craftblog advice
I often read upset posts on newer craftblogs. Not many comments, low stats, nobody linking you, why bother writing at all? It can be a little discouraging and can even feel like the community is closed to new people. I would like to offer some encouragement and advice on enjoying your site and making the most of it.
First of all, try not to get too caught up in blogging for others. Lisa has started a great meme on why we blog, where you can read what motivates different people. My craftlog grew out of a journal I was using to keep track of my projects for myself, so it helps me to still imagine it that way sometimes. Ultimately, you have to have some other reasons for doing this than the praise and attention of readers, or else you just won’t 1. keep it up and 2. enjoy it.
That said, of course we all want readers and comments and links and the rest. The wonderful community that has built up in the craftblog world is one of the reasons we all love it, and of course you want to be a part of it. So, here are some practical tips for the beginning craftblogger:
Make your weblog attractive and readable.
- Post good content, obviously, where good is very broadly defined. There are lots of subgenres of craftblogs out there, so odds are you will find readers if you do and post what you like (see “why we blog” above).
- You don’t have to be a whiz at web design to make a pretty site. Most of the software and hosts people use these days come with pretty nice defaults that are easy to tweak. Make sure the text is readable and looks OK in different browsers.
- Take the best pictures you can as often as you can. Read your camera’s manual for advice on taking closeups and working in different lighting. thimble just posted a roundup of good tutorials on taking better pictures.
- Make sure your site has an RSS feed (not a problem for most readymade sites since they usually have one already). Sign up for a feedreader like Bloglines and look at your feed to make sure it’s how you want it.
- Post frequency: with feedreaders so common now, it’s not as important anymore that you post a lot, but if you don’t post for 2 weeks, readers might wonder if you’ve abandoned the blog.
Increase your exposure.
- On your site, make a list of your favorite links. Instead of using bookmarks or a feed reader or whatever you normally do to visit these sites, click the links from your page (with any privacy software turned off). If the site linked to has a hit tracker, they’ll be able to see the hits are coming from your site. If you’re lucky, they’ll go investigate who this new site is linking them. I find out about all sorts of blogs through my stats.
- Comment on your favorite sites. Now, I don’t want to encourage spamming people for attention. That’s not nice. But do get over any shyness you might have about commenting on posts you particularly like. The person running the site will probably go to yours to see who you are, and other commenters might visit as well.
- Crosspost your best projects to other craft communities. Livejournal has a bazillion different ones, there’s always Craftster, and you can probably find a forum somewhere for any craft you happen to specialize in. Put your URL as your signature in your user information.
- Participate in a few memes, like Month of Softies, tie one on, or any of the gigantic number of craftalongs going on. Again, don’t do this just to get exposure; do it because you want to participate but maybe haven’t due to shyness or hesitation. A lot of these are through Flickr or a central site where all the participants are linked.
What about those swaps?
- Keep a look out for posts suggesting or hinting that something is up for swap. If you love it, comment or email to see if they’re interested in swapping.
- Craftster has a whole section devoted to themed swaps.
- There are several centrally organized ones like Backtack and Gifty. Some have the bonus of a master list of links too. If you know a swap just ran but you missed it, keep it bookmarked so you can check when it might run again.
Finally, just be patient. I only had hits from my family for craftlog’s entire first year. But I still had fun keeping it!
Feel free to post any other advice in the comments section since I’m sure there are varied opinions on this topic.
February 8th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Thank you for these tips! I’ve had a personal livejournal account for quite a while, but mostly only kept it for a specific set of friends (too lazy to use email, I guess…) But recently I’ve started a more specific website to focus more on crafty things (and probably my kids too). Partly I’d like to see if I can eventually make even a teensy bit of money that way, since as a Stay-At-Home-Mom every little bit helps. But certainly mostly it’s to help keep me motivated, and to record stuff I’ve done.
Thanks again for helping me to gel that in my mind!
