Strange & Charmed

{Bloggers Gonna Blog} The Do’s & Don’ts of Finding Inspiration Online

A good blogger has to stay constantly inspired in order to keep a steady stream of posts and content up on their blog. So, it’s important to take in a lot of various content, much of which comes in via the web and other blogs and bloggers! It is my firm belief that a majority of content when it comes to online and offline sources isn’t wholly original. It really isn’t uncommon for bloggers to get inspiration from each other and from other sources around the web or things they have seen or experienced in real life. That being said, it is important to properly credit sources and give credit where credit is due if you are borrowing ideas from other people or drawing significant inspiration from another source. Why is it important to credit? Well, honestly it’s important for a few reasons.

First of all you cannot expect to grow and develop your own brand based on the work of others, especially if you are consistently borrowing from the same or similar sources and not giving credit. I’l discuss more about consistent borrowing later on, but when it comes to the act of borrowing an idea from another online source, the web is a large place, but it can also be extremely small, and people will come to recognize if you are taking things constantly from one place or another and avoid your site. Secondly, if you become a blogger that borrows too heavily from one or more places, you will get a negative reputation, specifically if you are “ripping off” ideas. Now, I want to emphasize some delicacy when I say “ripping off” because there are definitely people on the internet that straight up take full blog posts and images from sites and repost them without permission and that is totally not okay, but there are also a lot of places where you see someone taking something seemingly innocent like the title or concept for a blog post and then writing their own version without asking the permission of the blogger who originally created the content or even linking back to the original post, and there is a real difference between the two situations. In the first example, it is full on plagiarism, but the second can seem almost innocent and can sometimes be done without even the blogger realizing what they are doing. The problem is, whether you are doing it consciously or unconsciously, borrowing without sourcing creates a bad reputation for your blog. Finally, when you borrow ideas from other sites and blogs without sourcing or asking permission, other bloggers and especially brands and companies, will start to avoid you, and blogging is all about community building. So without that lifeline, your blog could just die off!

Now, the interesting thing is, that if you actually do source your blog posts properly, you will actually find that you will get many benefits you may not have expected. When you properly link to a blog post and give credit where it’s due, you will find that other blogs and bloggers will be excited that you shared their content, more than happy that you borrowed an idea and it will cause a community to build around you where bloggers and brands will want to seek you out! So remember, borrowing ideas isn’t a bad thing, but there is a right and wrong way to do it and I am going to explain some of those differences to you today!

Photography

When it comes to photography for your blog, images are very important but using other peoples images is risky business. I always suggest using your own original photography whenever possible! Of course, sometimes it’s not possible for you to get a certain shot, and it becomes necessary for you to go to the internet to find an image. When this happens you do have a few solid options. First of all I suggest using creative commons images whenever you can so that you don’t get yourself or your blog into trouble! Photosharing sites like Flickr actually have dedicated sections for creative commons images that makes it easy for bloggers to find an image that is up for grabs. Now there are some rules associated with creative commons images sometimes, and those will be outlined at the image source so make sure to pay attention for those guides to know when and how you need to cite the image, and also whether or not you can use them for commercial, non-commercial or derivative purposes! Now, what happens if you find an image online that you want to use that may belong to a photographer or blogger on another site? Well, first and foremost, if you want to use an image that is not yours, I highly suggest contacting the owner of the image to ask permission to use the picture. If an image is on a blog, message the blogger and ask if you can use the image and make sure they have the right to give you permission. Just because the image is on someone’s website doesn’t mean they took it or have permission to use it or share it with you, so make sure to do your due diligence! If you find an image on a site like Pinterest and aren’t sure who it belongs to, you can do a reverse image search in Google to try to track it down and contact the copyright holder for permission to use it. Finally, if you really need images for your blog posts consistently and you want a quick and easy way to find them legally, try signing up for stock image sites that give you access to thousands of high quality images, but of course, this is at a price!

Design Elements

As a blogger, it seems that trends with website design are ever changing and we often want to make sure our blog is keeping up with the Jones’ in a matter of speaking. It’s definitely okay for you to look around the blogging neighborhood and see what your peers are doing design wise on their sites and draw some inspiration from different design and structural elements you see on their site. However, you need to make sure you are not borrowing too heavily from a sites design when applying new features to your own, after all you don’t want your blog to look like a carbon copy of someone else’s (it’s just not going to make your blog unique and stand out)! So when gathering inspiration from other sites and their designs, there is an unofficial rule of thumb you can use to make sure you are taking the essence of the design you like, while also making it your own and that is to change the design up 80% from the original. Now, that means you should make changes to align the design to your own branding so that only a small essence of the original remains, just about 20%. I know this may seem difficult to gauge, but think of things like font, color schemes, sizes, shapes, textures, alignment and spacing. If you change most of those items up, you will come out with something that is your own creation instead of a copy of another persons design! Remember, good artists copy, great artists steal (Picasso), which means to be great you need to find what is at the heart of the design, keep that true to form and then change all the rest until it becomes something completely new and all yours!

