Hey guys! I am currently away and having a blast up in Maine with my love so, Trish over at Beyond the Khaki Pant was ever so kind to stand in. You can't get one Trish, you get another! I am so excited to have her here today! One of my favorite topics is doing things on a budget and Trish sure delivers some great tips today! Enjoy and see you back here on FRIDAY!

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Title: Date Night Ideas on a Budget|| Trish @ Beyond the Khaki Pants

9 Date Night Ideas on a Budget

Trish www.beyondthekhakipants.com

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One last thing before I go.. Over the past 4 days I have been co-hosting the Blog Staycation 2014 with some great ladies. I am out of town and did not get a chance to write up my experience yet with the weekend but I want to give you all a chance to link up if you participated. Let us all see what you accomplished!  Expect my post on Wednesday ;)




   
   

Hello there! Welcome back to Blog Staycation 2014! Are we having fun yet? There have been some fun topics already! I know I am learning a lot! Yesterday I wrote about scheduled posts and why they are a blessing! Today I want to talk about the importance of using photos in your posts.

Bloggers come to the internet to talk about a variety of topics. Anything from experiences to DIY tutorials. With our words, we create a picture. Because we all think differently, we all create different pictures in our minds. This is where inserting a photo would be helpful. We want to create a picture of our topic, but we also want to show what it is we are talking about.

If I were going to write about a crafting project and I told you all about it, how to make it, and what it SHOULD look like at the end, do you think you could do it? You probably could. But if I added some photos, you would be able to see the finished project. You would know what it was supposed to look like at the end.

Same thing goes for an experience. Anyone can write about their experience at a concert, but would you want to read it if there were no photos to go along with the story? Humans are very visual creatures and we enjoy to see what you saw in those moments. A good writer can create that picture for you, but in certain scenarios when you are talking about something that happened, it is best to provides photos.

When deciding to use photos, it is best to use your own. You do not want to get yourself into a situation where you used someone else's work and did not give credit for it. There are sites out there that allow you to use their photos for free, but they don't always have what you want. I suggest taking your own photos and editing them from there. You are probably thinking,  "Really? I don't know how to take photos!" That's okay. It is really easy to take a basic photo for your blog.

First thing you want to do is make sure you have enough light. Natural light is best. This is why you see a lot of bloggers outside when they are using photos in their posts. The natural light will show true colors and won't make everything look yellow. If you absolutely can not go outdoors, open up your curtains and blinds and let the light come in. Turn on an overhead light and use a backdrop. You can create a backdrop easily if you are just photographing small items. Use white paper. The white paper brightens up your photos which eliminates the yellow cast you tend to get indoors.

If you are photographing yourself it is easiest if you have someone to take the photo for you, or invest in a tripod for your camera. The same rules apply here as above. Move on outdoors or come inside and stand in the natural light. See the difference below?

Left photo there was no natural light, right picture I stood in a well lit area with a white background

Once you are done creating your photo, if any editing needs to be done I recommend PicMonkey or Canva. They both offer free options that have basic options for your needs. Both programs are user friendly and help you along the way. I suggest playing with the options to get a feel of what they offer and what you want. You can change colors, add text, add icons, and the list goes on.

Now you are all set to add photos to your writing. Paint that picture and then show it to us. I hope this was helpful and it gives you an idea of why using photos are important and why good photos matter. You do not have to run out and buy a fancy camera right away. I took both photos above with my smartphone. Just play around and see what you get!

Are you using photos now? How do you take them? Do you enjoy mini photo shoots? Tell me below!


Although Blog Staycation 2014 is nearing the end, that doesn't mean you can't continue to learn new things for your blog. I hope to see you all around again! I have enjoyed sharing content with all of you!

Welcome back to another day of Blog Staycation 2014! Yesterday I talked about why it is so important to interact with your readers. Today I want to talk about how to manage a blog with a full time life. For me personally, it is REALLY hard to post everyday on top of social media to go along with it.. I work a very demanding job that keeps me in the office about 10 hours a day. However, I still manage to get my post live AND social media in all day while I am working. I do this with scheduled posts.

