Squarespace vs Wordpress and why I chose to specialise in Squarespace website design

When I first started blogging, I set myself up on Blogger (to all the other bloggers out there reading this, remember those good old days?!) and all was right in the world. Blogger (which is sort of where the term ‘being a Blogger’ came from) was how I started dipping my toe into the world of graphic design (I used PicMonkey at the time to create banners and blog graphics) and it’s also where I first started learning about coding & custom CSS.

Once I started becoming frustrated with the limitations of Blogger, I started a separate blog on Wordpress. I tried both the self hosted and the hosted options, but I just found the whole platform to be VERY clunky. I also ended up with a million and one widgets that continually needed updating and at least once a month there would be some sort of plugin that I was using that would ‘break’ my site. And I’d end up spending hours trying to figure out which one it was, only to realise the person who had designed it hadn’t made an update for it and so it no longer worked for my site. It was soooo frustrating, and I felt as though I was just never able to make my site look like the picture in my head. And for me, I just wanted a pretty place to blog from, and one that I could control the look and feel of without having to spend hours searching for coding tutorials or having to rely on graphics and other design elements.

This is also when I delved into Wix, but this didn’t last long either as I found the interface even more confusing that Wordpress. And finally, when I came across Squarespace I just knew, even from my very first day of their free 2 week trial period, that this was the platform for me.

Everything was (and still is!) just SO beautiful!

And the best part about the platform, and the main reason why I use it to design websites for my clients, is just how easy and intuitive it is for my clients to be able to take over and make changes and updates themselves (yay!). This means it’s a win-win for both designer & client, because as a designer I’m able to ‘sign off’ a project and I know, that while I am available to ask questions and help, my clients will probably be able to solve most of their questions themselves. They are able to swop out images, update text, create more pages and work out how to do this in relatively small amount of time. Wordpress on the otherhand, while being an incredibly powerful content management system, has a MUCH steeper learning curve. If you know what you’re doing and are familiar with the platform, the options for creating beautiful websites are endless! But, when it comes to clients being able to make changes themselves (especially when it comes to blogging and writing posts), in my opinion (and this seems to be the general opinion of everyone I ask about it) it’s just not an easy platform to understand and learn how to make basic edits.

This also brings me to the next tick for Squarespace…their help forum is amazing! They have an incredible archive of tutorials that are laid out systematically and most importantly, easy to navigate! There is nothing worse than spending hours looking for a tutorial for the most basic of basic questions. And they have a forum where you can pretty much find the answer to anything and everything. And if you can’t, they customer service is pretty fantastic. When I made the move from Blogger to Squarespace, I had over 500 blog posts (can you even!!!) and comments on those posts and moving everything was pretty straight forward. I was (and am still) using DISQUS for my comment management system though, so this posed a few issues and I ended up loosing a whole bunch of comments because of URL re-directs failing etc. BUT it was less of a hassle than I thought it would be.

So now that you’ve heard from my personal experience, here are some of the other important (and more technical) reasons why I believe it to be the best website platform for the types of small businesses I work with:

• Mobile Responsive Design:

Squarespace templates are beautifully designed and have built in & unique mobile experiences that match the overall style of your website. This means your content will look great on every device, every time. Squarespace is design-driven, user-friendly, and performance-focused (doesn’t that sound fancy!).

• Simple User Interface

The back-end of Squarespace's platform is extremely intuitive and simple to use, even for complete technophobes! This means it's super easy to make edits yourself without having to get a developer/designer involved to help with small tweaks. Squarespace was designed with the do-it-yourself user in mind, making it easy for clients to maintain, update, and monitor their websites on their own. Building pages is a matter of dragging and dropping blocks in a page editor, and backend tasks are a snap with clearly labeled menus and panels.

• Peace of mind

Squarespace is a self-contained platform that works seamlessly and is fully managed from top to bottom. This means there’s never any need to update software, plugins, or widgets; patch security vulnerabilities; or worry that changing one component might break something else. It also means there’s rarely any need to investigate or pay for third-party apps or plugins since most functionality is native to Squarespace. I have only now (nearly 6 years down the line) had to implement any coding. You can pretty much figure out how to do just about anything your heart desires with regards to your site design, without having to know any coding.