Now, that being said, if you do happen to find a design element from another site that is totally unique and you want to use it as is, you need to get in touch with the designer and get their permission. Don’t be surprised if they ask you to pay for use of the design, that is not uncommon, but if you are really interested in it and want to use it as is, you need to have their permission. Some designers may let you borrow one small element without charge, but then may ask to be credited, it really just depends on the person and the element in question, but you need to ask before you take it so that you don’t get yourself into legal trouble!

Content

Content is obviously one of the most important parts of a blog and as a blogger it is important that although you may find inspiration for yours around the web, that you aren’t taking people’s ideas without permission or reference. For the most part I believe this has a lot to do with common sense and the Golden Rule, which states to treat others how you would like to be treated. If you read a blog post on someone’s site and then decide to write the same post in your own point of view, always source the original post that gave you the inspiration. You don’t necessarily need to ask permission to use someone’s blog post if you are just writing your own version, however, I do think it is polite to give the original author a heads up and share the link to the post with them. A simple email that states something like “I read x post and I was so inspired I wanted to share my own ideas about it on my blog but I made sure to mention and link to your original post as my source” can go a long way. You may even find that the original blogger will want to share or even link to your blog post as well, which will help you get more views! If you do happen to write your own version of someone else’s post, one thing you want to watch out for is to make sure you are of course making different points and using your own point of view. It is not okay to write the same post just in your own words, using the same or very similar points as per the original. Even if you link back and ask permission, this is still a shady practice! Also, at all costs, avoid borrowing content or finding too much inspiration from one specific source. Even if you are properly sourcing, if you find that many of your posts are inspired by the same blogs and bloggers, it may be time for an intervention. You really don’t want anymore than 20% of your content to be directly inspired by other bloggers because you need to come up with your own unique content in order to help build your blogs brand!

Now, if you are reading a blog post and you see a line or point in the post that gives you inspiration for a completely different type of post on that one little topic, this is one of those examples where you don’t necessarily have to give credit, but if you do, I bet it would be appreciated. In truth, I think this is the best way to find inspiration and borrow ideas online, where you are finding something small that resonates with you and extrapolating on it in your own post. Taking this very post for example, you could read the passage above relating to the Golden Rule and decide that you would like to write an entire post about how to apply the Golden Rule to your interactions online with blogs and social media and call it “The Golden Rule 2.0”! That post would be a completely unique offshoot of this one that really wouldn’t require a link back to mine unless you just wanted to give credit and build a relationship. Also that blog post would be awesome and now I think I am going to add that to my TBW (to be written) list! Feel free to email me if you would also like to try your hand at writing that post and maybe we can do a little link up!

Proper linking and sourcing doesn’t just have positive karmic benefits, but it also has real SEO benefits as well. SEO meaning Search Engine Optimization, which is basically the method by which you can positively affect your rankings in search results by creating good content (aka get more views on your blog)! When you link and credit an alternate source like a blog that may be more popular than yours, when people go to search for that topic, your post may rank higher in search results because you are affiliating your blog post with someone else’s! So really, it just benefits you and your blog to create interesting content and to source whenever you find inspiration elsewhere on the blogosphere!

So what do you do if you’re a blogger and you believe that your content is being borrowed without your permission or a link back to your original content? Well the long and the short of it is that if a single blog happens to be taking ideas, content or other intellectual property (photographs or design) from you and you are seeing a pattern enough to be asking yourself this question, the best thing to do is to politely contact the blog author and let them know you came across their blog and you have found a number of similarities between your posts and let them know that if they have been borrowing, you would truly appreciate a link back to your original post. Also, feel free to reference or even link them to this blog post of mine that explains the do’s and don’ts for them because they may not have been informed enough to know how or when to cite an outside source for their content! Of course, if someone is blatantly plagiarizing or using copyrighted images of yours, you do have legal options available to you, however, I would strongly council that unless the wrong doer is using your work for obvious monetary gain, to simply send them an email and let them know they didn’t have permission to use it and ask that it be removed if that is what you want them to do! Talk softly and carry a big stick is a great motto to use in these situations because I find that you can often resolve these issues simply by asking nicely and being reasonable first. If that doesn’t work, call in the big dogs!

Now, if you would like to get a little more perspective on dealing with someone who may be copying your work or content, I absolutely love this post and video from the incomparable Marie Forleo! It’s called How to Deal with Copycats and Marie brings up a few more points that I absolutely agree with so head on over to her site to find out more about those!

I sincerely hope this post has been helpful for you if you are a blogger looking for the best way to find inspiration online or if you are someone who is dealing with content klepto’s! Let me know your thoughts on this subject down in the comments and if this post was helpful I would love it if you tweeted it out or posted it to your Facebook feed!

Hope you all are staying productive and inspired!

xoxo,

Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor: Love is in the Air!

