Blog Guidebook

Grow Your Blog On Pinterest - Part Three

2012-02-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

Pinterest has practically exploded the past month, everyone is talking about it, blogging about it and using it. It's the next best thing to fried cheese!
In the last two parts of our series we covered some of the basics of Pinterest, such as how to pin, what to pin, with a little dash of self-promotion thrown in. Now we want to discuss some of possible controversies and ins & outs.

The Privacy Issue
Indeed, privacy is a big deal. Once you load an image onto your blog or onto Facebook you've pretty much launched it into outerspace for millions of people to view. When you PIN an image you are actually sending that image to Pinterest's servers. So even if you delete your image in the future, Pinterest still has your image to do with what they like. Think about what you pin if it is questionable, such as images of your children or where you live.

The Ownership Issue
Recently, I've noticed a big surge of images that don't link back to their original source. That can be frustrating for those of us who like to find out more about an image or read the tutorial that is supposed to accompany it - and can be even more frustrating for the owner of that image. Can you imagine having a photo you took go viral on Pinterest and not link back to your site? You would not get the traffic for one thing (and we all want traffic), but you also wouldn't receive the credit you deserve!

Solutions
At the moment Pinterest is completely PUBLIC. Which means anyone, anywhere can look at your pins. If you don't care about this then it's not a problem. If it concerns you, then you might want to consider other image sharing sites with higher privacy options (listed below). Just remember to only pin what you are comfortable with sharing!

Pinterest Etiquette Stopping problems before they start: some bloggers have mentioned that they find their photos on other sites and it only says Inspired by Pinterest and the link goes to Pinterest and then their site. Make sure and find out where the pin came from and leave proper credit (avoid laziness in that department...it only takes a few clicks!)

Regarding ownership, this is a reminder to watermark (see below) your personal images with your website or blog's name - so anyone viewing that image can see the source. You could also add a copyright symbol.

Think about it before you PIN it. Go to the source. If you are getting ready to pin something, do the right thing and make sure you pin it from its original source. If you can get to its origin then don't pin it.

Did you know you don't can LIKE an image on Pinterest instead of PINNING it?
If an image has already been pinned but you're not sure where it came from and you just want to save it for your own use, you can click the LIKE button (next to Pin It). That way you won't be pinning something without the source attached.
Did you know there are other sites just like Pinterest? Some of these sites are perfect for those of us who would prefer a higher degree of privacy or security, but still enjoy great style and organization.
A few of these sites include:

all clips default to private

for the manly pinner

offers completely private boards

and finally a new favorite of mine is:


no invitation necessary, privacy available, color indexing (cool!), and exportable to an Excel spreadsheet!

Watermarking Options

There are hundreds - just a few here:

A) Downloads


This option is just $20, looks simple and you can watermark multiple images at once!

If you have Photoshop:

DOWNLOAD THE RUSSELL BROWN WATERMARK PANEL FOR PHOTOSHOP CS5

Thanks to

Jodi Friedman, MCP Actions

B) Online - no download necessary

LOVE! I tried this and loved it. Simple. Easy to use. Upload almost any size photo/image. You can drag the text or image watermark wherever you like on the photo and fade in and out. FREE!

LIKE! Also easy to use. Has a few more features, but you can only upload images under 500KB. Has a batch uploading feature too (have not tried yet). More font options.

C) From Your Phone

Watermark Me - Cost $1.99 on iTunes

Turns your image into a watermark

iWatermark - Download FREE or .99 for Android

Photomarkr - Cost $2.99 on iTunes

Photomarkr

PINTEREST IS GROWING!

From Yahoo! News:
According to a recent study conducted by Sharaholic, Pinterest drove more referral traffic to sites in January than Google+, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn and MySpace all combined. In addition, it’s threatening to unseat Twitter, Google news, Google images, Gmail and Stumble Upon in the coming months to slide into the number two spot behind Facebook. Since July 2011, referral traffic from Pinterest has grown from 0.17 percent to 3.6 percent in January 2012. While Facebook holds the top spot at over 25 percent of all referral traffic, the rate of growth from Pinterest is astounding for a social network that’s so young.

