As some of you know, I started this little blog here in the fall of 2010 with the name Where We Love is Home. Since then, my blogging journey has taken me places that I honestly never thought possible. Looking back, there are a few distinct steps that I took that took Something Charming to the next level. I was hoping I could share those things with you today.
1 // I BOUGHT A CAMERA. In the summer of 2012, I decided it was time to upgrade the pictures on my blog from iPhone photos and images I found on Pinterest. I have a basic DSLR (a Canon Rebel T2i), one that isn't really all that impressive, but it's made the biggest different in the quality of images on my blog. Not only that, but I feel a lot more confident pushing out more original content, meaning more tutorials and recipes, since I have a camera to take nicer pictures with.
2 // I FOUND MY PERSONAL STYLE. It was sometime during 2012 that I also realized how much my personal style has evolved over the years. I proceeded to throw out the vast majority of my closet and built my wardrobe from the ground up, focusing on items that were innately me. By doing so I was able to discover my personal style even more, and made changes to my blog that reflected that style.
3 // I LEARNED PHOTOSHOP. This is probably the single most important thing I did for my blog. I remember it well: it was January 1, 2011, and I wanted a new blog design. Before then I was just using one of the templates that came with Blogger, but I was over it. I sat down at our old desktop, and within a day, I taught myself Photoshop and basic HTML and CSS. Doing so has allowed me to create my own blog designs, as well as collages and graphics I use on Something Charming.
4 // I JOINED TWITTER. Okay, so I was actually on Twitter long before I started my blog, but it was when I actually started engaging with people on Twitter that I saw my traffic and readership increase. Participating in social media is essential if you want to have a successful blog, but I truly believe that Twitter is the cornerstone to this. Instagram and Pinterest are great, of course, but Twitter is much more engaging. I've met some of my best "blog friends" on the platform, and it's a great way to interact with other people and push out your content.
5 // I STARTED A CREATIVE BUSINESS. Now, I don't think this is essential to have a successful blog, but I do think that everyone should have some type of creative endeavor that they work toward. What I mean is that a blog isn't self-sustaining. You need content, whether it be outfit collages or book reviews or recipes or tutorials, or any number of things. I like to do a little bit of everything, but it wasn't until I started my creative business that I realized my potential as a creative human being. Every single day I'm challenged to think critically and to come up with new and exciting ideas. Owning a creative business means that I'm never stagnant, and my life is one big creative endeavor. It's pretty awesome.
These are just a few of the things that have helped bring my blog to the next level. I'd love to know what your thoughts are, or what you did to help your blog succeed!