Hello my Strange & Charmed Ones and welcome to the start of February! If you haven’t noticed, February is really setting itself up to be the perfect month. With its 28 days, it may be the shortest month of the year, but when you take a look at your calendar, it starts on a Sunday, and ends four complete weeks later on a Saturday, making it literally a perfect calendar month! I don’t know about you, but I’m taking that as a sign! I plan to make the most of this little month and fill it with love and laughter and I hope you join me.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I just released my February FREE Filofax printable task list entitled “28 Ways to Love Yourself!” I hope you will go and check it out and use it in your planner to add some extra meaning to the month. I know we all get wrapped up in Valentine’s Day and spreading love to our friends and partners, but we can’t forget about ourselves and this February I am going to be making myself a priority. I know that may sound a little funny, but I sincerely hope you do as well! One of my Instagram followers who downloaded the insert made a very good suggestion that we should start a hashtag and tag photos of our progress with the tasks to IG! So, if you would like to play along, tag your photos with the hashtag #28waystoloveyourself and of course make sure to also tag me @MissTrenchcoat so I can see your IG photos, comment and like them! Other than my free printable, I currently have another great piece of planner related content out for you, my latest YouTube video which is all about making reusable to do lists for your Filofax or planner! This video outlines a technique I use to create and utilize these awesome planner additions, and I even give you a peak into how I use mine!

So, you may be wondering what I have in store for you this month on the blog? Well, glad you asked! This month I am going to be doing a few very informative posts pertaining to blogging and youtube! You will be getting a very rare book post from me as well coming up soon that I hope you enjoy. I’m very excited about this months Picture Perfect post, which is going to be some helpful tips for you fashion bloggers & amateur photographers, so make sure to keep an eye out for that! We’re going to talk about love a little more this month (can’t help it, it is February after all!) and I even have a fun and delicious recipe to share for any of you who LOVE eating cooking dough!

Well, I think that is enough of a monthly preview for you! I don’t want to spoil all the fun, and there are even a few surprises I didn’t mention, so I hope that keeps you on the edge of your seat! One major thing I did want to say, however before I leave you, is how overwhelmed I am with the amount of love and support you all have been showing to my Instagram account! I work so hard to create interesting and beautiful images for you all and apparently you noticed because suddenly I am over 6,000 followers on Instagram! So THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart! I feel so lucky to have a wonderful group of friends as supportive and encouraging as each and every one of you! Well, that will be it for now, so make sure you stay tuned for all of the great content I have in store for you this month!

xoxo,

Filofax

28 Ways to Love Yourself {Free Printable}

February is right around the corner, and so it is of course time for another Free Filofax Printable themed with a monthly checklist and made especially for you! So many of you have been reaching out to me to ask me about this month’s printable and it was so difficult for me to keep the details under wraps! I get so excited about each new insert I make, and I on one hand I want to scream it from the rooftops and see what you guys think, but then on the other hand I want to keep it secret until the very special reveal day! As you can tell from the title of this post, the free insert is themed for Valentine’s Day with a checklist of 28 Ways to Love Yourself. So this isn’t your traditional Valentine’s Day, lovey-dovey romance sort of list, this is all about you focusing on the number one person in your life: YOU! Yes, that is right, I said you! You are such an important person and without you, your whole world would go upside down! So, for February I thought it would be rather appropriate for this insert to focus on ways that you can show yourself love and focus on important self-care items!

To download your FREE copy of my 28 Ways to Love Yourself Personal Sized Filofax Insert, click here to head on over to my shop! As always, I do only have this insert available in personal sized dimensions, however, it is easy enough to scale the image up to fit into an A5! To print in personal size, make sure you are printing at 100% scale, and then increase or decrease the scale as necessary to fit larger or smaller planners!

While you are also over on my shop, make sure to check out another new printable, my newest set of Journaling Cards Titled Girl of All Trades! This beautiful set of 12 unique designs is inspired by the #GIRLBOSS inside of each and every busy women, and includes a variety of lists, quote and inspiration cards, as well as a few unique designs echoing the elegance and femininity of a woman who knows how to #HUSTLE! Download your set today for your planner, desk or project life collection at a special reduced price for a limited time only!

Of course if you do download my 28 Ways to Love Yourself OR the Girl of All Trades Journaling Cards, I want to see pictures of these beauties in your planners! Feel free to add washi tape and stickers to your insert, snap a photo to Instagram and make sure to tag me, @MissTrechcoat so I can like and comment on your photos! As always, I hope you enjoy your free insert, make sure to check out my shop if you are still on the hunt for some wonderful new inserts for your planner, and I hope you have a wonderful start to February!

xoxo,

On my iPhone

On My iPhone {January 2015}

On my iPhone is a monthly feature on Strange & Charmed where I give you a peak into what I have been loving on my iPhone for the month! Covering topics like apps, games, podcasts, music, websites, books and more, I hope this series helps you all discover new and exciting content out there that can be enjoyed from your iPhone! To stay up to date with this series, make sure to follow the On My iPhone tag!

In case you hadn’t noticed, I actually didn’t post an On My iPhone for December of 2014, so I am very excited to finally be catching you all up on my digital monthly favorites! I feel like I have been on a productivity roll this January with all the great new projects and ideas I have been working on for my business! It should come as no surprise to you then, that many of these awesome favorites may have played a role in that increased productivity!

