Do you want to…

• create your own WordPress theme?
• build the perfect color palette?
• create and edit images in your browser (without Photoshop)?
• do fun things with your photos?

You’ll like these cool tools!

Color Scheme Designer

To create a beautiful color palette, play with this tool a bit.  Try the random button!

http://colorschemedesigner.com/

Pixlr

I use this site frequently.  It gives me an easy way to create and edit graphics without Photoshop.

http://www.pixlr.com

Be Funky

Make your photos more interesting with the effects and filters at Be Funky.  All sorts of fun.

http://www.befunky.com/

SumoPaint

Similar to Pixlr, this is another browser-based image editor.

http://sumopaint.com/

WordPress Theme Generator

Want to create your own WordPress theme?  Try this tool.  It will let you choose your logo/header text, background, layout, colors, etc.

http://www.yvoschaap.com/wpthemegen/

What Are Your Favorite Tools?

I’d love to hear what you think of these!  Or, what other tools and websites you like for working with graphics and themes.

Are secret fears holding you back from jumping head first into blogging? Don’t let them! Blogging is nothing to be afraid of and it can do amazing things for your online business.  This is part 5 in an 8 part series to help you bust through your blogging fears!

Writing blog posts is only part of a successful blogger’s task.  The other part is to get out there and let people know about their blog.

Promotion doesn’t have to be a time consuming task.  You just need a plan.

Decide what methods you’ll use to promote your blog.  Choose 3 or 4 and write them down.  Then each time you add a new post to your blog, do those 3 or 4 things.

There are many promotion strategies that can be automated so they happen every time you post a new entry on your blog, without any extra action from you (such as using Twitter Tools to send your posts to Twitter, NetworkedBlogs to send your blog to Facebook, and ping to tell the search engines you’ve shared something new).

Be consistent with it and you’ll see results.

Are secret fears holding you back from jumping head first into blogging? Don’t let them! Blogging is nothing to be afraid of and it can do amazing things for your online business.  This is part 4 in an 8 part series to help you bust through your blogging fears!

What if no one reads my blog?

If you don’t let people know it’s there, they won’t read it. But it’s not difficult to promote your blog. You just need a system of where and how you’ll promote it and drive traffic (just like you already do for your website or your business, right?). This is one of the easier obstacles to overcome.

Here are three simple ways you can be sure your blog posts are getting read when you first get started:

1.  Get a group of friends together and ask them to actively comment on your blog. Some bloggers even ask their virtual assistant to leave comments. Setup a commenting circle where you subscribe to a few friends’ blogs and they subscribe to yours, then each leave a comment when new posts are published. Once you’ve got a few comments appearing, it’ll be easier for new readers to jump in and comment, too.
2. Join a comment tribe. Comment tribes are groups (on Facebook or other networking platforms) where everyone shares their blog post, then comments on others in the group. Just check the rules before joining any so you know what you’re in for.
3. Comment on other blogs.  Bloggers as a group are very supportive.  Get out there and get to know some of them.  Many times when you comment on a blog the blogger will stop by and visit your blog, too.

As you blog consistently and promote your blog, you’ll start generating traffic and comments.  Many of your visitors will be silent readers, so watch your stats and know that even if you don’t see comments, you’ve got readers.

If you’re already blogging, what have you done to get readers to your blog?  Share what’s working for you!

Are secret fears holding you back from jumping head first into blogging? Don’t let them! Blogging is nothing to be afraid of and it can do amazing things for your online business.  This is part 3 in an 8 part series to help you bust through your blogging fears!

I Don’t Have Time

Blogging does take time. There’s no way around that. But it doesn’t have to take hours a day. And since blogging allows you to create content that you can repurpose into other materials (articles, ezines, ebooks, print books, and much more) it’s definitely not wasted time.

So if you’re afraid of starting a blog because you’re worried about the time commitment, here are three things to keep in mind:

1.  You set your own blogging schedule.  You don’t have to blog daily. I blog nearly daily and it works for me. But many bloggers post 2 or 3 times a week. The key is consistency with whatever schedule you choose.
2. There are great tricks you can use to speed up your blogging.  Use templates, blog in batches, etc.  Try these 10 Ways to Blog Better, Faster.
3. You don’t have to write every blog post yourself.  I’ve shared Six Secret Strategies for 15 Minute Blog Posts—use them!
4. You can repurpose your work.  Blogging is a great way to get your first ebook or book written.  Take your blog posts and use them in your ezine, as articles for article marketing, and in other formats.  It’s work you can leverage.
5. With a solid plan, you can get your blog promotion done in a few minutes a day.  Much of it can even be automated.

When you weigh the time commitment against the benefits – more traffic, increased credibility, better customer service & community interaction, and more–the time investment is completely worth it.

Yes, you read that right.  I’m celebrating because today, Feburary 1st, is the official “Working Naked” day!

I don’t really work naked… though I do often blog in my PJs, I’ll admit.

I loved Lisa’s brand when I was first introduced to it.  She talks about how when we move to working from home it’s like working naked because we’re working without the support of the office environment (which gives us an office, office supplies, a boss, an assistant, technical support, etc).

While we lose those things, we gain so much when we move to working from home!

What are your favorite things about “working naked”?

P.S.  Here are six ways you can celebrate Working Naked Day.

Image Credit: nyul/StockFresh