Blogging Your Way takes a creative, personal approach to blogging. This e-course will help you to get in touch with why you’re blogging, or want to blog, in the first place and shows you how to use your blog as a catalyst to create your best life. The next class will be held online starting in April 2012, stay tuned for details! BYW is packed with hundreds of helpful tips, feedback, visuals, inspiration and ideas that will guide you on your blogging journey, this self-paced password protected e-course site and forum definitely goes beyond basic blogging 101. You will learn in a supportive environment among friends with plenty of opportunity to meet and network without feeling overwhelmed or overlooked.

In addition to Holly’s insights, you will connect with co-teacher, stylist and photographer Leslie Shewring from A Creative Mint, who will lead the class each Friday with creative ideas for photography, styling photos for your blog, how to share ideas visually and how to make your blog more beautiful using your camera, photo editing tools, and lovely borders and fonts that can help you to create a blog that stands out from the pack. Leslie has a degree in architecture, a second degree in interior design and she has extensive product design experience — Leslie has developed, designed, and handled packaging direction for many products sold in major retailers throughout North America like Target. Some of her most recent clients include American Greetings, Matthew Mead Holiday magazine and Stampington magazine.

Duration:

Class will last for 4 weeks beginning in April 2012 and will end in mid May, plus an additional 2 weeks of access to the forums, class site and all podcasts and videos. Class will officially go offline on November 21, 2011.

Topics:

* Key things to include on your blog

* Finding your niche & your voice

* Writing from the heart

* Creative post ideas

* Overcoming fear & writer’s block

* Sourcing your content

* Photo copyright

* Community building

* Building your readership

* Handling negativity online

* Marketing

* Blog ads

* Social networking

* How to take better blog photos

* Adding borders, fonts and other elements to make your blog images stand out

* Styling for photography

* Breaking into book writing and other ideas for bloggers who want to take it to the next level!

* Using Pinterest to your blogging advantage

* Q&A with a few book publishers who can walk you through how to pitch a book idea

* Using mood boards and other creative ways to find your personal style

* Blogger’s Conferences: The best ones + reasons to go in the first place!

* iPhone apps to help you get creative as a blogger

Requirements:

* Either have a blog or intend to start one during this class

* Basic understanding of blogging (e.g. posting, uploading images, tags, etc.)

* Digital camera

* At least 3 hours a week to read through materials and participate in forum discussions with teachers and students

Schedule:

Monday: Holly will begin each week with materials that cover a few key topics. You will then receive your weekly assignment, to be completed by Sunday evening of the same week. Don’t worry, you won’t be graded and turning in work is not necessary, though you will gain more from the class if you complete the assignment. You are invited to share your homework in the private forum each week.

Wednesday: Holly will expand on the topics discussed on Monday and will also provide an accompanying podcast which will run between 30-60 minutes. It will be available for download or you may listen to it directly on the site.

Friday: Leslie will lead the class and will be available for questions in the forum.

This is the general outline for each week, though we may throw in a few fun extras so stay tuned! You’ll have plenty to keep you occupied and interested during our time together. In addition, we have a private email group for past students that I will invite you to at the end of the class so that you can connect with BYW students of the present and past for continued advice, encouragement and peer support as your journey forward as a blogger.

By the end of this e-course you will feel inspired, excited about your blog and more confident and in touch with yourself and your writing. Blogging Your Way will demystify certain aspects of blogging and make the learning process fun and beneficial to you. Holly will also share many personal experiences, both good and bad, and welcomes questions that she will answer personally in the forum.

Time you will need to set aside weekly:

Expect to set aside a minimum of 3-5 hours a week. However, you can take as much time as you need to absorb everything at your own pace; you can access the site at any time during the week.

Ready to get started? Do you have questions? If so, please refer to the FAQ page.