Scheduling your posts ahead of time does not work for everyone, but I find it to be a blessing When I get free time I sit and write all of my thoughts down. Those thoughts become my blog posts for the next week. Now that I have blogs ready to go, all I have to do is schedule them to go live on the specified day. Easy peasy!

We all know social media is a HUGE part of blogging today. We need social media to alert readers of new postings and projects, to inspire, to gain new readers, and the list goes on. If you manage a full time job, have children, other responsibilities, or just want to have a real life outside of your blog, scheduling social media posts is the way to go. It allows you to have a social media presence without having to spend all day at your computer.

Facebook now allows scheduled posts. You have to have a fan page for this option. The option is easy and before you know it all of your posts are ready to go. All you have to do is click on the clock (Diagram below) and choose your date and time. Voila! You are all set. No more sitting on Facebook all day!


There are a bunch of programs out there to help you manage Twitter. I personally have used Twuffer and Tweet Deck. I prefer Twuffer, but Tweet Deck also helps you manage all of your tweets on top of scheduled tweets. I have also heard good things about HootSuite. These programs are similar to scheduling posts on Facebook. You type in your post, pick a date and time and it saves it and schedules it. The picture below shows how to schedule a post using Twuffer.

Hi everyone! Yesterday we kicked off Blog Staycation 2014! As promised we will be bringing you  tips on getting your blog organized and ready to interact with your readers. I could find no better way to start of this event, than to talk about why it is SO important to interact with ALL of your readers.
I understand that not everyone who gets into blogging is looking for mass amounts of readers, but it would be nice to go have SOMEONE looking at your daily posts. As bloggers we need other peoples opinions on what we are writing. The content we put out is hard work. We take time out everyday to bring the best content we can to the internet for the world to see. There is no reason why we shouldn't ask for feedback and get to know our readers.

Asking for feedback is important. If you don't ask, you won't know. A few ways to do this is:

• Host a poll: Ask your readers questions about your blog. Be specific because chances are if they are willing to take your poll, they will give you honest feedback.

•  End of post questions: Ask your readers questions in relation to the post. This will strike up conversation and help your readers relate to your content, and you get to know your readers.

•  Use Social Media: Social media is a great way to connect with readers. You can ask for feedback with simple tweets like "I love reading about food, what about you?" or "I love so and so's blog, who do you read?" Questions like these will engage your readers to tell you what they like without feeling like you are being pushy. 

Talk to your readers! Interacting with your readers gives you a feel for what they like and why they read the blogs they do. Make sure you follow these tips to keep your readers coming back:

• REPLY TO COMMENTS! This is a biggie. If you aren't replying to your readers, they have no real connection to you and probably will not be back. 

• Reply to E-mail: Whether it be a simple compliment, complaint or collaboration, reply to your emails. Replying to a compliment will show you care about you readers and are excited that they are excited. Sometimes that complaint can make your blog better. More eyes on your content can see things that you may miss. Maybe a business opportunity comes up, but you are not interested, replying that you are not interested is professional rather than ignoring it. There may be something in the future you are a fit for, and they will consider you again.

• Participate in chats: Whether it be Twitter chats or Facebook chats, get involved! You get to meet other bloggers and readers this way. Host your own or participate in ones already established. Either way you are interacting and getting feedback.

Help your readers: Helping our your readers in anyway you can, will always bring those readers back. Positive actions bring positive feedback:

• Bloggers: If your reader is also a blogger, visit their blog! Leave comments! Help them the way they help you.

• Shops: Do you have a reader who has a shop? Visit the shop. Buy something if you find something you love. Give them feedback.

•  Ect: Engage in anything your readers throw at you. Maybe they are hosting a blog hop, or a link up, or even an e-mail chain. Check it out. This doesn't mean you have to get involved, but at least give it a chance. You may find something new and exciting you never would of though of on your own.

 So what do you think? Do you interact enough with your readers? Is there something on this list you need to work on? In what ways do you interact with your readers?

