Blogiversary

It’s been one year since I have launched Not Your Plain Sarah Jane. A year of photographing myself {umm, yeah, it’s weird} sharing my latest fashion finds. I’ve learned how to manage a website, “go-live” on Instagram, and create an event on Facebook. I’ve changed outfits in public on the streets of Madison, and have learned my “good-side” for photos. It’s been exhilarating, daunting, and embarrassing at times to get content – but at the end of the day, it’s been very FUN!

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Thank you so very much for reading, for clicking the links, for liking and commenting on my posts. It means the world to me and keeps me excited to find new content to share with you. I honestly get excited to wake up each day and share something with you. I wouldn’t be writing this post today, one year later, without your support.

Random Thoughts on Style Blogging:

1. I am an introvert. Taking photos of myself in public places is not really my thing. I have, however, become much more comfortable with it throughout the year. It literally can take 2 minutes to get a photo and those random people that walk by will never remember seeing me taking that photo, right?!
2. Sunglasses are my best friend. Often I take photos without much makeup and this is a great way to hide that little secret and cover those wrinkles 🙂
3. It’s all about the lighting for a good photo! I’ve learned some key points to good photos! The car has great natural light during the day and 6-7pm in summer is the best natural light one can get.
4. I have grown my audience 100% organically. There are so many easy ways to buy followers, likes, and comments. It really can be a fake/false world of popularity. Don’t be fooled by someone that has a ton of followers. I had no idea this existed before I started a public Instagram page and have gotten offers to do this.
5. I truly have met the nicest people in doing this! I am so fortunate to be in a great community that wants to support one another. From store owners to photographers, to women who need help with an outfit – you all are wonderful!
6. I have a side I always look to when I start taking pictures – I just realized this when I look at my feed.
7. I actually really enjoy designing my posts for my website. Moving pictures around, deciding where the text will go and so on is kind of like creating a piece of art. I love pushing “preview” to see what I’ve created.
8. My favorite part of all of this is creating outfits. I love it when I get to play in my closet and create different looks.
9. I really wish I had my own room that I could dedicate as my “closet/office” for blogging purposes. Hopefully one day! Probably a good thing I use our bedroom as it motivates me to put everything away after I’m done.
10. I get little butterflies when I hit “publish” or “share” to make a post become live for all of you see. I truly love seeing your reactions and comments.

Most “popular” posts according to Instagram

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If there is anything you’d like to see in the future, I’d love to hear! Send me a note via email, a message on Instagram, or Facebook. I am very excited to see what the next year of Not Your Plain Sarah Jane will bring. Many many thanks!

Oh! One more thing, I have gotten better at sending emails! It’s a great way to keep up to date and get summaries of the latest post right to your inbox! Make sure to subscribe!

As always, thank you so much for reading and make it a great day!