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.
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.
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.
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
If you’re ready to start your blog, you’re going to need these WordPress plugins to get you started! I talked about why WordPress in my ‘start blogging in 2020’ post. If you haven’t read that one, click through and read it and come back. With the name selected and blog hosting done, it’s time to fit out your WordPress blog with all the stuff that keeps it running. That’s where plugins come in.
Plugins help you do all the thing that you need to do with a blog without needing any real HTML or CSS knowledge. You’ll be pulling together a function, impression blog website in no time. From there, the sky is the limit. Blogging is a lot of work, anyone who tells you otherwise is full of it, but these plugins will make your life so much easier. They do for me. So, let’s get started with a few of my favourite plugins that I never set up a blog or small business website without them.
Site Kit is a recent addition, and easily the most useful is you’re looking to grow a blog. It allows you to link to Google Analytics, Search Console, PageSpeed and AdSense natively. Which let me tell you, after a decade of blogging, it’s best to go direct to the source if you can. And I don’t know if this is a coincidence, but my search impressions have gone up 50% since I installed it. Maybe there’s something to that.
Editorial Calendar is an essential plugin to all those who plan to blog ahead of time. When I was working full-time using this was the only way that I managed what was going out on my blog in advance. While the Site Kit plugin was the most recent addition, Editorial Calendar for WordPress was the first. It’s always the first when I’m building a blog or website. I use it to draft out my posts in advance, see what’s coming up and write notes for the post.
If you’ve had a WordPress site before you know that the comments section can be a nightmare, not to mention the Contact Forms. The spam that comes through without a spam blocker like Akismet to block the majority of it. It’s not sexy or something that people get excited about, but it’s the most must-have of the must-have plugins. Trust me on that. Download and it and get the free version running asap.
Suggested by a friend, WP-Optimise will do everything from creating a blog cache to compressing images to ensure they’re a reasonable size to deliver on the blog. This plugin is all about the speed your site offers content which is important to your readers, first of all, but to Google and other search engines too. This is the favourite of those that I’ve used over the years because the images don’t come out looking crappy. It’s important to me to have a fast website, sure. But so much of what I do is related to images; I need them to look good.
If you want to ensure that your site is ‘working’ correctly, you need a broken link checker. And this one is simple, effective and rarely gets it wrong. It makes it easy to unlink broken links, as well as adjusting or fixing those with errors. A simple plugin but it’s essential in the most boring of ways. It will help your blog stay on the right side of search engines by ensuring that you’re not seen as a dumping ground for links who have gone to die.
This is the big one. If you’re becoming a blogger, you need search engines on your side; Yoast SEO is the best way I’ve found to do that. It will give you a score, as well as actions to take, to make your post more readable and better able to be found by search. Yes, people tend to focus on building an audience on social media, but the traffic driven by search will be your bread and butter. Once you install this plugin its a simple matter of taking the suggestions, filling out the keywords and metadata and you’re good to go.
You’re going to all this trouble to write blog posts, of course, you want people to read them. Even better for you if they choose to share them. Shareaholic makes that easy by offering options for share links. At the top and bottom of your posts and things like related content blocks. If you make it to the end of this post (which is getting longer by the minute), you will see them in action down there. All visitors need to do is click the link, and they can share your post, pin it or even email it to a friend. Sharing makes a blog go ’round, don’t miss this chance.
As far as sharing goes, there is no better place to hope your blog post lands than Pinterest. The easiest way to do that, other than making sure you have great vertical images to pin, is to have a Pin It Button on your blog. It makes it easy on the reader and ensures they can just hover, click and send your post to Pinterest in half the time it takes to share it elsewhere. Don’t miss the opportunity to share your posts on Pinterest. Want to know more about that? Try this old blog post I wrote about pinning your own content.
And now, this may be a controversial one, but I use the Classic Editor to revert my WordPress backend to the ‘old way’. I don’t need the ‘builder’ side of things because I have Divi (see below) and to be honest, after all this time, I just didn’t want to get into learning a new backend. If you’ve blogged with WordPress before and are a little into the old way like I was, this could be an option for you. And yes, I know that change is as good as a holiday, but well, this time I just didn’t bother.
