Those nutters at Top Left Design never shut up about blogging, do they? Blog this, blog that, guess what I blogged last night, we should blog about that, and all the rest... Don't worry, we haven't gone mad. We're just crazy about blogging, and we're here to explain why you should be too!

A good blog on your website can ensure that your website is constantly 'current', and lets visitors know that your company likes to keep track of what is happening in your particular niche. Not only does it broadcast your company's motivation to keep its online presence in the here and now, but blogs are also a fantastic outlet for you to share relevant information to your industry, gain valuable feedback, and discuss topics that are on the forefront of your businesses' interests.

Read on to see some great examples of blogs, blog posts, and how you can improve your presence online, by attending one of our famous blogging seminars!

In This Issue:

Tuesday the 29th - Blogging Seminar!
Types of blog posts
Tina's blog
Guest blog for TLD!
Recently launched
Women in Banking and Finance
And finally...

If you missed our last sell-out blogging education seminar, then good news! You can book into our blogging seminar, which is being held next Tuesday, March 29th from 12pm to 5pm. Lunch will be served so you don't have to worry about bringing food! But we will be encouranging people to bring laptops so we can get them trying their hand at some of the blogging tools there and then. Since our last seminar, we have had our course CPD Certified and we have had some really fantastic feedback on our recent seminars on Blogging and Social Media for business.

So if you would like to come along, and learn the secrets to a successful blog, be sure to book now before tickets are all gone! In fact, we're not sure what went quicker last time, the tickets, or Tamlyn's homemade branded cupcakes!

Come join us at our next seminar!

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A blog post doesn't have to be a specific length - it can be a short anecdote, or a lengthy social commentary - but variation is the key to a successful blog, and to keeping an attentive readership. Take the 2 examples below; Michael, who works here at Top Left Design, has written both a short, succinct blog post, and also a lengthy article.

This post, titled "Happy Holi - A Colourful Celebration", is a good example of a short blog post. It took no more than 30 minutes to create, from inception to being posted on our website. As you can see, there is not a huge amount of text, but it is relevant to our industry, and makes use of images and embedded YouTube videos to add weight to the post.

Whereas the post titled "The last time I used a CD was to scrape ice off my car windscreen" (thanks Tony Sanchez for your brilliant headline via Twitter) is an example of a much longer post, and took a little bit longer to put together. Michael had been playing with ideas in his head before he began writing this post, and once these ideas had developed, they were put down on paper - or screen as the case may be!

So now you have seen the 2 extremes, you should have a good idea of what to aim for! Vary the length of your posts and the type of posts, and develop ideas while you are out and about - keep a notepad with you to jot down ideas, or even make notes on your phone to remind you of things to write about! Whatever method you choose, you will find that inspiration can come from the most unlikely places, so as the scouts say, "Always be prepared"...

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Tina's illustration blog is the creative outlet for our very own Tina, here at Top Left Design. She uses her blog to tell her readers about any new illustration work she creates, and also her thoughts and impressions about creative things she stumbles upon out and about or online. Tina likes to call it her 'scrap book of visual ideas, thoughts, things she likes and much more'!

Each post has images associated with it as Tina wants to keep the page very visual. Tina says it is very important that the images are sized correctly and styled in the same fashion as the rest of her website. She also categorises all her blog posts, so that a visitor can easily see the subjects she writes about, and where they can find more of the same kind of post.

Have a gander at Tina's blog here: www.tinawebsterillustration.com/blog

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Do you have something on your mind that you want to communicate to others? Or maybe you just want to try your hand at blogging, before making the decision to start your own blog? In the past, we have had "guest posts" on our blog, from authors in different industries such as search engine optimisation or social media and networking.

If you fancy having a go, just drop us an email and we can point you in the right direction! To get you on the right path, have a look at this blog post by Tamlyn, which contains The Golden Rules Of Blogging. Or how about this post that lets you know Types of Blog Post That Make Blogging Easy!

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I am sure you have been eagerly awaiting our latest launch update - so without further ado - here are four sites we launched recently!

PDD

Pulse is the blog of product and service design innovation consultancy PDD. We designed PDD a blog that they can share their inspirations, passions and observations. Their blog is image-lead and we integrated a clever pop up script that shows text from the blog post when you run over the image with your mouse. This means that we only show images in the main blog page. The blog also calls up similar articles so that the reader can see which other posts have been written in the same category.

Visit the PDD blog

Flutterfly Events

Flutterfly Events is an American wedding planning company in London, run by Erika Unbehaun, that puts luxury, elegance and sophistication into everyday practice. Being a wedding planner's website we needed to bring this sophistication and elegance into the design so that people could see straight away what kind of service to expect. Keeping within a colour theme of muted ivories and browns, we designed a website that portays the luxury of the industry as well as the quality of the service offered. A gallery gives a glimpse into the wonderful world of weddings, as well as a blog which Erika keeps regularly updated with stories, tips and wedding trends.

Visit the Flutterfly Events site

Carmen Bar de Tapas

Carmen Bar de Tapas is a fantastic little tapas restaurant based in the heart of Clapham, South London. The client wanted a redesign of their old site and it was very important that we gave the site a rustic, Spanish feel while capturing the atmosphere of the bustling restaurant. The site includes an image slider and also has a gallery which allows the client to showcase Carmen's food, atmosphere and restaurant itself.

Visit the Carmen Bar de Tapas site

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On Tuesday the 29th of March (on the same day as our blogging seminar!), Keren will be giving a talk to the Women in Banking and Finance at 6:30pm in the evening - if you would like to come along and learn "9 things you may not have realised about LinkedIn", then have a quick look at the event page - (PS: It's free, and there's free wine if you get there early!)

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So that rounds up another edition of TLD News! We hope you enjoyed this issue - if you didn't let us know why! Or just let us know what you'd like to see more of (or less of!)

PS: Unicorns are awesome.