Tag Archives: Blogging

Celebrating 4 Years of Enabalista

Hi Loves!

How’s your week coming along? 🙂
My Monday totally felt like a “weekend coma”; post hectic weekend coma. >_< Last week was a really long week with planning and executing my blog Enabalista’s 4th Anniversary giveaways, blogging appointments as well as work packed back to back. So I felt so lethargic at work on Monday… But then I was totally excited to meet up with my girlies at work for dinner at Saveur heheh.

Before it gets too late, I’d like to share my thoughts on reaching Enabalista’s 4th Anniversary! ^^,

On my Instagram last Thursday, which is also the very date of my very first post on this blog (30th Oct), I posted a series of #TBT photos that encapsulates 4 of my passions and popular topics on my blog:

Enabalista 4th Anniversary Fashion Beauty Travel Food 001

Fashion
I started off this blog to share photos and thoughts of fashion shows that I attended when I was a fashion student. I had the chance to attend many local fashion shows while assisting backstage and also as my BFF, Bini’s guest for the premium shows such as Chanel.

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Beauty
Not long after, I also started to review beauty products, starting off with skincare and a ton of lip care products. In the course of 4 years, I’ve had the pleasure to review many brands, as seen in the photo and also recommended many of them to you my readers, as well as family and friends.

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Travel
If you’ve been following my blog long enough, you’ll also know that I love to travel and to blog about my travels. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to travel far for 2014, apart from Malaysia and even for those short trips I also haven’t had the time to post up photos. >_< If you’re new to my blog, I hope you’ll enjoy reading about my trips to Seoul, HK, Japan & London. 🙂

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Food
As a true Singaporean, I’m a big fan of fine cuisine! I love to enjoy good food and I love to share where all these delicious food are on my blog here.

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USS Halloween Horror Night Review

My Blogging Philosophy
With 4 years of blogging, I’ve come to realize that my blogging philosophy is sharing about my positive experiences, whether it’s about the 4 topics above or beyond. I relish in new, exciting & enjoyable experiences. Personally I feel that the best gift one can give & receive is spending time together and what better way is there to do than to enjoy a good experience together? 🙂

Additionally, I like to think that my posts are “edu-taining”- educational and entertaining at the same time! My wish is that when readers come to my blog, they’ll soak up new knowledge about fashion, beauty, travel & food while also really enjoy my reviews and photos. Basically every blog post is crafted according to how I would enjoy reading it as a reader! 😉

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Etude House Wisma Flagship Store Opening

Did I start out my blog 4 years ago thinking it’d reach where it is today?
Absolutely not. As I mentioned above, I started out blogging to post information and photos that I was passionate about. On hindsight, these information that I have are also exclusive, so blogging is really a great way to share these exciting information and meet bloggers and readers alike who are equally passionate about these topics as I am. It was only in mid-end 2011 that I started to blog quite industriously and was posting up more content in terms of events that I attended and beauty products I’ve tried.

Best Singapore Lifestyle Blog 2013
Then December 2013 came around and I still remember that I was at my church’s 50th anniversary camp at Malacca when I was in the hotel room I shared with my friend Talia and reading the email from HotelClub.com that they have selected me to be one of the “Best Singapore Lifestyle Blog 2013“. I was super stoked and I was incredibly happy, excited and thankful to be recognized for this blog that I’ve been passionately maintaining.

Screen Shot 2014-11-04 at 4.05.15 pmKose Cinderella Finalists & Tricia Ong

Then Jan 2014 came around and I started to receive an influx of invitations from brands for events and reviews. Two very exciting things also happened for me in mid 2014, I took part in Kose Cinderella contest and OMY Best Beauty Blogs contest, one after the other. Although I didn’t win either one of it, I’m still very thankful for my family and friends who have shown so much support for me and through these contests I’ve also got to know the lovely ladies who took part in the contests and these connections are truly invaluable.

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Singapore’s Lifestyle Blog
2014 also marks the year where I clearly defined that I wanted my blog to be recognized as a lifestyle blog. I am passionate about things beyond just 1 topic, and I don’t want to limit myself to be only blogging about one topic. So sometime around January this year, I set a goal that I wanted my blog to be known and ranked top as “Singapore’s Lifestyle Blog/Blogger” on Google. Lo & behold, after about 100 posts in 2014 alone, my dream came true in October this year and I was very thankful when a PR contact introduced me as “Singapore’s leading lifestyle blogger”. I don’t know if I am able to maintain my blog’s Google ranking, or how long I can maintain it for, but I know that if more readers enjoy reading what I blog about, then the easier it would be to sustain the ranking. 🙂

