“hello claudia, i have your blog as a reference and, though i have not much time (i was a mom a few months ago), i wanted to make something out of mine! but i feel i don’t know how, so i’d like to know how can i learn more about blogs?” – isa
well, first of all welcome ladies to a whole new feature (boy, oh boy aren’t we full with new features since we went live this month!), but as i had promised somewhere in july, i would start a new feature with questions and answers. you could ask your question by dropping me an email and i would answer it here on the blog! so here we are with our first question from isa!
isa is a recent mom and though she has already a blog, she wants to do more out of it, but she feels she lacks training for these kind of things! and i agree on the point in which having a blog is not that easy, as people may think. having a blog is not just having a link, a nice header and writing posts. readers won’t appear that easily. so what do i think makes a good blog?
1. content
2. killer image (design & photography)
3. personal voice
these three are my favourite things about a blog. and i asked a few friends over on facebook, and most of them chose content as what they think makes a good blog. many were the ones that stated that a blog needs a soul, someone behind it that has a real voice. and of course, content for me could be one thing, and for you another thing totally different. but i think we all agree in having content that connects with us is the most important thing, hence the importance of having a real voice behind the blog. i follow about 122 blogs and they are really different among them, but i really must like their photography, if i don’t get to see their design, when i’m on the reader, for example. and the content must be personal or have some kind of voice. but even when we choose to share something personal, i believe that we need to clear what is personal enough for us, or just too personal, because we know that some will enjoy reading about some kind of daily crisis, others won’t even bother and will leave your blog.
and three other details about a blog, but which i consider really important as a reader are:
1. a photo of you (i love to see who is behind it)
2. an about page (about you and your blog + email)
3. sharing tools (you need to make it easier for me, to share your content)
then there are fabulous plugins, at least for wordpress, that simply make our life a breeze! but i’ll save those for later (there’s a whole new post there!). a nice tip is to go through your favourite blogs and look for features you are fond of as a reader. not features, as in content they write about, but the details, how do they manage their blog roll? how do they organize categories? how do sharing buttons appear? is it easy for you as a reader to look for a certain topic on a search field? look for what you like the most and look at your blog to see what can you improve! for more info, you can always read (again) these interviews from 2010, when i invited several well-known bloggers to talk about blogging. these were great for a bit of insight and i have considered of repeating these sometime!
oh and of course, let’s not forget about a schedule! having a schedule that works for you, and keeping with it will be amazing for your readers. not that they control it or something, but i believe that as readers, and if we particularly like a blog, we’ll be expecting for a new post with some anxiety! but if we simply don’t hear from our favourite blogger for weeks or months, without a single excuse on facebook or a small post, i don’t think we’ll enjoy it that much. if you can’t keep up with a post every day, make it every week for example, but something that you can keep up with! better good and a few, than a lot and poor!
and this is it for today! i hope you have enjoyed this first question! now i want to receive your question! come on, don’t be shy! have a great saturday!
ps. funny post with pictures about taking beautiful photos for blogs via saidos da concha!
MissLilly says
You’re such a source of inspiration!!! As I’ve said on your facebook, content is really important but it needs to have a voice, I need to feel like a know the person behind it, feel it almost like a brand: unique. And I love photos too :)
It’s not easy to find what our blog is about, for instance I have my blog for years but it doesn’t have a unique design or anything (I have to learn so much about html in order to improve it), and regarding the content all I write is quite random, but normally is either text or photos with some random posts in between like songs I like.
Really really useful tips!
twiggs says
thank you for your comment, you always provide with such pertinent content as well! having a blog and making it important for others are two different things!! i believe there are readers for each kind of blog, so it’s a matter of questioning yourself about what do you want to do with your blog. if i can help with anything, you can just drop your question Miss Lilly :)
Birgitte Brøndsted says
What a great post. I agree with everything you write. Personally I have to do something about the layout on my own blog very soon… Too boring :-) Thank you for making me think of this.