February 8th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
Thanks - it’s nice to feel welcomed. It is hard when you first stumble on this community that seems so interconnected and vibrant to not feel like a wallflower. Thanks for confirming the book isn’t closed :-)
February 8th, 2006 at 12:29 pm
This is such great information. I second everything you said about getting your blog set up for RSS feed. If I come across a blog I like, that isn’t set up, I do try to bookmark it, or someway remember it, but its hard. On the other hand, my bloglines feeds are checked daily.
February 8th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
maitreya,
this is such a gret post… so well organized and thoughtful and helpful…..
and i am touched by your mention and link to me! thanks!!
[i still sometimes think it's just my family that is reading!!!]
February 8th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Thank you…it’s like skinning your knee while tripping in front of other kids and then crying home to mom and she gives you kisses and ice cream to make it all better. :-)
February 8th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
great post,
lots of tips and advice, and don’t forget its not just one big craft blog-o-sphere, there are so many smaller subsets, finding others in your area or that also homeschool etc is great, and don’t forget that there are also heaps of different rings to join that increase traffic on your blog and allow others with similar interests to find your blog.
and join technorati
February 8th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
Excellent post, great advice.
February 8th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
Very well put. I’ve bookmarked this page to refer back to when I’m feeling all alone in blogland!
February 8th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
Thankyou, for such an excellent article. I am VERY new to all this (RSS feed, what IS THAT? !!!!). I will now go and do some research. I ahve had some recent problems on my Blog and asked for help………low and behold it came to me fro some smashing Bloggers. I am so glad I took the plunge and started Bloging. Your article will be so useful.
February 8th, 2006 at 3:11 pm
what a great post! important subject to bring up.
February 8th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
How funny - great post - I just posted about blogs and being alienated….interesting responses :)
February 8th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Great advice - if you are new and feeling lonely, remember it’s not that we don’t love you, it’s probably just that we don’t even know you exist! (your blog that is!)
I posted some info about RSS feeds etc here as I found it all very confusing at first. http://www.jenleheny.com/archives/92
I love bloglines and recommend checking how your feed looks. A pet peeve of mine is those sites that only have a summary and no pics rather than the full post (ahem! whip up!) :) That’s your choice obviously but most people don’t even know that might be how their site appears in a feedreader. So it pays to check it out.
Jen
February 8th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
Great tips. I think most important is to enjoy what are you doing. I love blogging, I have several in my native language Czech and now I started blogiing in English. I know that I can make mistakes in English, but I still believe that I have enought to say and especially to show on pictures.
February 8th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
Thanks to your post I learned a very important thing: I need to learn much more! It was very nice of you to post such a good bunch of tips, because even though one sees a lot of blogs, trying to learn, there are certain things you don’t get unless you know how. Specially because almost everything is in english, and sometimes there are terms (web slang) that if we don’t know… Bah! For example, what’s a bookmark? Is it when you add a blog to your favorites? I feel a bit stupid…
February 8th, 2006 at 5:31 pm
I can’t thank you enough for these tips! I’m a brandnew blogger and still struggled finding out if I’m doing this for me or for others or both or whatever - you helped me clearing up my mind quite a lot and enjoying blogging even more now! Thank you again!
February 8th, 2006 at 6:07 pm
This is a great post. Thank you for the tips. You managed to cheer me up about blogging =)
February 8th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
these are great tips
and i will keep them in mind…
its funny to think when i first started this blog
it was to vent and rant and rave about our
trying-to-get-a-mortgage-bloody-hell
(hence the name)
we were going through at the time
and i had no idea until about six months later
that this whole community even exsisted…
but when i found it…wooohoooo…
i love it
:)
February 8th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
Great post! I think you should give it a year, and try to post lots of pictures even though sometimes you are writing about something that doesn not have pictures, a illo is allways nice and makes me stay longer!
