Bloggers - Move on over to Canva

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a tendency towards faddy obsession. Exhibit A - Twitter!

I have often been a bit stumped when it comes to finding new ways to produce graphics for my posts. I've tinkered a little with Photoshop, but never having time to get my head around it I’ve often resorted to using photos straight from the iPhone. Or, worse, screen grabs from a Word document, when I’ve needed a picture in a hurry for a blog or social media post.

But not anymore!

Here's looking at you, text

I saw this advert on Twitter earlier, with someone noting it contained an 'orphan'.

Can you spot it?

I stared at the advert for a while before I worked out (with a little help from the big G) what an orphan was and indeed where it was on the advert. Having done a little research I’m not sure that this is technically an orphan. But nevertheless once I'd spotted the lone word ‘soak’ on the third line, I couldn’t help but think the paragraph would read better without that unnatural break in the sentence.

It bothers me that it doesn't quite look right, and could so easily have been corrected!

It’s not just me, is it?

Perfectionism is spelled paralysis

Oct 2014 progress update

Month: 7/12 (58%)
Chapters completed: 10 / 21 (47%)
Assignments completed: 6/ 11 (55%)

I know, I know…I need to speed up if I’m going to get through the course in a year.

And yes, yes, rap me over the knuckles again, I have barely updated this blog over the last couple of months. I want to blame all sorts of things like working hard, selling my house and buying a new one, and answering 74 "why" questions from Toddler on a daily basis (no exaggeration)! 

But do you know what? Yes I have been doing all those things, but actually the reason I've been struggling seems to be the  dreaded confidence bug again!

What can we really learn from the 'YouTubers'?

Its difficult to look at Twitter these days without seeing something about the new breed of You Tube stars, how amazing they are and how they're all planning to publish books soon...Oh, and how much they can teach us about branding and marketing! 

I spent a bit of my lunch hour the other day reading this article, Five behaviours marketers can learn from the new YouTube stars from Marketing UK. And then I wished I hadn't, because I spent most of my afternoon staring at spreadsheets with this blog post buzzing around inside my head…

These are the ‘lessons for marketers’ highlighted by the article:

Why attitude is all important

It is often said, when you fall off a bike you should get straight back on again.

Get back on the bike*

Obviously, in reality, if you fall off your bike that’s the last thing you want to do. Your instant reaction is to retreat into a corner to lick your wounds in peace while you wait for the embarrassed red flush to fade. 

To be able to get back on the bike you need to dust yourself down, work out what went wrong, maybe practise a bit, and make sure you do it better next time.

Easy to say. But hiding is not going to help you do that!

Social media for business - A blessing or a curse?

Social media is one of the quickest ways to market your new business these days. Brands are constantly told that Twitter, Facebook and the like are not only useful, but essential.

But, if you are considering a foray into social media marketing for your business, I say proceed with caution!

Let me tell you a sweet story…

A small reminder of the importance of friends

Guess what?

The fact I am writing a long overdue blog post may give you a clue.

I finally finished the assignment I was getting my knickers in a twist about…And I got a reasonable mark too.

I’m hoping that now I’ve got past that particular brick wall I can move onwards and upwards with a little more confidence. If I take that long faffing about every assignment I won’t finish my copywriting course until 2016!

Knuckling down and getting the job done, though, was not without issue.

By the time I had written both a ‘home’ page and an ‘about’ page and all the associated metadata, I felt slightly like I had birthed another baby (Complete with J-breaths for the ‘hypnobirthers’ amongst you! No, seriously!). I was terrified when I sent it off for marking, and very relieved when it came back with positive comments.

Is this what it is like sending copy to clients? Jeez, I’m going to need beta-blockers on repeat!

The biggest issue, though, is the realisation that in focussing on getting this far through the course I have totally and utterly neglected all those around me!

Overcoming a crisis of confidence

July 2014 - Copywriting Course Progress

Month: 4/12 (33%)

Chapters completed: 8 / 21 (38%)

Assignments completed: 3 / 11 (27%)

Best bits:

Amazing feedback and lovely encouragement from assignments submitted so far.

Worst bits:

The trainee copywriter who went up a mountain...

Have you ever climbed a mountain?

The Langdale Pikes, The English Lake District

I mean truly climbed a mountain, one stumbling step after another, leaden legs refusing to speed up when the rain is closing in and the summit is not yet in sight.

Top 10 tips for beginner bloggers

Maybe it’s just my love of writing a good process document, but I did actually set out a blog strategy (of sorts) before I started my blog – overkill you might think – and you’d probably be right!

I set 27^th June as a date to review the document. So this seems like the perfect opportunity to share some of the things I’ve learned, as well as some of my goals for the next 4 months.