I’ve always loved the glossy pages of a magazine. Not literally, the glossy pages drive me nuts with fingerprints, but you know what I mean. Whether it was about fashion or home decor, far off adventures or food. A lot of why I wanted to be a writer when I was a child was because of magazines. Later, the ads captured my attention just as much as the stories, and it led me to university for Marketing and Advertising. Not that I ever finished that degree, but that’s another story. Haha.
As my Marie Claire was jammed into the mailbox, partially ripping the cover, again. I muttered to myself that it’s no wonder no one subscribes to magazines anymore. Which is a misdirected criticism of magazines that should be directed at the delivery service, for sure. But it got me thinking, wondering as I do.
Do they? Do you subscribe to magazines anymore?
When I restarted that forgotten Marie Claire subscription, it kick-started something in me. Since then, I added Frankie and Peppermint to my regular deliveries to make a grand total of three. As we get closer to renovating the house, more may be added to that list. But why them and not my former favourites like Vogue? It’s pretty simple. Like many magazine readers, I’m tired of the content that I ingest not being relatable. I wanted something made closer to home with stories that were relevant to me.
And so, month after month, as they arrive at my doorstep, filled with inspiration to write, to take photos and to make stuff, I smile. Because sure, I could go to their website and get a lot of the same vibes. But there is something about having that physical magazine in my hands that I love—especially the creamy, matte paper pages of modern magazines.
Ten points for being able to read with snacks. Haha.
So, I flip through the pages, soaking up the article, photos, and people and their stories. Broadening my perspective through others sharing theirs, learning to see things differently. Which has to be part of growing up and essentially staying in a small town like mine. Growing up was easy enough. But, learning to think critically and develop self-awareness and empathy for others doesn’t always come easily.
Without that widening of my interactions, it would be easy to become closed off, fixed in the ways of the people around me. Magazines (and books, too) have been a way to expand beyond what is in front of me. It could happen to you anywhere, I’m sure. Small towns cop the brunt of the stereotype. But I love my people and town, but that will never mean I have to think the same way as anyone else. That’s why I read all I can, from as many different people as I can, as often as I can. What about you?
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The Queensland floods hit the peppermint magazine offices. Please consider supporting them in this challenging time through visiting their website, sharing their content or subscribing to the magazine; head over here to get started.
The videos pop up on YouTube all the time, twenty-somethings making tens of thousands of dollars a month online. When you dive a little further, you’ll find a few main ways they do this. But the one that grabbed my attention (first) was Fiverr. I knew of the site, of course, but hadn’t been on there for years. Are people still making money on Fiverr? Can I make money as a photographer on Fiverr? Always interested to explore a way to make money online, I decided it was time to investigate.
Getting started on Fiverr
I didn’t have to set up an account as I had one, with Fiverr credits still sitting in it waiting to be spent. But what I did need to do was get my profile set up for selling on Fiverr. A simple enough process as I went through the motions of filling out page after page of profile information and settings.
Next up, there were the Gigs. This is what Fiverr calls the work you do on their site; you’ll get used to it. With so many categories of work and me no being sure of what I wanted to offer, I did some research. I looked into the categories and different offerings of work. I found a few I was interested in and dived deeper into how Gigs were written and set up.
Having narrowed it down to a few categories, I knew I wanted to offer either copy or blog writing, photography or photo editing. All of which are skills I have and could reasonably offer someone else. I’m also pretty proficient in each when needed, so that a quick turnaround would be possible.
Choosing a service category to offer
In the end, though, I decided to create two offerings based on Product Photography. I felt a little meh with my writing mojo, so I figured it was best not to inflict that on others. And the photo editing, I thought I could always add later. Product photography was probably a little niche for a first Gig, given you have to arrange to get and return the products. But it was interesting to me and not widely offered in Australia, so I went for it.
Setting up the Gigs was a little time consuming, to say the least. But, with a window open in Canva (to create collaged image files) and another with samples of comparable work on Fiverr, I got to it. All in all, with edits in the following days, it looks like about three hours to set both Gigs up. Not too shabby if I’m about to make thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, right? Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Can I make money as a photographer on Fiverr?
As a low-level seller with no reviews, the pricing to be competitive is a disgrace, to say the least. But, from what I’ve learned from my YouTube friends, the low prices are really just a jumping-off point for customers to add extras and build your portfolio to where you can charge more. (So, I’m a bargain photography-wise. If you need anything right now, hit me up on Fiverr, haha).
