Blogging Tips...Keeping your Blog Post layout consistent

Have you ever thought about the actual design (layout, image sizes, fonts, graphics) of your blog posts? 

Think about the blogs that your enjoy reading. What do you like about them? I'm sure they make it easy for you to find content, to scroll, the actual blog post content is easy to read (the font isn't so small that you have to squint at the screen to read the title) and the general layout of each post is visually appealing. This makes the whole experience of reading a blog enjoyable. There is nothing worse than finding a blog with great content, but it's hard work just to sift through it and read the actual message of their posts.

So today I am going to be sharing with you some tips for your own blog post design, as well as some resources to help you if you don't happen to have a graphic designer friend who makes you free elements for your blog...

1. Use a Mixture of Images and Text

This helps to break up the monotony of the black and white visual elements of a written piece. If I come across a blog post, no matter how interesting it may be, if it is just line after line of black writing I immediately switch off and head to the next blog. I am a very visual person, and am attracted to pretty pictures. That's not to say that you can't have long posts with only text in them. Take a little time to use spacing properly (the term used here is 'white space') which makes text easier to read. If you do use images that aren't your own, always make sure to reference properly. Look what happened to this blogger when she incorrectly sourced someone else work. 

Here is a useful tool for finding the source of an image called src-image bookmarklet (just copy the url of the image, which you can find by right clicking and selecting the 'copy image url' option) and pasting into the search bar.

Plain text can be thought provoking and look great when done right (look here at my friend Kerry from Midlands Musings who writes beautifully and makes me actually want to read through more than 3 sentences at a time).

The most important thing here is to plan your post before hand and decide whether you will be using pictures or text, or both, and think about how to make them look more appealing in a blog post.

{I use a lot of white space in my blog posts to make them easier to read}

2. Choose your fonts and stick to them

If you are using Blogger for your blog, you will have found the template editor to be your best friend when it comes to the customizing your blog. From there you have complete control over the colours of your text, the fonts, the font sizes and the layout of every element. The lovely Katrina over at PuglyPixel recommends limiting the number of fonts you use to no more than three (one for post titles, one for the sidebar titles, and another for the post body). Too many fonts tend to make a page look really busy. Additionally, when choosing fonts for your text, aim for legible fonts in a readable size. Whatever font you choose, keep legibility in mind. The most readable font under 14px is Verdana and larger than that, Arial is the most readable." PuglyPixel.

When I first stared blogging I changed fonts like the weather, and still do from time to time. But now that I am designing my new website, it's important for me to establish my branding and to keep it consistent, so readers are able to place my blog design with my brand. It will make your blog look more professional and cohesive.

Blogger has a whole range of different fonts built into it, so you can really get your hands dirty and get creative to ensure your blog stands out from everyone else's.

{I use 3 fonts, one for my blog posts, one for the blog post headings, and another for my header and sidebar labels}

3. Set a standard width for your blog post images

When something sticks out, you tend to notice it, and think that it must be a mistake. Keeping your image size in blog posts consistent helps with providing an overall professional and clean impression. You can use a free program like PicMonkey to change the size of your images. When I create graphics and edit my photographs for my blog, I always resize them to be 650px, that is the default size of my blog post. Doing this keeps everything neat and tidy. By also resizing your pictures you ensure that they download quickly when people open up your blog. You can also use a site like PhotoBucket to store your images and resize them before uploading to your blog.

To create collages like I do here on the blog you can either use a fabulous paid for program like Blogstomp (I use Blogstomp to resize all my images, create collages and add my watermark to all my photographs) or a free online editing program like PicMonkey.

These are a just a few tips to help you on your way. Pop on over to these lovely blogs to learn more:

Elembee "Creating a Graphics Style Guide"

Glossary "Blog Design...A Couple of Tips"

InResidence "Amateur Blogging Tips"

AshleyEllaDesign "Creative Blogging Resources"

If you have any questions about blogging, or anything that you aren't clear about from the above tips, please pop me a comment below and I'll get back to you soon. Please also leave a comment if you have any other tips for making your blog posts pop!