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you are enjoying Blog Staycation 2014! Make sure you follow along on Twitter with #blogstaycation!

Recently I have noticed a graphic being posted all over Facebook. It says: No Cellphone, No Facebook, No Computer Access, No Wifi. For 3 months and you get $3 Million dollars. Could you do this?

Source

At first I thought heck yeah! I would love to disconnect for a few months and earn a cool $3 Million in peace and quiet. Then my blogging side screamed at me: WHAT?! How are you supposed to keep up your blog? Connect with people? Make your readers happy? My mind instantly snapped back to reality and remembered how much we all rely on technology and social media to stay connected. Once I was able to get my thoughts collected and together, I figured out how I could accomplish this AND keep up my blog... Now only if this challenge were real.. I'd have that money by Christmas!

First problem: No Cellphone. This one could be tough because I only have a cellphone as a telephone option. I also use my cellphone to connect to the internet to use social media. Only when you stop and think about this, do you realize how much you really are using your phone.

My solution: Sign up for a home phone. In emergencies this probably is a good thing to have on hand. My current internet provider has a phone number all set up for me already, and once I decide to go that route, the cost really isn't that much.

Second problem: No Facebook. This one is easy for me. I only really use facebook to look at other peoples photos and upload my own. My blog's Facebook has not had much success and with all the changes Facebook keeps throwing at us. I may stop using it anyways! Twitter is the way to go for my blog's sake!

My solution: Pick up the phone. Yeah that real phone that you have (Or have to hook up). Call the people you want to stay in touch with. Want to share photos? Write letters! I love to write and receive letters! It is much more personal and something better in your mailbox than JUNK! If you are interested in becoming pen pals, email me! (Serious inquiries only!)

Third problem: No Computer Access. This one is another tough one, especially as a blogger. We need our computers to bring content to the interwebs. We use our computers to interact with people which includes commenting and messaging other bloggers. We do research. All kinds of stuff just to bring you, the reader great content.

My solution:
This solution has 2 parts because I feel this one is the hardest to give up as a blogger.

Part 1
 Lets assume you have a start date that is at minimum a week away. Lets also assume you have been blogging for more than 90 days. You now have 90 days where you will not be able to access your computer. This is where you get stealthy.  Check your stats. See which posts could use some lovin'. Get yourself set up with a program like Hootsuite or Twuffer. Pre-schedule your tweets and Facebook posts through the 90 days you will be absent. All of those posts will now be getting exposure while you are sitting around relaxing with a cocktail.  Next write as many blog posts as you can and pre-schedule those posts and social media mentions. Now for me, I only blog 3 days a week so I only need about 36 posts to share. That seems like a lot, but once you get your archives out there you may cut down your new posts by half.

Part 2
As bloggers we need to interact with our readers and other bloggers. You can still interact with your readers by posting questions in your blog posts. You will also have to post a disclaimer that you will be away and ALL of their questions and comments will be answers as soon as you are back. Now as far as commenting on other bloggers pages, this is where you ask for forgiveness ahead of time. I would lead off with a post explaining the challenge you are taking as well as your plan for the next 90 days. People will see how much work and effort you put into scheduling content so your blog doesn't end up stagnant. If they can't appreciate it, maybe they weren't really that great a blogger friend to begin with!

Fourth Problem: No WiFi, This would not be a problem at all being you are already giving up your cellphone and computer access.

Solution: None. You have already solved all of the problems that would need WiFi in the previous problems.


Now I understand this sounds completely ridiculous, but think about how much money you would get at the end. You would put the work in, and be rewarded 3 Million big ones at the end. The least you can do is comment and reply to everyone who left messages while you were away :)

*Quick Tip* You can also use some of these solutions if you are going to be away on a vacation or extended holiday. I pre-schedule tweets a lot when this happens, as well as posts. It helps take away the stress of doing it last minute before you go away.

So what do you think? Could you give up all of these things for 3 months? What would your solutions be for this? If you write about it please come back and share with me!