To date, after 45 days and a couple of shares on Twitter, I have responded to about five messages and could maybe be booking my first Gig. Literally, as I write this, it’s looking like I’ll be booked for some website images via a custom order for AU$250 (the site is in USD, so converting it is a whole thing, especially when booking an Australian client.
The reality is though, it’s been 45 days with no real action on my Gigs. I plan to create some short videos to add to the Gigs to show off my studio and give them a real face/voice once I get set back up in there (the floors are still curing). From everything I have seen, making a Gig video could help push my listings further to the top. That said, my research tells me what I really need are completed Gigs with completed transactions and reviews.
But, how do you increase your rank to get Gigs to increase your reviews to then increase your rank?
That’s the real question, right? How do you get work when you appear so low in search because you have no reviews. That’s what I’m trying to figure out now. Some of the folks online suggest getting family and friends to review, but from what I can see, a transaction needs to occur for a review to happen. Perhaps they mean to get them to book a Gig and complete it to review you, but that feels a little iffy to me.
My plan? Just keep plugging along, making tweaks and changes to my Gigs. I’ll probably add some more with different style focuses to increase my odds. And I was thinking, if I had an enquiry for extra photo work right now, I would send them through Fiverr even though I could totally charge more if I billed them directly.
For now, I have to be comfortable with the fact that this is not a get rich quick scheme and it will take time to build up reviews and work. Which is an excellent reminder to all of us not to get too sucked into the make money online side of YouTube. I’ve had this blog, and my business, in some capacity for over a decade now and it’s only in the past few years it has fully supported me. The ways I make money online are diverse, and to date, there is no one way that stands alone as the sole provider.
Where to from here on Fiverr?
From here I’m going to keep my fingers crossed I get this first Gig. Then I’m going to hope for a glowing review and even future work from this potential new client. While that’s all happening, I’m going to open up Gigs for photo editing and some more based around product photography that doesn’t focus on light, bright studio shots. Things along the lines of a dark and moody style and a more lifestyle based style. If that even makes sense. Haha. But, whatever happens, I’ll continue to keep you updated on my quest to make money as a photographer on Fiverr. Watch this space.
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need some product photography work done? find me on Fiverr
I’ve displaced myself again. As I mentioned in the email on the weekend, I’m having the floor of my office and the adjoining patio fished with epoxy. So, that meant time to pack it all up again. Which is, I have to say, a pretty smooth process these days. Changing my mind about the layout and inclusions has been a significant part of my procrastination plan for 2020/2021. A method that has seen tremendous success and returned surprising results…
Most surprising of all being that I manage to get anything done at all!
What can I say? I have a gift for procrastination. When everything first shut down in March 2020, things changed for my business. The momentum and trajectory of the business took a hit, and even a year later, it doesn’t feel like we made it back—a frustrating thing for someone like me prone to always looking for more and pushing onwards.
Procrastination is a symptom of that, I believe. It was showing up through moving the office, buying new gear, reading the next book. Not to mention watching entire season’s of shows on Netflix and taking long naps. I’ve tried journaling and colouring in, learning new things or testing my limits. I signed up for Medium to write more and built my profile and gigs on Fiverr to create and photograph more.
In the end, I can’t feel like this time has been wasted. That’s the thing about procrastinating at a pro-level as I do. You’ve got the wiggle out of it skills to avoid the work but still get things done. Sometimes I need reminding that good stuff can and often does come from these periods of ‘waste’. By allowing myself to procrastinate freely and diverge from the plan, I’m giving myself the space to create and discover. To embrace procrastination as a part of my process.
Just next time, I hope it doesn’t cost me thousands of dollars worth of epoxy.
For now, here are some photos from before the work gets started with all my office loaded into what we use as a side entry that was once a dining room. Why not embrace procrastination a little more with a photo gallery of snaps.
Can I just say that I’m so excited to say goodbye to the orange/red outdoor paint? Well, I am, and not just because when it’s wet it’s treacherous. Later this year we are getting the roof restored and when we do, the trims in a similar colour (you can peep them in the photos before) are going to be painted a charcoal/dark dark grey colour. Old house life, the work is never done. But man I love this house.
Over the last month, on my social media break (as much as work allows), I’ve noticed a few things. Things about my life that I completely missed in the non-stop app switch that is social media. Firstly, I’m not very satisfied with my life. I keep looking for meaning and coming up short. And yes, to be honest, it’s hard to tell if it’s general dissatisfaction or if I’m going through something. But the feeling remains.