Happy blogging everyone!

x

{Creative Business} Series wrap up

Friday last week was the last day of our 2 week series featuring tips and advice from nine South African ladies on starting your own Creative Business. I learned so much from the other ladies, and really enjoyed being a part of the series. To find out what the series was all about, click here.

Here is a wrap up of all the posts. How did you enjoy the series? Did you find the tips useful? I'd love to hear your comments below <3

What's the most important question to ask yourself before starting your own business? on Caitlyn de Beer Life Coaching. 

“Recently I was asked what I feel the most important thing to consider is, before starting your own business. Fortunately being relatively new to the ‘owning’ your own business scene, I knew just the answer….It’s a simple why. The why should come before..” click here to read more

Should you combine many passions or just choose one? on Megan Galloway Growth Coach.

“So, you want to start something. Something unique. Something creative. Something that gets you bouncing out of bed in the morning ready to inspire and to be inspired. Wonderful! Problem is you have so many ideas, so many passions … how can you possibly know where to focus your energy? As Barbara Sher has titled her book: What do I do when I want to do everything? Sound familiar?..” click here to read more

The importance of Professionalism – website & photo’s on Ilze Louw Photography. 

“When I started my business I was all over the place, in every aspect, and then I came across this…DEFINE YOUR STYLE AND BUSINESS IN 3 WORDS. So I did, I wrote down 3 words that I wanted to describe my business and stuck it somewhere where I could see it every day. It’s a funny thing, but once I wrote down those 3 words, and seeing it every day, people started telling me (without knowing about my words), how they see my work and business, exactly pin pointing those 3 words. Defining your style and business will not only help you, but will show the outside world that you are serious about what you do, that you have a clear vision and plan.” click here to read more

Blogging – Where to begin on CityGirlSearching. 

“Blogging. Everyone seems to be doing it and as a newbie blogger it can all seem very intimidating. But that's where I come in. I will be sharing with you tips for starting your blog as well as some advice for growing your blog and getting it to where you want to be.” click here to read more

How to use Social Media to promote your business on Sunflowersandspears. 

"It gets really tricky to try to understand how a hashtag(#) can help you get more recognition and an @ symbol is no longer just the middle of an email address but a way of finding people. I have become extremely passionate about Social Media and it's incredible way of turning a business that was once a name on a business card into a name on people's lips. If that is what you are craving for your new business then read on as I try to explain to you how it all helps." click here to read more

Creating an Online Store on Happiness Is. 

“Ever wanted to sell your products on an online store, but didn’t because it seems scary? I’m going to give you some insight into what’s out there, best practices and what to watch out for.” click here to read more

Networking on Coffey and cake. 

“We’ve all heard it before... “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” and this has become so true in my journey as a young creative. Networking isn’t easy, it requires courage to step out and make that call, or organise that coffee meeting even if you aren’t sure you will have anything to talk about with the other person. However, networking is one of the most powerful first steps you can take when starting out on your own.” click here to read more

Bridge jobs (the secret to financing your creative business) on Ruby&Swallow. 

Today we're talking about starting your company while you're still working. How do you juggle both, how do you make sure you don't burn out and more importantly, how you can work towards turning your business into something you can do full time? We've got some tips for you from our very own experiences in growing Ruby+Swallow.” click here to read more

Creative or Critic: Who’s driving your business venture? on Loving Mondays. 

“So you’ve started your new business venture. Well done – it’s taken lots of courage! But who’s in the driving seat when decisions are made? And who is getting the most airtime when it comes to moving forward? The Creative or the Critic?” click here to read more






So there you go! A whole load of free resources to help you make get your creative business up and running, and of course, to help you in the road to success. If you have any questions, please feel free to pop a comment below and I'll get back to you.
Good luck!

x

Resources for Bloggers

Since I published this post on Blogging (a guide to blogging for beginners) I have had such a wonderful response from readers, and so I wanted to carry on with the theme of blogging tips and tricks (and as is the case with this post...resources) for all of you.

Here are some of my favourite blogging resources (and a few new ones that I have recently started using) that help save time as well as those that I use on a daily basis. I hope you find this list helpful, and if you have any others you would recommend, please do comment below <3

Blog Lovin'

A way to stay up to date with all your favourite blogs, and what most people are using when they say they are 'following a blog'. It's a free service, and although I was a bit skeptical at first, the layout of the site is super easy to use and navigate around, and you are able to 'like' posts in an easy way, as well as being able to share posts that you like on all the various social media platforms.

