Love Your Business: Guest Post #4


All month long join me here as I welcome amazing contributors with one thing in common
we love our business {blog/shop/etc} and we want you to love yours too!
To keep up to date with this series view all posts here.

Hello Just Lovely readers! My name is Rebecca and I write a little blog called manzanita. I also own a handmade shop by the same name where I sell my crochet goodies. I am so thrilled and flattered that Heather has invited me onto her blog to day to discuss some tips I have learned about this venture I have been on this past year. Thanks Heather!

the gertrude

So today I wanted to talk a little about blogging for your business. Mind you, I am still very new to the blogosphere and to the business owning world but I will share with you the things that have seemed to work for me :)

First off blogging is very visual. You may have something really great to share but if your blogs aesthetic isn't organized you won't catch as many peoples attention. When I started blogging I had no idea what I was doing. The letters HTML meant literally nothing to me. Over the last 9 months I have tackled the world of coding and design and figured out a simple and easy way to display my images and content using basic HTML and the god send that is flickr. My advice is to google everything! example: "html code to put photos side by side on blogger." Obviously you could always hire a designer, there are so many talented ones out there, but I would suggest getting to know HTML a little bit just for your own sanity and empowerment.

Another thing I did when I was first starting was to stalk blogs that I really liked and asked myself why? Why is this particular blog attractive to me? What I came up with were a few simple features.

1. All photos were the same width across, which made it really easy on my eyes to follow the information.

2. They were inspiring me to do something creative or new in my own life.

3. The blogs were very easy to navigate through with their sidebar buttons and links.

4. They all had quality images that were pleasing to look at.

what to do with your x-mas tree

I like to think of my blog as sort of an online magazine. My goal is to have my readers pop in with a cup of coffee/tea and be able to just look around for a half hour or so and be inspired by my images, DIY projects, and fashion. That is why it is really important to me to consider quality over quantity. I made a promise to myself that I would not post about something unless I really wanted to and knew that I could do it well (to my standards) This means that my readers may not get a post every single day, but the ones they do get are the ones I am proud to share. I will never apologize for being busy and not posting because I am trying to create a collection of posts that are a part of a whole. Once I made this decision I felt like manzanita had a lot more integrity. I also may have some issues of perfectionism so when I would look back on posts that I was not so impressed with- it would freak me out and I would wind up removing them anyway:)


My advice is to be proud of everything you include in your blog, think of it as a whole.


the meanz




I originally started blogging as a way to promote my etsy shop. Now I think of my blog as a huge part of my life that has given me this great place to come and share what I love to do and has also given me an amazing community of like minded people from all over the world. Although, I still use a lot of blog space to promote my shop. I think blogging for your business is an amazing resource. Your readers and community are going to be interested in what you are doing and if owning a small business is one of those things than you should share it!


I do this in a couple of ways. I have a look book section on my blog where I share photos of other people (real life friends, blogger friends, and customers) wearing my handmade goods. I love this section because while I like to model all my own stuff (to put a face to a name) I think it is really important for my customers to see completely different looking people rock my stuff in their own personal way. This also is a great way to remind my blog readers that I have a product that I am selling.


The other way I do this is I incorporate my handmade goods in many of my outfit posts. When I started blogging I NEVER thought I would do outfit posts. I have to admit that it has done wonders for my self confidence, it acts as a way to promote my handmade wearables, and it is a great way to sport the goods of other lovely people in your community!




I believe one of the coolest parts about blogging is that it gives anyone the chance to be heard. There is no body saying you have to look a certain way, make a certain amount of money, or know the "right" people. As many of you know bloggers come from all over the world and from all walks of life. This is why I think it is so great to include your personal life when blogging. 

With that being said I also think that you should set some guidelines for how personal you would like to get. I have certain things that I would never blog about and I have my own personal reasons for that. I think it is great to share information about your life because that is what your readers are interested in, you!  I try my best to focus on the good and happy on manzanita but I also think there is a lot of value to being honest when things are not so good and happy. Be sincere, be yourself, and let your readers see that you are real person that can always be related to.


Well, I hope this helped you out in some way! 

If you are interested in my tips on running a handmade shop, check them out here

Thanks for having me Heather<3

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10 comments:

  1. Your blog is awesome and I am your newest follower (:

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  2. great tips! i love thinking of your blog as a magazine b/c i honestly wished sometimes that all my favorite blogs were in a glossy format that i could take in the bath with me :)

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  3. Thanks for all the tips! What an inspiration to a fellow crocheter!

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  4. This is such an awesome post! As a brand new blogger, looking to other blogs was definitely my biggest piece of inspiration! I love the thought of my blog as a magazine!

    http://ahopelessnotebook.blogspot.com/

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  5. Wonderful tips and gorgeous photos. I love the spotlights you're doing on wonderful business women. Thank you!

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  6. I so love this feature! It really got me thinking about some things I haven't thought about before and offered so many great tips so far. Can't wait for the rest of them.

    Thanks for sharing your experience and tips Rebecca :)

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  7. Great series! It is so interesting to hear about other people's wonderful jobs! And that looks like such a lovely laid back wedding!

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  8. This is a great series!
    Ive been totally re-vamping my site as well as my self.
    I have to get back to my roots and never forget why I started to blog and what I want to portray as a person and a blogger.
    this is some really good information! Thanks so much

    Love, Kelly.

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  9. This is a great series!
    I've been currently re-vamping my site as well as my self.
    I felt I needed to get back to my roots and focus on who I wanted to be as a blogger and a person, and what I wanted to portray as both.
    This is great advice!

    Much love, Kelly
    labellecoeurblog.blogspot.com

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  10. Great post and advice!
    Thank you for sharing!

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