We’ll use my blog as an example.

The actual site is http://wahfacts.blogspot.com

I want to place a link to it in a signature line possibly, and want it to just say “Click Here” to visit my blog about WAH

1. Type what it is that you are wanting to say, in this case it’s.. Click Here

2. Highlight those words that you want to be the clickable link.

3. You should have at the top where you can change fonts etc. a button or place to insert a link. Typically it will have some sort of picture with a chain link, or a world with a link over it. If you just move your mouse over each of the different choices it should have a brief description of what each button does. So click on that button to insert a link.

4. A pop up window should have opened. Where it says Link URL, or something similar, insert your website address. http://wahfacts.blogspot.com

5. If you have the option of how the link will open, or the target option, choose Open in a New Window. This will make it so that others can check out the site you are referencing, but will still have your site open in another window or tab so they can jump right back over to it.

So now you can Click Here to visit my other blog over at blogspot.

And that’s it. Not too difficult was it??

Also, the same steps are used if you just want the actual website URL to show. Just highlight the site, click to insert a link, and now you will have made it easy for others to visit your sites.

So, one of the most common codes that I use is the <br/> This little piece of code will add some extra room between each of your paragraphs for example. Let’s assume that you are typing up an article, whether it be for your own blog or whatever. You type it all in, you have space between the paragraphs, and all seems fine. You save and post then take a look at the site.

Now everything seems to look just a little bit too close. I personally like to have enough spacing between my paragraphs so that they sort of set themselves apart. Most people don’t read through every single word that you have written, especially if your post looks long and is hard to read. By having that extra separation between each paragraph, creating smaller blocks for the reader, I feel it just makes it better all around.

Anyhow, if you want to create an extra “gap” or “line” between your paragraphs, all you have to do is add the <br/> code after each paragraph. If one doesn’t do the trick for you, then add another. Like this…

<br/>
<br/>

It is such a simple, easy to use concept. It’s kind of funny now because you have no idea how much time I spent wondering how in the world people could get their stuff so nicely laid out and how mine always ran together. It’s the little things.

It’s so simple and easy to add, so here are the basics.

1. If you just click on the button itself, it will bring up the list of all the places a person could bookmark this particular site, or any of which you happen to be on. (Which as we have mentioned in a previous post is a good thing to do in order to let us bloggers know you like us…)
2. It also gives you the option to get your very own button as well, just down at the bottom of the page, so click there.
3. Click on “Get Your Button”
4. Choose your options and where you will be using it.
5. Then get your code and paste it to your site.

Just a little side note for anyone who seems a bit confused about this part of it and how to paste the code to your site. In Blogger it is very easy to do. Just log in to your account, Click on Layout and Add a Page Element. Choose the “HTML” option and paste your code in the box. Click Save and your done, you should now find it on your site. You can also choose to have the button appear at the bottom of each post in Blogger, just follow the steps they provide for you.

Now if you are using a free WordPress.com site, it’s really easy to do also. Just took me a few minutes to figure it out because of how they word it, or instruct you how to do it. I was under the impression that since I could not add java script on a free account, that I couldn’t use this here. But obviously it is possible. All you do is under “Presentation” click on “Widgets” Your going to need to paste into the “text” sidebar option. Just highlight, copy & paste. Close the box by clicking the x. Save Changes. And then view your site. It should definitely be there.

So there you have it. Now you’ve made it easier for your readers to share the love with the rest of the world.

Bloggers strive for interaction, encouragement and support. Most often blogs are written in a conversational manner, we share our thoughts on something and hope that something we say matters to someone, somewhere. If you like what you read, say so. If you have a different opinion, share that too. It really doesn’t matter how important you feel your opinion will be, I can guarantee you that it just might mean the world to that blogger. The more you share and participate, the more everyone will benefit from it.

When I started my very first blog, I did so with the mindset that I could give it a try because I felt as though I had something to share with the world, and if it bombed, then I could simply delete it and no one would ever remember. So I started by writing up a couple posts, submitted my link into LinkReferral.com (which by the way is a wonderful resource…) and waited to see what happened.

I was amazed at the sort of feedback I received. And quite honestly it was because of that feedback that I even continued blogging in the first place. A blogger needs to know that the time they are spending in writing and creating that blog, as well as the time they spend in researching new topics to make things a little bit better, they need to know that it is not simply a waste of time. And although I don’t have ads or items for sale on my site just yet, there are many blogs that do. This is a source of revenue for those bloggers and helps bring in some compensation for the time they spend blogging.

So what can you do?

