The original Lincolnshire Blogger (AKA Martin Thomas, ‘Simply Fit’) came to prominence in January 2011 (with the Lincolnshire Blogger concept being born in 2009) and quickly grew in popularity. The dedicated website didn’t follow until November 2015.
Initially writing as a columnist in the Lincolnshire Echo, The Target, Retford Times, Horncastle News, Market Rasen Mail, Weddings Today and a few other newspapers and magazines the theme has always remained the same. Helping and informing people has, and is still at the top of the agenda for the newspaper and web based blogs and columns.
The Original Lincolnshire Blogger – The Beginnings
Initially the published works began as health and fitness columns with links to local charities, organisations and clubs to help give them a voice in the media.
The first regular column was instigated on 7 September 2011 in The Lincolnshire Echo but prior to that the published writing goes back to November 2009 in my capacity as the sponsor for The Midwife Of The Year (MOTY). The domain names were established at the same time while waiting for the website to be built.
Here are a couple of my early columns dating back to 2011 and early 2012:
Early Columns
The Lincolnshire Blogger – Moving On
The popularity of my columns soon grew and demand increased as more invitations for writing and radio interviews began to arrive. I wrote articles both as ‘Simply Fit’ and ‘Lincolnshire Blogger’ but the latter didn’t take off properly until 2015.
Fast forward to Covid in 2020. The blogs took on a new focus. The supportive blogs to help and inform people were gratefully received.
The Last Blogs Before Covid
The last Blogs before the pandemic included ‘New Website’ and ‘The New Logo’ with one of the last blogs being an advertising blog for the ‘Comedy Hotspot’ events. Little did I know what was going to happen in just a matter of days after its publication!
Little did we know what was to come in just a few days time! If you would like to read one of the last blogs before the Pandemic lockdown just click on this link: Comedy Hotspot
The Lincolnshire Blogger With Covid
It’s ironic that it took a major pandemic to shake me out of my fear of writing blogs. Everything up until then felt like ‘practice’ for the real thing!
Having contracted Covid the day before lockdown I was quarantined in the house. Luckily my bedroom was next door to my office so as a result I made use of my time by brushing up on my blogging skills. The writing has always been easy for me. The fear of the technology (along with my dyslexia) had been holding me back. I find the computer quite easy to use but WordPress (the website & blogging platform) somehow felt extremely difficult.
My first lockdown blog doesn’t look the slickest in the world but it was the start of my ever improving blogging journey. Thank goodness for YouTube tutorials and the help from the local Twitter community.
“Have We Become Numb” was the first lockdown blog of many. Thankfully they improved over time! Click on the blue link above if you would like to have a look.
Moving Up-To-Date
We faced many challenges during the pandemic and the LincsConnect blogs certainly went a long way towards helping people to navigate their way through it. Post pandemic blogging helped us through new challenges as many of us were nervous about reverting back to our pre-pandemic lifestyle. Once again, I did my bit with my blogs to help as many people as possible.
Blogs For Advertising
Rather than becoming ‘old fashioned’, blogging has become even more relevant recently as many people turn away from familiar social media platforms and embrace new ones. Readership has become very fragmented across the many platforms with ever more confusing sites launching on a regular basis. Twitter has certainly changed (not for the better) and Facebook experiences ever increasing updates which makes it more and more difficult to navigate. The blog has remained constant and as a result continues to be the perfect advertising medium.
Gala Fireworks used a LincsConnect blog to advertise their event at the Lincolnshire Showground. The blog is extremely useful as it’s much bigger than a standard advert. It contains more information than a standard newspaper editorial yet has a small link that can be easily copied and posted on any social media platform. The link comes with its own advertising picture (of your choice) which can be embedded onto a website as a permanent advert. All in all, it ‘is’ the perfect advertising tool. Click on the blue link above to see how effective a blog can be for advertising.
Take Your Advertising Forward
Get in touch if you would like to have a blog written for your business, organisation or charity. It’s ideal for advertising on any platform so contact me if you would like more information.
Alternatively, if you already write your own blogs you can get in touch to chat about sharing links.
Free Advertising In Lincolnshire With LincsConnect
Free Advertising in Lincolnshire – #LincsConnect – Make it your ‘go to’ hashtag
This is probably the shortest and most important blog you have ever read!
We all like something that’s ‘free’ but we probably also know that nothing is truly free! Twitter – that’s free! Facebook and Instagram are also free too so where’s the catch? Simple! If you want ‘free’ advertising/exposure on social media you’re going to have to invest your time. By investing your time your posts are more likely to be seen and acted upon. Would you like to know how to do it?
