A Word About Blogging...

actually lots of words. A few weeks back, my blog buddy and fabulous fotog Bethany did this post: Blogger 101, and I thought it was such a helpful post. I learned a bunch of new tricks (thank you Bethany!!), so I thought it would be fun to highlight her post here and share a few more things that have helped me...with you, the bloggers in my bloggerhood.

1. Add this gadget ☟ to your side bar...


and then do it yourself. I think it is helpful to subscribe to your own blog because then you can see it how everyone else sees it. Also...subscribe to your comments. That way if someone comments on an older post, you won't miss it. I prefer to have these come through google reader rather than through my email, leaving my email wide open for all the junk stuff my mom and little brother send me. ☺

#2 Speaking of Email...I think it is a good idea to add your email address to your blogger profile and a blog button to your sidebar. Sometimes people would rather ask a question or say something in private. I am more likely to answer a question through an email rather than here on my blog, because I'm not sure if they will ever check back. (If you have ever asked me a question in a comment, and I haven't answered you (sorry), just send me an email).




Your email button can be any image that you want. I am loving Bethany's email me button in their 'stumes'...too cute! To make an email button, find the image you want for the button and add it to your side bar as an image. Instead of linking the image to a website, link it to your email by adding...mailto:your email address here.

#3 To see how many subscribers your blog has in google reader, Click on Show Details. This was a new one to me (thanks Bethany!)



#4 Also new to me was tagging posts in Google Reader...life changing I tell you. Until now, I had been starring every post that I liked, filling up my starred folder. Now everything is tagged in an organized manner (just how I like it)☺. Now when Valentine's Day rolls around next year (and you know it will be here again before you know it), I will have lots of inspiration to go to.

I think I tagged almost all of my blog buddy Amy's Valentine's posts this year, like this one and this one and I was ooohing over this one, if only I could sew (dangit!).


#5 Google Analytics...it's a neat thing, if only to peek in once in a while to see that your favorite Aunt Laurie (sorry Lisa) is pooping popping in to check on her favorite niece now and then.☺



#6 Music on blogs: If you happen to have a music player on your blog, and it is playing, I think it is a nice thing to have the player up high on your sidebar so that your readers don't have to scroll all the way down to the bottom to turn it off (because that is what most of us do). Also...if it still happens to be playing Bubbly by Colbie Caillat...for the love!

#7 Just a thought for all my 'private friends'...I would LOVE to get an email from you letting me know that you have updated your blog (just like google reader updates me on my non-secretive blog friends) . Even if I am not able to comment on everything, it is great to know that you are still active and that I won't be wasting my time by clicking over to your Christmas Recap (once again).

#8 Don't list people by their full names on your sidebar or even by their last names for that matter.

#9 A tip for the Newbies: If you do a link word on your post to another blog post, remember to link just the post, and not the entire blog.

#10 If you are a writer (and by writer I mean you are asking me to read a lot of words), I think it is helpful to bold key words or make them large or red (please, just not yellow). That way I can see right away what it is that you are thankful for on Thursday.☺

Some posts to note:
-1 I liked what Elise had to say here about blogging.
-2 I could not agree more with Hannah on her blog pet peeve.
-3 And I loved what my girl Mindi had to say about commenting on blogs and just her plain old thoughts on blogging too.

Now it's your turn...to spill'em. Any good tips that you want to share? I would love to hear them!

ps. See you next week with a post all about Facebook tips...aka 'blog lite'. Don'tcha just love being on a diet?! ☺
pps. Don't forget to read all the comments on all these blog posts that I linked...that is where all the good stuff is!