10 000 visitors & my life lately

There are titles like ”life and death” on my blog drafts, so you know it’s a slight struggle for me to write about the ordinary life and what I did on the weekend and so on. But I have heard, that I’m a quick learner, so I’m not that easily defeated. Or actually – I am pretty easily defeated, especially if it’s a children’s game and I’m on my third glass of wine. In that case though, I’m also pretty hilarious company.

After the past week and weekend I feel pretty defeated as well – in a way you feel after a good, positive game, might I add.

clarion hotel suite

I got to celebrate a friend’s bachelorette party, and it was super fun. The party lasted for 22 hours for me, so when I finally got home I fell asleep instantly. We went to Tallinn, we went shooting (I was super bad), to Tallink Spa to relax a little and after that we cruised back to Helsinki and to Clarion hotel. We had a suite where we got ready for the evening and I almost feel emotional when I think about the view we got from up there. It was pretty amazing to just stare at your own city from that high up, enjoy some great white wine and talk about whatever with a friend. And what’s obviously the most important thing, is that the bride-to-be was happy and everything went well.

helsinki clarion hotel view

The next day I went to my sister’s and spent the night. I forgot how nice it is to stay in your big sister’s care for a day – and wake up the next day to even more sisters around. We had a nice brunch and after that we headed to our place.

May Day was calm, but fun. I applied glitter for everyone and we drank sparkling wine and danced. I love dancing with my sisters – we always come up with ridiculous new moves and if an outsider looked at us, it would probably look like we all just had a stroke. That day as well, I fell asleep pretty quickly.

glitter makeup
Glitter, glitter and more glitter.

The next day was special and not only because of the traditional First of May brunch. Well, obviously I love brunches and it was nice to have almost the whole family around the table, but there was one other thing.

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know: my blog hit it’s first ever 10 000 unique visitors per month! That is crazy. So, I don’t know. I guess I’ve thought about it this whole week and I am lost with words. It’s probably getting old, but I am so thankful for each and every one of you. This blog is my biggest passion and I hope it shows to you. And as I said on Instagram, I couldn’t have done it without Risto. He’s to thank for the fact, that this blog is up and running. Ever since I first said it out loud, that I would like to blog seriously, he never laughed. He’s always been there for me. Just like you have, for clicking to this site.

Two great ways to hide the fact, that you’re tired.

So, it’s been a crazy few days. Both emotionally and physically, since my body is still requiring more sleep. I’ve heard that the older you get, the less sleep you need. So I guess I’m still fresh and young in that department, since I can easily dream ten hours straight.

By the way – I chose (I mean, random number generator did) the winner for the giveaway, that closed on Monday. I have contacted the winner personally. And hey – there is a new giveaway coming soon, so if you missed that one, don’t worry.

Okay, so that’s what’s up. Except, one last thing: Why do passport photos always suck? In my last photo I looked hangover (probably cause I was), and this time wasn’t that much better, except that I had eyebrows on – on my last photo I used zero makeup on my brows, how is that even possible? But hey, it’s just one bad photo. Who cares.

I wish you a great weekend! Mine is hopefully gonna be quite chill, except the concert I’m going on Saturday. VIP-tickets, here I come!

charlotta eve blog

And hey, how are you?

How to gain followers on Instagram?

I want to note right in the beginning, that getting followers on Instagram or on social media is not the most important thing. The most important thing is, that you enjoy what you are doing and stay real to yourself. However, many wish to grow their Instagram accounts, so this post is dedicated to them.

Ah, Instagram. I remember when it first launched and it was so exciting. I immediately started sharing pictures and I was intrigued at how easy it was to edit photos and make them look ‘cool’ (although now that I look at my first photos, there’s nothing cool about them).

I also remember me checking my feed constantly and being bored – ‘cause my friends were adding new pictures only ever so often.

Nowadays I’m never bored, ‘cause my feed is constantly changing and there are billions of photos on Instagram to look at. The fact that Instagram is so popular and huge, means that there is a lot of competition. It creates a new challenge to bloggers and influencers – how to get yourself out there?