And secondly, feeling good (making myself proud and doing what I want) has motivated me. And then, I started chasing the algorithm. Which algorithm might you be asking and concerning what? The short version is all of them and everything. From Google to Instagram, Twitter to Pinterest, I was creating and somewhat existing to tick a box. Except, the box was unclear at best or invisible at worst.
IRL and online, I was looking outside myself for that pat on the back that seemingly never came.
But I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to spend the next 20+ years of my working life unfulfilled and ticking boxes. And that’s precisely why I work for myself to have the freedom to create and do what feels good to me, especially when it comes to this blog. But also when it comes to living my life. It has to be my number one priority; I’m no good to anyone if I don’t find a way to put my happiness first.
And so, with all this figured out, this thought keeps popping in my head. It taunts me that I should have got a handle on this stuff already. That I should know better and that I can’t seem to learn my lesson on this one. I’ve been here before when I’ve felt disconnected from my life and threw in the towel.
At various stages throughout my life, I’ve been here before. Sitting on the steps of my first real home here, wondering if the choices I’ve made are going to create a life for us or sink us. Wondering if I’m capable, worthy or deserving. Wanting so desperately to make it all work. Exhausted by the very prospect.
But I won’t beat myself up for stumbling at this point again.
And just so that we are all on the same page, I know now that it’s time to seek some help. So that I can maintain the life I want to live and see it through using tools I’m yet to learn. At this stage, I’m not sure how much of that process I’m going to document here, but I’m permitting myself to share what I want. To stop being afraid of upsetting someone or putting a foot out of place. And to say nothing when it feels like something that is mine.
It turned out, in the end, I’m still a blogger. After reading Austin Kleon’s book Show Your Work, I realised that instead of racking my brain week in and week out for what I hope people or algorithms want, I could share what I’m loving/doing/enjoying instead. I could document the process.
Which, if I had paid attention, some of you have been saying all along. Yet everyone says a blog can’t be successful unless you focus solely on giving the reader what they want. Make it entirely about them and what they need. But I won’t survive if I do it that way. I’ve always found an overlap between you and me; we often go through the same things.
Let’s hope this is one of those times you are happy to come along for the ride.
Some of you aren’t going to believe this. Maybe I’ve claimed a comeback one too many times. But I’ve been throwing around some ‘show’ ideas for the YouTube channel too. I’m 100% not sure if I can pull them off yet, but I thought, that’s also the sort of thing you guys may want to join me in figuring out. And speaking of comebacks. I decided that while I’ve enjoyed experimenting with my hair colour again, I miss the blue. It felt like me, and I miss it. So, with some effort from the team, it’s making a comeback.
I’ve been here before, questioning myself and my ideas. Back in May 2020, I would give the blog a bunch of my effort and see what results I could get. Make a decision then if blogging was still for me after all this time. It’s hard to confront that the only real skill I’ve spent any time developing in the past decade might be obsolete.
But in facing that head-on, I learned that there is still a living to be made in blogging. Yes, it means a few more ads or affiliate links when the occasions arise, but it also means the blog is a business. Worthy of time in my work week and not just being relegated to those exhausted moments at the side.
The funny part is that maybe you won’t notice a change.
Funny haha, I mean, not funny, strange. If you follow the blog or the socials, maybe it won’t feel that different. I don’t plan on changing the topics I blog about, nor do I plan to conform to some new schedule or content plan. My haphazard style of posting will probably continue to bump from where to buy guides to rants and back again. That may all look very familiar, and I’m okay with that.
Taking a social media break has allowed me to check in with myself in a way I haven’t done for a while. Not looking at those ‘doing more than me to figure out what it is for me to share, but asking myself what I want. Everything feels different for me now. That’s what matters, or should matter, for any of us.
How amazing is it that we live in a time when women can decide to start a business, blog or personal brand and do it for themselves? For the things that matter to them like time, freedom and space to dig deeper into what makes them tick? To side hustle or create and ensure that their finances are their own. I’ll never forget how empowering it was to find, inspect and buy my own car. I imagine that feels a world away from women unable to open bank accounts without husbands or enter public bars.
The quiet of being without other people’s opinions or their fears allowed me the space to hear my own voice. To stand on my own two feet and ask the questions of myself that I hadn’t taken the time to ask in too long. What do I want? Am I happy? Why do I do what I do, and is there anything else I’d rather be doing?
