Top 10 Blog Tips from Apartment Therapy, Habitually Chic and DwellStudio

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Connections are important for Heather Clawson of Habitually Chic, Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan of Apartment Therapy and Christiane Lemieux of DwellStudio. With their readership numbers rivaling shelter magazines, these bloggers influence buying habits of professionals who work all day and like to read blogs. Christiane Lemieux monitors tweets around the clock to tell her product designers what the customer likes or dislikes. With 16,000 followers on Twitter, Habitually Chic, a blog written by New Yorker Heather Clawson, plans to expand with her first book. I've listed 10 tips these bloggers talked about for gaining readership, monetizing your blog, and branding yourself.

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(Right) Christiane Lemieux of DwellStudio listens to what people are saying in Atlanta and on Twitter and Facebook. Twitter and Facebook influence the design direction of DwellStudio's chic decor lines for baby and home. 

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(Far left) Heather Clawson plans to introduce a product line with her brand Habitually Chic in the near future. Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan (right) taught first grade for seven years before starting the Apartment Therapy blog. According to the founder of Apartment Therapy, his audience is too busy to shop. 

1. Heather from Habitually Chic blogs a minimum five days a week with maximum four sentences per blog.
2. Maxwell from Apartment Therapy uses keywords in  post title, i.e. Top Ten Things, Sneak Peak, Brand Names, DYI, How To, and Bacon (ha, ha) to improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO). About 50 percent of potential customers come from searches. 
3. Christiane from Dwell Studio uses Facebook and Twitter as a brand extension for its website. Habitually Chic has 16,000 Twitter followers.
4. Brand yourself and create products and services to sell. As a designer, Heather at HC is working on a book and more things to come.  
5. Leverage readership with partnerships and advertising.
6. Christiane says respond directly to customers who mention your products and services on social media.
7. Choose a specific focus, i.e. House of Turquoise, and find your authentic voice.
8. Maxwell recommends using a great lens on a less expensive Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera body. Don't use a flash. Shoot wide shots that can be cropped later. 
9. Check if there is a restriction for using a photo posted on Flickr and similar photo websites. Always credit source of others photography says Maxwell. 
10. Pinterest helps monetize DwellStudio's website by referencing where products can be purchased.