Ally Aldridge Writing

My new posting schedule

I’ve really impressed myself with how regular I have been posting to my blog and exceeded my own expectations. However, with my circumstances changing I know that will be difficult to maintain. I have looked at my current schedule and played around with some ideas to find something that is manageable.

Featured blog articles

I really enjoy the way Word Press makes it easy to share others bloggers posts. It enables me to support other bloggers build their audience and to enable my readers to discover more great blogs.

Recently, I posted encouraging anyone that wanted me to feature them to let me know as I’m worried I’ll have limits time to find the articles myself. Some great bloggers have stepped up to help me continue this feature. If you’d like to be features, please comment on my ”Help Me” post.

This feature will continue to be fortnightly on a Monday.

Writing/Blogging/Books

My blog started off as being about writing fiction and it is still my passion to continue to cover this. Although, over the years this feature has become more varied and now covers blogging, books and literature festivals.

Through my son I have fallen in love with Childrens books all over again and I would like to cover this more in future and may even dare to do a YouTube channel *eek*. Let’s focus first on keeping the blog current and taking care of my young family.

This feature will be fortnightly on Tuesdays.

Beauty (organic/cruelty-free)

Originally, this feature started to support fellow fair skinned girls discover the palest foundation.

Then, I discovered leading brands were testing on animals so I started paying more attention to my products.

Then my son ate my make-up! I was horrified by the chemicals in it (luckily he was fine). A friend had gifted him organic baby products and he was the only one at baby group without dry skin or cradle cap and I started to question ingredients in products and switching to organic.

I will continue to share my finds fortnightly on Thursdays, although currently whilst on maternity pay I have cancelled my subscription boxes and it’s likely to include a few more baby products.

Personal

In recent months, I’ve started sharing more personal posts. These are likely to be on parenting as that is what I will be doing mostly over the coming months. It will also include goal setting and achievements.

These will be fortnightly on Saturdays.

Events (occasional)

Throughout the year, there are events that I enjoy taking part in like NaNoWriMo/NaPoWriMo. Or when I set myself personal challenges like 14 poems for Valentines day or to raise awareness of Mental Health month.

I hope to be able to continue to take part in these events and will post sporadically inline with the events requirements. These posts will be in addition to the above when taking place.

Ally Aldridge Writing

I need your help!

Every other Monday, I like to share an article by another blogger. This article is usually something I enjoyed myself and think my readers will enjoy too.

My baby us due any day now and I’m worried she’ll keep me busy that blogging…

Will stop!

Please help me. If you blog on any of the following topics, please comment and let me know as I want help finding articles to feature:

  • Beauty (ideally, organic or cruelty free)
  • Writing (ideally, tips or advice on fiction)
  • Reading (ideally YA or Children’s fiction)
  • Parenting (any useful advice or tips)
  • Blogging (share lessons learned)

In return, my followers will see your article and link to your blog. I will also tweet it too.

I hope you can help…

Ally Aldridge Writing

Simple content plan

In March, I identified that I needed a plan to help me manage my blog content. I needed the plan to be simple, quick and accessible so I could use it wherever I was and I had time.

Google spreadsheet

I decided to create a calendar in Google spreadsheets.

I coloured the cells to indicate the content type:

  • Orange: featured post
  • Blue: writing post
  • Green: beauty post
  • Yellow: personal post
  • Pink: NaPoWriMo (a special feature/event)

I wrote my content idea on the colour coded cell. I made the text:

  • Bold: unwritten
  • Italic: started/in draft
  • Plain: done (scheduled)

This made it superveasy to see what posts I needed to write and when so I could prioritise.

Being easy to access on my mobile or any PC/Laptop meant it didn’t restricting my blogging.

Amending plans

Sometimes, I found I wasn’t inspired to write what I planned. So, I copied the cell to my ideas list for future reference and moved another idea into the vacant space that I did feel like writing.

I often have more ideas than time to write and this helps me stay focussed on the tasks I have chosen rather than trying to write them all. Being more focussed helps me get the article written in the limited time I have (usually an hour or two on a Sunday).

I can gather the pics I need for my blog and Instagram in plenty of time. I take these throughout the week and save to a folder on my phone.

Verdict

I’m really pleased with my simple plan as it work for me. Being more organised makes me feel more in control.

My future schedule

I do need to relook at my schedule and reduce the frequency ready for when my newborn arrives. In addition, I vowed to return to novel writing once my CIPD course is complete (end of June).

