Just 2 days left until I can reveal my new business, the excitement is now overriding any feelings of worry and anxiety I had over the last few days! Just hoping that the launch goes to plan and there are no hiccups on the day!!!
Author: Suzi Stamp
Top 10 Blog Post Ideas
Every now and again we bloggers can run out of content ideas which can be really frustrating when we want to keep to a blogging schedule and get content out there for our audience to read. When this happens, I turn to my list of blog post ideas which can help to get the creativity flowing again. Here’s my Top 10 Blog Post Ideas.
- Review post. Used a new product, read a new book, listened to a new album, tried a new restaurant? Write a blog post about it, these types of post are always really interesting to read and will give your audience ideas of things they may want to check out.
- Recipe. I love to find new recipes to try out or even read peoples own take on a recipe.
- How To. How-to posts are really useful, not only for your audience but for your own reference too. You could write a DIY how-to, a gaming how-to, gardening…the list is pretty much endless!
- Goals. Goals are really interesting and can be really motivational too. No matter whether you write a post about the goals you wish to achieve in a day, week or year I always find that I am more likely to achieve the things I post about as it keeps me accountable. I also get inspired as a reader when I see other people’s goals.
- Something fun you have done. If you have had fun doing something, whether it is a games night, a party or event you attended, to a night out or a trip to the beach or museum, why not write about it, from what you did, what you ate to how you travelled there?
- Photo post. I love seeing peoples photos, whether it is a collated post of flower photos, home, products, scenery, there are so many different things you can take photos of that would be interesting for your readers to see.
- List-post. I love reading list posts, whether it is a list of things you need to buy, to tips, experiences, outfits, accessories, lists can be utilised in so many different ways and contain a plethora of information.
- What you wore to…Outfit posts are one of my favourite kinds of posts to search for, especially when I have an event or occasion coming up and have no idea of what to wear, I love to see how people put together outfits and how they style their clothing.
- Things to do. You could write a post about things to do in your area, on a night out, with the kids, in the winter, people are always looking for inspiration for ways to chase away the boredom, and this sort of post really helps with that!
- A project you are working on. Sharing a project you are working on can be a bit scary the first time but you can get some really helpful and lovely comments from your readers, along with help, tips and advice, and also gives you motivation to continue with the project, it can also help inspire others to try their hand at a project they want to start.
What are your favourite blog post ideas? Let me know in the comments!
Only 3 days to go!!!
Only 3 more days to get through until the big reveal!!! Can’t wait for the day to arrive!!!
Monthly Goals – September
I decided at the beginning of the year that I would not make any Resolutions or yearly goals but, rather, make monthly ones that were more easily obtainable, you can find all my Monthly Goalposts here.
Today I am looking at the goals I set myself last month and whether I achieved them and setting myself goals for July.
Here are last month’s goals and whether I managed them!
Blog and Social Media
- Research Email Subscription services. I have looked at a few different providers and think that it is not really something that I would want to add to this blog, however, I am thinking about setting up MailChimp for my business site.
- Learn how to use Later. In all honesty, this is something I added and have totally forgotten about. As much as I’d like to start using my social media more, and scheduling posts will take a lot of pressure off, I’m currently having a re-think of my social media channels and how I use them so right now Later is not something that is a priority.
Home
- Finish painting the kitchen!
- Paint the coving in my bedroom.
- Shampoo and clean living room rug.
All of these have been put to one side for the moment. I have managed to damage my rotator cuff in my left shoulder and any kind of stretching movement is really painful, even driving has been horrible this past week.
Arts, Crafts, Hobbies, and Interests
- Take more photos using my Flatlay Kit. I have been practising taking flatlay photos and using my kit even though the photos have not ended up on the blog or Instagram this month. I have been enjoying playing around and seeing how all the different elements work together though!
- Work on my book notes. While my book is nowhere near completion I am pleased to say that I made time (one afternoon when it was rainy) to settle down and make some more notes. I also read over the notes I have already made and added more info to them!