It's only going to get bigger...right? Some of us find it much more entertaining than Facebook!

A Little Bit of Controversy

If you post a pin to Pinterest, and it links to an e-commerce site that happens to have an affiliate program, Pinterest modifies the link to add their own affiliate tracking code, which is really smart and how do they make money otherwise?
If someone clicks through the image from Pinterest and makes a purchase, Pinterest gets paid. They don’t have any disclosure of this link modification issue on their site. What do you think about this undisclosed information? The point is that we've come to expect honesty and frankness from Pinterest haven't we? If they'd just mentioned it somewhere in the small print that they would modify user submitted pins, then it would be no big deal.

"I did another test in which I modified the URL of my original pin with an affiliate link. I was pleased to discover that the affiliate link I had placed was not overwritten by SkimLinks when I clicked on the pin and was transferred to the merchant site." - Joel Garcia

Read more about the Pinterest, Skimlinks, and affiliate codes HERE and HERE.

We'd love to keep discussing the Pinterest bandwagon...what are your thoughts, concerns, and hopes for Pinterest and pinning? Share these in the comments below.

Coming next time in our Growing Your Blog on Pinterest Series:

- Life in the "Board" Room
- More Pinterest buttons

Read Part 1 & 2 HERE and HERE

Valentine's Day Freebie from Makin' Cute Blogs

2012-02-14T05:54:00.000-08:00

Makin' Cute Blogs owner, Carolynn, has sent us a cute freebie header for everyone to use. Just click on the image and download to your desktop. Click to open each file and save in your free header folder (or wherever). Love the pink for a Valentine's Day treat... Happy Heart Day to our lovely readers!

also available in blue and green - for personal use only

You Had Me At "Felties" - Pinner of the Week

2012-02-13T13:48:00.000-08:00

Our winner this week is Jodi...she had me at "Felties", "Bunnies", "Edward Bear", and "Cuppa Joe" boards! You will love her great board themes - like Star Wars, Crafts, and lots of yummy food everywhere! Good job Jodi - keep up the awesome pinning! Find Jodi HERE.

Trying my hand at Minted

2012-02-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

Have you all heard of Minted? It's a great online shop for invitations and personal stationery (and no one paid me to say that...they just always have my favorite designs). Their design community is wonderful, and they have lots of design contests throughout the year for anyone to enter! So I thought I would try my hand at the Minted design challenge this week—on a whim. The category is women's personal stationery flat-cards. I wanted to do something ikat-inspired with a tapestry feel. Something elegant. Here is my final design (boasting Sarah's daughter's name). If you like it, you can vote for my design, HERE.

If you are designer yourself, stop by and check out the upcoming challenges (or just rate some of the designs up for votes in their current challenges). It's a great place for inspiration, or a way to get your designs out there. Plus who knows—you just might win!

Slow Down and Smell The Roses or Write a Letter

2012-02-12T06:18:00.000-08:00

Blogging is fun. Emailing is quick. Texting is even quicker! But remember the mailman bringing a lovely, surprise envelope...the beautiful stationery and the joy of saving a special letter? Mary Robinette Kowal is challenging us to do just that.
Read her post about letter writing...(I'm going to write more letters this year, not just the month of February!)

Guest Post at Hip Homeschool Mom

2012-02-10T00:22:00.000-08:00

I would love it if you'd hop over to Hip Homeschool Moms and read my Guest Post (how to homeschool on a budget) - share the love! Thanks!

Valentine's Fun Around Blog Land

2012-02-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

Read All About The Love:

Bloggy Valentine's Day Parties:

this party is closed, but still some great ideas to see!

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

Blogs With Heart:

free printable subway art!

