Martha Stewart American Made Nominations

By: Melanie Blodgett. Photo by: Justin Hackworth.

Do you know an American Maker who deserves some recognition? Or are you an American Maker yourself? Whether you've just started selling your handmade goods at the local flea market, or your product is sold across the country, here's an opportunity to be recognized for ingenuity and excellence. From now until August 23, you can nominate yourself, or a small business you admire, for the chance to be named the 2013 American Made Audience Choice Award Winner.
 
The Grand Prize Winner receives $10,000 to further their business, a trip for two to New York City to attend the American Made Workshop, and a feature on marthastewart.com! Learn more right here, and follow American Made onFacebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for updates.

Alt NYC From A Man's Perspective

By: Dave Cooper.   Photo by: Justin Hackworth

Though Alt primarily draws women and bloggers—and I'm neither—I nevertheless found the event inspiring and engaging. Being around so many talented, spirited, and entrepreneurial people was good for my creative soul. People attending Alt are bold and brave, and more than just dreamers these are people who actually follow their dreams.

Attending Alt left me feeling that if so many people can do what they love and make a living at it, we can too. 

I'm a photographer and filmmaker, and my wife produces Classic Play (classic-play.com). Attending Alt together meant that we could meet with sponsors about working on projects together. The sponsors are very motivated to talk about ideas and collaborations. Attending Alt presents you with a very unique opportunity to meet with big, medium, and small brands that really want to collaborate. I can't think of another event like it.

Revisiting Your Goals For 2013

By: Sara Urquhart. Photo by: Design Love Fest

It’s July, and halfway through the year is a great time to check in with the goals you made in January. Take a few minutes to review the year so far, and see if you’re on track with what you’d planned for 2013.

What have been the highlights of the last six months? Take some time to appreciate the successes and triumphs of your hard work, and consider what you can learn from them. If you see a pattern developing or a new skill emerging, take note.

Look at where you’re falling short, too, and decide what you’ll do about it. Delegate more? Hire help? Work smarter? Or change directions?

If your progress doesn’t seem significant in the past six months, remember that change takes time. Look at where you were a year ago, and see if you feel any better. If you still don’t see progress, it may be time to reconsider your goal or adjust your expectations. Some initial goals may have morphed into new projects, or may have been left behind all together. If you’ve learned something from it, don’t worry when a goal drops off your radar. Instead, accept the natural learning curve of building your own business and be grateful for what you’ve learned.  

Fast forward to December 31. What do you hope to accomplish by then that will help you look back at 2013 with satisfaction? 

Think about your answer, and then get to work. 

DIY Links

By: Melanie Blodgett Photo by: A Beautiful Mess

The awesome slideshow from the DIY Blog + Pinterest panel at Alt SL 2013

What a normal day in the studio looks like for a DIY blogger

Centsational Girl shares what she thinks are the keys to a successful DIY blog

Studio quality photography with a $12 set up

How to run a DIY blog out of your car

How to create a grid style board in Illustrator (great for your tutorial steps) 

The Critical Step in DIY Blogging (That’s Often Forgotten)

By: Melanie Blodgett

One time I had a pretty good idea. I executed that idea at a party and then posted it on my blog. But I made a mistake. I didn’t edit it well and had the idea hidden in the post and not the star of the post. It did not make the splash I was hoping it would. Then, about six months later, another blogger executed the same idea but it was edited expertly and the post went viral. In fact, this was three years ago and I’m still seeing it all over the place. It was then that I really realized, the editing is just as important as creating the content.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to a well done DIY post, but one of the most critical steps is editing. Yet, it’s so often overlooked or forgotten. I get it, by the time I’ve come up with the idea, created the object, and photographed the steps, the last thing I want to do is spend several hours editing the photos and the post. But that last step can take the post from simply liked to a huge hit. So my suggestion to you is to create your own editing checklist and then mentally go through it every time you’re about to publish a post. Here are some suggestions for ideas you could ask yourself: 

- Does the opening photo let your readers know what the post is about right away? Does it make you want to keep on reading?

- Are the instructions written clearly? Do you have photos showing the more complicated steps?

- Are there any typos or grammar mistakes?

- Did you include detailed photos?

- Is the post consistent with the rest of your content?

- Is there anything you could do to improve the post? Even if it means retaking the photos?

Okay, let’s edit our little hearts out. 

Want to know more about DIY blogging? Check out Melanie's class on the Alt Channel!