The Web Creators team at Google is inviting anyone who creates content on the web to our first-ever virtual Web Stories workshop. Web Stories are a web-based version of the popular Story format, which allow you to engage your audience like never before. Create richer, more intimate and more meaningful experiences that connect with your fans – all while hosting, owning and sharing your own content. 

The workshop will take place live on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 1 PM Eastern time and is for creators who regularly create content for the web and have an online presence. During this workshop, you’ll learn about: 

• The evolution of modern storytelling on the web and how Web Stories can help you grow your audience with rich, immersive content. 

• Web Story editors and how to use them. You’ll be starting your own Web Story in real time with the help of a Google expert. 

• All the tools and resources you have at your disposal – both online and within the Google Web Creators community – to thrive on the web.

The Web Creators team at Google is inviting anyone who creates content on the web to our first-ever virtual Web Stories workshop. Web Stories are a web-based version of the popular Story format, which allow you to engage your audience like never before. Create richer, more intimate and more meaningful experiences that connect with your fans – all while hosting, owning and sharing your own content. 

The workshop will take place live on Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 1 PM Eastern time and is for creators who regularly create content for the web and have an online presence. During this workshop, you’ll learn about: 

• The evolution of modern storytelling on the web and how Web Stories can help you grow your audience with rich, immersive content. 

• Web Story editors and how to use them. You’ll be starting your own Web Story in real time with the help of a Google expert. 

• All the tools and resources you have at your disposal – both online and within the Google Web Creators community – to thrive on the web.

Gopi Shah began working with clay at age 14, and has now spent nearly 20 years making ceramic cups, dinnerware, sculptures and decorations. From her one-woman studio in Long Beach, California, she crafts designs inspired by Mesoamerican and Andean art, textiles and prints, and her natural surroundings. Recently, the Google Web Creators team teamed up with Gopi to create a Web Story, A Guide to Shaping Clay, about her work. 

 The story takes you behind the scenes in Gopi’s studio. Instead of just seeing the finished product as you would on Gopi’s website, you explore the whole pottery-making process — starting with the tools of the trade.

You can sit back and watch as Gopi demonstrates the four steps to shaping a cup — and then decorates it in her own whimsical style. Every personal touch, from the tags painted on her studio wall to her rustic wooden furniture, allows readers to better understand the person behind the brand.

The last page of the Web Story features links to her shop and social media so readers learn more and keep in touch.

We recently chatted with Gopi about creating content based on her clay creations, and how collaboration helped her build her brand and her confidence. 

How did you first find an audience?

I started finding my audience through the help of others. I honestly wasn't sure what I was doing when I started doing social media, and started picking up followers once brands that liked my work started posting about me. I now use that to my advantage by sharing other people's work I appreciate and collaborating with other brands so that we can market together.

Tell us about your brand. How do you want it to be perceived by followers and fans?

I want my work to be perceived as high quality and unique. My brand is me, which means it focuses on women of color entrepreneurs who had to build from nothing. 

How do you stand out in a crowded content marketplace?

The quality and diversity of my work is what sets me apart from others. I've been doing ceramics on and off for about two decades now, which means my wealth of knowledge is deep. I'm also striving for improvement in my work, so I usually am not happy unless I feel like my work can show my skills and talent.

How do you come up with ideas for content?

I tend to showcase the day to day of my life in the studio. My content is created by me, so sometimes I stop and think other potters may want to try this technique, or it would be a good way to showcase my process to my greater audience and customers. I think more people are taking ceramics and pottery classes, so they tend to understand how pottery is created, but for those who don't, it's pretty exciting to see how a lump of clay becomes something you use daily.

 How do you manage your content calendar? Any suggested tools or resources?

I don't really have a content calendar. I just end up posting what I'm doing in the studio, and if a holiday or a studio sale is coming up, I add that to the mix.

 How do you make your content interesting? Keep it short? Add photos and videos? Other?

