I’m incredibly proud of myself today, because the awesome Thoughts of a Multipotentialite nominated me for the Blogger Recognition Awards! It’s amazing how much the blogging community has been welcoming to me as a sex blogger: I honestly thought they would be embarrassed by my sex toy reviews and musings about fetish.
Instead, I’ve found a friendly, non-judgemental community I’m actually very proud of being part: that’s why I’m directly starting the post with the 15 bloggers I want to nominate myself for the award:
To participate, you must:
Thank the blogger who nominated you (me!)
Write a post to show off your award: it must contain two pieces of advice to new bloggers, and a short story of how you started blogging
Nominate other 15 bloggers
Comment on all 15 the blogs you nominated: let them know you nominated them, with a link to your post!
How did my blog start
It was a sunny, torrid afternoon in August when I read on the famous sex toy blog of Cara Sutra, that she was reading for guest reviewers. Yup, she offered free vibrators, dildos and couples’ rings in exchange for an honest, detailed review of the product. I already knew I was good at writing, since I had already worked as a copywriter and ghostwriter before, and as a broke girl navigating through different precarious part time jobs I simply couldn’t resist the offer of free sex toys, to bring a little more spice into my bedroom.
The experience writing for Cara Sutra has been truly amazing, but soon I wanted more freedom: as more and more adult product companies approached me via my social media, asked if I had my own blog so they could send me some new goodies to review, I decided to not miss the opportunity and, in February 2018, I officially launched this website!
I can’t deny that getting press samples from companies is still my favourite part of blogging: adult companies are very welcoming, and they can be very generous too: they definitely like to reward me for my hard work. Every press kit I receive looks like a Christmas gift, wrapped in colorful papers and/or accompanied by a sweet handmade note from the PR.
I also feel truly recognized for my efforts and my writing abilities. I have “classical studies” written in my resume, but given the extremely high unemployment rate in Italy, I had only been hired as a waitress or shop assistant before starting my blog. Instead, my sex toy reviews have brought me lots of opportunities as a copywriter and guest blogger!
I’m not English mother tongue, since I was born in Italy: but I always get complimented about my writing style!
Two pieces of advice for wanna-be bloggers (or new ones!)
Well, since I started in February 2018 I’m fairly new myself, but I can tell I have already learnt lots of important blogging tricks in my journey!
The first thing I would like to say to an aspiring blogger or a new one is: don’t underestimate your value. Most importantly, don’t underprice your work.
It’s a mistake I’ve done myself too many times: as a writer or influencer, companies WILL try to ask you for free labour, or to work for a lower rate than you’re comfortable.
Set your prices based not only on what other bloggers ask for sponsored content or advertising, but also on your comfort level and your expenses. And try to stick to them, ALWAYS!
The second piece of advice is: do not get isolated in your niche. Again, it’s a mistake I’ve done myself: I knew that, for example, on Twitter there are many RT accounts ready to help bloggers grow their audiences and get their work out there for everyone to read. But, I was afraid not to be welcome there because of the topic of my blog: sex. I was definitely surprised to get my posts retweeted, and so many people commenting on them and following me.
I learnt that the blogging community is very welcoming, and ready to help. That’s why isolating in your niche could be a mistake: if you write about, let’s say, beauty, why shouldn’t lifestyle bloggers or folks who write about parenting interestd in your posts? In my case, bloggers from other niches have been enthusiast about my sex toy reviews and posts about sexuality, relationships and sex positivity. Only, remember that if you receive love from someone, you should always give some back: don’t forget to follow back your fellow bloggers on your favourite social media platforms, to reciprocate that comment on your latest post, and to share their work if you find something you like.
That’s all! Thanks once again to Thoughts of a Multipotentialite for nominating me and 14 other amazing bloggers!