I recently blogged about wanting feedback from my readers about what information they would like to see on my blog!  The only request I received so far was from xojelxo who wrote the following post – 

“I would love to know how you got started with blogging and doing reviews. Also if you have any pointers for ones who are just starting to blog and review/

I find it interesting how everyone starts. I myself started reviewing with Influenster and then stumbled upon a group on facebook and now I have ton of products coming to me to review and I have a couple of people actually reading my blogs!”

A couple years ago, I started a Tumblr account.  At the time of starting it, I did NOT plan on doing any reviews or anything specific with the blog (other than browsing the Tumblr community).  It didn’t take long before I became involved with the Plus Size Fashion community on Tumblr and began posting pictures and reviewing clothing items.  Not too long ago, I kind of lost interest in the website as I became more busy with life (daily life always getting in the way of my blogging!).  Just recently, I was invited to a Facebook website that focused on deals/freebies and met a community of awesome individuals showing ways to learn about new products.  From there, I decided to create a blog and join several different websites in which I can work with companies to review their products and get valuable information to the consumers (all of you guys!).

I’m fairly new myself and am always looking for helpful pointers!  However, I can definitely make a few helpful suggestions!  For starters, really build up the reviews on your blog initially – review stuff you’ve paid for, review random stuff around the house, review random samples you have received by requesting them from various websites – REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!  Then, when you approach companies, they have plenty of examples of your work to look at to decide if you guys are the right fit for each other.  Also, when writing to companies, make sure you individualize your emails to that specific company (no template will get the same results as personalized messages).  Be kind, be honest, be polite, and THANK THEM even if they say “no.”  Who knows, they might remember  you in the future when they are ready to say YES!

Thanks for the awesome post xojelxo!  I always look forward to hearing from my readers as I want this to be an interactive blog with constant honest feedback from you all!  Look forward to hearing from you!

XO

Tosha

PS I’ll leave you with a couple pictures of myself as you all are getting to know me!