- Bullet Journal. I have worked on both my current, and next year’s journal and have a blog schedule plan sorted for the next year too (though many of the items I have added are category headings only, I will be working on the content part over the next few months!)
Personal
- Food with Mum and Dad. I did want to invite my Mum and Dad up for food but with holidays and other things, it didn’t happen. I did, however, go and have food at my Mum and Dads when my brother was down from London over August Bank Holiday which was really lovely!
- Set up Business. This is one that I am super proud of, from writing that I wanted to start setting everything up, thinking that it would take me forever, to today, where I am on the countdown to launch! I can’t believe how much I have achieved with this goal in only a month! And there are 4 days left until the big reveal!!!!
I feel like August went by in the blink of an eye but I am really surprised and pleased at what I was able to achieve even with a bad shoulder!
Here are this month’s goals…
Goals for September
Blog and Social Media
- Plan something to mark my blog turning 1.
- Prepare for Blogtober. I can’t decide whether to do a themed month of posts for October…and I have no idea on a theme either! If you have any suggestions, or if you will be taking part let me know in the comments!
Home
- Sort Summer and Winter clothes. Wash and mend any summer items and start to put them away. Get out winter clothes, wash, iron and hang up ready for the chilly days to kick in.
- End of Summer house deep clean. I love to get the house really clean at the end of one season/start of a new season, and with sorting out my clothes it should get me in the mood for sorting and cleaning everywhere else too!
Arts, Crafts, Hobbies and Interests
- Rory of A Guy Called Bloke sent me some really lovely ties a short while ago for a craft project. I’m itching to make a start on it!
- I downloaded an art/drawing/graphics software and want to start to learn how to use it.
Personal
- Read another book. I have so many books to be read and have seemed to add more than read. Ticking off another as read would be brilliant!
- I’ve got a bit behind with the blogs I follow over the last few weeks and want to get back up to speed with that. I have a new method of keeping on top of that though so we will see how that works out!
- Make an appointment to see the doctor about my shoulder and also my eczema.
- Start planning what I want to get people for Christmas and get the shopping underway.
These are my goals for September, what are yours? I’d love to know in the comments!
Words On Wednesday
I’ve had bad shoulder pain for the last 3-4 weeks and its been gradually getting worse. I can’t wash or brush my hair without a pain coursing down my arm and an odd feeling like the kind you get when you need to “pop” your finger joints. Sleeping has been awkward and I have woken several times in pain as its the same side as I sleep on. So alongside being in pain I am also tired, and when I’m tired I get grumpy and irritable.
Driving is a nightmare, as there are so many shoulder and neck movements that you perform without really thinking about it, looking out of the mirrors or windows to see what is coming, turning to look out of the rear windows when reversing, steering, changing gear. I’ve been lucky that I’ve not really needed to drive in the past week and my friend has been able to give me a lift to and from work.
I finally decided it was time to see a doctor, though getting an appointment was a bit of an ordeal. At my doctors surgery you need to call in the morning (9am onwards) for an appointment that day or for the next day, by 11am they stop taking appointments. I called them on Monday and all appointment slots had been taken and had to call back Tuesday morning. At 9am I was on the phone, the phone rang and rang and rang before eventually disconnecting. This happened a total of 8 times, no one was answering the phone. Luckily my surgery is one of 2 that work together so I decided to call the other surgery and see if I could make an appointment there even though they only deal with patients from my surgery if we have been referred. The girl I spoke to was lovely and took my number, called me back and had made me an appointment in my surgery for 11:30am.
I left work and went to the doctors, had to wait around for 40 mins to be seen. The Dr performed a few tests and I was poked and prodded. I came out with a prescription for really strong Ibuprofen and a painkilling gel to apply to my shoulder and have been referred for physio.
