Midjourney Prompts for Beginners – What do the Colon Dots Mean Around Words?
In Midjourney, weight is used to emphasize certain words or parts of a prompt. It helps the AI understand which elements are more important to you, making those details stand out in the final image.
You apply weight by adding :: and a number after specific words or phrases, like this:
Higher weight (e.g., ::2 or ::3) means “focus more on this detail.”
Lower weight (e.g., ::0.5) means “this detail is less important.”
For example, in the prompt:
“a very green apple::3 in a soft background::1”
The apple (with ::3) is emphasized more strongly than the background (with ::1).
If no weights are used, Midjourney treats each part equally.
LLM, AI and NLP Tools for SEO – How Do You Choose and Test?
How musch free time do you dedicate to learning a new tool before you dump it and hire someone, or keep learning and add it to your skill set? 2 years ago, I’d only heard about Midjourney from Reddit. When I explored more, it turned out I needed to use a platform called Discord. Now, Discord was introduced to me on Twitter. I’d only joined one group and filled out my profile. Not active at all, and not spending time learning as it didn’t offer me any useful knowledge potential, or business networking opportunities.
So, for me to discover Midjounrey on my own journey, without any help and just my own compulsion one day. I was insanely curious. I had already decided that if I couldn’t grasp the basics in 20 minutes, time to stand up and walk to the kettle, or throw the keyboard at the cat.
If it’s clear I’m not a natural with [the tool], perhaps it’s too technical for me to learn new skills (JSON), and I’m time poor. I do value productivity tools – but if the tool takes me 4 hours of video tuition just for the basics – I’ll pay someone or beg a favour.
Business PIvoting, Splitting and Niching – A Freelancer’s Journey to Daily Fun
One of the biggest business lessons I learned from around 2015, after 7 years freelancing, I bloody hated Google Adwords. I hated the data and reading spreadsheets. Everything was manual as I don’t have a marketing budget to buy Saas tools. As a consequence, every Adwords project was time and skill intensive, my concentration could not be broken by interruption, and I despised all of the tasks. I don’t want to take my 2013 certification and pass, and then not keep up every year with the continual learning.
How SEO Has Changed Over The Decades – Be Dedicated To Continually Learn SEO to Benefit Your Clients – and Sate Your Curiousity
There’s always a reason why SEO’s split, or pivot. I had got to the point whereby I refused begging clients’ money to run their Google Adwords accounts. I stopped offering it as a service, and when a new SEO client asked me about Adwords, I’d be upfront and refuse. The way my refusal was worded was simple: I can advise on the surface and happy to give you a basic 10 minute audit without you paying.
I will not spend time reporting anything, I just know if you are a sole trader, and you have setup Google Adwords by yourself, you’re going to lose every single penny, probably in one day. I loevd SEO so hard, and felt natural smashing my keyboard for fourteen fun hours a day. I struggled with stopping work – a thing I’ve not yet mastered. A quick glance at the monitor clock tells me it’s 23:45. I just need to finish this last bit off.
The Ruby Red Flag: A Cautionary Tale
Clients who failed at setting up Google Ads accounts (I can’t keep typing ‘Adwords’; it hurts) have lost all their budget in 1 day (guilty), or make catastriphic expensive mistakes that cost them a whole month’s budget overnight. Then there’s the clients with too much money and zero management skills.
No matter how bad I think you’d be at the job, you’re not as bad as that one client on my first day training in the office. They were an American Ruby On The Rails agency and sponsored the single word ‘Ruby’ on broad match. They had been spending $1,000/week in 2013 and asked me why they weren’t getting leads. The keyword ‘Ruby’ obviously bought up Google images of 40th Wedding Anniversary jewellery, gifts and services websites. Someone searching for a Ruby Anniversary would click on the Ruby On The Rails agency and see a job application form. I genuinely LOL, but it came out more like a foghorn HA! The person in charge was the receptionist. She was also in charge of their LinkedIn posts.
I absolutely cannot make this shit up. It’s one of my favourite Funny SEO Stories.
Anyway, why did you read this far? I just wanted to tell you that I was really excited I discovered something new – to me.
I thought all the other Midjourney L plate wearers who want to try out the image generation tool could learn something cool in under 20 minutes, and that weighting is a thing. I did learn this back in April 2024 at a friend’s house. Some live broadcast or other, I had lots of red wine and I do remember a large G&T bowl glass the size of Bournemouth. It was the ::dots:: that amazed everyone in chat, and my friends were writing it down and texting others too. So that’s why I particularly remembered the double dots and asked GPT yesterday, curious to see whether there were more for me to learn.
And all because I could learn an AI-driven image generation tool in under 20 minutes 6 months ago. Here’s some funny, poor, and a few acceptable ones I’ve generated this month:
Here’s the interview style that Claude popped out:
Lessons from the AdWords Era: When to Say No
Drawing from her extensive experience dating back to 2013, Payne shares a pivotal business lesson: “Sometimes, the most valuable service you can offer clients is honesty about what you won’t do.” Her candid approach to refusing Google Ads management has saved countless small businesses from potential budget disasters.
“I’d rather give a free 10-minute audit and tell someone they’re about to lose their money than take their budget knowing they’re doomed to fail.”
The Ruby Red Flag: A Cautionary Tale
One of Payne’s most memorable experiences involves a Ruby on Rails agency that accidentally targeted anniversary jewelry shoppers. This costly mistake, spending $1,000 weekly on the broad match keyword “Ruby”, serves as a perfect example of why expert guidance matters.
Embracing AI: The Midjourney Discovery
In April 2024, Payne’s journey took an unexpected turn when she discovered Midjourney’s weighted prompts system. As referenced in the Midjourney documentation, the double colon (::) weighting system revolutionizes how we can control AI image generation.
The Human Touch in a Digital World
What sets Payne apart isn’t just her technical expertise – it’s her ability to recognise when technology should enhance rather than replace human judgment.
I asked Gemini whether I can use ::double colon:: as a Wordporess tag, and the reply was yes, it won’t mess with my website architecture. So I asked “Are you sure” and I was glad I asked. I have made mistakes in the past, one actually cost me £110 but I’ll tell you that in person.
Her approach to AI tools demonstrates this perfectly: embrace what works quickly, outsource what doesn’t, and always maintain ethical standards.
Looking Forward: The SEO Lady’s Vision
As documented in her Discord journey, Payne’s exploration of new technologies doesn’t mean abandoning tried-and-true SEO principles. Instead, she’s creating a blueprint for how seasoned professionals can adapt to rapid technological change while maintaining their core values.