Currently Playing, Mind Genius: Since I have been trying to get off on a productive foot for 2015, I have been doing a lot of brainstorming and project planning for my blog, YouTube channel and of course my shop! Although I do love brainstorming on paper, I found that the number of projects I was working on was just becoming a little too much for my post its to handle and thought it would be best if I had an electronic system to help aid me in this process so that I could see all my ideas and order them into a logical flow. Enter the app Mind Genius! I have actually had this free app downloaded on my iPad for quite a while now, but I never used it much until now. It’s basically mind mapping software that helps you to arrange your thoughts and brainstorm through projects or problems you are working on. I highly suggest it if you are craving some sort of digital organization for your projects and thoughts and notepads or sticky notes just aren’t working that well for you!

Currently Reading, May Cause Miracles: I really enjoyed Gabrielle Bernstein’s book, Miracles Now, so much that I recently decided that I wanted to familiarize myself with more of her work. So, I decided to give May Cause Miracles a try and I haven’t been disappointed! I really love how Gabby is such a down to earth, straight shooting spiritual guru of sorts. I know she’s a life coach, but when she communicates, it feels more like a friend chatting with you than a professional. If you are looking for spiritual guidance or just want to get in tune with the universe around you, definitely try May Cause Miracles!

Currently Watching, Paper & Glam: Back in December I came across the Paper & Glam Youtube channel as I was searching for new planner videos to watch. The channel is hosted and run by Lisamarie Landreth, a 20 something professional gal much like myself with a penchant for organization and planners and I was instantly hooked! Lisamarie and I have since become besties because we share an alarming number of similar values and ideals, so if you like my content and my youtube channel, I know you will connect with Lisamarie as well. Her home decor and Erin Condren Life Planner videos are on point and she also runs her own blog and shop with much more interesting and fun content, so be sure to check her out there as well! If you do, make sure to drop her a line and let her know Alexis sent you!

Currently Surfing, Elle & Co Design: One of my goals for 2015 is to really dive deep and discover new sites and blogs filled with interesting and informative content, and I have totally started the year off with a strong start ever since I discovered Elle & Co Design, the personal blog of graphic designer Lauren Hooker! I think you’re going to see a pattern emerging with my latest and greatest faves, but Lauren is not only an A+ blogger, but she also runs her own design company and has a digital shop with awesome printables as well! I love that Lauren blogs not only about her design business, but she also gives really great branding and blogging advice as well! Again, if you like my blog, I bet you will love her, so make sure to add her to your bloglovin feed as well!

Currently Listening, Elise Gets Crafty: One of the things I have also been trying to do more of is find and listen to more podcasts! Since I work from home alone all day (well, not totally alone thanks to this lil guy) I feel like I need to keep my mind engaged while I’m working with more than just music. Because I love business and non fiction books so much, I thought it would be fun to find more business related podcasts and guess what?!? I found a podcast geared towards creative business owners called Elise Gets Crafty! It’s hosted by craft blogger Elise Blaha Cripe (who I also went ahead and added to my regular reads as well once I discovered her) and in each episode of her podcast, Elise interviews and engages in great conversation with another creative entrepreneur to help answer some of the big and little questions and issues that all creative business owners face. Definitely check it out if you have been thinking about starting your own creative business or if you already run one!

Well those have been my monthly favorites, but of course, there is always one final thing I know you all look forward to hearing about and that is which iPhone case I am currently rocking! For the majority of January I have been using my favorite black and white striped case from Kate Spade! I have been on such a black and white kick lately, as you can tell from the picture above, everything from my planner to my coffee mug is black and white! Love it!

So, now it’s your turn to tell me what you have been loving for the month of January! Any new YouTube channels or apps I need to check out? I am always on the hunt for new blogs to read as well, especially if they are centered around creative female entrepreneurs! Let me know your favorites and suggestions in the comments below!

xoxo,

lifestyle

Cliche Life Lessons that are Actually True!

I really feel like cliches get a bad wrap! When something is cliche, it’s often overused, or mocked as being unoriginal or stereotypical, however, I think cliches become cliche for a reason, because more often than not, they are true! Sometimes, when it comes to people, we can hear something over and over again, and never really understand what it means, but once you do, it can be a very powerful experience. This has happened to me time and time again when it comes to certain cliche life lessons. So, I thought today I would share with you some of the cliche life lessons I have personally had experience with, why they are true and why you should be paying more attention to them in your own life!

