J&O’s Craft Blogging Dos and Dont’s
Quality, Quality, Quality!
There are thousands of craft blogs out there and a lot of them feature the same ideas. What sets a blog apart is how they present those ideas. For example, if you are making a YouTube ‘how to’ video, use a quality camera so your image is not jumbled, speak slowly and clearly, and if at any point you are seen in the video, smile and be engaging. There are too many how-to videos where the image is too jumbled to see, you can’t hear what they are saying, and the person giving the instruction looks as though they are being held hostage and forced to give the tutorial. For some good examples of the right way to video log, we compiled the 4 best YouTube videos on how to make jewelry using fabric.
Talk Yourself Up!
Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have created overnight sensations since they became popular. Creating a fan base (no matter how small) on these sites can do wonders for your viewership. When you put up a post, make sure that you tweet the link and share it as a Facebook post with a blurb. If it your post includes a YouTube tutorial, be sure to have a link to the video posted on Twitter and Facebook as well. If you don’t promote your site when you are starting out, no one else is going to. This brings us to the relationship aspect of blogging.
Build Relationships
If you are featuring an idea or video from someone else’s website (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube video, etc.), let them know and ask if they can promote your blog/ the post in which they are featured. Nine times out of ten, the person you are communicating with will be flattered that you liked their idea enough to reference it in your post, be pleased that they are getting exposure, and give your blog a shout out the next time they put something up. Aren’t symbiotic relationships wonderful?
Focus On Your Interests
If you like making crafts with your kids, then blog about that. If you enjoy sewing on mountaintops in the Himalayas, write about that (and include pictures because I bet they would be pretty awesome). The point is, blog about what you know. If you show that you are an authority on what you are talking about, people are going to want to read/ listen to what you have to say. For example, at J&O Fabrics we know everything and anything about fabric. So if you visit our Fabric blog you will find a ton of articles and crafts that revolve around what we know best.
If you stick to these guidelines and avoid the classic pitfalls of blogging described above, you will have a following in no time! Just be patient and remember that crafting should be first and foremost fun!
