Have you been thinking about diving into the blogging world? We would love to have you! Lately I’ve been receiving emails from people asking for advice and below are the short and simple tidbits I have to offer.
Find a platform that works for YOU Everyone will have advice on what the best platform is, but our worlds all turn just a little bit differently. What works for someone else, may not be what works for you. Do your homework and before settling on a platform, go with a free trial. If you find you like it, take note, and then find another platform and do a different free trial. Yes, really. Don’t settle on the first one that “works” for you. Give at least 3 different platforms a test drive before settling in.
Remember to unsubscribe to those you won’t be utilizing to avoid unwanted charges.
Authenticity I can’t stress the importance of this. Too often I see new bloggers emulating established personalities and readers pick up on this quickly. Be you. As you grow into your craft, you will find the voice and exclusive style that you’re comfortable with and that your readers and viewers will love.
Take notice of new trends but don’t copy Do you see a new photo trend, color spot or angle that catches your eye? Great! It’s boring to do the same thing all the time, and if it’s boring for you, you know the readers had enough, too.
Take note and put your creativity to work. How can you put that to use without duplicating? Take two steps forward with the idea and see what you come up with. Give it a tweak and twist so that it works well with your own brand.
Call your friends Yes. Bother your friends. Do you have a great photographer in your social circle? Ask for advice or hire her for a day and look in the lens through her/his eyes. Get a different perspective.
We all have that one friend that entertains often, ask them for gorgeous serving dishes to use for plating and presentation in your photographs.
Shake things up a bit Keep your photos interesting with different boards, cloths, stones, dishes and backdrops. You can photograph in the same location each session, yet your photographs look completely different. An easel covered in cloth changes your background (blur) and boards and stones change your surface. I’ve even used the gorgeous white tile in my bathroom as background with a few twinkle lights added for “texture”. Be creative. More than likely you have everything you need in your own closets and cupboards.
Ingredients Today’s readers skim first. If they like what they see they will settle in and read. Sprinkle your ingredients in the product shot so with just a glance they can determine if they will use the recipe or continue their search.
Keep it simple Your readers will love you for this. When readers search for a recipe, they just want the recipe. Keep your story short and light and get to the point. Idea: Have a story to tell? Create a separate post and add a link inside your recipe post. This gives readers the option of going in and getting to know the backstory and you a little better or simply focusing on cooking your amazing recipe.
These are just a few small bits of advice for beginners, there are so many rewards in this industry, sprinkled with a few frustrations and it’s worth every moment.
Do you have questions or ideas? Please email: Caroline@CliliDesigns.com We would love to hear from you.