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.

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.

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.

Combine the personal

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.

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.