Blogging

Defining My Blog

| Suzi Tench

Having an idea of where your blog fits in the blogging world is a really useful thing when it comes to thinking about topics to write about and creating your blog posts.  It also gives you a general idea of the kind of readers you may get and what kind of audience to aim your posts towards.  Defining your blog is something to look at, maybe once every few months, to see if your post topics have caused a shift into another theme of blog from when you started, help to re-assess what works and what doesn’t and is also really useful when crafting future content for your site.

Today I am examining my blog, where it currently sits in terms of theme of blog and determining the definition of my blog.

At present my blog sits in the lifestyle theme of blogs.  A lifestyle blog can incorporate many different topics and subjects but usually cover things that the blogger is interested in.  My blog covers topics such as mental health, arts and crafts, reviews, interior design, decorating, stationery, planning, organising and recipes.  I chose the theme of a lifestyle blog as content can be vast and not tied to just one subject.  Being a lifestyle blogger gives me more freedom in what I write about and share.  I knew, before I started, that I wanted to be able to write about a range of different things including help and advice articles and sharing my own opinions.

I can’t see my blog moving from the Lifestyle category but it will be interesting to see where it sits in a few months time.

What type of blog do you have?  And how do you define it?

 

The Importance of Having a Content Plan

| Suzi Tench

the importance of having a content plan

I’ve had several blogs over the years which I would add to when I thought of something to write about, sometimes this would be several times a day and other times 3 or 4 months would pass by before I published anything.  In that time I would have ideas but they would come and go, especially if I wasn’t near a computer at the time.  Often I would think about my blog and have the fullest of intentions of adding to it but then sit at the desk, the little cursor on-screen blinking away and not have an iota of what to write.  And in time ALL of my previous blogs failed – I failed to write posts in a timely manner, I rushed what I was writing and didn’t really think about my words or topic carefully, I missed opportunities to link to interesting articles or previous posts, photos were rushed or non-existent and the general quality of the post was poor overall.

Now though, I have approached this blog differently.  Before I even signed up and created MyColourfulLifeUK, I started to write down ideas for this blog, I talked about it with friends and family and generated a few ideas of what they found interesting in the subject fields I enjoyed.  And so started the beginnings of a content plan.

A content plan is so important as a blogger as it gives you a framework with which to create blog posts and help you with what you are going to write about on a day-to-day basis.  Having a content plan is like driving somewhere you have never been before but with well written directions.

Here are 7 things that having a content plan has helped me with

  • Knowing what I am going to write about

Having a plan has helped me no end.  I always have an idea of what I am going to be writing about and now I don’t waste half of my time sitting and staring at a blank screen.  What I didn’t bank on was that having a plan actually encourages me to write and I am always excited to sit down and draft up a blog post now.

  • Helps me to prepare content (Including links and images)

Having the knowledge of what I want to write about allows me to thoroughly prepare, from researching topics, making notes, finding useful links, taking photos, writing the post and editing it.  If you know then you can prepare.

  • Helps me to generate new post ideas

Whenever I sit and look through my content plan I seem to be able to come up with new ideas to write about, and in researching topics I will often find something else that piques my interest and opens up a whole new set of thoughts about posts I can create further down the line.  Now I have a content plan I never seem to be short of ideas!

  • Provides well thought out posts for your readers

My English A Level lecturer always said he could spot an essay that had been hastily written and I didn’t really believe him back then, but now, after reading lots of different blogs on all sorts of different topics I know exactly what he means.  When you have a content plan there are not many posts you will write in a rush which in turn means that your posts will be well thought out, the points raised will be clear and there will be a good flow to the words and pace.  Rushed posts often meander off track, words are clumsily thrown together and even the reading pace feels rushed.

  • Helps me to stick within the theme of my blog

I’m a lifestyle blogger which means that I can over a lot of different subjects and still be within the theme of my blog overall but if you have a niche blog, I had one covering art when in university, it could be really easy to stray from that overall theme.  I know that it’s your blog and you can pretty much write what you want, but if you have a niche theme then it’s worth sticking to it, trust me, your readers will thank you!

  • Helps me to build a schedule for my posts

Once I have a list of content that I want to write about I then open Excel and use a calendar that I created to schedule my content, colour code each topic and start placing the topics against dates to publish.  This helps me to see what to write and when as well as not having too many posts on the same topic being crowded together.

