Thursday, November 27, 2014
Got the Chicken Coop Ready for Winter
Just added some straw bales, and a bit of plastic sheeting to keep the chickens a little cozier and hopefully productive through the winter. Just added a couple tarps to one corner of the larger pen to keep the wind down.
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Friday, October 17, 2014
Getting the Most Out of Your Social Media Posts
I own my own business that relies on social media to basically exist. Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, LinkedIn... etc, etc, etc. I've had people ask what works best for me so here's a bit of a run down.
I will tell you that the best sites for me are Facebook and Tumblr - for two different things entirely. On Facebook I have a page for my photography business. Without this, my business would likely not exist, or at least not at the level it does. Its how I gain clients, communicate with many clients, advertise sessions and events, link and cross market with other local businesses. Yay awesomeness that is Facebook.
Tumblr is a different animal all together. Tumblr can probably best be describes as the love child of Twitter & Instagram. For me at least. This is where I get the most traffic to my fine photography site where I sell prints. I've set up my tumblr "blog" as a sort of gallery. It is 99% images that link back to their page on my website where they are for sale. Most go to that website, a handful go to my Etsy site, depending on the product I'm pushing.
On Tumblr I try to post daily. TRY. The biggest tips I can give if posting images are:
I added code so people can't easily right click and copy my images, I watermark everything, and added links to my website and Facebook in the top menu. Its easy to look at, clean, and everything is linked. This is where I have the most followers of any social platform.
Now onto when and when not to post. I'm reposting from SociallyStacked.com which is where I saw these infographics after my friend and fellow local business owner Second Spring Soaps posted on a Facebook group we belong to of local crafters.
Someone has gone and done all the research for us! Here is the original post link, and here are the helpful graphics - maybe print and pin to a board above your desk?
Obviously test it for yourself and see what works. Use Google Analytics or similar tracking to see what drives traffic and when you get the most hits. I know it says the worst time to post on Facebook is after 8pm, but that tends to be the best time for me because I am posting for parents of young children to see - they are most free to engage on social media after the kids are in bed!
Facebook and Tumblr work best for me, find out what works best for your business and run with it!
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I will tell you that the best sites for me are Facebook and Tumblr - for two different things entirely. On Facebook I have a page for my photography business. Without this, my business would likely not exist, or at least not at the level it does. Its how I gain clients, communicate with many clients, advertise sessions and events, link and cross market with other local businesses. Yay awesomeness that is Facebook.
On Tumblr I try to post daily. TRY. The biggest tips I can give if posting images are:
- watermark
- keyword, keyword, keyword
- write a little description (so its interesting and Google can index it)
I added code so people can't easily right click and copy my images, I watermark everything, and added links to my website and Facebook in the top menu. Its easy to look at, clean, and everything is linked. This is where I have the most followers of any social platform.
Now onto when and when not to post. I'm reposting from SociallyStacked.com which is where I saw these infographics after my friend and fellow local business owner Second Spring Soaps posted on a Facebook group we belong to of local crafters.
Someone has gone and done all the research for us! Here is the original post link, and here are the helpful graphics - maybe print and pin to a board above your desk?
Obviously test it for yourself and see what works. Use Google Analytics or similar tracking to see what drives traffic and when you get the most hits. I know it says the worst time to post on Facebook is after 8pm, but that tends to be the best time for me because I am posting for parents of young children to see - they are most free to engage on social media after the kids are in bed!
Facebook and Tumblr work best for me, find out what works best for your business and run with it!
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Saturday, August 2, 2014
I love Kickstarter
Last year I tried and ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund my 2014 Marshmallow Microcosm calendar. It was awesome - folks funded it 203% So this year I've decided to try again.I'm getting a bit of a late start with created scenes for the 2015 calendar, but have materials on hand to get a handful finished this week - hopefully starting tomorrow with a couple new ones. I'll be posting some of the new images up on the Kickstarter page.
I plan to get the calendar printed at the end of September or beginning of October, and they will be delivered soon after they arrive. I know many people get multiple copies so they can keep one and give the rest as Christmas gifts... I think my dad alone gets about 10 to mail off to various relatives - some of them only know me via these weird little marshmallows!