I pretty much go for Divi by Elegant Themes every single time. There are plenty of other themes available on places like Creative Market or Etsy, but for me, the foundation offered by Divi is too strong to pass up. The best part is if you’re not sure what style of website you want they have loads of built-in templates in their dashboard to select from, and each one has template pages for all the basics; Home, Landing, About, Contact etc.
We used to pick my nephew up from school on a Friday, and he would stay with us while his Mum was at work. Back at the start of March, with plans for a milk and cookies movie night, I bought the boxed ingredients for chocolate chip biscuit. We were going to make them together, so I thought I would keep it simple. Add stuff and stir – done and done.
But then self-isolation happened.
It was four or so weeks since we’d seen him and the biscuits were calling to me. I’ve been building my portfolio on some stock image websites as a way to earn a little side income from my photography. (Very little at this stage, let me tell you, haha). With the thought of capturing some photos as a “two birds with the one stone” thing, I baked the biscuits.
It turns out, while they would’ve been kid-friendly (super easy) they were more like biscuit cakes than cookies. I get that that is some people’s thing, but not me. I like my biscuits to be a little bit chewy, a little crunchy and a lot bendy rather than crumbly. I’m sure if I was more of a baker, I could have adapted the ingredients. But I’m not. There I was with cake-like chocolate chip cookies.
So, I photographed them anyway.
Why not. The biscuits look alright. Though chunky enough to disclose the cakiness for those of us who know what we want in a cookie. And while I uploaded the main set to stock image sites, I thought YOU might want to use some images during this stay at home period. I mean, people are baking stuff left, right and centre. Get on board. And that’s what I did.
If you click through to the free downloads page, you’ll see a link to the Dropbox folder to download the cookie images and a couple of others, I thought might come in handy. All the terms of use and that jazz are on that page too. It’s pretty basic; don’t worry about that. I hope you enjoy them; whatever you use them for. Now, excuse me while I head to Pinterest to find a decent chocolate chip cookie recipe for when my nephew is allowed to stay for sleepovers.
Download the failed cookie experiment images on the FREE DOWNLOADS page here.
Wondering if you should or how to start a blog in 2020? Then, you’ve come to the right place. I don’t even know if I can write this post in the detail I want. But I can feel it bubbling out of me. This is a good sign; that’s what it is to blog. A blog is to have something to say and the space to say it that is entirely your own. So, I’m writing this post for you, and I know it will be of enormous service if you have found yourself with something to say.
Earlier this year, I wrote about what I saw as the signs for a return to blogging. Then in March, it made more sense as we were all confined to our homes thanks to COVID-19. Why wouldn’t you want a space, just for yourself, to share your views and ideas and journal what was happening around you? I know I liked that. If you do, too and don’t know where to start, I hope this helps.
Now, this is the info you need to start a blog.
To niche or not to place, that is the question.
If you know you want a blog, you probably know what you want to blog about. I’ll not say much about the pick your niche thing here because I’ve never followed that advice myself. Blog about what you’re interested in and passionate about. The rest, like people to read it, will fall into place. There are plenty of courses and suggestions on narrowing your focus on your blog, creating a niche resource, and building a business around the blog and personal brand. This isn’t one of those; I’m all for doing what interests that. When my blog earned some decent money, I followed my advice to do that. Passion, excitement and enjoyment are undeniable when they are missing. Start now, and you can always narrow your focus later.
A rose by any other name
One of the first things when you start a blog that I’d do, is to think about a name; second, only decide on a topic. What do you want to call it? I suggest just going with your name if it’s a personal blog. It’s the easiest, and no matter where your blog goes, it’ll always be relevant. Search on Google and your favourite platforms for others using the same name. If you can get something unique, it will make your life easier. I wouldn’t recommend competing with someone using the same name and doing the same thing. It isn’t good for either of you. And if it’s trademarked or something, you may also find it an expensive exercise.
If you want to start a blog for your business or brand, I’d suggest just incorporating it on your existing website (for SEO and ease of having it all in one place). You can give it a catchy name, but it’s not essential. Add a blog landing page, and go for it. Not so confident to do that? Your developer (or even my business) can do that for you- easy as pie. But ultimately, if there’s one thing I know, you can get stuck on what you name something and never get started. So, leap. Done is better than perfect.