The answer is I’m right where I want to be, with room to grow and options to explore. I’m a writer, a photographer, a blogger and a creative. And, since I saw my first magazine with pages of glossy advertisements, I’m a marketer. So it’s time to stop questioning all of that and start doing.
I’m back from my social media break and ready to roll.
If an item of clothing is going to live in my wardrobe, it had better be versatile. I don’t want any one-trick ponies. After wearing a dress as a top the other day, I thought I’d share more about how. So, this post is about how to take that summer dress you love, and turn it into a top you can wear all year round. No sewing and still keeping it as a dress. I’m about to double your summer dress’s potential. If only I could do so as easily with creepers on the internet. Ah well. Because we all need a bit of assistance in our lives when it comes to maximising your wardrobe. Turning a dress into a top is a great way to get started. So grab that dress, let’s do this thing.
Tuck, it’s all about the tuck.
So when it comes to tucking a dress into your bottoms, its’ easier with a lightweight material that doesn’t add too much bulk. That said, this idea works beautifully with a knit or anything with a cocoon shape.
All I did with the example below was fold it over and tuck the bottom allowing the rest to blouse over. Done and dusted. As you can see from Nat and Jo (also below) they have tucked the front to give a different look. My post from earlier, I simply tucked the entire dress into my denim skirt. Done deal.
This is one that most ladies have in their arsenal. Wearing a dress over some form of pants is the easiest way to maximise your dress collection. Take a summer dress through winter and beyond. I have a slim-fit knit dress that works better over jeans than it does as a dress.
It doesn’t always have to be a shirt dress either. Midi and Maxi dresses totally work as well. I’ve worn maxi dresses over pants, predominately shirt dresses that I leave partially open. Check out the shirt dresses option (last in this post) for more details on how I make that work.
As a have-er of a long torso, bodysuits can be almost impossible for me. So often, I’ll wear my bodycon dresses as a bodysuit. Especially under skirts. Once, I actually wore a bodycon under a tulle skirt to a wedding, when the dancing started later I ditched the tulle and danced the night away.
As if a shirt dress wasn’t already a super versatile item to have in your wardrobe, this is another great way to wear it. Using it as a top or a layering piece is easy and a layering win. Open the buttons and have a skirt or jeans (or anything really) underneath or wear it entirely open has an unstructured trench.
And that, my friends, is how you tackle wearing your dress as a top. Have an experiment with what you have in your wardrobe and let me know how you go. Already a dress as a top expert? Share your best tip with me.
I read somewhere on Facebook this week that list posts are passé. Done. Over. It turns out that I didn’t get the memo because I LOVE to write the darn things. List posts help me corral my thoughts and line them up in neat little rows for you all, which is virtually impossible without a dot point or two. So excuse me while I am all passé and share this week’s tips to make your blog reader-friendly. They aren’t rocket science {or rocket surgery, as we say in my family} just simple tips that will keep readers flicking through or coming back to your page.
Design and Layout
I’m a sucker for white. You can probably tell. And when you spend as much time online as I do, nothing loves your eyes more than dark type on white backgrounds. I also like wide spaces and nothing too crowded. As a reader, I don’t like my eyes hopping all over the place while reading the content. Yes, I check out sidebars, but on my own time. I don’t want them closing in on me! Run your eyes over your page. What grabs your attention, and should that REALLY be the first thing that does?
Share button and subscribe links.
I find it difficult sometimes as a reader to share a post or subscribe to a blog. This seems a little ridiculous given this is the point of writing one {in a lot of cases}. Turn on your share buttons if you are in blogger. Add a widget such as JetPack or something if with WordPress. Make it easy to share your blog. I know it’s possible to copy and paste or use a toolbar add-on like Add This or something, but that’s hard work for me, the reader. Don’t make me work for it.
Similarly, if I want to subscribe, I want the button to exist at the top of your sidebar. The RSS feed is what I’m after, and I want it to work. Blogger has the friend connect, making it easy, as long as you have the widget installed. WordPress bloggers make sure your links work and that they are easy to identify. Offer some options if you’re concerned. If I read a blog I like, I want to find it again. So I subscribe. If I can’t find where to subscribe in a few moments, I move on. Plenty, PLENTY more fish in the sea.
