5 Thoughts on Blog Presentation

:: Me (Rebecca) and my camera. I didn't realize I snapped this pic since the flash is off and I was getting ready to shoot the interior of the wine bar. Random/funny) ::

We talked about so many things at BOL 6 a few days ago but time ran out and we didn't really get to the importance of presentation, or the actual look of your blog. Ok, here's the deal - it is important to have a strong visual impact on your blog. Like your own business, being thoughtful about your blog design (as well as content) shows that you care, simply put. Here are a few tips to get you on your pretty blogging way.


1 :: Fab Photos
Forget your blurry, uncropped photos and use lovely ones that showcase your thoughts. Bright + strong photos go a LONG way. Case in point - Bakearella. Her photos are INSANE and keeps me coming back to see what news photos and treats she has on her blog.

2 :: Original Photos
Reblogging and posting is definitely fine but always consider placing your own photos on your blog. I take my camera everywhere with me (see above - yes, that's me at fave spot
ino enjoying some wine that I took by accident.) so when I see something cool, interesting, relevant for my blogs, I snap away.

3 :: Font + Justifying R/L
Be consistent with your font and your font layout. We like to justify the font right/left so it looks like one solid block of copy. And we use the same font each post (arial in this case). These little details add presentation style to your blog.

4 :: White Space
Keep you blog fresh and clean of clutter. It's fine to have sidebar, footer, etc but try to add in some negative or white space so your posts become the focal point, not all the clutter around it.

5 :: Color Palette

Consider the tone of your blog and the relevance to your brand. Pick a color palette and stick with it. Again, this adds consistency and style on your blog.

How do you create style on own blog? Let us know!

Rebecca

BLOG OUT LOUD 6 Recap A fantastic night of social media + friends

The lovely panelists of BOL 6

Meredith, Amy, Michell, Rebecca, Megan, Alison, Erin

BOL co-founders | Megan & Rebecca

Pre-event

Pre-event

Wow - what an amazing night at BLOG OUT LOUD 6!

We had a fantastic group of 75 guests to hear the panel speak about social media. We covered tons of topics - rewards from blogging, time management, defining your voice, authenticity, monetization, presentation and how to build and expand social media communities. There were so many great thoughts shared by the panel. We also had tons of tweets - thank you! We loved reading @CindyQuait share that she learned a lot AND realized she knew a lot too! yes!! Being part of the BOL events lets you see that you are right in there with other people and it's great to know that what you are doing - works!

A huge thank you to...

Our panel of successful + savvy bloggers

Erin, Michelle, Amy, Alison, Meredith

Tonefarmer for hosting the event

Fanny & Jane for the treats

Williams Sonoma Inc for the Pottery Barn cards giveway

Kylie of Effervescence for the portrait session giveaway

All of our lovely BOL Goodie bag sponsors / see their photos above (click here to see them all)

Please check back in with BLOG OUT LOUD for our next event in a few months.

xx, Rebecca & Megan

Mass Mingling >> What's HOT 2010

EVENT 1 :: LA

EVENT 2 :: SF

EVENT 3 :: LA

EVENT 4 :: LA

EVENT 5 :: SF

I recently spotted Trend Watching's June newsletter (thanks for the tip, @MyThink) about the HOT HOT HOT trend of Mass Mingling and we love it since....we do it! BOL is this. And, hey, apparently a year ahead of the curve.

As Blog Out Loud celebrates it's 1 year anniversary, we appreciate the incredible real world connections that have been fostered through our own little events. We definitely know that long gone are the days/nights of feeling "isolated" while typing away on the keypads. Now is a time where like-minded people are connecting online and meeting offline - YES! I often share with people who aren't into social media yet that it IS relating, just in a different form. While it starts online (yes, it does take a bit to get used to at first), it's really a vehicle for forming relationships, friendships, business-ships that can be taken offline and in-person

For me, the BOL 6 event will be special for a few reasons >>

• It's our 1 year anniversary of BLOG OUT LOUD
• Our first east coast event in my fave city!
• Our amazing guest list - all of you lovely RSVPs
• I am meeting some online friends - in person - finally! I've e-know Erin for almost 2 yrs, Amy and I met over twitter last year, Michelle has already been part of BOL w a fab interview, Meredith and I worked online together for an AT post and Alison and I met through @Etsy. All of these ladies are people that I e-met and now, well, will meet in life.

