Happy October! 

Thank you so much for joining my email list! I hope that freebie, 

Three Questions to Help Craft Your Social Media Plan,

helped get you started on your 'gram journey.  

In these monthly emails, I'll be giving you updates on Craft & Cluster, social media tips, as well as your monthly content calendar, which you'll be able to find at the bottom of this email.  If you ever have any questions about the content of these emails or topics you'd like addressed in future emails, please message me! I love hearing from you.  

So, without further ado, I give you: 

Your October C&C email! 

The question of how often businesses should post on Instagram is one I get A LOT and I am afraid the answer is terribly annoying:

“It Depends.”

Cue eye rolling.

Back when Instagram prioritized posts chronologically, the best way to get your content noticed by your ideal client was to post multiple times per day, everyday (Yikes).

Fortunately for all involved, Instagram has switched over to a “smart” algorithm, so posting everyday isn’t necessary (unless that’s your jam, you do you). These days, it prioritizes posts based on a number of factors, including who you interact with most frequently and whether or not your content is deemed “valuable.”

Your posting frequency and times will depend largely on,

1. If/when you are able to engage with your followers,

    -I recommend engaging ten minutes before and ten minutes after you make your post. 

    -If you can only truly engage on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Noon, then you should only post on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Noon.

2. If you have content that fills at least one of the following criteria:

   -It's Entertaining,

   -It's Educational or Informative,

   -It forges some kind of a connection

[These are the three main reasons your ideal customer is USING Instagram. Don’t post just for posting’s sake!]

All of that said,

I DO recommend showing up in your feed at least two times per week and showing up in your stories at least five times per week.

Harvest 2019

Santa Barbara Wine Country is well and truly in the thick of things here.  This is the first vintage I haven't been directly involved with the production of wine since my very first harvest with Foxen Winery in 2012, so to say I'm feeling a wee bit guilty at not being as sleep deprived as my winemaker/vineyard manager friends is an understatement.
I've been out on three night picks for photos this year though, so I've managed to get my boots a little juicy.

Couples & Family Photos

I have been taking on a few couples and family photo sessions this autumn in preparation for the holidays. If you are interested in this, please email me

Home Life

Bobby has started home brewing again. We are thinking of using our other Instagram @craftandclustersips to document the process.

Otto & Jackson (our pups) are as cute as ever but currently suffering from fleas, which is less cute.

Our chickens (Babette, Miss Patty, and Leia) are all currently going through their annual molting season, so have been producing fewer eggs. I am protein deprived as a result.