Add your own Valentine's Day link below or if you know someone else who has a great heart:

Valentine Roundup

2012-02-08T23:02:00.000-08:00

Last year we sold these little numbers to help raise money for a good cause. But this year they're all yours—for free! Simply click HERE to download.
For more Valentine's Day inspiration, check out Dandee's AMAZING blog, HERE. She has lots of wonderful ideas:

One of my favorites, How About Orange, has compiled a great list of printable Valentines HERE.

You can find my own feeble attempt at Valentine's Day crafting HERE.

I also just added a some new prints to my personal shop, HERE, and have included a few "lovely" additions like this one:

Have Some Time To Kill? Decorate Your Keyboard!

2012-02-07T07:13:00.000-08:00

Don't worry...everyone is doing it. You don't have to buy a kit to make it your own, you can create your own designs by using Japanese paper tape, aka Washi Tape. Just found a great source a few miles down the road from me HERE.

Or you can just purchase a "skin" for your keyboard to protect it from crumbs and spills:

Found on Amazon for $2.35 (click image for link)

This in-depth study of the keyboard decoration trend was inspired by Making It Lovely

Homemaking 101 at The Blog Guidebook

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hi New Friends!

My name is Missy, and I blog over at The Domesticated Diva. I am really pumped to be contributing at the Blog Guidebook.

Let me tell you a bit about me and why I'm here:

I'm an Okie-grown, brand-new mom in her late (EW!) twenties. I have been married for almost 5 years now, and our son is 4 months old. He's pretty stinking cute, so you should visit me sometime at my blog because I post a lot of pictures.

Ah, but I digress. Caleb's cuteness distracts me quite often.

Anyway- as I was growing up, I did not do house chores. I did not clean regularly and my idea of cooking was a box of macaroni and cheese. My laundry was done for me- in fact, when I went off to college my dad made me a "Laundry for Dummies" worksheet so I could learn to do it myself.

Domestically challenged was an understatement.

Now that I'm married, my goal is to create a home of refuge for my family. I blog about this often. I want to make a home that my family can come to and feel relaxed. I want them to feel like home is the safest place in the whole world.

About two years ago, I was chosen by Good Housekeeping to receive a "Helouise Homecall" from the woman from "Ask Helouise." She was so, so nice. After she answered my question (Side note: If you read the issue where the girl's dog barfed on her couch and she couldn't get the smell out, that was me!), we chatted for a few minutes about learning how to be a homemaker. I told her how it would be so helpful if someone would do a "homemaking 101" course.

Sometimes ya just gotta do things for yourself, so here we are today: That is what I will be contributing here!

Now that you have gotten to know me (we're best friends, right?) I would like to leave you with a quick tip:

Develop a routine to clean your house. List out what needs to be done daily, weekly, and monthly. Delegate chores out to your Hubby and kids.

Would you all like some printables with my routines? I'm totally open to share.

I can't wait to get to know you all better! I'm sure we are going to be great friends. :)

What do you think of this new series?

Get Some Bling For You - Not Just Your Blog

2012-02-04T17:00:00.000-08:00

Need a little reminder of your favorite passion?

Check out our friend Crystal's adorable bloggy necklace.

Available Now.

Try Linky Followers In Place of Google Friend Connect

2012-02-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

Is your blog on a non-Blogger platform? Are you concerned about losing all your Google Friend Connect followers in March? Well, here is one solution you may want to consider! We love using Linky Tools and Brent of Linky Tools has a new tool up his sleeve called Linky Followers. Linky Followers (LF) has all the bases covered too...add an image of your choice, you can read all the blogs you follow with LF in your reader (on their site), and you can add blogs to categories like Favorites!

Tell your readers to switch over this month before GFC shuts down on non-Blogger blog. Let us know what you think! And here's some info from their site:

Blogiquette Revisited - The Etiquette of Blogging

2012-02-01T16:33:00.000-08:00

I had already been blogging for more than two years when I first heard about Blogiquette.
{Psssst, that's the Etiquette of Blogging}.
Replying to comments. Following back. Leaving meaningful comments on others' blogs. Visiting commenters' blogs and leaving reciprocal comments. Oops, I thought, I haven't been doing any of that.
I'd better improve my blog-manners!

