So How Did Fan Week Really Go?

 

My Fan Week is over and now Heather @ Sometimes I'm a Story asking us all how we went. And so today I'm posting my results.

What statistics do you have to share?
Ok so I think I visited around twenty new blogs (is that enough), left TWO comments on each of those blogs, visited all the blogs I already follow and commented there. I also followed around five new blogs and unfollowed six.

I know it sounds like a really pore try. I seemed never have the time. Considering some days I didn't even get on to the computer, I'm rather proud of myself.

Did you find or learn anything new and exciting this week?

I actually did find out a few things. Book bloggers are the best!!! Most of the blogs I started reading are book bloggers. Which is really strange considering I used to read only life style bloggers.

Are there any blogs that made you want to make you change something about your own?

No one go crazy, but yes I have decided to make a few changes. For a while I've felt my blogging niche has been changing. But I've tried to keep it how it was, thinking people wouldn't like it if my content changed. But fan week has taught me not to worry about that and focus on what is really important, friends and doing what you want.

So from now on expect more book posts, religious and writing pieces. They're what I'm truly interested in at the moment and I'd really like to write more about them.

I've also realised that I could be doing more in the blogging community. So from now on I want to comment more and better on other people's blogs and actively seek out other blogs to follow.

What was your favourite part? Your least favourite part?

My favourite bit was seeing all these other blogs and what they did. Properly taking the time to read and enjoy what they're doing.

My least favourite part was not having enough time. Many days I had to go out and I missed visiting other blogs. In the end I held my Fan Week out over about a week and a half to make up.

Did you enjoy your experience? Would you do it again?

Yes! I had the best time ever. It was amazing. I want to do this again soon.

Look out for my blogging changes coming up soon. I'm looking forward to sharing them. I hope you're looking forward to them as well.

 -Kat

Month Round Off | Febuary

I've always felt something special for February. It's such a special, but short month of the year, don't you think. But sadly it's over for another year. Today I thought I'd go and recap what happened in that awesome month!

Interviews
I can't quite believe I had four special interviews this month. I'm almost out at the moment, but I've still got a few waiting to go up. So those should appear this month.

But for those of you who didn't see these posts, or would like to reread them, here's the links:

Emily @ Lynde Avenue
Eve @ Eve of Womanhood
Emily @ My Life as a Pre Teen Dork
Yasmine @ Cloudy Dreams
Morning @ The Ups and Downs of My Not-So-Average Life

Writing
Most months this is a massive area, but for some reason I didn't get quite so much published. Properly for the reason that I was working on a novel, but anyway, here are the posts I did end up sharing:

The Last Letter
Hero Embarrassed Herself...Twice!

Blogging
This area is surprisingly big. It turns out I have a lot to say on the subject of blogging. I wonder why as seeing as I don't think of myself as an expert. Far from it!

It's Time to Talk Blog Again
Let's Talk Blogging Breaks Once More!
Let's Talk Bloglovin'
A Lesson I've Learnt!

Other
Now let's take a look at the other posts I've written this month. Just those random bits and bobs which don't have a place in those other areas!

I'm Joining In
Let's Get Into the Itty Gritties About Me
What Comes of Me Writing
Does Anyone Else Have Trouble Picking Favourites?

So that's what I've been up to! It wasn't that many posts in all, but considering how busy my month has been, I'm rather proud of myself. How did your month go?

I missed this post last month, but I decided to jazz it up a bit this month. I hope you enjoy looking back on past posts!

 -Kat

I'm Joining In!

 

Heather @ Sometimes I'm a Story is a holding a wonderful event called, Fan Month. So today I decided that I'd link up. P.S sorry if I'm late!

 

1. When do you plan on being a fan?
I think I'll take a fan week. First week of March. I'll still post and answer comments, because that's important, but my main focus will be on others.

2. What goals will you set for yourself?
I want to visit four new blogs everyday and leave a comment on all of them. I'll also try to share their links on my many social medias. I'm also going to try and visit and share old blogs I read as well.

