FanningSparks reached a special milestone this week.  The blog turned 1/2 year old.

It’s been 9 months since I retired from my IT career and decided to launch a DIY/lifestyle blog.  Www.FanningSparks.com was launched on March 20, 2018.  Many of you, my family, friends and former colleagues, have taken the time to visit the blog and engage through comments, likes, or subscriptions.  Thank you SO MUCH for your support!  It’s still early days in blogosphere terms and FanningSparks is slowly, but surely, building a following.  I’m often asked how the blog is progressing so I decided to celebrate this milestone by sharing a few behind-the-scenes highlights with you.

FanningSparks Blog Content Categories

The FanningSparks social presence is primarily a website blog with multiple supporting channels.  I publish a new post, with original story and photos, every Tuesday here at www.FanningSparks.com.   FanningSparks is about making and decorating from inspiration to creation to sharing.  Inspiration comes from everywhere but I have settled into 3 primary sources:  Traditional arts and crafts (aka Making by Others), Nature and Travel.  Here’s the lay of the land: 4 content categories including Travel, Decorate, Nature and Make.
FanningSparks Category Index Pages. @FanningSparks

 

I’ve published 30 posts with original stories and photos.  Photography is a big part of FanningSparks and nearly all the photos I share are my own work.  I’ve loved photography since I was a teenager and I’ve amassed a sizable inventory of photos over the years.  The blog gives me a reason to get creative with my camera and it provides a venue to share my best work.  The blog has served up approximately 3,100 unique page views since launch with approximately 250 unique readers visiting every month.

Let’s look at some example posts to give you a taste of what you can expect to find on the blog.

Nature   Two of my favorite posts about Nature are:
Color Palette by Mother Nature
Soft shades of the autumn fern in spring. @FanningSparks

Patterns by Mother Nature
Distinctive Zebra Checks Us Out. Sighted during African Safari. @FanningSparks

Travel   Two posts about travel include:
Majestic Lovable Elephants

Young male elephants sparring in the water @FanningSparks

First Light at Peggy’s Cove
Peggys Point Lighthouse during magic hour before sunrise. @FanningSparks

Make   The majority of my posts fall into the Make category.  The subject could be arts and crafts made by others, such as…
A School for Makers

Alabama Chanin School of Making - Magdalena Corset DIY Kit @FanningSparks

… or it could be traditional arts and crafts that have inspired me, such as…
Re-imagining the Cross Stitch
Cross stitched roses on vintage dresser scarf @FanningSparks

… or it could be things I’ve made myself, such as…
DIY Woven Statement Necklace Tutorial

DIY Woven Statement Necklace tutorial @FanningSparks

The Ultimate Maker’s Cabinet
The ultimate Maker's Cabinet with lots of display and storage space. @FanningSparks

DIY Pyramid Trellis Tutorial

DIY Pyramid Trellis Tutorial by FanningSparks. @FanningSparks

Decorate   Recent posts about home décor include:
A Before Tour of Our New Casual Lake House
Enjoying sunrise from the dock. @FanningSparks

Glide It On and 14 More Painting Tips

Glide It On and 14 more tips for painting walls and cabinets. @FanningSparks

FanningSparks Social Media Channels

The FanningSparks Instagram account has proven to be a great way to announce posts and share photos with a broader audience.

Instagram has brought in the most new followers and provided some great exposure.  I was thrilled when my recent post on Joy Spotting was featured in author and TED speaker Ingrid Fetell Lee’s Insta story.

Joy Spotting Post Shout Out. @FanningSparks

 

Pinterest, the visual search engine beloved by the DIY community, is another critical channel.   FanningSparks has 9 boards with over 650 original and curated pins.  According to the mysterious Pinterest algorithms, an average of 7.5K viewers/month see FanningSparks’ pins.

FanningSparks on Pinterest. @FanningSparks

The FanningSparks Facebook page has become a great way to share original content with relevant organizations, small businesses, and like-minded Facebook groups.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the amount of activity in Facebook.

Two other channels, email notification signups via the blog and the Bloglovin blog reading service have small, loyal followings.

 

Creating and publishing FanningSparks has been a great experience.  I’m learning something new every day.  But the best part of all has been connecting with kindred spirits whether its meeting an artisan, a shop owner or a fellow workshop participant.  Occasionally I’ll hear from a reader directly.  One of my favorite reactions was this one: “You gave me an idea.  I too have a cabinet I can convert.  OMG I’m so excited now.  Have a wonderful organized day.”.

I’ll wrap up by re-sharing my original launch invitation and inviting you to join in.

Formal invitation to join the fun at the FanningSparks blog launch

Cheers,

Peg - FanningSparks Author


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