You may have heard of Sister Diane through her fabulous crafty pod cast over the last few years, or more recently as a craft book author of the book Kanzashi in bloom (we talked about it back here). Now Diane has ventured into the world of e-books and is doing these just as fantastically as all her previous endeavours.
Always clear and concise, and full of interesting information – her e-books are really a treat. She has 2 e-books on the subject of blogging ‘Making a Great Blog‘ and ‘Creating a blog audience’. They go together but can be read separately too.
The first one ‘Making a Great Blog: A Guide for Creative People’, takes new and old bloggers step by step through the process of creating a successful blog. From how to get started (what sort of blog, how to be organised, what are your blogging goals, how much time do you have to dedicate to your blog), to writing content and dealing with blogger fatigue, finding your voice and style and thinking of your blog as a visual thing. Diane has very valuable insights into blogging and the craft community – as a list maker I particularly appreciated the ‘to do’ lists and work sheets which help with planning and brainstorming.
To delve into the community and marketing aspect of blogging – you will need ‘Creating a Blog Audience: an unconventional marketing guide’, where Diane talks about blogs as a useful marketing tool and how to compete (or not) in the big blogging world full of those corporate blogs with a machine behind them.
With a small but very useful and clear marketing lesson to begin with, Diane tells the reader how to use their blog to promote their crafty business/book/project, how to participate and become part of the community, and how to make use of various blogging tools and social media. Diane also discusses ‘the cool kids’, the popular blogs, how they got there and why they are popular and how you can build up your audience too.
Diane’s blogging e-books are a fantastic resource – take advantage of her incredible experience and knowledge. I only wish I had these 5 years ago instead of stumbling and bumbling my way through. Well done Diane.
Diane is offering 3 whipup readers two ebooks each: a copy of Making a Great Blog and a copy of Creating a Blog Audience (Plus worksheet packs, of course.)
– leave a comment here letting us know the greatest challenge to you in starting up your blog you have 48 hours to enter – good luck!
Comments closed – congrats to our 3 winners: Steph, Fay and Ansie – you have been contacted via email.
{ 84 comments }
I am still trying to figure out my point of view. I am a knitting teacher but I am not sure I really want to talk about work but maybe my creative process would be better and more interesting, especially for me.
My greatest challenge is feeling comfortable writing about things because I don’t know if someone would be interested. I guess it boils down to a confidence thing lol
my biggest challenge to blogging is the photography! my photos are ok, but not stunning, and the blogs i love the most have interesting photography.
My greatest challenge is figuring out how to narrow down what I want to put on my blog and what to write about.
Biggest challenge? Time, most definitely. Time to post frequently, time to think of interesting subject matter, time to get my pics “just right”, and time to devote to everything else that matters in life :)
My greatest challenge is blogging frequently enough – feeding the beast! I tend to be a bit wordy with my posts so they take ages. It is hard to find the time to both blog and create stuff to blog about.
Photography… with a broken camera! Also, finding the line between what I do and do not want to share. And building a good blog with a good audience, of course.
I write these great blog posts in my head when I’m out and about with my daily tasks, then I get home and I totally forget everything I was going to say.
I started the blog for my family to hear about my new baby girl but as I’ve been reading other blogs I realize I have more to contribute than just “this is what she’s doing.” I just have to figure out what direction I want the blog to go in, who my audience would be and get to it!
My biggest challenge was starting the blog in the first place. I felt nervous that I wouldn’t have anything lovely, interesting or exciting enough to write about. I only started my blog last week and am loving it!
My greatest challenge was, and still is, defining what I want to accomplish from my blog, especially since it’s not a project-oriented gateway to an Etsy shop.
My greatest challenge is writing enough content. I tend to be too brief with what I write. I’m also not sure what counts as too much information.
My greatest challenge would be finding the time to commit and make the blog worthwhile. I would greatly appreciate any tips on how to blog efficiently!