Spelling and grammar
I’m as guilty of this as you can be, I think. I publish quickly with errors and mistakes. I don’t mean to be careless; I like to think of it as passionate or spontaneous. But whatever spin I want, it’s annoying and hard work to read a blog with poor writing skills. It’s something I work on every day. Something I think we all should be working on. Obviously, some people are crazy talented and have all the skills. No disrespect to them. I think that’s about enough said on that.
Popular post/topic links/categories
Ever since Blogger introduced the popular posts widget, I’ve loved this idea. But as a reader, I love its GUTS. I love to be able to click on a blog’s most popular posts. You find the most random things clicking on those links. I love that. Most bloggers will tell you that those are hardly their best work {sometimes they are} but it gives you a feel for the blog. And as a reader, that’s essential.
It’s also important to use your categories and use them well. I have almost 15 on my blog. Too many by most standards. Ok, all standards. But I keep them true to form, and I think that if you need something, you’d be able to find it. As a reader, I love clicking straight to the categories and finding everything in one place. It makes it easy. Say I come to your blog for a post about cooking sugar-free. Your blog may have the rest of your life there, but if I click on the topic links {if used correctly}, there they are. All the sugar-free cooking posts in one. Easy.
A welcome page
This is something that comes from the ProBlogger 31 days to a better blog eBook. And something I’ve only implemented on this blog in the past few months. It’s a landing page. A “Hi, you’re new here” type page {that’s mine}. I use it now to land my Twitter, and Facebook clicks through. It’s a fixed page with a small welcome, some directions around the site and a few posts I love, as well as some posts readers love. It gives them an overview of what to expect here, feeds them deep into the site and gives me the chance to introduce myself before they flit away.
Sometimes it is the simple thing that makes ALL the difference. The ease of use of your site. The impact on the eyeballs {does it exhaust your eyes to read it?}. Take a look at your site, send in a family member or friend who doesn’t read it often. Get them to write down their first impressions, ask them to find their way to a couple of your main pages—that sort of thing. My Hubby does this for me sometimes. It can be a bit brutal on the ego, but it gives it to me straight. Plus, he will complain until the cows come home if it takes too long to load. So make that your mission. Get your site reviewed by someone you trust.
Skillshare, I love it. What can I say? I could happily spend the day with Skillshare courses playing in the background of whatever I’m doing. And as someone who couldn’t say no to whatever new online course was being offered by the influencer of the moment, this is a win for me. And a money-saver too, but we can talk about that towards the end because I have a referral link, obviously. Haha. But let’s talk about today’s post and why most of you are actually here, shall we?
Lately, I’ve been working on reinvigorating this blog and opening some new doors over at Chalkboard Digital (my actual business). Skillshare was the first place I looked for ways to get excited again, reset my focus and learn some new skills. I thought maybe some of you are looking for a way to do the same. Whether it is a blog, business or personal brand, these courses have something for everyone; there’s even one on TikTok.
The easiest way to find what you need is to click through the links that speak to you and go from there. The Skillshare course gods will recommend other courses by the presenters or in that category. I’ve loved exploring ways to capture more of our life on camera (whether it’s for Instagram or not) as well as personal writing with one of the great, Ms Roxane Gay (legend). But the thing that got me excited and reinvigorated to blog again was the offerings from blogger Kate Arends at Wit & Delight. A fellow lifestyle blogger, I found a lot of middle ground with her thoughtful, peacefully delivered classes. Seriously, I could listen to her voice all day!
Enough rambling from me. You get it. It’s time; get over there and explore.
I’ve had Skillshare Premium now for a couple of years and constantly find something that I’m interested in. What about you? Have you checked it out in the past? I feel like I’ve raved about those Kate Arends classes before on the blog. I’d love to hear about your favourite courses. And as someone who hasn’t taken part in a Workshop yet, have you participated in one? So far I’m all watching, no participating, maybe we could take on a workshop or two together. Let me know!
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Get 14 free days of Skillshare Premium when you sign up using my link.
This week we saw another brand launch into the Australian plus-size fashion market. Fronted by one of the biggest names in plus, American model Ashley Graham, with the locals following loyally behind. The Commonryburst onto the scene with the sort of ripples a well-bought marketing strategy can buy. It’s reminiscent of other brands who have attempted similar in years gone by. Brands, which for the most part, don’t sell plus here anymore.
I’ll let you put two and two together.