Blogging platforms to start a blog on
FREE (with upgrades)
Blogger – If you have a Gmail account, and want something simple and accessible, maybe Blogger is for you. This blog started on Blogger, and I was happy there for about three years. It’s straightforward to use (I’ve compared it to using Publisher or Word) and will get you blogging if you care about getting something up and running. Layouts are easy, and there are plenty of options to customise. But be warned, I had my blog taken down once for a Terms of Use Violation without warning. It was gone for a day before someone who knew someone gave me a contact address to reach out to and plead my case. That doesn’t sound that bad, but trust me, seeing years of your work ripped from the internet sucked. So, if you want to use Blogger to start a blog, make sure you play by the rules (which you should be, anyway).
WordPress (Managed Hosting) – This is a free platform from the people at WordPress, more like the Blogger option below; they handle most of the backend stuff. However, they do this by limiting what you can do, the plugins available, and things like that. This has always been a frustrating offering for me, but with a free account (upgrades available), it might just be the best place to start. Want to know more about how to distinguish between the two? Hear it straight from the horse’s mouth on the WordPress blog.
PAID (various pricing)
WordPress (Self-Hosted)– My blog, and plenty like it, are built on self-hosted WordPress sites. It’s a bit of a go-to as you can do pretty much anything with a WordPress site. Want a shop? Add a plugin. Feel like your post needs a gallery or a contact form? There’s a plugin for that. Just want to keep it simple, start a blog, and get going? WordPress works for that too. The best part is that most hosting providers will allow you to purchase a domain and hosting in one place, and some will even have a WordPress package where the initial installation is taken care of. I use and recommend VentraIP if you want a place to start; they’ve been great to me for years and years now.
If you want some options for WordPress Themes, I’ve put together a post with a heap of options here. And then, for plugins to customise your blog and get you up and running, I have this post here. With these two posts, you’ll have everything you need to streamline setting up your WordPress blog. Any questions? Don’t hesitate to ask.
Squarespace – You’d have to be deaf and blind to be on the internet (specifically YouTube) and not know who/what SquareSpace is. They use content creators and influencers to shout their benefits from the rooftops. But you know what? It works. By all accounts, this platform is not only good for businesses, but it’s perfect for portfolios and blogs. An ideal home base for your internet creations. But those designer templates and award-winning customer service make them the least affordable. But if looking good straight of the gate is essential to you, along with ease of use, it might be worth a look.
There are several options out there for hosting a blog. If there isn’t one here that works for you, there will be one out there. Just do some homework, ask those around you, and you’ll find something that works for you. I did!
Write your heart out.
You’ve got your topic, your name, and somewhere to put all this bloggy goodness. Now, all there is to do is write your heart out. If that’s your thing. If there’s one thing I have learned about blogging over the years, you need to know more informal writing styles, even if you’re blogging in a professional setting. And even if what you are saying is essential. It doesn’t matter. People want to get to know the person behind the screen on a blog. They don’t wish to be generic; they can get that on any old news site. So, keep your spelling and Grammar in check (difficult for me, I use Grammarly, which I recommend) and write how you would talk.
Free Images for your blog
Now that you’ve got a platform and maybe have something to say, you want cool images to spruce up your content. Trust me, even if you don’t think you want that, you do. Firstly, I’d do my best to take photos you love. Personal always performs better on social than generic (no matter how beautiful it is). that doesn’t mean you can’t use stock at all.
Combining the two is an effective way to maximise your time and the resources available—the intro image in this post I took myself. The Pins below are from a stock image website. Here are some great free (not just royalty-free, free-free) stock images to get you started on your blog.
Unsplash – I have an account on Unsplash if you’d like to download, for free, some of my images to use on your blog, social media or website. It’s mostly food and beverages, but what else do you need? Haha.
Now you’ve set up your blog, created a post with carefully crafted words and beautiful images, and it’s life! Well done. The worst of it is over. Publishing a blog post is hard. You are saying something and having a position and an opinion on the internet takes guts sometimes. But now what?