3. Are you going to set any rules for yourself? Exceptions to those rules?
I must comment on every post I read, whether or not it's thrilling. If I enjoy a post, I have to post it on at least one social media. No exceptions except if I end up having a super busy day in real life.

4. Where do you plan on sharing the great posts you read?
I'm going to mainly try Facebook, because that's where I share such stuff. I might also great a pinterest board for it *thanks for the idea Heather*.


5. Where could you be a fan outside the blogosphere?
My friends and family. I could be so much better at encouraging them. I should try to drag myself away more often and give them more time.

So there you have it guys. Fan Month. I hope this is inspiring for you as it was for me.

In my last post, someone said they'd like to see more writing bits. If you'd also like to, please tell me. Because I'd love to share more.

-Kat

It's Time to Talk Blog Again

 

A few days ago, my friend, La La in the Library, suggested I write a post about blog fonts, print size, and readability. So that's what I'm doing!

Funnily enough, this is a subject I have more than enough to say on. I have so many feelings about these things. Let's get into it.

Blog Fonts

A common mistake for beginning blog designers and even some more experienced ones, is to give blogs super fancy fonts.

Unfortunately though, most fancy fonts are unreadable. They're too curly or loopy or whatever. Sadly this puts readers off what you're actually writing.

Your posts might be amazing, but people like me won't even attempt to read you blog if you have a too fancy font!
I do understand why you would want to use these fonts though, but instead of using them on your blog, trying using them on your pictures, in titles or special details of your blog, but not on the main part of your blog, because that's where you want people to read!

Print Size

 

So this is another very important part of designing your blog. It's not quite so badly misunderstood, but there are still those blogs out there who get this completely wrong.

 

When you're trying to pick the print size of your blog, there are too extremes: super small and super LARGE!!!

 

The problem with having a too small print size is that it get's far too dense and you need really good eyesight to read it. Isn't this much harder to read than what your were just reading? See my point?

 

On the other hand, don't make it too big. That way it takes up too much room on the page and readers have to scroll on forever. Can you imagine what it'd be like if I wrote a whole post like this? Reading a long post like that would take forever.

 

So try to get something in between, don't go too large and don't go too small. Try to remember what it'll look like on other computers as well. Everyone's screen is a different size and shape, just keep that in your mind.

 

Readability

 

There are only a few other things to think about when talking about readability is: paragraphing, image placing and abbreviations and editing.

 

Paragraphing: This is something that often seems to be thrown out the door, but is really super important in your blog. If you write everything with no paragraphs it's really dense and hard to read, where as if you wrote this paragraphs it turns into a nice light easy read.

 

Another thing to think about is how long your paragraphs are? The longer the paragraph, the harder to read. Ask yourself, could this be shorter? Should bits of it be in another paragraph?

 

Taking just a little bit more time will do a massive bit to help your blog!

 

Image placing: This always bugs me. It's something really simple, but no one seems to pay any attention to it.

 

When placing your images, try to leave some space in between it and the words. Also, when images straight after each other, make sure there is a gap, otherwise the images seem to blend into each other.

 

Abbreviations (i.e LOL, JK, OMG): You might think yourself super cool for using them, but please don't! Think about if future generations, way in the future read it. Do you think they'll understand all the abbreviations?

 

Everyone wants they're words to live on, so try to write everything so that they'll be able to understand it.

 

Also, even I have a hard time getting my head around some of the abbreviations, so not only will you puzzle the future, but also your readers.

 

Just keep that in mind. And while talking about this, can I mention emoji's (?). For some reason, finding these in posts really annoys me. It ruins the look of everything.

 

I use them while commenting and everything, but if you've noticed, never in my posts. I've thought about using them, but if people need them to know what you mean, there is something wrong with your writing.

 

You don't need them in a post and they ruin the look. You can use them, but I personally don't like to. I know some people do though, so it's personal preference.

 

 Editing: this one is short and simple. Reread posts at least three times before publishing, if not more. Make sure you've gotten it as close to perfect as you can.