Click here to read the full article about Mass Mingling.

Follow the BOL 6 event @blogoutloud for live tweets to e-hear what's happening as the event is happening.

Rebecca

sweet treats for BOL 6 Brooklyn bakery, Fanny & Jane

There's nothing like a sweet treat to make an evening! The lovely ladies of Fanny & Jane (amazing Brookyln bakery) are donating some delicious treats for our event on Monday. we are - to put it mildly - *thrilled*!

Aside from making and serving goodies in their bakery, both Jen and Faryn of Fanny & Jane have their own "make it happen story" that they blogged about as their bakery journey was happening. Jen's popular blog - follow my bliss - about quitting the corporate day job and following a dream as well as their connection with NYC Sketch Comedy team - Harvard Sailing Team - both show that these ladies are real, passionate, fun and caring - why wouldn't you want to support this via their bakery? These are examples of successful blogs that complement a company. We love this type of small business "company" blog - it's a personal one and it really showcases the ladies' love of their business, their families and their own lives - which we all can relate to.

Click here to check out Fanny & Jane.

Click here to enjoy Jen's blog, follow my bliss (and we do!!)

Click here to enjoy Harvard Sailing Team

See you all on Monday!

BLOG OUT LOUD 6 >> GIVEAWAYS

2 x $50 GIFTCARDS FROM WILLIAMS-SONOMA, INC DESIGN TRADE PROGRAM

If you are an interior designer, register with the WSI Design Trade Program.

And check out the new Designer Marketplace blog featuring sneak peeks on seasonal trends, inspiration and behind-the-scenes love.

@WSIDesignTrade

* * * * *

BLOGGER PORTRAIT from EFFERVESCENCE PHOTOGRAPHY (VALUED AT $350)

The lovely Kylie Springman of Effervescence Photography has donated a free Blogger portrait - valued at $350! Session is for anywhere in the New York Tri-State Area and will last up to two hours. Within two weeks of the session, the winner will get a CD of up to twenty high-resolution images, complete with post-processing, that the winner can print or share digitally as they wish. Another great part - Kylie will work with you to design a session that shows the world who you are, with images that will be ideal for use on Twitter, your blog, your website, and anywhere else you want to put them.

Click here to visit Effervescence Photography

@KylieWritesHere

* * * * *

We love to giveaways things at our events and BLOG OUT LOUD 6 has some great ones! Aside from our lovely goodie bag for the first 40 guests, we will be picking 3 lucky winners to have one of these sweet gems shown above.

There's still a bit of room open for the BOL 6 event in NYC on 6.14.10 ::

RSVP :: rebecca@sweetlineagency.com or meganatthebeach@mac.com

BLOG OUT LOUD 6 DETAILS & RSVP

{CLICK IMAGE}

PLEASE JOIN US IN NEW YORK CITY FOR BLOG OUT LOUD 6

JUNE 14, 2010 | 7:30pm - 9pm

www.blogoutloudevent.com

Erin Loechner of Design For Mankind
@erinloechner

Meredith Barnett of eBay's The Inside Source
@theinsidesource

Alison Feldmann of The Etsy Blog
@teenangster

Amy Dragoo of ABCD Design
@abcddesigns

Michelle Ward of When I Grow Up Coach
@whenIgroupcoach

RSVP

rebecca@sweetlineagency.com

meganatthebeach@mac.com

Announcing...BLOG OUT LOUD 6 JUNE 14. NEW YORK CITY.

Well, that mini-break didn't take too long!


We really love the BOL community and since we'll be in NYC, we just had to do a BOL. So...here we go!!

We are *thrilled* to announce that the next BLOG OUT LOUD event is going to happen and is in just a few weeks in the Big Apple!


BLOG OUT LOUD 6 will be June 14th, 2010 in New York City!


