I was invited to be a guest lecture in Brisbane's QUT's online journalism subject on the topic of creating and using your blog to kickstart your job opportunities before you graduate.

1. Your blog; your career www.stylingyou.com.aufind me on Twitter @stylingyou

2. www.stylingyou.com.au

3. www.stylingyou.com.au

4. About Styling You Studied journalism Worked as a journalist for 20 years July 2008 - started a personal styling business and a blog to market that business Incorporated social media with that blog – Facebook and Twitter Early 2010 - started researching a blog re-design April 2010 - launched re-designed blog and branding May 2011- 1000% growth in traffic; two national blogging awards; extensive national media coverage and interest from brands www.stylingyou.com.au

5. 5 steps to building a blog: your living, breathing CV www.stylingyou.com.au

6. 1. Just start writing www.stylingyou.com.au

7. What’s your passion? www.stylingyou.com.au What makes you want to rant? What do you read when not doing uni work? Are you a closet comedian? Find your own voice.

8. 2. Be consistent www.stylingyou.com.au

9. How often will you post? www.stylingyou.com.au The minimum should be once a week. Get consistent about when you are going to post. Readers are creatures of habit. But consider the “surprise” unscheduled post as well!

10. 3. Be your own marketing manager www.stylingyou.com.au

11. It’s not just about Facebook friends www.stylingyou.com.au Social media is changing the way people network. Use Twitter, Linkedin, Youtube, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Stumbleupon and Google+ Actively promote your blog to people outside your friends and family

12. 4. Build your blog community www.stylingyou.com.au

13. Don’t just blog in a vacuum www.stylingyou.com.au Read other blogs – in your niche and outside of your niche. Comment on other people’s blogs. Get to know and network the majors in your niche. Offer to guest post.

14. 5. Tools of the trade www.stylingyou.com.au

15. Blogger vsWordPress www.stylingyou.com.au Create a Google Reader account and follow blogs via RSS. Get familiar with YouTube and incorporate into your blog. Get help with your blog’s design, particularly if you have working on magazines as a goal.

16. Case study 1:shitika.wordpress.com www.stylingyou.com.au My blog was more of a support system rather than the driving tool (to getting a job). People visited my blog to see my writing and my online portfolio

17. Case study 2:kateinmelbourne.com www.stylingyou.com.au Always be true to yourself, let your blog reflect your personality. Don't create an online persona because at the end of the day, who you are in reality is who is going to get you the job.

18. Case study 3:poptrashaddicts.blogspot.com www.stylingyou.com.au It (my blog)already has helped a lot with getting internships at an American company and now at channel V

19. Case study 4:freshoptimism.blogspot.com www.stylingyou.com.au Create a blog about something that interests you to give you some experience in writing for a medium that is not solely news based.

20. Case study 5:The Rant-O-Matic www.stylingyou.com.au I’ve been fortunate enough to have a couple of technology related blog posts I wrote get picked up by the Australian tech news publication Delimiter.

21. www.stylingyou.com.au For more information: www.stylingyou.com.au Every Saturday, I blog about blogging or click on the Blogging Tips tab for a look at past blog posts.