{inspired} blogging with Joy

Happy Monday friends! I hope you all had a great weekend and that your introduction back into the week hasn't been too brutal.

A couple weeks ago, I had the great honor of attending a blogging workshop hosted by Joy Cho, of Oh Joy. She was in town for Summer School, which sadly I couldn't attend. (And, there's a sentence I never thought I'd utter.) Luckily for the 20 of us who attended, Joy added an additional blogging class Sunday morning.

If you don't know Joy, hop over to her site. She's the incredibly talented author of the Oh Joy blog, and the Oh Joys Eats blog. She is the designer of a beautiful line of paper products, a line of gorgeous wallpaper and has recently published the book Creative, Inc. What interests me most about Joy's work though, is Oh Joy Rx, her brand consulting company. I have a personal interest in branding, and am completely impressed by the brands Joy has worked with and helped launch. All in all, she's an incredibly talented lady!

The blogging class that she taught felt a lot like an intro to her Rx business. The class was three hours of everything you need to know to create and maintain a successful blog, plus more. I was completely impressed with the amount of information she covered and how well she covered it: types of blogs, how to find your voice/niche, creating unique content, images, giveaways, and a the most in-depth discussion of blog advertising I have ever heard.

I'm not going to go over everything (you should hire Joy for that! :), but I thought I'd share with all you the key ideas that really resonated with me. You know, what I'm still mulling around more than a week later.

Blog Musts:

• A great header. In fact, Joy believes this is the area that is important to spend money on in the beginning. A great header makes your blog stand out among the crowds.
• Unique point of view. 
• Mix in the personal. Even if just a little. People like reading about your blogs focus, as well as you.
• It's okay to keep it simple. This is one of my favorite pieces of Joy's advice. It's okay to post a pictures and a brief description and call it good for some posts. Not every post has to be a huge and complicated.

Growing Readership: 

• Be part of the blogging community. Read, comment actively and comment thoughtfully. 
• Reach out to other bloggers you admire. Introduce your site, because what's the worst that can happen? This one hit me hard, because I am awful at putting myself out there.

Social Networks:

Joy recommends picking only one or two that you can manage. It's not worth doing all of them, if you can't keep up. This came as a relief. Although I admire bloggers that keep up their blog, facebook page, twitter and pinterest, but I just can't manage doing the same. In my case, I've chosen not to create a facebook page.

Overall great Joy advice:

• Be true to your own voice.
• Create as much unique content as possible.
• Don't fall into comparisons. As long as your content is strong, you have no reason to compare.
• Create a *cocktail party* speech. This way you can tell others about your blog as efficiently as possible, any time.
• Surround yourself with like-minded people. They will help you grow.
• Know that is doesn't happen overnight.
• Work hard and respect others. Is there really anything else you can ask??

Fellow bloggers, what is a great piece of blogging advice you've heard recently?