Last but not least

The course has been completed and much new has come to be learned. I've got to work with people of great size and get to know new international students. This course has been the best of all. My english skills has developed and. Lecturers have been different and from real businesses, so listening has been meaningful. I am really satisfied and below I have listed the most pressing topics on the course.

Blogging

This course main focus was writing a blog every week what we had learn from lectures. Our digicoach Sakari Kuosmanen told us basics about blogging. Also main teacher of the course, Anna Ikonen gaves us ideas for blogging.There are so many different reasons why to blog. Doing it for business can help to learn some extra money or writing just for fun and gain followers. During the course I got really inspired and excited towards blogging so I ended up with publishing my personal blog. And I couldn’t be any happier that I have really learned and advanced how to blog and attract my audience. For me writing from my passion comes naturally and is more enjoyful for me when I can share my lifestyle and healthy habits with my audience. Its more than opportunity. I think is a option to get my voice heard as well. One thing I never thought about how much time it takes to write and make the blog post look good with pictures and links. It takes easily many hours. So every day I try to do some little backround work, think about what is my next topic and what to write about. Otherwise time flies and I notice I haven’t write my blog for a week. And that’s not good way. Better keep the blog active I think. Writing about things I see important and meaningful makes me happy. Doing something I love is called happiness. So I will stay on this road and improve my skills as a blogger.

So far my favourite application I’ve learned from Anna was canva app for modifying photos and make some nice layouts. I love shooting and edit pictures with nice filters and extra figures. The canva app is so easy to use and helpful tool for making pictures even better.

Then there is also Hotjar, which I haven’t try yet, because my website shows me details about my blog visitors. But hotjar is also usefull digital tools which tells you how visitors using your website. So well needed information to develop the webpage.

For making some infographics to create visuality content there is venngage. Right now im using it first time and I can choose ready-made layouts for customize different colors and write my own texts. I can also use the complete sets. Have a look my infographic on the right side up. I think I will use this content for my blog. This seems really good and easy to use. You do not have to spend too much time learning, but you can start doing right away.

Personal branding

Making and writing blog includes more than just managing different programs. One of the most important topics related to blogging is also a personal branding. How well you behave, what you say public and who you are as a person makes others have an opinion about you. Your brand should be a reflection of who you are. The brand is how other people see you and you can influence your own image. For example im blogging about sport because that is how I live and also want my audience to see me as a athlete young woman. I decided to make my blog page using my full name so people can easily connect with me and find out who I am. I have build a platform to share my life with others.

However, strong self-knowledge is the starting point. People with strong brands are clear about who they are. Being your best self, and using your gifts andstrengths in a way that creates a satisfying life, for you and those that matter to you, is the culmination of living life

on purpose. We must identify unique skills, strengths, and talents. It leads us to find our truly self. If you’re able to pursue activities and interests that are in line with your values and what’s important to you at a core level, you will be less stressed. There’s nothing more powerful than aligning who you are with what you do and how you do it and spending your time on pursuits that have

meaning. Delivering your brand clearly and consistently will createa memorable experience in the minds of those you interact with and can open doors to new opportunities.

Making web pages

One topic on the course was learning to make a good user-friendly web pages. There are many different platforms for making webpages for free. But I have choose to use wordpress.com for my personal blog. Its simply and easy to use and also has layouts with colours to pick and change it your own way. It is an excellent choice for web pages, especially for their ease of use, as anyone without the greatest technical skills like me can upgrade WordPress web pages. I'm bad with technology, but with wordpress I can see myself developing with my skills. Making regular updates is as easy as using a text processing program. I'm still really starting with my blog and focus on creating a clear content.

Prior to the creation of websites, it is important to consider what is the main reason and for whom the information might interest. In fact, I've made my own blog with my own name so I can brand myself a bit. My main concern is to provide ideas for sports and motivate myself to workout more. So I'm writing for myself but also for others by offering sports-related content. The most important thing is that the web page has some meaningful content that interests other people.

So before the web pages begin to pile up, some content should be invented for the pages. It is important to create visually high quality content, but I think the greatest weight is in writing and the hole theme. The reader is much easier to read and understand if the text is rationally divided into paragraps. If the subject is dull or the publication is difficult to read, the reader might get lost. Personally, I focus on clear writing and I try to stay in the topic and add appropriate pictures and videos, so the visuals are also taken into account.

It is time to thank you all who participated. I would like to thank our wonderful teacher, Anna Ikonen and my own digital coach, Sakari Jokinen, from whom I got a lot of tips and support during the course. This spring has been memorable and it is time to continue the journey. Learning never ends. Wonderful spring to everyone! You can still follow my blogging life easily on mariakarkkainen.com

See you there!

Maria