Content Curation and Creation

Recently I’ve been reading a lot about curating and creation. Perhaps you’re well aware of the terms. They go together!  For those who don’t know and are interested I thought I’d share what this is all about. 

Curating content is basically collecting and finding high quality, valuable content online and sharing it as a reliable resource for your readers. Many of us do this daily when we share content on Twitter, FB and Google. Perhaps on a niche topic you’d share a variety of types of content from others that are respected in their field. It could be sharing newsletters, video clips, statistics, polls, articles, images or whatever material you’ve found and put together on the subject. It’s about adding value from information that you’ve gathered together.

Creating content is when you share your own thoughts, new ideas, experiences and expertise about a subject. Something that you put together or come up with as your own content. From what I understand curation is not a stand alone, it can help your blogs and articles look pretty decent and may help get you more traffic but fresh original content is still very important.  After all your readers and follower’s want to hear your thoughts and perspective!

Here are some great sites I found on this topic!

Content Curation Definitions and Marketing

What is Content Curation

What Comes First, Content Creation or Curation

Most people end up using a mix of content curation and content creation. Curating saves people lots of time as they have access to a list or several resources in one place.  A good curator knows what their audience wants to hear and what the best choices of media to share would be.

As an example if you are a user of Pinterest like I am, you are already curating content. As you create boards on a specific topic or theme you are curating content. You can collect images from different sources on the web and ‘pin’ them to your boards.

Perhaps you have a favourite author, news anchor, or blogger that you look forward to reading or hearing their material and content regularly. That’s basically what you should strive for in becoming a good curator of content, find articles and media to share on things of interest to your specific audience and remember to add your own fresh thoughts and relevant ideas.

Well I hope this enlightened you a little and gave you an explanation of curated content and created content.

My store has been keeping me busy lately as I’m always adding new designs and products. Stop by to see what’s new… Designs by Shell 

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Just Re-Do It

As I was thinking about what I would blog about this week an idea came to me as I was giving a small table a new look, a re-do you might say! I was in the mood this past week to do something creative but a little different from my drawing and designing. My mom and my sister are forever painting walls or tables, dressers etc. in their homes and my mom told me about this great paint that she recently used on a curio cabinet and so I thought I`ve got something I could paint. 

I had an older table or actually a plant stand that was not in use so I sanded it down as it was a cherry wood color and then I gave it a couple of coats of aluminum gloss paint. Almost silver but a more muted tone, I think it looks great. Here are some pictures!

Just a re-do and it has a fresh look, perfect to set a plant or a bowl of fruit on!  I also painted a vase holder and a candle holder too, you know when you get started it`s hard to stop! Lol! Here they are!

                        

So how does this relate to business you say, well sometimes one can get stuck or maybe in a rut where you just keep seeing things and doing things the same way you always have. When you find something is not working in your business you need to take a close look at why it`s not working and how you could do something differently . The great thing in business is that you are never completely stuck, it may take some time and effort but you can make changes, refocus and start fresh if you have too! There is nothing wrong with re-doing something that`s not progressing or giving you the results you`re after. Stay passionate and dedicate the time and energy to your business and you`ll soon see success.

I`ve been having a great month in my store, Designs by Shell. Working on fresh new designs and tweeking some existing ones. Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment. Love to hear how others are doing!

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Changes in Marketing Methods

Zazzle has recently announced some changes that will affect many areas of those that have a Zazzle store.  This will definitely mean that we as store owner’s will have to make changes in our marketing methods. These changes come in the light of the VB. (volume bonus)  Here is the Zazzle Volume Bonus Program Terms and when they take effect.

Basically Zazzle wants us as business owner’s to market our products through as many means as we can. Promoting our products through websites other than Zazzle. Creating our own webpages that link to our products. A blog like this one, is a great place to start. Here you can share about your work, your latest products and designs and promote your other pages too. Also use sites like Twitter, Squidoo, LinkedIn, Pinterest, IBO Toolbox and so forth. 

An easy way to get started with your own website is through Weebly.com. This site makes creating your own webpage really simple.  A drag and drop site perfect for those less technical. One can buy a domain name like I did and create a page marketing your products. This is where you want to go niche’ and choose one type of design or theme from your business and promote them through their own webpage.   Promote the page and products with their own url rather than a mass store url.

Just like a brick and mortar business, an on-line business needs to be promoted and marketed and likely more so! Spend time in forums and leave comments and links where appropriate. These methods will all help you to gain a presence and get more eyes on your products. 

Thanks for checking out my recent products below, Designs by Shell

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Listen Up!

Listening is probably the biggest and most important communication skill that we put to use daily and one that we could all improve on. It is actually a learned skill as it does not come as naturally as you would think. You probably think you’re a pretty good listener but the fact is most people are not!

So how do you know if you’re a good listener? Well here are some of the signs to watch for.

1) Give your undivided attention when someone is talking to you, make eye contact and nod. Most of us are so used to multi-tasking these days that our attention spans are pretty short. We’re planning our next meeting, what we’re having for dinner or what we have to do next and don’t give our complete attention when someone is sharing with us.

2) A big one is try not to interrupt the person talking, let them share what’s on their mind before you chime in. A person who is always interrupting and wants to tell their story and talk about themselves is not a very good listener.  Don’t dominate the conversation, if it’s all about you it gets pretty boring.

3) When the talker is finished then feel free to ask questions and show genuine interest in what’s going on. Even though you may not agree with what they’ve shared you can show empathy and try to understand from their perspective.