Offering a range of elevated everyday styles, this is the sort of range I would normally be super interested in. Classic pieces, made with fit and quality in mind? Sign me up. Except that the fit seems to be more of what we’ve seen for years in plus, targeted at an hourglass figure. Yawn. Fit for an hourglass shape is basically all plus has done for the last decade. Maybe there’s more than meets the eye, fit-wise, but so far, the clothing fits women who are a certain shape and has seen bloggers have to size up (especially when it comes to arm sizing) to find something that works.
With marketing terms like ‘we made it fit’ and ‘without compromise,’ there has been some serious compromises made here when it comes to the size range. One can only assume, by choice, as this doesn’t appear to be a budget issue. When Chantelle started Ada and Lou, she reached out to her audience with a question, due to their limited budget for their initial collection, should it be size 14-24 or 16-26… I was one of the resounding voices for the 16-26 range. We get limited size ranges, we know it costs money and requires additional fit manoeuvring to make the larger sizes work, but it’s time.
How long will size 22/24 be the top of the range here?
With such a forward-thinking market for plus-size fashion in Australia (and New Zealand), how is it that we’ve gotten stuck in this 12 – 22 size range thing? That’s why it’s inexcusable when a brand who could afford to increase their range. Who flaunts fit as their key selling point. It’s a hard pill to swallow and one that, to be honest, we’re sick of swallowing.
More sizes are coming, they say. I mean, don’t they always? We want to get this right. There are already issues with the larger sizes (indicated by those in size 18+ having to size up or skip items altogether).
What is the point of this ranting, rambling post about a brand that just launched? The point for me is that it can be easy to get caught up in a new launch’s hype. Who doesn’t love a new plus-size option with storefronts? But the hype is just what it is, hype, and it’s up to us as customers to demand more from those who are showing up to take our money. More sizes for those who need them. Better fits above a size 18 because fitting actual fat bodies is what plus-size fashion is about.
It’s time we stop tip-toeing around it and call it what it is; disappointing.
I’m not sure I know anyone who is against outfit repeating IRL; it seems like an influencer problem to me. That’s what I said to Ms Katy on her post about normalising outfit repeating. It sounds a little blunt, but you know what I mean. No one cares if you repeat an outfit. It’s sort of like normalising normal to call for the normalisation of outfit repeating. Of course, grown women wear and then re-wear the clothes they buy; it’s not a concern. But, from the responses, maybe I’m wrong. Maybe women who don’t blog feel the same pressures, so let’s talk about that.
Is not repeating an outfit something you worry about?
Me? I’m an outfit repeater. Always have been. I’m happy to wear pieces of clothing I like over and over until the time comes to replace them. Long before I had a blog where people would send me clothing for free, I paid for the clothes that built my style. The ones I loved and the ones I didn’t. The trial and error, trends and whims of fashion (as much as it was available to a fat girl at the time). And after a few years, I came out victorious!
I knew what I liked, and through blogging, often I could choose from new season items for the price of a picture or a blog post. Year after year, my wardrobe would split at the seams with even the carefully selected items. I considered the number of clothes I had reasonable, but compared to what I wear day in and day out, it was out of control.
I’ve talked about it beforetowards the very end of my official fashion blogging career. As someone others looked to when purchasing new items, I would receive frustrated messages from people who couldn’t buy what I was wearing. It was out of season or ever years old, and they would get annoyed at me for it. Sure, I get that. But instead of chasing the new thing, I urged people to build a closet of essentials they loved and be mindful of what they bought one season to another.
Outfit repeaters; I was building out and proud outfit repeaters.
I came to hate the waste of bundles of clothing that arrived for no other reason than to show me what was new. The PR emails from brands selling $10 t-shirts made under questionable circumstances. The demands from businesses who considered what I did to be so essential but somehow worth nothing. The pressure and demands of having or sharing what’s new or next. I’ve been part of it all.
Why? Well, new content is the beast that needs to be fed—having new clothes and photos, not repeating an outfit, for the sake of a blog or Instagram. And I started to say yes to whatever came my way to make it work. It’s something that I see happening to this day. What can you do when you post something new to your blog/Instagram every day of the week? Something has to give in the name content.
But it’s not real.
Step outside of that loop, and there are a few special occasions where people may feel they NEED new clothes. Want them, more likely. But then they get on with their lives. They are working with what they have, mixing and matches between pieces that would never all be the new season (unless a change in body or circumstance required it). I’m sure while there are times when you feel like you just can’t wear this old thing again, that you love the items you have and chose for yourself.
