Gaining a Following? Doing a Giveaway?

     As I have mentioned before, I really stalled on writing this blog. I gave myself a lot of time to do my research and really think this one through. My reason for doing so was that I wanted this to be meaningful, and I wanted to be able to build an audience. Meaningful posts mean nothing when I'm the only person reading them.
   I worry about posting too much, because if I share all my good stuff now, it'll be lost in the archives to never be seen. If I save it for a time when people will actually be seeing and following it, it'll be useful BUT, don't I have to indulge in the good stuff in order to gain followers? I've read so many articles on how to have more followers- use a variety of words, share your blog with social media, blah blah blah, but I don't want 50 followers and one reader. One thing I read that could actually benefit my readers, followers, and I, is having a giveaway....
      THAT'S RIGHT, a GIVEAWAY. Something free just for following and supporting me, my posts, and my art. There is only ONE way you can be eligible to win, follow me. Follow my posts, share me if you want the big bang to happen sooner, because as soon as I hit 50 followers OR 500 page views, I will be giving away a CUSTOM piece of art. I have a lot of templates that I will be showcasing in due time, but I'm also willing to do something pretty one-of-a-kind. I will ship to you at NO cost, as a big thank you.


Now that the important stuff is out there... Here's a bit of "fluff."

      I have such enormous aspirations, and no real thoughts on channelling them. Once upon a time, I wanted to sell clothing. I wanted to start off pushing my "upcycled" skirts and rompers made of sarongs out into the world, and then move on to making some REAL clothing. I wanted to start this HUGE empire all by making "business casual" clothing items that were available (and wearable) to young women everywhere. I was crazy about this idea, until I realized that my only real options were opening stores on EBay and Etsy, and hoping that they would gain traffic. It seemed like a pretty good idea, but I was afraid I wouldn't get the exposure needed to really profit, and quite frankly, I couldn't afford the hobby and then the time I'd be spending waiting around for a payout...

    Next, I decided I wanted to sell my art. Art is something I LOVE to make, and something that has been a huge part of me for as long as I can remember. I have collected a lot of art supplies over the years, which has made it a moderately inexpensive hobby. THIS is something that I can afford to do, no matter how long it takes me to sell....

    Though I can make due, I still want to sell things so.. I started the blog.

I wanted the blog to do two things:
1) Tie into my shops- To allow my buyers to get an inside look on who they're supporting, what other art I have done, what else I am capable of
2) Showcase my "shop" to my readers
       I know not every reader ever will be a buyer, or will even appreciate my work, but the more readers, the more opportunities for all of us to benefit. I hope to be successful enough to offer monthly giveaways some day.

Potentially my next project- Expect a tutorial