 

There is a big difference between an edited post and one that isn't. So take that time!

 

Well that's all folks! I hope you enjoyed this and I didn't offend you. I'm so sorry if I did. And once again, I didn't mean to preach so if it came across like that, I'm sorry!

 

If there is a post you'd like me to write, please tell me either in a comment or over on twitter. I'll try to write it as best I can for you! For now, write strong.

 -Kat

Many Thanks to Emily @ Lynde Avenue

Look! Don't you just love my new blog design? I can't stop admiring it. The other day I finally admitted to myself that my old design just doesn't suit me. I've known it for a while, but I just wouldn't admit it.

Then Emily @ Lynde Avenue offered to give me a design. In case you don't know, Emily's designs are the best, so I was very thankful.

It only took Emily a little while to come up with this amazing design, isn't it beautiful? I can't believe it.

Is it bad that I've only been blogging eight months and yet this is my third design? I hope not! I think it's fun to swap it up every once in a while.

Anyway, this is a really short post just to say thank you Emily! I really love the design and I can't stop saying how amazing it is.

Due to changes that are happening around the blog, I haven't written a post for two days, but hopefully you'll like everything else that's been happening to make up for it.

-Kat

Let's Talk Blogging Breaks Once More

I've been thinking a lot about people's view on blogging breaks. What once used to seem to be a brilliant idea is now looked upon with a horrified glance.

Why is this? I think I've worked out the answer. All too often what people think of as a short blogging break stretches on and on until it's eternal and when you finally want to start back, you lack the discipline you used to have.

Now I'm not going to ramble on as to all the whys and hows and everything. But a while ago I did remember my post, How to Take a Good Blogging Break. That post was mainly about how to come back from a blogging break, well, today I've decided to go a write a post to go with that, What to do While on a Blogging Break.

All too often there is the thing that we just lazy around a do nothing while on our break. This makes it really hard to get back into everything, but this shouldn't be the case. A break shouldn't be for giving up all together. Use this time to usefully.

Brainstorm. One of the reasons you're taking your break might be because you're out of ideas. Even if it isn't some extra ideas for when you need something on the spur of the moment might me a good idea.

So in your free time, pull out a notebook. Write down all those blog post ideas that come to you. Get the inspiration racing!

Make plans for the blog. A break is a good time to put some changes into action. Are you tired of your currant design? Do you want a new posting schedule? How about starting a blogging series?

Think about a few good changes you could make. Every blog can be improved, so just work on yours over the break.

Write up some posts for later. Wouldn't you love to be ahead of writing posts? Well then now's your change to get there.

You don't have to spend your whole break writing. Especially as seeing as you're taking a break from writing. But writing posts when you have the time might help went you go back to your blog.

Catch up on the social media. I said this in my other post. But it's worth saying again. Keep on with your social medias. Don't loose all those readers and friends. Keep going.

All too often there isn't much time for social media around writing posts, so a break a perfect to time become more active on them. Just because you're not writing doesn't mean you don't have anything share.

Relax. The purpose of break is to recover so you can continue what you're doing. So RELAX! Just sit back and enjoy yourself.

Pick up a book you've been meaning to read, watch the Marvel movies again, get some new hobbies, take photos. Do whatever you need to. It's your break!

Good luck on your blogging break! I hope these tips help you. If you're interested, check out my other post. I'd mean the world to me.

Even though I'm thinking about blogging breaks, I'm actually really excited for all these things I'm hoping to do on my blog soon. I've got heaps of posts coming which I'm excited about. So don't worry, no blogging break coming for me yet.

 -Kat 

A Lesson I've Learnt

Oh no! I've just clicked something and accidentally deleted all my comments on the blog

— Kat Joyce (@almostmadkat) February 5, 2015

Yesterday I had a terrible accident on this blog! I clicked the 'Remove Content' button on all my comments.

 

In case you don't know what this does, it removes all your comments off your blog, but leaves them on the account, saying that they're published.

 

I was frankly horrified. I've worked hard on my blog and it been my best friend since I started it. The comments are a huge part of what I do. So I was distort. I couldn't believe I'd just done that.

