Interior by Maria Killam
Maria Killam knows color and knows blogging! She has created a mass following worldwide to her blog, MariaKillam.com, sharing her wisdom around color, decorating and style. In addition to sharing her expertise on the topic of blogging, she is giving away a digital copy of her book How To Choose Paint Colours to three lucky winners! More info about how to enter to win Maria’s digital book following her post. ***Giveaway Below – Ends June 15th***
By Maria Killam
Internationally Sought-After Colour Expert, Decorator & Blogger
North Vancouver, Canada
My best advice to anyone with a passion is to start a blog. Blogging establishes you as an expert in your field. It will help you discover your voice and define your look if you are a designer.
A question I get a lot is: ‘How much do I give away? If I put everything I know into my blog, no-one will hire me?’
I worried about that too in the beginning. I also thought that I should be going after the high-end client as a designer, however the more I wrote, the more I realized that really my no-nonsense, practical advice was for everyone. So then I stopped being afraid to say that I occasionally shop at discount stores to find the right accessories for my clients.
Every problem you solve for your clients creates another problem,that you can help them with. Ten years ago before I started my design business, I worked in corporate, and dreamed about following my passion.
Problem: Hated my job.
Solution: Quit my job, become a self-employed designer
New Problem: Finding enough business to continue working in the field that I loved.
Solution: Paid for a 2 day webinar for designers and the message was, if you are a designer, you should have a blog.
And that is how Colour me Happy was born.
So don’t be afraid to talk about your passion . The more you give away, the more the reader is thinking ‘I need to hire this person because she really knows her stuff’.
I give everything away, including lots of advice, on my blog, since it’s almost 3 ½ years old and it’s changed my entire life! There you can find almost any answer for all your colour dilemmas from countertops, flooring, backsplash, furniture and of course wall colour. Four years of working in a high end paint store and conducting thousands of consultations gave me the experience and background to distinguish undertones which I teach in my ebook: How to Choose Paint Colour: It’s All in the Undertones and my True Colour Expert Workshops.
For more information on Maria, please visit: www.MariaKillam.com
Maria Killam is a blogger, decorator, stylist, and internationally sought after Colour Expert. Her no- nonsense colour advice, friendly and inspiring writing style quickly turned Colour me Happy into one of the top 10 colour blogs in North America with readers in over 150 countries around the world. Maria’s experience conducting thousands of consultations in every style of home created the foundation for her system of distinguishing undertones that she writes about in her ebook: How to Choose Paint Colours – It’s all in the Undertones. Her blog has been featured in The Washington Post five times.
For more information on Maria, please visit: www.MariaKillam.com
***GIVEAWAY***
Maria will be giving away a digital copy of her book How To Choose Paint Colours to three lucky winners.
The giveaway for the downloadable book has the same rules as the other Speakerpalooza giveaways:
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Yes, a blog.
CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT.
My blog is bringing so much work I’ve NOT done the tweaks I know I need to do with it. How crazy is that in the worst economy since the Great Depression?
You have great content Maria, & I always give your name to women I mentor.
Love watching you buy a house & remodel knowing you’ve EARNED this. Love buying 2 investment properties recently even more.
Garden & Be Well, XO Tara
I’ve been following Maria for a year now and although I live halfway around the world, I am seriously thinking of making a trip to Vancouver to attend her color workshop! Her blog is THAT effective. I would love a copy of her book, and to win it would be such a bonus!
“Every problem you solve creates another problem.” No truer words were ever spoken about home decorating! Guess that’s why I’m addicted to your blog, Maria.
Hi Maria,
I stumbled onto your blog in when you had just started and have been a faithful subscriber ever since and remember sharing your excitement with your first blog anniversary. Colour Me Happy is the ONLY blog that I read consistently because of its content, style and flavor. It’s just a fun blog that I really enjoy reading and that I share with everyone I know as an example of the perfect blog, in my opinion. I love your combination or colour advice and personal stories and opinions. You’re authentic, fun, knowledgeable and a true pro!
Maria has a very honest approach in her blogging. I have learned a lot from her.
Maria is one of my favorite bloggers and a great inspiration to me in every way!! Thanks for this post, it was just what I needed to hear this morning!
Maria,
I really enjoy your blog and it does seem like it is alot of work so I continue to shy away from doing one. But this gives me renewed inspiration to follow through and start mine. Thank you so much for your continued sharing and caring!
Hi Maria,
Thank you for all the wonderful content on your blog & for this inspiring guest post! I plan to get blogging by 2013. For now, I am getting up-to-speed on the blogging life and taking lots of notes to create content. This summer, I plan to get my camera out a lot more & will finally enter the land of Pinterest as another way to begin building an on-line presence. I’m a color afficianado–who used to simply LOOK at and dream about my Caran d”Ache pencils as a kid. I’d love to win your book & already have it on my reading list!
Best,
Julie