What originally attracted you to the IZEA/SocialSpark community and how did you find out about it?
I was perusing “successful” craft blogs and trying to find things in common with them. I’d only done a handful of sponsored posts and while my experience with them was good I didn’t know if it was something big enough to actually make my blog a viable form of income. And as I spied on these other blogs I noticed that almost all of them had sponsored posts that had Social Spark somewhere on them. So I clicked through and applied not even really sure what I was signing up for.
Describe your blog in 140 characters or less…
Dream a Little Bigger is about crafts, DIY, food and life in general. There are tons of cat photobombs and tutorials out the wazoo.
What inspires you to blog?
I love making things and I simply have to keep my hands busy. Since making has been such a big part of my life, it only made sense to share that with the world. I had hoped that my little creative outlet could some day help me pay the bills and today it does. So I blog because I have a creative spirit and because I have a mortgage which both inspire me very much 🙂
Do you ever get stumped for what to write? How do you overcome this?
No. And the answer is simply because I have a notebook full of ideas. There are some days where I couldn’t pull a general theme out of my rear let alone an entire post. To make up for those days I keep a list of things to write about and even little notes for the direction I see the post going at that time. So I may not have anything going in my noggin on that day, but I can go ahead and put pen to paper and knock out my top crafting tips or start work on a tutorial I’ve already drawn out the plans for
If you were President for a day what would be your first order of business?
Oh, my this is a tough one. To be honest I have absolutely no desire to have that much power or responsibility in my whole life, even for a day. So I guess I’d probably wind up hiding out in the Oval Office.
What do you love about IZEA/SocialSpark?
I love how easy it is to work with IZEA/SocialSpark. The system is set up so well that I know what I’m getting into, what’s expected of me and when I’ll be paid. I work with a lot of companies and provide them with content for their campaigns but I can tell you, down to the exact day, when I’ll get paid for a post I created for Social Spark. In this career I’ve created for myself there isn’t a whole lot of stability and knowing exactly how much is coming in and on what days can mean everything to healthy finances.
Plus, I get amazing customer service. I’ve never, ever gotten in touch and not had perfect service where my problem was fixed in a timely manner. You can’t beat that with a stick.
What has been your favorite SocialSpark campaign?
Definitely back to school Duck Tape. I made some beads with some fun, grafitti patterned Duck Tape and straws. It was a blast! http://www.dreamalittlebigger.
How do you actively stay engaged with your audience?
My audience tends to be pretty quiet. Occasionally I’ll get comments on the blog but more often I get readers reaching out by email or Facebook and I’m okay with that. I think that my readers are kind of like me and a little bit shy. But when I do get a comment that needs help, I do my best to help however I can!
What tips can you give other bloggers that can help set them apart and stand out?
Be yourself. There are a bazillion bloggers out there who can cover something like glitter just like I can but none of them are me. None of them have four cats that photobomb their tutorials every day and two crazy nephews that are all about “getting crafty”. It’s so hard to pretend to be somebody else, so just be yourself. It’ll be easier in the long run
Complete this thought: If I could, I would…travel the entire world and back again.
Congratulations to Allison – check her out at Dream A Little Bigger!
