– Original date: 2015-06-07
– Labels: Photography, Blogging, DIY

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I love to write. It’s probably my favorite thing in the world. Sometimes I get burnt out on it though. That fills me with guilt. Because you should always love doing what you love; it doesn’t make sense otherwise. But one cannot blog 24/7. So I blog on my time off and schedule out posts. That includes social media. So I’m going to share my method with you, because I love you.

• My favorite blogging tool is my own warped, sick and twisted mind. 😀

You’ll hear that “Content is King” and when I worked for a media company, there was a HUGE sign that lit up that said it. Unfortunately, as cliche as it is in the blogging world, it is true. If you have nothing interesting to say no one is going to read it. In fact, I learned that long before working and writing. I learned it in my creative writing class in college. We’d write a chapter for our next class and then in the next class we’d present or “workshop it” and I almost never wanted to share my work. I was embarrassed, I didn’t think it was good, I didn’t want to hear someone rip it apart, take your pick of excuses. So my professor one day goes “alright, if you don’t think it’s any good I’m not going to waste my time reading it.”

And that struck a chord within me. Because how obvious is it that you need to have some kind of stock in what you write about? You need to love it and perfect it and be proud to put your name on it. If you don’t like it or love it then  there is no way in hell you’ll ever convince anyone else it is worth reading either.

• The Blog Itself

You need three things:
1) A domain name  – You can get one pretty cheap via GoDaddy & there are always promotional codes available. Make sure you sign up for WHOIS privacy protection.
2) Blogging Platform – Whether you’re Team Blogger (like moi) or Team WordPress (I used it in the beginning but switched) or even Team Tumblr you need to have somewhere to write. Where you end up can make or break your blog. Easy of use, support and customization are typically what influences where you blog. So play around with every platform and choose what is comfortable for you.
3) Finally a good, clean design – Let’s just say that if your blog looks like you made it on Angelfire or Geocities in the 90’s no one is going to take you seriously. It’s not hard in Blogger to come up with a simple design as I showed you on my blog post, Simple Design with Blogger, and maybe someday I’ll do a wordpress version. Otherwise I recommend searching on Etsy for one you can install yourself. If not, my favorite blog designers are Envye, XOSarah, and Maiedae . All offer installation support and/or they can install it for you for a fee.

• Social Media Publisher(s)

I use two different publishing systems: Hootsuite & Latergrame.
Hootsuite allows you to schedule out tweets and Facebook posts. I use it more for Twitter, because once it is out on FB then it’s out. You don’t need to flood your feed with it. Twitter, moves in real time and as such you need to tweet several times a day in an effort to make any progress with it. Hootsuite helps me with that. Often, I write up several drafts, go back and research accounts to tweet, hashtags to use and then I wait until the content is published to actually schedule the tweets. I often use bit.ly as the links instead of using hootsuite’s link shrinking tool because I can track my audience better.
Latergrame allows you to schedule out posts to instagram (but you still have to publish them yourself). This helps keep my phone clear of crazy amounts of photo’s because you can also use the dashboard at their website to schedule out posts. You get 28 uploads per month so make them count. It’s basically one scheduled post per day unless you want to upgrade and then it is unlimited but for free it will keep your IG feed active for an entire month. Or you can save them and schedule out multiple posts on a day where you know you’re going to be MIA.

These are my three main platforms and I say three main because there are just too many. I have found that if I just pick three and focus on them I can occasionally work on Google Plus, Tumblr and Pinterest and grow those as well using the other three.

• Blog Planner

Staying organized is the key here. I already made a post showing you how to make your own blog planner for under $15. Then I went ahead and made an Etsy listing that does all the dirty work for you. Just print, hole punch and put into a binder and fill it out.

• Camera

Photographs are pretty essential. I’m not a professional photographer and I don’t pretend to be. I don’t have a best friend or even a boyfriend to help me take pictures. I use just a few tools to get the job done. Clicking links helps pay the rents people!

Click above & I get money if you purchase this camera. It’s my recommendation.

Click above & I get money if you purchase this camera tripod with carrying case. It’s my recommendation.

This is the remote I use and if you click it and buy it, you guessed it, I get money from the sale.

My camera is a Nikon d5100, they don’t make them anymore. BUT mine works perfectly after almost 3 years, one accidentally dropping (camera strap freaking BROKE – thankfully there was no major damage, just a few scrapes) and until it stops functioning 100% I don’t see myself getting another. This is my second Nikon in 10 years. I previously had the d3100 & when I went shopping for a new camera I decided that I needed two things: zoom during video and swivel with the LCD screen  (you know for filming and selfie’s… duh). This has both and it’s magnificent, although the noise from zooming during video is pretty loud, it is one flaw I can live with. Currently saving up for a 35 mm lens though. So click those links!

I also use a tripod & remote to take some of my self portraits. Because like I said, I don’t have anyone helping me take pictures. It’s all me! I wrote a post on how I made my own camera strap after going to the museums and Solvang and hating that I had to take my camera out and then put it away and take it out of my camera bag. Speaking of that…

My camera bag is from JoTotes and no one knows that it isn’t just an oversized purse. I struggled with it at first. I thought it was too small and then at the same time too bulky. I wished I had gotten the backpack one. No, then I wished I had gotten the other one… but I’ve actually grown to love my Abby in Lilac. 😀 I wish they had affiliate marketing but alas, you’ll just have to put it in the notes that I sent you. Maybe they will be nice and gift me a bag… maybe for a giveaway?

• Marketing Strategy + Blog Goals

Look, you’ve got to put yourself out there. And I do mean put yourself out there like you’re a grade a hooker. You can have the best content, the coolest looking blog and be awesome at taking pictures and selfies but if no one is coming all your work is for nothing. That whole “if a tree falls…” problem. I’m going to expand on this a bit more in another blog post because it is truly just too much to handle at once.

If you follow me on Bloglovin, you’ll know exactly when I post the next blog.
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