As a result, I think I’ll struggle to post every other day but I still want to achieve a fairly regular flow. Currently, my content plan is filled up until end of August and 50% full from there until December… Maybe, I can do it all…

I would love to know what you think and the methods you use to plan your content. I’m constantly learning.

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Ally Aldridge Writing

Me being featured!

Today, I am writing about one of my posts being featured on someone elses blog. It is the first time one of my articles has been shared. I was flattered, honoured and it felt like a mini achievement.

NaPoWriMo: Day 26 – Senses

They chose my NaPoWriMo poem for day 26, titled Senses. This is a deep, personal and emotional poem inspired by a very dark period in my life when I was struggling internally.

Click here to check out my poem on their blog.

Stoner On a Roller Coaster

Firstly, she is a blogger that is not a stoner. She explains on her ‘about page’ how she came up with this name for her blog. Her blog is about raising awareness for mental health and getting people to talk about. She has gained a lot of support from people on the blogosphere.

If you haven’t checked her out yet, head over and give her a follow (see link for my poem on their blog).

I’d like to thank ‘Stoner’ for choosing my post to be shared on their blog. It really means a lot to me that you liked my writing enough to repost, especially a poem that I felt vulnerable in sharing as it was so personal and revealing. I hope it helped others who are in that dark place know they are not alone.

Being featured

I often feature other bloggers on my blog. If I see a well written article that will benefit my readers then I have to share. I love how easy Word Press makes this and credits the originator.

The articles are usually tips for writers but I have also shared useful How To makeup tutorials. I am also keeping my eye out for blogs on parenting.

If you know of any blogs I should be following so I can discover their content, please let me know and don’t be shy to sign post me to your own blog.

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Ally Aldridge Writing

Free resources for blogging

These are the free resources I used to get me started blogging and continue to use.

Blog site

First, you need to decide on your platform. Over the years I’ve used Tumblr, Blogger, Weebly and all have been great and free.

My current favourite is Word Press. It also has a great app that is easy to use so I can make a start on my posts and publish, wherever I am.

I’ve even been thinking about paying for Word Press because I am loving it that much.

Grammarly

I was late to discovering this app and site. The service is free (you can pay extra for more features). It checks your text and advises on spelling, grammar and punctuation. I don’t always have time to use it but posts I thought were fine have still thrown up some mistakes. It’s not easy to use on my mobile though so I only use it at my PC.

LoCal

This free online calendar has a function where you can schedule tweets which I have found incredibly useful. It only works on the PC.

Canva

This site (and app) enables you to create social media images – I’m talking blog titles, novel covers, infographics, Pinterest, Facebook cover, Instagram pic, flyer, invitation, etc.

There is also a handy app for making pics so you can create whilst out and about or using pics straight from your mobile.

Google Drive

I have a spreadsheet with ideas when to schedule my posts from (although, in the future, I may use Google calendar for this). I can save articles I’ve written too and back up photos from my phone (including Canva images I saved).

Simplenote

I jot down useful info like blog post ideas or favourite fonts on Canva, etc. Everyone needs a note.

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What do you use?

I hope you like the resources I use and hope I’ve introduced you to something new. Do you use any of the above? What are your go to resources for blogging?

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Ally Aldridge Goals, Writing

Reflecting on Goals set in January

To start the year, I set myself some goals for the year ahead.  I plan to check how I’m getting on with that periodically during the year to check I’m on track.  If you set yourself goals it is important to check on yourself to make sure you are on target and to re-focus yourself.

On Reflection

Summary:  Considering these were annual targets I think I’ve kicked off the year with a really good start at achieving them.  I’m not sure listing my goals as bullet points was the best idea, so to re-focus I shall put my goals into a table.

March 2018 goals

Blogging Goals Review

  • ACHIEVED:  I migrated both my blogs into one blog and I am using categories to split the content up from ‘writing’ topics and ‘beauty topics.
  • ACHIEVED:  I planned to post at least once a week and I have been exceeding this – posting two to three times a week.  Sometimes as often as four times.  Taking the pressure off has increased my productivity.
  • ACHIEVED:  I’ve reduced my scheduled posts on LoCal so that they only run for two weeks so if I run out of time to change them, I am not Constantly spamming people with the same things for weeks with no end.
  • ACHIEVED:  I have started including some personal posts on my blog such as my son’s World Book Day and What I’ve Been Watching.
  • ALMOST ACHIEVED:  I wanted to start vlogging.  This has involved researching how to do it and plucking up the courage.  In addition, I need the house to be quiet for recording which doesn’t happen often.  However, I have posted a video on YouTube reviewing Agent Hunter (see below) and I have a scheduled blog post about this coming soon.Wri
  • NOT ACHIEVED:  I haven’t approached any brands to see if they’d like me to represent them. However, my Instagram pics of my The Pip Box won and I got my March box free (review of the free box coming April).