 

After spending ages, googling for a way to undo it, I felt like giving up. I was no closer to knowing how to fix it then I had been before.

 

Feeling terrible, I went over to the comments and started playing around with buttons (bad idea) and then, guess what?! I seemed to sort it.

 

I'm not sure what I did, but I think it was spamming everything then unspamming it, but don't quote me on that!

 

Anyway, I think all my comments have come back safely. Which is a massive relief, but it's taught me a huge lesson, backup everything!

 

I've never backed my blog up before, I'm going to take to doing it once a week so that I don't loose all those comments and posts. I never want this to happen again.

 

I was going to write post, but in everything, I didn't up doing. So the subject I was originally going to write about (Bloglovin') will have to wait. Instead we've got this. Sorry (hahaha, not really).

Recently handling everything has been slightly hard. Sorry to anyone who I didn't reply to your comments straight away or didn't visit your blog back. I've been really busy. I'll sort things out soon!

 -Kat

My Thoughts On Forced Writing

 

Some days you just don't feel like writing a blog post. I haven't for the past two days and I still don't. Some people might say that's bad, that if you don't write you will loose your readers.

But here is the honest truth, writing when you don't feel like it isn't worth it. People can tell a post that wasn't meant to be, it's like the post is missing it's heart.

In the future, when you look back on those posts, you won't be pleased with them. You'll wish they were never published, that people never read them.

Sure you might loose a few readers if you don't post for ages, but don't be afraid to take a day or two off. Let yourself recover. Let your mind start working again, thinking of ideas.

Some people can just make themselves think of ideas, but me, I need to let them come naturally. I need the time to think. To plan.

If you don't feel like writing, don't! Do something else. Blogging isn't everything. Go outside, pull out a camera, dance around. Enjoy life. Come back when you're feeling better. Write then, but don't force yourself to.

Some people might take offence at this. But it's the truth. I've learnt it long and hard. That's why I'm letting myself recover and not making myself write!

Though I'm suffering writers block at the moment, I'm still going to be posting some interviews. I've still got plenty from some amazing people to share, so look out for those. Hopefully I'll be in the mood to write again soon.

 -Kat

I'm Screaming My Head Off With Excitement

Well, time has flown. Gosh! Where is everything going? Ok, so I haven't been blogging for a few days. I seem to have developed a terrible tummy bug, so sorry. Just as I think it's clearing up it seems to come back.

I haven't been in the mood to write or even do anything other than lye in bed and dye. To make it worse it's really muggy at the moment.

But anyway, I don't want to fill this whole post up with moaning as I normally do, so I'll leave at this. I have another post coming up with some more about this (oh brilliant).

Actually, I've forced myself to the computer to say thank you to everyone who has followed my blog and read my posts!

Just this morning I found out that I passed 80 followers! Wow, that's huge. I know this isn't normally one of the big celebrated goals, but to me, 80 is massive.

When I started my blog, I never thought I'd even have one reader and now I'm here with 80 followers.  Gosh I'm so amazed. I've had the best time on this blog. I've learnt so much, made so many friends and blogging is now a huge part of my life.

Thank you for giving me all this and more!

Hopefully I'll be better soon and can write a proper post, not this boring old thing. Sorry about how short this is.

-Kat 

How to Centre Anything in CSS

I can't profess to know much about coding. I don't know much about anything in blog design, but while playing around, there are a few simple CSS codes I've learnt that I'd like to share with you!

 

Log in to your Blogger blog, go to Template > Customize > Advanced > Add CSS

Header Image:

#header-inner img {margin: 0 auto;}

Header Title And Descprition (text):
#header-inner {text-align: center;}

 Pages:
.PageList {text-align:center !important;}
.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important;}

Post Titles:
.post-title {text-align:center;}

Post Dates:
.date-header {text-align:center;}

Sidebars:
.main-inner .column-left-inner, .main-inner .column-right-inner {text-align: center;}

Gadget Titles:
.section-columns h2, #sidebar-right-1 h2, #sidebar-left-1 {text-align: center;}

I really hope this helps you with any centring coding problems you might have. Yes it's basic, but it's effective. You can change the whole look of your blog, just by centring things!