  • Keeps readers interested and gains return visitors and followers

All of the above points lead to this – keeping readers engaged with your writing, gaining repeat visitors and, hopefully, gaining followers who will keep coming back to read the content that bought them to your blog in the first place.

I hope you find this useful.  What are your thoughts on having a content plan?

This Month on the Blog!

| Suzi Tench

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I can’t believe we are now heading into our 3rd month of the year and that 2019 is nearly a quarter of the way through!  To see you through to the quarter year mark here are some of the posts I will be sharing on the blog this month.

  • Recipe of the month – a lovely, creamy, vegan mushroom tagliatelle
  • Monthly Goals for March
  • 10 Things That Have Happened Since Leaving Facebook
  • Top 10 Thursday posts including Cleaning Products, Laundry Products and Quick Cleaning Ideas
  • Upcycle Project – Table Lamp
  • What Is Upcycling?
  • The Importance of Having a Content Plan
  • Earth Hour
  • Defining my Blog

These posts will be up on my blog on a Tuesday, Thursday (Top 10) and Friday!

There will be a few other posts shared during the month too so keep an eye out for them!!!

I hope you enjoy them!

The Real Neat Blog Award

| Suzi Tench

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This morning I awoke to several notifications on my phone from WordPress…Nothing unusual there, but one of them was from My Quirky Friend who had nominated me for The Real Neat Blog Award!  Thank you so much!!!!  I’m so touched to have been considered for this award and, just like them, this is my first blog award!

The rules:

Although a blogger doesn’t really need to participate in any award nominations, I don’t mind as it gives me a chance to show my appreciation to other bloggers. Plus, it’s free exposure should you wish to participate. Now, for the rules:

Put the award logo on your blog.
Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
Thank the people who nominated you, linking to their blogs.
Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking to their blogs.
Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blog, etc.)

Answers to the questions I got asked by My Quirky Friend

  • What inspired you to start blogging?  I was inspired to start this blog as I wanted to start writing again.  I had a few blogs in the past, and really enjoyed creating content and posting to them though they were a bit all over the place – I never blogged regularly and the blogs were too niche in topic to fully write about everything.  While I was off from work I decided that I would like to start writing again and so, this blog was born!
  • What’s the weirdest food/dish you enjoy eating?  I love so many different foods but I think that the weirdest is strong cheddar and strawberry jam sandwiches (using white bread)!
  • What is your favorite topic to blog about?  I don’t really have one kind of topic that I enjoy writing more about than another, all of the topics I write about on this blog are ones I really enjoy writing about!
  • What do you like to do in your down time?  In my down time I really like to curl up on the sofa with a blanket, my dog Roxy, a glass of wine and watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix, read, work on my blog or do a jigsaw puzzle.
  • Are there any other writers/bloggers in your family?  No, but they are all pretty creative in their own way, my Mum is an awesome knitter, my Dad is really good at painting and drawing, my one brother are really good at technical things like fixing computers and cars and my youngest brother is good at cooking.
  • How close do you live to the town/city you grew up in?  I live about 3.5 miles from the town I grew up in and my parents still live in the house I grew up in too.
  • What’s the best advice you have for other bloggers?  Post regularly, interact with your followers, write about things you love, your hobbies, interests and what you have a passion for, don’t ever get disheartened by stats – they are there to guide you.  And most of all, have fun and enjoy the process!

My Questions to You…

  1. If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?
  2. What is your star sign, and do you show any of the signs traits in your personality?
  3. If you had £1000 given to you, how would you spend it?
  4. What is your favorite season and why?
  5. What is your favorite quote?
  6. What is your biggest dislike?
  7. If you could live anywhere where would it be?

My Nominations…

Why I Love Blogging

| Suzi Tench
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Blogging

I’ve not really been writing this blog for that long, around 5 months really, but in that time I have really enjoyed the process from thinking about topics to write about, researching the topics, taking photos and actually sitting down and creating the post.

I love the freedom my blog gives me to write about whatever I wish, I have covered some of my mental health issues, decorating, things I have done, projects I have been working on and a lot more besides that!

I love how blogging has become part of my life again and how I find it quite a calming thing just to be able to sit and write.  Blogging seems to slow my mind and I find I can focus on it without any distractions.

I love getting notifications when my post has gone live (I write my posts a short while in advance), and I find that little ping and message appearing on my phone screen gives me a sense of achievement and, so far, has never failed to raise a smile.

