeing us make changes and are a part of the changes. They know exactly why we are doing what we’re doing, and they’re proud and excited. We’ve joked that when they are going through their “rebellious phases” they’re going to bring home pre-packaged food and eat on paper plates. But I think the changes we are making are instilling values that they will carry with them long term. And if we are going to affect the state of the Earth, we’ll need them and all their friends.
We are still slowly making our way to sustainability, and have so many ways we can still improve. Hopefully you can commit to a change today as well. Let me know what you’re excited to try, and brag on yourself for what you’re already doing! Check out what we’ve done to reduce back to school waste if you’re looking for more tips!
All of our vacations feature pizzerias from a list of 101 Best Pizzas that my husband has set to conquer, but we also go rogue and find our own places to visit. In New York, pizza is king. We’ve only been twice as a married couple, but both times have been heavy on the pizza (and delicious!) For a bit of perspective, my husband started our vacation alone in PA and met my son and I in NYC. The total time gone was one week. In that time, his pizza count was 27. That’s 27 pizzerias, not just slices.
To keep things manageable, both for our stomachs and our wallets, we usually only get one slice per stop to share. Most shops will cut a slice in half for you too! (It turned into 2 per stop with our son along!) Of course if it’s a repeat visit to an awesome shop or an actual meal we’ll get our own, but a lot of our pizza stops are snacks along the way to a destination. (Which is how several per day fit in!) So sharing slices is perfectly reasonable.
We also stick with “plain” (a.k.a. “cheese”) pizza at most locations. The plain pizza here is super satisfying and will save you money at every stop.
*This post contains affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase after clicking one of the links, I’ll receive a small commission – at no extra charge to you!
New York Pizza
I am not as fanatic about pizza as my husband, but I do have to say that nothing beats a good New York slice. Some of them are so good I Google apartment listings and fantasize about moving next door. Some are just okay, and of course some are just not good at all. But honestly, even a bad slice in NYC is better than a good slice at home*. There’s just somethin’ in the water. (No, seriously. Some people swear by this theory!)
In any case, as New York is known for its pizzas, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices. So which ones are worth standing in line for and which are a definite hard pass? Here they are, in no particular order except the one I ate them in.
*But seriously, even though the bad slices are still good, read my list and don’t waste your time/money on the bad slices until you’ve had the good ones.
Joe’s Pizza
So nice, I ate it twice. Our first stop in New York (after the hotel, of course) was Joe’s Pizza on Carmine St. Our son heard us talk about the pizzas we ate on our last New York trip, and he requested that this be the first thing he ate on his trip. There are four locations of Joe’s, but this one is the original. It’s located near NYU and Washington Square park, and the last time I was there I ate it on the way to a show at The Comedy Cellar. On this trip, we sat in the little park across the street and ate our pizza on a bench. About half way through our snack, I noticed a sign that said we were in a “quiet park.” Oops.
We ate Joe’s again in Times Square. I didn’t even realize it was there. But after a long morning at Central Park, we were headed to the hotel to rest for a bit and I thought surely we’d be able to find something edible quickly off the subway in Times Square. I was prepared for a 99¢ slice shop, but thought what the heck and let Google tell me what was around.
So glad I did, because Joe’s is tied for #1 in my New York pizzas. The crust is perfect – it doesn’t flop when you pick it up. The cheese is not stringy and doesn’t slide off when you eat. The sauce is some of the tastiest in New York, and I love this slice.
Joe’s on Carmine
Joe’s Pizza – Times Square
Bleecker Street Pizza
This is the one that is tied for #1 with Joe’s for me. Also the second slice I had this trip, which is kind of a bummer as the rest just didn’t quite measure up. Bleecker Street doesn’t have the same publicity from “best pizza lists” that Joe’s does, but it can definitely hold its own.
Bleecker Street is just a short walk from Joe’s, so don’t eat one without the other if you can avoid it. These two slices may look a lot alike, but they are actually quite different in taste. Joe’s for me is all about the sauce. The other stuff is just right too, but the sauce is the star. Bleecker Street is much lighter on the sauce, and the star is definitely the cheese. My husband rates this one ever so slightly higher than Joe’s, because he’s not a sauce guy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a dry pizza – if it were I wouldn’t enjoy it. It’s a very tasty pie.