On another, thank you to everyone who answer my survey, if you haven't done it yet, click HERE do to so! I look forward to your answers.

 -Kat

Survey

via

Recently, everyone has been taking surveys over on their blogs to find out what people want to read and what they think of their blogs.

I personally think this is a brilliant idea. It's a way to find out what people like most about you, your blog and what they'd like you to change.

Normally though, I don't like to follow trends. For some reason I never do, but this once, I am going to. I'm creating a survey to find out more about my own blog!

New Year seems like a great time to be making changes to my blog, so I'm going to be using the results from the survey to change things over the next year.

I hope you pop on over to IT. I can't wait to find out what you think.

This is short, but needed. I feel this blog is far from perfect and so anything I can do to make it better would be  great:) P.S there is no reason for the picture, I just love it!

-Kat

How I Reply to Comments

A while ago, I promised a post on how to make time to reply to all those comments you get. For some reason, I seem to be putting this off, but here I am, finally with this post! I hope it helps you.

Make a certain time of the day for answering comments. For me just after breakfast while I'm waiting for Leo to finished using the bathroom so I can go in is a great time to answer some of those comments. Just think about which part of the day you're sitting around doing nothing, and put it to good use.

Use those scraps of time. Ok, so there is plenty of time in the day that could be used to better use. Think about those tiny scraps of time that you're not doing anything. You could answer some comments while waiting for the pasta to boil, while you're waiting for everyone to arrive to watch a movie or even when having your morning cup of tea.

There is so much time that we don't even use. We don't think about it as time really, just a period where we wait. If we used this time, we'd realise, just how much time there is in the day!

Read your comments ahead of time. I like to read my comments ahead of time. Just read them thoroughly and enjoy them. Then I leave them to simmer. I think about what people have said and a think about what I could say in return.

This helps you have a basic idea of what to say in reply, truly enjoy a comment and speeds up the replying when you come to it. Remember, you can do other things while you think, but you can't while writing the comment.

Not all replies have to be long. Ok, this may sound mean, but you don't have to write a super long reply to every comment. Just make sure your reply is a good one, that it means something.

Short comments like 'Love this post,' can be replied to with a short answer like, 'Thank you for visiting my blog, I'm glad you enjoyed it.' Though it might not seem interesting, at least the readers know you've read their comment.

Replying to comments comes first. I know a lot of bloggers struggle with replying to the comments they've been given long with all the blogs they want to leave a comment on themselves.

While I definitely think that leaving your own comments is important, replying to the ones you've been given is even more so.

What I like to do is create an order for answering and leaving comments in. First I answer the comments I've been given, then I leave my own comments on the blogs I follow, then I go and comment on the blogs of everyone who left me a comment.

This way I get everything done, I know what I have to do, and if I run out of time, I've gotten the most important bit out of the way. Remember, you can leave a comment at any time, but you can't pick when your readers will look for a reply.'

Those are my FIVE tips on how to make time to answer those comments. I hope this helps and really didn't mean to sound like I was preaching, if I did, I'm sorry. I'm feeling really weird at the moment!

Most of my posts at the moment seem to be all really short, really boring, or long and preachy. Which I'm really sorry about. It's mainly because I'm not sleeping very well at the moment. So sorry this content is rubbish at the moment, but I hope you at least got something out of this post!

 -Kat

Month Round Off | December 2014

It's that time of the month again, the round off time! So, here I am, listing out everything I have (or haven't) accomplished.

Advice and Thoughts:

Let's Go Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!

