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3 essential craft blog extras

kath_red — Mon, 04 May 2009 10:21:18 +0000

Starting a craft blog can be a fun but also daunting prospect. If you eager to start your own craft blog or if you already have a craft blog and would like to build your audience then tune in over the coming weeks for tips and ideas on how to build a better craft blog.

Apart from writing and publishing your crafting activities on your blog regularly, commenting and reading other blogs, making your blog attractive and taking lovely photos, running competitions and craft alongs and participating in swaps and craft blog events – what else should you do to help potential readers find your blog? Below are three essential extras that will not take long to set up but will help like minded folk find your blog.

1. Email newsletter

Adding a weekly or monthly newsletter to your craft blog or crafty website is an excellent way for readers to connect with you and your website. A newsletter landing directly in the inbox gives readers a gentle reminder to stop by your blog or to pass on your details to others.

What to include in your newsletter – a bit about what you have going on at your craft blog or site – specials, competitions, craft-alongs etc. Highlight links you think readers shouldn’t miss and even give a little extra that is not included on your blog – some freebies or personal insights.

How to get this newsletter up and running? There are many e-newsletter subscription sites with different packages – The whipup newsletter is managed through feedburner and I have a subscribe button in my sidebar and one also appears in the email body down the bottom – I like it because 1. its free, 2. its simple. There are many others – many are free and many are not – Problogger has some good tips on newsletter subscription services here and here .

2. Blog syndication (aka rss feed)

To syndicate your blog is a simple matter of inserting some code or flicking a switch. Go to your admin panel in your blog software where information will be readily available. Alternatively go to a feed syndication site such as feedburner where the process is made very simple (and you can track those who access your feeds through a reader).

Why should you syndicate your blog? Doesn’t this mean that your readers never visit your blog again and simply flick through your posts in their feed reader? Well yes this certainly does happen, but this does not have to be a bad thing. If you have advertising on your blog then you may want to entice your readers to visit your blog, or they may visit your blog anyway in order to leave a comment on your post. However if you don’t have a feed then readers who do use a feed reader (and who are likely to link to your interesting posts) will not see your blog at all.

3. list your site

List your site on blog directories, social bookmarking and networking sites and craft forums. Many people search on specific topics, so it is worth tagging your site with words like diy, craft, knitting, sewing etc.

Technorati is the major blog directory site and it is worth signing up – not only can others find your site through technorati, but technorati has a blog rating which shows how your blog popularity is going and you can also see who is linking to you.

Twitter and facebook are social networking sites, it is worth setting yourself up an account, you will meet others and others will find you and your website.

If you are a knitter then adding your patterns to Ravelry and Knitting pattern central are essential. Sewers should add their blogs to the big list of sewing blogs and free needle.

Social bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon, delicious and wists are useful for finding interesting sites under various subjects.

There are many blog directories such as blog catalogue, best blogs, blogher and more… Similar Posts:

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3 design tips for your craft blog

kath_red — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:21:33 +0000

Starting a craft blog can be a fun but also daunting prospect. If you are a blog lurker and eager to start your own blog but not quite sure what to write or if you already have a craft blog and would like to build your audience and participate more fully in the craft blog community – then tune in over the coming weeks for tips and ideas on how to build a better craft blog.

A well laid out and attractive blog is essential if you want your audience to stick around for any length of time. Here are a few design tips to think about when setting up your blog. Don’t worry html is not essential. Most blog hosting sites such as blogger and wordpress and typepad offer standard templates which can adjusted to your liking or used out of the box.

Think about a good combination of functionality and style when designing your blog/website.

1. Colour (color): Thinking about colour – font colour, background colour, heading/header colours are very important – colour not only is the first impression your blog gives but it is important for readability.

Colour is emotional – think about what you want to say with your blog. Orange, red, burgundy – for action, white, pastels and grey for soothing soft emotions.

Limit your colour palette so as not to overwhelm and create a chaotic feeling.