I know my account is just a small fish in the sea, but people have asked me how I gained over 1000 followers on Instagram, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to share my thoughts. Some of these tips may be obvious to you, but hopefully there’s also something you haven’t thought of yet.

instagram tips

How to gain followers on Instagram – My tips

  • The photos are everything
    Ask yourself: would you follow you? Are your photos good and interesting?
    I just had to state the obvious here. My first Instagram photos were horrible. Bad quality, with bad lighting and just boring.  Nowadays you can take great photos with your cell phone, but I still prefer a real camera. Every now and then I upload a mobile photo to my feed, but I instantly see the difference compared to the other photos taken with my Olympus Pen EPL7 camera. And did I already mention the lighting? You need good-quality photos with great lighting. The more light, the better. Light, light and light.
  • Be active
    Are you putting in the work and hours?
    Have you heard of social media? It’s gotten it’s name from it being – you know -social. So be just that. Interact with other people. Like, comment and follow. If you see something interesting, like it. Leave a comment. More often than not, people respond to you and return the favor. And once your photo gets more likes and comments, it gets more visibility = your profile gets more visibility = you can gain more followers. I have gotten lots of new followers and friends this way and I honestly value that. A simple ‘Have a great day” comment from one of my instafriends can make my day.
  • Stay real
    And be genuine.
    When I said to like, comment and follow – I didn’t mean to just do it for the sake of doing it. Don’t spam – like leaving a random emoji on a random photo – it’s not cool. Pay attention to what you are doing and leave comments that are relevant, funny or just your real reactions to the photos.
  • Follow, don’t unfollow
    And do actually interact with the accounts you’re following.
    I follow a lot of people on Instagram and I think it’s great. I have found new inspiring accounts and some smaller ones, that are interesting, ‘cause they are personal. Sometimes the person you are following, follows you back, so you get a new follower. But not always! Personally I always follow back other bloggers, ‘cause I want to show my support and connect with them. Sometimes these people play the unfollow game – they only follow you to gain you as your follower and they unfollow you as soon as you follow them back. I understand why they do this, but it still feels a bit wrong. I wouldn’t recommend to play that game, but it’s up to you.
  • Make your feed your happy place
    Make Instagram fun.
    Instagram should be a happy place for you. Follow accounts, that you love, that you find inspiring. Don’t follow accounts, that you don’t like. Make Instagram fun. Don’t think about the numbers too much.  The same goes to your own photos: upload photos, that you like. Don’t try to be something you are not, just simply do what you love. I’ve heard so much complaints about Instagram lately and it’s depressing. I’ve tried to take another approach and just keep myself and my Instagram positive and inspiring.
  • Look at the big picture
    Your feed is your profile picture.
    When you click open your profile, how does everything look? Is it nice to look at? Are there weird colors competing against each other? Does it look messy? Your feed is a reflection of your personality and it should look like you – but if you want followers, you just need a nice looking ‘theme’. Your followers should know what they are getting by taking a quick look at your feed. This one is a bit hard to explain, so I have photos to show you:

charlottave instagram

My feed nowadays. As you can see, it kinda has a theme. It’s peaceful to look at – the colors are toned down and there is a bit of everything: my face, my body, details. The photos look good next to each other. By the way: there is one mobile photo in there. Can you find it? Here it kinda works, but I still see the difference in quality compared to the other photos taken with a professional camera.

instagram bad feed

My feed, when I was not actively blogging and I was just using it as my personal account. Looking at it from a professional point of view: it’s horrible. Very dark with bad quality photos. Also – there’s very little of actual me in there. Photos of my feet and food hardly give any intel about my personality. People follow your account, cause they are interested in you, so try to make it personal – that means uploading photos of yourself as well every now and then.

Here are some other great posts about growing your Instagram:

How to get big on Instagram – My top tips
How to look good in every picture – 10 new Instagram secrets
20 Instagram hacks for a perfect feed

Want to be my instafriend? Come follow me at @charlottaeve.

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