Get Your Blogging Inspiration – Fix #2

I love being inspired.  A gem of information from a blogging friend, reading a blog, looking at a image; there are so many ways in which our creativity can be sparked.  Also sometimes that nugget of information gleaned from other blogger will not only inspire us, but can also make our life easier by highlighting a process that could work for us too.

A couple of weeks ago I shared the first part of my blogging inspiration series and I am back today to share some more of the things that have recently inspired me or that I think might inspire you.

Blogging Inspiration

To Read

A Beautiful Mess Photo Ideas Book, is a recent purchase of mine. I didn’t really know what to expect, however I knew the girls behind the hugely successful A Beautiful Mess wouldn’t let me down.  They didn’t! I really enjoyed this book and it got my creative juices flowing.  It is packed full of ideas and photography projects; such an inspiring read.

To Listen To

The Lively Show Podcast – this week I listened to ‘Purpose, Motherhood and overcoming anxiety and making a difference‘ an interview with Ashley Lemieux by Jess Lively.  Ashley is a very inspiring person, who has achieved great things, even in the face of crippling anxiety. If that isn’t inspirational, then I don’t know what is!

To Check Out

I schedule my Instagram pictures and am always looking for a way to make this easier and quicker.  Until recently I have been using Latergramme, but with this and most other programmes you will have to physically press buttons to get the photo to upload.  I longed for a programme that would do it for me.  I came across Onlypult and although this system pushes the post to Instagram for you, I would still have to be there to paste my hashtags into the comments.

While searching last week I found buffergram, which has all the desired features and also gives you the option on putting the hashtags into the first comment box. BOOM! So you literally schedule and forget it!  They offer a certain amount of free credit with each new account and you can then pay as you go 0 – i.e buy a number of credits to upload or you can subscribe for the low price of $5 per month for one picture a day.

To Think About

What do you want from blogging?  Is your blog your creative outlet, a hobby, a business or does it serve another purpose?  It can be easy to get caught up in various dramas or negativity in certain areas of blogging.  Some people are they fed up they dropped in the Tots100 rankings, or if  their Moz increased or decreased.  Just remember what is important to you and consequently which factors you actually need to be bothered by.  If you blog for a creative outlet, then your ranks might not matter, so let those conversations wash over you.

To Buy

A subscription to Oh Lilla, which has now been rebranded as Littles Magazine.  This independently printed parenting and lifestyle magazine is a little book of joy when it drops through the letter box. With beautiful styling, gorgeous pictures and fabulous content, I know you will be inspired after reading.

To Start Planning

Look at your blog planner (or get one if you haven’t!) and pencil in the major dates that you would like to highlight on your blog. Not just national holidays like Mother’s Day or Christmas, but you may want to write a personal piece on your blog birthday, wedding anniversary or a child’s birthday, for example.  So get these all written down, so you can make sure they are all in your calendar and you can even start writing some of them, if you want to get ahead.

To Try

Do you feel isolated and lacking a tribe? Why not reach out to another blogger today.  I have mentioned before that some of my best friends are people I met through blogging.  Some of these friends I met at events, some on Twitter, but one of my favourite stories is how I met one of my absolute best friends in the entire world, Amy.  Amy started to comment on my blog, and I then started going to hers; I loved what I saw, so I started leaving her comments too.  She was so kind and thoughtful and that shone from the comments; about a year and a half later we are such close friends.  A wonderful friendship which started in the comment box.

To Follow

Tim Ferriss on Twitter @tferriss  Tim is an uber successful blogger and podcaster. His Twitter account provides so much inspiration for so many areas of your life and work; well worth a follow.

To Sign Up To

Creative Market – If you sign up you get emailed six freebies a week, including fonts, graphics, blog themes, and various other creative goodies.  It’s free to sign up, so you would be silly not to!

To Remember

Got Time? Need More Blogging Inspiration?

• 5 minute project

I believe blogging is all about karma.  With this in mind spend 5 minutes on your Twitter timeline retweeting all the posts you love.

• 10 minute project

More reading.  This time go and visit the blogs of some of the best in the bunch.  Bloggers like Design Sponge, Oh Joy and Dooce are making big bucks by innovating and producing awesome content.  Go and read and be inspired.

• Got longer?

Do a blog audit.  Click on all your links to make sure they work.  Check your broken links and remove/amend the broken ones (o.k getting rid of them will take A LOT longer than 10 minutes).  Use a site such as Web Seo Analytics to show you were your blog needs work in techy terms.

I hope something here has given you a little blogging inspiration.  What has inspired you recently?  Let me know in the comments.

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