Twitter Tips by Elise Ostermann

Welcome to the world of Twitter…

You’ve created your account and followed a couple of your personal friends. Now what?

Here are my Top Ten Tips about the Twitter world.

1. Build Relationships
Twitter is about building relationships with others. Take the time to invest in
your followers and to invest in the people you are following. Ask questions. Be
interested. Cultivate true relationships with people by using the same tactics we
use to build relationships in real life.

2. Be Diverse
Vary the content that you post. Don’t just post about your day-to-day life or a
product… change it up! Talk about your business in some tweets, talk about your
life, talk about things you’re passionate about, ask questions, respond to other
people’s tweets. Vary the content of your postings to make your account well-
rounded.

3. Be Responsive
Respond to what other people post. Again, always think of your twitter account
as a way to build relationships with others. If you were having an in-person
conversation you wouldn’t be talking about yourself the whole time (and if you
did, you would quickly lose friends). Too often people fall in to a narcissistic
approach to their tweeting – it’s all about them. Avoid that at all cost.

4. RT, RT, RT
Retweet what other people post. Seriously! It’s a good thing. Other tweeters have
good things to say and why not spread that?! The proper way to retweet is as
follows.
Sally tweets: I love fresh clean laundry.
You retweet: RT @sally I love fresh clean laundry.
You retweet with comment: Me too! RT @sally I love fresh clean laundry.

5. Keep Your Social Media Platforms Separate
Don’t connect your Twitter account to your Facebook account. I understand it
might be “easier” for you… but you’re actually doing you and your followers a
disservice. Tweet twitter specific tweets (that use hash tags #, @mentions, tiny
urls, etc). Facebook specific Facebook posts (using Facebook’s tagging system,
posting photos to your wall, etc.). You don’t want your followers on Twitter and
Facebook to see the same content in both places. Neither do you want to clutter
your friends’s newsfeed with twitter content. Treat each social media outlet as it’s
own separate media platform.

6. Time = Success
Be present on Twitter. Take the time to invest in it more than just once a day or
a couple times a week. If it’s about building relationships, than huge times away
from Twitter can be detrimental to building relationships. Download a mobile
Twitter app if you have to. I highly recommend the “Echofone” app for iPhone
users.

7. Encourage Personal Connections
Respond to personal and direct messages from people. Nothing is more frustrating
than taking the time to personally strike up a conversation with someone and
they don’t respond. So respond to your followers. Take the time to respond to
what they tweeted to you. Don’t fall into the Twitter celebrity-syndrome-trap that
too many tweeters fall into. Remember that you’re still a real person and your
followers are still real people.

8. Report Spam!
Be kind to the twitter community and block/report spam. If you get spammed
(which everyone does), take the moment to respond with the simple “block/
resport spam” button. It’s annoying, I know. But if we all report spam, the less
there is floating around.

9. It’s Quality, Not Quantity
Don’t be so excited to gain twitter followers or reach a number that you forget to
cultivate the relationships you already have. It’s honestly not about numbers…
it’s about the people behind those numbers. 100 true followers (who respond to
what you say, RT your postings, etc) are WAY better than 1000 followers who
could care less what you are posting.

10. Find Common Ground
Follow people who share your common interests. Read their bios. Read through
their tweets. Find people with which you can connect. I’ve found that looking
through the people my followers follow is the BEST way to connect with more
like-minded or similar people. Again, take the time to find and connect with real
people. Be selective in who you follow. By doing this, your timeline will be filled
with tweets from people you actually care to read/respond/or RT.

Hopefully those Top Ten Tips help your twitter journey in some small way! If you have
any other questions about twitter or social media, I would suggest doing more research
and reading some books on it. My favorite book is UnMarketing by Scott Stratten (or you
can follow him on twitter at @unmarketing).

You can also always tweet me with any of your questions! I love all my twitter followers
and I always enjoy building relationships with new fabulous people!

Happy Tweeting!
Elise (@eliseostermann)

Headline Matters - By: Amy Schubert

Good morning! I am Amy from Lemon and Raspberry, and I'm so happy to be here helping Emilee relax a little with all the wedding and honeymoon mania going on!

I've been blogging for over 5 years, making plenty of mistakes along the way ... so today I wanted to talk about one of the most important pieces of your blogging that may get overlooked.

Question for you:

When you blog, do you write your headline FIRST or only after your post has been written and has a good structure?

I know it may be fun to do flippant or intensely clever headers, but blog titles are one of the most important aspects of your blog post.

You’re writing your headline for people AND for search engines, so making the headline both interesting and clear is always a tough one.

Yes, you MUST have good content within the blog post itself, but all other factors being equal, a great headline can aid in increasing your blog traffic.

