Sophie (Chanko) Dare

LISTEN HERE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3q8iHOd2icirSipnkE7fae?si=PRGDVrjwQJOImicZ8qFrOQ

Creative, ethereal musician Florence + The Machine decided to release this track last week as a way to bring some hope into a world that is struggling. All proceeds from this song are being donated to the UK's Intensive Care Society to support frontline healthcare workers as they fight against Coronavirus.

The song opens up about experiencing the lonely feeling of being lost and wandering through dark times. But it slowly grows and swells to an uplifting exhortation:

Don't go blindly into the dark

In every one of us shines the light of love

Every one of us can use a little more encouragement these days, and this song brings that along with a healthy dose of honesty. It acknowledges the darkness and lack of hope that permeates the air lately, and the feeling of not wanting to face the day, but it reminds us:

And now we are awake and it seems too much to take

I want to close my eyes because I fear my heart will break

I want to look away, I want to look away, I want to look away

I must not look away

Don't go blindly into the dark

In every one of us shines the light of love

Thanks for reading!

LISTEN HERE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3iEqGBZ2wcpVzhiAcwXVC6?si=uXH5zmQoSDSHu2Ibmgvd5g

The 1975 are here with another new single leading up to their next album, Notes On A Conditional Form. This track is a bright, upbeat pop-rock tune that has already been put out into the world; the band has played it onstage throughout their UK tour this past year, so fans finally get a real studio version of the track instead of phone camera footage!

If You're Too Shy has the same unashamed, cheesy 80's/90's pizzazz as some of their previous work, such as Me & You Together Song and She's American. Bright guitar tones, catchy leads, and tons of keyboards & horns make this a big, flashy tune that's a fun listen.

The lyrics talk about the shiny illusions of idealized online relationships, and even reference Stephen King's The Shining a few times for some literary flair.

Thanks for reading! Happy listening!

Online classes have become the norm for students everywhere these days, but I feel like I've got everyone beat: I've been doing college courses online since last fall, so I've got this whole remote learning thing down.

I just finished my Organizational Behavior class several weeks early, and I decided that, before jumping into the daunting tasks of Accounting I and II, I would give myself a little break and take a more fun course:

This is a free course offered online through Google, with no time limits or requirements- sounds too good to be true, right? It's a very accessible course that spells out the basics of the business of online marketing, and I very much enjoyed it. You watch short, lecture-style video clips for each concept, and take little quizzes along the way to check your knowledge. The final exam at the end is around 40 questions, and once you pass that, you get a certificate that you can download and add to your LinkedIn profile.

I learned so much from this course that I can't wait to (hopefully) use in a marketing internship, or a social media management job someday! I figured that plenty of people who read my posts on this platform could also want to gain knowledge about the business of an online presence; that's why I'm sharing about it with you all.

If any of you have been interested in learning about:

• Search Engine Optimization and Marketing (SEO & SEM)
• How to interpret and use website analytics to your advantage
• Different types of advertising
• How to target groups of your audience & attract potential customers
• Optimizing your web presence for social media and mobile users
• E-commerce and successfully selling your products online

...then this could be a great way to use your time at home to learn something new!

Follow this link and sign in with your Google account to get started!

https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage/course/digital-marketing

(I don't know if I need a disclaimer, but just in case... this is not an ad, I can only dream of the day that Google would want me to advertise for them!)

Thanks for reading! Happy learning!

1. Analytics

As you can see in @consistentbenny's insightful article, blog analytics are incredibly useful tools for creators. They allow us to see what's working & what's not, when people visit or click on our content, and how many total views a page has gotten. I left my less-than-stellar WordPress site in the dust once I jumped into creating on Coil, but one thing that I immediately missed was the handy-dandy bar graph on my WordPress dashboard, showing me each day's numbers and traffic to my blog posts.

