I’m so excited to be teaching a class for Hive Workshops this week all about blogging! I taught this class last summer and the response was awesome (you can see the recap from that class here). This is a workshop for all creatives, not just photographers and will take the creatives through the benefits and how-to’s of blogging for creative businesses. The end goal is for you to leave the workshop with the tools to either create your own business blog or to enhance your current blog and social media content. I will show real-time demonstrations and techniques for making your blog amazing! Worksheets will be provided for the creatives to keep for their own use. As with all Hive Workshops, open discussion is strongly encouraged!
WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
At the end of this workshop, attendees should be able to:
– Understand how blogging helps build their business
– Identify the top blogging platforms for creatives
– Understand simple HTML and CSS tricks and tips to help them create and design their blog
– Know easy methods for building story and interest through blogging
– Describe how to make content shareable on social media
– Identify the best social media platforms to focus on in order to build their brand
– Understand how to promote their blog, including SEO and hashtags
– Describe and explain the “3-and-3 Blogging Rule”
– Be familiar with programs/plugins specific to creatives that make blogging workflow fast and efficient
Event sponsors include J. Lynn Designery, who will be gifting our creatives with 25% anything in her shop! Her blog planners are a must have for bloggers in order to make successful blogging easy and productive. BlogStomp is a returning sponsor and will be gifting our creatives 20% off their products. BlogStomp makes creating image boards for your blog quick and easy, cutting down workflow and making it simple to create beautiful blogs that showcase your best work.
I would LOVE to see you at this workshop on Wednesday, January 13th from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Hive Workshops fantastic space in the West Bottoms in Kansas City! To sign up, click here! And as an exclusive gift from me to you, use the code BLOGGERBEE to get $10 off the cost of the class!
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Hive-Workshops-KC-Blogger-009-e1452541396715.jpg533800Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2016-01-11 13:44:002016-01-11 13:44:00Blogging for Creatives Workshop : This Week!
Hi friends! I hope you are having a fantastic week! Here are a few pieces I’ve written for some of my favorite outlets around the web lately…enjoy!
Best Apps for Kids and Families
I wrote a post for the Kansas City Moms Blog all about my favorite apps for children and families. This is a topic I’ve written about before, but this new version includes some great, new apps, along with some of my longtime favorites.
While I am a huge fan of family-friendly apps and games for smartphones and tablets, I have to admit, finding the best of the pack for my little crew can be overwhelming! As of July 2015, Android users had over 1.6 million apps to choose from in their online store, with Apple close behind at 1.5 million. That’s a lot of iTunes browsing… and we mamas don’t have time for that nonsense! So as an official “App Junkie,” I have done the work for you. You can thank me later.
My 12 Steps: Step 6
When I was asked to write a piece on my 12-step journey for Addiction.com, I was definitely hesitant. I’m probably not the “ideal” 12-step person, but I figured I’d give it a whirl. And I’m glad I did, because everyone’s journey is different, and if reading this helps just one person out there who is struggling, it will be worth it.
Listing out all my defects and resentments had been mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausting. Admitting all of these aloud had initially terrified me. But it was actually cathartic, telling someone the whole truth for what may have been the first time in my entire life. I never considered myself a liar per se, but I was not a person who told the truth. Everything that came out of my mouth was twisted and turned until my tales barely resembled real life. Sharing my deepest shames and fears with someone who responded with no judgment, only love and support, was a beautiful experience
The other day I was sitting in IKEA, Periscoping about social media.
If you’re thinking, “Um, what? That sentence makes no sense!” I’m telling you, you’re not alone! This whole world of social media is intimidating to me, and I do this for my job, for goodness sakes! So I thought it might be a good idea to put together a totally random, informative post for those of us who might not be social media experts, but would like to sound like we know what we’re talking about when we’re at a dinner party and someone asks us if we use Snapchat. Which I might add, actually happened to me!