Feedly

Another super great way to stay connected with your favourite blogs. I have just found stumbled onto this site, and I'm looking forward to learning more about it.

ABeautifulMess iPhone & Android app

This is by far one of my favourite apps for my phone, I use it all the time to beautify my photographs for Facebook and for my blog. It is similar to Picmonkey in that you are editing photographs and adding text, but it's just so much better. The founder, Elsie & Emma run the wonderful blog A Beautiful Mess Blog and have just launched an update for the app as well as launching it for Android phones...its amazing! I use it to create my photographs and graphics for Instagram too. {CLICK HERE to see what else you can do with the app}. Download it from Itunes for 99c here.

MailChimp

I haven't officially started using this email campaign site yet, but it is very powerful and I can see just how awesome is is going to be to communicate with my readers once I have it set up and running. The founder of our current blog series, Caitlyn de Beer,where nine of us South African ladies have been contributing over the past two weeks on Starting your own {Creative Business} *CLICK HERE to read more* has been using MailChimp to communicate with all of us. The site allows you to schedule emails ahead of time, so you can write them all up and get the ready (there is so much that can be done with customizing them too!) and then you can set up a date and time for the emails to go out. You can also create beautiful newsletters to send to readers (and family too!). I am looking forward to sinking my teeth into this site more soon.

PicMonkey

A free online photo editor, that allows you to edit photographs and add text, create collages and generally 'prettyify' your photographs for your blog.

HootSuite

HootSuite is a social media management system for businesses and organizations. You are able to see all of your social media platforms on one dashboard, and post onto each one from one place. Its saves me time, and with their new auto scheduling option, HootSuite will publish your Twitter & Facebook posts at the optimum times for increased exposure based on a whole lot of numbers and other fancy maths things they have done. Super cool!

Happy blogging everyone!

x

{Creative Series} Weekly RoundUp

On Monday last week, 9 of us South African ladies started a wonderful and informative series on 'Starting your own Creative Business'.

Here is a round up of what we have posted on so far. 

Pop on over to these ladies blogs to learn more about the 'Hows' behind starting your own creative business. I've learned so much already <3

Caitlyn answered the question:

'What's the most important question to ask yourself before starting your own business?' on Caitlyn de Beer Life Coaching. 

Connect with Caitlyn on Twitter @caitlyndebeer and on Facebook.

Megan addressed the question: 

‘Should you combine many passions or just choose one?” on Megan Galloway Growth Coach.

Connect with Megan on Twitter @meganjgallowayand on Facebook.

Ilze wrote about:

'The importance of Professionalism – website & photo’s' on Ilze Louw Photography. 

Connect with Ilze on Twitter @ilzelouw and on Facebook.

I wrote about:

'Blogging – where to begin' on CityGirlSearching. 

Connect with Roxy on Twitter @roxypearce and on Facebook.

Kelly wrote on:

'How to use Social Media to promote your business' on Sunflowersandspears. 

Connect with Kelly on Twitter @Kellytromp and onFacebook.

 

To read more about what this series is about, and to see what is coming up next week, {CLICK HERE}. I hope your notebooks are bursting with ideas about how you can take your Creative Business to the next level, or even!

Blogging...Where to Begin. Day 4 of our {Creative Business} Series

Welcome to Day 4 of our Creative Business series.  So far we've had Caitlyn answer the question:

'What's the most important question to ask yourself before starting your own business?' on Caitlyn de Beer Life Coaching. Megan addressed the question: ‘Should you combine many passions or just choose one?” on Megan Galloway Growth Coach. Ilze write on: 'The importance of Professionalism – website & photo’s' on Ilze Louw Photography, and now here I am to introduce you to the world of blogging.

Blogging. Everyone seems to be doing it and as a newbie blogger it can all seem very intimidating.

But that's where I come in. I will be sharing with you tips for starting your blog as well as some advice for growing your blog and getting it to where you want to be.

If you have any questions at anytime, feel free to pop me a line on Facebook, or drop me a comment below this post. 