Who you were in high school doesn’t matter

Now, it’s been years since I was in high school. Heck, it’s been years since I was in college! But I still remember my grandfather blowing my world wide open when he sat me down to tell me about why it wasn’t important for me to be the best or brightest person in my high school class. “I take the fact that you don’t get straight A’s as a good thing,” he told me. “Because you never end up hearing about those straight A students after high school is over. It’s the one’s like you, who are flying just below the radar that end up doing great things later on in college and beyond.” Now, I was a very good student, don’t get me wrong. I was the kind of kid that got mostly A’s and then a few B+s or sometimes the unfortunate B, but it often worried me that I wasn’t a straight A student. This news sort of rocked my world, but it went to much beyond grades! In high school, you think its important to be popular and well liked, as if being popular in high school is going to ever mean anything later on, but it doesn’t. All the popular kids from my school are (to be completely honest) basically nobody’s now. I’m sure they have great lives and all, but when I check my Facebook feed sporadically, I see that they all still live in the same small town, have an underwhelming career, and (not so much of a shocker) still hang out with the same crowd of people they were friends with in high school. It’s clear to me that not much has changed or improved in their lives and it appears that their glory days are all behind them! But you know who does have cool and interesting lives whenever I check in on Facebook? The offbeats. The kids who were flying under the radar, the ones who were decidedly unpopular. Instead of worrying about chasing the crowd in high school, they focused on doing their own thing and then in college, they continued to blossom in their own uniqueness! To me, this is why the cliche is true! Who you were in high school doesn’t matter, it’s four years of your life that may be hard and painful and awkward, but seriously, it determines nothing for you!

Love finds you when you’re not looking

For this next cliche, I have been something of a poster child! When I got to college, the last thing I was looking for was a relationship! I wanted to focus on my studies, get involved in the groups and activities that interested me, and the last thing I wanted was a boyfriend, but the thing is that love always seems to find you when you’re not looking. Specifically, when you are out and about, happy and cheerful, doing the things you love and letting your light shine on the world! I’ve watched so many lovely, smart and talented women waste their time trying to pursue opportunities for relationships all because that was what they thought they needed and/or wanted. All of them wound up empty handed, and you know why? Because love is not something you can find, it’s something you attract. It’s an energy like so many other intangibles in life and when you look for it, you can’t find it because its not something you can see! If you really want to find love and a meaningful relationship, try falling in love with yourself and your life and I bet you someone special will begin to notice!

Self confidence makes a difference

I think their is a misunderstanding in the world that confidence comes from experience. While I do find that many confident people have a wealth of life experience, when it comes to some people, no amount of experience ever seems to bring them confidence! I think I need to let you in on a little secret; confidence is a choice. Like waking up and choosing what shirt to put on in the morning, or what cereal you want to put in your bowl for breakfast, you must choose whether or not you are going to be confident. Now, of course, their is some skill to it, which is why practice makes perfect, but their is no reason why you shouldn’t be waking up each morning and choosing confidence. Why? Because confidence matters. Confidence is the difference between making decisions and being told what to do. It’s the difference between taking a comment as positive praise or negative snark. Imagine a life where you felt like you were in control? That’s the feeling confidence gives you, that no matter what life throws as you, you can take it! So, choose confidence everyday, in as many situations that you can. You will being to see an immediate difference and eventually it will become second nature!

Haters gonna hate

As someone who has been putting their writing, thoughts, and creative energy out onto the internet for years, it took me a surprisingly long time to understand this one! Whenever I would hear the phrase “Haters Gonna Hate” I would immediately ask “What does that even mean?” Well, I think I am finally beginning to understand. It is a true universally acknowledged that in life, there are some people who only spread hate and negativity. Now, these people may be very blatant about it, and hate everyone and everything equally and with sincere fervor, or these people may be very cunning about it, wrapping up their negativity in a sweet little package that looks so tempting you may actually want to buy into what they are saying. But the thing is, these people and their opinions (especially if the opinions are opposing you) do not matter. Why? Because their will always be people in the world who don’t agree with you. Even if you are the most innocent, non controversial being on the planet, some people will find something to dislike about you. Just ignore them, it is in their nature and you can’t stop it, nor can you change them or counter them in any way.

You can’t please everyone

Hands down, this has been the hardest lesson for me to learn and sometimes I still feel like I am learning how to live with it. It may be the most popular cliche ever, but its true, you can’t please everyone. Now, this is due to several factors, usually surrounding the fact that people come from different backgrounds and were taught to value completely different things. The most complicated element of this cliche, however, is not just that people are different, but that when you boil it down, people can have completely opposite view points and can still be correct. In life, there is no cut and dry right or wrong most of the time, and because of this, it is inevitable that you won’t be able to please everyone. The quicker you learn this, the less hurt you will be when people disagree with you, the less time you will waste trying to change people’s minds and the less effort you will spend trying to tailor your life and your choices to fit the opinions of others.

Now it’s time for you to tell me which cliche lessons hold the most truth for you! Let me know in the comments below or send me a tweet! I’d love to get your insight and perhaps even learn something new myself!

xoxo,

organization

How to Organize your Computer to Maximize Productivity

The start of the year is a great time to start implementing small organization changes that can yield big benefits for your productivity for the rest of the year. Today I wanted to talk to you about organizing your computer for maximum productivity, which if you are anything like me, is sort of a dreaded topic! I live on my computer, so it is filled to the brim with articles, images and information. I use my computer to create a vast majority of my content, and of course, it’s the key to running my online business, so it really is important that I keep my computer files organized, my hard drive free of superfluous information and my desktop clean and neat!