Of course it didn't help that I had a good ole Blogger blog with a comment system that makes it almost impossible to reply easily to comments. (See note below regarding Blogger commenting).
If you have one, you'll know how it goes...

You can reply in the post so it looks like you've replied... but the person who commented may never know (unless they come back to check).

You can hunt down the person's blog and leave a comment there (probably what they were after).
While you're there, might as well "follow" and hope they "follow back".

Or you can try the manual way - reply by email. Oops they don't have their email address visible in their profile. Your polite reply just went to No-reply@Blogger. Never mind. At least you tried.

So you spend the next months being super duper good at Blogiquette. Replying as best you can.

You get fed up with Blogger's antiquated comment system*. You try other options, Disqus, IntenseDebate. And watch your hard-won comments dry up like your granny's knickers in summer.
Obviously that was too much work for your readers, having to sign in every time, so you flag that.

Meanwhile, as you spend hours of each day trying to build your blog by being a polite blogger you watch enviously as Dooce and Pioneer Woman get hundreds of comments which you bet they don't reply to.

One Day, you tell yourself. One day you will be a mega-blogger too and have strangers by the hundreds leaving you amazing personal comments (in the hopes of standing out from the crowd) that nobody expects you to reply to. Your blog will be a household name and people will follow you just to read you. They won't expect you to follow back. Or heaven forbid actually read and comment on their blogs.

At the same time your laundry pile rivals Mt Everest, dust bunnies are planning a revolution in your hallway and your children have started referring to you as "the computer lady".

Something has got to give.

I am coming across more and more bloggers who have lost their blogging mojo as the pressure gets to them. Blogging has become one more thing on the To Do list, one more obligation, instead of the joyous creative community-spirited endeavor it was in the beginning.
So their blogs lie dormant, abandoned. Lovely blogs, funny blogs.
It's all become just too difficult.

Do you know what I'm talking about?

Are you there right now?

Or are you a new blogger... still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, enthusiastically replying to every comment and following back every blogger who follows you, whether you love their blog or not.

Whatever, wherever you are, lets take the pressure off, shall we?
Blogiquette is a great and noble concept. I'm all for manners.
But we have lives, don't we? Families and responsibilities that tug us away from the computer, much as we would love to spend hours being polite to virtual strangers.

So what do we do?

We re-evaluate. We figure out how much blogging time we get. Hmmmm. Not as much as we'd like.
We'd better Prioritise.

What comes first? Writing content for our own blog, surely? And reading those blogs which truly inspire us, make us laugh - the ones we will read whether the author ever comments on our blogs or not.

We can also make time to read the blogs of those bloggers we've built meaningful friendships with.

We check out a few newbies... and leave some encouraging meaningful comments. But not every day.

We reply to the comments where someone asks us a question, and to the comments that made our day, or intrigued us. If we have time we hop over and check out those bloggers (who knows, they could become our new favorite?)... and we leave it at that. Then we walk away from the computer.

Conquer the Laundry mountain. Fight back against the Dust Bunny Revolution. Reintroduce ourselves to our children.

And live our actual Real Lives. Without which we will have nothing to say.

What do you reckon, girls? Ready for some guilt free blogging?

*Note: The Blogger Commenting System has been recently upgraded to allow "threaded conversations". I am yet to get this working successfully on my blog.

Bloggy Map

2012-01-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

Recently came across this little gem...such a fun and cute idea. Although, do we really want to meet up in real life? Not sure...
But you should definitely take a look-see at the blogger behind the map at Latte Love and say hi from The Blog Guidebook gals!

Grow Your Blog On Pinterest - Part 2

2012-01-25T11:53:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few tips about using Pinterest a little differently than the average ~~bear~~ Pinner. Pinterest is quickly growing and will soon reach the Facebook and Twitter status, don't you think? Especially for those of us who don't particularly love social networking. I read recently that Pinterest is pulling in more pageviews than Etsy! Read that article from TechCrunch.com HERE.

