MY CODE OF ETHICS FOR BLOGGING & SOCIAL MEDIA

I had no idea that I would become a blogger and social media influencer when I started AVE Styles six years ago. The idea that people could make a living blogging and pinning on Pinterest wasn't conceivable. In fact, Pinterest just started six years ago. I'm so thankful that I get to share my ideas and thoughts with the world for a living, but with that power comes great responsibility, right? (Yeah, I totally borrowed that from Spider Man). 

Because this industry is so new, how to responsibly operate your business is a bit gray for us. We have Federal Trade Commission guidelines to adhere to and social media platform policies to obey, but how we choose sponsored projects with brands, whether or not we put ads on our sites, using affiliate links to make commission on sales all way down to doing Instagram giveaways to grow our following varies from blogger to blogger. So, I wanted to share with you my guidelines for AVE Styles, so you know what exactly to expect from me. 

1. AVE Styles first and foremost exists to positively encourage readers to find beauty in the messy world me live in. I do not want to cause harm, slander or portray anyone negatively in this space. If I find that any comments are hurtful I will delete them. If comments are simply different then they will remain. The fact that I get to make money as a blogger is amazing, but it comes second the purpose of my business. I only started making a living at blogging three years ago, and I would continue to blog and create even if I wasn't paid. 

2. In 2015, I decided that 95% of the image content that I share on my blog is styled and created with my hands along with my photographer. Any image that I share that is not mine I will cite and credit the owner of the image. I believe in the power of imagery and telling a story, and I plan to keep this value through my time as a blogger. This 95% rule also applies to Instagram.

3. I do not take brand sponsorships unless I personally enjoy the brand/product. All sponsored posts will state they are sponsored in the beginning of the blog post. Any sponsored social post will say it's sponsored in the hashtags of the post.

4. I have chosen not to place any ads on my site because I don't want them to detract from the conversation I'm hoping to have with my readers. 

5. I do use affiliate links when there's a product that is shop-able. 

6. I have chosen not to have any contributors on my blog, so that all words and ideas come from me. I do have an assistant that helps me draft my look for less posts and fashion trend features. However, they are all edited and reviewed by me personally. My assistant will also share on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn articles and videos that I find interesting. Again, everything is reviewed and approved by me, personally.

7. I do not use any third party networks to boost my traffic. I do not even paid for boosted posts on social media at this time. The only time a post has been or will be boosted will be at the request of a sponsor using their marketing dollars. 

8. I believe in organic growth on social media, and I have chosen not to participate in Loop giveaways or any other scheme to rapidly grow my following. If there is a giveaway on the blog or on social media it is only in conjunction with a brand partnership. I do have a group of 25 bloggers that regularly update and share what I'm doing on AVE Styles. We often comment and share each other's posts with our communities only if we genuinely enjoy the content and find it helpful to others. 

9. I feel that it's important to be honest and personable with my community. Authenticity is king. I'm still trying to find a balance of making sure my loved ones are protected and letting readers into our lives, but I never, ever want my community to get a false view of our lives. 

10. Blogging is my business, and I strive to do it with integrity. I'd rather forfeit dollars to maintain your trust and relationship than to make money. If you see or read anything that you find annoying, frustrating or distasteful please tell me. I want to know.

There is more to say on this topic, but I wanted to make sure these values and personal rules of operation were written down transparently for you to to know. Please feel free to ask more questions in the comments if you have them. 

PINTEREST CLASSES ARE HERE

They're here! They're finally here!!! I've been working on these bite-sized Pinterest classes for almost a year, and they are finally available to anyone wanting to know more about how to market their business on Pinterest. You can go to AVE Styles Classroom and check them out right now! http://www.classroom.avestyles.com. 

I'm sharing about how to create a strong profile, how to grow your audience, how to create a good pin and how to drive traffic to your website. 

With any purchase on the website (one video or all four) you automatically get exclusive access to AVE Styles Classroom's private Facebook group where I'll offer continued Pinterest help and tips. 

If you sign up for my newsletter you'll receive three FREE videos sharing answers to the top 5 Pinterest questions from a product owner, photographer and blogger.

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Go check it out, and please share with your friends. 

Photos by Rennai Hoefer

PINTEREST'S MOBILE MAKEOVER & YOU

Did you know that 75% of the users of Pinterest are accessing the inspiring social tool using a mobile device (more stats found here).  That means they are seeing everything through their phone or tablet. If you haven't opened your Pinterest app lately you probably should because things look very different from your desktop.

Gone are the days of your cover images. Instead, the first thing that a user sees is your name, photo and your recent pins. Then you'll see the board that you most recently pinned to with the rest of your boards descending in order from what you most recently populated down to the last.

So, what does this mean for you? 

1. You MUST be a good curator now more than ever. If my first impression is a series of pins that have terrible styling, content and photography I'm going to pass on following you.

2. Concise titles matter. Tell me what your board is about in two to three words. Ex: Recipes to Try. People scroll fast, so you need to be able to tell them about your content in a second.