Now, I hope you've got your cup of tea and pretty notebook at the ready (if not CLICK HERE to enter to win a pretty package full of lovely stationery goodies from South Korea!). 

A blog is a 'mini-website' in that you ideally are able to run everything by yourself, without having to have designers make changes for you. A blog is a space for you to share what you love with the world, to journal, to keep memories and of course as a space for you to market and sell your product.

Here are some of the most popular blogging platforms, all of which cost nothing to set up:

Wordpress (to be clear I am referring to the free version of Wordpress, click here for more info)

Blogger

Tumblr

My blog is currently on "Blogger" and that is why it has the 'blogspot' segment on the end. It is completely free and is my favorite platform due to it being so very user friendly and easy to navigate around. Also, it is implemented with Google so if you use Gmail/Google Plus etc everything works seamlessly.

Wordpress is another favorite in the blogging world, but I find it isn't as user-friendly as Blogger. But, if you have to time to fiddle and play around it can be a lot more powerful!

To go "dot com" and drop the 'blogspot/wordpress" you have to buy a domain name through a site like GoDaddy for Blogger, and through Wordpress.com for Wordpress (to learn more about the difference between Wordpress & Wordpress.org click here).

I am about to launch my new website on a relatively new platform called SquareSpace (see image above). It doesn't have a free version (only a 14 day trial for users to test to see if they like it) but with the paid for package it includes a domain name, so you don't have to worry about going through an external site like GoDaddy. And the templates are just gorgeous! Have a look for yourself...click here. Their target markets are artists (photographers, designers, small business owners and bloggers) and their platform is built on providing users with a media rich experience. Think clean lines, and beautiful design. I am so happy with them!

But, in the end, they all serve the same basic function and it becomes a matter of personal preference.

This is a really important question to ask yourself before you even think about starting as it will form the building blocks of your business/brand. This is different for everyone. Some people enjoy seeing their words and thoughts come alive on the page, others enjoy the feeling of affirmation that comes from gaining another follower or like on Facebook. I have loved meeting new friends through my blog, as well as the outlet it has given me to be creative, something I never dreamed was possible.

Whatever your reasons are for first wanting to start your blog, write them down (I've created a fun brainstorm printable for you to download and print out to help you along your way CLICK HERE to download), so when you start to feel guilty for not having written a post in months don't beat yourself up about it. Instead, go back to your list and remind yourself of the real reasons you wanted to blog in the first place, I'm sure you will feel inspired to get started again. You will go through times of frustration with your blog, and sometimes all thats needed is a little time off to feel inspired again.

BUT if the main motivation behind why you want to start a blog is to make money or to get sent items to review, then I am terribly sorry to bust your bubble but this only happens to a tiny amount of bloggers. If your main goal is to make money, your readers will very quickly pick up on this and stop reading. Your readers want to be entertained, inspired and motivated, so give them that. If you are passionate about your content your readers will be too!

As important as the why is behind your blog, your branding is what differentiates you from everyone else and makes your blog special. If you take your blog seriously, so will everyone who reads it. One way to make that leap into the realm of 'seriousness' is by building a brand around your blog. To help you with this, you need to create a consistent message, and have everything you do, on and off the blog, send the same message. Think email signatures, blog headers, blog side bars, business cards, stamps, personalized stationery...the list is endless. And all of this needn't cost a fortune. The simplest way to build the foundation for your brand is with choosing a particular colour scheme, fonts and a basic design. You can get the help of a graphic designer if you really want to go that extra step, but the majority of the basic blogging platforms like Blogger, offer loads of customization options built into them. Think about your target audience (are they young and funky, in which case bright colours would work well. Or are they slightly older and more conventional in their thinking? Then a modern, clean and classic design and layout would probably work better).

By filling in the free mind map printable found below, you will be able to build your brand around the 'What do you love' section. If you love nature and the outdoors, your chosen colour scheme might revolve around earthy colours like khaki and emerald. Here is a great website to get your mind around colour combinations...Design Seeds. Here are a few more tips for the basic design of your blog to help you formulate your brand {click here}

After you've given some thought to your branding, now here comes the hard part. Picking a name for your blog. Your blogs' name sets the tone for your brand (and of course will have implications for showing up in google searches) so pick carefully. See who already has your name, or anything similar to it with a basic google search. Choose something that won't be outdated in a few years (and you should definitely be seeing your blog in terms of the future and "In a few years time" kind of way. 