Ditch The ‘Like’ Button
Free Advertising in Lincolnshire – Ditch the Like button
Free Advertising In Lincolnshire with LincsConnect – Ditch The Like Button
If you’re using Twitter (rules vary from Twitter to Facebook/Instagram) I highly recommend that you ditch the ‘Like’ button.
Twitter is an interactive platform so your best results will come from interacting with your followers. That’s one of the main differences between Twitter and other platforms. What does the ‘Like’ button say about you on Twitter?
I don’t have time for you so I’ll just press the like button instead of saying ‘thank you’ or interacting.
I’m not that interested in you so I’ll just press the Like button and hope that you read my posts.
I don’t understand algorithms and how they work so I’ll press the Like button and hope for the best.
I can’t be bothered to talk to my followers.
When scrolling down your twitter timeline you will see tweets from people you follow, sponsored (paid advertising) tweets and tweets that have been retweet by your followers. You’ll never see a ‘Liked’ tweet!
The ‘Like’ button does have its uses though. It’s a good way of saving tweets for future reference. Beyond that, I’m struggling to think of a good reason to use it on Twitter!
Free Advertising And Social Media Interaction With LincsConnect
I’ve said it many times before; the clue is in the name. ‘Social’ media should be exactly what it says in the title. Actually ‘talk’ to your followers.
There’s a TV advert for a room freshener implying that the character has gone ‘nose blind’. In social media terms, if you post, post, post with no interaction your followers will see your posts but they won’t register in their mind. However, if you ‘talk’ to your followers they’ll remember you as that nice person/business who takes an interest. Obviously talking to your followers doesn’t mean telling them how good you are and what you have to sell them. Instead, you need to show an interest in other people to let them know you care about them. Given time they will ask you what you do and what you have to offer. As a result, you don’t need to do the ‘hard sell’.
#WhatsOnLincs – New To The LincsConnect Website
“…WhatsOnLincs is the new community web page on the LincsConnect website. You can use it to post free adverts from markets and car boot sales to charity events and entertainment, jobs, volunteering plus much more. You can even include pictures as well as links to websites. It’s all FREE so be sure to use it to find out What’s on in Lincolnshire…”
Take a look at the blog link below to read the full #WhatsOnLincs blog. Don’t forget to recommend it to your friends and out of town visitors too so that they can discover what’s on in Lincolnshire.
Helpful?
It’s probably my shortest blog ever read but I hope you find it useful.
Join us each Monday on twitter from 12.00pm for the LincsConnect Lincolnshire Art Craft Hour.
Paint On Canvas…
Have you heard about the LincsConnect Lincolnshire Art Craft Hour (#LincsArtCraftHour) yet? It’s twitter based and includes artists and crafters from Lincolnshire, Newark, Retford and Hull. A great place for the experts to meet to show what they do. As a result, it’s a fantastic place to shop too!
What image does ‘art’ bring to mind? If you’ve ever been to The National Gallery you’ll have seen paintings from small to extremely large. However, if you’ve been to Tate Modern you’ll have seen something completely different. Art is about paint on canvas but it’s also much more than that. We can debate good and bad art but what it all boils down to is ‘do I like it’? You can introduce someone new to the LincsConnect Lincolnshire Art Craft hour today.
Who’s The Artist?
It isn’t me! We all have our own talents though (art isn’t mine) so we must be grateful for that. I know what I like as soon as I see it, as a result I set up this hour to showcase the many and varied art forms from our area. We all like different things of course and that’s what makes the hour so appealing. Who is the ‘artist’ then? Well, I believe that it’s the photographer, the jewellery maker, the crafter, the potter… Art isn’t just paint on canvas but without the paint on canvas the art world would’t be complete!
How Do You Find Your Art?
There are many places to find art and in Lincolnshire we are blessed with some fantastic galleries and shops. Social media provides a good platform for art shopping too of course so it’s time to make the most of it. I’ve found some stunning pieces of art on social media so I’ve been able to chat to the artists in real time while shopping. Not every conversation ends in a sale but that doesn’t matter. The conversations help to build a following, the followers have friends, the friends have friends and family… If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, someone somewhere is going to like what the artist is doing. That leads to sales and commissions.