My greatest challenge is constantly coming up with new and interesting information and tutorials for my readers. I read a lot of craft blogs, and they always have lots of information. I also need to find my ‘writing style’. It’s hard enough for me to blog, since it’s somthing I’m not used to. But being able to write stuff in a catchy manner that will engage viewers, is something I’m still working on.
I think my challenge is editing the text, without spending a zillion hours. I know I need to keep things brief, and I tend to go on & on…so trying to figure out how to be clear and concise is difficult. In fact, this answer is a perfect example of how I take a bit to get to the point! Great question!
My greatest challenges are good photography. Sometimes I want to show things off so badly that I don’t wait until I can get good lighting or a good backdrop. the other thing is, how to draw more people to my blog – marketing, I guess.
My greatest problem is writing and finding my voice. English was never a favorite subject of mine in school.
I definitely could use the helpI
for me it is keeping a balance, my blog is a crafty/Montessori blog sometimes the two overlap I don’t want to bore the crafters with the Montessori and vice versa.
I recently start my blog, just 1 week old!
I think the greatest challenge is finding the time to blog often, I have so much that I want to share, but each post takes so long to do, including taking photos, uploading photos.. and actually go about writing the post.
But I enjoyed everything so far:)
I think my greatest challenges are to setting goals for my blog and than following through.I have a long list of abstract ideas but none of them came to life yet :)
I struggle with a few things:
My blog has been going for a few months now, and I am amazed at how much time it actually takes up. I don’t know how to blog everyday and still be productive too. I try to only blog about original things and not link or copy too much of what I see on other people’s blogs.
I also struggle to find the balance between being personal and sharing my personal experiences without exposing my family and friends. I don’t want to post pictures of my children but in the end they are such a big part of my life that I find it difficult to be spontanious and personal without including them. I know the purpose of a blog is to get your name and abilities out there but I still want to protect my family from cyberspace unknowns.
I haven’t open an etsy or other shop yet, although that is the plan enventually, but I find it difficult to find my exact niche. I am thinking of going more into the ‘art’ route instead of the flea-market/craft route, but I am unsure about how to market my blog/work to achieve that.
well, that’s a mouth full!
My biggest challenge at first was improving my photography–nobody wants to read a blog that doesn’t have great photos, and even now–though I’ve gotten a lot better–I struggle with the desire to blog when I haven’t managed to get great pictures of anything. Should I blog bad photos? I know the answer is no, but I don’t want to be silent either! I just figure eventually I’m going to get so good, this won’t be problem anymore. ;-)
I don’t have a blog yet, but have recently done a few attempts in starting one. I have an idea of what I want to talk about in my blog, the tutorials, the projects I do, and I even photograph my items with blogging in mind (although the pictures are not that proffesional, so maybe photographing is also a challenge). But I think that my biggest challenge has to be starting the blog and doing the neccesary maintanance work to keep it interesting and useful so readres will keep on coming.
I think those e-books would really help me a lot.
Probably deciding what to blog about and what to leave out – it is hard to focus the blog on one thing (such as baking) – but I think that is what needs to be done.
My biggest challenge has been (and is still) to find the right look on my blog. A design that goes with what I write. I wish I knew more html. In addition I find the ballance of “privacy”/sharing relatio difficult. I want to share from my private life as well as not expose too much. :-)
I don’t think my blog reflects me enough, which is why it doesn’t get written much. But I’m still not totally certain how much I want to share … and whether it will come back to bite me!
Would love to improve my blog content so that would be really great! Thanks for the chance!
I am still struggling with the idea of how and what my blog should be. My main problem is weather I should wirte in English, so it reaches more people, or in Spanish, my language, so I can express myself with much more confidence… I want to write about life, craft, books…Anyway, my goal is to have my own blog active by January. Any help from your e-books would be great!
Hi,
I am working on starting a blog doing my basic ground research at the moment, please can I be eligible for the ebooks.
I am looking at becoming a full time blogger and a online networker.
The greatest challenge for me is time – time to write, and especially time to take decent photos. I have ideas for a lot of blog posts, but many never get written, and sooner or later it is too late. I would love to hear how others manage to blog more effectively (let alone how to publish every day!).