• Free SSL Certificates

All Squarespace websites are given free SSL certificates, which means everyone can enjoy a secure connection throughout your whole website. This became a necessity in 2018, when some browsers started marking non-secure websites as a threat to users! Google also shows a preference to secure sites in their rankings.

• Built-in search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities

Every Squarespace website is equipped with all the elements needed for a strong SEO strategy. Site descriptions, page titles, custom URLs, search-friendly formatting, and other key elements are all easily managed. Each site also generates a sitemap automatically that helps Google crawl, understand, and rank a website. So all of those Wordpress who tell you otherwise, simply don’t know what they are talking about ;)

• Simple Pricing Structure

Squarespace's pricing is transparent and simple; you can pay monthly or yearly (from $12 per month when you pay annually for their basic plan…this is what I use…and $26 per month for large online store option) which includes absolutely everything you need. You can buy your domain within Squarespace, and this cost includes your hosting too - there are no extra costs! You can also purchase a custom email with Gsuite right in your Squarespace dashboard, so all of your billing is all contained in one easy place.

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So, if after reading all of this you’re interested in working with me, click below to find out more about my packages and how it all works to hire me for your website project.

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Beautify Your Blog - my free gift to you to help you up skill during the stay-home period.

A few years ago I launched an online course called BeautifyYourBlog. I can’t tell you the number of hours of work I poured into it, as well as all the knowledge I shared. It was really well received, but I didn’t give marketing it the right attention (I’m going to be honest and say the fear of failure is what stopped me from going full force with it) but I learned a lot and I loved sharing my blogging journey.

Because most of us are at home (or we should be! Apart from those essential service providers whom we don’t give enough credit and support to), now is the perfect time to up skill and work on all the projects you’ve had on your to-do list for like, forever. If you come out of this time without having leaned a new skill, without having accomplished a good chunk of things on your to-do list, then you only have yourself to blame because YOU HAD THE TIME. A lot of us are trying to juggle working from home with little ones and staying on top of housework, while it’s hard & challenging (on ALL the levels) it’s not impossible to carve out some time for yourself to work on your goals.

Along with the online course, I created a workbook to be used alongside the course content. It sums up nicely everything that was inside the course, giving you the building blocks to take your blog to the next level. Full disclosure, there are one or two spelling errors (my followers will nod their heads because they know JUST how bad I am when it comes to spellcheck…but there are only a few…I think haha) and I did create this a few years ago. This means that there are a few tiny things that have changed, but the meat of it all is still 100% relevant. And I believe this is the perfect time to actually start a blog, if it’s been something that has been on your heart for a while.

I could launch into a million different reasons as to why blogging isn’t dead, and if you think it is then you probably wouldn’t be here reading my blog, so I won’t go into that. But if you are here, and you’ve often thought that you’d like to start a blog; then this post is just for you! Whether you' want to use this time to document your family’s every day adventures so Granny and Aunty Eileen can see what you get up to everyday, or whether you’ve really been battling with the isolation and writing down your thoughts and feelings would really help you to work through them, blogging is an incredible tool that gives a creative outlet and can be a jumping board for so many things. And if you’re just here for the free things, that’s okay too.

MAKING YOUR BLOG LOOK IT'S SHINY BEST CAN BE A DIFFICULT PROCESS...BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE.

When I first started blogging, I wish I had had someone show me the ins and outs of branding and what it means to build a brand around your blog. I fumbled my way through my first 5 years of blogging, making so many changes and wasting so much time creating graphics for my blog that really didn't fit my style.

If someone had given me this when I first started blogging (10 years ago now), it would have saved me so much frustration, not to mention time.  This handbook goes through the how's and the why's of branding your blog and most importantly, it shows you how you can do it yourself.

THIS HANDBOOK WALKS YOU THROUGH ALL THE STEPS YOU NEED TO TURN YOUR BLOG IN A BEAUTIFUL, COHESIVE AND VISUALLY APPEALING SPACE THAT YOU CAN BE PROUD OF.

Perhaps your current corner of the web isn't what you hoped and dreamed it would be, and you're not sure how to make it stand out from the other millions of blogs.

Or perhaps, you've been putting off starting a blog because you have no idea how to make it look good; how to make it a place you can be proud of.

Inside I share with you super valuable secrets, tips and tricks that you will be able to implement immediately to beautify your blog, all by yourself. 

WHAT'S IN THE HANDBOOK?

