Adobe Illustrator is my go-to software for anything and everything design-related. It's the one program I truly couldn't work without.
And while it's easy to assume that the program's primary focus is illustration based on the name, there is so much more to this design software.
With tools for type, color, photo cropping, image tracing, drawing, and much more, it has innumerable benefits for bloggers and business owners, alike.
To get your creative gears turning, here's a look at 40 ways Adobe Illustrator can take your blog and/or business to the next level.
First impressions are crucial, especially in business.
Potential customers and clients make judgments about your business within the first few seconds of coming into contact with it, whether it’s through your website, your social media accounts, or a simple blog post graphic.
And those initial thoughts - whether they’re spot on or far off from what you want them to be - are within your control. You have the opportunity to make a killer first impression through high-quality, branded visuals.
If your blog is a large part of your business or you’re hoping to drive more traffic back to your site through your blog, you have to have eye-catching blog graphics to not only generate a positive first impression, but to encourage readers to share your posts on sites like Pinterest and be seen by an even wider audience.
So how do you create eye-catching blog post graphics? And better yet, how can you set them apart so they’ll stand out from the rest and be recognized time and time again?
“When I discovered YouTube, I didn’t work for 5 days.” - Michael Scott
Video platforms like YouTube (and more recently, Periscope) are easily the world’s greatest time-wasters. We’ve all been guilty of losing track of time on YouTube at least once, because videos are easily consumable, very addicting, and highly entertaining.
As a matter of fact, studies show that a whopping 78% of us watch videos online every week and 55% watch videos online every day.
Which is why Youtube is also the world’s greatest overnight-success-maker. If you’re on the production-side of a video and you’ve come up with a clever idea, you might just have a viral hit on your hands.
Video holds a lot of potential for interaction, engagement, and shares for creative businesses. And for that reason, it’s one of the best visual marketing tools you can use.
But it producing videos can be a little overwhelming, can’t it? Even with helpful video tools out there like Animoto, many of us struggle to come up with simple ideas for video content that would appeal to our audience.
And that’s where this post comes in. I’ve rounded up 40 easy, engaging video content ideas to help get your creative gears turning. My hope is that you’ll find a few ideas to implement and as a result, bring your business more exposure.
If you’re looking for a good way to kill at least an hour of your time, type in the word “infographic” in the Pinterest search bar.
Thousands of clever graphics will pop up on everything from “how to make a salad taste awesome” to a baby’s first year in a review. There’s even an infographic that answers the pressing question, “Is your dog sleeping a little too much?”
Then, after you’ve admired the genius creativity behind them, take a gander at how many repins and likes each of those infographics receives. Thousands upon thousands.
In fact, infographic volumes have increased by over 800% in 2 years. Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t.
What is it about infographics that makes them so appealing? And better yet, how can you come up with some clever infographics for your business so it gains more exposure through likes and shares?
I have all the answers for you in this post.
Is your headline the first thing you consider when you sit down to write a post?
Probably not, but creating a catchy blog post title is one of the most important aspects of each blog post. It's the gateway to your content; it convinces people to click or scroll right past your latest post'.
In fact, studies show that 8 out of 10 people will read your headline but only 2 out of 10 will read your entire post.
Here are a few pointers for drawing in potential readers and a couple "templates" to help you create a catchy headline for your upcoming posts.
Whew! It's been a whirlwind of a summer. Between vacations, unexpected events, and moving, I’m happy to put summer behind me and welcome fall.
But the weather isn’t the only thing changing around here.
After a brief hiatus, Ellechat is back and better than ever!
You’ve heard rumblings about it all summer and it’s finally happening. Ellechat relaunched last Thursday and we brought a podcast version along with it!
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin
When you think about the client process, images of drafts, revisions, and the finished product may come to mind.
And while those are crucial components, there are a lot of steps that need to happen before the client process begins in order for things to run smoothly.
I’ve found that the onboarding process sets the stage for the rest of the client project. How you handle inquiries, meetings, contracts, and invoices can make or break the entire process; it sets a precedent.
So today I’m inviting you inside of my client onboarding process that’s been tweaked over these last three years.
My hope is that while you may not follow it to a T, you might walk away with a step or two that helps make your client process run smoother.
There’s always more going on behind the scenes than meets the eye.
And while I’m pretty transparent when it comes to sharing my business systems and strategies, there are several things that have gone unshared on this blog.
It isn’t that I’ve been purposely keeping them from you; they just don’t often come up in conversation.
So I thought it would be fun to switch things up in today’s post and share 10 things you probably didn’t know about Elle & Company.
Whether you’ve been following along with this space for years or you’ve just stumbled upon it in the last week, you might find some of these surprising!
Have you ever been designing for a client when a sticky situation pops up?
Maybe they continue to ask for more revisions than you originally planned for.
Or they don’t provide enough information for the pages of their website.
Or they don’t have photos that compliment your designs.
How do you handle these situations?
Over the past 3 years, I’ve run into numerous unique challenges while working with clients, and I often figured them out through a series of trial and error.
But to spare you the trouble of having to figure things out all on your own, I’ve rounded up 14 tricky questions from my Freelance Academy course Q+A’s and I’m sharing the answers with you in today’s post.
Call me crazy, but I’ve always looked forward to the “back to school” season at the end of August.
While it usually means that summer’s coming to a close, it also means there’s a fresh new season on the horizon. A “second New Year,” of sorts.
Because I don’t know about you, but summer is usually a lot crazier than I expect it to be.
A couple vacations, a couple bouts of car trouble, and a big move has kicked me out of my normal work week routine, and I’m longing for routine and consistency.
Surely I’m not the only one!
In an effort to get back on track, I rounded up my favorite tips and strategies for scheduling your workday, staying on task, and setting better boundaries to maintain a realistic work/life balance.
If you’re hoping for a fresh start to your business this fall, this post is for you.