Step 1: Create a virtual filing system

Without some sort of virtual filing system set up on your computer, it can be a pain to locate files in a timely manner. Although most computers come with default files like “Documents” and “Photos” its usually up to the individual to implement a system for filing away items for later reference. What I like to do is create folders within these sort of catch-all files, dividing my items up by categories or projects. I typically use category files like “Picture of Me,” “Online Receipts” or “Youtube Music” to corral items that are similar in nature, but perhaps don’t belong to a larger set. Once I have a handful or more items that belong in a specific set, I usually create folders with event or project titles. For example within my Pictures folder, I may keep Pictures of Me, but I may also have a folder called “Christmas 2015”, or within my documents, along side Online Receipts you may find a Strange & Charmed Project File where I keep all my info related to my brand. Within category files, I usually don’t bother with too much additional organization, other than to give my information descriptive titles for easier location, but within a project or event folder, there is often a handful of other sub folders. For example my Strange & Charmed Project File contains a sub folder for my blog post articles, my business information and image templates among other things. The idea is, no matter what your situation, whether you are a business owner like me, a student or even a stay at home mom, you want to create a filing system that make sense to you. Don’t be afraid to lay some ground rules for your system and type them up in a document to refer back to, in fact, that’s an excellent way to help you manage your system in an ongoing fashion!

So once you have settled on a filing system for your items, of course, you are going to want to go ahead and redistribute your files into their appropriate folders in the system! This can be a large project in and of itself, so don’t be afraid to set up the folder system one day, and return another day to work on distributing your information to their proper home. As you do this, now is the perfect time to also rename files with descriptive titles so that you can easily locate them in the future through the search function on your computer.

Step 2: Remove unnecessary information

Another major process you will want to undergo to organize your computer is to remove all the junk from your computer. Whether it be duplicate files or pictures, old documents you no longer need, or even outdated applications that you no longer use, spend some time locating any files that can be deleted entirely from your computer!

Step 3: Archive old information to save

Of course, you will also come across information that may be old or necessary, but for one reason or another you need to keep it. If it’s not something you need to refer to regularly, I suggest moving these sorts of files to an external hard drive for archiving and backup! Make sure to set your external hard drive up with a filing system of its own that makes sense for the information you are storing there, so you can easily find any archived files if and when the time comes.

Step 4: Run key Diagnostics

Depending on your computer’s operating system, there are a number of diagnostic tools you can use to help you ensure that you computer is running in top shape. First and foremost, I like to use an inventory style program like Disk Inventory X to help me understand what sort of information is taking up my hard drive. Computers can often easily begin to fill with bloat and most systems have a maze of hidden files and folders that you may not be aware of. Now, I don’t think you should go and delete files that you aren’t aware of, however, using a program like Disk Inventory X can help you see how the majority of your hard drive is being spent. Perhaps you didn’t realize that the game you downloaded two years ago and barely run was using so much hard drive space. Insights like that can help you make better decisions about what to keep and what to remove from your computer. Another popular diagnostic tool is a disk defray. PC’s are famous for the defrag, which basically helps to organize the information stored on your hard drive by compartmentalized it. Imagine your computers hard drive is like a storage facility with tons of individual units. When you save information to your computer, its like filling up units randomly in no particular order, so you can have some units in the back filled and some in the front and a few in the middle. When you defray your computer, you actually force those storage units together so that there is no empty space between empty and filled units, which helps you utilize space in your hard drive most efficiently! Like I said, PCs are known for needing to be defrayed regularly, however, Mac’s don’t actually require this, so do a little research on the best diagnostics to run for your computer and operating system and figure out what is worth your time, effort, and sometimes money, in order to keep your computer running the best!

Step 5: Perform weekly maintenance to ensure upkeep of your system

If you are like me and use your computer regularly, chances are you are going to need to continually tweak your system and keep an eye on your computers organization. As much as I try to always file my items into their proper spot in my own system, sometimes I forget or if I am in a rush, I skip that step. So, it’s important to schedule some time on a weekly basis (or more or less frequently depending on how messy your desktop and files get) to tidy up and put things back in place. Of course, you will also want to revisit steps 2-4 on a regular basis as well, although, perhaps on a less frequent basis, although that is completely up to you.

I hope these tips help you to get your computer organized so that you can achieve more with your screen time! If you have any other computer organization tips, I’d love to hear them!

P.S. If you would like to check out some more articles on this topic, feel free to check out Organize Your Mac with These 5 Tips and Back to School Tech Tips (even if you aren’t going back to school, this one has some great suggestions for making an older computer feel like new again!)

xoxo,

My Productivity Playlist

My Productivity Playlist #5

We are well into January of 2015 and I don’t know about you, but I am very excited for what lies ahead this year. I think it is incredibly important to get a strong start to the year, in order to lay the ground work and plans that will begin to really blossom as the year progresses. It’s not always easy for me to get motivated to take on a lot, especially during the winter months when I tend to be tired because of short days and less sunlight, and of course, it’s so cold all you want to do is cuddle with dozens of blankets, but I have to keep myself motivated and often times, music is the best way to pump up my mind and my spirit! So, I put together a playlist of inspiration and aspirational music to kick of this series for the new year!