Writing Goals Review

  • ACHIEVED:  I have stopped editing Drift and started querying.
  • NOT ACHIEVED:  I have not started work on finishing Glide. I have been really busy with my course at college and work.  However, I have three weeks off for Easter break and hope to re-visit this project over the coming weeks.
  • NOT ACHIEVED:  I have not started a new story idea – not that I’m not full of ideas.
  • NOT ACHIEVED:  I’ve not had time to read the programme for Felixstowe Book Festival but intend to buy tickets and go. I have decided to miss YALC this year (will explain more soon).
  • NOT ACHIEVED:  Completing a writing course is on hold until I finish my current course at college.
  • ALMOST ACHIEVED:  I have been reading more since getting my Kindle.  I have almost finished The Gender Game and will review the title and my Kindle once I have.  I am a slow reader with only a few chances to read.
  • NOT ACHIEVED:  I have not found out more about how Twitter queries work.  However, I have been networking more on Instagram and meeting lots of writers online this way.

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Ally Aldridge Goals, Writing

Blogging learnt the hard way

Happy Birthday to my blog

I can’t believe that today is my blogs first birthday.  I feel that I’ve learnt so much and yet, I still have so much to learn.

Here are the three lessons I have learned – the hard way:

1.  When three become one

I started with three blogs on Word Press. Three blogs!  I did it to split up the content:

Plus, I was still posting to Blogger as a back up plan… just in case I didn’t take to Word Press.

I now can see what a mistake that was. It was a lot of work to keep all of them running and current.  This year, I am planning to just post straight to ‘Alison Aldridge’.

2.  Be personal

I was trying to keep my blog professional and leave my personal life out of it. I didn’t think people would be interested in hearing about me.

But, when my life is busy, it’s hard to write about the other stuff and it would be easier just to share with my readers what I’m up to.  I can already see I’ve got an eventful year ahead so moving forward, you can expect to see a few more personal posts.

3.  Be brave

I’ve found that if I want to review something I should contact the company because sometimes they will support you with it.  Saal Digital posted on Instagram asking for bloggers and I applied.  I thought I had no chance but was happily mistaken and now I am the proud owner of a beautiful photo book of my son.

Bouncing of my previous success, I’ve bravely approached a company whose service I’d like to use and asked if I could review them on my blog.  They kindly awarded me ‘Gold Membership’.  Stay tuned to see my review of this – I will reveal soon…  (this is one for the writers).

The future

There is loads more I’ve learnt but the above are the three lessons that stand out the most.  I’ve also still a lot more to learn too.

I’d really like to get into vlogging too – I just cringe at the sound of my voice (and sight of my face – lol).  Plus, I’ve no clue about editing a video. Please comment with links if you can help me or to your vlog so I can see what you do and learn.

Ally Aldridge Goals, Writing

Goals for the year ahead – 2018

If you read my earlier post from today, you’ll know that I’ve reflected on how 2017 went.  This inspired me to set my goals for the year ahead.

Making 2018 even better

Blogging

I now absolutely love blogging.  I’m addicted.  It is has raised in my ranks of importance.  Here are my goals for 2018:

  • Categories:  Currently, I am running three blogs.  One for beauty review, one for anything related to writing and books and another that shares the posts by both.  It is very time consuming and exhausting!  I shall now be migrating them all to this blog and using categories to present content relevant to the readers interests.
  • Schedule:  
    • I was trying to post two articles a week and did pretty well but sometimes it was hard.   I need post regularly but once a week is sufficient and I can schedule posts.
    • I’ve been using loCal (free online calendar) to schedule my tweets.  I was unwell in December and never updated my tweets!  Aghh!  My poor followers had the same tweets for another month *cringe*.  Setting an end date is important.
  • Personal:  Keeping to my categories has meant that when life is busy I haven’t anything relevant to post whereas if I start sharing more about me (like being a mum or working in education), I could have more content and make my life easier.
  • Vlogging:  I did my first video blog this year and I was really impressed at how easy it was. I know I have more to learn to make my videos better but you’ve got to start somewhere.  I’ve also done some ‘unboxing’ videos on my instagram.
  • Product reviews:  I need to not be shy to contact brands that I love to see if they’ll support me reviewing their product.  I hope that in 2018 I will get the chance to review more products as I really enjoyed my experience of reviewing Saal Digital’s photo book.