• Lesson 1: Blog Branding - logo, fonts, colours & style guides

• Lesson 2: Blog Layout - how to stand out and show off your content

• Lesson 3: Blog Photos - how to take better blog photos

• Lesson 4: Home, About & Contact Pages - the most important pages for your blog and how to use the space effectively

• Lesson 5: Social Media Accounts - keeping your profile images & bio's consistent so you are instantly recognisable across all your social media platforms

• Lesson 6: Branding for Pinterest - branding images/graphics for Pinterest

My goal when I created the Beautify Your Blog Handbook wasn’t to throw out a bunch of complicated theories and fancy sounding blogging terminology but rather to show you the best & most effective strategies for bloggers that will help you take actionable steps towards creating a better, more beautiful blog.

It’s jam packed with information you can make use of today, and all of that information is laid out in a logical, simple to understand way. I had planned to launch it as it’s own E-book (and I might still do this!) when I get the inspiration back to re-launch the course, but for the time being I would like this to be my gift to you. Pop your email adress in the form below, and the handbook will be on it’s way to you.

Here’s to creating beautiful things together.

Previous Client Work: Bespoke Brand Photography for Travel Blog - Live Learn Venture

Just before finishing up our final year in South Korea, I had the pleasure of working with Natasha, the lady behind the popular travel blog Live Learn Venture.

Natasha had gotten in touch with me to work on her brand photography for her travel blog, and was in the middle of a rebrand. She needed beautiful, high resolution images for her to use on her blog posts, as part of graphics for the main layout of her website and also wanted some updated headshots. All of what she needed forms part of Creative Headshot package (click here for more info) and we got started straight away on the planning stage of her shoot.

I also worked alongside my stylist friend Samantha (find her over at There She Goes Again) who is incredible at what she does. I've worked on lots of styled shoots with Sam and always love the energy and creativity she brings to shoots. 

The Live Learn Venture brand is feminine and fun, but Natasha wasn't sure what her brand colours would end up being, and so we used the shoot to determine that for her. Using the backgrounds and textures of the various locations we shot at, it was very clear that shades of peach, grey and brown would form a big part of her new brand.  A big part of my work is ensuring my clients feel 100% comfortable in front of my camera, and this is how I am able to ensure I capture the personality and essence of each client and their brand. I loved working with Natasha, and I have loved seeing her brand develop and evolve since this shoot. She has put all of her new brand images to use on her new website, and it's incredible how the images have helped  her develop a wonderful cohesive style.

Below are a selection of the images I created exclusively for Live Learn Venture. If you're interested in finding out more about my headshot packages, then please feel free to get in touch. Each package includes a good mixture of styled stock type images as well as pretty portraits.

Enjoy!

x

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Find out more about working with me on your own brand images by clicking the button below. I'm so looking forward to hearing from you!

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Want to see more of my previous client work? I've worked with florists, skincare product designers, copyrighters, yoga enthusiasts, life coaches, bloggers and just about everyone in between. Click here to see more of my previous work.

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Wondering whether you need brand photography and how you would even use it?

Click below to find out more:

#FromBlog2Biz - Come and join My Journey from blogger to business owner as I take you behind the scenes of my business journey

Dear friend.

I have lots of big changes coming up in the next few months. The first of of those big changes being my move back to South Africa after being here in Korea for a total of 4 years. Farmboy and I are headed back to sunny SA at the end of June with our pup #ShadowTheJindo (in case you were wondering what was going to happen to him).

Our plan, after returning here to Korea after a year living in Daejeon in 2010, was always to spend 3 years traveling as much as we could (click here to see our travel guides for places like Borneo, Vietnam, Bali and so many more!!) saving as much as we could, and just enjoying our first few years of marriage together. It's been an amazing adventure so far and we have loved ever day of the past 3 years.

Throughout this time, and actually going all the way back to 2010, I have been an avid blogger, sharing photographs of our lives, useful information on everything from rescuing a dog in Korea to how to take better photographs for your blog. And so, armed with nearly 6 years of blogging 'wisdom' I am embarking on a new adventure...to turn this blog into a full time business! 

You can read the other parts of this journey here:

I am going to be using the #FromBlog2Biz hashtag for all social media posts (because who doesn't love a personalised hashtag, right?!) and by doing this I hope to make it easy for you to follow along on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter.