February 8th, 2006 at 6:50 pm
I love this site. I’ve been searching for needlepoint blogs and haven’t found anything; this is the closest I’ve found. There are tons of great needlepointers out there — I wonder why they don’t blog as much as knitters.
I did have a knitting blog (still do, just haven’t updated). Seems like lately I’ve either had time to stitch/knit or time to blog, but not both. Naturally, stitching wins out.
February 8th, 2006 at 7:18 pm
great!! i have just started a blog about design, and sometimes i wish i had more readers but its nice to think in the POSSIBILITY of them. i think the reason i blog is that: i finally can publish myself.
i love seeing so many talented people writting for one blog!
keep doing it!
February 8th, 2006 at 8:05 pm
Thanks for the great tips!
As a new blogger I can certainly use them :)
February 8th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
I actually do love craft blogs. I’ve only come across one or two outside LJ communities. Your advice is great for any blogs success :)
February 8th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Thanks for a great post - excellent advice!
February 8th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Great advice!
February 8th, 2006 at 10:25 pm
Great advice. I use Bloglines and love it…But, now I see that I should link on my blog. Makes sense!
February 8th, 2006 at 11:19 pm
Thank you so much. It is funny. I have been reading loobylu, not martha, swirly girl, french toast girl, and so many others for YEARS, but I just didn’t make a blog myself. I was busy doing other things. I never felt the need to be part of the community I was content to just get inspired and go on my little way. Now though I do want to play. I have brought a good ball and just want friends on the playground to notice me. Thanks so much for the post… it helps not feeling alone!
February 9th, 2006 at 12:54 am
great advice, thank you for taking the time to write it. i’ve been up about 3 weeks and i post between 4-8 times per day. my blog is about hip design for modern spaces. i also feature paper goods and indie artists - i love my indie artists!!!
i studied interior design and practice in boston, and my blog came about because clients and friends kept asking me where i find all these things that i lug over to their homes. many suggested i start a book to track all these deals. being that i am only a p/t designer since i also write for a living, i decided to start a design blog to document things i find and love. then, i can share it with everyone from clients to potential clients to design addicts surfing the web. i notice that in the design world, designers don’t share with other designers. i’m all about sharing. i try to include design tips in my posts too, things i’ve learned in school or in practice.
i’m young, so i have to build in steps, i guess.
i also try to keep my writing style fun and easy to read.
i’m in the process of pulling together a new look and feel for my blog since i currently detest the dark background and all those stupid dots! however, given the choice of templates i had when i started blogging, it was the only one with a some design sense. but it’s not my style and it has to go….
http://www.decor8blogspot.com
see what i mean?
any comments from you guys on my blog would be great. you can write to me personally at decor8blog{at}yahoo{dot}com.
sorry for all the blah blah blog.
holly
February 9th, 2006 at 12:57 am
I love your site! I heart all things craft. I’m subscribed!
February 9th, 2006 at 1:33 am
Good post! I enjoy reading your blog and (mostly!) looking at the pictures.
Another point I would make is to join a blogring (or more than one) appropriate to your craft. I am in the Artful Quilters blogring and I find a lot of members click round the ring frequently. There are knitters’ blogrings, surface design blogrings, dyers’ blogrings….
February 9th, 2006 at 1:43 am
Thanks for the great tips! I having been obssessed with checking out several blogs for quite some time now and finally have got up the courage/motivation to start my own! I will have to definitely check into the rss thing though - don’t know much about it as I’m not much of a techie (thank goodness you girls all have such great tips for us newbies!)Thanks again!
February 9th, 2006 at 2:03 am
those are great ideas!! i had no idea that linking from my own site would help. I’m going to do some html’ing right now…
February 9th, 2006 at 4:44 am
This is some of the best advice I have ever heard! I am a relatively new craft blogger and I agree… sometimes it feels as if no one is visiting. But if you keep plugging away at it eventually that’ll change.