Writing

My dream is still to be published and I still would love to go down the traditional route but not found an agent (or publisher) but some of that is my fault as I don’t query enough.

  • Drift/Jewel of the sea:  Stop editing and start querying!
  • Glide:  I know how this story ends and I need to finish it.  Readers who loved Drift (on Wattpad) want to read the next book in the series.  I have had so much support and encouragement and one user even sent me pictures of Scotland to help me.
  • Start a fresh new story:  I don’t want this to distract from the above goals but I’ve got lots of new story ideas and I really need to start something fresh.  I hope to make a start on this later in 2018.
  • Conventions: I love attending YALC and Felixstowe Book Festival last year and I would love to be able to go again.
  • Writer courses:  I’m very busy at the moment with a course for work but once that is out of the way I’d like to continue my studies with Write Story Books for Children and Write Romance fiction.  I’m enrolled on both these courses ready to complete when I have time.  I also would happily do another Curtis Brown Creative course online.
  • Reading:  I got a Kindle at last!  I plan to start reading more in 2018 and hope to discover some amazing reads to review on my blog (and Good Reads).
  • Twitter queries:  I need to learn when these are running so ~I

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Ally Aldridge Goals, Writing

Reflection on 2017

The year began by creating my first Word Press blog.  At the time, I had no idea what I was getting myself into but I’ve really enjoyed my crash course in learning to use the site.

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Here is what I learnt:

Blogging

  • Schedule posts/tweets: You can schedule posts so can write ahead of time and space posts out.  Use LoCalendar to schedule tweets (but make sure you set an end date so you don’t spam people).
  • Make it visual: 
    • Canva is a great site to create images for blog titles and other social media sites.
    • Google Drive Photos is an app you can download onto you phone and it  backs up images you have taken. You can then access these online from wherever  you are working to use them.
    • Instagram links can be added into articles and enables you to share pics from your own account and other users images.  I’ve used this to share professional brand images when I forgot to take a pic of the product I’m reviewing before it got all grubby.
  • Support others: 
    • You can share other people’s blogs on Word Press via the reader.  This helps support them and improves your content.  Follow people who write on similar subjects.  Can help when you are busy and hit a dry spell to keep your blog current.
    • As mentioned before, you can share pics by others posted to Instagram.  The image will have a link to their account so if a reader likes their pic they can choose to follow them.
  • Categorise posts:  It puts posts into collection of subjects and helps readers navigate your site or enables you to create pages.  I still have more to learn on this but I think I will be utilizing this in the new year.
  • Brands:  
    • Review brands you love to demonstrate the market you are interested in and to gain support.  Follow their social media accounts to be aware of blogger offers.
    • Offer to review brands you are interested in and you may strike lucky.  This year I got a free photobook from Saal Digital in return for my honest review.  I love the product and will cherish it forever – so happy!

Writing

  • Do courses:  If you can find time to do a writing course they are really good.  I did the Curtis Brown – Starting to Write your novel course.  This covered a lot of stuff I already knew but made me think about it again.  I really improved the start of two of my novels using what I learnt. See my review from earlier in the year here.
  • Enter competitions and query:  Take time to put your stories, poems or manuscripts out there.  Even if it is just a friendly competition – I won a few awards on Wattpad and it got me more readers and valuable feedback. I managed to enter one national competition but I am annoyed I missed the deadline for the one I really wanted to enter because I was taking too long editing – I edit too much!
  • Don’t over edit:  Guilty!  I am so guilty of this. I am my worst critique.  Every time, I think I am done editing… I start again.  I don’t even enjoy editing.  I must stop myself.  I wish I could afford an editor to do it for me.
  • Make time to be creative:  living a busy life can make it hard to find time to write but if you make time and do a little a day (even if it’s just plotting or researching), then you will keep making progress towards your goals.  I try to make sure I sit down at my PC/Laptop at least once a week to actually write.
  • Don’t force it:  If you force yourself to write you can cause yourself to burn out.   I think this was a side effect from NaNoWriMo.  I feel the writing bug coming back – phew!

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