Get Involved with the LincsConnect Lincolnshire Art Craft Hour
If you’re a Twitter user you’ll be familiar with ‘hashtag hours’ which involves every interested person on the planet (or so it seems) interacting about one subject. It usually feels like a frenzy of tweets and conversations. Choose a subject and there will probably be a dedicated hour to it! They are fantastic platforms for networking and getting messages seen but they can be difficult to follow. By the time you’ve seen a post, reacted to it and asked a question you’ll have missed 30 or 40 other posts.
Frenzy Free Lincolnshire Art Craft Hour
I want to remove that ‘frenzy’. A dedicated hour using the #LincsConnect hashtag on Twitter with Lincolnshire artists of all genres posting art, messages, links and special offers. The beauty of the hashtag is that anyone can search it at any time. The #LincsConnect#LincsArtCraftHour is on Monday from 12.00pm – 1.00pm but you can still search through it at any time of the week. In fact, you can search back weeks, months or years! Once the tweet is there, it stays there until the author deletes it. By duplicating the idea onto Facebook I want to include others who don’t use Twitter.
Get Involved
If you’re interested please do get in touch by email so that I can get everything coordinated. You can email me at martin@lincsconnect.co.uk
When?
Every Monday:
From Monday 7 September 2020 between 12.00pm – 1.00pm.
How Will the LincsConnect Lincolnshire Art Craft Hour Work?
Here’s the deal:
It’s FREE!
It will rely on the artists and crafters to post their messages, links, pictures and special offers which MUST include the hashtags #LincsArtCraftHour and #LincsConnect
The hashtag#LincsConnect will automatically post your message to the database for everyone to see. Assume no one is looking for you on the hashtag until YOU tell them to have a look!
Post your messages with the hashtags and tag in your friends. Ask them to help spread the message by telling their friends. This cascade of conversation can quickly get the hashtag seen and used locally. As a result your posts will be seen by more and more people.
Here’s the crucial bit: You ‘must’ search the hashtag during the week to look at the posts and do your free networking. Get into conversations, say something positive, share other peoples posts. The more you share for others, the more likely they are to share for you.
Scheduled Posts
Don’t worry that you aren’t available during the #LincsArtCraftHourbecause you can schedule your messages in advance to make sure that they hit the hashtag at the right time.
Click the logo above to see how the#LincsConnecthashtag works
LincsConnect Lincolnshire Art Craft Hour – What’s In It For You?
The posts will be on twitter but I will also do follow up arts blogs. I’ll search the hashtag to see who has been interacting with others and as a ‘thank you’ I’ll highlight the posts in future blogs. I’ll also include links to your websites and social media pages.
What’s In It For Me?
I’ll create paid advertising slots, paid blog links and paid features. The whole process will be time consuming for me so I will need to have some form of recompense for my work. Will it make me a fortune? No! Will it pay my bills? Probably not! I always enjoy helping others though and if I can manage to produce a small income from my efforts, all the better.
Click on the picture to go straight to Daves Facebook page or click on this link @DaveSpherical to find him on Twitter
Dave recently joined me on Twitter and ‘Oh Boy’ he has some stunning pictures for sale. In this day and age where photos are easy to take with our digital mobile phones and editing platforms it’s such a joy to see some truly stunning pictures of nature at its best. This is just one picture of many that Dave has taken and is offering for sale so if you like what you see you should definitely get in touch.
Mel is widely known around the County and beyond and when you see her artwork you’ll understand why. Click on the picture to go straight to her website or click on this link @MelLangtonArt to follow her on Twitter
Mel creates some truly remarkable artwork including bespoke commissions like the one you can see above. I’ve been quietly following Mel on Twitter and can honestly say that her artwork really needs to be seen (and purchased of course).
Click on the picture to go to Ellies Etsy shop or click on this link @ElliesTreasures to follow her on Twitter
Arts and crafts go hand in hand and I’m sure you’ll agree that this hand made key ring really is delightful. You’ll find much more on Ellies Etsy shop page so why not pop over (click on the picture above) to discover more. I certainly don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Click on this picture to go straight to the Etsy Shop page of Twibell Arts or click on this link @TwibellArts to follow Serena on Twitter. I’ve been following Serena for several years and am always amazed at her talent and versatility. Not only did she paint the picture of this gorgeous cat (commissions welcome) but she also made the decorations in the picture too.
Manipulating an image (in this case ‘two’ images) to make an interesting piece of art is really special. This image of Lincoln High Street was taken by John and blended with an old image to create a piece of art that goes beyond the normal photograph. Click on this picture to go to Johns website or click on this link @jpbphoography to follow him on twitter.
