Guest Post by ITB Blogger Mafia Member Daria
Sometimes blogging is like losing weight. You know what you are supposed to do, it’s the actual doing of it that’s hard. For instance, I knew I needed to create an opt-in that supports the main theme of my blog — organizing. I even have loads of forms that I use in the running of my own household and life. Raw material, folks!
But wow. Just look at all the amazing free organizing printables out there. I was too intimidated to put my hat in the ring. So I created a cleaning checklist, because I do occasionally blog about green cleaning. Crickets. Then I was approached by the quirky, wise woman behind Grace and Sass to collaborate — somehow. I broached the idea of a gratitude journal since this was close to Thanksgiving. The result is a beautiful 7-day kickstarter gratitude journal with prompts for many of the various areas of our lives — health, family, etc., complete with beautiful pictures and scripture. No crickets, but not as much response as I was hoping for.
And yet I complain about why my email list isn’t growing. It was staring me straight in the face, whispering to me in the wee hours of the night: you need an organization printable. I could ignore it no longer. So I gathered my “what the hell do I have to lose” attitude and launched in with Canva. Their multitude of free templates makes creating beautiful printables a breeze. Using my branded colors and fonts lets followers know it’s me, Daria of Your Organized Life. I was actually having fun creating this printable I had been so afraid of.
I feverishly typed at my laptop and felt… “nah, this isn’t quite it.” I asked a few women to provide their honest reactions to my printable. These volunteers are women from a Facebook group I belong to that not only comprises other bloggers but other creative women as well — painters, poets, and songwriters. (This group is the brainchild of two super cool women I follow-Daniela Uslan of DanielaUslan.com and Brenda Peregrine of Forestnorthbooks.com) The thoughtful suggestions of my beta testers* sparked a creative rush. The result? A new opt-in called “The Ultimate Calendar Guide” I am proud to call my own.
The Ultimate Calendar Guide includes 11 pages of worksheets and tips about how to schedule the "how to's" in your life, transfer them to your calendar, and get a truly accurate picture of just how much you are doing. It hasn’t been put out into the world yet so I don’t yet know how successful it will be in terms of building my email list. {Ed. Note: It is out now!}
The takeaway? I got over my fears of competing with other awesome bloggers and dove right in. I’m counting it as a success because I feel that through the use of Canva and the gracious help of women on the web, I am no longer afraid to create my own organizing printables. My hat is in the ring!
Daria Harvey
*Many thanks to my beta testers Sarah of Knit a Bit of Whimsy, Jonelle of thetyrannyofpink.com, and Jolene of createpraylove.com