So what have I done? I’ve pulled my rotator cuff muscle, specifically the Supraspinatus muscle which runs along the top part of your shoulder. It can take up to 6 months to fully heal.
The other question I bet you are all thinking is how did I manage that? I was out in my garden, collecting weeds in a big flexi tub, the kind that has handles. I decided to empty the contents into my garden waste bin, lifted the tub and managed to drop the whole thing into the bin. This did not cause my injury, what caused my injury was caused by me trying to reach into the bin and flip the tub over to pull it back out. Common sense is not always my strong point, what I should have done was to lean the bin over then get the tub out. Just to give you some dimensions…the wheelie bin is 3.5 foot tall and I am little over 5.5 foot and the bin was empty before I dropped the tub in. It was the overreaching and stretching that caused the injury.
So I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself and hoping that the painkillers will kick in soon and that my shoulder will heal fairly quickly and I can start doing the things I have planned.
In Case You Missed It
In Case You Missed It was started a few months ago as a chance for you to discover some of my favourite posts that I wrote and published to my blog in the previous month that you may have missed. This month I am looking back at some of my favourite posts for August.
I really love doing product reviews and this Love Beauty and Planet review that I wrote about the Shampoo and Conditioner is one of my favorites so far. I really love the products and am so pleased to find ones that are vegan, ethical and use recycled plastics to create their packaging.
I am a firm believer that, with the right mindset, plans and a bit of thought, we can achieve anything. In my blog post “How To Achieve Anything” I share my methods when I have goals I want to achieve.
This was my first “Blogger Recognition Award” which was gifted to me by the lovely Ami of Undercover Superhero. I love recieving awards, answering the questions and gifting them on to other deserving bloggers. I think that Awards can help our audience get to know us a little bit better, we can learn about other bloggers and they are a fantastic networking tool too!
I love to share anything about blogging and this post covered my blog planning for teh coming year (2020). I have so much going on with my blog over the next few months and want to introduce new things to the blog and felt that now would be the perfect time to review what works and what doesn’t on my blog and to start planning my content for next year. I started early as I want to be able to see how my months will work and how certain posts will flow in regard to other posts.
This post is all about how to take your Summer wardrobe through to Autumn which can be an awkward time of the year to dress for given that one day could be warm and another chilly, damp or rainy. I wrote this post with a view to giving suggestions of how to deal with all of the climate changes that are happening in this period.
This was by far one of my most though of posts and one that I couldn’t decide whether to share or not. There is a certain amount of anxiety and worry that comes with launching a new business and Ihad thought long and hard about how I was going to announce it and whether I should or not. But, after a lot of thought, I finally decided that I would share it here!
What have been your favorite blog posts that you have written this month? Leave a link in the comments and I shall check it out!
4…
I am still feeling a bit worried about how the launch will go but have decided that I have done as much as I can to my site and business plans, all I can do now is wait for the big day! While I am still worried I can’t help but feel super excited too!
This Month On The Blog
September marks a really important milestone in my blogging life. My blog turns 1 later in the month so I have themed many of this month’s posts around blogging, from where I find inspiration for my blog posts, blog post ideas, what a typical “blogging” day looks like for me, blog challenges and how I have overcome them and my plans for the blog for the coming year.
I am also launching a new business which will be shared here on the day! I am doing a series of count down posts to the big day so you shouldn’t miss the big day itself!
This month sees the return of my Saturday Shout Out series and I have a lot of brilliant blogs to share with you each Saturday!
There are also the usual posts – Top 10 Thursday, Weekly Roundups each Sunday along with the return of my Saturday Shout Out series which I am really excited to be starting back up as I have a lot of brilliant bloggers and blogs to share with you!
What have you got planned for your blogs this month? Let me know in the comments as I’d love to know!
Only 5 More Days!!!
Starting to panic a bit about the launch and worrying that something will go wrong, I keep checking and re-checking that the website works and that all the pages are linked correctly…
My Colourful Life 