I like to diversify my feed by showing my process as well as my final products. Making pottery is an interesting subject, and so many people tend to receive benefits from watching pottery being made, [almost like] ASMR or an "oddly satisfying" moment. I just started doing reels this year, so I can show an entire process rather than just small snippets of a process to really engage a viewer  with how something is made.

How do you post content across platforms? What types of content work best on each platform?

I like sharing events on Facebook and on my website through my blog, so that when people are searching for an event, my website will also hopefully pop up using SEO and keywords. I also like posting news on my Instagram as well as my website. For example, when I got a new kiln, I wrote a blog post about how and why I decided to go with the kiln I selected. I consistently post about my kiln on my Instagram, and if people ask about it, I can refer them to my website with my blog post that goes into more detail about it.  

What advice would you share with your earlier self when you were starting on this journey, based on what you’ve learned along the way?

Stop being scared and believe in yourself. It has taken me a while to have the confidence I have now in my work and my skill, but I'm grateful that I have such a strong and supportive community backing me.

What better place than a website to bring together people, projects and professionals? That’s what Miriam Illions thought when she co-foundedHometalk in 2011. When the site went live, she waited for the homeowner–contractor matchups to begin. Then, something interesting happened.

“DIYers flocked to the platform and started sharing their own ideas,” Miriam recalls. Over the course of about 18 months, she notes, “We saw this incredible uptick in people who were interested — not in hiring somebody to do things for them — but in doing it themselves.”

Miriam and the Hometalk team retooled their marketing strategy and rebuilt Hometalk as a community empowering DIYers to roll up their sleeves and get the job done themselves, while providing a space for industrious bloggers to build out their own brands.

With this new approach, the New York City-based company turned into a full-time, booming business, now staffing 37 employees. The website is monetized through programmatic ads and direct sales offerings that connect brands to DIYers seeking to purchase tools and materials for their projects. 

Today, 10 years after the company’s founding, the Hometalk community garners 30 million monthly pageviews, has 7 million unique monthly visitors and 90,000 new monthly signups. Their app is also quite popular, receiving 3.3 million monthly pageviews and 20,000 new signups a month.  

Building a DIY web community

The Hometalk website serves as the brand’s digital hub, where DIYers can explore 169,000 project tutorials on a wide-sweeping range of topics, including how to build, decorate, upcycle, decorate, clean, repair, organize and more. Projects are also organized by rooms and spaces, from breakfast nooks to bedroom closets, and entryways to basement bars — and even budget-friendly patio ideas for renters.

“We empower people to create by inspiring them with all of the [community’s] amazing ideas, and then giving them the resources and the tools to be able to do it themselves,” Miriam says.

She credits the website’s success with providing multiple ways for community members to connect and communicate. Visitors can post a project, ask or answer a DIY question, or search on DIY projects — and that’s just for starters.The Hometalk TV video channel is a crafty person’s delight, where featured hosts guide viewers through a wide variety of artful projects, including a floating photo frame, a TikTok mirror, a faux chinoiserie vase and more.

“A popular destination is our video tutorial section, where you can ask questions of the person who posted and engage in the comments,” Miriam adds. “We also have a forum where, if you're doing a DIY project and you're stuck, or you're looking for inspiration or ideas or solutions, you can post questions and get feedback and help from the community. Their willingness to help each other is amazing.”

Opening the door for other web creators

Hometalk community members create a bio page on the website, with their photo and links back to their own websites, blogs and social media pages. This helps them establish their own brand identity within the community, while inviting readers to click on over to their own websites to learn more about them.

“We offer a number of different places where members can link back to their blogs,” Miriam shares, including their Blogger Traffic Program — an incentive program for bloggers who regularly share high-quality content with the Hometalk community. Top contributors may receive a link back to their own blogs in Hometalk’s daily email, which Miriam says can result in thousands of new pageviews. “Traffic is very valuable as everyone on the web knows,” she says. “So, that's something that we use as an incentive to help our creators build their own audiences and communities.”