It's a journey I am equal parts squealing with excitement over and absolutely terrified about. I have had a few smaller businesses over the past 6 years; my stationery store, freelance social media services, a vintage collectables store at the I Heart Market in Durban, South Africa and my photography.

I am still in the beginning stages of this journey and will begin my first post RIGHT back at the start...ie December 2015 and my thoughts and ideas and processes that have led me to be where I am today, and have shaped my ideas going forward. I have been wanting to document this journey in some way, and thought I'd do so here on the blog so that you can follow along. 

I'm going to be sharing with you everything I've done so far, what has worked, what hasn't worked and what I plan to do moving forward. EEEK! I am rather nervous about all of this, blogging about makeup reviews and sharing my photography portfolio is far less scary than sharing what I've had success with and what I've failed at.

If this journey sounds like something you'd like to be a part of/learn from/watch from a distance, please do leave me a comment below. I haven't quite decided on the format for this series yet (I am thinking about doing a mix of videos, live streaming on Periscope, emails and blog posts). This is why I've created the mailing list below for you to join and I would love for you to be a part of this adventure with me.

The #Blog2Biz mail list (which you can join below) is where I'll be letting you know the exact format for this series (whether I'll be creating videos, when/if I'll be on Periscope etc), as well as it being a place that to connect with you all. By joining, you'll also be able to gain access to the #CGScreative Resource library which is filled with loads of blogging resources, printables and what has made my list famous...beautiful stock photographs for you to use to grow your blog. 

Simply pop your email in the box below to join us & click the little check box  if you aren't already a CGScreative member and want to get access the resource library

If you too have been wanting to make money from your blog, turn your passion into a business or want to read more about all the nitty gritty details of what goes on behind the scenes of a blog turned business, then make sure you enter your email below.

I am SO excited to share in this journey with you! From the wins to the losses, the successes to the failures...Here's to the start of the journey!

x

Help people find & connect with you on Disqus: Why you should update your Disqus profile

Are you a Disqus user? Do you use Disqus as your comment managing system on your blog or website? I've been using Disqus to manage my comments for the past 4 years and just LOVE the interface (and the fact that its FREE!) as well as how easy it is to leave comments on other peoples blogs. I also love how easy it is to track and reply to comments left my own blog. Before Disqus I was using the standard Blogger commenting system which was terrible at dealing with spam, and was just terrible with 'loosing' my comments. Disqus has made my life so much easier, and worked flawlessly when I was on Blogger and works perfectly with SquareSpace.

Apart from being a great system for storing and managing the comments on your blog, Disqus is a fabulous place to find and connect with other bloggers & readers. I haven't spent too much time delving into their voting system (you can recommend commetn discussions as well as 'upvote' comments) but what I do often is go through the comments on my site and click through to find the bloggers and lovely people who have taken the time to leave me a comment.

This is where I start pulling my hair out.

I can't tell you the number of times I've been left frustrated with people who make it so difficult for me to find and connect with them. Basically, if you don't update your Disqus profile and include links to your website & social media platforms, you are basically closing the door on future connections and possible business. And it's so easy to fix! 

If you're a blogger or business owner, you know how important it is to have all your links (website/facebook/twitter/instagram) in an easy to find place so that people can connect with you and ultimately contact you if they like what you are all about. If you don't provide them with your details how are they supposed to find you? The amount of time I have wasted copying and pasting Disqus usernames into Google, only to have to sift through hundreds of search results leaves me stone cold and ultimately I click away and forget about them. Not out of choice but out of frustration. 

So why not make it easy for people to find you. Disqus allows you to include your Facebook Account (at this stage only personal profiles can be connected), Twitter & Google accounts, as well as your website. Not only does this increase your chances of connecting with other like minded people, but it's great for SEO! The more your brand name and blog/business accounts are online, the more exposure your brand gets. It's basically free advertising.

So what are you waiting for?

Pop on over to your Disqus dashboard and get to customizing your profile. Change your name, avatar (the little picture that shows up when you leave a comment) & try to keep it consistent with your brand. Add in your links (under the 'Account' tab on the left hand side of your dashboard), write a quick blurb (biography) about who you are and what you do and then you're good to go! Drop a comment below once you've done so as I'd love to pop over to your site and leave you some social media love too.

Here's to helping you connect with more people, and to making your site easier to find for others.

Happy blogging!

