Well, here it is... my one and only blog post for the month of April. If you're on the edge of your seat wondering where I've been... here's the scoop.
I made the tough decision to wind down on jewelry making. The business is growing and I just can't give it the love, attention and sweat it deserves. Plus, my fingers are already full of arthritis. It's been a fun and creative learning experience. Now, I have first-hand experience of the ins and outs of running a business and I will use that knowledge in everything I do. I decided to close with a bang and offer a 40% off sale for all of my remaining stock. That's kept me quite busy.
In other news, I've accepted a new full-time position with an awesome email marketing software company near Lancaster, PA. While it's sad to leave people that I've worked with for almost 5 years, I'm very excited for this next chapter. As you can imagine, this transition has also been a huge focus of my time this month. I'll be living out of a suitcase in May and moving into a new place out there in June. Catch ya on the flip side, Pittsburgh.
I'm not one to make excuses, but sometimes you just have to know where to focus your time and unfortunately, the blog wasn't it this month for me! I'll be back at it soon. For now, here's a round-up of awesome links from around the web this month!
1 // How to Get More Engagement on Social Media (Without Being Pushy)
"There will be some businesses obtaining remarkable results with social media and there will be some achieving tepid results, if any. So what separates the successful businesses from the not-so-successful? It’s engagement. If you can’t get people to engage with you on social media, you won’t be able to benefit from all that social media has to offer." - Neil Patel
2 // 16 Ways to Turn Customers into Brand Advocates
"Competition for business in today’s ultra-connected, global world is fierce. Each day, fresh ideas are formed and new companies are launched, and yet – 90% of startups fail. Needless to say (or you wouldn’t be here), you want to be in the 10% that succeed. One way to do that is to focus on more than just gaining customers. Instead, you need to identify ways to turn some of those customers into brand advocates." - Sujan Patel
3 // How to Find the Confidence to Be an Entrepreneur
"So how do we build the confidence we need to be successful entrepreneurs? By answering the life-defining question for yourself: Who do you think you are?" - Brit & Co, Levo League
4 // Your Website Is Way Too Confusing: Simplify Your Website With The KISS Rule
"It’s easy to make a confusing website. It’s hard to make a simple website. The things that we create — websites, user interfaces, business plans, articles — are the product of our minds. How we think impacts how our product looks, feels, and functions. When making a website, things can get dicey. So many different groups are providing their input, making requests, asking for changes, insisting on features, and making the whole thing pretty darn complicated. By the time the website gets to the end user, the website a hopeless, confusing mess. It’s time to change all of that." - Kissmetrics
5 // Does the length of your blog posts matter?
"Does the length of your blog posts really matter? Well, it depends on who you ask. Bloggers, especially those in the content marketing realm, have differing views on the subject. Some will tell you that length doesn’t matter as long as you’re providing valuable content. Others will tell you that your post has to be at least 3000+ words in length. But if you’re asking me, I will tell you time and time again that when it comes to blog posts, length does matter." - Lauren Hooker, Elle & Co
6 // The Ultimate Guide To Creating A Cohesive Instagram Feed
"Instagram is growing more and more every day. It is the most powerful social media platform to engage directly with your audience so I want to show you how to do it up right. You can have pretty photos for days on Instagram, but if there isn’t a cohesive theme it can get overlooked by potential clients and customers. I know you don’t want that." - Jessica Safko, Love Plus Color
7 // Girl Boss Playlist
Get busy with this playlist from Studio DIY!