Background colour – I really do suggest white as a background to text and images, rather than black or some other colour – as it makes reading easier and sets off images perfectly

Colour resources: suggested colour themes : colour palettes : colour schemes :

2. Font: Make reading your blog easy – choose easy on the eye colours – not too light – not too bright – and think about the font type – something simple is best – not too big not too small not too fancy. You might want to consider a different font for headings – and also spacing between lines and different fonts for links to help them stand out a bit more.

Whipup has recently updated our font – using a slightly darker grey for the main font, slightly increasing the width between lines – and making the link font brighter and larger. All of this means its easier for readers to navigate the page.

Font for web resources: best font for web article : font explanations for the web :

3. Layout: Again making your site easy for readers to navigate should be your main aim.

Make the pages you want readers to go to easy to find. Use tabs underneath your header or links in your sidebar.

Make your contact page easy to find and have an email contact on your contact page.

Have a simple header that reflects your style and content of your site. Don’t make your header too big – consider what readers will see when they first arrive at your site – if they have to scroll down the page too far to get to the content they may not bother.

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3 tips for better tutorial writing on your craft blog

kath_red — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 00:34:55 +0000

Writing tutorials on your craft blog is one really good way to gain new readers to your blog. Sharing your knowledge and skills is not only generous, but it shows that you are an active participant in this big craft blog community. Readers appreciate your generosity and you will gain a new and ever more loyal audience.

Good writing and illustrations are important – not only must readers be able to follow and understand but your photos and/or illustrations need to be clear and attractive too. [bella dia has a good post on how to write a tutorial here and I always think that the purl bee has very clear and attractive tutorials too, oh fransson's quilt along was an excellent example of good tutorials with clear and easy to follow instructions]

1. Clear and concise: This is where your writing needs to be pared back – and instructive rather than essay like. Use clear headings and lists to get across your points.

Start with a simple introduction – what is the point of this project – where/when/who will use it – how difficult is it? And what level of skill is needed in order to complete the project.

Next a photo of the finished project – perhaps an image of it in action – make this photo really luscious – this is what will draw in the readers make them really want to make this project.

List of supplies and materials – if there are any tricky or unusual materials make sure you explain them – give alternatives. Give exact measurements if you can – how much of each material will be needed. If you have some resources for these materials/supplies then let your audience know.

Do you need a pattern – feel free to provide illustrations via a pdf or image that can be either downloaded or printed at the correct size.

2. Break the instructions into bite sized chunks: If you need to break the tutorial up into sections in order to make it clearer and not too long and unwieldy then do that rather than having one very long post.

If this is a very long project or has many parts to it – then you might want to turn it into a series. Make sure you break it into logical sections in a way that you would actually make the project.

3. Good photos or illustrations: This is really important to a good tutorial – the images must be clear and understandable. Don’t even bother with dark or blurry photos. Get rid of any background stuff that is not relevant to your tutorial. Use a plain background that will not distract from your topic. Take photos of each step in the process – or at least the main steps that are difficult to explain in words. [see this post of taking better photos for your craft blog].

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3 tips on how to build an audience for your craft blog

kath_red — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:53:00 +0000

Reaching out to others and building an audience are integral to the blogging experience – reaching out to a community of like minded people is why many people start blogging in the first place. But it takes time to build a readership, time to develop your unique voice and time to find others who feel the same way as you do. But how do you ‘meet’ other like minded souls in the big blog universe? And how to get them to find you?

1. Read others blogs and comment on stories/posts that you genuinely connect with.

Do comment when it adds to the conversation or you have something relevant to say.

Don’t comment in the hopes that others will then read your blog.

In return, when your readers leave a comment on your blog, email you or link to you, then return the favour. This starts the process of blog networking and you may just meet some new friends in the process.

You don’t have to answer every comment, although in the beginning you may want to.