3. Be active. Pinterest tells the viewer when you last pinned down to the minute. If you haven't been active in a week I'm going to pass.

4. Make sure you are pinning to boards that are relevant to the season. If the first board that pops up is your Christmas board because you last pinned to that and signed off, well, that's unfortunate because I don't care about Christmas right now. Sign off on a relevant note. Bonus tip: That said, it's usually best to keep general, evergreen titles to your boards so you can always populate them. Example: HOLIDAY vs. CHRISTMAS. I can pin to a holiday board year round, but I can only pin to my Christmas board once a year. 

Like these tips? See more here and here. Also, be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can get this information before anyone else!

HOW TO MONETIZE PINTEREST

As a blogger and Pinterest influencer, people often ask me with a surprised look on their face, "Do you get pid to pin?" I reply, "Yes, and it's the best job in the world!" But as Pinterest has evolved over the years, you can no longer be given money from a company to pin their products from their site. You also can't use affiliate links to make commission on sales. In fact, if you go about making money on your Pinterest account that way you're violating Pinterest's Terms of Service Policy. Yikes! 

Here are three ways I monetize my account that are well within Pinterest's terms:

1. CREATE & SHARE ORIGINAL CONTENT - Recently, I partnered with Coca-Cola to create original imagery that featured their products. This imagery was shared in a series of blog posts on AVESTYLES.com featuring recipes and style inspiration, and it was also shared on my Pinterest account linking back to Coca-Cola's website. This is acceptable to Pinterest because the content was completely generated by me and has my signature touch to it. It's an organic, non-invasive way of promoting a brand because you're most likely staying true to the aesthetic that is represented on your Pinterest account. 

2. SPONSORED BOARD - It is acceptable to Pinterest for a brand to pay me a sum of money to create a *new* board on my account that states the brand's name in the title and declares it is sponsored in the description of the board. The board can also host a sum of sponsored pins from the company's website. I am currently working with Shane Co. on a sponsored board that features item's I'm crushing on, which also includes 10 products from their site. This is within the terms because you are declaring the campaign to your followers, which they can easily opt out of. Note: It's important that these boards be brand new ones and not repurposed boards. You cannot take your board with the biggest following and change the name and subject of that board to accommodate your sponsor. That is viewed as misleading to your followers that initially followed the board for "x" and is now receiving "y."

3. CURATING FOR A BRAND - I also curate boards and accounts for brands on Pinterest. This would be similar to someone doing an Instagram takeover or guest posting on a blog. Sometimes a company will share an existing board with me and I will curate content for that board for a month. I also have been paid to take over an entire Pinterest account and curate on behalf of a brand as long as I stay within their brand guidelines and style. Not too long ago I did this very thing for Glamour and Woolite where I curated a board on their account all about washable style. 

If you're interested in learning more of the in's and out's of how to monetize your Pinterest account, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. That's where you'll be the first to hear about my Pinterest classes, as well as exclusive Pinterest tips. 

HER SUCCESS

I have always wanted to be a cheerleader. I went to a performing arts high school that didn't have sports. They didn't even have gym class. The closest thing we had to cheerleaders were ballet dancers. Though it was an incredibly cool high school (a lot like Glee, actually), I really wanted a chance to be a cheerleader so I could cheer on my school and wear a cute uniform on game day. I mean, how can any girl resist a good pleated skirt, right?

In the competitive world of blogging and social media every day feels like a game day. I feel like my "game" is all about my photos and the score board consists of likes, repins and comments. A home run would be getting featured on a major blog or published in a magazine or working with a household name brand. So, where are the cheerleaders? Do they exist in this game?

A lot of days it feels like they don't. A lot of days it feels like people are waiting for me to lose so they have a chance of winning. But then there are some days when you get a super encouraging email from a reader or a text from one of your friends asking to collaborate with you and that feels like someone just did a cartwheel in my honor.

I love being a cheerleader for my peers, and I want to be even more of one this year. I will admit I have been the opposing team for some in the past, and you know what, it doesn't have to be that way. People can look at me as their target to beat, but I want to look at them and say, "Right on! You are such a lady boss!" because hopefully the more I do that the more cheerleaders we can make instead of opponents. 

My friend Latasha Haynes is a lifestyle photographer in a very competitive market, and she came up with this incredible quote that says, "Her success is NOT my failure." Isn't that the truth! Your success and my success really have nothing to do with each other. Just because you succeed at something doesn't mean I have failed. We all have our own paths to walk, and from a spiritual stand point, I believe that God has a special purpose for each person on this earth. No one is greater than the other even if someone has more followers than I do on Instagram. We are all equally as valuable and capable of doing wonderful things for God's kingdom and other people. Can I get an amen?! 

Handwritten artwork by Katie Sterbenz. And you can buy a t-shirt with this quote on it in Latasha's Etsy shop, click here.

Photography by Kym Ventola, Styling by Alex Evjen, AVE Styles; Dresses by Cleo & Clementine, Makeup by Stephanie, Neiheisel, SN Makeup Artist.