Well, you’ll want to let people know it’s there. Whether by promoting it on your personal Facebook or pinning those post images on Pinterest. Or shout it out on Instagram or create a marketing strategy around your blog. This isn’t a case of if you build it, they will come. Some may, and as your blog grows and garners interest from search engines, that may well be the case. But for a new blog, it’s about getting bums on seats and selling yourself to anyone who will listen.
Don’t just sit on the info that you have something to share. Tell people. Use your platforms or build new ones (or both!). For a long time after I started my blog, it was a loosely kept secret. It’s not that I was embarrassed to blog, but I was embarrassed about what people would think. For some of you, that will be the hardest part. But do you know what? In the end, those who are going to support you will. Some will come around to it later rather than sooner. And some won’t get it. They’ll refer to it as silly or a waste of time—fluff in otherwise serious life.
But who cares?
You started this blog for yourself, right? To share what there was for you to say to the world. Take photos, write your story, and share tips and tricks. Make sure, if you’re going to all that effort, that you let someone know it exists – when you’re ready. Start with someone who has proven themselves to be a cheerleader in the past. Go to them, and get that blog traffic rolling. If you didn’t want people to read it, that’s fine. But why, then, didn’t you start a diary? Haha.
Are you someone who wants to start a blog this year? Tell us about it. Already a blogger? Share your link below so we can check you out.
This is it! The time has come for the resurgence of the personal blog. Not that they were gone-gone or anything. But with the rise of the Insta-blogger, twitter-superstar and all the tween Tik-Tokers, blogging has been a little out-dated. Short, punchy and on platform updates seem to have taken the lead.
But not so much anymore.
In 2020, we have something to say. More than the Instagram caption will allow and more important than some algorithm deciding who will see it. On a personal blog, you can take your time, find your words, and deliver them to your audience without the interference of Zuckerberg et al.
It’s s resurgence. From the back of the dusty wardrobe, people are dragging out blogs, dusting them off, and sharing the things that matter to them. I’ve seen it with several accounts I follow. Some have done very well in the recent social media boom. A lot of them blogged before, some had stopped, and others are finding their way to a blog now. But whatever their path they all agree, the time is now.
And I couldn’t agree more.
I mean, to be fair, I’m pretty biased. Team blogger, that’s me. I’ve been in love with blogging since I published my first, tiny dinky post. And yes, I’m uniquely placed to be like, WOOOT, can’t wait. But I can’t ignore a trend towards people having space to voice their opinions and ideas; to share their story.
What’s better than that? Here on this blog, I am the boss. Sure there is still some reliance on social media to promote a post, but when it comes to subscribers (both blog and email), they hear from me because they asked to. No middle man. And certainly, no signing up only to be shown a post every week or two. My thoughts and ideas travel from me to you. The words (and images) are here just as you asked them to be.
Unfiltered. Uncensored. And most of all, unapologetically me.
That’s why I think that personal blogs will make a comeback in 2020. There are too many of us with something to say for it not to happen. I don’t know about you, but I feel like now is not the time to be quiet. To go quietly when they shut down our accounts or put us in some algorithm based sin-bin. Oh, no. NOW is the time to be heard. And I plan on taking advantage of that. How about you?
It’s about that time, team! Another year has come to an end (this one went FAST). And since I still consider myself something of a blogger, it’s wrap-up time. I decided that we should do the best of the blog. Take a walk down memory lane and all that. Which as you’ll see is more of a best of what I got done sort of thing. Some months I literally didn’t blog at all. So, yeah. Let’s get started, shall we!
Best of the Blog: 2019 Edition
January
There was no real clear competition here, I did a new year post, an outfit post and a recipe. That’s it. January, hitting the blog hard. Not really. So, after deciding that picking just one post per month would be way too difficult, I chose two. These are my choices for January. An outfit and a recipe, because what else are January’s for if not wearing clothes you love and eating food that’s easy and delicious.
February
In February, it was about challenging ourselves and the way we are with each other. Again, there were only three posts, and I could have easily picked them all. But since two is the number per month I randomly selected (one was too hard); here we are.
March
Well, despite it being my birthday AND that we took a cruise in the final few days, there is very little to write home about in March. Two pots total which I guess, by default, makes them the best. At this stage, I was pretty into YouTube for the majority of my viewing, so that is represented, and I was starting to feel a little like myself when I started cooking again.
April
Did not complete… Haha. Sorry, no posts in April.