We are still finalizing a few details so please stay tuned and check back in next week for our host location, amazing panel and RSVP details!!

And definitely follow us @BlogOutLoud
for exclusive tweets about the event!

a Blog Out Loud update >>

hello lovely blog out loud friends,

we know it's been a while since we've been blog out loud eventing, blogging and all that good stuff and we wanted to check in with you guys. We seriously *heart* this great community and love that you are still enjoying BOL and are interested in future events (and we are excited too!!) and we wanted to share an update.

Megan and I are taking a mini-break from BOL for just bit since we both have new projects that have recently launched that need our deserved attention. BOL is a free resource that we do in our spare time purely because we love the supportive and generous style of the blogging world, in particular all you design bloggers. Since it takes a lot of time to put events together for you guys, we will get back on track when we can both commit the time deserved for the next event.

So please stay with us, check in and check back and we'll let you know as soon as we know when our next event will be - hopefully this summer!

And we'd love to share a little bit about where we are right now >>

I (Rebecca) recently launched Sweetline, an online brand project management company. I consult with lifestyle brands - interior designer, shop owners, artists, photographers, filmmakers, you name it - on their full online presences. This includes website editorial, social media 101 and project management of website and blog design and builds. We also have a neat blog and you can follow us here @sweetlineagency.

I am still contributing to Apartment Therapy and loving. living. small.. I have some sneak peek news - I am contributing to HGTV in a few weeks so check in on @blogoutloud for that link and I'll be featured in a super neat design mag this summer. And I doing a bit of freelance production work - phew - I am tired just writing all this down! :) but it's exciting and I am enjoying the ride!

Megan is still enjoying beach bungalow 8 and the popular podcast, The Skirted Roundtable. She is also doing design work for clients - she is a busy lady!

We'll e-see you guys soon!!

xo, Rebecca and Megan

Take those e-friends offline

Hey BOL friends, so Megan and I have been chatting about Blog Out Loud 6 and details for a possible upcoming event in June. We can't believe that we are on event 6 already - what a fab ride! We really started this as a place for people to learn and inspire to embrace social media and connect and people have been doing just that - yes!

All this connecting online and spending time doing it (yes, it takes a lot of time) does have it's rewards and many of them involve taking your e-friendships offline. After a relaxing trip with my family and visiting gorgeous places like Red Rock, NV, I had a great brunch with BOL 5 panelist, Jeanine of @AphroChic on Saturday. We talked and laughed (and ate really good food!) and I regard her as a mutual design lover and new friend. What a neat result of all this blogging stuff! As you go about your day with your business and clients, include blogging and tweeting into the mix. It's worth it! You will create a community, you will join other communities and you will have new and supportive people in your life.

Check back in over the next few weeks for details about Blog Out Loud 6!

And enjoy more Red Rock inspiration with tablescape style at loving. living. small. and community love at Sweetline, my new online brand project management company.

Rebecca

Announcing...Sweetline Agency Rebecca's new online brand project management company

Hello BOL friends, Rebecca here!

I am thrilled to share with you the news of my new company that recently opened it's digital doors, Sweetline Agency, an online brand project management company!

Sweetline virtually helps creative companies - like yours - with establishing, defining and evolving your full online presences. This includes website content development, social media 101 and website and community design, build and launch.

As you know, being a small business owners is incredible but busy! Many small companies haven't been able to really invest in their own online presence since working with clients and managing the day-to-day life of a company is busy and there are simply not enough hours in the day sometimes.

2010 is definitely the year for you if this is your type of company. It's time to invest in your biggest client - your own brand! That's where I hope to come in. I definitely get it from a brand, time, and creative perspective with a decade-long career in advertising. I can help you in a way that is creative, affordable, accessible and all that good stuff. I am pleased to offer a 15% discount on all new clients.

Click here to check out Sweetline.

Interested in being on the Sweetline blog? Check it out here and send me a note about your online presence at rebecca@sweetlineagency.com

Join the Sweetline community @sweetlineagency.

Looking forward to chatting with you and getting you up and running online!

xx, rebecca