As usual you can check out and listen to my playlist for the month via Spotify for free, but here are the list of tracks you will find!

Suddenly I See by KT Tunstall
Titanium by David Guetta
All About that Bass by Meghan Trainor
Pompeii by Jasmine Thompson
My Way by Frank Sinatra
Set Fire to the Rain by Adele
Back to Black by Amy Winehouse
Off to the Races by Lana Del Rey
Feeling Good by Nina Simone
Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell
Rhiannon by Stevie Nicks
Let it Go by Idina Menzel

Of course, I hope you check out the playlist and let me know what you think! I’d love to see a pic of you enjoying this playlist at work or at home, so make sure to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram @MissTrenchcoat! Also, feel free to let me know in the comments which songs you have been listening to to keep you motivated and inspired for productivity this month!

xoxo,

lifestyle

{In the Bag} Black and White Basics for Winter

I feel like it has been quite a while since I did a normal What’s in My Bag post. You may remember my last WIMB was all about my “Blogger Bag” that acts as my own personal work bag, and before that, I shared a themed post with a “Back to School Bag!” This time I thought I would start the year off with what I carry in my everyday bag!

You may remember this bag from my November Favorites, I picked it up for a really great price during a sale at Old Navy during the fall. I love the overall shape, it reminds me a lot of the Givenchy Antigona bag, but it was thousands of dollars less and a surprisingly good quality. I don’t normally purchase bags like this from clothing retailers, but when I saw this one, I couldn’t resist! Of course, I had to dress up the exterior a bit with my cute teal tassel that I purchased from Kate Spade. Ironically enough, I think that tassel was more expensive than the bag itself, which was something like $17! It’s currently on sale as well right now, so if you want to snag it, I’d act fast!

This bag is a really great size for me. It fits a variety of items and pouches and has a few key pockets that are nice and roomy! Of course, I normally carry my personal sized planner with me, and it fits very well in this bag. I especially like how my planner can stand up in the bag, which I think helps keep the bag organized and compartmentalized! Right now I am going through a very strong black and white phase as well with a lot of my accessories. Of course, I always have a pop of turquoise and pink in my bag out of habit! I just think this color scheme is great for Winter. It’s simple and clean, which is exactly what I want in the colder months.

Here are the complete contents of my bag. Since it is winter, I keep a pair of leather gloves from Kate Spade in my bag at all times. I also keep a few pouches with makeup necessities for on the go, plus a backup iPhone charger from Ban.do, a mint box that stores my pills, my favorite chapstick (another winter necessity), a Baggu, extra card cases, my Rebecca Minkoff glasses case (holds my Rx sunglasses from Warby Parker) and wallet, my Kate Spade stationery pouch, and of course my planner and cell phone!

So, that is everything I carry in my bag! I won’t be doing a video on this, but I am thinking about giving you guys a more frequent peek into my bag whenever I switch them out! I know everyone likes a good What’s in My Bag post, so perhaps we will make this an ongoing series as well! Let me know what you think about this post and of course, let me know about your purse necessities. Carrying a new bag I need to know about? Let me know in the comments below or take a picture of your bag and contents and tag me on Instagram @MissTrenchcoat!

xoxo,

Blogging

How to Write an Attention-Getting Post

One of the most important parts about running a blog or a website is actually creating content that people want to read and doing it on a consistent basis! I know a lot of people write a post with the hopes that it will go viral and put their sites on the map, but the truth is, that rarely happens. However, there are ways to write a post that does help it get more attention from readers, without breaking or even bending the rules of the web. So here are three ways to write an attention-getting post followed by three things not to do if you are trying to get attention for your writing online!

1. Write about what people care about

For the most part, people online are very self motivated. I don’t mean that in a bad way, just in a very literal way. People go online to find things that help them or something(one) else they are invested in. Whether they are looking for entertainment, information or inspiration, your post can be a popular destination for people if you are writing about what people care about. Now, of course, people care about a lot of things, so you really need to narrow this down to writing about what your ideal audience member cares about. Think about what you know and your expertise and how it can help your readers by entertaining, informing or inspiring them!

2. Use a clever and/or informative title

If your post is all about teaching your reader how to boil water, the obvious title of the post would be “How to Boil Water.” That is most likely the exact phrase your reader would use if they were searching the internet looking for a tutorial on boiling water. Of course, not everything is as easy as boiling water, so here are a few tips for creating a great title. First, try to keep the title short and sweet. Long titles end up getting glazed over, and keeping your title short also helps you keep it to the point. Next, try incorporating alliteration. I already explained how rhyming phrases are more persuasive than standard phrases, but alliteration also helps to create a pattern within your title that draws attention to it. Finally, use numbering and common phrasing as often as possible in your title. Five ways to Cook a Turkey, 3 Easy Baking Tips, 10 Songs for Summer, etc are all examples of using numbering to draw in your reader. People love lists after all, and breaking down your post into a numerical sequence can be a big crowd pleaser. Finally, use common phrases. Common phrasing is also important in titles because titles are seriously not the place to experiment with turn of phrase. Remember that “How to Boil Water” example? “How to” is a common phrase people use when searching. I doubt you’d draw a crowd with “The Ways in Which you can make Water Boil.” Seriously, stick to simple common phrases!