1. Leave a comment. What did you like? What didn’t you? What more would you like to see?
2. Subscribe to the blogs feed. This is most often the big orange button, most often somewhere near the top of the blog. Not only will this help that blogger gain credibility, it also makes it easier for you to keep up to date with your favorite blogs.
3. Let the world know that you find it interesting. You can do so by Stumbling it, Digg it, Add it to Technorati or any other bookmarking sites. By doing so it dramatically increases the number of people who read that particular article, thus increasing the number of visits and traffic to that particular site…you get the picture.
4. Send an email. If you don’t feel like sharing something through a comment, send an email. Most bloggers have their contact info or a form somewhere on their blog.
5. Tell your friends. Both online and off. Share the link in forums, send it by email, whatever you can do will help increase the amount of traffic to their site.

I know for me personally, when I see that my traffic is increasing, or that someone has stumbled my site, or even when someone leaves me a comment, it’s almost like being a kid again and you just aced the weekly spelling test.

So instead of simply saying to yourself, “hey, that’s a really great blog,” and simply moving on, take a couple extra minutes and leave a comment or bookmark it for others to find. It’s not hard to do and makes a world of difference.

With Technorati, it simplifies how you interact with other bloggers. Bloggers often comment on or link to other blogs that they find interesting and worth sharing. It creates a connection that we normally find in face to face conversation, only it’s done online through the blogging world. Technorati makes this easy and fun to do. Simply claim your blog with Technorati, set up your account as you would on any other site.

Technorati has plenty of tools available for you to use. For instance you can find out who is linking to the page that you are on, or even generate tag codes to use wherever you choose. You can find the different tools available here, Technorati Widgets.

Also, you will see ‘Authority’ with a number beside it. This shows how many people are linking to that blog. It in ways a popularity ranking, but they have ranking stats as well that are quite interesting to check out and watch yourself go up the list, even if it is still at 736,565.

Good Luck and have fun! And if you like this blog or any others, add them to your ‘Favorites’ It always nice to know that someone likes what you have to say.

Feedburner is a simple to use tool that will allow people to find, subscribe to, and follow your blog. They can either subscribe through a ‘Reader’ as well as by Email and receive updates daily with any new updates and posts you have done on your site. You can also view stats in regards to your site and subscription details.

Take a look at Feedburner and why you need it

Then follow the simple steps on how to get started.

Quick Start Guide

Once you have your account set up, you’re ready to make it available on your site.

1. In Feedburner, click the Publicize tab.
2. Click the Chicklet Chooser service.
3. Click the button next to the one you want to appear on your site. I suggest using the basic orange button “Subscribe in a reader” There are several custom options to choose from as well, however there is another tool available to use all or any others you would like.
4. Copy the HTML code shown in the bottom section. You will then paste this HTML into your site template.
5. In WordPress, on your Dashboard click the Presentation tab and then the Sidebar Widgets option.
6. Drag the Text Widget from the Available widgets area to the sidebar. Click the right side of the sidebar to expand. You don’t have to give it a title unless you choose to. Paste the code you just copied into the Content Field and click the ‘X’ in the right corner to close the widget box. Click “Save Changes”
7. If you use Blogger, it’s pretty much the same.
8. From the dashboard, click on Layout. You want to “Add a Page Element” then click to add HTML/JavaScript to your blog. Again, no title is needed. Simply copy the HTML code from Feedburner and click Save.
9. Now you should be able to see the image and link on your site.

Now you are up and ready so that if someone likes what you have to offer, they can easily subscribe and follow you.

We can go into more about Feedburner and it’s many tools available but take a break. Don’t think that you must know everything and get it all done right now. You have the most important part done. The rest can wait for now.

A blog takes time to grow and build in terms of quantity, as well as quality. The wonderful thing about it is that you don’t have to get everything ready and organized and have it all done before you can get started and start seeing some response. If you were to write a book and wanted to publish it, it would take time to get everything just right. But with a blog, you can add a little here and there as you go and let it grow and mature in it’s own way.

I started my first blog back in March of 2007, not quite a year yet. Honestly I didn’t post to it as frequently or often as I probably should have, but when I talk to someone who has been to my blog they always say, “wow, you have a lot of information there.” And you know what it does seem that way, but I didn’t really notice it much until others began pointing it out to me.

You have to start somewhere. And just realize that a successful blog does not just pop up over night and bam! Over time you will be amazed at just how much stuff you have been able to accumulate and how much info you have. But to do that, you have to get started. Now is as good a time as any, right?

Have fun and don’t worry about all the extra little details. Just get started and tweak it as you go!