2 reasons your headline is important:

• For SEO - When you publish a blog post, you are essentially creating a web "page" for Google to find and index. One of the ways Google figures out what that "page" is about is from the title (or, in the case of a blog post, the headline). So, if you want Google to find your post about vintage shopping, try putting "vintage shopping" in the headline.
• For human interest - All that said, sometimes it IS effective to get readers to click through if the headline gives an aura of mystery or subtlety. Think about a headline like, "How I got my best friend to wash my car" ... the post itself may be about how you won a bet (about something totally different than a car), but the mystery of the blog post attracts real-person readers in a way very different than Google indexing.

Your headline needs to do several things all at the same time:

• Catch the reader’s attention (by mentioning how you’re solving their problem)
• Be relevant to the body of the post (no bait-and-switch)
• (ideally) Use one or more of your site’s keywords

Personally, when I am putting together my Sunday DIY project link roundup post, I visually scan my Google Reader list of unread blogs. I look specifically for the headlines that say “How To” or “DIY” or “Tutorial.” If you have posted a DIY but don’t tell me that in the headline, you may not make the weekly list.

That’s just an example, of course. You can also write your headline as more of a teaser.

If you blog about your handmade children’s aprons, maybe you can write a headline like ‘How to Make a Mess’ and blog your story of how your daughter and her 3 friends baked together the other day (and made a mess, but it didn’t matter because they were all wearing your aprons). The headline is relevant to the text of the post, without being too explicit.

If you use a blog reader like I do, scan some of the headlines in your archives and recognize what pops out at you. Do you gravitate more toward the clear, I-know-exactly-what-to-expect headlines, or the teaser, hmm-I-wonder-what-she-means headlines?

Here’s your homework:

For your next blog post, try to write your headline to both draw in readers AND to help Google know what you’re talking about.

It’s a delicate balance, but with practice you can really work some internet magic.

Want to read more? Check out these helpful resources on headlines

• Copyblogger – Headlines that Sell
• ProBlogger – The 8 Most Greatest Tips to Write Unstoppably Killer Headlines Guide Ever
• Scribblemill – Lessons from 1117 Copyblogger Headlines

Amy T Schubert blogs tips and inspiration for creatives on Lemon and Raspberry. More info on blog post formatting and headlines is expanded into a full chapter in her Better Blog Content Workbook. For more from Lemon and Raspberry, follow Amy on Twitter or subscribe to the L&R Newsletter.

DIY Skirt by Kelly Hicks

Hi lovelies! This is Kelly from Kelly Hicks Design. I'm a designer, photographer, thrifter and creator of things. I'm honored to be guest posting for Emilee!

My favorite things to blog about are DIYs so I'm going to be showing you how to transform a boring sheer curtain into a flow-y summer skirt! Even though the last time I attempted a skirt it was a total failure; I'm happy to say this time, it was a little more successful!

This was actually very easy to do. Don't be intimidated if you are new at sewing! I'm still trying to figure out how to sew in a straight line ;). In fact every time I need new thread in the bobbin, I have to pop in the instructional DVD to figure out how to do it. ha

Here's what you'll need:

1) Cutting mat

2) Ruler

3) Safety pins

4) Snaps to match your ribbon

5) 1 panel sheer curtain

6) Craft thread in contrasting color

7) Rotary cutter

8) Blanket binding in any color

9) Scissors

10) Pins

To finish, I bought a white slip for underneath the skirt. I think this skirt has so many styling options, I'd love to see how others do it!

If you have questions, please ask in the comment section and I'd be happy to help! For more DIYs, go to my blog: http://kellyhicksdesign.com/blog and subscribe at http://kellyhicksdesign.com/feed/.

How to be a Better Blogger by Rhiannon of Hey Gorg

Hi! My name is Rhi and I blog over at Hey Gorg. Over the past two and half years I have learned a lot about good blogging etiquette and tips that help you gain readership, comments and followers. Here are a few of my faves that hopefully you'll find useful in your blogging endeavors!

 

{Passion} Whether you blog about weddings (like me), food, fashion, your family, interior design, yourself or a mixture of a bunch of different topics, a blog is so much more alluring and pleasurable to visit when the author instills a bit of passion into it. Whether it be through your writing or the photos you post, readers will know when you blog with a purpose and in turn will want to come back time and time again. A little bit of honesty and a little peek into your life will also keep people coming back for more. People like to be able to relate to bloggers and like to know that there's people out there just like them so don't be shy and don't be afraid to share a little about yourself and your life (within reason of course). Like anything in life, a little effort goes a long way.

{Commenting} In my opinion, commenting makes the blog world go round. Sure it can be time consuming and frustrating when you run into word verifications, incredibly long posts and content you can't relate or care to reflect on. However, I am going to go ahead and assume that most people with public blogs, blog because they have something to share and garnering feedback, discussion and appreciation is very important to them (myself included). Some aren't in it for the comments and that's completely cool too! But for those of us who are, you give a little you get a little. Pay it forward to those who visit your blog and in turn you will see your followers, comments and blog traffic increase. Never forget where you started and how good it felt to get your first comment and follower.

