How I'm going to blog better in 2013!

Phew - practically Christmas already. It's been a great year for blogging and my book has been selling well, which is really exciting.

But as you can probably tell from the date of my last post, I haven't been practising all that I preach! Yes folks, I confess it's been a while since my last blog post here. Why is that? And what are the lessons to be learnt?

Stick to your editorial calendar
When I started this blog, my editorial calendar was stuck to the wall in front of my desk and I kept to it pretty well, but then one month I was busy on other things and forgot to update it... and before long I was 'ad-hoc' posting (rather like this) which is ALWAYS more work than devising and sticking to a schedule.

Keep your ambitions sustainable
Three posts a week was fine at first, when the book was launched and was being reviewed I was doing talks and writing posts was relatively easy, blogging was top of my mind. But that frequency wasn't sustainable over the long term.

Follow your passion
Although blogging about blogging is still on my agenda, my interest in poetry has really blossomed this year and as a consequence much of my blogging has been over at Poetgal. If you find yourself blogging more about Topic A than Topic B, the signs are trying to tell you something. It's REALLY hard to blog about a subject if there's something ELSE you're burning to blog about!

So what am I going to do about it? Well, this blog isn't my only neglected blog at the moment - robinhoughton.com has also seen less action lately! So rather than beat myself up about not blogging equally often across all sites, here's my plan for 2013:

1. Create a sustainable editorial calendar for my bloggingforcreatives blog, based on, say, two posts a month, for the next 6 months. These can be based on chapters from the book, tips and ideas from expert bloggers and other 'timeless' but useful information.
2. Create an outline editorial calendar for my robinhoughton.com blog, again based on two posts a month - but if I'm not inspired to write I won't give myself a ticking off. It's my main business blog and most items there are 'thought pieces' brought on by topical issues or events, and I do think that if I don't have anything specific to say which adds value to the debate, it's best not to post.
3. Continue to blog at Poetgal, when inspired to do so, and not feel guilty about it!

Wish me luck! What are your blogging goals for 2013? What went wrong in 2012 and what worked for you? Let me know!

(Image credit: Origami Penguin as featured on How About Orange)

Some useful blogging resources I've come across lately

I know, I know - I'm not blogging as often as I used to here - my apologies! Various real-life things have got in the way of my editorial calendar - in fact I think I need to go back and read my own book to remind myself!

On the subject of the book, I've had a few enquiries lately from folks being told they had to wait a couple of months for it - obviously I'm really pleased the first print run has sold out, but it's no fun to have to wait. Anyway, the publishers tell me that new stock is on its way and may even already have arrived. (If you're trying to order it online, the Book Depository still has copies I think.) So thanks for your patience, and a huge thank you to those who have reviewed and rated the book and generally helped support sales. You are stars!

Anyway - I thought I'd share a few links to some useful resources I've come across lately that I think you'll find interesting.

If you have a Facebook page, here are '7 little known tricks to make your Facebook page stand out' - little things like repositioning photos, highlighting fan posts and sometimes scheduling in advance. Useful stuff.

Ten Top Pinterest Boards - Jeff Bullas shows us how top Pinterest-ers do it - it's a visual treat, whether or not you are concerned with 'driving sales, leads and traffic' to your blog.

Are you confused about Google+? Then take the free, online Google+ Masterclass from the Britmums blogging community and get up to speed in no time. This is just one example of the great resources available at Britmums.

And finally for now, a most relevant piece on Why you need to keep on blogging by Sam McArthur at Savvy Marketers. It's true! If you need reminding of why it's worth working through those times when you're feeling uninspired or overwhelmed with other things,  then this is for you (and me!)

Image credit: Modern Life blogs

Some of my favourite writers & poetry blogs

Just for a change I thought I would give a shout out to some of my favourite writers' and poets' blogs.

Should a poet have a blog? Hmmm ... well there is a school of thought that says NO - better to preserve a sense of mystery - less is more!

But I admit I enjoy writing my own poetry-themed blog which is kind of a diary/work in progress / confessional type of thing. Maybe if I ever make it big as a poet I might regret having exposed so much of myself, warts and all, but for now it's a lot of fun to connect with others in a similar situation and share my success, failures and everything in between.

Anyway, here are three of my favourite writer-bloggers...

Josephine Corcoran, aka @CorkyCorks on Twitter: Josephine is an experienced writer and teacher of creative writing, and her blog is a wonderful source of ideas and inspiration including reviews, comments and questions about the writing process. She also has a companion blog for poems, And Other Poems, which is growing into a rich anthology.

Abegail Morley, The Poetry Shed: Abegail posts reviews, featured poems & poets, news of competitions and events, listings of poetry books and magazines, and some useful tips from magazine editors about what they look for.

Sarah Salway as well as being the current 'Canterbury Laureate' is a prolific blogger, the subtitle of her blog being 'Handmade stories and seeds of inspiration' - yes there is a teeny bit of gardening stuff in there but LOTS of interesting, quirky posts about writing and writers. I like the way she mixes up the media - plenty of photos & video, and generous (copious) references to other writers.

