Six Month Review
I began this journey a little over six months ago with both trepidation and high expectations. It was something I visualized creating while going about my everyday designer-licious life... Needless to say, in these past short months there have been many take aways - some more positive than others. Below I share with you a few of my behind the scenes pitfalls and pats-on-the-backs...
{seen in NYC - one of my favorite instagram photos}
Pitfalls:
- I thought I could easily post once a week if not twice a week. // Creating quality content takes more time than I expected. If I plan on giving DIY directions for a project I'm whipping up, then I have to take extra time out to make sure I'm capturing images that can explain the steps for a post.
- Real time posts that coordinate with real time social media. // I'm always working on something creative that gives me an "aha!" moment of wanting to share, the hard part is documenting, drafting, editing and organizing it into a story. I've found that I tend to have a two to three week real time delay. Professional bloggers have production schedules so they can put forth a seamless narration. I'd like to get better at coordinating these, for example when I post a video of sewing on instagram then the associated tutorial on my blog should be posted soon after (they're especially difficult to explain...)
- Selfies in Mermaid Costumes are hard. // I may or may not have fallen off the posting wagon soon after a failed attempt at a post I had my heart set on - my mermaid halloween costume. It was impossible to capture myself in costume in any (dare I say) natural way that may have been tempting to the neediest of pinterest users. We'll see about next year...
Pats-on-the-back:
- I can now begin to see my posting patterns. // Although I don't have a large quantity of posts and my topics have varied (widely) since I started, I can now see what I'm better at, what I should exercise more of, and how to mix it up.
- Styling and finding creative places to photograph still-lives in my tiny apartment. // This has been what I've enjoyed the most - although it may be my biggest challenge. As with any photography, lighting is key, so I have to use my weekends carefully.
- Creative outlet that pushes my writing skills. // Finding a voice through writing is not something I have had much experience with, in fact writing has never been my strong suit. My content may not be world changing, but it's been a great exercise to practice writing to a great unknown audience. If you haven't tried writing anything in awhile, I highly recommend it - a funny story, a recipe, a diary entry, it can be very satisfying!
Since this is a work in progress, I'm especially grateful for everyone that has encouraged, given feedback or simply put up with my shameless self promoting of images and posts - thank you! And please, feel free to weigh in on my review - let me know what you think I may be doing right or wrong, I'd love to see comments! xoR