Before I get started, I wanted to offer this little disclaimer…I am not recommending you immediately get on all these platforms and go social media bonkers! I have found in the last few years that what is most productive for me, both as a business owner and a regular adult human, is to focus on up to three platforms. Yes, I do have accounts on more than three social media networks, but I’m definitely not actively posting on all of them. I don’t think it’s feasible (or smart) to be posting everything, everywhere. Why would people follow you on Instagram if they were already getting all of your info over on Twitter or Facebook? What’s even the point? So I tend to lean toward the social media channels that are most fun and engaging for me, and while I have accounts on the others (mostly to reserve my profile name so no one else snags it and pretends to be me), I’m not consistently posting to all of them. Cool? Cool!
Okay, let’s do this!
Instagram (follow me on Instagram!)
This my very favorite of all social media! I seriously adore Instagram! It’s definitely where I have been placing more of my focus lately, both personally and as an entrepreneur and business woman. Instagram allows users to share photos or images with their followers, along with captions.
Being a visual artist and photographer, Instagram was made for me! It has also served as a wonderful community, as I have found tons of my local, creative friends networking through Instagram. Many businesses keep multiple Instagrams, one for personal and one for their businesses, but I have found the most luck keeping everything under one account. In the next year, I plan to be posting more and more to Instagram, and less to my other platforms. So if you’re a fan, get on over to Instagram and follow me over there! I wouldn’t want you to miss anything!
Sidenote: I’m actually running a giveaway over on Instagram RIGHT NOW and the winner will receive a $100 gift card to Amazon. So get over there, already!
Facebook (follow me on Facebook!)
I feel like Facebook is probably a no-brainer for most of you…it seems like even my least tech-savvy friends are on Facebook these days! Facebook has become a gathering place for friends, collegues and family. It’s a place to share photos of the first day of school, news and silly stories. I love Facebook because the Groups application allows me to gather groups of friends with similar interests and share specifically with them. For example, I have a neighborhood group, where we share info about block parties and news from our street. Facebook has also become an important place for my recovery, as I have a fantastic support group there. Facebook has been great for my business, in that I share my work and then it spreads throughout my community, and the communities of my clients.
Downsides: Oh, is there an election happening? I didn’t notice. Can you guys sense sarcasm through your screens?! Facebook seems to be the place for people who need to vent or spew their negativity…for that reason, I sometimes steer clear. Also, Facebook’s algorithm has made it fairly difficult for small businesses (like mine) to get their information seen unless I pay to do so. I understand why Facebook has to do this, but I don’t like it! (See how to ensure you don’t miss any of your fave business posts on Facebook by clicking here)
Periscope (follow me on Periscope under @crazybananas)
This is a fairly new social media channel, but I am really enjoying it! If you’ve been following for a while, you might remember I was super interested in video blogging, but it wasn’t sustainable for me to continue producing videos with everything I had on my plate. Enter, Periscope! Periscope connects with Twitter (so the usernames are the same, yay!), and users create videos using their smartphones, which are streamed live, and then a rebroadcast is available to watch for 24 hours after the original post. Periscope is revolutionary for business, with many of my favorite entreprenuers basically sharing mini-webinars through Periscope. I have been posting regularly, and have loved the engagement from the community as well. Viewers can ask questions in the chat box during the live broadcast, so many users answer questions live! I’m hoping Periscope grows and stays relevant, because I think it’s an awesome (free!) tool.
Twitter (follow me on Twitter!)
I was an early Twitter adopter, and even though I’m rarely over there anymore, I still love popping in from time to time. Twitter allows users to “tweet” short sentences (no more than 140 characters), links or photos to their followers. Twitter was also at the forefront of the hashtag trend, where people place a # symbol before words to make them easily searchable. For example, I could post:
Great day at the zoo with the family! #blessed
Or
My kids are acting like hyenas today! #help
Hashtags now come up in Google searches, so it’s really useful for businesses. When I place the #kansascityphotographer hashtag in one of my posts, if someone searches Google for “Kansas City Photographer,” my tweet is likely to come up, and lead that searcher to my website and information. I was more involved in Twitter when I worked a desk job nine hours per day, as I checked in often for both personal and business purposes. Now I still tweet, but I have definitely shifted my focus from this particular platform.