3. Use keywords

Keywords are like buzz words that you can use in the body of your post to help draw people in through SEO. I know we already discussed the finer points of SEO, but as a recap, it stands for search engine optimization and it’s basically the process by which you make your online content more searchable for sites like google, yahoo, and bing, so that your content shows up higher in search results. Keywords are a big part of SEO, and there isn’t anything magical about it, it really just comes down to actually using related terminology in your post. Going back to the “How to Boil Water” post, you want to make sure you actually use the words “boil” and “water” a few times throughout the body of your post. That way search engines understand that this post is really about boiling water!

Things Not to Do

1. Write a false headline

I think we have all experienced this as a reader at one time or another. A site puts up a wild headline, something crazy or fanatical that couldn’t possibly be true, and we click out of curiosity only to find that the actual post itself has nothing to do with the headline. This is often considered trolling on the internet, using a false headline to draw people in, and its generally a very bad way to garner views for your site. You may get more eyes on your post initially, but its like crying “wolf” and you will eventually see a negative downturn in views for doing this.

2. Take content from other sites without permission

You would think this one is a common sense rule, but some people have no clue the rules of online etiquette. If you are trying to get attention for your site, you should never outright take the content from another site and use it as your own without permission. Even if you link back to the original content, this is such bad form. Why? Because Search Engines like google know where content originated from, and if you take content from other sites, google will negatively affect your rankings, making it harder for people to find your post. If you like someone else’s content and want to share it with your readers, consider writing a review of their post, explaining why you like it and why you think your audience should read it, and then post a direct link to the original post. And of course, make sure you tell the author of the original post, it’s the classy thing to do and they may even link to your post as well, giving you more traffic!

3. Post infrequently

It really doesn’t take much to be a blogger. Anyone can sign up for a free blog through various sites like blogger.com or wordpress.com and voila, you can call yourself a blogger or a writer! But like anything in life, what actually defines you is the consistent habit. Habit is what defines you! If you really want to be a blogger and really want to get attention from hundreds and thousands of readers, you need to post more than once a month, and really, more like a few times a week! Without the consistent output to your site, you will eventually loose people’s interest, and once you do, it’s very hard to earn it back!

Well, now that you know some important do’s and don’ts of writing an attention-getting post, I can’t wait to see what awesome content you all come up with! If this post helped you learn a thing or two about creating better blog posts, please leave me a link below to a post you write after you read this! I’d love to see you putting my tips into action on your own blogs!

xoxo,

Business

{APPTASTIC} Google Analytics

As a blogger, I use Google Analytics religiously to help me keep track of my site’s metrics. Google Analytics is pretty much the industry standard for website statistics and it’s a free web application that you can set up for your own site via google. Now, as much as I love learning about my site’s traffic, my readers and their behavior on my site via the web app, I really wanted an iPhone app that would help me to keep an eye on my metrics as well. Enter the Google Analytics app! This application was made by Google and works in real-time giving you up to date information about your site, your visitors and all other key data and metrics for your site! The best part is that the app is currently available for free on the iTunes App Store. I have researched a few different analytic tracking apps that work with your Google account, however, many are not free and are obviously not made my Google, and I prefer to go to the source to ensure my information is accurate! I know an analytics tracking app may seem like a weird app to be obsessed with, and if you’re not a blogger or website owner I know this may seem a little nutty, but here are three big reasons why I love my Google Analytics app and why you should too if you are a blogger or online business owner!

1. I can get real-time visitor information: Throughout my day I love to check my Google Analytics app to see how many live visitors are on my site. I know it many not seem like an important piece of information to have, but it’s a way for me to keep an eye on how different forms of advertising and/or how my interaction with my community reflects in real-time to conversions on my site.

2. I always have up to date analytics data: Since my business as an online entrepreneur means I am on call 24/7, It’s great to have mobile access to my site stats no matter where I am. The Google Analytics app gives me access to all the important information I may need to share with important advertisers or sponsors, even when I am on the go.

3. It helps me with forward planning at all hours of the day (or night): Again, as an online entrepreneur, my schedule can sometimes be a little erratic. I often find myself waking up in the middle of the night with ideas and thoughts for my site and shop, and use my iPhone to do some light note taking so that I don’t wake up my husband (or my puppy)! Having my analytics in an app helps my late night brainstorming sessions without having to fumble around with my laptop in bed!

So, like I said, if you don’t run your own website, this application clearly doesn’t apply to you and my love for it may seem a little strange! However, if you are a blogger or do run your own shop or website, I highly recommend this app to help you get a handle on your own site and traffic! Analytics can tell you so much if you know what you are looking for, and I could probably write an entire post on that subject alone (let me know in the comments if that’s something you would like me to do)! In the meantime, definitely get yourself set up with Google Analytics for your site if you aren’t already, and make sure to download this companion app for your iPhone to get you started on the road to success with your site!