Don't let this overwhelm you. We all have to start somewhere (click here to see my first few blog posts, eek...I'm glad I have them to look back on!) we learn by experience and our tastes change as we get older. Embrace that and let your blog grow with you into something you are proud of. 

I find I am at my least creative when I stare at other peoples awesome blogs all day. I find I am unable to think of anything new or original to write about. How I deal with this (and I have my incredibly creative husband to thank for most of my ideas) is to go for a walk, camera in hand, and snap away at anything and everything that takes my fancy. Sometimes I take a notebook and jot down notes about my day, about the people I see around me, about the things I want to do with my life. Pretty soon I have a messy jumble of potential content for my blog. Look around your world, your office, your family, your community for idea's. Do you work with some strange and fascinating people, what about interviewing them on your blog? What about doing a post about a day in your life (with photo's of everything that makes your day unique)? The world around us is so rich with colour and life, its an endless supply of idea's if we just take the time to look.

I used to think that my blog would become popular by just reposting great content I found on sites like We Heart It and Pinterest. I've now come to realise that there are too many mediocre blogs out there that just repost other peoples creative content. That's why I try to post original content on my blog. That doesn't mean I don't 'borrow' idea's from other bloggers, but it does mean that if I want to showcase an awesome DIY lampshade, I will try to make that lampshade myself, take my own photo's and write in my own words how to go about making one yourself. And I always make sure to link back to the original source of the idea, as a way of saying thank you for the idea.

But now I'm getting distracted...the title of this tip is to take your own photographs. You really don't have to have an amazing camera to take incredible photo's. You just need to play, and fiddle with your camera and the angles to get your photograph just right. This is how I started getting into photography. Etsy has a great article on taking better product photographs, click here to have a read.

The most important thing with taking photo's for your blog is to take, and take, and take, and take some more! For this one photograph, it took 9 takes until I was happy with it one. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, you can always hit the delete button!

Most bloggers would probably think I'm crazy for saying this, but for me it works. I am a very organized person, I love to plan EVERYTHING and my favourite past time is makings lists (can you say *nerd*). But I find that if I spend too long planning a blog post, I lose interest in it and it stays in my draft box for weeks, even months without ever seeing the light of day. If an idea comes to mind, I straight away log onto my blog, start a new post, and I just roll with it. I try not to leave it till the next day to finish it, as I often get distracted by the next post. In some ways I find this helps me stay inspired as I am always putting new content up, and my readers know that they can come back every day or so for something new. This pressure helps me to stay motivated to continue putting posts out there!

Your readers want to know about you, so be true to yourself. This doesn't mean gushing about each and every last detail of your day and how depressed you feel after finding out that your local Woolies Food was out of fresh basil. But rather, this means writing in your own voice and letting your personality shine through the page. Don't be scared to put yourself/your business/your idea's out there, your readers will respond to your 'genuineness'.

This is the question I get asked the most by my readers, and it's what I still ask myself! But, I'm afraid there is not secret. There is no hard and fast way to gain 100 new followers on twitter, or to get 1000 new page views in minutes. 

You just have to be patient. You have to provide content that your readers will enjoy, and you have to do so constantly. There is nothing worse than stumbling onto an awesome blog only to see they haven't updated since last year January. A good way to share the blog love is to leave comments on other blogs that you enjoy reading. It's a wonderful feeling getting just one comment on my blog (I am speaking from my own experience here) and if that is the case with you too, then why not take some time to leave thoughtful and meaningful comments on some of your favourite blogs. Don't feel that your one comment may mean nothing if there are 999 others on the blog, as a blogger I can tell you that each and every single comment leaves me with a warm and fuzzy feeling.

Take some time to connect with your favourite bloggers on Twitter and Instagram, reply to each and every tweet your receive, as well as to each comment you may get on Instagram. This helps to build meaningful and long lasting relationships with your readers and followers.