My main issue with having absolutely no traffic analytics is not being able to see how much of a reach my posts really have. The only way I have a clue about how well my post is doing is the number of upvotes, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who read without upvoting, as well as plenty of people who read but can't upvote because they don't have a paid subscription!

I realize the paid model is there to foster a dedicated community, but I have lots of people I know who want to read and support my content just the same. Just because they don't pay Coil doesn't mean I shouldn't be able to see how many of them paid me a visit on my page!

When I type my name into Google, my Coil blog is the third result from the top. This page has got pretty strong SEO for myself, so I would be very curious to know how much traffic I really pull to my site.

2. Suggested/For You Page

This one's a little more complicated, but I think this feature could work wonders. Obviously, we already have feeds for who we're following and what's climbing the trending board, as well as featured posts at the top, and all of those options are great places to start whenever I log in, ready to read. But wouldn't it be nice if you read Riley's post about the new song she's writing, and below it, you got suggestions to check out my review of a pop song that just got released, or one of Nick's posts about his local guitar gigs?

Tik Tok, the social media of choice for Gen Z and younger millennials, has got this personalized feed down to a science- I can tell how incredibly responsive it is, tailoring my feed to videos similar to the last couple I've liked or shared.

It's a great way to keep users scrolling through the platform longer and interacting with more content, because they're being shown what they want to see.

3. Better Search Function

I don't think I have to explain this one too much; a search bar with only six available options can't always give you what you're looking for. A search page that could ping any keywords or subjects in any article across Coil could give new users an easier way to find creators who are blogging about subjects that they are interested in.

4. Mobile App!

This is a big one, and let me be clear – I've never developed an app before, or coded anything in my life, so I have no idea how much work goes into developing an app. But I know that I can't wait for the day that I can tell everyone to download the Coil app to read my blog on! An app will open up the world of Coil to so many new users when it's easily accessible from anywhere, right on your phone.

I do have a few ideas as to what would make Coil Mobile the best app out there... maybe I should dip my toes into web design sometime soon. But until then...

...Thanks for reading, and thanks for being a subscriber!

LISTEN HERE:

https://open.spotify.com/track/3kzo89Y7fHjOlTrFJd3C1m?si=NDhlm9MGTmeBKGf4ENP8Ng

John the Ghost is the mysterious stage name of a not-so-mysterious man- the lead singer of the well-established pop-punk/emo band The Maine, John O'Callaghan, releases solo music periodically under this moniker.

Previous John the Ghost songs have a consistent theme of being quite introspective and melancholy, but not this one! Rolled Down Window has a carefree, guitar-driven, yet mellow feel. It tells a tale of speeding down a west coast highway, not caring about what's left behind, and “escaping my brain,” as John puts it.

Hand out the rolled-down window with the sunset on the West Coast and

Goodbye, so long my oldest friend

Take it easy, I ain’t coming back again

This track definitely draws influence from The Maine's more recent upbeat songs, with the same bright guitar tones and lighter lyrics. The musical structure and chord progressions, however, remind me a lot of Arctic Monkeys, circa 2013.

Thanks for reading!

The beauty industry has undergone major transformation and growth within the past decade; with the explosion of YouTube makeup tutorials and product reviews, learning how to create with makeup has become more and more accessible to the average consumer. I grew to know and love beauty content starting in high school, and I’ve had tons of fun over the years putting crazy colors of eyeshadow on my face and working at Ulta, a one-stop-shop for all things beauty.

The online beauty community has many niches and different creative minds, and I enjoy the content and styles of many unique creators. One artist’s work that I truly admired was Gabriela Trujillo.

Gaby is an MUA who has created looks for countless campaigns, brands, and people, including KathleenLights (a YouTuber with over 4 million subscribers) and Boxycharm (a monthly makeup subscription box). She is a Miami-raised, Cuban-born millennial who has been a working makeup artist since age 18, and she's developed her own signature style of face-art along the way.

