Becoming a Great Guest Blogger

Hey guys!

I'm excited to bring you this weeks guest blogger because it is a little different, even for me. My friend Sandy, who I present to you this week, is a social media expert and loves, eats, breathes, and sleeps everything social media, and for good reason. Today he shares with us some tips and tricks on becoming a great guest blogger. I thought this would be a good fit for today because a lot of people recently have asked me about being a guest blogger, what they would need to do, what I want them to do, etc... and there are some things that come with giving your article to be submitted on another site, and Sandy explains it here in this weeks guest post. For more you can visit his blog here
 

 

How to become a great Guest Blogger

Hi guys, I'm Sandile Nene, better known as Sandy. I am 20 years old, I love, blogging, tweeting and reading, and today I want to share with you some Guest Blogger tips that I found. 

Here

1) Search for blogs relevant to your audience. It doesn't have to be your exact niche, but you will want to only guest post on blogs that are similar to your own and that your audience relates to. This helps you establish yourself as an expert in the field and it also helps you make great connections.

2) Make sure the site is credible. Take time to do the research. See if they are getting a lot of comments either on the blog or on their social platforms. Check out their guest blogging requirements. If it looks easy to get a post with them, then you probably don’t even want to bother. If they have strict guidelines and measures for posting on their site, it will mean they are more credible.

3) Build relationships. Sending out mass emails might lead to a few guest posts, but building relationships will allow you to have places where you can post multiple times and where you are a trusted source. This can also lead to meeting new people through these trusted relationships.

4) Think outside the box. People are not going to want to publish or read something that has been done a million times. If your article is new and unique it is more likely to get posted by the big blogs. Read other blogs and do keyword research to get your ideas flowing.

5) Keep up with trends. Set up Google alerts for specific keywords and have your Google reader on hand every day. If you are on top of the trends you will be able to provide guest posts that are up to date and relevant to other readers.

By doing these things you are making sure that you stand out from others and keep your articles interesting and fresh. 

Sandy

Obsessed With ChianoSky

Hi Guys, 

This weeks guest blogger is a social media friend of mine Zane 'Lelo' Meslani. Born in Johannesburg and now living in Durban, Zane is a student, blogger, fashion writer, publicist and entertainment analyst and I am thrilled to have him here today to share with us. Check his blog out here

Obsessed with ChianoSky

The best thing since flavoured bubble gum. 

Words that come to mind when hearing the name "ChianoSky"? Sexy, Bubbly, Soulful! 

The musical sensation that is ChianoSky has become a staple brand name in the South African music industry. When I first heard her single on radio "Sick Sick", I thought it was some new American one-hit-wonder artist. My assumptions were purely wrong!

Anybody that says age is a definition of success obviously hasn't heard this 19 year old's music. Blending music elements of Blues, Smokey Jazz (I seriously didn't make that up), good old fashioned Swing and Pop to create a powerful album titled 'Hungry'. This album has hit singles such as Home Sweet Home, Sick Sick and Walking Away which in my opinion were catchy enough to make her rise right up the pop charts and claim her place on the 5FM Top 40! 

ChianoSky draws her influence from classic artist such as Etta James, Marvin Gaye as well as modern songstresses Adele and the late Amy Winehouse.

Bagging a EMI recording deal, hundreds and thousands of fans, multiple SAMA nomination (Including Record Of The Year) in just under TWO years??! ChianoSky is living proof that having a dream and working hard towards it will push you beyond the limitations of everyone's expectations.

P.S : Her latest single 'Uncrumple My Heart' is such a GREAT, catchy record! My advice is, give her a listen. You won't regret it! 

Zane 'Lelo' Meslani 

This Winters Healthy Comforts

Hello all, 

Today's guest blogger is Michalah Francis who hails from Cape Town. She blogs over at My Style Memories, so do check her out. 

It is almost, (and I say that lightly) winter over here, and Michalah knows just what a girl needs to get through some of these winter days. Check it out. 

This Winters Healthy Comforts

In summer there was a fruit overload, health smoothies, organic fruit juice and iced lemon water was all that I drank and there was no shortage of salads in my life. Healthy eating just seemed so easy in summer, but now with the fast approaching winter I seem to be stoking up on the carbs and I'm excited about spending my cold days with hot chocolate and marshmallows. 

I'm sure many can relate to this, it’s a wet, cold weekend and you decide to stay in and re-watch all your favourite movies. Slowly but surely, as that movie marathon continues, so does the snacks your “nibbling” on, they continue to pile up in front of you, and before you know it there’s wrappers and papers everywhere. You’ll feel guilty for about 5 minutes but then a few weeks later this scene will repeat itself, and you’ll be comforted by the idea that you can hide any KG’s gained under layers of winter clothing. And as welcoming and cozy as this idea might sound, most of us will regret this winter binge when summer comes knocking.