Snapchat
Okay, I’m not gonna lie…I really still have no idea what I’m doing on Snapchat. But one of my favorite bloggers, Alison of The Alison Show, made this awesome video that explains it fairly well.
If you want to follow me over on Snapchat, you can find me under crazeebananaz (yes, I know it’s ridiculous)!
Pinterest (follow me on Pinterest!)
I was a big fan of Pinterest in the beginning, especially as an organizational tool. Pinterest is like a virtual inspiration cork board, where people “pin” their favorite things to save for themselves and share with others. When I have the time, I love perusing Pinterest for ideas from everything to style to decorating to parenting…but I find it to be a total time suck! While I wish I could spend more time over there, there are only so many hours in the day. I still love to check in, and if you follow me, you’ll probably notice I won’t post for ages and then I’ll post a hundred times in a row (which is such a social media no-no). Ironically, this blog actually gets a ton of traffic from Pinterest, so if I find a bit more time, I hope to invest some of it in my Pinterest account.
Honorable Social Media Mentions
There are a few platforms I used to love, or I’m still waiting to try, so I can’t offer a resounding endorsement. But you’ll want to know these exist in case you’re at a dinner party and you want to sound like a social media pro!
Vine – I was obsessed with Vine for about two months when it first came out, because I thought the idea of sharing short, looped videos was interesting and I saw so many creatives using it…but then Instagram started offering video. I have friends that still love Vine, but since Instagram is so similar with their videos (and I want to spent time on fewer platforms), it had to go.
Ello – This platform seems so cool and hip (it’s basically the anti-Facebook), so it makes sense that I have NO CLUE how to use it. I do have a profile, and plan to get into it at some point, but right now the app is sitting unused on my phone.
LinkedIn – I was very in to LinkedIn when I was working a corporate job, but now that I’m a creative artist and freelancer, it doesn’t make too much sense for me to invest time in LinkedIn. I do keep my profile updated, as when potential, future employers look me up, I want it to show the breadth of my experience. LinkedIn sort of serves as an online resume, where people can share their corporate experience and triumphs. Definitely not a focus for me right now.
Google+ – I wanted to love Google+, but so far, it just hasn’t worked for me. However I have friends that use Google+ and LOVE it, and also get a ton of business through their Google+ profile. So the potential is there, but I am not utilizing it at this time.
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So that’s it (at least for now)! I hope this silly social media guide helps you, the normal human person, utilize social media to the fullest for your life and business. Do you have a favorite social media channel? What are your top three? How do you choose which channels work best for you?
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IMG_9192.jpg13332000Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2015-09-23 07:27:322015-09-23 07:48:57The Crazy Bananas Social Media Guide (for regular adult human people)
Oh, hey there friends! Is everyone doing okay? Keeping your heads above water?
The last few weeks have been overwhelming and awesome. There are days when I am so, so grateful to have a flexible work life so I can be with my kids when they need me, and days when all I want to do is drop them off at daycare and run out the door. These few weeks at the end of summer are always challenging, as our summer babysitter heads back to college, but my kids don’t yet head back to school. This year was doubly challenging because we had gone on an amazing vacation, so the work had piled up while we were away, just in time for me to be a full time mama again. Yes, I realize these are ridiculous problems (oh no, too much work AND an amazing vacation…poor me!), but they are problematic nonetheless. I realized pretty early into this three week period, I would have to suck it up, and some things would have to fall through the cracks. Things like this blog.
Now, I can’t tell you how frustrating it is for me to not be able to find time to blog (please see note above about ridiculous problems). This very summer I taught a blogging workshop for creatives where I proclaimed bloggers MUST BE CONSISTENT! BLOG ON A REGULAR SCHEDULE! USE YOUR EDITORIAL CALENDAR! PLAN AHEAD!
