Showing posts with label advice. Show all posts

How Taking Risks Can Lead You to a Better Life

Today marks 18 years since I left the UK and moved to Rome, Italy.

I still remember all those years ago being sat on the plane and wondering if I was brave or just plain crazy. If I'm honest, I was probably a bit of both.

Back then I never would have thought that I would now be married, have two amazing kids and, above all that, that I'd still be here in Rome. My original plan had been to stay for 3 days!

I took a risk. A huge risk, and it was the best thing I've ever done.

Sometimes you just have to follow your gut.

Taking risks doesn’t mean succeeding every time, and that’s OK!

“The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” — Stephen McCranie

The Plan

As I said, my original plan had been to stay here for just 3 days. I was going to travel around Europe visiting different countries. That is until I found myself with no money.

Yep, I lost all my money in France. I had a connecting flight and all I know is I had my wallet when I got to the Paris airport but it was gone when I arrived at the airport in Rome.

At this point I did freak out a little. I was alone in a foreign country with no money, and didn't speak the language.

I could have called it quits. I'm sure a lot of people would have given up at a hurdle like that. I almost did.... almost.

Luckily I'd booked my accommodation online before leaving the UK and so had my 3 days paid in advance. That gave me 3 days to work out a new plan.

On my third day here I got a job working in a hostel, which got me a small amount of money and a bed to sleep in. I was back in control.

At this point I figured I'd stay in Rome for a few weeks and put aside some money to get to my next destination, Greece.... I've still never been to Greece.

Well, weeks turned into months, and I got a job offer at a different hostel. Nicer place, more money, better hours... and then I met my now husband. It was then that I knew I'd really moved to Rome, and I wasn't just visiting anymore.

So you see, life doesn't always work out the way we planned.

Sometimes risks don't mean success.

Sometimes, they can lead to a complete failure.

Sometimes failing isn't such a bad thing after all.

What was probably one of my most epic fails turned out to be the best thing that could ever have happened to me. I learnt so much about myself, and discovered strengths I didn't know I had. I faced my fears, and came out on top. I was rewarded for all my hard work with the life I have now, and I wouldn't change a thing.

Through failure I ended up succeeding and having a better life. Some risks are worth taking.

"The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done." ~ Arnold Palmer

Whilst my above example was a complete life changing event, it applies to how we live in general... and to our blogs.

So, are you going to just sit there wondering what your life could have been like if only you had taken a couple of risks? Or are you going to do something about it while you still have the chance?

Want to write a book? Do it!

Want to start a blog? Do it!

Been thinking about trying something new with your website? Do it!

By taking a risk you'll either reach your goal, or learn from the failure. Either way, you'll grow as a person and discover talents and skills you didn't know you had.

You might also like: Why Taking A Break From Work Is Good For You

Book Blogging Tips

Quick Tips About Blogging From Book Bloggers

Continuing the series of blog posts about book blogging, today is about sharing quick tips about blogging.

I LOVE blogging! It's not always easy though. A lot of work goes into creating, maintaining, and marketing a blog. There are a few things you can do to make it easier though.

1) Become part of the community. There are some seriously awesome book loving people out there, and a lot of them are book bloggers. Reach out and get to know them. Show them support. They will most likely show it back. Whether you're discussing books, or throwing around ideas for new content, these people are a treasure trove and part of what makes being a book blogger so much fun.

2) Always answer when someone leaves a comment. When readers see that you listen to them, they are more likely to join in the conversation... which helps build a stronger readership. You might find you make some awesome new friends this way (I know I have).

3) Create a swipe file. This is basically a brain dump of blog post ideas. Trust me, you'll be glad to have this when you need to pull a post out of nowhere. It's particularly useful when you need to come up with a guest post topic.

4) Guest post. I lead you right into that one didn't I? ;) One of the best ways to drive more traffic to your own blog is by doing a guest post on someone else's blog. You'll get an awesome backlink to your site, and get to connect with a whole new audience.

5) Be you. As Dr. Seuss once said “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” Don't feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing. Don't feel like you have to say yes to all books. Have opinions, do what works for you, and have fun with it.

I could write a book about this... actually I am (watch this space ;)), but for now I'll pass you over to some of my book blogging friends who are here to share with you some of their own tips and tricks:

"Quick tips about blogging, I actually wrote a blog on this!