Creating socially conscious media

While Hometalk’s site traffic numbers speak for themselves, the cofounder has even higher goals for her brand’s impact on the web community.

“This past year, we're seeing a lot more conscious choice and intention when it comes to media consumption,” Miriam notes. “I think as a whole, people are becoming a lot more aware of how they are spending their time on the web, what media are they consuming, and how it makes them feel. We’re becoming more aware of what is toxic and not helping you live your best life that you’re here to live.” Her goal for Hometalk is to provide a positive space for DIYers to meet, share tips, tricks, and ideas and improve their lives, one handcrafted wreath, one unclogged toilet, one refinished thrift store table at a time.

“The more people choose what they consume, the more important it will be for all web creators to make sure that the content that they're putting out there is of tremendous value,” Miriam asserts. “As a whole, that will elevate all of us.”

In her words: Miriam Illions reflects on building an online community in our Web Story. Watch it here. 

Blogs are a powerful tool to reach a wide, global audience, but for those just starting out, it can be intimidating to get those first few readers and subscribers. We recently asked successful musicians, foodies, fitness instructors and fashionistas how they grow their blog followings. Here’s what they had to say.

Post regularly and be authentic.

The most common response we received from almost everyone we talked to was to post regularly. But about what? One strategy, according to queer, non-binary musician and lifestyle writer Rigel Gemini, is to answer common questions. “One of my top articles,” Rigel says, “answers the common question, ‘why are queer people creative?’ I wrote it without even realizing it was so heavily searched, but realized that as something that I have often wondered and thought about, so many other people have, too.“

And in addition to posting regularly, you’ll want to stay true to who you are. Fitness-focused parenting blogger Amy Jay of Go Fast Mommy adds, “It’s important to share the real you.” She says she makes sure to show her face and voice regularly on her Instagram stories, “so that my followers can relate to the real ‘me’ behind the pictures.”

Find your niche, but don’t be afraid to branch out.

Most creators build a following by carving a niche in one area, but they also shared that branching out can also help to reach new fans.

Rigel Gemini knows that the internet has always been a place to connect with people who have similar interests. It also offers a world of difference that can bring value to your blog. “I try to engage as much as I can across the internet and in my real community in the physical world,” he says.

Ana Snyder, fitness instructor and creator of Get Buff with Ana, began by sharing her bodybuilding  experience and expertise. “In order for me to grow my account,” Ana shared, “It was also important that I expand my niche a little bit from bodybuilding to more generalized health and wellness.” Now her content includes tips about handling isolation, expressing gratitude and maintaining financial wellness. 

Form partnerships.

Online, as in life away from the keyboard, one way to create a community and a career is to form meaningful relationships. Partnerships with brands and other content creators allow bloggers to blend communities, exchange ideas and reach new readers. Brand partnerships often pay influencers to promote their product. Ana Snyder, for instance, partners with a number of fitness and wellness brands and writes about them on her blog and social media. The products she promotes are ones she uses in her day-to-day life, and they allow her to reach fans of those brands. 

But keep in mind:  It’s important that brand partnerships be genuine and relevant to your content. “I only work with those [brands] whose message mirrors mine,” Ana says. “I often turn down partnerships with vegan companies. Although I eat vegan food occasionally, I’m not vegan, and I don’t want to give my followers a contradictory message.” Ana also writes bylined editorial content for a health and wellness platform. “This publicity has helped me get a lot of followers,” she told us. 

Add events into the mix.

When the pandemic is over, social events will return to our lives, and these gatherings can be a powerful way to grow a following. Clarissa Mae of Clarissa Mae Yoga is a yoga instructor and mobility coach from South Dakota. She teaches yoga and social media branding classes both online and in person. These events drive deeper relationships with Clarissa’s brand — and when people bring friends to the events, Clarissa often gains new followers.

Rigel Gemini frequently attends events such as FABNORMAL, a queer arts showcase in Atlanta. Events like these help him network with other people with similar interests, and also give him compelling blog content that people are searching for online, such as written and video recaps.