When I saw all the cheese I was worried and just knew it was all going to slide off when I took a bite. But I was pleasantly surprised. Everything stays right where it’s supposed to, and the balance is great.
*John’s of Bleecker
Asterisk, because it’s been a year since I ate this pizza. My beef with John’s is that they don’t sell by the slice (and they’re proud of that). I remember it being a really good pizza, but I am a by-the-slice kind of gal. Even when you have a group, ordering a full pizza is hard in my opinion. In my family there’s plain lovers, meat lovers, pepperoni only-ers. How on earth do you pick a pizza to satisfy everyone?? Worth eating though if you’re looking for a pizza place in this area where you can sit indoors with a large group!
Pronto Pizza & Steve’s Pizza
My husband ate these on his own while visiting the 9-11 memorial and museum. He gave them both solid, “Meh,” ratings. This wasn’t just for my sake – stay tuned because he later ate “the best slice he’d had” on his own. As in without me.
His note on Pronto – the sauce has no flavor. Steve’s – too thick, too much cornmeal. Nobody wants to feel like they’re eating sandy pizza. Nobody.
So maybe if you’re in the area, just find something else to snack on!
Pronto Pizza
Steve’s Pizza
Famous Original Ray’s Pizza
Famous for … lackluster slices in a sea of much better slices? We stopped for a slice at the Lexington Ave. location on the way from the subway station to the Central Park Zoo. This pizza was probably my least favorite of all of the slices we ate. You can see in the photo that it’s greasy – a big no for me. It was chewy, the sauce had very little flavor, and I was able to use my Whole 30 powers and say that slice is not worth the calories I’m gonna have to walk off. I let the boys finish this one. (Because I’ve heard my husband say, “Even bad New York pizza is good pizza.”)
Prince Street Pizza
We walked to Prince Street Pizza after grabbing a scoop of ice cream at Oddfellows (highly recommend!) Morgenstern’s ice cream is closer, but I’d already been there before! (Also recommend, but Morgenstern’s is more for the exotic flavors, Oddfellows for the traditionalists!)
In any case, Prince Street Pizza is serving up an incredibly tasty Sicilian style pizza. If you go, plan on trying the Spicy Spring. It surprised me when I saw it (because I didn’t know what Sicilian style was), but it was really very good.
This is not the kind of pizza I think I would eat as a pizza craving quelcher. That’s Joe’s. But it is the kind of pizza that I would crave. It’s got a very distinct taste, and I could see myself getting in a PSP mood. Give it a try. Those crispy pepperonis are worth the wait in line. Because there will be a line. And no place to sit. But do it anyway.
Prince Street Pizza
Artichoke Pizza
This one was an unplanned drop-in slice for us. My husband had eaten the artichoke slice (their namesake that they’re known for) on his last NYC visit, and we happened across another location as we were walking from Chelsea Market to the High Line. On this visit we just got a slice of the margherita. I am a margherita convert. The large slices of mozzarella with basil haven’t always been my favorite, but I’ve recently eaten some incredibly tasty ones. I think this was a perfectly good slice of pizza, but in my opinion there are way better things to spend $6 on. Like (almost) two slices at Joe’s.
Artichoke Pizza, margherita
Pomodoro
Kyle needed a slice while I was busy getting macaroons in SoHo, so-ho he dropped in at Pomodoro. I think I had a bite when we met back up, but this slice was so unmemorable that I’m not even sure if I tried it. Kyle described it as “chewy.” Which is not a good thing. If you’re really hungry for some pizza while you’re shopping, slide over to Lombardi’s – the oldest pizzeria in the country. You’ll have to sit, but it’s worth the experience! Pomodoro wasn’t the worst, but there are way, way better slices in the city.