I love sitting down and reading the posts that the people I follow have written and try to make it a daily habit.  I find that reading posts is so much more interesting than skimming through other social media platforms.

I really enjoy being part of a community that takes time to express themselves and their hobbies, ideas and interests through writing and images, being able to connect and have conversations with people who have similar ideas, and I love being able to share my thoughts and creativity with other.

I love how there is so much more to blogging than writing and publishing content.

This Month On The Blog!

| Suzi Tench

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The nights are slowly starting to get shorter and the days are gradually stretching out and growing in minutes and before we know it Spring will have well and truly sprung, but until then I have all these posts lined up for you…

  • Recipe of the Month
  • Monthly Goals
  • Hygge – What is it?
  • A-Z of Date Ideas
  • Why I Love Blogging
  • Upcycle Project – Fake Flowers
  • The Art of Thrifting
  • My Favorite Outfit for Spring

I hope you will enjoy reading these posts as much as I have enjoyed planning them and putting them together!

Blog Milestones Worth Celebrating?

| Suzi Tench

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I’m not far off hitting a blog milestone – 100 followers… I currently have 87 followers (Thank you to each and every one of you!) and it got me thinking about how I’d like to celebrate reaching 100 follows…currently I have 3 ideas but am keeping them to myself for the time being!

Getting close to a blog milestone made me think about other milestones that are worth celebrating.  I am already planning my Blogversary #1 but I have also been thinking about whether to celebrate any other kinds of milestones.

I had ideas for celebrating

100th blog post, 200th blog post, 300th blog post etc…

100th follower, 200th follower, 300th follower etc…

And also throwing some kind of celebration for my Birthday as well…

What sort of milestones do you celebrate?  And what sort of things do you do to celebrate these milestones on your blog?

My Hobbies and Interests

| Suzi Tench

I thought I would share with you my hobbies and interests on the blog today as a way of getting to know me a bit better.  I find that knowing what someone enjoys doing, what their hobbies and interests are lets me get to know them on a bit more of a personal level.  So here are my hobbies and interests…

Arts and Crafts

I’ve always been into arts and crafts, from a very young age you would find me at the table with a paint brush or coloured pencils and crayons grasped in my hand creating masterpieces for people’s fridges!  My Grandma nurtured this instinct in me, both her and my Dad share a love of painting, and I used to go to her house and we would have a fantastic time painting and making things with toilet rolls, glitter, glue and plasticine.  That love of art saw me gain an A in GCSE art, then a D in A Level art.  I continued with my love of art and discovered scrapbooks and card making, photography and jewellery making which helped me no end when I studied a Foundation Degree in Art, Media and Design and then a Bachelor’s Degree in Photographic Art.

Currently I am enjoying candle making which I find has been really good for my head space since I have been off with stress, anxiety and depression.  It is something that I can lose myself in and has a somewhat medative quality to the processes (melting the wax, adding dye, scent then pouring the wax).

A few of the candles I have made recently!
A few of the candles I have made recently!

I have also started a lettering journal as I have found a love for hand lettering and really wanted to create a book of different hand lettering styles that I can use in my bullet journal and in other crafts in the future.  I have been sitting of an evening with a hot cup of tea and sketching out different alphabet styles which has been really relaxing and fun.  I have found it to be a great way to empty my mind of all the thoughts I have had during the day and helps to prepare my mind for bed.

A few examples of my lettering
A few examples of my lettering
A few examples of my lettering
A few examples of my lettering

I am intending to go over the pencil lines with pen at some point and add some colour and notes to the pages.

Reading

I love reading, being all snuggled under a blanket and getting lost in another world is one of my favorite things to do.  Unfortunately, since my mental health took a nose dive I’ve not really done much reading.  My stress and anxiety have decreased my concentration levels to a state where I found that I couldn’t follow a story and kept reading the same thing over and over again, I’d lose my place and get distracted easily which has been super frustrating for me.  I used to read at least a book or 2 each week but since september I have not read a full book.  I started reading The Snowman by Jo Nesbo back in september and am still reading it now.  I did manage 5 whole minutes the other day which I was pleased with and feel that is a sign to me getting better slowly.

