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What’s a permalink? How do I find mine?

April 24, 2010 1 Comment

Knowing what a permalink is and how to find one is an important part of blogging. Memes, contests, giveaways, blog parties, and the like almost always require you to link up using a permalink to a specific blog entry. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know what said permalink is, much less how to find one. Sadly, the hosts of the blog events have to delete numerous entries/links because the entrant linked the URL and not the permalink.

Here’s what a URL looks like:

http://hannahbraboy.com

Using a link like the one above will lead to your main site or blog. It doesn’t lead to any specific blog post.

Here’s what a permalink looks like:

http://hannahbraboy.com/2010/04/an-ideal-life/

If you use a link like the one above, it will link directly to a specific post. This is called a permalink. To find yours…

  1. Go to your home page.
  2. Click on the post title you want to link to.
  3. Copy the link in the address bar.
  4. Use it wherever needed!

Now, can you promise me you will use a permalink from now on? That way, when you sign a linky or tweet or whatever, I will be able to get to that specific, fabulous post of yours!

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Twitter and Social Networking Tips

April 1, 2010 Leave a Comment

Social networking can be a great tool if used right, but it can also be a waste of time and get you into some trouble if you aren’t careful.

  1. I generally do not friend or follow men unless we have met in person and/or my parents approve.
  2. Go for quality and not quantity. Develop good relationships with your readers, online friends, and followers. Be their friend- don’t just use them as a marketing tool. That’s not cool.
  3. If someone needs help, help ‘em out! Even if you aren’t a frugal/couponing blogger, you might still have some experience, tips, or stories to share.
  4. Put out up to about five Tweets about your newly published blog post the day of, past that it’s old news. However, if someone needs a little help with something and you (or someone else) have a blog post on it, by all means share it with them!
  5. Use hashtags in your tweets. If you have a tweet about, say, The Relevant Conference that says “I am really wanting to go to Relevant this year!”. Instead, include the Relevant hashtag (#Relevant10) and the host(s) like this, “I am really wanting to go to #Relevant10 this year! @SarahMaeBlogs @MutheringHeights @mrsmoneysaver” If you do this, then all Tweets about The Relevant Conference will be organized in one place and the hosts will know you tweeted about their conference!

Do you have a Twitter or social networking tip? Please do share!

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Blogging Basics: Organizing and Simplifying Your Blog

March 25, 2010 2 Comments

Have you ever been to some really cluttered blogs? You know, the ones with every piece of flair and award they have won in their sidebar, the music player, every link they like, and blogroll they are part of? Annoying, no? They may have good content, but they just aren’t very eye pleasing or reader friendly.

I am going to show you how to fix that and make sure your blog doesn’t end up like that!

Lets start with the sidebars.

  1. See what content you have {in your sidebars}.
  2. Make virtual piles: delete, keep, and {put} elsewhere.
  3. Act. Delete your delete pile and organize the things that you’d like to keep, but don’t need to stay on your sidebar.
  4. Last, make your sidebars look pretty and keep the content that is on them organized and streamlined.

As far as your main content and design go, keep it simple, looking great, and easy to navigate. It will take you a long way. If you can’t design your blog yourself or don’t have time to learn, hire someone. I suggest Graphically Designing.



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Blogging Basics: Making It Easy

March 12, 2010 Leave a Comment

It’s a real pain having to hunt around for things on a blog. Make it easy for your readers to:

  1. subscribe
  2. search your blog
  3. grab your button
  4. read more about you
  5. comment

If you don’t make it easy for readers to do those things, they might not come back. Spend some time and make it super easy for them to find those things.

Go make awesome blogs!

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Blogging Basics: Growing Your Blog

February 19, 2010 Leave a Comment

Growing your blog is a lot of work. The close friendships that are a result are priceless.

1. Commenting – Comment regularly on the blogs you read. When you receive a comment {from another blogger}, return the favor by commenting on their blog.

2. Social networking – Twitter, Facebook, and the like are all great tools to connect with readers beyond the comments and promote your blog. Use them to their fullest.

2. Email – Email you close blog buddies regularly. Set up times to meet with them. This might be a little more often for bloggers who live closer together.

3. Guest posting – Ask a few friends {with blogs} if they’d be interested in you guest posting for them. Also, you might want to throw the offer out to guest post on yours.

4. Word of mouth – Write really good, make your posts word of mouth-worthy, and make it easy to share them with others.

5. Blogrolls – Put your friends on your blogroll. When you do, they will most likely put you on theirs.

6. Advertising – See if you and a few blog friends can trade blog ads.

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Blogging Basics: Writing Tips

February 17, 2010 Leave a Comment

1. Write what you are passionate about.

2. Write from where you’ve been. You aren’t the only one.

3. Interact with your readers.

4. Write for God. Give it to Him.

5. Let go. Let God take you, your blog, and your writing over. Let Him be glorified.

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