These days, there are many ways to grow a blog. Try out the strategies we’ve shared, and learn what works best for you.

Mikeal Cho, co-founder and CEO of Unsplash, believes that there’s an image at the heart of every story. Since 2013, Unsplash has allowed more than 200,000 photographers to share their work and build relationships with other creators and organizations. 

Cho refers to Unsplash “an accidental company.” When looking for images online, he found that “great images were often locked up with confusing licenses,” meaning people couldn’t easily use them. So he uploaded 10 photos left over from a photoshoot to Tumblr and allowed anybody to use them for personal or commercial purposes, without attribution or licensing fees. Now, far from simply being a source of free stock photos, the platform has become the foundation for new careers, relationships and stories.

Who did you envision as Unsplash’s users, and how has your audience changed? 

We have everyone from independent bloggers to large publishers, and small businesses to Fortune 500 companies using Unsplash. There are 110 million image downloads a month on Unsplash, and 70% of those are coming from people who haven’t downloaded a photo from a stock photo site before.

What is the relationship and value proposition for Unsplash’s users and content creators? 

Users can download high-quality images for free, quickly, and you don't need to subscribe or create an account.

We weren't sure people would contribute images for others to use for free. The thesis was that if you find useful images for what you’re creating, and you have a couple of images of your own, you will contribute those to the site. We started with our own photos, and our theory turned into a reality. The value was the ability to be a part of something.

If you're sharing photos on Unsplash, you're helping other people make something. You're also sharing your story. High-quality visuals covering lots of different use cases enable you to tell those stories—and stories are the way that we create change.

What motivates creators to contribute to this amazing gallery of photographs?

The internet is big, but it can also get lonely. Eighty percent of uploaders consider themselves to be amateurs. They’re learning a craft together and Unsplash is their platform for sharing. Because the platform is big, their work can lead to other opportunities.

It’s similar to what happened with blogging; people wondered, "Is it going to kill the book industry if everyone is writing online for free?" There was more publishing, more ideas being spread, and those ideas created downstream opportunities. That's what Unsplash does for someone who contributes images. Somebody sees that image, and now they know you and your work. This can lead to them wanting to connect with you or wanting to hire you. You don't need an agent. You don't need to come with a name. If you have great images, it's going to get noticed.

How else can Unsplash help uploaders succeed online?

It's helping creators build confidence. The only way we make progress is by sharing and being open, so we've developed our product to help encourage creators. People who contribute photos are able to directly message each other and our team. We have also enabled people to send out thank-you messages. We've also seen people end up married after they found an image and wrote to the photographer.

Is there anything you want to tell other content creators?

There is a lot of advice about what content to create and when to post. But what you should really care about is making something that resonates with people and that you can sustain for a long period. Instead of what you think might be a huge market opportunity, make sure you are always solving, writing, and creating what is interesting to you. The world will follow.

Most bloggers start out writing about passions, whether it’s fashion, travel, pets, food…whatever inspires them. And the most successful among them are as devoted to their blogs as they are to their passions and produce rich content on a weekly or even daily basis. 

But what does it take to turn a blog from a fun hobby into a source of income? We asked web creators who focus on a range of topics how they’re monetizing their blogs and websites to shed some light on the process. 

Let advertising work for you

Make use of affiliate links

Experiment with sponsored posts

Seek out brands to build your own

How you choose to monetize and grow your blog is totally up to you. Some bloggers start out using advertising and affiliate links as they build their following and reputation as content-matter experts and influencers. Sponsored posts and brand partnerships may come later, as your blog and your online presence grow. Know you can mix and match your approaches — no need to stick to just one, and your approach can adapt as your blog evolves.

“It takes some time to start to build up a portfolio and cultivate relationships,” says Rigel Gemini, looking back on the content and revenue streams he’s developed. “But over time it's easy to start to build a reputation in brand work. Brands depend on working with creators who have professionalism and follow-through.”

