I spent a couple months working on the lesson plans, curriculum and homework exercises for the course, so I don't want to give it all away here - but I will share my five of my favorite tips. Here you go!
Crafty Chica's Five Tips for a Shiny Blog:
1. Know What Your Blog is About and its Purpose.
Well, duh! right? That sounds too easy. But really, whether you have a blog or want to start one, the best way to send out concentrated shine is to have laser beam focus. Write out a sentence that describes what your blog is, its purpose. You can use this as a tagline under your brand, or as a mission statement taped on your monitor for you to remember as you curate content. This doesn't mean you can only cover on topic in your blog. I have all kinds of topics in mine, but I make sure to tie them all together with positivity, creativity and my own signature touch. Laser beam focus is good because it shows your reader what you are all about and what to always count on when they visit.
The second half of this statement - what do you want to get out of having a blog? To build a brand, to make money, to sell your goods? Pinpoint this, prioritize your list. When you brainstorm blog post ideas, make sure they serve the purpose. If you don't know and address these things, how do you expect your reader to know?
2. Have a Clean Layout.
Make your content be the sparkling gem of your blog. If you have interesting articles and great photos, you won't need bells and whistles to distract from that. No music or flashing text. Make sure there are no overlapping boxes in your columns. Take notice of the top half of your blog, this is the first thing peole will see, make sure all your important info is up there front and center! A clean layout is also inside too! Have a clear voice, edit, watch your grammar and punctuation. Be genuine, let your personality shine through the computer screen!
3. Use juicy photos - your own if possible.
You want your blog to be all about YOU and your voice, style and tone. That means pictures too! Practice taking photos that tell a story without a caption. Take several and choose the best one. If you feel creative, use one of the fun photo apps out there to add filters or text. Make sure to size your photos for the web (72 dpi), make sure they aren't grainy, and keep them big and juicy!
4. Be creative with your content, post frequently, give it value.
If you say things like "I don't know what to blog about!" you probably aren't going to succeed with this project. If you REALLY want to be a serious blogger, you have think of everything as a potential blog post and a way to fit it to your mission. What lesson can you learn that you can share? A good blogger has too many ideas and posts at least once a week (or more!!!). Good posts don't require an earth-shattering revelation, sometimes a simple photo does the trick. From diary entries to an on-going series to tutorials, there are a lot of angles to capture. Most important? You have to actually follow through and write the blog post!
5. Engage with other bloggers!
It's fun to have people come and read your blog and comment, correct? Well you have to do the same. Meet new people, share ideas, give encouragement. I've learned that good blogging and successful networking is more about promoting others than yourself. Set the example. Spread the glitter, there is enough for everyone! What you send out will come back to you ten-fold!
OK, this is just the top layer of glitter from the e-course. There is so much more! If you want more, you'll have to sign up, I go into a LOT more detail on all these topics. The best part is that even though we are two-weeks in, I leave all the lesson plans, homework and pep talk videos up indefinitely in the online classroom, so you can take it all in whenever you want! We've already covered foundation and visuals, now we are working on content and then promotion! Good times!
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