Have a lovely weekend.
Birgitte
twiggs says
thank you birgitte!! you are so kind! i’m really happy that i made you think about your blog!! regarding your other question, yes this is a wordpress blog, but it was very easy to import everything from blogger, which i had first! so, just go for it! have a lovely weekend too and thank you for coming!
Birgitte Brøndsted says
Thanks for clearing that up! I will go with wordpress when I have the time for it…
Birgitte Brøndsted says
PS: Is your blog a wordpress? I am considering changing from Blogger to WordPress, but I’m not sure if it will be easy transferring all my posts etc…
sara (sushi lover) says
Gostei. Confesso que o mais difícil para mim é ser constante, a vida mete-se tanto no meio!
twiggs says
ah como sei, às vezes tenho semanas em que me apetece falar de tudo, outras em que não sei do que falar. eu quero mudar um bocadinho o sentido do blog, porque acho que faz sentido que os blogs, tendo um cariz mais pessoal, nos acompanhe também na nossa evolução. e por isso também querer falar de pequenas coisas, ou ter posts só com fotografias e menos palacreado (tenho a noção de que às escrevo como se não houvesse amanhã!). mas olha acho que tens de te sentar e perceber o que queres que seja o teu blog! um beijinho!
Sofia says
I’ve been following your blog for a long time now and I always find content good enough for me to pursuit one of my passions, photography! I’ve inherited some old cameras from my great grandfather, who was a photographer. But there’s a small big problem: I can’t seem to settle down with my blog. I’m a designer too, but I’m too demanding with what I do for myself and I end up fed up with the blog. It’s lack of consistency, or I end up posting stuff that has nothing to do with the main theme of it…
Well, this has to stop and I’m going to use your tips from this post and try to settle down once and for all!
Oh, one more thing, I’m going english with my blog, at least I can try to have people from around the world to read it the same way I do with other blogs
;)
Thanks for sharing your tips!!!!
twiggs says
olá sofia! olha e eu cá estou a responder-te em português! é para treinar, afinal acho que a minha voz em português não é suficientemente pessoal, portanto cá vai! estive a dar uma espreitadela ao teu blog e realmente gostei da tua voz, achei-a também muito pessoal. portanto falta só um bocadinho de organização, pensares no que te queres focar e escrever! quanto às fotografias, é um processo que demora, mas a auto-aprendizagem é um processo delicioso e adoro perceber o quanto já aprendi nos últimos anos. um beijinho grande e obrigada pela visita e comentário!
Ana says
Hello Miss Twiggs!
I just want to thank you for this post! Your work is a sweet inspiration everyday.
I started to blog in 2006 with my best friend (about our handcraft projects but we let it fall a sleep) and this year I “dived” in a personal project/blog. I created it to motivate my everyday life and if I could inspire others with the simple share of it, all the better.
However, I have sensed that caring a blog is no easy task and still can not realize the part of schematize and scheduling the posts. And so, I’m feeling a little lost …
About the details you mentioned as important, I am a little reluctant to share my personal details and photo but also consider it an important detail when I read other blogs! I have to really improve that part.
Thank you one more time for the tips, the sharing and such inspiring work!
twiggs says
Hello Ana, thank you so much for your visit and testemonial! I believe that if we believe in something and we care about that thing enough to dedicate some time, we shall be successful, this doesn’t mean that your blog or even mine, will become world leader blogs, but we’ll find our readers, just a phew or many, and we’ll be able to connect with them. it’s just a matter of asking ourselves “what do i want to share?”, “why should i have a blog?”, “what can i share that will be interesting for others?”. and about the personal details, i know that reluctant feeling as well! i wasn’t that sure either about even sharing my real name when i started. but as a reader i really care about who’s on the other side! thank you for the lovely comment and be back always!
Ana says
Great, great tips!
