5 Money Saving Blogger Hacks & £50 John Lewis Voucher Giveaway

Creating Photo backdrops

I think we're all well aware of this hack, most of us don't have a house kitted out in marble so the easiest way to achieve this is by using wallpaper samples or sticky-back plastic. It's such a simple way to create a more interesting backdrop and you'll save a lot more than if you were to splash out on a real marble table. Some of my favourite backdrop props include fluffy rugs and marble but these are so easily DIY'd (some cheap samples from Amazon: marble, wood, brick) and nothing beats white sheets!

Camera Straps

Chances are if you're a blogger you've got a camera, whether it be a DSLR or a compact camera, such as the Olympus PEN, blogging can be pretty hard without one. This wasn't something that bothered me until I got the Olympus PEN E-PL7 and realised how awful the strap that came with it was (I'm guessing this is because they want you to buy one of their own straps - very annoying). I didn't want to buy a strap but every time I went out with my camera I feared the strap would come loose. On a whim I used a spare handbag strap I had lying about and voilá, problem solved. My camera feels much safer now and I can easily interchange it if I want to! Plus I'd rather buy a new bag than a new camera strap any day.

Camera Body

Although I haven't done this myself I've heard more and more about just how beneficial it can be. When I started out blogging I actually bagged a really good deal and got my Canon 700D with two lenses, the standard kit lens 18-55mm and a 50-250mm lens for the same price as the camera body so I was really happy with that and used these for most of my early photography. But now I practically only use the 50mm lens which is really affordable at less than £100, a much better deal if you're a blogging newbie.

Work with Friends & Bloggers

Blogging fashion and personal style, one of the most important things is having someone to take my photos for me as living in London I can't just step out the door with a tripod and remote ready to take my photos in the middle of the street - my biggest fear is someone running away with my camera and me having to chase after them in silly heels! I've been lucky enough to have my friends help me with this, both Faith and Maria have been my go-to girls and majority of my posts have been shot with them and it's so rewarding to see our progress. But I also think other bloggers just get the general blogging vibe and it can be incredible to bounce ideas off of each other whilst shooting, especially these days as photographers can be so expensive to work with!

At Home

And now, big girl stuff, I know this won't apply to everybody but I thought it would be worth mentioning. I've recently signed a contract for my university house next year and for the first time ever our bills aren't included meaning I've been doing my research to help me save money and prepare for blogging away from home as a student for another year. E.ON’s Smart Meters display shows you how much energy you are using in real time and allows you to keep tight control on how much you spend; perfect for those of us who are students/young adults thinking about moving out or have already.

Giveaway time! For your chance to win a £50 John Lewis voucher all you have to do is leave me a comment letting me know what your blogger hacks are, I'm always after new ways to better my blogging and stay on top of things whilst at university or just generally busy (which judging by my recent hiatus, I've recently found to be much more of a problem) use the Rafflecopter below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms and conditions
- The prize is non-transferable and no cash alternative is offered
- Open to UK residents aged 18 and over
- Competition is closed to employees and relatives of the host* and E.ON
- The competition opening date is 20/04/16, and the closing date for entries is 04/05/16.
- One entry per person
- Entrants must log into Rafflecopter and leave a comment stating a tip of their own which links to the bloggers post
- The winner will be chosen by using a random number generator build into the
Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted direct on the email address provided. If the winner does not respond within 7 days a new winner will be drawn.
- The winner’s name will be available on request. By entering this competition participants consent to their full name being available by request from the host
- The prize will be sent within 28 days of receipt of the winner’s address
- E.ON reserves the right to amend or withdraw the competition at any time without notice or liability
- Entry to this competition confirms that participants have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions
- This competition is governed by the laws of England and any dispute shall be governed by the English courts.
*The host = the participating blogger

This post and competition is brought to you in partnership with E.ON Energy. See if you could save money with their gas and electricity deals today. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.