Ahem.
While I still believe all of those things wholeheartedly, I also believe a person’s health and well-being are more important than a consistent blogging schedule. Also, when I’m stressed I get insane writer’s block. I’ve learned that trying to force it when I am blocked just doesn’t work, so this time around, I decided to let it go. I still had writing deadlines for some of my freelance jobs, plus photo sessions to edit and new projects to plan. My coveted screen time had to be reserved for those priorities, and so the blog sat quietly.
But that’s the thing I’ve learned about blogging in the past 11 years…no matter what, the blog is always there. In previous years it’s sat dormant for over a month before I could write, and it didn’t disappear. These days I’m lucky to have an amazing social media following, so I can still connect with my readers and followers, even if I don’t have the time or energy to devote to a full blog post. In fact, some of my favorite projects have been created during these types of dry spells. Just this morning I woke up inspired and decided to create a new photo series called the “Sunday Morning Project.” Will it be amazing? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just an idea that will fade. I don’t know. All I know is that my head is currently above water, and within the next week, both of my kids will be back in school. So for now, there’s just one thing to do….
…just keep swimming.
http://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Sunday-001-web.jpg10001500Meganhttp://www.crazybananas.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Crazy_Banans_Logo_WebsiteBanner.pngMegan2015-08-23 22:15:372015-08-23 22:15:37A Note From the Trenches of Motherhood
You guys, it’s been fun around here lately! I’ve been so fortunate to have a ton of new opportunities head my way in the past few months, but often, I forget to share them with you once they are out in the wild. While this blog and my photography will always be my first loves, it’s pretty cool to be able to write for other outlets and share about things that might not be a good fit somewhere else. With that, here are a few things I’ve been working on…
Most of my friends and family had children within one or two years of each other, meaning when they have activities or plans, for the most part all of their children can participate and enjoy. Taking a 9-year-old to a preschool play date isn’t exactly her idea of a great time! And my son is constantly whining because his sister gets to have sleepovers with friends and more independence. When I try to explain that he is only four, and sleepovers don’t happen in our family until kindergarten, he usually just stomps off in a huff. I get it. Being little stinks sometimes. It can be extremely frustrating to parent children going through completely different life stages. On one hand you have a toddler temper tantrum, but on the other you have a tween rolling her eyes and crying over friend drama. It’s exhausting, and can feel like you’re constantly switching gears.
A few weeks ago I assisted for a Senior Elite Photo Session with Amanda Yount Photography! It was such a fun experience! There is a great write-up and video from the session on her blog.
This spring and summer in Kansas City has been one of the wettest in recent history. For almost a month it rained daily, with flooding becoming a real threat to the area. So we weren’t surprised when the rain clouds rolled in, but we prayed they would pass over without incident. We arrived at the baseball fields and the girls changed into some adorable Royals gear, but as we gathered in the bleachers, the wind picked up and the rain started to fall. We all ran to our cars, and decided as a group to try and wait out the storm. There was lots of texting between cars, and I’m so grateful for these girls, who were total rockstars. After about 30 minutes, the rain slowed and the clouds parted! The team wiped down the bleachers, and we were ready to go!
I’m so proud to be a Recovery Expert Blogger over at Addiction.com! One of my favorite things is helping other people through telling my recovery story. I feel like everything I’ve gone through is worth sharing, especially if it helps even just one person. My first post was all about how I coped with being a summer mama while going through early recovery.
After that initial outing, I found other tools to help me through the hot summer months. The biggest and probably most important was learning how to ask for help. Before recovery, I was an A+ parent who refused any assistance. But as a mom in recovery, I had to learn how to ask for help when I was overwhelmed. And I quickly learned something amazing: People want to help! It makes others feel good when they help you! What a revelation! All that time I’d assumed that if I asked for help I would be seen as a burden. Turns out asking for help made me stronger than I’d ever been.