{User-Friendly Spaces} A lot of people are visual learners which is why a clean design is best for usability and reader navigation. Those gazillion stylish blogger award buttons down the side of your right hand column are an eye sore to some and distract from your main posts. If the buttons are important to you, put them in a blog post that you can add to when necessary or place them in the footer of your blog. The super cursive font you're using for your body text is illegible and causes headaches when people try to decipher what it reads. And the white font over top of the neon blue background is so psychedelic it feels like my living room is spinning. It's great that you have interests and preferences but try to flaunt them in a way that is conducive to a site that isn't too much for the average viewer to handle. Think of your blog as your home; would you invite people over to your home with clutter all over the floors and loud music blaring from your television? Didn't think so.

What tips and tricks do you rely on when it comes to being a better blogger?

Thanks Em for having me over at your place today! I hope your wedding is everything you have dreamed of and more :) I cannot wait to see how stunning you looked!! xoxo

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Photo attached by Jenna McKenzie Photography

Wedding Photo Sneak Peak by Margaret Jacobsen

This lovely post is from our amazing photographer and friend, Margaret Jacobsen. She is simply amazing and we love her dearly. Thank you for for friendship friend!!
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 "Hello! Here's a favorite photo from Emilee & Andy's wedding! Hands down my favorite wedding I've ever been apart of :) I felt beyond blessed to be able to capture their wedding for them and it was an experience I'll never forget! The wedding was perfect, seriously. I know that Emilee had a vision and I'm pretty sure that vision was fulfilled. Thank you guys for letting me be apart of your special day! I love you both!

photo by: Margaret Jacobsen

DIY Wedding Totes & Freebie!!! By Shannon LaBare

Ok, so this is the FIRST Wedding Week Blog Series post and I thought it would be fun to combine quite possibly 2 of my fav things: DIY projects & free stuff. So thanks for stopping by and continue on to read my dear friend Shannon's post.
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Hey Everyone! I'm so excited to share with you this incredibly easy and super cute DIY tote. Emilee came to me a few months ago with an idea to make her bridesmaids an "emergency kit" for the day of the wedding. It'd be filled with little travel size items that they might need the day of the wedding. Things like lotion, bobby pins, Advil, Chapstick... things that you THOUGHT you brought with you but FORGOT. Happens to me on a daily basis.

Anyway, we were trying to come up with a cute saying for them. We wanted it to be applicable to the wedding, but also something that the bridesmaids could use after the wedding. We finally decided on the incredibly perfect "Love is all you need" lyric from The Beatles. Instead of a stencil to apply the text to the bag, we chose the always friendly iron-on transfer. If you'd like to make your own Love Is All You Need tote you can download it for FREE right HERE!!

Step 1: Purchase your totes! We found ours cheaptotes.com - seriously so cheap and great quality!!

Step 2: Buy iron on transfer paper - the best is from Target. 

Step 3: Print your design onto the transfer paper - key facts - NEEDS to be from an inkjet printer and your design needs to be inverted if you have text. 

 

Step 4: Trim down your paper - we also rounded our corners but you totally don't have to
Step 5: Follow the step by step instructions from the iron on transfer paper you purchase.
Note: you will also  need a pillow case, super hard non-porous surface, and a good iron.

We also added some tatters to the bags to make them more "Emilee" =) The finished product!

I was one of these bridesmaids to receive this fantastic emergency kit, and it definitely came in handy. It was such a thoughtful gift for Em to put together for us and I know that I'll use it all the time.

Em - Thank you for letting me be a part of you and Andy's day. I can't tell you how incredibly honored I was when you asked me to be a bridesmaid and I love how close we got in the process of planning it. Your wedding was simply beautiful - the best representation of your relationship. I couldn't help but think as you two were leaving through that tunnel of illuminating sparklers that your wedding day was as picture perfect as it could have been and an incredible start to your marriage. I love you both so dearly and can't wait to hear how your honeymoon was. xoxox, Shannon

Wedding Week Blog Series

Ok folks, it's my wedding week!! I'm actually writing this earlier to you - the future haha - so kinda  a weird feeling. When you are reading this... I'll be heading out to the beach on my honeymoon!! But I wanted to let you know about an amazing week of blog posts I have prepared for you. About a month ago I went to some of my favorite friends in the blogging world... and the real life world haha if they would like to do guest posts while I'm away on my honeymoon. I specifically asked gals who are super talented, crafty, and sooo smart in the individual fields they work in. They each bring awesome knowledge, advice, & inspiration that I couldn't even begin to share with you on my own. So I am SO excited to share the posts with you!!! So stay tuned this whole weekend & next week for some awesomeness =) But for now, I'm going to hopefully have some "sneak peak" photos from my wedding captured by friends and their trusty phones so you can see what I've been up to!

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P.S. You can read all about my bachelorette weekend over at Shannon LaBare's blog HERE =)