Friday, January 4, 2013

Breakfast + Blogging

Yummy organic berries with a side of blogging this morning.

1. Unique Banner

I've never worked with a graphic designer, let alone created anything web-related on my own. I have a very specific idea of what I want it to look like, but this is a whole new world to me. I'm not sure if I should get a book on it and attempt it myself, or if it would be cheaper and easier to hire someone to create what I'm looking for. I would love to hear any suggestions that you have.

2. Grab Button

I'm not worried about figuring out how to make one, but I need to set aside some time to take a special photograph for it.

3. Followers

I am so happy that I have followers, readers, commenters, and dare I say: new friends. I'd like to increase readers and learn more about how to do that. I've played around with the idea of becoming a sponsor. Have you ever been a sponsor? What was your experience?

4. Little Adventures

It's definitely hard to take adventures while being in school. My new year's resolution to try a local boutique, restaurant, or coffee shop at least once a week will help with this. 

5. DIY

Once again, school takes up so much time and I haven't been creating anything on a regular basis like I used to. I'm going to set a goal to create something at least once a month, which is completely doable.

♥ Do you have any blog-specific resolutions for 2013?

10 comments:

  1. Yum, your breakfast looks so delicious and healthy. I’ve always wanted to learn how to create my own banner or blog layout but I really don’t have the time for it. That’s why I hired someone to create mine and even install it for me. You can find lots of designers on Etsy, like I did, or ask a blogger where they got theirs. I think blog buttons are a good thing to have; namely, because you can sponsor other bloggers and get more traffic, you can button swap with other bloggers for free, and a blog button will allow other readers to share your blog on their website. I took so long to create one because I didn’t know how to make one but now that I’ve learned, I’m glad I did. You can find lots of tutorials online on how to make one. My experience with being a sponsor is great! I got more traffic on my website, and you can find some blogs that have lots of readers and moderate sponsor prices. I think my main resolution, for my blog, in 2013, is to keep getting better, and never stop blogging. One of the best tips I’ve read is that you should never forget to blog for weeks on end because one can lose followers. So I’ve set a schedule and I stick to it. :-D Have a great Friday!

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    1. These are all great tips/ideas. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me in on some good advice :) As far as the banner and layout is concerned I think I'm going to hire someone to do it. I would have never thought to look on Etsy if you didn't say something.

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  2. 1 - Depending. If you have the tools, go for it. But a lot of time, not having the tools or training can kill it, and since it's the first thing someone sees, it can determine if they stay or leave. My advice? Leave it simple, or contact someone whose design you already love and see what they would charge for it.
    2 - I acutally just use versions of my header as a button. My header is a vector file so I can easily resize it at anytime for any button. So many blogs have so many different sizes - rarely are any two the same size.
    3 - I have loved sponsoring! I have sponsored a few blogs and get a lot from it. I love ones that have sponsor features, hence why I started a sponsor feature for my sponsors in 2013.
    4 - Little adventures are the best. I find they keep me wanting to share on my blog. Plus, they make me happy.
    5 - DIYs are great in theory. But always end up being a pain, especially in the winter. I'm trying to photograph gloves and I want to start sewing them, but I have to wait until weekends so I have natural light to photograph in.

    PS. If you were interested, my 20 percent off sponsorship code is still running because I haven't taken it off yet (pure busy these days). The code is HOLIDAYS

    <3 katherine
    of corgis and cocktails

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    1. I loved reading your thoughts on everything I was curious about :) I definitely think I'm going to start sponsoring! I just need to do a grab button, which is something I can easily do this weekend.

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  3. If you want to take blogging seriously, hiring a designer will be a great investment!

    Gia @ Lovely Serendipity

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  4. Hiring a designer would be good, but if you have a friend who needs to do work for their portfolio that might be even better!

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    1. I actually don't know anyone personally that is a designer. If you have any recommendations ;)

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  5. Ooh, I like these! I've been wondering about those grab buttons, too! I posted my goals for 2013 here. I think we have the same idea in terms of readership, though you seem to be doing better with posting consistently! That's definitely a resolution for this year. Good luck!

    ~Cristina
    www.theramblingfangirl.com

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    1. I try! It's going to be a lot more difficult to stay on top of things when school starts back again.

      I'm going to check out that post right now :)

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