Why you need a 'START HERE' page for your blog

Have you ever clicked a link for something on Pinterest, and then been redirected to the home page or blog of that site only to have no idea what you're looking at? So many times I get lost on blogs, looking for something in particular that I saw on Pinterest, only to give up a few seconds later and click away. You may think your blog is incredibly user friendly, but that's because you designed it and know where everything lives.

If someone was visiting your blog for the first time, would they know, just from the first few seconds, what it is you do and what you offer or sell? It's so hard to look at our own blogs objectively, so why not make it super easy for people to find their way around your site by adding a START HERE page (see image below):

Your Start Here page is another opportunity (just like your About Page & Home Landing Page if you choose to have one) for you to tell your readers what is is you do, and to give them a brief summary of your business or blog. I use my Start Here page as a place to show my blog categories, and as a way to have people sign up for a particular email. I am starting a new email list of people interested in improving their photography for their blog or business, and so use this page as a place for them to sign up. Some people use their Start Here page to sum up their previous blog posts, to answer FAQ's or to share more about themselves.

A few months ago I found a platform called Peek that allows you to submit your website to a panel of random testers who visit your site and answer specific questions about your sites usability. Once you enter your web address and email address up (it's free!) you are then sent a 5 minute video of people testing out your site, their first impressions and their answers to a few questions about the functionality of your site as well as whether you can improve on anything. 

My site was sent first to an older gentleman who really had no idea what I was writing about. At first I was so frustrated watching him make his way around my blog, but then I realised that my site was confusing. He thought the beauty reviews I did were for products I actually sold, and kept trying to find where to buy them. As the first blog post he saw when he clicked on my site was a review for a beauty product, he thought I was a selling skincare & makeup.

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PRO TIP: Your latest Blog Posts conveys a lot to your readers and can influence their decision to stay or leave your site

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I was happy to see he was actually interested in buying the product after my review, but I was disheartened as I soon realised he had no idea what my site was all about. At that time I even had a Home or Landing page set up, but as I use a lot of images in my design, it took so long for the Home page to show the images that he quickly clicked straight to my blog. I realised very quickly that you need to assume everyone who arrives at your blog (whether they are first time visitors or returning visitors) needs clear instructions about where to click and where to find information...

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PRO TIP: This is why SEARCH BARS are so important in your blog design!

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The next person to view my site was a young woman who clearly was a blogger herself. She immediately found her way to my blog and my about page, and proceeded to navigate my site with ease. As much as she liked the functionality and white space of my blog design, she did comment on how long the images were taking to load and that she found it rather frustrating. I have since learned to decrease the size of the images I upload, in the hopes that the loading time doesn't scare off my visitors!

So, by implementing a 'Start Here' page on your blog, you are giving your readers one more place to be able to find out about you and what you can offer them. It also helps them to learn how to navigate your site, and in turn, will make them more likely to stick around and come back.

I am STILL tweaking my blog design (that's why I love SquareSpace so much as I am able to customise so much without having to know ANY code) and I think I will continue to tweak the functionality of it as I go along. I have just added a Home/Landing page back to my site (see image above). SquareSpace gives you the option to add easy-to-customize landing pages to your site in just a few minutes.  I have chosen to introduce a landing page because I have been told me that this site has so many different things going on that some of my visitors feel rather overwhelmed and unsure of where to start when they first arrive. We can't assume everyone who lands up on our site will be a well seasoned blogger. 

Do you have a Start Here page on your blog? Have you ever tried a user testing site before? How do you feel about your sites functionality and user-friendliness? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!  

#TeaWithRoxy: My new LIVE weekly Periscope Series

Hello everyone!

I have been having so much fun on Periscope (click here to read the post I did last week on what Periscope is all about and how to use it to grow your blog or business). I want to share MEANINGFUL content with you guys, as opposed to just showcasing random streams of my dog and my Christmas Tree (although I will still be including a few of these as they are fun and a lot of you seem to really enjoy them). 

Incase you're new to the whole Periscope thing, Pericope is a free app (available on both IOS & Android) that allows you to live stream video footage. Not only can you live stream your own content, but you can also watch other peoples content, and share you support by giving 'hearts' while commenting & asking questions. It may seem a bit creepy and weird (and yes there are a few strange people on there) but it's a fantastic way to build engagement as well as me create real, live time relationships with people. I've met so many new blogging friends in the last 2 weeks and I can't wait to continue to engage with all of you through this exciting new platform.

