Business, Blogging
Lauren Hooker
40 Ways to Use Adobe Illustrator to Improve ...

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.

40 Ways to Use Adobe Illustrator to Improve Your Blog and Business
Blogging, Business, Branding, Design
Lauren Hooker
How to Create Eye-Catching Blog Post Graphics

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?

How to Create Eye-Catching Blog Post Graphics
Business, Visual Marketing
Lauren Hooker
40 Easy, Engaging Video Content Ideas for Your ...

“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.

40 Easy, Engaging Video Content Ideas for Your Creative Business
Business, Visual Marketing
Lauren Hooker
Why You Should Be Using Infographics for Your ...

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.

Why You Should Be Using Infographics for Your Business (And How to Create Them)
Blogging
Lauren Hooker
How to Create Catchy Headlines

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. 

How to Create Catchy Headlines

New Brand + Website Design for Lori Hedrick Photography

New Brand + Website Design for Lori Hedrick Photography

Before my 2-week design process begins, I have each of my design clients fill out a series of questionnaires about their brand, process, and website. One of my favorite, most telling questions seems so simple, but I refer to their thoughtful responses throughout the entire design process. What are 10 adjectives that best describe your brand?

Lori Hedrick described hers as real, close, caring, happy, familiar, easy, rich, and true. I'm excited to show you how those seemingly simple words have played out into Lori's beautiful new brand and website! 

How I Landed 2 Job Offers in 1 Day

How I Landed 2 Job Offers in 1 Day

A few months months ago, Jake started encouraging me to up my game on LinkedIn because of it's power for marketing and networking. Truthfully, I didn't understand much about the social network and underestimated it's usefulness... until I received these 2 messages from LinkedIn within hours of each other:

"I actually came across your LinkedIn profile as I'm looking for a Web Designer to fill a permanent position with one of my clients. Wasn't sure if you might be interested? Look forward to hearing from you! Thanks, L"

"Hi Lauren! I hope this finds you well. I would like to speak with you about a Visual Design position with Lowe's Home Improvement. Would you be interested? Please let me know! Thanks! Alexandra"

8 of My Biggest Business Struggles (And How I've Overcome Them)

8 of My Biggest Business Struggles (And How I've Overcome Them)

A week or two ago I wrote a post on 5 of my greatest design challenges, and I was sweetly surprised by the response I received from readers. It’s nice to know that my struggles are relatable, and I loved reading through the feedback from all of you.

This week I thought it would be fun to share a similar post on a different topic: business. If you’re an entrepreneur and creative business person, I have a feeling that you can probably relate to a handful (if not all) of these, too.

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What Caused My Biggest Business Fail (And An Update On Our 100k Goal)

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What Caused My Biggest Business Fail (And An Update On Our 100k Goal)

If there's one thing I've learned these past few months about business, it's that strategy is fundamental to growth.

When I first started Elle & Company, I was a 23-year old graphic designer who aspired to work full-time for myself. Even though I grew up in an entrepreneurial household, my dad's business venture and mine are very different. I didn't know the first thing about pricing, taxes, and marketing, and I was convinced that the passion I had for design would be enough. I saw many other women starting creative businesses with some success, and I found myself looking to them for how I should be running my business.

I had no business plan, no goals, no strategy. So inevitably, I failed miserably. 

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To Leslie: 3 Reasons Why We Focus More on Site Traffic Than Our Email List

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To Leslie: 3 Reasons Why We Focus More on Site Traffic Than Our Email List

In the past couple weeks, several people have reached out to me with the same question I received from Leslie a couple days ago:

Hi Lauren, You may have addressed this in a post already, but is it your priority to increase the traffic on your site versus building your email list? If you've talked about this before... please point me to it. Love your work and wisdom! - Leslie

First, thank you Leslie! This is a great question, especially since many successful business owners and bloggers are stressing both the importance of increasing web traffic and building an email list. And while both of them are extremely important, you're correct in noticing that for Elle & Company, we put more time and effort into growing our blog audience. Here's 3 reasons why.