Especially as a plus-size customer. I know a lot of us who tend to keep special occasion dresses or outfit because finding something to wear when a big event is on can be impossible. For my brother’s wedding, I wore something that I’ve had for a while now. It worked, and not once did I give it a second thought; I liked it, I hadn’t found anything else I wanted to wear. Who was to know this wasn’t the first time I wore it. And I’ll tell you now, I will never let this dress go and there will never be a time that I wouldn’t wear it again happily.
I would hazard a guess that most of you reading this are outfit repeaters; happily, proudly and without considering it taboo. Good! That’s exactly what I want to hear. You know why? Because no one cares if you’re an outfit repeater. We all are, that’s the reality of having and owning clothing, of consuming responsibly and spending your money thoughtfully. The people I’m worried about are the ones who aren’t; message me, we need to chat.
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Check out Katy’s original post and join the conversation on Instagram now.
Here we are, on the very first day of 2021. Not me, I’m probably still in bed sleeping off a food coma. I’m sure the drink has nothing to do with it. This is past me, writing from the New Year’s Eve morning with a determination to make sure we end this year on a high. Taking stock, looking back on what we created this year is important to me. I do it in all aspects of my life to complete the year and move forward. My blog, a lifeforce of its own now, is no different.
In May, I spoke about how I would put some focus on the blog and see if there was still something here for me. It turns out, there is. During 2020 I managed 52 blog posts. One per week on average. But it wasn’t until we neared the end of this year I remembered that I love to write. Sure, pictures can tell a 1,000 words, but I’m a writer. To capture our lives and what is happening around us in a blog post is what I love to do.
So, I’m doing it.
Simple as that. Even though I have plans to keep up the content on all the platforms, try some new things and bring back some consistency, I’m a blogger first and making the time to write about our life will be the number one priority. It started when I came across some blog posts from when my niece was a toddler. The photos have always been great to look back on but to see our adventures described was the true walk down memory lane. I want to document it all.
I want to document as we renovate this house. As we add a pool (dear lord, SOMEDAY) and build a larger deck to enjoy with our family and friends. When we take trips in our camper, take the cruiser 4WD’ing. When the kids push me over the edge, then kill me being the best humans I know. I want to talk about my business’s growth and how sometimes, it’s lonely doing it all alone from my office in my house. That while it’s everything I’ve dreamed of, that maybe there’s more out there too.
This blog is a home base for my life.
Not in that it matters more than anything else happening. But as in its a place to come back to. A safe space where my memories live, where I grow and challenge myself. Where my thoughts are explored and ideas challenged. After all this time, it’s why I blog. I realised that this year. To be able to share our experiences, my thoughts and the challenges. All that comes from living a life you create for yourself with you is one of the best parts of my life. I’m not going to give that up. I can’t believe I thought I would for even a moment. And with that in mind, let’s take a look at some of my favourite, and yours, blog posts from 2020.
Wishing you all a safe and happy new year, I can’t wait to see you back here in 2021 now that the blogging groove feels well and truly back. What can I say, all it took was a major downturn in my business and a bunch of free time on my hands to inspire me again. Sheesh, come to think of it, let’s not do that again. Haha. Let’s hope 2021 has more good than bad for us and the realisation of the changes that we all feel coming. It’s a new day, team—a whole new year. Get out there and make the most of it.
A year, maybe more ago, I read ProBlogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. I was taking the steps and working through the daily tasks. Not always daily, in bunches here and there. One of the tasks was to create a Welcome Page for your blog. Somewhere you could introduce yourself to readers, show them your best posts and send them in the direction of all the goodness you had on offer. Great idea, I thought. Super.
Then 12 months passed.
It was still a great idea on my list of things to do.
One day sick of not being able to tick it off the list, I did it. I built a Welcome Page and called it, Hi, so you’re new here. And it was done. It had some links to outfits, some post links, some popular posts and some of my personal favourites. And I left it there to do its thing; a sidebar image was the only indication it even existed. But people visited it. I KNOW readers that had been here a while were reading it. New readers too.
There was a trail of comments on old posts.
So this ProBlogger guy knows his stuff.
Apparently.
Wink.
And in the lead up to starting the Confident You series, I knew that I wanted to update the page, I wanted to make it more accessible, and I wanted the content to reflect the recent changes on the blog. I did all that with a few days to spare, phew, and now my little Welcome Page that could is THE MOST visited page on this blog. Ever.
Like, ever.