BLOGGING BEAUTIFULLY = PERFECT PINTEREST

Give your potential pinners a hint of what is to come before they click on your pin. No one wants to go to your pin boards and see all the images from your blog. Create adorable buttons to give a hint of the images they'll find on your blog...let them pin YOU! (I'll be writing a new tutorial on creating buttons asap since Picnik is closing soon).

After you create a pinnable image it's a good idea to let your friends and readers know about it. If you don't want to pin it yourself, consider sending an email out to your subscription list (if you have one - a whole other post!)

Add a WATERMARK to your own photos. There are some quick and easy apps available for iPhone and Blackberry to add a watermark to photos taken with your phone before you ever post them, upload them or pin them! (More on watermarks next time!)

Pinterest is all about sharing...think about writing a tutorial on activities/crafts that you know would inspire others...then pin a beautiful photo or button image to promote it.

Meet and Greet other pinners. If someone is following you and you like the images the pin it is a good idea to return the favor. You can always drop them a little message and let them know you love their pins! (This will encourage 'like" behavior - hopefully).

Hand in hand - a beautiful blog encourages more pinning too. Consider a little blog spring cleaning, adding delectable images and buttons to your sidebar and/or posts...possibly a new graphic header to encourage more readers.

IS PINNING MY OWN IMAGES AND/OR PHOTOS ALLOWED?

Read below what Pinterest says about promoting yourself. They don't say you CAN'T pin your own stuff. But they are asking us to NOT use Pinterest JUST for self-promotion. So please make sure if you are pinning your own stuff, use your boards for other purposes too (as mentioned HERE).

Here's what Pinterest says:

GROW IT NOW

Pin posts you're proud of. Adding a pin board about posts that you are proud of is a good way to get others to read your blog and continue to do so.

Create a board with blogs you love to read. Share with these blogs that you are pinning them and they might do the same.

Share what inspires you by pinning on a board about inspirational ideas, quotes, posts, images etc., with other pinners.

Create a niche board - only pin items to that board that work in that niche, such as tutorials, poems, stories, that pertain to your blog's theme (if you have one).

Pin items that you could receive a payment for referring someone. This could be slightly controversial, so make sure you let pinners know that your board might send them to an affiliate link.

Follow the Big Pinners. Those uber popular pinners get lots of traffic, so following them can lead to more views of your pins, too.

Don't forget to use your existing social networks to get people to your Pinterest account. Facebook and Twitter can redirect to your pins as soon as you pin them.

Come up with a cool cross-promotion between your blog and your Pinterest account. We started a Pin It and Win It promotion two months ago...if you pin our poster you will be eligible to win that poster (one winner per week). See our button in our sidebar.

FIND OUT WHICH OF YOUR PINS ARE POPULAR

The quickest and easiest way to figure out which of your pins are being repinned is to go to Pinterest and type in the following URL in your browser toolbar:
http://pinterest.com/source/enteryouraccountname.com/ and bookmark it so you can check it regularly.

You will be able see what types of images/posts get pinned most often. see what comments you get. see how people ‘name’ the pins to get an idea of how they categorize your stuff. This will give you a good solid idea of what is working for you and what is not. If one of your pins has been repinned 100 times, then figure out a way of replicating that idea.

REMINDER
Use stimulating visual imagery on your blog and your pins. Remember that Pinterest is driven by images and once they are pinned they are pretty much on there forever. You don't want to look back and see an ugly picture from a great tutorial or recipe that you pinned without thinking. Edit and embellish your images to the best of your ability.

Do you love Pinterest too? We'll be showcasing an awesome pinner every week and you could be one of them.

COMING NEXT WEEK - GROW YOUR BLOG ON PINTEREST - PART 3
Read How To Use Pinterest

Online Photo Editor Search

2012-01-24T08:03:00.000-08:00

With Picnik closing shop I decided to run through the pages and pages of online photo editors. I will be posting my findings in the next few days.

