I don't know about you, but Instagram is my happy place (at least when it comes to my phone). I have really taken time these past few weeks to focus on Insta and put lots of effort into making it the best it can be!

Put Your Bio to Good Use

You want to make sure you are telling your audience what you do, how to contact you, a fun hashtag to use that you can track & a call to action for your link. For example this is my bio at the moment. I like to switch up my call to action every so often to see what gets the most clicks. You want to make sure your bio is clear, fun and leads your audience to where you want them to go.

Have A Theme

I heard this for the longest time and waited on it because I didn't know which direction to go in. You know it was bad when your sister is even saying "Sis, you really need a theme." I finally decided on a theme after I rebranded my business as I felt it fit and inspired me. So many people ask me how I did my current theme and it is so simple. I just do a custom quote I designed every other picture and it turns out like this! A theme can be a signature custom graphic, stock photos, a filter, or white background. I have to say I am really proud of my theme and can't stop looking at it (Am I the only one obsessed with pink and gold?)

Have A Consistent Color Palette

I always recommend having a color palette that has something to do with your branding so it is recognizable and looks seamless. You want all of your photos to look like they go together so having a theme plus a nice color palette is important.

Put Time & Effort Into Your Photos

This is probably a given but it is true. To have a successful Instagram you need to put out good quality photos and really put some time and effort into crafting them to make sure they go well with each other. You don't want to have blurry photos or really dark photos. Look at your Instagram from your ideal audiences eyes, would they like it? What would they want to see?

Showcase Your Services or Products

You want to make sure you are monetizing your social media platforms and showcasing your items to their full potential! In your Insta photos make sure in the description you use a call to action either leading people to your bio link or asking to comment or go to your website. Be creative with showcasing your biz, make it fun!

Share The Love

This is something new I have been enjoying doing. I share other fabulous females photos that go along with my theme and color palette (of course giving them credit) and saying something nice about their feed. This allows them to get some new traffic and who doesn't like sharing the love?

Comment & Like

Every morning and evening, I set time aside to work on my Insta comment and like game a bit. I scroll through my feed and like and comment on any pictures I like (leaving a NICE comment, positivity people!) After that I will scroll through some relevant hashtags in my niche and like and comment on those photos. Doing this and really connecting with my audience has increased engagement by a ton!

Use Relevant Hashtags

This one goes hand in hand with the one above. You want to use relevant hashtags that your ideal audience use and browse through on your photos. You can use however many you want, I use about 29 in a comment below the description. Copy and pasting is a beautiful thing ;) I put all the hashtags into notes on my phone and then copy them in when I post a photo!

After using these strategies on my Instagram for the past few weeks I have seen an increase in engagement, follows, comments, likes and I have enjoyed connecting with so many of you and making new friends!

What are some of your Instagram tips?

Are we friends on Instagram yet? If not, click here!

I can't tell you how many newsletters I have received and no where in the email are pictures, a logo or even a business name. This is usually when I unsubscribe. In order for people to take your business seriously, you have to take it seriously and make it the best it can be. You want to make your business known, show your face, have your logo involved and create that brand recognition your audience wants from you. Getting someones email is gold, you want to nurture it and make sure you are providing great value to it!

Odds are your audience is subscribed to multiple newsletters. Most of whom have killer branding and awesome content. By just having plain text you are putting yourself at a major disadvantage, they won't remember you and will most likely unsubscribe. These days, visual content is king so you want to stand out and really wow your subscribers.

Here are some designs to include:

Logo

Your logo is numero uno on the must haves list. This is key in creating brand awareness and having your audience know who's newsletter this is. Your logo is a representation of your brand, use the heck out it!

Newsletter Banner

These are great to let people know what the newsletter is about. Many people call their newsletter something other than a newsletter which is refreshing. I call mine the Boss Babes Lounge, so I incorporated that into the banner.

Graphics

Whether you are linking to a blog post, your services, an article, etc, you want to create visually appealing graphics to get your audiences attention to click on it. These are great to include after the content you write as a call to action!

Social Media Icons

Last but definitely not least would be those infamous social media icons. I usually include these at the bottom so my audience can keep up with me on my different socials. This is also a great call to action at the bottom of your email. You can even custom create these to match your branding!