Scarr’s Pizza
I am pretty bummed that I didn’t get to try this slice. We were split up for the morning as Kyle had some official work biz to attend to. While I was enjoying Joe’s in Times Square, my husband was enjoying several slices near the Tenement Museum. His favorite by far was Scarr’s, so that’s the only one I’ll include here. Not only was this his favorite in the area, he actually described it as “maybe the best overall.” This one is a bit off the beaten path, but according to my husband, worth the trek.
Front Street Pizza
Just across the Brooklyn Bridge, this was another one for me that just wasn’t worth it. Front Street Pizza has mostly good reviews on Google, but it just all around fell short of all of my other favorite slices. It was bland – and essentially tasted like eating a piece of crust. The best thing about this pizza was the location, which gives you the famous view of the Empire State Building underneath the Manhattan Bridge. Go for that, skip the pizza.
Some Other Places
Before meeting us at the airport (LGA) Kyle had two notable slices – Sal & Carmine’s and Patsy’s. These are both on the North side of the park (one West, one East), so if you find yourself in one of those areas you should check them out!
I’ve included a few above that we did not particularly enjoy, mainly because they are not located in pizza-dense locations and you might be stuck with a decision to make when you pass by! Some others that we ate that were just okay were Ben’s, East Village Pizza, Fahr Fresh & Hot Pizza, Kiss My Slice, and Georgio’s Pizza. I’d probably skip the calorie count on these slices.
Where to Go From Here?!?
So after eating some of arguably the best slices in the country, what are we to do now?! We’ll continue trying out the local places here in DFW in search of the perfect at-home slice. Nothing beats New York pizza, but that doesn’t mean we can’t try. You can follow along with us on Instagram @icouldgoforaslice.
For his birthday, Kyle received a pizza steel and a very official looking pizza slicer from my parents and hopes to be able to make us some awesome slices at home. (A pizza steel’s purpose is to get insanely hot in an oven that doesn’t get insanely hot. Did you know the best pizzas are cooked fast at high temps?) We’ll share some of our trials on this tasty journey here as they come.
In the meantime, what’s the best slice you’ve ever had? Have you tried any of the spots on our list? What’s your favorite New York pizza spot?
You may think you’re not a blog reader, but every time you click on a link to an article on Facebook, go to a tutorial on Pinterest, find a recipe on a non-corporate website, etc. you are reading some blogger’s content. Social media has changed the audience of the blogosphere since blogs started. Many bloggers drive traffic from Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. It’s no longer just people who click “subscribe” who are interacting with a blogger’s content.
I started this blog a while back (almost a year ago!) but didn’t really start posting regularly until this spring. Since I’ve been focusing more on the blog, I’ve learned some things about how to make it “successful.” Success in blog-world is highly variable. There are people like me – who are just hoping their words aren’t floating around in cyber-space unread. There are people out there (also like me) who are trying to make a little bit of money. (Hopefully enough to break even on the blog upkeep!) And there are also people who use blogging as a full-time career. (Yes, it can be done!)
No matter the level of blogger you are supporting, there are some things you as a reader can do to help us. So why would you? Well, bloggers are creating the content you search for every day. Without bloggers, Pinterest would be a bore, your recipes would be solely from allrecipes.com, and you may never read some of the incredibly funny or touching tales written by people just like you. Without the support of readers, most bloggers would give up on the time, energy, and cost of running a blog.
So, What Can You Do?
There are quite a few ways to help support bloggers (both that you know and that are complete strangers!) You may not be aware of all of the incredibly simple things you can do to help us succeed.
Read Our Content
This one is obvious. But it’s also important! Some bloggers are out there just creating a virtual diary, but I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority are writing to be read. We track how many readers we get, and we can even see how long people stay on our pages. It is good for the blog when we a) get readers and b) get readers who stick around. If you click our link and don’t wait the 10 seconds it may sometimes take our website to load, it can actually hurt our stats and Google rankings.
This bullet, for me, is especially true when it comes to people you know who have started a blog. You might be surprised at what you could learn from/about people you know just by reading their posts. Don’t just scroll by when people share a blog, click on it and check it out.
