Before the Paparazzi ~ Week 4 ~ The Painted Home

Hi everyone, my name is Denise 
and I write a decorating blog called

I'm a mom of 3 little kids & I own my own Interior Decorating business out of my home.

I started my blog as a sort of living portfolio of my work.

Somewhere to share the inspiration behind my projects.  I love vintage style, flea markets, & the thrilled of a treasure on the side of the road.

I'm so happy Tammy invited me to take part in this series.  Here are some little tid-bits of what I have learned in the blogging world.

What advice would you give to newbies?

Hmm...just be yourself.

Use a lot of pictures.

Make things easy to read.

Keep your blog design simple.

Don't give advice unless it's asked for.

Leave thoughtful comments.

Just be nice.

What do you think your readers most like to read about?

Well, since most of the blogs I find myself coming back to are decorating blogs...I don't do a lot of actual "reading". I'm more of a "scanner". I scan really quickly through the pictures to see if there's anything I can really sink my teeth into.  If I see a photo I like, I'll read the details, otherwise, I've got laundry to fold, kids to play with, projects to finish, clients to work with, & dinner to make.
So, I try to keep those things in mind when I'm posting.

I realize that many of my readers are busy Mom's, they don't have a lot of time.  Besides, I'm a decorator, not a writer.  So I stick with my strong points and I let the photos do the talking.
One thing I've found really useful for my photos is Picasa.
It's a great free program that makes my photos look much better than they really are.
Oh, and everyone seems to love a good Before/After post.

Do you think it is important to post every day?

No, I don't think you need to post everyday.  It's more the quality of the posts, then the quantity.  If I'm really low on projects to post, I search the Internet for a topic I'm interested in that week.  I'll post some info & photos about that topic an then credit where I got the photo from.  But, I only do that once in a while, just to let my readers know I'm still here.  If I don't have anything great to share, I just skip it an post when I have something really juicy to share.  
Posting too much with weak content doesn't make me want to come back to a blog.  So I try to make it worth my readers time. If they like your style, they'll wait for you.

What types of posts should one avoid?  What do readers find annoying?
Hmm, I don't exactly know what to avoid, but I do think you should use a lot of variety in your posts.  I like to mix up a bit. 
For example; a few before/afters, a tutorial, a general "tour" of a room or a walk through of a client's project, just some simple eye candy of something I saw on the web.
If I'm posting something I'm really proud of , like a reveal, I like to post the general reveal post one day, then pick apart the reveal in subsequent posts.  Like detailing how I made a lamp shade, or details on the paint colors for a whole new post.

How much should you invest in a good design?  Did you do your own design?

Blog design doesn't have to be expensive.  I don't think I spent more than $150.00 on my design, and I love it.  It was designed by Penny Lane Designs.

You can also find a lot of "do it yourself" design tips on the web. I think if you keep it simple and easy to navigate, it can be really appealing.

And that's that.  Thanks for reading my gibberish.  I hope you'll visit me at The Painted Home sometime and get some inspiration for a project of  your own!

Denise, Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us! 

 

Don't for get to stop by Hyphen Interiors to check out Kristy's guest from the Pink Postcard.