As a blogger and photographer, I want to do more for you than just show you the behind the scenes of my life. I want to stream useful content that helps you and gives you the inspiration you need to actually do what you've been dreaming about doing. And so, I'd like to introduce you to my new Periscope series; #TeaWithRoxy.

I want this to be a a daily series (I am going to stream at the same time, Monday to Friday) with a different theme or topic each week. That's the plan, but I will be listening to you and your feedback and that will guide me as to whether it will continue to be a daily series or perhaps a weekly series if that's what you'd prefer. I am really excited for the first week's topic, as it's going to be all about blogging!

Here is the schedule for this week, starting tomorrow (Monday 14th December). I have tried to pick a time that will work for the majority of my readers who are all over the world, but if it doesn't work for you don't worry! The great thing about Periscope is it keeps your broadcast for 24 hours, so if you miss it, you're able to go back and re-watch it.

• Monday 14th - Blogging: Where to Begin (I'll be talking about blogging platforms and which ones I love and use)
• Tuesday 15th - Making your blog pop (I'll be talking about what I use to make my blog graphics and some tips and tricks to help you create yours)
• Wednesday 16th - Pro Tips (I'll be sharing with you some of the favourite tools that I use to make my blogging life a lot easier)
• Thursday 17th - Make or Break (I'll be talking about your 'About' page and why you need one, as well as how to make yours awesome!)
• Friday 18th - Q & A (I'll be wrapping up the series as well as answering any questions you may have about blogging)

If this sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, all you have to do it download the app (it's FREE!), make a quick profile (you don't have to get too fancy with this, but try and include profile photo so I can see who you are) and then find and follow me @ROXYHUTTON. As soon as you follow me you'll get a notification of when I go live so you know when to pop on and start watching.

Like I said before, you'll be able to watch the replay for up to 24 hours after I have broadcast the stream, so don't worry if you can't make the time slot. 

I am so excited to have you all be a part of this series, and I can't wait to help you take your blog to the next level. Come and join an exciting community of likeminded people who want you to succeed with your goals. 

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Want to make sure you never miss out on blogging or photography posts and freebies? Then make sure you subscribe to my Blogging & Photography email list by clicking the image below:

How to get your first 1k followers on Instagram (+ 2 Free Printables!)

I've been on Instagram for about 3 years now, and have only seen any kind of noticeable growth in my following in the last 6 months. I KNOW how frustrating it is to put so much effort and time into something, and then receive the bare minimum amount of engagement (especially when you know that at least half of those likes come from family and your best friends!). It took me a long time to get where I am today (and I'm still a baby in the big bad world of Instagram!) but I want to encourage you on your journey, wherever you may be right now.

While there is no secret, overnight trick to go from 0 - 1000 over night, today I want to share with you my strategies over the past year which got me to my first 1k.

1. Start tracking your numbers

First things first. Grab a pen and paper (or even better, print out the free stats tracker I made just for you...it's waiting for you in The #CGScreative Resource Library) and write down exactly where you are right now. It doesn't matter if you have 5 followers on Instagram or 5000. You need to start somewhere and today is a good a day as any to begin YOUR journey.

I have also included place for you to write down your stats for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest & your email list. It makes life easier having all your social media stats in one handy place. Then keep adding your stats every month (or even every few weeks). When I first started tracking my stats, I counted all numbers every week. It was very encouraging to see the numbers slowly creep up. I have included space for the 12 months of the year on the free printable above, but you can print a many as you need if you want to do it by week instead of month.

2. Write down your goals

As with any journey you need to know where you are going. You write down your 'dream' numbers and keep them small and easily attainable, or you can shoot for the stars and write down something outrageous. Don't get disheartened if you don't reach this number in a week, a month or even a year. The point of this exercise is to know where you are heading and where you want to be. You can put a date a date on your goals, but I find this doesn't end up motivating me, and I end up feeling like a failure if I haven't reached my goals by a certain date. I like to keep my goals open ended, as I want to keep growing and not stop what I'm doing even when I hit a target. Here's a free goal tracker printable to help you. You can write down whatever goals you have for your social media channels; things like hosting a giveaway/joining group boards on Pinterest are great goals to start growing your channels too.

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3. Hashtags, Hashtags, Hashtags!