To hold you over, I found an article that's a few years old but has quite a few fun photo editing sites listed - try them out and see what you can come up with! Read it HERE.

Free Picnik For Everyone!

2012-01-20T17:10:00.000-08:00

Picnik is closing in April - for good. They were acquired by Google about a year ago...hmmmm...
But the good news is that you get to use all the Premium features until they do close. So go use and enjoy for a month or two, start loving it, and then it will be ripped from your fingers. And our tutorials using it will be somewhat useless. Bummers.

Read their post HERE.

My Favourite Thing - Adobe Illustrator

2012-01-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone!

I'm so excited and overwhelmed to be a new contributor for the Blog Guidebook! I thought for my first post I would rave about one of the best things I ever did. (If you're the slightest bit interested in graphic design, that is). And that's take Alma Loveland's Illustrator 101 class through Nicole's Classes. I used to just design the odd thing for myself in Photoshop, and whenever I would see something super cool someone had made, I figured they were just way better than me at Photoshop! Turns out, they were probably using Illustrator.
My favourite thing about Adobe Illustrator is by far the pen tool. I'm not even that great of a pencil and paper artist, but the pen tool fixes all of that. It's just like drawing, but on your computer screen, and the possibilities are endless. It's super fun to fill in the images with color afterwards too. Makes me feel like a kid all over again. :)
Alma's class is only four weeks long, and it's online, and it's only $125. You can't beat that! And it gives you LOADS of information. I am in love with Illustrator, and life has been peaches ever since I took that class! Now I can just sit down and make pretty much anything I want to. No more being held back by not being sure how to do something. It's wonderful!
Here's a few of my favourite (yes, I'm Canadian, so no, I didn't spell that wrong...ha ha) things I've designed since taking the class. I can't wait to take the rest of Alma's classes.
Oh, and I don't benefit a bit from this post. I just love it THAT much. :)

It's Pinterest, Not Brain Surgery - Part 1

2012-01-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

About three years ago I think I invented Pinterest. Of course, that was in my mind...it never actually came out and became anything, but I thought of the actual idea that it would be great to save all the photos and links in one place and call it something cute. Pinterest is a great name for this fun, organizational tool - but I would have called it something else, like: PinIt, DoggyBagIt, iLikeIt, MySaves etc...

Pinterest seems to confuse some people, I think it's the name of the site and all the pretty colors everywhere. {smile} I've had friends and comments that say "I just don't get it!" Why do you think that is? Today I'll begin a short series on understanding and using Pinterest for your blog.

On the outside Pinterest is a simple concept that is easy to install and use daily. That is what we humans like best, ease of use and a reason to use it. Many of my commenters who said they didn't get it had not tried the interface yet...they had simply looked at the site, gotten flustered at the invitation at the start, and quickly let it defeat them.

Listen up! Don't let it frighten you away. Pinterest is seriously the best thing since sliced bread and extra hot grande lattes! Don't let all the amazing photos overwhelm you, they are yours for the ~~picking~~ pinning!

It's Pinterest, not brain surgery! All you have to do is sign up and they'll let you in and you poke around on a few people's boards and you'll get it. It is intuitive, you can edit your boards anytime, and don't forget you can use it to grow your business and/or blog.

How To Use Pinterest To Grow (business or blog)

Start small, but start strong. Once you pin something and others start pinning it too, it's out there. You cannot get it back. So if you are going to pin your own original photos, make sure they are pin worthy. For example: edit your photos, use Picnik, Photoshop or any of the plethora of photo editing software out there. Make sure your photos are crisp and clear, that they portray what you want them to, and that they're blog worthy.
Pin it yourself - don't wait for your readers to pin your pretty pictures. Do it yourself and get yourself noticed.
Use graphics too. Adorable graphic ads are popping up on Pinterest now too, not just photos. If you know how, create "ads" for your posts, like "How To Make Pickles" could have a vintage basket of cucumbers and the words "How To Make Pickles". Here are some examples:

When you pin it yourself, you should describe underneath what it is. Most re-pinners don't want to take the time to rewrite the description, and this helps get exact information on what the pin is.

