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Today I am going to talk about balance. 
Finding your voice and the balance between your blog being “your space” and also being purposeful if you are trying to make it a business.

1. Focus on what you are good at.
When I first started this journey there were other blogs I was particularly in love with. But I quickly realized that my blog, my space, would never look like theirs. 
I don’t have a home filled with vintage antique finds like she has, 
my kids don’t have clothes like them, 
I don’t look like them, and so on. 
So I had to think about what it is that I have to offer. 
I had to think about who I am. 
And then I had to balance THAT between what I wanted to share/ communicate and also keeping my space a place that could be my outlet.

2. Learn from criticism.
As much as criticism hurts, try and swallow your pride and take a moment to see if what people are saying could have truth to it. Could it make your blog better to listen to their thoughts? 
Sometimes whether it is true or not, it is possible that it is what you are conveying to your readers.

3. Think about building a brand.
Sometimes this means spending money. 
Having a quality, clean blog design is worth it. And if you have a shop, making the two match is important. In my opinion it is worth it to get professional pictures taken of your products (for your shop). I know this can be expensive but some photographers will trade product for photos. Good professional pictures on models make a huge impact. Not only does your shop look fantastic but it helps sell the products. You can almost always work out a deal with models and photographers, it’s worth it to ask.
Also, when I first started I designed my own blog design to save money. And I thought it looked great. Then I hired a professional to create the look that I wanted to convey. It wasn’t until then that I saw what a difference my design was from hers. 
It was incredibly worth it to have a professional’s eye handling my brand.

4. Overedited pictures are a no-no.
This is coming from someone who has failed in this area before. 
Resist the urge to over edit your photos or add cheesy fonts. I did this when I first started. I overedited pictures and used cheesy, free fonts.
Instead, think magazine. 
Look at blogs that really stand out as professional & beautiful…what kinds of photos and fonts do they use? What makes them look so good?

These are just a few tips today on strategy! I will have more to say at Influence when talking about being intentional with your strategy and brand. And in some upcoming posts I will talk about how you can do all of this and make much of HIM.