While scrolling through Facebook I came across the 10 Days Blog Makeover Challenge by the fabulous and friendly Daniela @ Blogging on your own terms
It is my 5th year of blogging, so a makover might be in order, right? Let's see what I would have to do...
Day 1 - Write a mission statement for your blog
Uuggghh. What's next, a SWOT analysis? I always hated assignments like this. Can't I just say "I write about this and that because it hit me, and I'm happy that there are people out there who like to read it?"
Truth be told, I don't even know what my topic, my audience and my niche are. (<-- Oh! See? Need for action!)
My blog is a hodge podge of online diary, monthly writing challenges, recipes and crafts.
From what I know my audience consists in my loyal secret subject swap and use your words blogging friends plus a couple of real life and Facebook friends, mostly moms, and one or two brave and supportive guys.
The only thing I can think of that distinguishes me from other mommy bloggers I know of, is that I'm Swiss. I even had to name my Facebook page SwissPartTimeWorkingMom (likes are greatly appreciated!)
Day 2 - Answer the question "if your blog was a place, where would it be?"
In addition to figuring out the place, we were to create a Pinterest board and pin a ton of pictures. This was my favorite activity ;-)
I decided my blog needed at least a summer and a winter residence.
Winter vs Blogger: Log cabin, wooden floors, red brick fireplace with a crackling fire, some comfort food, wine and coffee, fluffy socks, blankets and cinnamon stick candles,...
Day 3 - Choose your fonts for your blog
So I work with Blogger which offers the following fonts:
When I started this blog, it was clear to me that Helvetica was the one to go with. Because, Switzerland ;-) Kidding aside, I like that it's neat and "generous". For the future I might consider using the larger font size though.
If I wanted a larger selection of fonts, I would have to switch to Wordpress. Which would entail a whole new challenge: how to import over 300 blog posts..?! What about all the links that are out there on Pinterest, Facebook and Google+?
Day 4 - Choose your colors and integrate them into your blog
So my winter colors have a HEX code: 591B02 or 2C76A6
Did you know colors have HEX codes? I didn't.
Those are the colors that Blogger allows me to use, I guess I can pick my custom colors from here:
Summer colors
That's all fine and dandy, BUT: I read somewhere that people are much, much more likely to click on something that is either red, pink or orange. Byebye summer and winter colors, I think I need to start from scratch and do something spring-like!?
Day 5 - Create a branded graphic template for your blog posts
Background, headline, logo - Colin would LOVE this task! He creates logos for his fictional hockey teams. I should outsource this one to him!
Oh! I know what "you just need" means. Want to do a fun craft for St. Patrick's Day? Here's an idea, you just need a few items that are lying around the house."
Or you live in Switzerland and want to make gummy treats with a just a few simple ingredients? Hahahaha!!
The thing is, I am fascinated by graphics and images, and I wish I knew how to create and edit them! I tried working with Gimp once. Almost had to check myself into the quiet place with the awesome drugs.
Oh, and PicMonkey? There is a free trail version - however they'll only give you access in return of your credit card details?!
Day 6 - Make your headlines kick butt
With this fun tool you can find out if your blog title contain the right mix of (un) common, emotional and power words. They suggest to aim for a score of 70 or higher. So I ran all of my January posts and found out that all but one of my titles suck :-(
Make relevant posts easier to find. This one is basically an "organize your junk drawer assignment". Once upon a long time I started to create a category for my writing challenge posts. I guess I should take the time and finish the job.
Keep everything nice and neat. Paragraphs shouldn't be longer than three to five sentences. Use headings, dividers, bullet points, pictures,...
I think this is the one I don't need to work on. Yay! Check!
Add a Call to Action toward the beginning and the end of a post.
There are a couple of suggestions on how to celebrate and congratulate ourselves for sticking around and making changes to our blog. (I haven't really done anything yet - do you think I'm still entitled to party? Please say yes!)
Next we are supposed to set new goals and actions steps. There we go again :-(
I know, I know it's important. I'm just having such a hard time coming up with realistic, measureable, bla bla bla. My blog is supposed to be fun.
So, I'm gonna ask you, dear readers:
If I am going to make three modifications to my blog, which ones would you suggest?
This challenge wasn't about content. However I am particularly interested in hearing your feedback on content: what do (or don't) you like reading about here?
Thanks for leaving me a comment below or on my FB page!
It is my 5th year of blogging, so a makover might be in order, right? Let's see what I would have to do...
Day 1 - Write a mission statement for your blog
Fill in the blanks: I write about [my topic ] in
order to help [my audience + my unique angle]. I do this because [my purpose].