4) Body language is another sign that can show if you’re interested in what the person is saying or not. A nod or a smile is positive while sitting with crossed arms might suggest you’re not wanting to hear or be part of the conversation.

Listening skills!

Some benefits of being an effective listener:

- develops patience

- can help us solve issues

- builds trust and better relationships

- become better at communicating in general

- helps you digest information and makes you think before you speak

Well I hope you learned or at least gave some thought to how you can become a better listener to those who you communicate with. Listening skills can be applied to a marriage relationship, parent to child relationship, a boss, at work with colleagues and of course friendships. 

I’ve been busy working on fresh designs and sprucing up my store. Stop by for a visit at Designs by Shell.

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Online Business and Retirement

As Baby Boomers are approaching their retirement years, many are not confident or well prepared for their future. The changing economy has forced many to re-think their future and many will have to make hard choices. It may come down to many having to work extra years in order to be able to make ends meet.  One way to gain extra income with limitless potential is to start an online business.

Building an online business is something that one could pursue while they are still working a full time job. Just putting a few hours in a week to get it going is all it would take. Of course, if you are already retired you can put in as much time as your willing.

Most folks by now have some computer skills that could be put to use running an online business. If not, check your local college or community center for computer courses that could give you some training.  Anyone can build a successful online business by putting in the time as well as doing the research and planning. Be sure to choose an area of business that inspires and creates passion in you. There are endless ideas on the net and many that cost little to no money to start up. 

You’ve heard the saying ‘the world is your oyster’, well with an online business you have the potential to reach customers all over the world. No boundaries or having to rely on local support. You can have eyes on your business day and night, while you’re sleeping your business can be bringing in sales.

Starting an online business to supplement your retirement income can help to ease your stress and give you a purpose as many people who retire find themselves at a loss with no direct purpose. This can lead to depression and ill health for many. An online business gives you freedom and flexibility, you can set your own work hours, choose something you enjoy and are knowledgeable about. Anyways I’m rambling on here so I’ll bring this to a close, be inspired and pro-active as you think about your future.  

I’ve been busy working on designs and marketing for my store Designs by Shell.  Come on by for a snoop around, lots of new creations. 

 

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Engaging and Keeping Your Readers

Have you often wondered how to engage and keep your blog readers coming back for more? With so many distractions and something more interesting being just a click away it can truly be a daunting task to get folks to spend a few minutes reading your blog post.  Whether you write for monetary purposes or just because you love writing, you still want your content to be read.

Come on, I know you have valuable and useful material to share with others but perhaps you ‘re struggling with readership. Well let’s look at a few ways to engage readers and make them want to read, share and comment on your blog.

1) Decide on your target audience and write specifically for them, don’t get side tracked writing for friends and family unless they are you’re target audience! Think about who you’re trying to communicate with, who is your ideal customer?

2) Grab your reader’s attention with a catchy ‘headline’. This is your chance to communicate the gist of your article in an amusing or hot topic title. Great titles can draw in the crowds or turn them away!

3) You want you’re readers to participate to some degree on your blog, right? So ask questions, have ‘like’ and share buttons that they can utilize, be sure that you have a ‘follow’ this blog gadget.

4) Stay in touch with your blog traffic stats. Use Google analytics or another stat counter to see which of your posts receives the most traffic. Which ones get shared and tweeted!

5) Be sure your blog articles contain value for your readers. Readers will not stay on your page for long if they aren’t engaged and learning something from your content. Keep your writing clean and free from nonsense. People won’t come back or bookmark your blog if you’re just wasting their time.

Do your readers share with you, do you consistently get comments and re-tweets from others? Tell me about your experience with this?

As always I’ve been working on marketing and trying to build my business day by day! Here is a sampling of some of the fun products you can purchase at my store Designs by Shell. I’m adding new designs almost daily so stop by often.

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10 Steps to Re-Charge Your Battery

Sometimes in our routines and daily patterns of life we just get plain tired and run down. We can often become over whelmed by physical and mental fatigue. Keeping up with a demanding job, maybe a second job for some, taking care of family, kids, the house and all that entails can wear you out! Perhaps you need to take a step back and see what you can do to re-charge and re-energize  your life, today! 

Often just a few simple changes can bring renewed energy and vitality to your life once again. Here is a list to check out!

1) Eat the right foods! Too many carbs could be zapping your energy. Try consuming less bread products and sugar.

2) Reduce caffeine intake, if you’re a big coffee drinker try having one or two cups less per day! Smaller doses can help but too much can leave you anxious and jittery!

3) Drink more water! Our bodies crave water and need to stay hydrated! Often we miss the signs! Keep a water bottle on your desk or in your car for convenience!

4) Exercise, just a few minutes of exercise a day can help increase your energy level. Anyone can take 5 to 10 minutes even if at work to do some stretching or go for short walk, you’ll reap the benefits.

5) Breath in some fresh air! Step outside for a few moments even on a rainy or cloudy day, fresh air has a way of boosting your mood!

6) Play a brain game! Just a few minutes of this type of stimulation can increase your focus and step up your thinking!

7) Put on some relaxing music, nature sounds or even something classical has been known to energize!

8) Get enough sleep! Don’t burn the candle at both ends and expect to be full of get up and go the next day! Our bodies need sleep to refuel us!

9) Ditch the sugary snacks! Replace your muffins and cookie habit with fresh fruit and veggies. Easy to cut up and take to work or wherever your going for the day!

10) Add something new to your routine, change up something, anything, really! Getting yourself in a rut can stifle creativity!

Come by Designs by Shell to see the latest products and designs. Always adding new and creative ideas …

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