- Connect with other book bloggers

- Treat all parties involved with respect

- Review the book- Make your policies and stand by them"

Sophie Eminson from https://romanticsrebelsandreviews.wordpress.com

@polesofie

"It takes up time, more than you think. So make sure to take time for yourself if it becomes too much. I promise all of your loyal followers will still be here for you when you come back. Make blogger friends, trust me they're life savers. Create drafts for your posts. Seriously this one I cannot recommend enough. I have a draft feature for myself on my site, so when an idea strikes I immediately type it out an save it. This way I always have some post in the works if I'm out of material or ideas. And you can add to it easily as ideas come to you. Also don't be afraid to post things that aren't book reviews. Tag posts, favorite lists, discussion posts. That way if you're in a reading slump you still have material."

Adrianna Schuh from www.fortheluvofbooks.com

@ForLoveandBooks

"If you are on WordPress, the support crew are your friends! I have messaged them in the middle of the night just to fix a teensy little issue :)"

Megan & Crystal from https://gingermomreads.com

@ginger_mom17

"Be very active on Twitter, make friends in the blogging world, join in with tags and posts. "

Lainy from https://bookishbitsblogblog.wordpress.com/

@BookishBitsBlog

Quick Tips About Blogging From Book Bloggers

Caseo has an article about blogging that you might find useful too (check it out at https://caseo.ca/how-to-blog/). They include some great apps in the article under the section "content creation tools" that I personally use regularly.

Got some of your own tips to share?

Click here if you missed last week's post about

Ways to Super Charge Your Productivity As A Book Blogger.

You might also like: 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

Building Your Brand

If you remember, I did a rebranding in September this year. In this post I talked about why I decided to do a full makeover of my brand design. I also promised in that blog post that I would do some more blog posts on the topic of branding for you, so today we're taking a closer look at what branding is... and isn't.

You might also like: The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers

What does "branding" mean?

The Business Dictionary defines branding as:

The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains loyal customers.

Branding is what makes people think of you. It's not just the visual, but we'll go into that in a minute.

More than a logo

Of course, your logo is part of your branding. It's your symbol, and is generally placed on your marketing material. A logo doesn't have to be complicated or even have an image. In fact, a simple text logo can actually be better.

For my new logo I decided to go with simple text. Depending on the logo you choose you might want to have an alternative logo too. For example I have two.

Logo:

Alternative logo:

The alternative logo is just a simplified version of the logo. This is in case I need a transparent version to use (without the background colouring).

Colour scheme

Whilst your logo is something people will immediately identify with your brand, your colour scheme also plays a role.

This is my main colour palette for my brand:

Using the same colours helps people identify your brand, and gives consistency.

Fonts

I use BEBAS NEUE, Aileron Thin, and Verdana as my main text fonts. Using the same fonts across the board is also a visual part of your branding. Again consistency.

What about the non visual part?

This is the most important part of your brand. This is what people think of when they think of you. What words do people use to describe you, and therefore ultimately, your brand?

What personality adjectives describe you?

adaptable, adorable, agreeable, alert, alluring, ambitious, amusing, boundless, brave, bright, calm, capable, charming, cheerful, coherent, confident, cooperative, courageous, credible,cultured,dashing, dazzling, debonair, decisive, decorous, delightful, determined, diligent, discreet, dynamic, eager, efficient, enchanting, encouraging, enduring, energetic, entertaining, enthusiastic, excellent, excitable, exuberant, fabulous, fair, faithful, fantastic, fearless, frank, friendly, funny, generous, gentle, good, happy, harmonious, helpful, hilarious, honorable, impartial, industrious, instinctive, jolly, joyous, kind, kind-hearted, knowledgeable, likable, lively, lovely, loving, lucky, mature, modern, nice, obedient, painstaking, peaceful, perfect, placid, plausible, pleasant, plucky, productive, protective, proud, punctual, quiet, receptive, reflective, relieved, resolute, responsible, righteous, romantic, sedate, selective, self-assured, sensitive, shrewd, silly, sincere, skillful, splendid, steadfast, stimulating, talented, thoughtful, thrifty, tough, trustworthy, unbiased, unusual, upbeat, vigorous, vivacious, warm, willing, wise, witty, wonderful, zany, zealous.

So when you're thinking about your branding make sure you take into consideration all the above elements to ensure a professional look, and most importantly, more effective branding.

In this post we've looked at branding in general. This is the basic stuff that you can use on your website, blog, marketing materials, etc...

For the authors amongst you, branding can be used for your books too. Maybe you use the same fonts on all your book covers, or a certain style, or elements. For example, author Nicholas Sparks often has an image of a couple almost kissing on his romance covers. Again, using the same fonts across your books can help brand them. I'm happy to change the fonts on any of my available premade book cover designs should you require it. As well as my premades, I also offer custom cover designs too, and so can definitely help you brand your books.

You might also like: Tips for a Successful Brand Photo Shoot

How would you describe your brand? Do you have consistent visual branding? Let me know in the comments below. Also feel free to ask questions. I love a good discussion 😉