Category Archives: Blogging

5 Questions to Ask Yourself as You Re-Evaluate Your 2015 Goals

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First Quarter ReevalI can’t believe that we are already nearing the end of the First Quarter of the New Year (if I can still call it that).  Four months in seems like a good time to go back to the drawing table and re-evaluate the goals that you made at the beginning of the year.  Often times, we get married to the goals that we set, so much so that even if they are not serving the purpose we intended, we do not want to let them go.  But, there is absolutely nothing wrong in making changes. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you take stock.

1.  What were your goals for the New Year?  Did you write them down?  Can you quantify them?

2.  If you feel like you did a good job of planning your goals for the year, then the next step is to Evaluate.  Where are you in comparison to where you want to be at the end of the year?  Are you making progress at a rate that you are comfortable with?  Do you feel like you are developing your brand and your business in a way that makes you proud?  If you set smaller goals quarterly or monthly?  Did you meet those goals?  If your goals were not clear for the first quarter, you may find yourself working backwards.  The good thing about that is by now you should have accumulated some data for yourself.  You know how much buzz has been created about your service or product, what kind of Social Media Following you have developed, and even what does or does not work for you.

3.  If things are going the way you intended and even if they are not.  It’s time to recreate and fine tune the next steps.  For example, ABC worked for you at this rate.  But, if you tweak it how can you  make things better?  Are you spending more time advertising than you are creating?  Do you think that you need to spend more time networking or on your craft?  In setting up your plan for the next few months, consider this Are you Setting SMART Goals?  This is a tool that has worked for me in both my Personal and Business Life.  Are Your Goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Based?  These questions tend to bring you back to exactly what you want your focus needs to be.  For more information about the process click here:
SMARtGoals

4.  Now that your New and Improved Action Plan is in place, what do you need in order to reach them?  What tools are necessary to achieve your goals?

5.  Are you ready to put your Plan in Motion?  Ready Set Go.

“NOTHING CHANGES, IF NOTHING CHANGES.” – EARNIE LARSON

What steps do you take when planning out the next steps for your business or your life?  What are some tools that you find invaluable?

Enter for a Chance to Win A Night Owl Creative Team Giveaway

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ANO-Creative-Team-Giveaway-March

I was saving this bit of information until my first post over @ A Night Owl.  But, since I wanted to give you all the opportunity to Enter this Great Giveaway.  I will share it now.  This year, I am one of the Members of the A Night Owl Creative Team.  Basically what that means is that I will be doing some blogging over there, as well as here.  If you haven’t heard of  A Night Owl Blog, be sure to head over and check them out.

Welcome to the A Night Owl March Creative Team Giveaway!

Hi friends! Today members of the A Night Owl creative team are joining up to bring you an amazing $150 Target Gift Card Giveaway! And we all KNOW you love Target, so what are you waiting for? Enter today via the Rafflecopter form below!

Open in the USA and Canada.

Ends at 11:59pm EST on Sunday, March 29th, 2015.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TERMS & CONDITIONS: this giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents ages 18 and over and ends at 11:59pm EST on March 29th, 2015. By entering you give the right to use your name and likeness. Number of entries received determines the odds of winning. Approximate retail value is $150.00. One winner will be selected. This is a giveaway sponsored as a group buy, which means the bloggers pooled their money together to purchase this product for you. All liabilities and responsibilities with product is directly responsible by Target. Winner will drawn by random.org from all verified entries, contacted by email provided, and announced on this page at the end of the contest. Winner has 48 hours to respond or prize will be redrawn. Entrant is responsible for the email address they provide, whether through typing it directly or through the Facebook entry method. A Night Owl is not responsible for lost or misdirected emails. All prizes will be awarded. No prize substitutions allowed. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Facebook and we hereby release Facebook of any liability. Information is provided to A Night Owl, not to Facebook and your information is never sold or shared. Facebook and Target are not a sponsor of this giveaway. Prize is mailed or emailed directly by Kimberly Sneed of A Night Owl and requires confirmation of delivery. Protected tweets do not count as an entry method for tweeting. Tweets must come from a public account. Bloggers in this group giveaway and their immediate family members in their household cannot enter or win the giveaway. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

Ready to Start Blogging – User Friendly Resources to Get You Started

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OwUser Friendly Resources for New BloggersCongratulations!!  You have decided that you are ready to start blogging, and open up your little corner of the world to others.  You want your blog to be a reflection of who you are and what is important to you.  You have picked out your blogging platform, Blogger, WordPress, etc.  And, you have maybe even picked the Theme/Layout for your site and secured your domain and or blog name.  Now what!!

Well, if you decided to blog, I am pretty sure that you want people to both read and receive what you have to say.  In order to do that, you have to make sure that the first visit that they make to your blog is a memorable one.  You want them to return over and over again.  Even, if you are not blogging for profit, you still want to  develop a community, (a following of sorts).  If people are returning to your site, they are interested in the information or the opinions that you are imparting.  So, content is the most important part of blogging.

Style/Design is a very close second and equally important. I am by no means a professional Graphic Designer, but I have taught myself a thing or two or three(wink).  People are visual by nature. So, a relevant well placed photo to accompany your blog post goes a long way.  In addition to that, a well placed font over your photo draws attention to the pictures on your site.  They can even make them Pin Worthy (Pinterest), which in turn will bring traffic back to your blog. Whether you are using pictures that you have taken from your own camera or pictures that you find around the web,  Photo editing software can make all the difference.  Most people swear by PhotoShop and I use this software religiously, but it’s quite an investment right out the gate.  So, I’ve listed a few more economical options.  Lastly, the Fonts you use can be just as important as the picture.  Think about how many times the words and font draws your eye to an advertisement or a picture. See The Quote Below as an example – Note the Use of Different Fonts, as Well as Different Sizes.

Style - Rachel Zoe Quote

Here are a few resources that I think will start you on your way, at least they did for me.

Places to find free images:

Freepik.com

iStockphoto.com

Fonts –

Dafont.com

Myfonts.com

1001freefonts.com

Photo Editing –

Fotor.com

Picmonkey.com

Layouts/Templates – 

luvly.co

templatemonster.com

There you have it.  Jump in and get started and if you find anything else that you think should be added to this list, let us know.  Each one – teach one. Comment below.