MY greatest challenge is making nice photographes. Mine are a bit modest I see on other blogs beautiful colorful photographes. The other challenge is about what tro write and how to write. Personal choses, my knitting and sewing???? The biggest challenge was already to start the blog. imagine that for 5 years ago I only used a computer in the labriry to search a book!!!!!
I also want to buy my handmade bags, that is also a purpose, to interest people to go to my Etsy shop …..
I still have so much questions. ……..
I’ve been trying to rev myself up for a while to start a blog – I suppose its a bit like writing a book – I’m afraid that no-one will want to read it! Also, I’m no techy so the “nuts an bolts” of setting it up scare me! Then I read all these great blogs…….
The biggest challenge I find is posting regularly! I can be really good for a few days and post regularly, then… nothing for a while! It is hard to find the time and inspiration sometimes.
I’ve only recently started blogging and have found a few challenges. Number one is finding an audience. How do I get people’s attention? Number two – finding the time to post and still having time to create. I’ve found that I can only post regularly when I am really organised! Number three is the time it’s taking me to upload photos. It’s frustrating – it takes ages even though I shrink the files to tiny and use an image hosting site.
I think my main challenge is finding the confidence to actually start. I am overwhelmed with issues about privacy and whether anyone would be interested in what I have to say and even if I would actually find anything to say.
Like most people it seems, my biggest challenges are posting regularly and photography. It takes me quite a while to do each post, even though they are short. Also, I don’t really like the design of my blog, but don’t know enough html to fix it. But I really enjoy blogging when I get into it.
I have a hard time working out time to blog and making sure I have fresh, interesting content that hasn’t already been repeated 100 times across the net. It’s good to point your readers to something fabulous, but not if all their other main reads have already shown them the same link.
My greatest challenge is establishing a routine which not only finds enough time for me to write the posts I want AND which ensures I don’t eat into family time and other time “just checking” my email and comments!!
The biggest problem? Where to begin! I have all this stuff floating around in my head and on my studio table and how to organize it so it makes sense to an audience and is not just some stream of conscience rant from my brain is the big BIG challenge. I can’t wait to read the book because I do need the help in figuring that out.
Wow! What a great giveaway. I have been a blog lurker for the last year and a half and am only just now getting up the courage to start my own blog. I am worried that I will not have enough interesting things to say every day for people to enjoy. I get so much joy out of reading other people’s blogs and taking a peak into their lives… my life seems boring in comparison.
For me, the greatest challenge is focus. I have a blog for my personal life stuff (mostly just for family) but I need to get a blog audience for my business (bakery). Anytime I’ve started to write about baking or cooking I always end up distracted by something else (mostly knitting and crafts). After a day of baking, it’s hard to stay on topic.
I just switched blogs because I’m switching focus, mostly. I still talk about family a bit, but I want to focus more on crafty endeavors. I also switched from Blogger to Squarespace so I have room to grow. I’m not sure what direction I might go in when the baby is older, but I wanted the flexibility to go there. So I guess my challenge is maintaining my own voice while changing focus a bit, and even maintaining a focus when I’m not sure where I’ll end up!
My greatest challenge is to post consistently. My sister and I share a crafting blog, so we both post. Also, I would like to increase our blog’s audience.
I don’t have a blog yet, but I’m thinking about one that offers a few things- a glimpse into the life of a potter, funny stories from craft shows, and photos of the things(usually botanical) that inspire the form and decoration of my porcelain work. But here’s what I’m wondering- is there really an audience for this? I’m not interested in a vanity project, but on the other hand, would enjoy the networking that might happen. Perhaps my customers would enjoy the background thoughts on what I do.(And it would be GREAT if they were then inspired to buy more!)
So I have 2 problems- will anyone care? And how do I keep a blog intriguing day after day?
BTW I’m thinking of a blog title, “Not a Ferret Bowl”- pinging off of a story a friend told me from her craft fair days!