Passando ao português…
é difícil para quem, como eu, não partilha certas coisas, que considera mais pessoais, manter um blog.
às vezes pergunto-me o que tenho para partilhar, a minha vida não é interessante e não posso passar a vida, em termos de blog, a fazer posts sobre as novas peças.
Acabo por deixar de postar, o que é o pior que se pode fazer.
Não sei… o envolvimento com um blog é algo que tem que ser pensado, para o qual tens de ter uma ideia dos conteúdos e o que queres dizer. O facto de poderes ter um blog não quer dizer que o devas ter.
Mas nesta altura quem quer viver de uma área artística com algum sucesso, tem de saber movimentar-se na internet, ter um canal de divulgação como um blog parece essencial.
Ponderar o que fazer…
twiggs says
olá ana!!! gostei muito do teu comentário e de uma parte dele “poderes ter um blog, não quer dizer que o devas ter!”. é uma verdade, nem sempre o que é possível significa que seja para ser feito. e ter um blog dá trabalho, envolve a nossa dedicação e tempo, e temos de pensar no que queremos dizer. se quiseres ter um blog apenas para comunicar o teu trabalho, não passa apenas por novas peças. poderá passar por exemplo, por partilhares o que te inspira para fazeres novas peças, quem tu admiras na tua área, o que gostarias de aprender… e até poderias partilhar algumas dicas de DIY de uma forma mais simples. por exemplo, tu encadernas de forma profissional, mas se eu quisesse por exemplo cobrir um dossier com tecido como o poderia fazer? achas que seria giro tu explicares? o conhecimento está em todo o lado, mas se tivermos alguém que nos explique coisinhas simples, não quer dizer que iremos retirar negócio áquela pessoa ou copiar o que faz. pensa que não tens de o transformar numa coisa pessoal ou muito pessoal! mas em algo que interesse quem goste do que fazes! um beijinho e espero ter ajudado!
Ana says
ajudas com certeza Cláudia.
passa tudo por conteúdos… por incrível que pareça estou a construir o conceito para um outro blog, que não o meu, que não me parece tão difícil como o meu. parece que para mim estar envolvida, mas ao mesmo tempo com algum distanciamento ajuda.
tenho que ter algum distanciamento em relação ao meu próprio blog e ver como dar volta à situação.
Isa says
Olá Cláudia! Em primeiro lugar, sinto-me muito contente por as minhas questões terem dado lugar a um post no ” A Place for Twiggs”, muito obrigada! E pelo que li, acho que aquilo que sinto em relação ao meu “pequenino” blog é comum entre alguns bloguistas: a falta de tempo para manter a regularidade nos posts e no meu caso em particular, sinto que me faltam algumas competências mais técnicas para melhorar o aspecto visual do blog. Ás vezes sinto que estou a escrever para o infinito, para um vazio.. e que os meus posts pairam na atmosfera deste mundo bloguista, e soam tipo eco.. mas eu gosto de pensar que existe alguém que leu o que escrevi e que até experimentou uma receita que lá deixei.. e por vezes aparece um simpático comentário “and makes my day”. As tuas dicas foram preciosas e espero conseguir pôr algumas delas em prática brevemente! Bem haja Cláudia*
twiggs says
olá isa, que bom que tenhas gostado das dicas!!! e tens toda a razão, o que sentes não é novo, nem diferente do que todos sentimos ao início. mas julgo que seja uma questão de compromisso! e se acharmos que temos algo para dizer e partilhar, devemos pensar bem na forma como o queremos fazer. os leitores irão encontrar-nos e possivelmente alguns irão identificar-se imenso com o nosso estilo e modo de vida! obrigada pela sua simpatia e comentário! um beijinho grande!
Paula says
Bom dia Claudia !
Tenho andado a ler estes teus velhos posts que continuam muito inspiradores ! Adoro a tua maneira clara e directa de falar ! Vou tentar encontrar todos os “what about” que por aqui andam…