My frustrations with the blogging world

I've recently got my blogging mojo back and have been posting fairly regularly over the last few months. However, the general blogging world seems to be much more difficult to crack than it used to be when I first started out a few years ago.

Although I never write particularly personal posts as I don't have the confidence to publish and share them, I thought I'd go halfway there by sharing some of my blogging frustrations. Apologies in advance for the self-indulgent post, but I'm sure I won't be alone in some of these thoughts!

1. When you spend hours on a post and no one reads it

I know blogging isn't supposed to be about the numbers, but... let's be honest, the numbers are important. I blog as a way of keeping a digital scrapbook of what I've been up to and to focus on those things which interest me most, and I do obviously like it when lots of people read my posts. Who doesn't? I'm always keen to gather more views on posts I've spent a significant amount of time on just to see some return on my investment, but these are often the ones with the most disappointing take-up. For example, I literally spent hours on my recent Disney A-Z posts (here and here) and had low views for both even though people who have written similar posts have had lots of interest. It's difficult not to take it personally when you write at length about something you find interesting and are passionate about and no one takes a look!



2. When you try to take part in blogger chats but can't penetrate the clique 

This is something I've always struggled with, both in the blogging world and in real life. I've never been any good at becoming part of the 'clique' in my everyday life and it seems that it's no different when it comes to online interaction. How does one become part of that esteemed blogging circle? Everyone already seems to know each other and there often isn't room for someone who sits on the sidelines and isn't part of the 'in' crowd. I know engagement is the key to growing your following, but it's discouraging when you do try to engage and don't get acknowledged.

I gave up on the #lbloggers chats a long time ago for this very reason. I was hoping the more recent #disneybloggerschat would be different as the topic is right up my street and it's a bit smaller and more contained than the #lbloggers chat. Unfortunately not... it's exactly the same. When you feel as if you're standing on your tiptoes knocking on the window and no one's taking any notice of you, it gets a bit tiring and it's just easier not to take part. I used to contemplate attending a blogger meet-up but the thought of the same thing happening in real life where I can't escape or ignore it strikes fear into my very core!



3. When you can't get good lighting for your photos

This is a more light-hearted gripe, but how irritating is it when you've got lots of blog posts lined up which require a decent amount of photography and the weather is dull and grey for two weeks? Living in Wales, this is a frequent annoyance! There's only so much editing you can do to pretend you've had the perfect lighting, and I don't like using heavily edited photos on my blog.



4. When you proofread all your posts within an inch of their life and yet the badly written ones are still more popular

Those of you who know me in real life will be painfully aware that I'm a stickler for accuracy. I constantly and compulsively proofread everything from signage to labels to menus to my favourite books.. It goes without saying that I proofread all my blog posts dozens of times as they form an important part of my personal online 'brand', and I don't want any inaccuracies associated with anything I've written. However, I frequently read posts from all corners of the blogging world which are badly written and have been read and commented on tens of times. Doesn't good writing count for anything any more? I realise I sound as if I'm throwing my toys out of my pram here but it's something I feel very strongly about!



So... is there anything I can do about it? I could certainly improve on reading and commenting on other people's blogs which is something I'm determined to do more of. I read lots of blogs but hardly ever comment, and I'm also quite forgetful when it comes to replying to the few comments I get on my own blog. I also need to get better at reading through my Bloglovin feed - I often click on blog posts promoted on Twitter but haven't been very good at actively seeking out the posts from my favourite blogs in recent years. However, part of me feels that no amount of interaction will help with some of the issues above as it's just the way things are.

Does anyone else feel the same? Do you have any blogging gripes you'd like to share? Let me know!

As an aside... wouldn't it be ironic if this post wasn't well read?!

Wedding planning... highlights so far!

I'm getting married at the end of August (eep!) so I've been busy wedding planning since we got engaged last September. Although it can be a very stressful task at times, I have really enjoyed quite a few aspects of the planning.

I thought I'd share some of my favourite wedding planning tasks and tools with you, and I'll also take this opportunity to give you a little insight into what our plans are for the day so far.


1. Wedding cake samples

I think this must be everyone's favourite wedding planning task. I've had one appointment with a cake maker so far and she provided me with the amazing cake samples below. We asked for lemon, chocolate and fruit cake samples, and we also threw in Neopolitan as an outside option as we were allowed to choose up to four samples. Unsurprisingly, we were busy eating cupcakes all weekend. I can't wait for the next wedding cake appointment... I won't even fit into my dress at this rate!

2. Wedding invitations

Regular readers of my blog will already know that I work in communications and am obsessed with proofreading. These two important factors meant that I was in my element when looking at invitation designs and wording. I possibly spent more time than was necessary on this aspect, but the look and general feel of the invitations was very important to me. The lovely (and very efficient) Anna from Cardiff Invitations has designed our invitations for us, and they'll all be sent out within the next few weeks. I won't write a blog post on them until everyone has received them as I don't want to spoil the surprise. They're beautiful!


3. Choosing my dress, shoes and accessories!

I went wedding dress shopping with my mother at the end of January and managed to find a dress on my first outing. I did try on five dresses, but the one I chose really stood out for me. It's quite similar to the dress I've always pictured in my mind for my wedding day, but there are certain aspects to the dress which I would never even have thought of and which make it very unique. I've also bought a few of my accessories for the day, including this amazing bag for the wedding reception! No sneak previews of anything else I'm afraid, you'll have to wait until after the big day.