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Monday, July 7, 2014
Tour de France... in England
Apparently the Tour de France is making the rounds through a few countries now. I happen to be in the UK, and my house happens to be on the route as they pass through London.
I watched just as they came out of the Olympic Park in Stratford and down Stratford High Street toward the city. Two riders were ahead of the pack at the time by about 2 minutes, then the pack came along:
I watched just as they came out of the Olympic Park in Stratford and down Stratford High Street toward the city. Two riders were ahead of the pack at the time by about 2 minutes, then the pack came along:
Sorry for the horrible quality, should have grabbed my actual camera but just had the phone in my pocket! Terrible.
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Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Art + Wine = Special Promotion
This month, I've got a special promotion to share. All orders from my website http://heather-applegate.artistwebsites.com come with a $100 gift certificate good towards your
first purchase of wine on NakedWines.com, throughout the month of July!
Yes, really!
Naked Wines is a company based in Napa, California, that supports independent wine makers from all over the world.Independent artists and photographers... independent wine makers... it's a perfect match...
When you place an order for any of my prints/cards or phone cases, you'll be e-mailed a $100 gift certificate from NakedWines.com... instantly. It doesn't matter how large or small your order is. If you order a single greeting card, you'll still receive the gift certificate.
Once you receive the gift certificate, all you have to do is visit NakedWines.com, enter in your gift certificate code, buy some wine, and you're done! Then, just sit back and wait for the wine to arrive on your doorstep. If the logistical stars are in alignment, maybe your wine and your order will arrive at the same time!
Before using your gift certificate on NakedWines.com, please note the following restrictions:
Terms & Restrictions
There is no minimum purchase required in order to receive the gift certificate. If you purchase a greeting card, for example, you'll still receive the gift certificate from NakedWines.com - yes, really!
Click here to browse a huge assortment of images to decorate your walls!
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Thursday, June 5, 2014
Roadtrip - The West
This is how horrible I am at blogging... this latest roadtrip was in April. Its June. Go me.
Picture post!
The highlight for me: Bryce Canyon
I took a few pictures here....
Next up: Zion National Park
I actually have more photos from Zion, just haven't edited them yet... this rock pile I thought was cool and quite zen on the Emerald Pools trail - highly recommend.
To Yellowstone National Park!
oh wait... it was closed. We drove all the way up to find it was closed until the following week.
Right.... moving on....
The Rockies... Grand Tetons, Denver and such.
From there we moved on to the desert again... Santa Fe, Grand Canyon, then Rt 66 through southern California, and high tailed it to Palm Springs for Coachella!
Don't make our mistake and go to the west rim of the Grand Canyon... waste of money and time. Head to the north (if open) or south rim. Way better scenery and doesn't cost an extra arm or leg. The guys really wanted to take a helicopter ride and this was were they booked it from - another epic waste of money!
Oh, here's a little house sparrow on some yucca I photographed while at the west rim.
The Route:
Las Vegas
Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon
Yellowstone National Park
Grand Tetons
Denver and the Rockies
Santa Fe
Grand Canyon
Indio - Coachella 2014
On my way back home after dropping the guys at LAX, I decided to not take I-40 for the 3rd time, and instead went the southern route. I was on a mission to take pictures of saguaro cacti, which had eluded me for years. I'd never gone on a trip quite south enough to see them. This time I got them in spades.
I was trying to find the desert museum in Tucson. Fail which turned into a win when I accidentally ended up in the Saguaro National Park. Such a cool place. Basically a forest of saguaro... as well as prickly pear.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Indigogo
Just launched a campaign on Indigogo to hopefully expand my photographic offerings!I'd like to offer real estate photography, but I need a good ultra wide angle lens to do so. The lens I'm looking at would also be great for landscape photographs, and creating really interesting portraits during sessions with my clients. Basically a really versatile lens that I can do a lot with - more bang for the buck as they say!
The Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM FLD AF Ultra Wide Zoom Lens is my lens of choice. Its got great reviews, and I intend to buy used to save costs.
I'm offering contributors professionally printed, gorgeous canvas prints in return. Size based on contribution size, but complete choice over what print they want from the wide variety I offer on my website. I've got 30 days to hit my goal! If you'd like to contribute, or just help me out by sharing the link out across the social media universe, head on over to my Indigogo page!
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