You might think you love pizza, but Miriam Weiskind truly loves pizza. She has given pizza tours of Manhattan and Brooklyn for Scott’s Pizza Tours for over eight years, runs a website and blog at the ‘Za Report, is active on Instagram at @thezareport and now makes her own pies for her local community — with a month-long waiting list. And while Miriam also runs a Brooklyn-based creative studio called mdoubleu Design, she is clearly a professional pizza enthusiast.

To help people around the world learn a bit about Miriam and her passion for pizza, the Google Web Creators team partnered with her on a Web Story showcasing a virtual pizza tour of Brooklyn. 

The story’s title page draws you in with a mouth-watering video of a pizza being tossed and baked. The personal introduction makes you feel like you’re right there with her. She also appears throughout the Web Story, offering her opinions on what makes each pizza great.

Video shot in the pizza shops brings this Web Story to life. Instead of reading a blog post mentioning coal-fired pizza, you see a pizza with melted cheese emerging from an oven with red-hot coals.

The Web Story also has summary pages, featuring Miriam’s favorite pies at each pizza shop. It ends with the names of the three places visited in the story, and features photos and a link to  locate these places on Google Maps.

We recently chatted with Miriam about her love of pizza, and how that’s given her success on the web and social media.

How did you find your audience?

I began working with Scott’s Pizza Tours, giving tours once a week while working as a freelance art director in advertising and branding. My passion and love for pizza grew from that.

How did you figure out what you wanted to sell?

During the pandemic, I began to bake [pizza] pies for free to help those out who lost their jobs, were first responders or essential workers, or who were feeling sad or isolated due to the pandemic. Word of mouth quickly spread that I baked amazing pizza for free, and people began to donate to keep me baking. I now offer a limited menu of wood-fired pizzas and Sicilian pies that sell out 30 days ahead of time.

Tell us about your brand. How do you want it to be perceived by followers and fans?

I’m a pretty simple woman, working to make it in the pizza world while leaving a lasting impression to inspire others to do good and be good to others. Followers and fans love my story and the amazing pizza when they try it. 

How do you come up with ideas for content for your blog?

On a whim. I let ideas come to me, but I do have a certain algorithm I stick to in order to keep my audience engaged. Also, I do everything on my own. I want my voice to stay true to who I am, and if I were to have someone else do it for me, I don’t feel it would resonate as well with my audience.

How do you manage your content calendar? Any suggested tools or resources you rely on?

I use a text editor on my phone. I should really use a calendar.

Please share some of your most successful posts/content. Why did they work so well for you?

Anything related to my mom and how she inspired me followed by beautiful pizza shots. I was being myself and allowing people to connect to my story.

Do you have tips for recycling your content across platforms?

I shoot multiple things for one post. I like to do a teaser, then a post a day later. I always shoot video, and share snippets in stories. Stories are the fastest ways to catch eyeballs these days on Instagram. 

What advice would you share with your earlier self when you were starting on this journey, based on what you’ve learned along the way?

Set up a good website, and be ready for anything. Get organized and partner with people who want the best for you and your product.

Any other advice or tips for success that you’d like to share that we haven’t already asked about?

Never ever use a knife and fork to cut your pizza!

In 2014, Morgan Pitts was a recent college graduate with a small following of fellow Black women on Twitter and a serious interest in blogging. When we recently caught up with Morgan, she recalled an off-the-cuff tweet that mobilized a community around the #BlackGirlsWhoBlog hashtag and led to her @blackgirlswhoblog Instagram account (with 115,000 followers and growing). Now she uses her platform to curate and promote voices from across the web. Here are the five bloggers she says you should be following now.

CeCe Olisa

CeCe Olisa is a model and the co-founder of theCURVYCon, a three-day event hosted during New York Fashion Week. On her blog she writes about how to nurture confidence, begin new chapters of life and celebrate your own sense of style and fashion by exploring hers. “I am helping our community find more representation with the brands that ignored us in the past,” she wrote as she recalled how she achieved her dream of working with Nike.