Time to Get Replying to Those Comments

Blogging Over Christmas | 101

 

Tags and Awards:

Winter Wonderland Challenge: 1

Where in I Reveal My Fandoms and Dream Friend

 

Writing:

One Sentance Story #2

One Sentance Story #3

 

Guest Posts:

Guest Poster: Vanshi | Christmas Joy

Guest Poster: Emily | 5 Tips for Surving Winter Running

Guest Poster: Bryleigh | Fever Review

 

Reviews:

Come All Yee Bookish Ones

Let's Talk About Facebook, Is it Really All It's Made Out To Be?

 

Other:

Two Massive, Earth Shattering Anouncements!

Party, Party, Party!!!

Get to Know...Katarina Grace Joyce

What's My Style in Winter?

Change Is Hard

Top Ten Goals for 2015 | I'm Back!!!

 

Favourite Friend's Posts:

Blogging: 5 Tips about blog designs (via Reflections of a Jollygirl)

How To Customize Your Scrollbar (via Self Known)

5 Things: A Few Blogging Tips (via The Joys of Being Paige)

The Pros and Cons of Short Hair (via Lynde Avenue)

New To Me Blogs (via The Joys of Being Paige)

App Review: Dulingo (via A Little Yarn Blossom)

Oh hello there, Christmas (via Paper Fury)

Author Christmas | Review (via A Free Mind)

Blogging (via Eve of Womanhood)

Doctor Who Companions Best and Worst- My Opinion (via An Amazing Case of Wanderlust)

How Do You Take Your Series Finales? (via Paper Fury)

5 Reasons to Take a "Me" Day (via Called His)

Spotify (via A Little Yarn Blossom)

 

Well that rounds off the list of what I've done. I honestly am surprised that I've done this much! All month it feels like I've been doing nothing.

 

I'd just like to give a massive thank you to everyone who has/is going to guest post for me. I wouldn't been able to do so much without you!

 

From now on I should be back to posting more often, so look out. I am starting to get really excited again now Christmas is over, which is the best feeling ever. Also, Happy New Year you guys! May it be a good one. I'll see ya'll later in another post!

-Kat 

Time to Get Replying to Those Comments!

Recently my posts just haven't been coming out properly. I start a post, but I never end up finishing it. They always seem silly or boring. But today I'm going to try getting this out, because it seems really important to me.

So without farther ado...FIVE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD REPLY TO YOUR COMMENTS.

It let's people you read and acknowledged what they said. This I think is really important. They spent the time to write those comments and leave you some feedback, the least you can do is say thank you. It makes people feel like their comments mean something to you when you reply.

Replying helps you get to know your readers. Who knows, maybe you will start a conversation with someone in the comments. You might even make a new friend. And making friends is what blogging is all about, remember.

People are more likely to leave a comment if you reply. Everyone loves getting comments, but when there is no way to know that you're reading the comments they're more likely to just leave. Which none of us want to happen!

I've also noticed that people are less likely to read a blog with someone who doesn't reply. Because it looks like the author is only writing for themselves and doesn't care if anyone reads.

Replying makes you more likely to read the comments properly. Admit it, all too often we just skim the comments we get given, but if we have to reply, we tend to read the comments properly, seeking out things to say back.

You learn a lot about how a post went down. I don't know about you, but when I strike up a conversation in the comments, most of the time I end up finding out what people really think about my posts. What I could do better and what people like most?

This is a great way to learn what to do better in the future and make your blog even better! Everyone wants that, right?

Well those are my FIVE reasons, there are many more, but these are just five of them. If you have anything to add, please tell me!
I know replying is hard work (especially for you popular bloggers out there), but it's really worth it. You can learn a lot from just replying to comments.

But on this note, I'm also planning on writing a post on 'How to Make Time to Reply to Comments', so look out for that.

And to clear things up, this is not directed at anyone! I'm not pointing fingers, this is just my views. If you don't reply to comments, that's fine. There's nothing to be ashamed of! These are just my thoughts for my blog, things might be different on yours.

-Kat

Blogging Over Christmas | 101

Blogging over Christmas is hard work, so today I thought that I would post a few tips on how to keep your blog active over the Christmas season. So here we go...

Schedule. I know I've mentioned this so many times, but I will mention it again. Writing as many of your post for the Christmas time ahead of time will help you a lot later.

