Blogging

Follow Up Tips

Retirement Reflections

Thank you to all who shared their favourite blogging tips (see previous post). To ensure that your suggestions are not missed, I have begun to reprint them here. To list ideas in graphic form, I have (heavily) paraphrased comments while preserving the key themes. To experiment further, I tried a free infograph template from Canva (which was easy to edit even after I published). Images used were also complementary (from Pexels and Unsplash). I again used the Gutenberg Block Editor — easy peasy!

Got tips? Please share. I will then add them to a future post (with credit given).

Published by Retirement Reflections

Prior to retirement, I lived and worked in Beijing China for fourteen years (Middle School Principal/Deputy Director at The Western Academy of Beijing). Leaving international life behind, my husband and I retired to Vancouver Island in June 2015. To document both this transition and our new adventures, ‘Retirement Reflections’ was born. I hope that you enjoy reading these reflections, and will be willing to share your own.

58 thoughts on “Follow Up Tips”

  1. I’ve got four years of retirement under my belt. My wife and I were also career educators. I just started following your blog earlier this week.

    My tip would be to try and be as supportive as you can of your fellow bloggers by looking for ways to help one another.

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    1. Hi, Peter – Thank you for following and for commenting. I’ve been retired for five years (and three months). Although I truly loved my career, I still wake up each morning, shouting ‘Yipee’ as I face a new day with endless options.
      Supporting each other in blogging truly is a #1 tip. We can learn so much from each other and build meaningful relationships in the process.

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      1. Your support made a huge difference in my blogging life. I was ready to throw in the towel! And here I am still going a couple of years later. Bless you. It was your input and encouragement that made all the difference.

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  2. Hi Donna – lovely job with Canva – I pinned it to my Blogging Tips Board seeing it was so pretty. My tip would be to always include an image or two in your post – it helps break up the text and gives readers something to pin or share. x

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    1. Thanks, Leanne – That’s an important tip. As I’ve gained experience as a blogger, I’ve also increased the number of images that I use in my posts. When I began blogging, I only used a Feature Photo…with dense text (shriek with horror here)!

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  3. Your canva cards look very professional. My tip would be to write for someone. I try to have an avatar in my head of my ideal reader. I think it helps that we come from a generation who used to write letters.

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  4. Hi Donna – this is a great next post … makes sense – love the ‘shorts’! Definitely make paragraphs much shorter than necessary … it’s easier to engage with readers. I really early on used photos – so again readers could engage, even if only superficially – at least they had an idea as they scanned/read the post.

    One thing not mentioned so far has been ‘spelling’ – piece v peace, they’re v there, you v you’re … so often along with many others crop up – and as we’re (theoretically) writers/authors (especially authors) we really should spell our words correctly. Sometimes things are not picked up when using ‘a system’ … ‘may’ could occur, when we meant ‘many’.

    I’m not the best with grammar – and should take a course … but I’m writing for a social blog – not a formal article … if we read through our draft posts … we’ll pick up lots of ‘funnies’ that can be corrected before pushing the publishing button – as too with comments!

    All the best for the week ahead – Hilary

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    1. Hi, Hilary – Double-checking spelling and potential typos is an excellent reminder. Although I believe I’m a good proofreader, this skill does not apply to my own work. I continue to read (and re-read) what I meant to type. Sadly, this also applies to misspellings and poor word choice. On this infographic, I had first written “Follow Up Blog Tips,” which I continued to read as “Follow Up Blogging Tips.” Thankful, Canva and WordPress are extremely forgiving and can both be edited and updated even after publishing! 😀

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    1. Thanks, Debbie – I love tools that help unleash our creativity. Canva is definitely one of them. I thought that this would be a great series to not only highlight readers’ insightful comments but also allow me to experiment further with Canva (et al.). Win-win!

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  6. Yes, keep it short…although so called blogging pros say longer is better, I don’t agree. I can’t stay focused on long, drawn out posts.

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    1. Hi, Dee – I agree that some posts require longer lengths. As long as they are well-written, and haven’t been unnecessarily drawn out, I usually greatly enjoyed them. As Jill pointed out, the challenge is that many of us love to regularly read multiple blogs. This makes engaging with longer posts while keeping up with our regular reading, a bit more of a juggling act.

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  7. Excellent recommendations, Donna. I missed great posts containing gems while away camping. I will make sure to read them all and bookmark. I find I learn a great deal from this generous community. You were one of my “firsts” and I have always considered you a mentor to me. ❤️ I can see how this new series will be very popular and engaging for many readers.

    Thank you for being you, Donna! You always make a difference. ❤️

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    1. Hi, Erica – Thank you for popping by while on your break. You’ve been greatly missed. Last week’s Blogging Tips post was actually written for you. As I had offered to take notes from our group discussion on this topic, I thought that I might as well turn it into a post. Win-win!
      I’m looking forward to chatting together again soon.

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    1. Hi, Susan and John – Thank you for this excellent reminder. According to Neil Patel’s ‘Best Blogging Practices’, one image per every 150 words is generally accepted practice. Ultimately, I’d say use the amount of images that you need — but don’t go overboard.

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  9. You remain the only blogger who I follow who likes the blockhead editor. Good for you, but a total bafflement for most. [I’ve yet to try it, fearing the worst, it being 2020 you know.]

    On the other hand I’m right there with you about Canva. I use all its features, but have had people tell me they don’t get it. Publishing a blog post is getting trickier every year.

