Adobe Illustrator is my go-to software for anything and everything design-related. It's the one program I truly couldn't work without.
And while it's easy to assume that the program's primary focus is illustration based on the name, there is so much more to this design software.
With tools for type, color, photo cropping, image tracing, drawing, and much more, it has innumerable benefits for bloggers and business owners, alike.
To get your creative gears turning, here's a look at 40 ways Adobe Illustrator can take your blog and/or business to the next level.
First impressions are crucial, especially in business.
Potential customers and clients make judgments about your business within the first few seconds of coming into contact with it, whether it’s through your website, your social media accounts, or a simple blog post graphic.
And those initial thoughts - whether they’re spot on or far off from what you want them to be - are within your control. You have the opportunity to make a killer first impression through high-quality, branded visuals.
If your blog is a large part of your business or you’re hoping to drive more traffic back to your site through your blog, you have to have eye-catching blog graphics to not only generate a positive first impression, but to encourage readers to share your posts on sites like Pinterest and be seen by an even wider audience.
So how do you create eye-catching blog post graphics? And better yet, how can you set them apart so they’ll stand out from the rest and be recognized time and time again?
“When I discovered YouTube, I didn’t work for 5 days.” - Michael Scott
Video platforms like YouTube (and more recently, Periscope) are easily the world’s greatest time-wasters. We’ve all been guilty of losing track of time on YouTube at least once, because videos are easily consumable, very addicting, and highly entertaining.
As a matter of fact, studies show that a whopping 78% of us watch videos online every week and 55% watch videos online every day.
Which is why Youtube is also the world’s greatest overnight-success-maker. If you’re on the production-side of a video and you’ve come up with a clever idea, you might just have a viral hit on your hands.
Video holds a lot of potential for interaction, engagement, and shares for creative businesses. And for that reason, it’s one of the best visual marketing tools you can use.
But it producing videos can be a little overwhelming, can’t it? Even with helpful video tools out there like Animoto, many of us struggle to come up with simple ideas for video content that would appeal to our audience.
And that’s where this post comes in. I’ve rounded up 40 easy, engaging video content ideas to help get your creative gears turning. My hope is that you’ll find a few ideas to implement and as a result, bring your business more exposure.
If you’re looking for a good way to kill at least an hour of your time, type in the word “infographic” in the Pinterest search bar.
Thousands of clever graphics will pop up on everything from “how to make a salad taste awesome” to a baby’s first year in a review. There’s even an infographic that answers the pressing question, “Is your dog sleeping a little too much?”
Then, after you’ve admired the genius creativity behind them, take a gander at how many repins and likes each of those infographics receives. Thousands upon thousands.
In fact, infographic volumes have increased by over 800% in 2 years. Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t.
What is it about infographics that makes them so appealing? And better yet, how can you come up with some clever infographics for your business so it gains more exposure through likes and shares?
I have all the answers for you in this post.
Is your headline the first thing you consider when you sit down to write a post?
Probably not, but creating a catchy blog post title is one of the most important aspects of each blog post. It's the gateway to your content; it convinces people to click or scroll right past your latest post'.
In fact, studies show that 8 out of 10 people will read your headline but only 2 out of 10 will read your entire post.
Here are a few pointers for drawing in potential readers and a couple "templates" to help you create a catchy headline for your upcoming posts.
Pinterest is one of my top website referrals.
With nearly 1 million monthly viewers, 30,000+ followers, and 100,000+ website visits from Pinterest each year, you might be surprised that I don’t put any effort into the platform.
You might also be surprised to learn that my Pinterest strategy doesn’t even involve Pinterest.
So how do I reap the benefits of Pinterest without putting in the work? Better yet, how can you reap the benefits of Pinterest without putting in the work?
Here’s my secret.
While pretty photos and curated feeds are helpful for catching the eye of potential customers, great content is the key to generating engagement and reaching a larger audience on Instagram.
But coming up with high-quality posts on a regular basis is no easy task.
So I rounded up 50 engaging ideas for your Instagram feed (along with examples) that will benefit your followers, drive traffic to your website, and keep people interested in your online business.
As creative entrepreneurs, we understand the importance of visuals on making a great first impression on potential clients and customers.
So naturally, we tend to put a lot of emphasis on curating our social media feeds and making sure all of our photos look styled, branded, and professional.
But social media is changing.
It isn’t enough to have a beautiful feed anymore. Your potential clients and customers (and apps like Instagram and Facebook, themselves) are becoming less interested in pretty photos and more interested in one specific thing.
What is it and how can you implement it? Keep reading.
I don't know about you, but when Instagram stories launched several months ago, I was both excited and overwhelmed.
I was excited at the idea of a new way to connect with my followers.
But overwhelmed by the though of having to create more content on top of regular Instagram posts, Facebook, Twitter, blog posts, and all the other content that I create week after week for Elle & Company.
So I kind of sat on it and put it off until I could put my own unique spin on it, until I could figure out how I could really use Instagram stories to benefit my business, and how I could use Instagram stories realistically. I didn't want to start off with a bang, with all these bright ideas and then not have the time to actually follow through with them all.
I sat on it for a while and then started coming up with a list of clever content ideas.
So today I'm going to share 15 clever content ideas to use Instgaram stories to promote your business.
Pinterest has been one of the most helpful free marketing tools for driving traffic to the Elle & Company website.
In fact, 20% of my overall blog traffic and 78% of my overall social media traffic to my blog comes directly from Pinterest.
Not only is Pinterest visual (which is especially helpful for creative business owners), but pins have a longer lifespan than other social media posts like tweets and Facebook shares. An image that was pinned months ago will continue to show up in other people’s feeds for months and drive traffic to your website.
But as with any social media platform, it takes time to keep up with Pinterest. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time in my busy work week to devote hours and hours to pinning.
This is problematic because we know a few things about Pinterest:
Enter Board Booster.