Get Pinspired! Let your pin boards do the work for you. Source ideas for crafts, home decorating, recipes and more - much more. Gather information at your fingertips and organize it on your boards.
Name your boards. Your boards can be labeled with your interests or into different subjects, such as color, location, rooms, styles, favorite things etc. I recently came across an amazing pinner who had so many in depth boards that were organized and pinned so beautifully I immediately got a bit jealous.
Images that you pin will link to their original source. That's the beauty of Pinterest. This is how you will be able to find that obscure recipe, or complicated hairstyle, or the picture perfect wedding without fear. The images will take you to the post or ad that they came from in the first place. That is so much easier than having a list of URLs in your notes!

More Pinterest thoughts in Part 2
Why use Pinterest?
Read our first post about Pinterest

Maybe I'll Just Quit Blogging

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I took an internet break...I only went online briefly to see if anything of interest was happening, and it wasn't. Seems like the "blackout" did something for someone. Traffic here was super low too...did you all know I wasn't going to be watching?

Today I was thinking that maybe I didn't need to blog anymore. Maybe I'll just quit this blogging thing...it's not necessary and it uses up a lot of my free time. Plus, today I was more creative, and I fulfilled all my household obligations (ie. dishes, laundry, homeschool, cooking, and watching lots of House Hunters International). I actually felt accomplished! I am wondering to myself if blogging is worth it?

The upkeep of a blog is a lot like running a business...and if you have several blogs that means you are either torn in many directions at once, or you're a list maker and don't have any free time. Blogging can be your main business or work (ie. Pioneer Woman, Dooce, Nie Nie, etc...), but if you're an average blogger then you may be spending a lot of time and effort on something that is NOT going to give back.

With the thought of quitting sitting so eloquently in my mind, I think it will just have to stay there for the time being...I've invested too much time in this little blog about blogging, can't just give it all up now right? Well, I could. You'll just have to wait and see. And that's the truth!

Pleasea don't blog....on January 18th, 2012

2012-01-17T20:17:00.000-08:00

On Jan 24th, Congress will vote to pass internet censorship in the Senate, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. We need to kill the bill - PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House - to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity. January 18th, 2012 is the largest online protest in history, to stop the internet censorship bills, SOPA & PIPA. Join in by blacking out your site and urging everyone you can reach to contact Congress now. Read about the Sopa Strike here.

Read Us On Your Kindle

2012-01-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

Did you know you can read our blog on Kindle? You can also add yours to the Amazon list (for free) and even earn a little cash in the process! We'd love it if you'd leave a comment or review on Amazon about us - HERE. The cost is about 99 cents per month to read a blog or website on your Kindle. Would you like us to write an article about how to do it? Let us know!

P.S. Apparently this is not available on Kindle Fire (where you can just browse online for free we're guessing).

Poster Awareness Day

2012-01-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

We don't mind letting everyone know that we love blogging! We really do, and we think almost everyone should do it. That's why we created these adorable poster! Did you know we had these cute posters designed by our own Lyndsay Johnson? They are always available in our SHOP.

We would love to design some more posters and want to get your ideas on what the sayings should be. Leave us a comment with your thoughts and you could win a few posters if your idea is chosen.

Good luck!

In The News - Blogger Now Supports Threaded Commenting

2012-01-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

Just read this:

"Blogger now supports threaded commenting, which means that it is now much easier to differentiate between whether someone is making a general comment on the thread, or responding to another comment on the thread."

Apparently if you already have commenting enabled, you don't have to "do anything" to start the threading. This is going to be very useful to us bloggers who like to reply directly to a comment and not just the general population. Thank you Blogger!

You can read the whole story HERE.

Haven't Heard of Rafflecopter Yet?

2012-01-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

Try it out for yourself! It's a great giveaway gadget!

a Rafflecopter giveaway