Most days, it ranks in the top five pages on this blog and continues to sit there. But, it really has given new readers {and the old, still absolutely loved, ones} lots of content to explore and links to posts they might have found on their own. Good posts. Silly posts. Fun posts. Posts that tell my story. And THAT is why having a blog welcome page is essential in my books.
And if you don’t believe me, trust Problogger. Do it, do it now.
I’ve been on the hunt for WordPress themes for bloggers as a way to freshen up my website, and another site I was updating. This is something I do often enough. What can I say, the trends around this kind of thing change often and keeping up is essential. Don’t laugh; these are the things that occupy my time. Haha. It wasn’t long into my search that I had a billion and one tabs open. Then I realised, maybe finding the right theme for your blog is something you guys struggle with too. And here we are.
Before we start, let me say a couple of things.
Firstly, all of the templates I included in this post had positive reviews for easy installation and after-sales customer service at the time of posting. If that changes in the future and you’re looking at them, please let me know and I’ll remove the template from the post.
Why? Because to me, when it comes to purchasing a theme, those are the things I’m looking for. Does it install well (no issues or glitches, no complicated setup instructions to follow) and after I’ve bought it, does the seller support the theme and me, as a customer, well.
The second thing that I want to mention is if you’re building a blog, look through the free WordPress offerings first. There may be something that you like before you purchase a theme. Themes are a bit like photographers with presets or teenagers and water bottles from Typo; there’s no end to how many you can buy. You should know that there are a lot of great free options in the WordPress Dashboard, start there. Try some out. At very least they’ll give you an idea of what you like.
Not a blogger yet? Are you ready to start your blog? Open this blog post of mine and refer back to it later. It will take you from the first steps of choosing a blog name and platform through to getting your first blog post published. I’ve tried to make it a bit of a process you can follow so that you can work through it, setting your blog up as you go. And team, with all that out of the way, let’s get started.
Awesome WordPress themes for bloggers!
My Go-To Divi for all the things
The template I use for SO many projects, this blog included (as at today) is Divi by Elegant Themes. It’s based around a content builder and comes with large, actually make that huge, selection of child themes as part of the main one. You can buy an annual subscription or go all out for the developer version and never pay again. This blog is built on Divi, so is my husband’s website here and this one we did for the team at The Career Planner which they have been successfully updating themselves since the website build in 2019. Plus, at the time of doing this post, they have just launched their Theme Marketplace, so if you’re not into any of the MANY themes they offer built-in, there will be something for you there.
Some great options that have been around a long time are Moesia, Nimbus (which looks a little like my theme here) and Magazine. They can all be found under Appearance > Themes > Add New, which is where you can also browse the other free WordPress themes that are built into the platform. When I started making on WordPress, I used a free theme and customised it where I could. The problem with Free WordPress Themes is that you can be restricted in how much customisation you can do and even what plugins will work with them. A great starting off point and well worth a look.
After my first adventure in FREE WordPress themes, I decided it was time for me to invest, so I went to ThemeForest. I had an account there already because I used Joomla before WordPress and they offered templates for Joomla sites there too (at the time, I think it’s pretty outdated now). On ThemeForest, it becomes imperative only to buy themes that have great reviews, but also, the team is responsive in the questions section, and there’s not repeated ‘I couldn’t get any help’ comments there. It can be hard to get a refund on ThemeForest, so do your due diligence with any Theme you like there. Be sure, and don’t be afraid to buy the more popular items, they’re probably popular because they work.
Finally, the place where I suggest people go if they are DYI’ing their blog. Etsy offers a HUGE amount of options, not just for WordPress but for all bloggers and website platforms. My biggest recommendation is to find one that you like, with FONTS you love, straight out of the box. Some of theme will allow customisation for colours and fonts, but not all. Trust me; you’re better off finding one that works for you without too much work. Otherwise, you may as well customise a free Theme and save your money. Here are some I found on a recent search.
There you go! I know this year has been a big one for starting new blogs or relaunching old ones. As I mentioned in my blog post about how to start a blog, I recommend you get going on WordPress. But straight out of the box, it’s pretty basic. This post should get you all set up with some excellent options for blog layouts.
Why does that matter? It probably doesn’t, you know. I think if you open a blog and want to write, share your work or whatever you’re doing, how it looks doesn’t matter. But, if you’re a little bit like me, those things do matter. Having them look good and how I want them too, does matter. Take learning to code/starting from scratch off your list and get going. Let them inspire you to get started (or keep going!). Enjoy. x