My biggest challenge starting up is the same challenge that I have today – not judging myself so harshly! I occasionally get down on myself about not posting often enough/not taking good enough pictures/not having interesting enough content/etc. I regularly need to remind myself that I blog because I enjoy it and because it’s a great way to connect with other creative people, and that no one else is judging me nearly as harshly as I am! I would love to check out these books and get Sister Diane’s insight into blogging – thanks for the chance!
My biggest blogging challenge is posting regularly. I don’t and it’s probably because I have no audience so there is not much motivation to do so. Also, I am not quite sure why I even have a blog.
My biggest challenge is actually finding the time to post on my blog!
My biggest challenge is trying to convince myself that others may actually enjoy what I have to say and what I do.
My biggest challenge is that I code my site from scratch (I don’t use blogging software). So I have had to learn a lot about web development and I still have some issues!
My biggest challenge??? Finding time…to do anyting!!!!!
My biggest challenge is to not get discouraged by the lack of followers or page views. Good things come with time, and I know that if I actually work hard at it that an audience, however small, will find me.
My biggest challenge is getting photos onto my blog. I blog mostly from work, but download photos at home. The system is ever-evolving but right now I get my hubby to download photos onto a memory stick which I take to work with me and then I edit them on picnik online and post them onto my blog. It’s as simple as I could get it at the moment.
g.
My biggest challenge is defining my point of view finding the time to post regularly.
My biggest challenge is focusing on what I should write about. I’m never really sure if anyone wants to hear about what’s going on behind the scenes, you know, the daily life challenges so it seems kind of sparse at times. Plus it’s a crazy time eater playing around with the look of it. My test blog is constantly changing but I rarely like it enough to make that a change to the real blog. Guess it’s a work in progress. :-)
I’m having a difficult time taking the first step….creating a blog. I’ve been wanting to do it for some time now, but then I get overwhelmed and feel like I don’t know where to start. Sometimes I get discouraged and think that I have nothing new to say or show. That hinders that initial step the most I think.
My greatest challenge is not going back and tinkering with the wording on my entries after I post them… should really leave well enough alone as it takes up too much precious “making” time.
I have had several challenges. First I had a personal blog which I loved posting to. But I tend to ramble and not put any pictures, which I am sure people find boring. Then I started a blog for my business, Crafty Girls Workshop, and I still lean toward making that semi personal. I don’t want it to feel cold and limited to just selling products. I want it to be about the Crafty Girls and what we do. Also, of course, finding the time is always challenging. I definately want the blog to sound personal without sounding too much like a sales pitch too. Is there a balance?
Anna
2 big challenges: planning and posting entries on a regular basis (which I think is key to building readership) and negotiation for myself what actually belongs on my blog (what’s too personal, how much failure/stress to make public).
My biggest challenge has always been staying consistent! I know what to do, how to market, how to get myself out there, how to just do it – but always seem to go through stages of posting frequently to hardly posting at all.
Thanks for the giveaway opportunity! There are so many challenges to starting a blog especially when you’re thinking “who’s gonna read what I want to say?” and I find it hard to find time to reply to every comment but I trying my best to do that! Thank you!! These e-books topics are great!
Self confidence! I started a blog a while ago and though I continue to post (albeit not as often as I’d like but life has the habit of getting in the way) I’m just not certain that anyone likes what I write, or is actually interested in what I do which, to a certain extent, inhibits what I post about. A few kind folk have left some lovely comments but are they just being ‘nice’?
My greatest challenge is deciding how to balance photos & text–I am kind of wordy and always have too many photos, but as a reader, I like posts that are concise while still letting the author’s style come through.
My biggest challenge is getting my blog involved in the crafty community online. I’d like to be a voice but I don’t feel that my writing speaks to other crafters. I feel like I’m just writing to myself.