When food is involved regrets is what we want to avoid as food is not the enemy. Instead, food is the best friend who we all need. This winter I have decided to beat the binge and climb back on my healthy horse. How? By making my own winter comfort foods! 

Allow me to introduce you to a good friend of mine, the Banana and Berry Oats Bake.

I love this recipe for multiple reasons. The most obvious reason being that it’s healthy and the oats keeps you full for longer, preventing unnecessary snacking. This bake lasts for about a week as the recipe makes a large portion. The bake could be eaten for breakfast, saving time and energy because nobody really likes preparing breakfast on a cold winter morning. With this bake it’s simply reheat and enjoy. It could also be a dessert topped with some of your favourite treats; my personal favourite topping is plain yoghurt. 

What you’ll need:

-          1 large baking dish

-          2 banana’s

-          2 cups of berries. Because I like variety, I used 1 cup of gooseberries and 1 cup of 

           raspberries. This choice is really up to you.

-          1 cup of uncooked oats

-          ½ cup of raw, sliced nuts. I used almonds as they are a favourite and blend well with the 

           oats.

-          ¾ tablespoon of cinnamon

-          ½ tsp of baking powder

-          1 cup of coconut milk. Here you could use any milk of your choice, the coconut milk just 

           makes it more delicious.

-          1 egg

-          1 tsp vanilla extract

-          Pinch of salt

Method:

-Preheat your oven to 180° C

-Spray your baking dish with a non-stick cooking spray.

-Slice the banana’s and then line the bottom of the dish. Top the banana’s with just over half of the berries which you have decide to use and then add ¼ of the cinnamon.

 -Cover this with foil and bake it in the oven for 15 minutes. 

-While the bananas and berries are baking, you now mix the other ingredients.

-So in a different bowl mix together the oats, nuts, rest of the cinnamon, baking powder and salt

- In a second bowl mix together the egg, milk and vanilla.

-When the 15 minutes are over, remove the dish from the oven.

-Now put your dry ingredients over the baked bananas, berries and cinnamon.

-Next you pour the wet mix on top of that.

-On top of this, place the rest of your berries.

 -Now bake at 180°C for 45 minutes

 Allow it to cool and enjoy!

Variations:

The best thing about this recipe is that it can so easily be changed.

-If you’d like the final outcome to be crisper keep the bake in the oven for up to 30 minutes longer.

-For a bake that’s perfect for breakfast 30 minutes in the oven will be perfect.

-You could serve the bake with yogurt, ice cream, or any topping of your choice.

-The bake should be stored in the fridge and just reheated as you please.

Happy Baking!

Michalah  

Guest Blogging & More

Hey ya'll

A little while back I mentioned that I would be interested in having people guest blog on Lu3Lus Crossing. I have fallen in love with a lot of blogs recently and I think that it is about time to get started with this series.

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So from now on, on Fridays I will have a guest post up, starting tomorrow. I just want to thank those who have been interested in taking part, the response so far to my quest for guest bloggers has been amazing, and  I also want to welcome anyone else who might want to join in too.

I think guest blogging is a great way to meet and get to know other bloggers and encourage and support each other. I for one am really excited to get started and looking forward to having them here.

I'm also starting a new series called 'Creative of the Week' in which I will be interviewing or 'getting to know' people in the creative industry here in South Africa. This series will be taking part on Wednesdays and hope to get it started this coming Wednesday the 1st of May. This is something else I am excited about because, being a lover of the creative industry and wanting to be a part of it myself I love getting inspired and learning from what others do.

So I hope you enjoy them both!

Lu3Lu
Xx

Y'ellow Summer

It's been almost a month into summer down these ends, and I've been planning a few summer post for awhile. Granted I am a little delayed, but better late than never right?

For the very first post I thought I would  start off with a '10 things I want to do this summer list' from fellow blogger Samantha at Ebony Delights (please peep out her blog and give her a shout)

We all have that I-can't-wait-to list that we draw up in our minds when summer comes, the long months of winter can definitely do that to you.

Here are Samantha's

1) Shop till I drop - My wardrobe needs updating.

2) Read - I love to read and have a reading challenging on my blog, and I've picked out 5 must reads:

John Grisham – The Litigators
Maeve Binchy – Minding Frankie
Jeffrey Archer- Paths of Glory
Penny Vincenzi- The Best of Times
Louise Bagshawe- Glitz

3) Spend time with friends and family

4) Begin my present shopping

5) Catch some sun- the weather is heating up nicely. 

6) Dress to kill- wear bright coloured dresses and sandals, I’ve been covering up my skin just a bit much.

7) Watch movies – like “5 year engagement”

8) Quench the thirst- sip some sun downers while sitting on the balcony

9) Blog more consistently- I’ve been slackly on my blog lately and I want to finish strong on one of my goals.

10) Eat for summer- lots of colourful fruits, smoothies and vegetables.

Samantha