Danielle Gray

Danielle Gray has been passionate about style and fashion for as long as she can remember. While pursuing a career in finance, she enrolled in classes at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, completing an Image Consulting Certificate in 2006. Around that time, she started sharing advice on AOL message boards, which she turned into her blog, The Style and Beauty Doctor. Today as a blogger and freelance writer, she writes about skincare, haircare and fashion. 

Melanie Marie

On her blog, In Drew’s Shoes, Melanie Marie writes about her on-the-go lifestyle, mom life and the entrepreneurial skills she has developed as the founder of her jewelry line. She is also the author of a children’s book, My Name is Unique Just Like Me! You can shop and keep abreast of all her content using her app.

Kayla Walker

Since she was a teenager, Kayla Walker was at the top of her class, and graduated magna cum laude from Clark Atlanta University. Today she blogs about skincare and style and mentors more than 40 young people striving to become influencers, and more than 500 college ambassadors. Kayla’s Instagram followerssee her working with gaggles of young women on photo sets to hone their images, and sharing her favorite outfits and skincare brands. On TikTok, her recent posts feature encounters with her younger sister as they navigate life under lockdown. 

Mattie James

Mattie James has written that she likes advice that’s “cut and dry...black and white...straight to the point” and “without the fluff.” Twice a week for four years, she took to the mic to share her own advice on her podcast, The Mattie James Show. Now she has turned to her own blog to continue that practice by sharing books that helped grow her business, how she feeds her family of five and what influencers should avoid while pitching brands.

In 2014, Morgan Pitts was a recent college graduate with a small following of fellow Black women on Twitter and a serious interest in blogging. When we recently caught up with Morgan, she recalled an off-the-cuff tweet that mobilized a community around the #BlackGirlsWhoBlog hashtag and led to her @blackgirlswhoblog Instagram account (with 115,000 followers and growing). Now she uses her platform to curate and promote voices from across the web. Here are the five bloggers she says you should be following now.

CeCe Olisa

CeCe Olisa is a model and the co-founder of theCURVYCon, a three-day event hosted during New York Fashion Week. On her blog she writes about how to nurture confidence, begin new chapters of life and celebrate your own sense of style and fashion by exploring hers. “I am helping our community find more representation with the brands that ignored us in the past,” she wrote as she recalled how she achieved her dream of working with Nike.

Danielle Gray

Danielle Gray has been passionate about style and fashion for as long as she can remember. While pursuing a career in finance, she enrolled in classes at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, completing an Image Consulting Certificate in 2006. Around that time, she started sharing advice on AOL message boards, which she turned into her blog, The Style and Beauty Doctor. Today as a blogger and freelance writer, she writes about skincare, haircare and fashion. 

Melanie Marie

On her blog, In Drew’s Shoes, Melanie Marie writes about her on-the-go lifestyle, mom life and the entrepreneurial skills she has developed as the founder of her jewelry line. She is also the author of a children’s book, My Name is Unique Just Like Me! You can shop and keep abreast of all her content using her app.

Kayla Walker

Since she was a teenager, Kayla Walker was at the top of her class, and graduated magna cum laude from Clark Atlanta University. Today she blogs about skincare and style and mentors more than 40 young people striving to become influencers, and more than 500 college ambassadors. Kayla’s Instagram followerssee her working with gaggles of young women on photo sets to hone their images, and sharing her favorite outfits and skincare brands. On TikTok, her recent posts feature encounters with her younger sister as they navigate life under lockdown. 

Mattie James

Mattie James has written that she likes advice that’s “cut and dry...black and white...straight to the point” and “without the fluff.” Twice a week for four years, she took to the mic to share her own advice on her podcast, The Mattie James Show. Now she has turned to her own blog to continue that practice by sharing books that helped grow her business, how she feeds her family of five and what influencers should avoid while pitching brands.