Find your niche, whatever that may be, and stick with it. I have had a real hard time in narrowing down my focus here on CityGirlSearching, I was trying to do too much and was scared to commit myself to one box. I'm not a beauty blogger, but I like writing beauty reviews, I am not a travel blogger, but I do go to some amazing places and I want to share the photographs with my readers, I'm not an expert in fashion but I do like sharing the odd outfit post. All of these different elements led me to define myself as a 'lifestyle blogger' but I still don't let that term fully define who I am here on the blog. This blog is a space for me to share pretty-ness...be it in fashion, beauty, in the home or in another country.

Here are some of my favourite bloggers (some are local ladies, and others are International). Use this list as a guide & to learn from what these ladies are doing right. Focus on their blog design, their photographs, their content, see how they engage with their followers, and then apply it to your own blog:

Indieberries hilarious cartoons by local SA blogger Che

Nadia vd Mescht beautifully crafted blog by Durban creative Nadia

EmmaJaneNation one of the first blogs I ever started following by lovely local SA blogger Emma (her photography is gorgeous!

Vivianna Does Makeup one of my all time favourite beauty blogs written by Vivianna

A Beautiful Mess a funky and fresh lifestyle blog by Emma & Elsie

MilkTeef lovely beauty and lifestyle blog by the sweet Emma

Milk Bubble Tea such pretty-ness by Becky

WishWishWish fashion done right! A gorgeous blog by Carrie

SuperficialGirls another local SA lady; Carlinn, who focuses on fashion & beauty

PinkPeonies lovely Luzanne writes this beautiful beauty blog

PuglyPixel design tips and tutorials from the fabulous Katrina

Lost in Travels a travel blog to inspire your wonderlust (and lots of tips for traveling with your hubby, as well as keeping on a budget!) by Chelsea

Cupcakes and Cashmere a super inspiring lifestyle blog by the gorgeous Emily

I could go on for days about starting up your first blog, but the biggest piece of advice I can leave you with today is don't ever give up. I {often} have days where I feel like no one reads this blog, and that I put so much time and effort into it and I get so little back. Other days I want to high five ever person I see because I got more than 3 likes on a photograph on Facebook. If you are doing what you love, then it will never be work.

Above is a freebie printable I've created to help you in your blogging journey {CLICK HERE to download it}.

Try to fill it in before you start your blog, to give you more focus and direction. Here is mine, filled out and taped onto the wall, to help remind me of where I am and where I want go. Below is more detail to help you fill in the blog brainstorm printable.

*Why blog: jot down all the reasons you want to blog, from wanting to be a superstar celebrity to wanting to create a place to journal your thoughts and dreams. Nothing is too small or insignificant.

*What do you Love: write down all the things you love (eg family, friends, God, nature, fashion, beauty, design, interiors, photography...) then cross off those that are too personal, or those you wouldn't want to publish all over the interweb. What you are left with is a list of elements that make up you! This will help you with later on with your branding.

*Sharing your Love: list the ways in which you want to blog (through photographs, by writing, by drawing and illustrating, by creating cartoons and other graphic based content). This is how you will express yourself on your blog.

*Creating Content: List some of the ways I have outlined above here, and any others you can think of (reading other blogs, going for walks, photographing random events and elements, journaling...etc)

*Growing Readers: List some of the ways I have outlined above (networking, leaving comments on other blogs, tweeting, Facebook mentions, emailing potential clients/others in your industry) and add your own ideas too.

*Your branding: create a board on Pinterest (you can make it secret if you don't want anyone to see it just yet) and start pining every thing that takes your fancy from colours to fonts, to design, to blog layouts. Have a look at this board for some inspiration. You need to choose a maximum of 3 or 4 colours, then 2 fonts that you want to use to help keep your brand cohesive.

I hope you have enjoyed my post on blogging, and I hope that some of it has been useful to you. If you have any questions, please drop me a comment below and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Look out for Kelly from Sunflowers and Spears who will be writing on "How to use Social Media to promote your business" tomorrow! I hope you are enjoying this Creative Business Series. I have learnt (and am still learning) everyday when it comes to blogging, and there is so much more to know and grow! 

Happy blogging everyone

x