Reduce How Many Posts. Christmas is the time for hanging out with friends, being with family, having fun. Let's face it. With everything else you want to do, you might not have the time to write all the normally post. Writing a few less posts a week isn't such a bad thing, so long as you are still posting.

Have Guest Posters. Don't be afraid to ask for other people to write your posts for you. It might be nice to have a small break over Christmas where other people write for you. It might also give your readers a chance read something slightly different.

Set Yourself a Limit. Sometimes we fuss just a little bit too long over our posts. We want ever word to be perfect, amazing grammar, beautiful images. Sadly that will never happen and we spend just a little bit too long fussing over it. Try setting yourself a limit on how long you have to write your post in. This might also help you write more posts in a shorter amount of time as well.

Writer Shorter Posts. However good long posts are, over Christmas people have better things to do than read your posts. Writing slightly shorter posts doesn't only help you, but also gives your readers slightly less to fit into their busy schedule. But remember, go back to those longer post after Christmas!

Take a Break. Don't worry if you don't have time to write. Just tell your readers that you don't have time for this, you need a break. They'll understand, family and friends come first.

Well those are all my tips on how to keep blogging through Christmas. Do you have any tips to add? If you do, please feel free to leave them in a comment and I'll add them to the post with credit from you.

Edit:

added tips!

 

In the past, scheduling has been my biggest help. Another idea could be to write easier types of post, so a post of link occasionally instead of a complex post, or a short book review or something like that. Or you could rerun an old post that hasn't been seen much or that you particularly liked. Just a couple of ideas. Imogen @ Gossiping with Dragons

Also, I'm relaxing my posting schedule a bit over Christmas, but I will still be writing. Just be warned!

-Kat

It's Up, It's Running, It's Amazing

My new design is up! What do you think? Isn't it amazing?

As promised, my new design has been put up today. I'm really proud of everything I've done on it. It's taken a while and been hard work, but it's something I'm happy with.

There are still a few things that I will tweak here and there, but for the most part, this is what it's going to look like.

So, what do you think? Haven't I outdone myself this time? (yes I'm taking this moment to compliment myself sky high!)

I really liked the header from my last design, so I decided to try it again with this new one, I hope that's fine with you Morning. If it's not ok, please feel free to ask me to take it down. I don't want to be using anything you want.

But, anyway, the design is up and so, hopefully, I will be able to write about other things, because I'm sure you're all tired of hearing about this design.

See ya'll later!

-Kat

Wow! Guess What!

I've some really exciting news! My new blog design is almost ready! I can't wait to see what you think of it.

I will be uploading it on the 30th, that gives me a few more days to finish perfecting it. I've been working really hard on it and so I'm hoping that you'll like it!

Thank you to everyone whose helped me out with my design (*wink* I'm looking at you Imogen). I feel so special to have all of you who've given me all this feedback.

So, I hope you all look out for this and are excited for the changes that's about to happen. I hope you all like everything I've done.

Anyway, this is short, but today is crazy! I've been go go go. Hopefully next post will be better written and more interesting, but I just wanted to tell you all this news!

-Kat

How to Take a Good Blogging Break

 

I don't know about you, but I'm frankly scared of taking a blogging break, just in case I happen to loose readers, not be able to get back into writing properly and many other reasons.

So today, I thought I would share with you some tips for taking a great blogging break and getting back into blogging again afterwards. Here goes...

Set a come back date. Write it on your calendar, tell your readers. That way you have people watching out for you coming back and it's not just like you dropped off the face of the earth without warning. It also makes sure that you're break doesn't go on forever and you never come back.

Don't vanish completely. Just because you're not writing on your blog doesn't mean that you can't still communicate with your bloggers. Keep active with Twitter or Facebook or Instagram, whatever social media you have. That way people will still know that you live.

Also, keep commenting on your friends' blogs. If they took a break, you'd still hope they comment on yours. Anyway, it's best not to loose friendships by not talking to your blogging buddies.