Uuggghh. What's next, a SWOT analysis? I always hated assignments like this. Can't I just say "I write about this and that because it hit me, and I'm happy that there are people out there who like to read it?"
Truth be told, I don't even know what my topic, my audience and my niche are. (<-- Oh! See? Need for action!)
My blog is a hodge podge of online diary, monthly writing challenges, recipes and crafts.
From what I know my audience consists in my loyal secret subject swap and use your words blogging friends plus a couple of real life and Facebook friends, mostly moms, and one or two brave and supportive guys.
The only thing I can think of that distinguishes me from other mommy bloggers I know of, is that I'm Swiss. I even had to name my Facebook page SwissPartTimeWorkingMom (likes are greatly appreciated!)
Day 2 - Answer the question "if your blog was a place, where would it be?"
In addition to figuring out the place, we were to create a Pinterest board and pin a ton of pictures. This was my favorite activity ;-)
I decided my blog needed at least a summer and a winter residence.
Winter vs Blogger: Log cabin, wooden floors, red brick fireplace with a crackling fire, some comfort food, wine and coffee, fluffy socks, blankets and cinnamon stick candles,...
It's summer, and we still want to get lots of writing done - here's my take on it: Beach house, deck chairs, lots of windows, ceiling fan, A/C, mosquito nets, fully functional fridge and freezer with an endless supply of fruit juices, sparkling wine and ice cream!
Day 3 - Choose your fonts for your blog
So I work with Blogger which offers the following fonts:
When I started this blog, it was clear to me that Helvetica was the one to go with. Because, Switzerland ;-) Kidding aside, I like that it's neat and "generous". For the future I might consider using the larger font size though.
If I wanted a larger selection of fonts, I would have to switch to Wordpress. Which would entail a whole new challenge: how to import over 300 blog posts..?! What about all the links that are out there on Pinterest, Facebook and Google+?
Day 4 - Choose your colors and integrate them into your blog
So my winter colors have a HEX code: 591B02 or 2C76A6
Did you know colors have HEX codes? I didn't.
Those are the colors that Blogger allows me to use, I guess I can pick my custom colors from here:
That's all fine and dandy, BUT: I read somewhere that people are much, much more likely to click on something that is either red, pink or orange. Byebye summer and winter colors, I think I need to start from scratch and do something spring-like!?
Day 5 - Create a branded graphic template for your blog posts
Background, headline, logo - Colin would LOVE this task! He creates logos for his fictional hockey teams. I should outsource this one to him!
Oh! I know what "you just need" means. Want to do a fun craft for St. Patrick's Day? Here's an idea, you just need a few items that are lying around the house."
Or you live in Switzerland and want to make gummy treats with a just a few simple ingredients? Hahahaha!!
The thing is, I am fascinated by graphics and images, and I wish I knew how to create and edit them! I tried working with Gimp once. Almost had to check myself into the quiet place with the awesome drugs.
Oh, and PicMonkey? There is a free trail version - however they'll only give you access in return of your credit card details?!
Day 6 - Make your headlines kick butt
With this fun tool you can find out if your blog title contain the right mix of (un) common, emotional and power words. They suggest to aim for a score of 70 or higher. So I ran all of my January posts and found out that all but one of my titles suck :-(
Day 7 - Help your blog readers to stick around longer
Make relevant posts easier to find. This one is basically an "organize your junk drawer assignment". Once upon a long time I started to create a category for my writing challenge posts. I guess I should take the time and finish the job.
Day 8 - Format your posts for easy reading
Keep everything nice and neat. Paragraphs shouldn't be longer than three to five sentences. Use headings, dividers, bullet points, pictures,...
I think this is the one I don't need to work on. Yay! Check!
Day 9 - Help your blog readers take action
Add a Call to Action toward the beginning and the end of a post.
Whoa! As a reader I don't think I want to click follow, subscribe or anything at the beginning of a post, to me that'd be like buying a pig in a poke. I also think one should only "like" a page if you really like it. Then again I am aware that some of my own likes probably were favors of friends.
Day 10 - Time to celebrate your blog!
There are a couple of suggestions on how to celebrate and congratulate ourselves for sticking around and making changes to our blog. (I haven't really done anything yet - do you think I'm still entitled to party? Please say yes!)
Next we are supposed to set new goals and actions steps. There we go again :-(
I know, I know it's important. I'm just having such a hard time coming up with realistic, measureable, bla bla bla. My blog is supposed to be fun.
So, I'm gonna ask you, dear readers:
If I am going to make three modifications to my blog, which ones would you suggest?
This challenge wasn't about content. However I am particularly interested in hearing your feedback on content: what do (or don't) you like reading about here?
Thanks for leaving me a comment below or on my FB page!
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