If you can’t return every comment then at least contribute to the discussion within the comments section

2. Network and develop relationships with other blogs in your blog circle.
Developing relationships with other blogs within your chosen niche is very important to developing your blog as part of the community. Being generous with your time and ideas shows that you are a committed and dedicated member of the community.

Do email other blogs in your blog circle and introduce yourself in a friendly way.

Do participate in guest blog swaps if you can – send in tips or articles to blogs that may publish them.

Do promote each other, be generous, participate in building a strong community, share ideas and links.

Don’t be upset if your reaching out to fellow bloggers does not get a response the first time – try and try again.

3. Participate and join blog projects
One important way of Joining the community that you are interested in is to join in on community events.

Don’t overdo the memes – the occasional one is fun and interesting – only participate in the ones you connect with.

Do participate in, and eventually host, craft-alongs – knit-alongs, virtual quilting bees and swaps.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep, don’t start something you can’t finish – as this will only alienate you from the group.

Do host blog carnivals – this not only brings a new audience, it adds some variety to your usual posts.

Do host competitions and giveaways, this brings readers out of the woodwork and you may have a chance to ‘meet’ your readers.

Do occasional polls and quizzes – everyone loves a chance to voice their opinion – and this also brings lurkers out of the shadows.

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3 tips for better photography on your craft blog

kath_red — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:24:05 +0000

Craft blogs are very visual – for most craft blogs are all about the pictures – images of fabric and yarn, images half finished projects and completed masterpieces, images of children wearing and enjoying the fruits of your labour, closeups of textures and colours, images for teaching and explaining – its really is all about the images. So how do you get those gorgeous crisp images that some bloggers seem to do so effortlessly and others struggle with. Jane from Yarnstorm is known for her colourful images and Anna Maria Horner also shows off her work through photography very well.

Here three quick tips to get your photos looking better – more advanced tips next week…

1. Lighting is key (check out this previous post for more on lighting your objects at home)
Natural light, natural poses, natural setting. I personally love to see objects in their natural environment lit by natural light. Kids playing effortlessly outside, or working busily inside on projects. Fabrics and knitting lit by the filtered light of a window shade.

And if you don’t have the natural light working for you then the next best thing is a mini photography studio in your space. Use a neutral backdrop to get the most out of your colours and textures – here are some at home studios here, here and here.

Don’t use the harsh unforgiving light of a flash unless you have experience with reflectors.

Do place your objects near the window – not in bright sunlight as this creates harsh shadows.

2. Get in close – experiment with angle – use your macro lens.
Interesting angles make for interesting photos – experiment with getting in close, photographing from above or down low.

Don’t always centre the image, creating tension with the image off centre or cropped can add drama and interest to your image.

Use your macro lens or macro setting, focus on one interesting detail.

3. crop, edit, adjust in photoshop
Use some digital photo software to crop your image, even play with minor adjustments in contrast and colour. If you don’t have photoshop there are plenty of online photo editors you can use. Here, here and here.

Do crop your photos – crop them to create tension – or crop out unnecessary backgrounds.

Do lighten your photos if they are too dark.

Do take heaps of photos so you have a lot to choose from.

Don’t go crazy with effects and add filters or borders.

More advanced photography tips next week.
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3 tips for craft blog etiquette

kath_red — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:41:55 +0000

1. Be polite:
Craft blogging is about building communities and ‘meeting’ people of like interests, sharing ideas and being inspired. Craft blogs are places where people are expressing and sharing their ideas, and these ideas should be respected. Its ok to not like other peoples stuff and its ok to say so – but rudeness and meanness is never ok. So whether you are commenting on someones elses blog or writing about something on your own blog – try your best to not be nasty.

2. Link your sources:
When you mention someone else on your blog, a quote, an image or a post – always link the source. A simple [via] is sufficient, if it is a new idea/new thing that you found while surfing the web, it is not only respectful and polite to mention where you found the idea, but its in the web spirit to share the love around.

