Seeing our student’s growth in blogging and digital copywriting is more than rewarding. We are so proud for their efforts and their new blog posts. Today, one of the Blogging Workshop students is sharing with us how this workshop changed the way she sees blogging. Loukia Zervoudaki is an experienced Graphic Designer and she has a lot to give in the blogging community. We can’t wait to see her next steps.

WordPress Blogging Workshop

Opinion by Loukia Zervoudaki

So, there I was, in front of my computer screen, me, a single mom of two teenage children, in the midst of their nagging and complaining and always wanting a piece of me to break out their teenage nerves. Yes, there I was, in front of my computer screen demanding time for myself. A few weeks before I had signed up for a WordPress seminar to enhance my graphic design skills and there was a soft skill Blogging workshop on the side.

It’s not only the quality of the course but also the credentials of the instructor. Areti Vassou has it all. She is an expert in her field. With more than 20 years of work experience, she knows all there is to know about SEO, Digital Copywriting, Branding, Digital Marketing Strategy, Web Design, Email & Content Marketing.

If you ask me though of a critical skill most important to business success, I would say generosity. Areti is generous. She is extremely generous. Giving of her time and expertise easily and willingly, hoarding no information whatsoever, and offering guidance graciously.

Blogging Tips & Tools

Of course, by the end of the workshop, I knew everything there was to know about blogging. From the mechanics of getting set up, installing crucial plugins, niche areas, target audiences, writing and content strategies, traffic driving strategies, SEO, growing readers, creating XML site maps to making money from your blog, you name it! All in all, it was a great laid-back but informative approach to blogging, that gave me technical tools, support, and confidence for creating an effective online presence.

Enough with the technical stuff though. I want to share with you how this workshop ignited a fire in my soul. It brought a little light into a dark time…

My Journey

I’ve been a single mom for ten years now and I can tell you it’s difficult. Apart from household chores, cooking, cleaning the house, folding and ironing the endless baskets of laundry, doing the groceries, scrubbing carpets, driving the kids around to their extracurricular activities, killing spiders (the list goes on forever…), I also have to balance all the other life choices and pay my own bills. The struggle is physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial! There are days that running and hiding in my blanket fort seems far more appealing than anything else…

After the kids go to sleep each night I am forced to face the voices in my head saying I don’t want to just survive, I want to thrive!

I want to transcend my circumstances, elevate myself to the next level, and change my life, our lives! But how? I am stuck in neutral. I constantly beat myself up for feeling like I could be doing more. Brainstorming what small thing I could do that would make a big difference. It seemed unreasonable to think that I would be able to get anything done.

And there, a couple of hours had gone by, the workshop had come to an end and I realized that something inside had clicked. The “poor me” mentality only serves procrastination and self-doubt. The workshop reminded me of what is possible even while I was feeling defeated.

The workshop reminded me of what is possible!

I will always be truly grateful to Areti for re-electrifying my life! This workshop truly feels like a gift that will keep on giving, empowering me to grow personally and professionally. Thank you Areti, for all the time, energy, and love you put into this.

About Loukia Zervoudaki

Loukia is an active Freelance Graphic Designer at Upwork. Explore her work at Behance  or contact her at www.lucyz.webstarts.com or at her LinkedIn account.

Blogging Workshop at SHA

Areti Vassou: Our two intensive Blogging Workshops at Social Hackers Academy have been successfully completed. The Workshops were part of the program “Women Going Digital” which was implemented with the support and funding of the Latsis Foundation. The program was designed by the Diotima Center, with long experience in women’s empowerment, and Social Hacker Academy, specializing in technological education.
 

During the Blogging Workshops the students learned how to:

• Create new content for their blog
• Apply keyword research
• Implement SEO best practices
• Adopt the best Content Marketing Strategies
• Brand Positioning for their blog
• Add different types of elements into their blog posts
• Get familiar with the blogging community & networking guidelines
• Explore potential blogging business opportunities

The main training goal was to enrich women’s digital soft & hard skills. According to research data, women are under-represented in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), facing difficulties both in their inclusion in the digital labor market and in their daily lives.

Blogging can support our efforts to create the life we want.

Once you decide to engage professionally then it pays off. When we are ready to let go of what is familiar in order to create a new chapter for us then we tend to open up in the wildness of the unknown. Offer your caring attention generously and you will be surprised how joy, happiness, and creativity will find ways to return back to you.

I am grateful for having the opportunity to teach new bloggers how to blog. They helped me to become a better listener and to reconnect with the joy of doing something new. Also, they helped me to improve the quality of the Blogging Workshop. Thank you so much! – Areti Vassou, Founder of Ideadeco.co

*Cover image credits: Creative work made with love by Loukia Zervoudaki