Schedule your posts. When you come back to your blog on the set date, it maybe hard to get back into the swing of things. Don't panic. My suggestion is, schedule your posts, at least at first, so for those days you forgot to write anything, you still have something going up.

Create a writing schedule. Mark days down that you have to a post on. Doesn't matter if you've already got a post scheduled, write one anyway. You don't know when you're going to need one.

Even if you're scheduling, getting a writing schedule helps you get back into the swing of your blog. It might help for you to circle your writing days on your calendar to remind you.

Don't panic. When you come back, you might panic about losing readers, not being able to keep up with everything and countless other silly things, but don't worry.

It's natural to have a few lost readers after a break, but if you come back properly, it won't matter. You will soon win back all those readers and more besides.

If you can't keep up with the blogging world, set some time down each day for it so that you're on the ball. You can also cut down on some of the things you do.

During your break you were more active on social media then before, but now you can slow that down slightly. Don't drop it, but take it back to what it was before your break.

Have fun. Remember why your blogging. What you started for. If you don't enjoy your blogging then you might as well not do it. No one wants to read something that the author didn't enjoy writing.

I hope these tips help you. If you have any other blogging break tips, please share them!

-Kat

Top Four Blogging Tips to Get Readers

So many new bloggers go, 'I wish I has more readers. I've written a post, why is no one commenting?'. It's kind of a bit silly. They don't seem to realise that there is more that they have to do to get people interested.

You can't just go 'I've got a post, I will just sit back and wait for readers'. Now I don't have a big blog, so I can't really say how to get popular and huge, but I can tell you a few tips to get some visitors.

My first one is visit other blogs. Leave comments, follow. But please, don't just say, 'please follow me' or something like that. Think about your comment carefully.

Find something interesting in the post your commenting to comment on. Don't just say 'great post'. Say something in particular liked about it. Say it was a fashion post, you could say something like 'I loved the second out fit best. The sweater is so cute! You're fashion sense is the same as mine:)'. Isn't this so much for interesting and intriguing?

You should try to this whenever you comment. But it's most important when leaving your first comment on a blog because that will people's first impression of you.

The first example will make you think of someone who only cares about themselves, not the post or the blog they're visiting and only wants readers and will never come back.

The second comment is likely to make you think that the person is interested in your blog and that they really want to read more. You're more likely to visit the blog of the second commenter.

You can leave a link to your blog at the end of your comment if you want though. It makes it easier for people to find your blog. Just try from refraining from asking people to follow you. It really annoys them.

My second tip is to write. Don't go a post a million posts a day and then nothing the next day. What I mean is be constant. You don't have to write every day (that's a lot of work), but try to write fairly often.

If you only post once every few months than people won't find it worth following or reading your blog.

But if you write twice a week or so, people will see you have constant content and it's worth following because there will be something new for them to read often.

Another thing to think about is what you're posting. You don't want just to post an image an a small caption like 'isn't this so funny?'.

Try thinking about what you would like to read. Whether you would find this post interesting. If you don't think you would, don't post it.

Take time of your posts. Don't do what's easiest for you. Do what is more interesting for your readers. They don't want just to see an image without anything interesting to go with it.

Tip number three is to write what interests you. Ultimately you're writing for yourself. If you don't enjoy writing your posts, then no one else will enjoy reading them.

Try to remember this when writing your posts. If you're thinking of having a themed blog, try to make your theme something that you're truly passionate. Like for me that's writing, for someone else it might be fashion or something totally different.

My fourth tip is to be yourself. Don't be like everyone else. Write your own style. Be yourself. Don't refrain from making cool jokes if they're you thing, just because you're afraid that people won't get them or will think you're weird.

The people you would want to read your blog are the ones that get the jokes and laugh over them with you.

Don't worry about other people. As said before, you're writing for yourself. Just have fun with it. You don't have to hide you're personality.

I hope this post helps you. These are all the big tips I have, but there are many other things you could do.

If you want to hear about some other things you could do to be a better blogger, try reading Catalina's Ideal Blogger series.

-Kat