The "Blog Cos You Want To" Club

"Want To" No.2: Play on the Popular

Today I thought I'd call another meeting of the "Blog Cos You Want To" Club: what do you think? I've spotted quite a few Five Things posts popping up, so maybe it's time for a new suggestion? 

if you are anything like me at the minute, you are busy, with a big list of things to do and people to see; but you are still hoping to keep in touch with everything blog. A quick run around to see what everyone is up to, maybe, a few hello's; and something fast and fresh for your own blog. Sound about right? But wait - today I'm going to suggest you forget fresh and play on the popular. Post something from the past.

Usually I do like to keep it new when I'm posting. I don't schedule  or plan too much, so that what you get is where I am right now. But, once, when I was feeling short on inspiration someone very wise told me not not to worry. You have plenty of posts already there if someone feels a read she said. That's a reassuring thought. You have plenty of posts already there. Give it a minute and think - haven't you got something great in your back catalogue? 

I'm going to suggest that you go back as far as you dare - a couple of years if you can - and find something seasonal (a Christmas project for now!) and something with as broad an appeal as you can conjure. Not a scrapbook layout, then, but maybe a recipe or a general craft project. I have one post which has been pinned many times - it's Christmassy and it's not a scrapbook layout. I'll show you in a minute. Go ahead! Post a popular pin, or a post with lots of views, or positive comments 

WHY WILL THIS WORK? 

- Trust me: not all your readers will have seen it the first time. In two years a readership can change. Bet you have some new readers who would love to see what you were making a couple of years ago if you find the post for them! And think about it - how many times have you spotted something you like and promised yourself you'll go back because it was such a good idea? Regular readers won't mind a seasonal reminder of a great project, especially if they didn't save it or pin it the first time.

- Pinterest has changed the way we look at older material. I have no doubt. It has reclaimed blog posts from years ago, kept them in view and reinforced the idea that it doesn't have to be new to be good.

- It's going to give you a chance to take a look at what you were posting in the past and maybe muse on how your style has changed over the past couple of years. Do you have a different way of taking photos now? what have you learned since then? or were you doing something then that you might like to go back to? Just take a minute to think about it. One thing I noticed in my "popular post" was that I had two differently styled photos - some pin one and some, the other...maybe it's nice to include a choice?

- If you are very short on time you can simply cut and paste. If you have a little more time to spare, you can tweak. I had the link to Tagxedo in my post (below), but I found I was getting emails asking me how to get to the site, so it obviously wasn't clear enough. Look now and you'll see I have added "click here".Why not use the hard work you have already done and take a couple of minutes to add in an extra tip or re -edit a picture or include some useful links? If you do, you have every chance that your project will become more pinnable. So, one final tip: take charge of the Pinterest description which will appear under your photo. Think of a compelling way to describe your project.. When you are uploading your photo into blogger, click on it, click on properties and add your description to the ALT text box. That will be what appears when someone pins your post. Honestly? I think my "popular post" became popular because of the way it was described by a pinner. Get there first.

Convinced? Let's see what you have in that storehouse of yours! Play on the Popular! This is mine:

Tagxedo: Making Great Cards Just Got Easier

 This started out as an experiment and turned into a little project. Have you heard of Tagxedo (click here) ? It's a word cloud creator, a bit like Wordle only even more fun. As soon as I tried it out once I could see lots of possibilities.

You can paste in any text you like, choose a shape, colours, fonts, themes, whatever. I put in a few lines of "Jingle Bells", picked out a tree shape and came up with this:

Both photos today edited in RadLab

Then I gave it a bit of From High In The Sky and it gave me this:

which I'm pretty pleased with. Both of these are printed out at 7x5 and put into little Ikea frames.

But they would also make great cards or Christmas tags. And there's more: you can upload a photo and shape a favourite bit of text round it. I'm thinking of snaffling some schoolwork and turning it Tall and (Not So) Small shaped. That would make a different kind of birthday card next year. Or a poster..