Welcome!

I’m sure you’re asking, “Why Sawdust & Tinsel?”  Sawdust & Tinsel was named for an Ingmar Bergman film by the same name. Sawdust & Tinsel, the film, is described as being about vanishing love, godless existences, the redemptive power of theater.

The title of the film is incredibly evocative for me– it talks about creation and end products; it tells stories of creation from nothing in to something; it teases us with creation out of resources that we wouldn’t expect, and creation in to something magical as an end product.

When I heard about the film, I knew instantly the title needed to be a blog, but it took years of ruminating before deciding to create a blog about blogging.  But also a blog about blogging for creative minds, finding creative ways to sustain their blog, experiment, and grow.

After 3 years of writing for Independent Fashion Bloggers (and over 60 posts), I realized not only did I have a passion for blog improvement, but I had information that could be shared outside of the fashion community.  I felt that, like the fashion community, the creative writers on the web needed more resources on how things “worked”– in ways that sites like Problogger don’t necessarily speak to.  Creative bloggers have different challenges they face than say, a tech/gadgets blogger, a political blogger, or even a celebrity blogger.

What is a “creative blogger”?

When I write for the creative blogger, it covers a wide ranges of topics and interests.  You could be a small, creative business owner, who is using your blog to both promote your site & products, but also to engage with your audience.  You are fashion or lifestyle blogger sharing tips of how to deal with dating while posting your recent outfit of the day.  You’re investing your time and energy in to the betterment of others.  You might be a musician, filmmaker, actor, dancer, or singer, trying to use your blog as a means of showcasing your talents, jump starting your career, and establishing your authority on the topic.

Being a creative blogger isn’t just writing for or about the creative fields though.  It’s for any blogger who has to think creatively to build an audience, create blog revenue, and find their place in blogging. This is a place for creative minds and sites to find information on how to be a professional blogger, how to generate income, how to brainstorm and find ideas that work within their site and their niche.  It’s a place to learn what Klout is, what your Alexa rating is, and all the small details in between writing and publishing a great post.

What is a “professional blogger”?

I don’t make six figures a year on blogging. I don’t even make my full-time income on blogging. Most months, I make 3 digits, but it’s money that I value because how I earned it means more to me than my day job.  Recently on Independent Fashion Bloggers, I wrote about what it means to me to be a professional fashion blogger.

The tips I list, I consider true for all bloggers.  They are:

• A professional attitude.  I consider myself a problogger because I treat my blog like it’s a business, even if there isn’t much financial gain from it.  From each email I send, to every tweet I post, I try to recognize the image it’s portraying of me and my site.
• Clean, strong writing and a grasp of language. Whether you like it or not, writing is the core of blogging.  Without the ability to write clearly, readers will become lost.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve turned away from a site because I couldn’t make out what the writer was trying to say!
• Vision.  A professional blogger not only has their own vision and ideas to share on their blog, but they also have vision in to the future.  What ways are you relaying information that is new and fresh?  How can you share it and engage others?

A professional attitude takes you a long way in blogging, and it has more value than any money you may make.

Thank you for stopping by Sawdust & Tinsel! I hope that, in time, this will become a great resource for all bloggers.