Teach.Mom.Repeat has a whole new look! After one year of blogging, we have decided to take Teach.Mom.Repeat to the next level. In order to do this a rebrand was in order.
This isn’t normally a topic I write about, and I don’t have plans to start blogging about how to blog. However, I have found that blogging in the classroom is a total package writing curriculum. Which I why I’d like to share the blogging education I’ve gotten in this past year. I’ll share how a lot of these things are now part of my classroom blogging curriculum and the Blogging with Students course that launched in Septemeber 2017.
I also wanted to share all the new style pieces that went into Teach.Mom.Repeat’s new look through a giveaway. At the end of this post, you’ll find details for entering. But don’t just scroll to the bottom! If you want to see what will be included in the Blogging with Students course read about how I have given this blog a major overhaul.
Why Rebrand?
When I first started this blog last summer I thought I had done my research. Wrong! There is so much more to blogging than choosing a platform, theme, and niche. Beware the posts that tell you it’s possible to start a blog in 10 minutes or less. It may be true that a blog can be up and running in 10 minutes, but it’s not accurate if you have actual blogging goals.
At first, I was really only looking for a creative outlet, but then I started to realize the cost involved in starting my new creative endeavor. Hosting, themes, logos, stock images, courses, fonts, email services, just to list a few. Once I invested some money I started to realize I’m going to need to monetize this blog to recoup my cost. To do this well it takes more money and a better-looking blog. Hence the rebrand.
How to Rebrand?
Start with your color scheme.
Once I had learned more of the ins and outs of WordPress I started to discover how I could manipulate my theme. All without the knowledge of code talk. Picking 3 to 4 colors that will unit your blog is important. This will drive the way you create featured images and other essential photographs, like a profile picture. Teaching kids to do the same with their blogs will help them get a taste of graphic design elements. It’s also a great way to bring art into the classroom.
Photographs that represent your style.
My next objective was to style myself for photographs. My mom introduced me to two locally owned businesses run by moms just like me, who sell handmade jewelry and clothing. Willow Elizabeth jewelry can be seen in my profile photo and other stock pictures scattered on the site. My favorite purple tee from Unsalted Boutique with the perfect TeacherMom saying, “Kind words cost nothing” can be seen in several featured images.
Luckily my husband is a professional photographer and agreed to take new photos of me. Professional photos are important. If you want readers to take you seriously a beautifully edited photo helps. Anyone who has seen a beautifully crafted Instagram account knows how important edited and color coordinated photographs are to a brand.
If you want to start a serious blog hire a photographer to take headshots of you for the profile picture. Make sure it represents what you blog about and your style. Have them also take a few shots that you can use for featured images and Pinterest images. I’ll come back to Pinterest later. When readers see your face they feel connected to you as a person.
Translating this into the classroom can get tricky with safety issues. That’s why I teach kids how to make their own cartoon avatars like Bitmoji. Most of them are already familiar with this concept and have their own to add so it’s a fast lesson.
Logos and headers and images
Changing my logo was actually my husband’s idea. He had created the first one for me, pretty quickly without much intentionality. We have a friend who works in the graphic design business and does beautiful hand lettering. As a gift to me, my husband commisioned her for a new logo. I love that she captured every aspect of what Teach.Mom.Repeat. represents. A nearly empty pencil jar for my classroom, a dinosaur for my son and a teddy bear for my daughter.
Having a logo with specific fonts help to unify the website. I discovered a fantastic website that allows me to use free templates to add featured images and Pinterest images. Canva is a design site that is so easy to use, I will also teach students to use it for their blogging image needs. There are also great ways to use Canva for teaching resources, like my text structure notes and graphic organizers. The printable teacher planner pages I designed using Canva and continue to create new color schemes.
Make money blogging
The more I educated myself on this blogging adventure the more I learned how it is possible to make this a new income. In the past, my husband and I have brought in extra income through coaching. However, it’s hard to dedicate time after school for practices and games when you have small children. I also tried direct sales, but again there is more time out of the house after school hours. Blogging allows me to use nap times and evenings giving me the freedom to be with my family more. It has also helped me to connect with so many other educators and moms around the world.
To truly make money with a blog there is a lot of preparation and goal setting that needs to take place. Teaching this to my students will help them see how online businesses are career opportunities. Along with all the other careers associated with blogging, for example, the tech people I have talked with when I need help fixing a problem. There are countless businesses that utilize blogging on their websites which means blogging doesn’t have to just be a self-made business.
Teaching students email etiquette will serve them later in their careers and possibly make them more marketable. Click To TweetTeaching students email etiquette will serve them later in their careers and possibly make them more marketable. Along with the lessons in design and using the WordPress platform, it all could benefit a student who needs to have some prior knowledge of these things to enter the ever-growing technology fields.
What’s next?
As I mentioned in the beginning, I’ll be launching a course for teachers to use blogging in their classrooms as a writing program. The intention is not just for the ELA classroom. I hope that the lessons on writing informational and argumentative formats will serve any subject area. While this course will be geared towards the upper elementary, middle and high school grades there are plans to collaborate with lower grade levels for a future course.
Once school starts I will be launching a Make Over Your Mornings email challenge. I know the first few weeks of school are always high adrenaline and I don’t have trouble waking to my alarm. But once the routine settles in I start to create bad habits like pressing the snooze button. If you want to join us in creating more productive morning routines, whatever that looks like for you, then sign up below.
There is also a fun series on Instant Pot recipes coming this winter. If you’ve been following me for a while now you know how much I love my new Instant Pot! There will, of course, be updates on all the blogging lessons and our new reading rotation schedule.
Thank you for sticking with me and joining me on this blogging journey. If you’d like to continue to hear more AND be entered into our style giveaway sign up to receive emails below.
