Recently I have been helping a couple of friends set up their first blogs. As well as learning the technical steps to setting up a blog, and creating blog posts using the WordPress interface, we have also talked about how to approach writing an actual blog post.
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Is Blogging Dead? No, not really! Yesterday I tweeted the following, “Have @facebook pages had their day? Feels worn out to me now. I don’t have as much enthusiasm for my page any more.” I didn’t expect a response, because to be honest, many of my tweets are like farting into the wind, quickly gone and as quickly forgotten. However, friend and fellow artist Shayla Maddox responded, and we had, what was for Twitter anyway, a longer than usual conversation about social networking and blogging. It was my assertion, that whilst I was as active as ever on my own personal profile, given that’s where my friends and family are all gathered together, I was losing enthusiasm for my Facebook page, despite having over 2,700 followers. In truth, I got more comments, likes and activity on there two years or so ago when I had about 1000 followers. Now, in part I think this is down to the mercurial drive of Facebook to squeeze every last dollar out of it’s members, and making it harder and harder for pages to be a useful business tool, unless they pay up, and in fact…businesses are waking up to this. I also think that people are just plain bored with them.
Read MoreI decided I would write up some tips for artists and designers thinking of setting themselves up with a website/blog based on my experience. Hope they are helpful, let me know if there is anything I have missed. Do, and I mean…DO get your own domain name, this will help to create a strong online identity. Using free blogs is fine if you are a student, or just starting out. But, if you want to be perceived as having a professional status and attitude, then having your own domain is important. I know that some established artists’ use Blogger for instance, but not many. Don’t (if you can avoid it) point your domain at a third party provider like Blogger, Typepad, Cargo etc. Point your domain at your own hosting. Only that way do you truly own your own content. Third party providers are ok, but have their limitations both in terms of features and for SEO (search engine optimisation). There are some good deals out there. Pick a hosting provider that is based in your own country (crucial in terms of support), and that has been in business for a minimum of five years at least. Cheapest is not always best. If you can’t customise your own site, then buy a good theme from somewhere like Theme Forest. Nothing, and I mean nothing is more off putting that a badly designed site, or one that is ugly to look at. Choose a livery/colour palette that will display your art to advantage, avoid heavy primary colours. First rule of web design, less is more. Don’t overload your blog with widgets, it looks tacky and untidy. Keep it simple, with good clean design, judicious use of white space, easy navigation. Include a ‘Bio’ or ‘About’ page and a ‘Testimonials’ page (make sure that you link back to the source). People want to know about you, and want want to connect. Testimonials are important as it indicates reliability and integrity. Blog regularly, and not just about yourself. Include posts about other artists, and current trends, fashions, etc. DON’T put a hit counter or ‘who is online’ button on your site. That is very early ’90s’ and makes you look like an amateur, believe me! So, that’s it for the moment, nothing else occurs to me off the top of my head. As I said, if you think I have missed…
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Well, encouraged by my friend Jeanette, I have opened a Tumblr account. I rather like it, a lot. It has some great features. What is Tumblr? Well, a blogging platform, but with a difference. Tumblr allows for and makes it very easy to share content, film, photos, audio, quotes, links. Not only that, you can follow other Tumblrs’, ‘like’ their posts and even re-blog their posts to appear on your own page (with a link back naturally).
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