So when Gaby announced that she was releasing her own cosmetics brand, I couldn’t be more excited. I ordered her first release, a six-pan eyeshadow palette, when it was released in May of 2018, and I was honestly not ready for the incredible quality that I encountered.

The Reina del Caribe palette (Queen of the Caribbean, for my non-Spanish speakers) has beautiful, compact packaging, and the colors really pack a punch unlike any other eyeshadows I own... and that’s saying something, because I own a lot of eyeshadow palettes. The colors are super bright, super pigmented, and blend wonderfully together. Don't believe me? Here's some looks with the shadows in action:

@prettyspiffy1

[](https://www.instagram.com/prettyspiffy1/)

@kathleenlights

[](https://www.instagram.com/kathleenlights/)

...Me!

Since the first release, Alamar has released brush sets, blush and bronzer palettes, and lip glosses, all with stylish packaging and high-quality product.

@alamarcosmetics

[](https://www.instagram.com/alamarcosmetics/)

All in all, I think that this woman-owned brand is more than worth buying from – Alamar products are priced at a notch below Sephora prices, and in my opinion, the quality far surpasses the cost. All products are also made in the US and cruelty free. Anyone who wants some makeup to jazz up their normal routine or add a little bit of sparkle will not be disappointed by Alamar.

Visit alamarcosmetics.com to shop or follow them on Instagram @alamarcosmetics!

Thanks for reading!

I've never quite understood the appeal of “building your brand” and “marketing yourself” online before.

Why do I need a brand? I don't have a company, and I'm not trying to sell people anything!

But after spending many days at home these past few weeks, watching other girls on Instagram (in their 20's, just like me) hustling at their self-made businesses and continuing to make a living, even when the rest of the world is in an economic collapse...

...I figured I could take a few tips from them, even though I'm not a professional life coach or a cosmetics salesperson.

I may not have a business or a product or service to sell people (yet), but what I do have is the humble beginnings of

Being a part of this community, the beta version of Coil, has gotten me thinking about the big picture: I want to continue to blog, to create, and to get paid for it. I want the long-term freedom of bringing in an income from home and being able to work on my own terms.

Heck, all I've done for the past two weeks (being quarantined at home and not working) has been writing blog posts, reading other bloggers' content, and improving my graphic design skills! It must be my passion if I'm willing to sit, staring at a computer for hours on end doing it, right?

I love blogging, I love Coil, and I'm in this for the long haul. So I figured it was time to step up my game and

I started with coming up with a color scheme; visual cohesiveness works wonders for your professional image, especially on social media profiles like Instagram.

I used Canva to create a grid, and I inserted my favorite colors to use in graphics and text- and so was born my brand color palette!

I used my favorite colors (blush pink, rose gold, yellow, sage green, light gray), bright yet subdued, as well as some staple neutrals.

Next, I thought that the color scheme needed some more cohesiveness- a way to make it flow better- so I made a moodboard, using photos from Google, Pinterest, or Tumblr that combine my colors in a more visually pleasing, aesthetic way:

I personally am IN LOVE with the way the moodboard helps me visualize the way my color palette fits together – I can't recommend it enough if you're trying to figure out any sort of color scheme.

Finally, I created some slides for my Instagram story highlights (in my brand colors, of course) to make my profile more cohesive:

My highlights contain animated slides that I designed in order to educate people about Coil and tell the story of my experience on the platform, as well as a place to save all of my photos from Ecuador, photos of recipes I make, and information about my Fiverr page.

I also created a linktr.ee in order to keep all of my important links in one place in my bio:

All of this designing and branding took me many, many hours, and my computer was not very happy with me running design software for that long (MacBooks aren't supposed to sound like jet engines, last I checked). But it was honestly the most fun I've had in weeks, and I can't believe that I am blessed enough to have the time, resources, brainpower, creativity, and platform to put in this work on my small-time online career. I can barely call it work – more like passion.

Thanks for reading!