Advertising
If you would like to place an advert on the Lincs Connect blogs please do get in touch. Bloggers can also have links to their blogs here too. Get in touch today if you would like to feature here by contacting me at martin@lincsconnect.co.uk
Advert
Mandarin Therapies and Mandarin Mothers provide bespoke mobile complementary therapies (Covid-19 safe) including Aromatherapy massage, Antenatal, postnatal massage and injury rehabilitation. Click on the picture to go to the website or click on the links above to go to the social media pages
Social
PCC Marc Jones is looking for young people to join the Lincolnshire Commission. It’s an opportunity for young people to help the police better understand their concerns and thoughts.
Click on the picture above to go to the website
See You Soon – At the LincsConnect Lincolnshire Art Craft Hour
That’s it for now but there will be lots more blogs here so please keep the link handy and log in for a quick catchup when you get the chance.
While trying to update and secure my website I really do understand how frustrating and confusing this ‘tech stuff’ can be.
On social media (Twitter in particular) the difference between the ‘#’ and the ‘@’ signs are significant but can easily be confused. Let me break it down into very simple terms which I hope you will appreciate:
Think of the hashtag as being a file that everyone can search and view. When you type it, it’ll light up in blue instead of the usual black text. You can use it for your own marketing and advertising by creating your own words that will follow the hashtag sign. Here are a few examples: #LincsConnect #Scunthorpe #Lincolnshire – if you are using this hashtags you are targeting anyone who may be searching for tweets that are pertinent to Scunthorpe and/or Lincolnshire. You are also targeting people who are looking at the hashtag file for #LincsConnect.
Creating a hashtag
You can easily create your own hashtag of course. Simply type in the words after the hashtag sign. Let’s pretend that your company is called ‘Grow it’ and you sell seeds for the garden. You want to create a special offer of £10.00 discount for every £50.00 spend. You could use the hashtag #GrowIt10 and tell everyone to use that hashtag to claim their discount.
Own the hashtag
You’ve created your hashtag but you really ought to make sure that no one else is using the same hashtag. To do that, simply type the words GrowIt10 into your Twitter search bar to see what comes up. Hopefully you’ll see a note displayed saying “No results for growit10”. If that’s the case, you’re good to go; use that hashtag as your own and search it regularly to see who has used it to claim their discount. If you see a string of tweets displayed using the hashtag or words ‘growIt10’ I suggest you have a re-think to come up with something that isn’t already in use. If you do use it regardless of anyone else using it you’ll have a job finding the tweets that are relevant to you.
Have fun with the hashtag
Twitter isn’t just about selling and information though. It’s a place to have some light hearted fun. If that is what you are doing, you can make up some tweets that are purely nonsense but funny to read. #SillyTweet #fun #IDidntMeanToSayThat #HarryPotterWouldBeProudOfMyEfforts …. Anything goes really! If you’re having a joke with someone the hashtags can serve as a great punchline.
Hashtags and grammar
When creating or writing a hashtag you mustn’t use punctuation as the computers don’t understand it. Likewise, it doesn’t matter if you use all upper case, all lower case or a combination of the two.
What does the ‘@’ sign mean then?
Where the hashtag sends your tweet to a specific file or files (it could be #LincsConnect #Scunthorpe and #Lincolnshire as highlighted above), the ‘@’ sign is like a postage stamp because it sends the tweet to a specific account. If you post a tweet using @LincsConnect it’s because you want to speak to me personally. Only ‘I’ will see that tweet. If you want to let everyone in the County know about a sale, event or piece of information you need to be using #LincsConnect.
If you use multiple addresses ie. @LincsConnect @MandarinLeisure @MandarinLocal you’re involving those accounts in your conversation. It’s a handy way of talking to several people at the same time but can get confusing if they all answer at once!
Should I use @LincsConnect and #LincsConnect in the same tweet?
Generally speaking, ‘no’! If you want to contact me tweet me at @LincsConnect but if you want to get your message out to all followers use the hashtag #LincsConnect. There is really no advantage to using both the hashtag #LincsConnect and the address @LincsConnect in the same tweet. In fact, using the address @LincsConnect can result in other people having their messages missed as the ‘chatter’ on the account increases significanty.
I hope this helps some of you. Happy tweeting…
Mandarin Therapies
Mobile complementary therapies covering Lincolnshire and beyond
All Saints Bracebridge
All Saints church, Bracebridge
Serving the community for the past 1000 years
J&S Plumbing & Heating
J&S Plumbing & Heating – Quality as standard
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