4. Browsing wedding ideas on Pinterest

I've already blogged about how much I love Pinterest, and it's been invaluable for my wedding planning sessions. It's been really useful to search for colour schemes, ideas for hair and make up, wedding cakes, table centrepieces, flowers and even ideas for our honeymoon. You can browse my 'Weddings' Pinterest board here. Let me know if there are any other wedding-related boards I should be following!


5. Researching colour schemes

This leads on nicely from the last highlight. We toyed with a few different ideas for colour schemes, but have settled on teal/turquoise with ivory. Teal is quite an awkward colour to get right as there are so many different shades, but I think everything will look really warm and pretty on the day as it's such a rich colour. The ivory will complement the main colour really well, and I like the fact that ivory is traditionally a very 'weddingy' colour. I'll be writing a separate blog post on our colour scheme in the next few weeks... watch this space.


6. Choosing items for our gift list

We've just bought our first house so our Debenhams gift list is full of bathroom and kitchen essentials, photo frames, little things for the lounge and just general items to help us with the process of turning our house into a home. I've loved browsing the Debenhams website for ideas and adding things to the list, as this has also involved choosing colour schemes! Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to add any clothes or jewellery for myself to the wedding gift list.


7. Keeping my wedding planner up to date

I bought a wedding planner at the first available moment after getting engaged, and it's one of my favourite things in the world. It's already chock-a-block with receipts, confirmations, paper samples, flyers and business cards, and I'm busy recording my every move in all the various sections. A decent wedding planner is an absolute must if you're attempting to plan a wedding!

8. Wedding fayres

We've been to two wedding fayres so far this year. One was in the Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay and the other was in the Copthorne Hotel, our reception venue. The wedding fayre at the Millennium Centre was extremely busy with a lot of pushy 'bridezilla' types, but I did pick up some very useful contacts there such as my florist and the designer for our invitations. We also got to taste lots of wedding cake samples! The fayre at the Copthorne Hotel was much more pleasant and relaxed. We managed to pin down a few more things while we were there as well as having the opportunity to have another look at our reception venue. Wedding fayres can be extremely scary when all the other brides seem to be getting married about 2 years later than you are, but don't be pressured into thinking that you have to sort everything years in advance!


9. Visiting our wedding church 

We're getting married in a lovely church in Penarth and I've really enjoyed going to the morning service every other Sunday for the last few months. Everyone is very friendly, including the Reverend who'll be conducting the wedding service, and it's nice to be welcomed into such an inviting atmosphere. I also love having a good sing song on a Sunday morning!


10. Planning all the food for the day 

Yes, I love food. This isn't a secret. I've loved planning all the food for the day from choosing our menu options for the wedding breakfast, sorting the wedding favours, thinking about flavours for the wedding cake and choosing our options for the evening buffet. I'm hoping I won't be too nervous to eat on the day as we've got some amazing food lined up!


Have you planned a wedding lately? What were your favourite planning aspects?

Never underestimate the importance of proofreading...

I'm well aware that other people might not be as obsessed with correct grammar, spelling and punctuation as I am. However, everyone should realise that they need to have a basic grasp of the language when publishing anything which will be read by other people.

I do a lot of proofreading in my spare time and always have done. I often proofread documents for friends, and have also been considering doing some freelance proofreading. I also proofread menus, leaflets, posters and so on when I'm out and about... it's some kind of compulsion. I know it's not the most exciting skill I could possess, but I do think it's a pretty essential one.

The language you use is a massive part of your brand, whether that brand is your personal brand or your organisation's brand. In my opinion, your brand is tarnished if your work is littered with typos, punctuation errors and glaring grammatical mistakes. I will actually think twice about using a company if their website or signage is full of errors. Similarly, I'm put off blog posts which haven't been proofed properly. It only takes ten minutes to read through that blog post, web page or the new sign for the front of your store, so why are there so many errors out there? I understand that some people don't pay much attention to detail, but it always shocks me when massive companies quite clearly haven't appointed a proofreader, or when people have obviously just scanned over that brand new sign or new web page then paid for it without making sure that it's absolutely right.


My top five peeves:

1. People who add an apostrophe when they're referring to the plural form of various nouns. Examples: CD's, menu's, potato's. Sometimes you just don't need an apostrophe! Why would you need one in this example, when you've been taught that the apostrophe is only used to indicate possession or a missing letter? COME ON!

2. People who use 'loose' instead of 'lose'. Example: 'I need to loose weight.' Aaaaargh. It actually hurts my eyes.

3. The use of 'would of' instead of 'would have', or 'could of' instead of 'could have'. In which universe was this ever correct? This error is creeping into more and more blog posts... beware!

4. People who add an apostrophe at the end of 'its'. Example: 'The cat couldn't believe its' luck.' There is never ever an apostrophe at the end of 'its'! Either use 'its' without an apostrophe (which would be correct in the example above), or 'it's' instead of 'it is'. If everyone could obey this rule, my blood pressure would probably come down to a normal level.

5. People who can't use a semi colon correctly. The poor semi colon is very much abused and is often used instead of a comma, rather than reserving it for pauses which need more strength than a comma but don't quite merit a full stop. If in doubt, just don't use it!


Any other avid proofreaders out there? Please bear in mind that I've proofed this blog post VERY carefully to avoid any embarrassment!