February 9th, 2006 at 4:51 am
Wow, to think my blog’s been up for a while and I didn’t know all this stuff. Thanks so much for informing all of us, it’s really hard to promote your site all by yourself.
February 9th, 2006 at 5:23 am
Thanks for talking about bloglines - I’ve finally sorted it out. Thanks for all your advice.
February 9th, 2006 at 5:52 am
What a wonderfully insightful, well written, positive post! I think I’m going to have to mention it on my blog as a friend and I were talking about this very thing not two days ago. Go you! :)
February 9th, 2006 at 7:06 am
All the things you’ve mentioned are things that I look for when flipping around unknown blogs. Often I would click on someone in the comments and see where it will take me. This is how I found this site.
February 9th, 2006 at 7:10 am
Great advice, thanks. I like how my blog looks in Bloglines, but if I didn’t I’m not sure how I would change that. Isn’t that something that Typepad decided and I have to live with?
I joined the San Francisco Craft Mafia ring, but one of the things I’m supposed to do is put an image on my home page (they provide the code). I haven’t a clue how to do this, since I am non-techy and I just follow Typepad’s awesome templates.
Another rule I follow in my blog (since I talk about regular life as well as crafty projects) is NEVER talk about my day job, mention it by name, complain about it. I’ve read too many blogs where the authors were fired for having a little too much freedom of speech.
February 9th, 2006 at 11:53 am
Thanks for all the advices, I will keep them in mind. I love this website as well. So many interesting people at the same place, it’s fantastic.
February 9th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
oh my gosh!! this is just what i needed!!!! (whip up sure has a knack of that)… your advice is wonderful!!!! and it’s good to be reminded of somethings… like motives for the blogs… now that i entered the realm of blogs, i’ve been more refreshed and encouraged- meeting more people with similar interests (do i sound like an infomercial?! cuz i am listening to one right now, so it could be rubbing off, hahaha) anyhow, thanks for the tip!!! (someone just asked me about this too, and now i know where to direct them!)
February 10th, 2006 at 3:24 am
brilliant! I’m so glad you signed on for this. I knew you’d have such great posts! this is awesome. I get questions about this stuff all the time, especially swapping. What a great resource to send newbies to. I don’t think people realize how long these things take to catch on. I was blogging into the wind for months and months (and months!) before anyone noticed.
February 10th, 2006 at 6:48 am
That post just made me feel so much better. I know my blog hasn’t been a craft blog since it’s filled with projects I have yet to do, pictures I have yet to pose but I really love looking at other craft blogs and hope that I can accomplish even half of what you guys have been able to do.
I’ve been lifting pictures from other craftblogs of stuff I admired and I try to make it a point to put the link to the original blog.
I do hope you guys can go to mine just so you can give me tips on how I can make it better.
http://craftsykay.blogspot.com
February 21st, 2006 at 6:57 am
This is wonderful! As an art - reviewer blogger who dabbles in reviewing indie crafts, design products and such I have learned more here than in most other places put together. Will take a closer look in here to see the other parts of what you do!
Thanks so much!
Susan
http://www.artstreamstudios.com
February 26th, 2006 at 4:02 am
[...] s
If you keep a craft blog, and you’re interested in finding more readers, this post from Whipup.net has much good advice. In fact, it’s advice that applies to any kin [...]
February 28th, 2006 at 5:46 am
Wow! You read my mind! This comes at the perfect time for me. I am soo motivated to make a wonderful colorful entertaining blog, but often just forget the #1 reason - to have fun!
Ultimately it’s just for me…comments and such are just icing.
Thanks!
March 12th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Thanks for the great information! I just started a blog this year and am still learning
Deb
Queen of Quitman
March 20th, 2007 at 7:37 pm
[...] Why I blog. Insight into the Skittish Mind of Ideagirl. 6 03 2007 Whipup has a great little article about craft blogs and links to Lisa who has compiled a great list of people talking about why they keep their blog. [...]