The future ahead
Like 4 years ago, I’m not sure where my blog will be headed to in another 4 years. But I do know for sure that I’ll continue to be passionately sharing about my positive experiences for Fashion, Beauty, Travel & Food. Currently there are 2 things that I wish to accomplish: 1. Publish a book about Lifestyle; an editorial summary of topics similar to my blog 2. Produce a series of diary/organizers. However right now I have too much on my plate for work and blogging that I am KIV-ing these goals that I wish to achieve until the time is right. If you’re reading this and would like to partner me to accomplish these goals, email me and we’ll see how we can set things in motion. 🙂

Last but definitely not the least, I want to thank God for His providence and guidance for my life and blog and my family and friends for their support and encouragement. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, my dear readers and friends for reading my blog. 🙂

If you haven’t, be sure to check out these 4 awesome giveaways that I am currently running on my IG, FB & Clozette:

*UPDATED with winners*

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Etude House My Castle Hand Creams Blog Post
Giveaway on Instagram
Giveaway on Facebook

Winners
IG: @style_byjane
FB: Caren Foo

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L’Oreal Paris Giveaway Blog Post
Giveaway on Instagram
Giveaway on Facebook

Winners
IG: @jensdazzvoq & @minkclara
FB: Huiibin Dumbyou

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Clozette LE Disney Makeup Sets Giveaway Blog Post
Giveaway on Clozette
Giveaway on Instagram
Giveaway on Facebook

Winners
Clozette: ChristabellePQZ & Amandansl22
IG: @misspinky24
FB: Jolvin Zhang

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Elizabeth Arden All Day Chic Holiday Color Collection Giveaway Blog Post
Giveaway on Instagram
Giveaway on Facebook

Winners
IG: @mybeautyroad
FB: Amelia Tan

Good luck!

Lotsa Love, xx

Ena

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Blogging for a Living by Grace Tan Book & Workshop Review

 

I first found out about Grace Tan’s new book Blogging for a Living when my aunt shared with me her Facebook post about it, along with an exclusive offer for a free 2 hour blogging workshop for the first 20 that purchased the book from her.

After reading the Facebook post, I promptly paid (Ibank) her for the book and signed up for the course mainly because it is one of my dream to be a book author (along with many of my other life ambitions, heh!) and as a fellow Singaporean blogger, I wanted to support her and also read what she has to say about Blogging. The workshop was simply a bonus and I am really glad I signed up, turned up and met her in person (see her post hereb.). More about that later, I will review the book first followed by the workshop! 🙂

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Blogging for a Living by award winning Singaporean blogger Grace Tan

I will not divulge all the tips and tricks that Grace shares in the book, so that you will pay a small cost of ~$22 (slightly more with gst) at major book stores (see below for listings) and support our local author! 🙂

But I will share some parts from the book which I found to be very interesting for me, and hopefully also interest you to get the book. 🙂

Grace Tan’s Tips for blogging success (Summary):

1. Discover your passion. Blog about what you are passionate about so that it does not feel like ‘work’ and will be sustainable in the long run.

Ena: I can’t agree more with her, the reason why I am able to sustain this blog is because I love what I do here. Whether it’s a beauty product review, fashion apparel outfit of the day or restaurant/food places recommendation, I blog about them simply because I enjoy doing so and sharing about them on my blog to my friends and readers!

2. Do something different. Focus on your strengths and who you really are and convey that through your blog. Grace is famous for interviewing entrepreneurs, celebrities and millionaires for her blog. So find a way to make yourself and your blog memorable.

Ena: This is a point that I am still working on, I don’t think I have a very strong unique selling point (USP) that distinguishes me from other Singaporean lifestyle blogger. But I do think right now that my blog name – Ena Teo – is quite unique. I hope in time, people can begin to remember my name, face, blog name and for writing articulate, in-depth and honest reviews about fashion,  beauty and more. 😉

3. Emulate your way to success. In short, what you want to know about blogging, you can figure out from studying other, more established blogs.

Ena: This is a point that I’ve applied many a times on my own blog. Whenever I am in doubt, I’d reference other blogs and essentially, my blog is a result of my version of the best features that I liked on a few of my favourite blogs. 🙂

Another excerpt from the book, from an interview she had with Silver Ang:
“Also don’t start a blog because you think it will earn you good money. It is a lot of hard work if you don’t enjoy blogging. You want good money? Go into the banking and financing industry. And don’t think that that’s going to be easy either.”

Ena: As a part-time blogger, I can assure you that blogging is not an easy feat. Don’t expect money to drop your way just by writing and posting photos on your blog, that is if you even do that consistently. Just like any other task in life, you reap what you sow. A blogger has to be consistent and diligent in creating good content in order to reap rewards, whether in kind such as products, services or even cash. At this moment, I don’t make a single cent off my blog and in fact I’ve put in some money into this blog, to pay for my own domain. But I’ve reaped rewards in sponsored products sent for reviews, invitation to events and most rewardingly, a community of WordPress bloggers and friends I’ve made through this blog. 🙂

One last excerpt from chapter 9 “Different ways to monetize your blog in Singapore”:

Write a book. If you have the expertise, you can also write a book and get it published, or sell it online as an e-book; it is a great way to earn passive income off your work!