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    1. Hi, Ally – I literally hesitated for years before attempting to use the Gutenberg editor. The good news is that likely during that time, many bugs were fixed and smoothed out. Many bloggers who I follow are now successfully using this editor – Hugh’s Views and Views, Deb’ World, Snakes in the Grass, Retirementally Challenged, Widow BadAss…to name just a few. I liked the looks of their blogs and was encouraged that they seemed to enjoy it. Besides, I figured if I didn’t like it, I could always run away screaming! 😀

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      1. I take your point. The odd thing is that at one time I was an early adopter of all things bloggy, but now I prefer to sit back hoping all changes will go away. I don’t know if it’s old age or cynicism… which just might be the same things! 🤔

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      2. I totally get it, Ally. I also considered myself an Early Adaptor for computer-related stuff (in my realm). My problem is once I hesitate, it’s usually hard for me to regain momentum. I’m an all or nothing kinda gal!

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  11. More great tips, Donna (and thanks for including mine), and now you have a few more in these latest comments. You are doing such wonderful things in Canva. I use PicMonkey, which I think is similar, for some things but now you are making me think that I don’t push its capabilities as much as I should. And, I agree with you, the new block editor isn’t nearly as scary as I thought it would be.

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    1. Thanks, Janis – I haven’t tried PicMonkey yet, but it’s on my list. The fun thing about these ‘Tips’ and ‘Follow Up Tips’ posts is that I am committed to trying out something new on each of them. Thanks to the great suggestions coming in, I’ve already begun to put together the next post in this series (early for me, I know). On that post, I used ‘Easil,’ which is similar to Canva. I’m greatly enjoying exploring different possibilities. Once I go too far, please shout STOP! PS – Grammarly just warned me that this comment sounds very ‘green t-shirtish’ (aka ‘informal). 😀

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  12. Donna,
    Thanks for the follow-up! I’m using the Block Editor, but wishing I didn’t have to because I was so comfortable with the old theme. I do agree, however, that it can make things easier once I get used to all the buttons. I just wish I could find a theme I like.
    The advice regarding the number of pictures based on word count…I plead guilty to overdoing it. As a journal-style travel blogger most of the year, I want to share EVERYTHING! I’ll think it over. Have a great week! Joe

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    1. Hi, Joe – I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t yet found a theme that you like. When I began to use Gutenberg, I switched my theme to Dara (a free WP theme that is Guttenberg compatible). I love that it uses a sidebar. Many new themes have changed to a footer instead. I usually stick with the official WP theme of the year (the current one is TwentyTwenty). But it was the lack of sidebar that moved me away from it.
      Good luck. Keep me posted on what you decide.

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    1. Thanks, Natalie – It’s been fun playing around with Canva (and similar programs). It is incredible how quick and easy their templates are to use. A bit like ‘Paint by Number’ (with a bit of ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ thrown in for good measure). 😀

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  17. Love the shorts but many “experts” tell you that you need to have long pants, I mean posts. So I try to balance one long post with a bunch of smaller ones. Cute graphic!

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    1. Hi, Jennifer – I completely agee that the preferred length of posts (just as with pants) is very subjective. I do try to keep my own posts short — or else my husband would never read them. :D. Although I also prefer to read shorter posts, the quality of the writing far outweighs article lengrh. Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing this. I greatly appreciate it

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    1. Hi, Booker Talk – It’s a pleasure to meet you here. I believe that Canva templates have become easier to use. One tip is to ensure that the template states ‘free (unless you have a pro account). Otherwise, Canva lets you continue to the end but doesn’t let you download. Very frustrating!

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  20. A relative starting blogging and I loved her insights and she kept her posts brief. What I noticed and shared at an appropriate time is that she had no paragraph breaks. That was one small suggestion I could make because I had to learn that lesson myself. All the tips here make a lot of sense and are much appreciated.

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    1. Hi, Susan – One of my relatives (my niece) also recently began blogging. That’s so cool when we can share this passion with family members. I agree that paragraph breaks are great advice and make posts MUCH easier to read. 😀

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  21. Thanks so much Donna! I think I’m on the Gutenberg thingamy with its block editor and I know there’s so much to learn so I can use it with ease. Thanks for all these great tips from you and the commentators. I’ll bookmark this. Just in the last few days I’ve been hearing about Canva and use of free images.

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    1. Thanks, Susan – I agree that Gutenberg (like most things) gets easier and easier to use as you go along. I highly recommend Canva — so fun and easy to use. I’ll put the remaining commenter tips on a forthcoming post so that they don’t get lost. Some really great gems have been shared. I hope that all is well with you.

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  22. Donne, these are great tips. Like everyone else I love the shorts. Interestingly for professional bloggers, they are teaching just the opposite, so I was doing that for a while. This makes much more sense for the hobby blogger like I am.

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      1. What works for professional bloggers doesn’t always work best for hobby bloggers. We are not looking for information per se, we are reading for fun and to make and support friends. The shorter the post, the more we can read in our allotted time. I’m going to use your style of recap after my series on blogging challenges ends.

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      2. Hi, Marsha – I agree that professional/business blogs are much different than personal ones. I also agree that for personal posts, short is best. I look forward to your recap after your blogging challenge ends.

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  24. Hi Donna, I love these tips and your infographic! I recently discovered Canva and think it’s great. Thanks for sharing other people’s advice – I agree with all of it. Hope you are doing well!

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