If you do post and link, don’t expect a reciprocal link just for the hell of it – these will come but are certainly not mandatory – generosity tends to be catching.

Don’t repost the whole of someone else’s post – reposting a quote is fine – but not the whole thing.

3. Sourcing images:
Do you have to ask permission before reposting an image? This is a tricky area and I don’t have a definitive answer, on whipup we simply don’t have time to ask everyone for permission and we feel that it is good publicity for the image owner, we use images in the spirit of sharing news and information.

However if you are a new blog then it might be wise to begin by asking for permission before reposting images. If you don’t ask permission before using an image then you must:

Remove the image if the owner does not want it used. If you have posted an image to your website and the author of the image contacts you to ask for it to be removed then you must do this immediately.

Give full credit for every image and link back to the author of the image. This is absolutely essential – to note where you found the image, who the author of the image is and link back to their website. If you have forgotten or can’t find it again – then don’t use it.

Do not use the image if the blog or website specifically requests that images not be used without permission. Some blogs will have a little section in their sidebar that says please don’t use my images without permission – you must respect this.

Never hotlink an image. Hotlinking or stealing of bandwidth is considered very bad manners – if you want to repost an image you saw somewhere then download it and upload it to your server.

Do not use an image if it will damage or diminish the value of the work in any way. This means using an image in a derogatory way – making fun of it or being mean about it or the creator.

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3 tips for better writing on your craft blog

kath_red — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:31:05 +0000

Writing is an essential element for a better craft blog. The most successful craft blogs – the ones that have almost a cult following, are the ones that have just the right combination of personal and creativity topics covered in their blog writing. They are easy to read, funny and wise, interesting and personal (but not too personal), they give advice and share their ideas but also show their human frailties. Soulemama and posie gets cozy are two examples.

1. Edit your words before hitting publish.

Before you hit publish on your post, make sure you read over what you have written and make sure it is what you want to say. Writing on a blog is difficult to undo, once its out there – it is out there. Even if you delete the post afterward it is still out there – published in your rss feed.

2. Good writing is simple, conversational, anecdotal and friendly.

Writing like this however takes practice. Don’t expect to be a great writer overnight. Choose one interesting thing to discuss at first, write a little about your personal life – discuss your children, work, homelife – no need to discuss all the gory details, just the interesting snippets, discuss your latest project, your exciting news, share your joys and adventures and your latest craft obsessions. Be honest with your readers, be a friend – but you don’t have to tell them everything.

3. You don’t have to write about your personal life

Writing about your personal life is not mandatory, you don’t have to tell the world about your nervous breakdown or marriage breakup. Its fine to keep on topic and write only about crafting, making, designing, art or whatever your latest creative endeavour is. Discuss your creative process, your inspirations, your design ideas, your craft successes and failures, but a little window into who you are helps to build a loyal audience.

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3 tips for better craft blogging

kath_red — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:24:23 +0000

1. Write about and show others your talents, skills, ideas, inventions and creations.

Discuss your creative process, show off your successes with gorgeous photos and don’t forget to mention the disasters you had along the way. Show your human side as well as your talent and skills. Become known for your style – be it eclectic and diverse or simple and plain – you will soon find others who share your style and design sense.

2. Give a little to your readers – share your design secrets -offer free patterns and tutorials.

Provide these clear and concise patterns and tutorials, with clear photographs, as either tutorial posts or downloadable pdfs. Make them available in your sidebar, or otherwise easy to find, on your blog. You don’t have to do this often and you don’t have to give away all your secrets, but readers will appreciate your generosity in sharing your knowledge, skills and ideas.

3. Share the love around

Communication and sharing the linky love is key to building a better blog. This includes reading and commenting on others blogs, but also an mentioning on your blog the work of those whom you admire. You can have a links section, but more important is a mention within your post of fellow crafters who have inspired you, or whose pattern/project/tutorial you have used. Share the love and you will get more back in return.Similar Posts:

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