Home Interiors

I have put this as one title though it includes painting and decorating, upcycling and DIY!  Since I moved into my own home I have been obsessed with all things decoration from upcycling my chairs and my lamp, to choosing colours to paint my rooms.  I have really enjoyed all parts of making my house a cozy home that reflects my personality and I’m on the look out to create some more lovely things for my home this year.  I already have a project lined up for the summer months that involves a lot of sanding, painting and cutting of wood!

Planners and Diaries

You may have seen my post Preparing for 2019 where I spoke about the diaries and planners I had ready for 2019, and I suppose you could call it a hobby or interest of mine as I’m forever on the search for the perfect planner for my life, even now, with the planners and diaries I already have for 2019 there are a few that I’m still looking at (hey, you can never have too many right?!).  I love to be organised and find that writing things down helps them to stick better in my brain rather than using my phone calendar and I have a lot to remember from bills that need paying, blog posts to write, household things and doctors appointments, along with making notes on what I have done that day, work things, dates, places to visit etc my planner can get full pretty quick!  I had used a bullet journal for a few years as I loved the creative side to it, designing layouts, doodling and painting on the pages and adding things in but eventually fell out of love with that method, especially in the run up to Christmas where I seemed to be too busy to make layouts and it all sort of slid off my radar.  While I still like the idea of a bullet journal I decided it wasn’t really the right method for me and have gone down the pre printed, multi diary/planner route for this year as I think having several planners/diaries for different aspects of my life may be a better option though only time will tell!

Blogs and Blogging

While I may not have been reading books at the moment I have been reading lots of blogs and blog posts.  I love reading about people’s lives, things people are doing, outfit posts, posts about products, creative posts about art and making things, recipes, lifestyle and all manner of other things.  I sit down each morning when I wake and, accompanied by my dog Roxy, and a coffee I catch up on the blogs I follow, sometimes I search for topics that I am interested in and read a few posts that catch my eye and I feel like I have caught up with friends.

Since starting this blog I have really enjoyed the freedom it has given me to express myself and share bits of my life, what I have been doing and thoughts and feelings.  I have found it to be really therapeutic, sitting in front of my laptop and composing posts, taking photos and planning topics to write about.

What hobbies and interests do you have?

 

Blog Life

| Suzi Tench

Even when I’m not actively writing and publishing blog posts I can always find something blog related to work on.

In the last few weeks I have signed up to Ko-fi which is a page for people who love what I do to help support me and the growth of my blog.  I would love to be able to upgrade my blog plan and be able to offer products for sale – I am currently looking at designing my own range of printed and printable blog diaries and planners and any support would help towards the cost of upgrading so I could add a store element to this blog in which to sell from.  I have added a handy little button into the sidebar.

I have also gotten myself an account with Pinterest so I can share my blog posts on there and find other interesting people to follow too.  The sign up process was really quick and easy and I thought it would be fairly easy to add my images and blog posts to the site too.  However, between starting this blog and now, I have upgraded my phone and lost a load of my blog photos which were taken on my old phone and don’t seem to have been saved anywhere.  I was going to make the photos into pins and have the pin link back to the relevant blog post.  I have spent a few hours going back and forth between my blog and the photos I have still got and attempted to create some kind of order to them.  In the end I decided it would be easier to go through all my blog posts and save the images to folders titled with the post they are associated with.  Hopefully, by the end of the weekend I will have most, if not all, past posts pinned and linked back to the blog!

Sorting out blog photos and posts
Sorting out all my blog post images into post titled folders.

I also added a widget to the sidebar for visitors to easily find and follow me on Pinterest and updated my “Follow Me” information in my drop down menu on my blog home page.

Other tweaks I have made include adding metadata for Google, Pinterest and Bing into my settings, updating the Categories so all of the titles start with capital letters and creating logos for some of my blog posts (like the one found in my Top 10 Thursday posts).  I have added a new link to my drop down menu (Blog Toolkit) which is a list of all the items I use to help me create my blog posts.  And, finally, when checking that the menu and widgets worked I decided that I didn’t like the tag cloud and the way the categories were displayed so I removed the tag cloud and have added the categories as a drop down menu.  I’m still undecided on the Archive menu widget and think I may remove the Twitter and Instagram feed from the sidebar as it feels a bit cluttered and too busy for my liking.

Away from the actual blog site I have been doing some background work on my schedule and content plan.  I have scheduled the bulk of my posts into my calendar up until April so I know what I am needing to work on over the next month or so!

What sort of things have you been working on blog wise, either on the blog itself or in the background?