Hashtags WILL help you grow your following by making sure your photographs show up on searches. Before you tag your photo, think about what your photograph is showing/telling people. You want to make sure you use the right hashtags so that the right people find your feed. If you're little unsure of where to start, read this post on using different hashtags.

4. Be Social & Share the Love

If someone takes the time to comment on your photo, make sure to first reply to that comment, and then take a minute to head on over to their profile. If you like what you see, leave them a comment or two, or at the very least go and show their feed some love by liking some of their photographs. If you aren't actively engaging with other people, you're missing out on creating real, authentic connections with potential clients and potential business/blogging buddies. Think about your own feed. When someone simply likes one photo, how many times do you click on over to their feed? But think about when someone likes 5, 10, 20 of your images? How does that make you feel? Okay, it can sometimes feel like they are being a little spammy, but if they comment on your images as well as like them, chances are they genuinely enjoy what you are putting out there. So why not return the favor? It will increase your chances of being remembered by your followers as someone who is genuine and authentic, ie. they are more likely to then click over to your blog and read your content.

When you like an image on Instagram, that person gets a notification. If they have a big following, changes are they get so many notifications that your little like fades into the abyss. If you go and like 10 of their images, your name will appear 10 times in their notifications, making you stand out. I know that I click on profiles that leave me lots of likes (and I definitely click on profiles that leave comments). So why not use this to your advantage and make people want to click on your profile and follow you to see more.

5. Be Consistent with your brand

This step is the most important. Maintaining a consistent feed is what will help you stand out amongst the million of other users out there. Branding is a whole other kettle of fish, but on a basic level, if you want to convey your brand (whether that is the brand you are growing for your blog business or even just your own personal brand of who you are) you need to be consistent. 

When I first started using Instagram I was all about the Valencia filter; you know that brown, sepia filter that gave a vintage edge to every photo? That was all very well and good, but since then my own style has developed into something more feminine, clean and pretty. I now use a white (or at least a light) background for all my photographs and put more thought into what I want to share. If you are serious about growing your brand, you need to think hard about the image you want to convey to your followers. 

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about I want to share with you what happened to my Instagram followers a earlier this year.

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At the beginning of May this year (2015)  I decided to take Instagram seriously. I wanted to use it as a tool to grow my blog, not just as a place to share photos of my dog. I started styling my photographs, using a white background, and just putting a bit more thought into my images. I also started to introduce more of my own photography work (you can see this in below image on the left). Slowly, I started gaining lots of new followers. By the end of July I had gained about 200 new, actively engaging followers. 

Then I went on holiday to Borneo. 

I wanted to share the exciting places we were seeing and things we were doing with my readers. I changed the hashtags I was using to fit in with travel, and even though I was getting more likes on my photographs, I lost nearly 50 followers in 2 weeks. I had no idea what was going on. Yes, Instagram does go through purges where they delete inactive & spam accounts, but to loose so many people had to mean that my followers weren't interested in what I was posting.

You see, people were following CityGirlSearching the lifestyle blogger who posted photographs of makeup, stationery and other pretty things. They hadn't chosen to follow CityGirlSearching the global traveler who posted photographs of beaches & exotic foods. 

It was hard to realise how fickle people can be, and to see such a decline in followers when I thought I was posting interesting new content. I realised I had to start thinking about my Instagram account as an extension of my brand, and not as a personal account. 

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Lots of bloggers I follow have ended up creating multiple Instagram accounts to use for different purposes and I have been contemplating doing the same. They have one account for their blog or business, and another one to share personal photographs for family and friends. Right now I have enough social media channels to juggle without adding in a personal IG account, but it is something you may want to consider to help streamline your brand.

There are a number of free apps to tell you how many people follow/unfollow you but I have just found they make me feel horrible about Instagram. I downloaded Trackgram which has a paid and free features, and I found it took all the love out of Instagram for me. When I actively see who has un-followed me, it makes me want to unfollow them, regardless of whether I like their Instagram account or not.It leaves a bad taste in my mouth being able to see who un-follows me, and it has made me feel very negative towards certain bloggers who I used to love and admire. So I would say us it with caution, or rather, don't use it all. You don't need to be reminded who exactly un follows you, you can get a broad overview of this yourself by looking at your Instagram numbers on your profile yourself.

I hope this post inspired you to tackle the big bad world of Instagram! If you have any questions about it, please feel free to leave me a comment below, I promise to get back to you.