Ena: As an aspiring book author, I have some ideas on what I’d like to write about, mainly about topics such as fashion and beauty which are of keen interest to me. But it’s been simply a “dream” I’ve yet to put any action to. So meeting Grace in person is an inspiration, to know that someone has done it before me and as Singapore entreprener Adam Khoo would say, “If I can do it, so can you!” Although in this case, it would be, “If Grace can do it, so can you!”. This is a principle I’ve always adopted in life – if I want to achieve something, I’d look to someone who has done it before, and be convinced that if someone has done it before me, surely I can as well! 🙂

Overall book review: 5/5

I’d give this book a 5/5 for it’s content, delivery and layout. For what it’s worth ($22), Grace has shared so many helpful tips in the book that even with many years of blogging, I still found more than 50% of the content to be new and inspiring. It definitely helped that she has interviewed 7 other Singaporean bloggers (Patrick Liew, Celestine Chew, Silver Ang, Alvin Lin, Renee Lorentzen, Daniel Ang & Melissa Koh) who generously shared their experiences about blogging. I love Grace’s writing in the sense that it reads pretty much like how she’d speak to you in person, like a friend. No boring corporate speech but very friendly and engaging. Lastly, the layout was very easy on the eye and there would be lightbulb graphics to emphasize on certain topics of issue of note. If I were a complete newbie to blogging, I might even add a star * to 5/5 because she even has screenshots to detail step by step how to create a blog. That’s a lot of effort for your convenience. Overall, this book is definitely value for money, although I think if there was a special discount for students, it would be even better. As $22 isn’t a lot for me as a working adult but it would be for a student. 😛

Do go by her blog to check out a Book Hunt giveaway with total $1000 worth of SK-II products. 7 winners will be chosen with at least $100 product each! >>http://workingwithgrace.wordpress.com/2013/08/16/book-hunt-for-s1000-sk-ii-products/ Contest ends 12 October, so gotta hurry! For list of places to buy her book, see below. 🙂

Now onto the 2 hour free workshop I attend along with 5 other bloggers!

 Grace Tan Blogging Workshop Review 22nd Sept 2013

From left to right: Joanna, Nasri, Carol, Leesa, Grace, Myself and Steven.

Overall workshop review: 4/5

I’ve got to say, my favourite part of attending the session was definitely meeting Grace in person. She is simply one of the most down to earth and honest person I know. She simply speaks her mind, gives excellent advice based on her real life experiences.

To be more specific, her advice for getting more traffic to one’s blog is to make opportunities to appear in mainstream media, such as Television (although, who still watches that? :P), newspapers and radio stations. This will greatly increase a blogger’s credibility and awareness. Perhaps it’s not simply about appearing in the media, but to also own the bragging rights to have appeared on the media, as a badge on your blog and book. 😉

Another practical tip she gave on how to be a better blogger is to commit to blogging consistently at least once a week. This is something I have a lot of problems with because I have no obligation to blog, and thus it makes it difficult for me to make a commitment:P However I do see the potential that my blog has, to grow to be a platform known for good recommendations and in-depth reviews for readers and thus I am definitely inspired from the workshop to take my blogging more seriously! Grace is very driven to make a proper/full time income/living off her blog. She sees how every effort she makes towards her blog as a business strategy and opportunity for income and that, is something that is really not easy for many.

Lastly, I am most inspired about how clear she is about living, that she desires to do the things in life that makes her happy and not to waste any moment of it. If there was only one thing I could take away from the workshop, it would definitely be that I want to be able to make decisions that will guide me to a happy living – whether physically, emotionally or spiritually. The reason why I didn’t give the workshop a perfect score is because the session was a tad too long, would be great if it could have been 1.5 hours instead of 2. 🙂

Here’s my review of the workshop, also seen on Grace’s blog:

Jia En, Digital Marketer and Blogger: “I like that I learnt how to be consistent in blogging by making a commitment – like blogging every Sunday. Thank you Grace, I really appreciate your time and sharing”..

It’s actually longer than that, but I guess you have the full version above already! 🙂

Do check out and like Grace’s Facebook page.

xx

Ena

You can purchase the Blogging for a Living book at these places here:

1) MPH

Raffles City: 6336 4232

PARCO Millenia: 6336 4232

Robinson Road: 6222 6423

2) Kinokuniya [website]

Singapore Main Store (Ngee Ann City)
Tel: +65 6737 5021

Liang Court Store
Tel: +65 6337 1300

Bugis Junction Store
Tel: +65 6339 1790

Jurong Store
Tel: +65 6430 0868

3) Times [website]

JCube: 66844150

Jelita: 6466 5702

Tampines 1: 6782 7017

Centrepoint: 6734 9022

Marina Square: 6334 4650

Paragon: 6836 6182

Plaza Singapura: 63368861

4) Popular Bookstores -> Full list of contact numbers HERE

 

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