May
Again with the two post month! An improvement, though, for sure from ZERO. This month I ranted about Australian Fashion Week (along with every other plus-size woman in Australia). Then, I talked about big energy and how those of us with it have to be able to manage it for good. Direct it? Yeah, direct that energy for good. Powerful women gather, and all that.
June
The middle of the year was clearly when I hit my stride… I had actual multiple choices this month. There was even an outfit post. When I had completely missed April, I was determined to be less hard on myself about the volume of posts. It is what it is. The year I have had in terms of work and being generally busy, I’m surprised I blogged at all.
But, I remember it was around this time that I thought maybe I would get back into it. Create some stuff for me again. Blog because I wanted to, nit because I should. And I think it shows. Not only because I put up more posts, but there was a lot of drafts in the folder. Back in the swing of it, let’s see how that goes, shall we? Haha.
July
Being only a few months off the year working for myself, I was reviewing a lot of ‘stuff’ in July. It was about what I was doing, what I was wearing and acknowledging that my life LOOKS different now. And not just from the outside either. A lot of things had changed by this point in the year. This was a way for me to take stock of that, I think. It feels reflective, but also celebratory. I have this life that I designed for myself, and I get to live it every single day. It’s insane. I’m so insanely proud.
August
August I wrote the one post about body image. About how often we find ourselves feeling less than when our body isn’t performing. I’d been injured and sore, tired and feeling crappy and this post was a function of that. It’s a little hard to read now, but at the time, I wanted to get those thoughts out of my head and work through them a little, so that’s what I did.
September
I settled into this month, kicking off with an update on life in general. It’s always a good sign, I think when I have a post or two up in the first week of the month. It’s all systems go from there. This month I chose a guide for buying maxi dresses (from those I was actually wearing) and how I was changing my phone social media habits. I love these posts because they feel like the things that I enjoy most about blogging. It was a tough call though,the update postand one called things I know about working for myselfwere pretty good too. Worth a look if you’re reading these posts as we go.
October
This was the month that the blog turned TEN!It came and went way too fast, and I’m a little sad I didn’t do more to celebrate it. To be honest, I’ve felt a little isolated from people this year. Alone in a way, that I haven’t felt, I am in a lot of years. It’s nothing to worry about, just one of those ‘feelings’ that can get in the way sometimes. This time they did, but that won’t stop me trying again. Maybe a legs 11 party? Haha. Anyway, this was a great month for showing off how my photography style has changed in the last year and sharing things that make me happy on the blog.
November
Last month I tackled a lot of stuff, from planners to the renovations of our house and then a challenge to those holding back this summer. If I was going to point to a month where the blog had ‘stuff’ on it that I want to keep doing in 2020, this (and maybe September/October) would be it. Ultimately, when it comes to the blog and blogging, I feel like this is the stuff I care about. Things that matter to me and usually, you guys too. Less planned and curated, just more me. That’s what I learned this year. It was time I stopped listening to anyone but myself on the topic of my blog. It was time to get back to basics.
December
As we wrapped up the year, there wasn’t a lot to see on the blog. With a few good months under my belt, a load of work on, and the silly season upon us, I was okay with that. December is a notoriously bad time for blog traffic (for me, I don’t gift guide). So, I figure if you’re going to take a break, it might as well be when no one is paying attention, right? There was one post that just BEGGED to be written though. A post about not knowing what you want or where you want to go. About the time I burst into tears rather than answer a question about my goals in life. If you’re struggling with the new year/new me rah-rah excitement out there at the moment, maybe this post is for you. Maybe you’re in the same place I was. If you are, I hope it helps.
The End!
And there we go! 2019 wrapped up in a neat little bow. 12 months worth of posts, and another year worth of blogging under my belt. This year I learned that I love to blog. When I don’t, I miss it, way more than I miss posting Instagram photos or sharing updates on Facebook. And indeed, way more than I ever have enjoyed making videos (so awkward, haha). I also learned that it has to be on my terms. That I should blog about things that interest me and never on too much of a fixed schedule. This started as a personal blog, and I think it will always be that. Sure, along the way I’ve tried to make it other things, more serious or more specific, but in the end, this is what makes me happy. What more can I ask for?
