We spoke to Amma, Editor of Beyond Beyond about blogging success, what makes a great blog design and her latest big project…….
To begin, tell us a bit about yourself and how you started blogging….
It started off the back of me designing wedding stationery then the blog took on a life of its own.
You have great experience for blogging! Do you think it’s essential to have coding, graphic design and photography skills to have a really successful and professional looking blog?
I think you should always start with what you have, doing something is better than having nothing. So, even if it is just a shoot on your camera phone and some basic design it’s good enough.
However, the further down the line you get and the more seriously you take your blogging – it is worth the investment of getting those additional skills.
Blogs are the new magazines and readers enjoy a site that is well designed and presented. On top of that if you are building a brand and want to turn your blog into a business an attractive and professional looking blog can help you attract brands and sponsors that you want to work with.
Design knowledge is power and anything that you can do to raise you game and stand out from the rest is always a good thing.
For those who don’t have experience in those areas, do you have any quick cheats or tips at all?!
Keep it simple – if you don’t know what you are doing or if you don’t feel confident keep it minimalist as that will never go out of style.
Be aware of good design – I’m a design magpie so whether it is window display or a flyer; if I see something that I like that can provide inspiration for my own work then I make sure that I keep a record of it.
Pinterest is a great way of learning about good design and layouts; I have a whole board dedicated to great graphics and layouts.
If you don’t know how to do something ASK it is way quicker to get help than to torture yourself with something that you don’t understand.
Beyond Beyond is seen huge success, what now?! Do you have any big plans?
I don’t have anything big planned at the moment, it’s just about doing the best I can each day and making sure that I’m delivering content that is helpful and entertaining for my readers. My biggest plan was the magazine and I’m still recovering from that!
Tell us about wedding blogging in particular, what do you think are the main challenges that wedding bloggers face?
I think it is keeping things fresh – trends in weddings in terms of fashion and design don’t change as rapidly as mainstream fashion so the style side doesn’t always have a lot of movement. Weddings are generally so lovely there aren’t many challenging bits to what I do.
And finally, what has been the highlight of your blogging career so far?!
All of it – it’s been a surreal and really lovely journey which has given me incredible opportunities. This may sound super cheesy but every day is a highlight for me.
If you are interested in learning Photoshop design for your blog Amma will be running courses. Email hello at beyondbeyond.co.uk to learn more
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