BLOGGING

I'm virtually clearing my throat and looking nervously around the room right now.

Hi.

Hello.

Is anyone out there?

I've been blogging over at my messy little music/fashion/food/travel/art online playground for a few years now and though it's been a lot of fun, in the past few months posting has become slightly very irregular. As I move through uni and start thinking more deeply about where I want to take my career - and have 'YOUR ONLINE PROFILE IS SUPER IMPORTANT' shouted at me in each and every subject - my blog seems a lot less in line with where I am and where I want to be than it was when I was in high school.

So, I suppose this piece of 'assessment' has come at the right time. I could purely focus on getting through this with a good grade but I'd like to actually build this blog into something I can use beyond the end of semester.

So with that out of the way, let's get to the point of this post. I actually missed last week's lecture but I have a good reason, okay? I was driving back from Splendour in the Grass. It was amazing and worth every inconvenience it caused, and if you happen to be really interested you can read my write up here (shameless plug, ha ha ha). Despite that, I am pretty bummed because I was really looking forward to hearing from the lovely Nikki Parkinson of Styling You, but alas, the #qutoj1 Twitter feed and QUT Blackboard had to suffice.

My experiences with blogging have been wonderful. It's a great way to create a personal brand (linking to my blog in internship and job applications has often paid off), build a network of like-minded contacts (I've made friends all over the world) and develop social media networks and skills (Twitter and Instagram are my two current favourites).

The way Nikki has built Styling You - and herself - into a formidable business is pretty much my dream career so to be given advice on blogging from her is PRETTY COOL, if not a little scary when one looks at how long the list is.

• Know your topic
• Write what you know
• Be YOU!
• Aim to inform, inspire, add value and/or solve problems
• Be consistent
• Use words, photos, videos, audio
• Write in first person
• Tell a story
• Vary your content
• Work with your strengths
• Break up text with images, lists (woah, what have we here?), sub-headngs and video
• Shape your own message
• Be the first to comment on news that relates to your topic
• Comment on events that affect your industry and/or your customers
• Build your credibility as an expert
• Find your tribe
• Engage on social media networks around your blog
• Comment on other blogs and other social media
• Start conversations 

Long list, useful information.

I'm not too sure how well I fared with this post but I'm looking forward to shaping this blog into something 'me' that I can be proud of. 

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