I see a lot of people writing blogs about their crafts and was wondering if it is worth investing the time and effort to create a blog. I seem to spend a lot of time already networking on forums and social networking sites and am not sure that blogging wouldn’t eat up yet more of my crafting time! Any tips, advice, experience out there?
I used to blog regularly - but NOT all about my crafts. I also used to read and comment on a lot of blogs but frankly life is too short right now!
People are very split on this, but for me - a blog that is only about “I made this, I’m selling this” is deadly boring.
Others will say they don’t want to read about people’s lives.
I rarely blog more than monthly these days though, so I’m not the best example
Blogging is what you make it.
Personally, I don’t think anyone should start a blog purely as a marketing tool if that is all they want it for as it will appear forced.
People blog for many different reasons, but only do it if writing is something you enjoy.
Sarah x
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yep, “forced” blogs are a waste of time. I know, looking back at my own and others, I feel I can spot the posts where the blogger had said to themself “I really must blog today” and just churned out a potboiler.
write about what interests you, check out other blogs that interest you and leave comments - but not the sort of spam comments I get sometimes which show the person is only interested in dropping their link. I don’t mean the obvious spam (the ones for little blue pills!) but the comments like “Great work - check out my blog/shop/facebook/etc”
cos they get deleted immediately!
oh - and although you will find plenty of places where people say “follow me and I’ll follow you”, unless your target market is fellow folksy sellers, that won’t work as a marketing tool
It depends on why you want to blog. I agree totally with the others that purely promotional blogs are not worth it, however blogs that are informative can be a stepping stone to your shop and facebook etc.
I blog once or twice a month, I usually give either a tutorial or a review on a painting medium or style, and I inlcude photo examples of my work. If anyone clicks on the photo they’ll be directed to my shop if that particular painting is for sale.
I have links across the top of my blog for my shop, commissions gallery, facebook, tumblr etc.
I get several hundred views each month. I have no idea whether they lead to sales or not, but I enjoy the blogging process so it’s all good.
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I started a blog for my landscape photography mainly as a way of documenting locations and reviewing equipment. Its in the very early stages.
In addition to this I also have a FB page:
tutorials are a huge help for getting followers, everyone likes them and will suck people in through google search.
I have 2 blogs one is mainly art and the other mainly food. For me it is like keeping a journal and I only write when I want to which sometimes isn’t very often. One of my most viewed posts is a tutorial about mounting and framing silk.
The food one is a useful record for me as I often make up recipes as I go along and then forget what I did. One of my most viewed posts there is a recipe for Cape Malay Curry.
I enjoy sharing ideas with other bloggers and either met up with or kept in touch with several. I’ve taken part in a Christmas fund raising for charity with a network of food blogs. I have won things from blog give aways.
I have learnt a vast amount from other bloggers and often leave a comment to acknowledge that.
So it’s not primarily about promoting.
http://www.colours-textures.blogspot.co.uk/
http://raspberryandchipotle.blogspot.co.uk/
I agree with an earlier post that said only blog if you enjoy writing.
I use my blog as a bit of a diary have just done a post but have been really busy since January and have neglected my blog and my shop I have given myself a good telling off and posted today
http://booboocraft.wordpress.com/category/blog-2/
I have got a travel blog and only write in there if I have been somewhere or if there is any relevance to my trips. Over a year I have not entered anything! But I do get the odd view or two from there into my shop. I’m a strong believer that the internet is full of junk, and unless I have something new to add I do not bother. Life is too short and I dread the moment when I die, and I view my life on a big screen and all it will show is me staring at the computer screen.
Two great things came from it that Mayor of Reykjavik came across it and posted it on his FB page, and I have done an interview with WOW Iceland magazine: http://magazine.wowiceland.co.uk/renatas-holiday-in-iceland/
If you are thinking of doing blogging only to gain exposure and get lots of sales, then don’t. You might only end up disapointed. However if you have something to say to the world that might enrich some of them and you would like to pass something worthy on, then go ahead and do it.
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It’s a long time since I researched into blogging (I mean research in an internet mooch kind of way - nothing scientific!), but I started blogging to help with SEO. When I was blogging regularly my website featured much more highly on a google search. The more activity you have on the internet, the higher your ranking on searches - at least, that’s how I’ve always understood it. But blogging does take time and effort if people are going to read it and comment. You can boost your blog following and therefore activity, by joining one of the various link-up parties. I always promote my blog posts through handmadeharbour on Mondays.
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Agree with the comment above, blogs rank very highly on Google, but you have to do it regularly.
I’ve blogged since the beginning of the internet and it’s changed a lot in that time. There’s a lot of content vying for people’s attention these days, so it has to stand out, and like others have said, not be forced. People also don’t seem to like really long blog posts these days. You need to grab them with the first few sentences.
Tutorials are one way to go but bear in mind you can just attract a following of people who want to do what you do, rather than buy.
It takes a lot of time and effort to keep content fresh, but if you like writing then it’s well worth it 
I blog quite regularly, mainly weekly but occasionally I miss a week out, either because I haven’t got an interesting post or I’m busy with other things. I do get quite a lot of views from google, it great for seo etc. I blog about a mix of what I’ve been up to, day’s out, inspiration and things I’ve made. I do an occasional tutorial and sometimes show other peoples items and their shop links. I have had a few sales from direct hit’s on my blog but it’s only worth doing if you enjoy chatting/writing. If you don’t enjoy doing it then I think it would become a chore and this will be reflected in your post’s.
Hoping that blogging is worth while as today we posted our very first blog.
It’s just a taster and we have no clue what to expect or what to do with it 
Fortunately we do enjoy both writing and photography and hope the fact that it’s not going to be all about the ‘Art’ but more a journal of interesting titbits will be the right approach in attracting followers.
Will let you know if we just hang in the ether of the internet gathering cobwebs…
Hi ya
To read your visitor flow to and from your site, if you have not already sign up to Google Analytics and then add some code to your blogger template. This will monitor your visitors on your blog. After say a month or 2 you will be able to see the following data:
1 - where your visitors are coming from: so you cans see where you can put more of your effect
2 - Which pages they are leaving by: up your engagement on the popular pages or post they seem to be leaving from
3 - How long they are staying on your pages | posts.
Here’s a tutorial if you want help doing this: http://andywibbels.com/how-to-add-google-analytics-to-your-blogger-blog/
Knowing this information will help marketing your biz a little easier. Plus you’ll can see where you visitors are going and which sites are helping drive traffic to your site.
Blessings Janet
Congrats on your first blog post. I like how you told me about your art then lead me into the garden then i ended up on the kitchen.
I would say move your profile up to the top. It lets your readers get a gist about the blog and you straight away.
Blessings Janet