Category: Blogging

  • Hello world… sort of.

    Semalem aku nemu postingan di Instagram tentang challenge ngeblog di Instagram tiap hari selama 30 hari di bulan Januari nanti.

    Ngeblog.

    Di Instagram.

    Like, why?



    Tapi kemudian aku mikir-mikir lagi & ngebandingin antara akun Instagram-ku (@darlaoct) dengan blog yang udah aku urus sejak 2009 (holadarla.com), mana yang lebih rajin di-update? Unsurprisingly: Instagram.

    Instagram itu praktis, tinggal snap, tulis caption, lalu upload. Semua bisa dilakukan dalam satu genggaman.

    Bandingin sama blog (Blogger, lebih tepatnya) yang kudu dibuka di laptop. Mau masukin foto kudu impor dulu dari kamera/HP. Ribet. Aku dulu rajin ngeblog; dalam sehari bisa sampe 3x posting (jaman alay lol ?). Sekarang mah the thought of turning on the laptop aja udah bikin bergidik. Malesss…

    Tapi aku masih gak nyaman nulis caption Instagram panjang-panjang, let alone baca punya orang.

    Jadi dalam waktu yang sangat singkat, suami SIAGA (siap antar jaga) langsung nge-setup darlaoct.com, blogku yang baru, yang pake self-hosted WordPress (entahlah apa ini aku juga gak begitu paham haha). Pake WordPress ini rada enakan lah… Mobile app-nya sangat friendly, berasa pake app-nya Tumblr.

    Jadi, “Hello world!” Aku bikin blog lagi. Dan dalam rangka grand launching ini (?), aku mau ikutan challenge 30 hari menulis itu. Tapi di blog ini, tentunya.

    Selamat membaca! ?

  • Blogging Rant*: Four Things To Do Before Sponsoring A Blog

    Four Things To Do Before Sponsoring A Blog | Hola Darla
    I’ve been sponsoring three blogs for the past couple of months. Purchasing an ad spot is new to me, even though I used to do ad swap back in the day of blogging glory 2010-2011. If done right, sponsoring other blogs can be very helpful in increasing your blog traffic and follower numbers. Alas, that’s not the case for me. Out of the three ads I’ve purchased on three different blogs, there’s only one success. But the experience has taught me these four things I should have done before sponsoring a blog.

    Get to know the blogger first. The very first time I sponsored a blog was by googling for small-to-medium blogs that accept sponsorship. Then I bought their cheapest ad. It was a tacky move as if I was shooting in the dark. I didn’t know the blogger and as it turned out, we literally had nothing in common. It was a waste of money and I wasn’t satisfied with the result. After sponsoring that first blog, I decided to sponsor a blog that I had known for a while, Sincerely, Sara. It was the total opposite. I got my fair amount of traffic and followers while I also supported a blogger I genuinely like. It was a win-win situation and I’m really glad I did it.

    Visit the blog’s current and past sponsors. It’s important to know that your blog and their blog’s current and past sponsors at least have one thing in common. The first blog I sponsored was a beauty blog and their sponsors were also beauty and hair blogs with contents like makeup products reviews, beauty tips and how-to’s, and things like that. I, on the other hand, rarely (if ever) write those kinds of post. Sara and I both love YA fictions, Marvel movies, and other geeky stuff, so our blogs are not very different (although her blog is more organised and focused than mine). Her sponsors were all also similar in taste. I didn’t feel like an alien when my ad was placed among them. So, another point for Sara!

    Study the available ad choices. Blogs that accept sponsorship usually have several choices of sponsorship you can choose from. The cheapest one usually only offers an ad space on the sidebar, perhaps with several additions like a shoutout on Twitter and a link back in a blog post. Other options may give you the opportunity to do a guest post or a giveaway. Study these sponsorship options carefully, so there won’t be any misunderstanding in the future.

    Choose the kind of ad/sponsorship that suits your blog. For example, if you are a crafty blogger with an Etsy shop for handmade accessories, you may want to choose the kind of sponsorship which gives exposure to both your blog and your shop, e.g. an ad space on the sidebar plus an opportunity to do a giveaway. Also, don’t forget to choose the sponsorship in accordance to your budget.

    Sponsoring other people’s blogs is a valuable experience. It brings new friends and also helps you grow. I hope these tips from me are helpful for you who are new to this whole sponsorship thing 😉

    *Blogging Rant is an irregular feature on Hola Darla, in which I talk about blogging and other things related to it.

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • Life Lately

    Dara + Miss Jess | Hola Darla
    It was never my intention to suddenly abandon this blog. I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed with life lately. I feel like time goes by so fast each day, yet I’ve accomplished nothing so far. Time management is never my strength, and it’s become even worse these past few weeks. With Ramadan and Eid coming, and a new small business in mind, I can barely breathe. I’ve spent too much time on the road, commuting, and with all these things inside my mind, blogging has to be put aside.

    It’s a shame; I used to love and enjoy blogging, but now it feels like a chore. Like I am forced to do this. Like if I stop entirely, I fail. I’ve been seeing a lot of blogs shut down these past years, but I don’t want to do that to this blog. I want to keep doing it. I think I need to rethink about the purpose of this blog. Refocus. Rebuild. And by doing so, I hope I can grow both this blog and my own self. Bear with me.
    Miss Jess | Hola Darla

    PS. Wait for a good news from me later this week 😉

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
  • Weekend Links (All About Blogging)


    I survived the internet apocalypse! Well, clearly not an apocalypse, but I was so miserable anyway. We finally have our internet back and running, so I can be back to regular blogging and watching cat videos. Yay!

    This week has been going on so slow. We took Jess to the vet for the very first time for her very first shot and have done nothing else exciting. We planned on going to Pangandaran Beach which was supposed to be today, but canceled because of a lot of things. But we’re going to Keuken #6 tomorrow, so we’ll just lay low and relax today.

    This week’s Weekend Links consist of a lot of blogging topics, because I feel like I need to re-motivate myself in the case of blogging. I’ve been feeling uninspired lately, maybe due to the lack of internet connection so I haven’t read people’s blogs too much.

    Here ya go!

    I need more of these blogging-related tips. Do you have some? Share with me!

    Dara | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

  • [THOUGHTS] Tentang Blog Ini

    Hai!

    Aku punya banyak blog, tapi nggak ada satu pun yang terurus dengan baik. Semoga yang satu ini nggak bernasib sama seperti kakak-kakaknya terdahulu. Doakan saja.

    Mungkin isi blog ini kebanyakan hanya berupa cerita-cerita membosankan tentang kehidupan cewek yang agak aneh. Tapi semoga saja bisa dinikmati. Doakan juga tentang hal ini.

    Terima kasih.