You don't have to go it alone - join a blogging community like BritMums!

When you're new to blogging it can be a lonely thing - which is why blogging communities can be a life saver.

I recently met up with Jen Howze, one of the co-founders of BritMums, Britain's biggest parent blogging network, and was inspired by her energy and evangelism for online networking.

BritMums provides community, support, ideas and motivation - every day there's something new. Today there was a video of a Google Hangout chat in which a number of members shared their tips on using social media effectively. As well as special interest groups, profile pages and the chance to have your blog featured, there's also an annual conference, BritMums Live, which gives members an opportunity to meet up, learn, share and build their blogger network.

Ironically, both Jen and BritMums co-founder Susanna Scott are both American, but just as ironically (I guess) although they have invited me to speak at the 2013 BritMums Live, I'm not a mum. (You don't have to be a 'mommy blogger' to join, just an active - non-commercial - blogger.)

Moving Poetgal from Posterous to Wordpress.com

Earlier in the year, Twitter acquired Posterous, and although at first I noticed no difference, I'm now getting the distinct impression it's being wound down.

I have a Posterous blog (Poetgal) and when I posted to it today the new post did not update on the home page. When I googled the issue, I found I wasn't the only one complaining about Posterous - there are a lot of angry people posting to its Facebook page!

This is a great shame - Posterous used to be a lovely platform, but I decided now was the time to shift my blog elsewhere. A quick search brought up this useful post from Lifehacker: basically, Posterous does not provide an export function, so if you want to move your blog elsewhere you either have to do it the long way, or export to a Wordpress.com blog, because WP is the only provider with a simple import-from-Posterous facility.

So, I did just that - moved all the posts, images, comments and tag - it was really quick and easy - chose a Theme and did a modicum of customisation.

Unfortunately the pages weren't imported, so I'm going to have to recreate my blogroll. Other housekeeping issues will be to change the Feedburner feed (or maybe it's time to migrate to Feedblitz),   set up categories and other stuff. I've changed the redirect of my URL poetgal.co.uk so it now points to the Wordpress site.

The old Poetgal blog on Posterous

Nice new Wordpress site!

On the whole I'm pretty happy with the new look and home, it's got a nice magazine theme now and it's a hosted blog so no money to shell out.

Do you have a Posterous blog? Are you having problems, and are you going to move it?

Featured blogger: Zoe Jessica

I came upon Zoe quite by chance on App.net, a new Twitter-style microblogging community that’s only been around a month or so but quickly gathering speed. (Basically it’s a bit like Twitter was about 4 years ago, but that’s another post I think…)

Half an hour later I had enjoyed a good snoop around her blog, felt thoroughly envious of her glam lifestyle which basically involves the Bahamas, Berlin and an Italian husband…ah, it must be tough!)

But anyway –the point is that Zoe is both an excellent cook and an equally-excellent writer. I read her Sicilian Cannoli recipe from start to finish, it was such a fun read. The blog is full of great photos too – did I mention Zoe is also an accomplished photographer? 

I know there are tons of food blogs out there but I was struck with the nice clean design of Rum & Reason, the interesting-sounding categories (‘Cool food, hot summer’, ‘Chocolate’, ‘Miami’…) and the range of great baking recipes. Baking often seems to be under-represented on general food blogs, but not so here.

As well as writing about food, Zoe also blogs about her travels, reviews restaurants, hotels and exhibitions, all with a witty and not uncritical eye.

48 hours in Las Vegas on Rum & Reason

The blend of sophistication and down-to-earth fun is really stylish, and just shows how a distinctive tone of voice and great photos can really contribute to achieving ‘standout’ in the blogosphere.

PS do come and join me on App.net, it's new and growing!

Your blog recommendations ... and our 2 winners!

Phew! I've been looking at all your blog recommendations in the big book giveaway and enjoying the variety of what's popped up ...

I liked Queenie and the Dew - as recommended by Anke, of Anchor and Sing which is equally quirky and fun. And yes, I like the letter-writing thing too!

Thank you Lisa for http://clientsfromhell.net/ - I have to agree I found some of the stories there quite funny in a black humour sort of way…!

Although I'm following designer Graham Smith on Twitter I must admit I hadn't seen his blog I'm Just Creative until now -  - thank you Jinny for the tip-off, you're right, it's a really useful design resources with tons of examples of corporate logos etc. Nice one. And Jinny's own blog at http://www.jindesigns.com/blog/ looks very good for anyone looking for graphic design tips and inspiration.

Thank you to Laura Swaddle for sharing Attic24 - choc full of colourful craft projects and more, and Laura's own blog Scarlet Pyjamas is well worth a visit - I really like the look and layout, and the current series of posts about Laura's 'dream holiday destination' Japan is a visual treat.

Qwiksave - thank you for sharing the names of some of your favourite bloggers, and Rosie's Arty Stuff (great blog name!)

In fact thanks to everyone who took the time to post, it's amazing at what's out there and impossible to find all the gems, so recommendations are great.

Congratulations to Anke and Laura, you are the two winners - let me have your contact details and a copy of 'Blogging for Creatives' will be winging its way towards you both!