Click the Links Within Our Posts
I’ve already mentioned how it can actually hurt if you click our blog post link and don’t wait for the page to load before you go. It can also look bad for our stats (in the eyes of ever-important Google) if people read an article and “bounce.” ‘Bouncing’ is when a reader leaves a website from the same page they started on. Bloggers (and Google!) want you to come and stick around for a minute. Of course we want you to click the links to other articles on our own blog more than anything, but it is also helpful if you click a link to an external source, creating an ‘event’ for us.
You don’t even have to want to read the next page, to be honest. But if you like the article you just read and want to support the blogger a bit, click over to another article that they’re suggesting! Do this every time you come to our sites.
Want to know what I write about? Check out some of my popular posts:
You may have been surprised that there are people out there blogging full time. It’s true, there can be some good money in blogging! But, where does it come from? One way that bloggers make money is by becoming affiliate marketers. This means that we can sign up with retailers and get a small (sometimes very, very small!) commission from sales referred by our sites. It does not make the cost of the items you are purchasing go up at all. Most sites offer commission even if the item you actually buy is not the item we recommended. They’re rewarding us for getting you to their site. So go!
I am going to be totally honest – there was a time in my life where I’d read a blog where someone reviewed or recommended a product, decided I wanted that product, and then chose to leave their site and just go straight to the retailer’s site myself. Shameful! (A bit dramatic…) But if someone recommends something to you that you’d like, whether it’s a book, cooking tool, or cute top, why not “thank” them by using their link to go buy it? The only way bloggers can afford to keep going with our blogs is if we end up with some financial support, so show your favorite blogges some love by using our affiliate links for your purchases!
Sign Up For Our Mailing Lists
Most bloggers want to do anything but spam you. Our mailing lists are super important to us, and we know nothing makes someone hit unsubscribe faster than us blowing up your inbox. I’m not suggesting that every time a pop up for a mailing list comes across your screen you should give it up. But if you find yourself visiting a blog 2-3 times and like what you read, give their mailing list a try. You will usually get updates on new posts, special offers, and sometimes “insider” content. You can always unsubscribe if it gets too much or you find the e-mails unhelpful or annoying.
Shares for bloggers are invaluable. It doesn’t matter if it’s on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. If you like what we’re sharing, SHARE IT! Most blogs have buttons either at the top or bottom of every page and on top of every image to make sharing super easy for our readers. (Mine are at the bottom of each post, with Pinterest share buttons also on photos!) Shares are how we get new viewers, and people are more likely to click a link that someone they know is sharing than some random stranger. And did you know that these social media platforms choose which posts to share with their users based on how many interactions posts get? Like & share, y’all!
For bloggers you know, you could help us by sharing posts even when they don’t apply to you! I write posts for readers, parents, and crafters. Chances are, even if you don’t fit into those categories, you know someone who does! Share away!
*A note on ‘sharing’ with Pinterest – it can actually hurt us if you share our posts to irrelevant boards. So only share on Pinterest if you have a board that it makes sense to save it to! i.e. Don’t save our book reviews to your recipes board!
Leave Us a Comment
On the post, on Facebook, on Pinterest … You get the point. We don’t care where the comment is. They not only help in our stats, but we genuinely want to hear from you. I want to know what (if anything) you found helpful. I’d like to hear if you’ve tried something similar. If you have questions after reading – I’d like to answer them. Do you have a tip that would make our content even better? Share it! When we hit ‘publish’ on a post, we can see if people are reading it. What we can’t see from our numbers is how people are feeling after reading it. I’d like to know.
Follow Us!
You can follow bloggers on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any other platform that we’re registered with. This will accomplish two things.
1) You’ll be exposed to ALL of our content. Many bloggers share different types of posts on different types of social media. You can also see who we’re following and what we’re liking to give you even more inspiration.
2) Followers lead to more followers. When people visit a social media account, they’re more likely to follow an account that many other people have deemed worthy of following! When you follow us, it helps us too!
You can always check Bloglovin.com for an easy way to get exposed to lots of blogs at once. Another way is to surf Pinterest, and pay attention to the pages you land on. What kinds of posts are the people writing that inspire you to click their pins? If you like what you see, sign up for their mailing lists!
Who are your favorite bloggers? Let me know in the comments!