My greatest challenge is using my time wisely. I am a mother of three young children, so I don’t have a ton of time to spend on each post, but I want my posts to be effective in catching an audiences attention. I don’t have anyone following my blog other than my husband. So I REALLY need some advice on how to get some followers.
my greatest challenge is focusing on what would make my blog interesting to others without being too personal. i do not want to exploit my life and lose myself and my family in the process to its creation.
I actually have 3 challenges with blogging. I always have a hard time putting into words the point I would like to get across. I start rambling and going on tangents (which I do when talking) and it starts to dissolve the essence of my point. Then there are the lapses in between…I feel like I have ADD, so sometimes I just put off blogging for a week or month or year and no one wants to keep up with the randomocity of that (or so I feel). I also have a hard time distinguishing between an update (like Twitter) and blog. Sometimes my blogs end up just being a status update and then I’m like well that was dumb! I would love to get into blogging more I just feel I need guidance!
I want to get a blog in order to motivate myself to finish all my wisps. But I don’t know where to start with a blog either! Please help.
I’d like to find out why some blogs have such a great audience and some a rather small.
But I guess from my observation it is not only content and look but also some kind of psycho-social-thing. Can I relate to that other person? Is she my kind? Is she something to admire?
I’d like to read from a profi about this.
Tally
My main issue is finding my identity as a blogger. I have so many interests that it makes it difficult to narrow down my topics.
Cool bananas!!! Lovely prize… My blog challenge is even after blogging and blogging I never feel like I have caught up – always way more ideas to post on than time to post!!! I guess it is all about finding that elusive balance…
My first blog was too general, it was just random posts that didn’t really target a specific interest or group.
my biggest challenge is being regular with my blogging. i really go in fits and starts, and i feel like unless i’m writing on some kind of regular schedule people get bored and stop checking in…
I also have no idea really how to increase my readership.
thanks for the chance to get some savvy tips!
My biggest challenge is having confidence in my abilities. I don’t think I’m a good enough crafter/seamstress to persuade others to do things my way or buy my stuff. That doesn’t sound like a blog problem until you think of a blog as a marketing tool, which is what I would like it to be.
my biggest challenge is regularity and increasing my readership.
My biggest challenge with my blog is consistency. I blog as I have time — and there’s never enough time! So sometimes I’ll have several posts in a week, then nothing for more than a week. I would love to build up a surplus of posts to smooth things out.
My girlfriend would love this! She’s been wanting to start a blog forever!
Sister Diane is my blogging idol! I would never have started a blog if it hadn’t been for her enthusiastic postings and helpful advice.
I just started a blog 2 weeks ago, but have only posted once. I’m not sure I am clever enough. I want to share my knitting, crafts, cooking, family, etc., but when I try to type it up, it seems so bland. I’m not sure who would want to read it. Maybe I should just do it for myself…
I really think the biggest challenge is getting started! The thought of all those posts seems so daunting and I read alot of craft blogs and I am astounded at how often people post. They have kids and business and still they update their blogs. How do they do it and how do they keep it up. I’d really like to have one as it is a great community out there, but with a new baby at home how would it be possible!!
My biggest challenge was the pictures. I love to look at the pictures on other blogs so understand the importance of them. But I am the kind of person who had one roll of film in their camera that covered most of my daughter’s life! The entire process of taking good pictures, editing them, and uploading them is foreign and not in any way instinctive so I find it the hardest part
Hmm, probably figuring out where to draw the line between what I want to share and my private life; so that I give my readers enough information to understand what’s going on, but not be overly personal.
And choosing a good topic to write about when I don’t have crafty little things to share!
My greatest challenge was finding the courage to put up the first post! A little voice inside my kept saying, “Why are you doing this? This is a silly waste of time.” But I was so proud of that first post! Now, I love being connected both as a writer and a reader to my blogging community. I have a lot to learn, but I really enjoy blogging and am motivated to keep creating.
I am new to all this and I am having a hard time getting started…this would be a HUGE help!
My challenge is sort of a cocktail of having enough time, feeling sure enough in my own ideas, and a lack of computer smartness. What a great giveaway!
Comments on this entry are closed.