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Blogspot Editorial Calendar Solution: Google Calendar!!

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:05:00 +0000

I think I may have stumbled upon the answer to something that have Google searched at least 5 times, always hoping that the results will be different. (They never are.)

Using an Editorial Calendar

It is highly recommended by many professional bloggers that you use an editorial calendar. When I was just blogging as my heart led, on My Journey to Authenticity, it wasn't really that important. But as I gradually become more enmeshed in the blogging world, and started to write guest posts, started this blog, and signed on to be a contributing writer for another blog, I realized that I was NOT going to be able to keep all of the deadlines in my head.

I have to be honest with you.

I had some pretty serious, pretty green, WordPress envy. Bloggers on the WordPress platform have access to an Editorial Calendar Plugin. Right in their blog writing site.

So I searched. And searched.

And I tried no less than five free online calendar sites.

But not one of them compared to my first love in online calendars: Google Calendar.

I use Google Calendar at work to manage the 4 different bands that I teach and their incredibly different schedules. I love it. But the LAST thing I wanted was to add ANOTHER calendar to that account.

And to be honest? I really didn't want to have yet ANOTHER browser window open so I don't have to log in and log out (the whole "switching accounts" thing doesn't always work for me, since ALL of the google apps don't switch . . ). Because I have my primary gmail account, then I have one for the elementary school, and one for the high school, and one for each of my blogs. That is FIVE gmail accounts. Oh mylanta.

Anyway. I remembered that I could just download the Opera web browser, and now have been loading up my new "EDITORIAL CALENDAR" with the posts I plan to write, the tasks I need to do, etc. I am already motivated and excited.

You can see all of the colored boxes representing all of the blogs that I write for. All of the ones in green aren't hard for me to remember, because my primary bog is on a schedule. But the contributing posts definitely need to be in there! Seeing it, in beautiful customizable colors? Bliss.

So I am just putting the topic of each post on the day I plan for it to go live.

In this picture, I have clicked on the post and added any details that I want to make sure that I remember to include -- I need my students to remember when the concert is, so I slyly mention it somewhere in the post. (As well as write it on the white board in my classroom, email, and mention it every day.) So you can see how helpful this can be.

So I am pretty excited about using my favorite Google Calendar as my editorial calendar.

And the best news?

Since Blogger is owned by Google, it just works.

Have fun!

Shoot me any questions as you have them!

Making your content POP with pictures!

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 02:37:00 +0000

You write great content.

You lose sleep thinking of the perfect witty phrase, or profound statement.
We want your message to come across loud and clear.

You know how it is - - your RSS Reader is full, and you are trying to get through all of the posts your friends have written. There is a post that just leaps out from the page. The pictures are engaging. You want to interact with the post - tweet it, or comment on it.

And then there is another post. This one has no pictures.

The paragraphs are at least ten lines long, and it is not scannable, or easy to read.

People are busy!
Keep their attention by choosing pictures that are going to enhance your post.

There are so many great sources for pictures!

(If you have your own pictures, then consider watermarking them, to help keep them safe. More to come on watermarking your photos in a later post.)

Google Images.
If you find an image from google images, simply link the URL to the main website that the image is from in the caption area, with the text for the link being "Image Credit." For example:

Image Credit

Dreamstime.

Pixosphere.

At Dreamstime and Pixosphere, artists upload their images for greater exposure of their work. Simply use the same process, and the caption will contain the artist's name, linked to their page on the website.

For example:

Give the artist credit is extremely important, but very simple to do, and the extra few minutes searching for a great picture really will make your blog posts memorable!

Creating and Adding a Favicon to Blogger Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:39:00 +0000

Favicons are the ultimate.

Chances are, you have at least seven browser tabs open at this very moment. If that is the case then you are probably seeing quite a few different favicons right now! The icons that show up at the top of the browser that help all of us helpless multi-taskers keep track of what tab is what? Those are favicons. It is a melding of the term "favorites icon," because clearly five syllables is too hard to say.

The new Blogger format supposedly makes it ridiculously easy to add a favicon to your site.

And with some images, it really is.

I have tried numerous different images, and here is my tutorial.

1. Find an image you like, or create a custom favicon at favicon.cc. That website is so cool. You can browse through images that people had created or uploaded, and then shrunk down to favicon size. It is a very helpful site. (And if blogger decides that it doesn't like your image, this website will become VERY important to you!)

2. Attempt to get your image past the Blogger favicon police. To do this, be on the Layout screen.

Up at the top left, click on the favicon box. and follow the directions to upload your file.

Be prepared for it not to work.

If it does accept your picture, then congratulations, you now have a favicon. It may take a few times of refreshing your blog for it to show up consistently.

3. If the Blogger police did not accept your image, for whatever reason, then here is what you do.

Upload your image (if you found it on your own and have not resized it) to favicon.cc. On the left hand side is an option to "import image." Do that. It will shrink and compress your file. If you scroll down a little bit you should see the preview of how it will look in your browser. Underneath that is the option to "Download Favicon." Do that.

4. You have your favicon downloaded. Now, let's try to get your new "favicon.ico" file uploaded.

Go back to the Favicon box on the layout screen, and you should be able to upload the .ico file. If it accepts it, you should see your image in the box, instead of the Blogger logo. Congratulations! You have a new favicon!

5. If you are still having trouble, there is another, much more complicated way -- - but hopefully these tips will help you work with the blogger program and not have to alter the template. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Have fun!

Switching to Disqus or IntenseDebate for your commenting platform

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 00:55:00 +0000

One of the best moves that you will ever make for your blog is switching comment platforms.
While Blogger is improving all the time, there are two platforms available that will change the way you interact with readers.

I have used both of them, and like them equally, for different reasons. Depending in your niche, you will find people gravitating heavily toward either Disqus or IntenseDebate.

Disqus. No frills, but ease of use. Reply to comments directly from email with a very clean format.

IntenseDebate More bells and whistles. Reply to comments directly from email, though they appear on post with strange symbols.
It was only an issue for me because I use smiley faces. A lot. I am a happy person. And the smiley faces ( : ) ) came across with extra symbols and looked very unprofessional. If I remembered to comment directly from the blog, there were no issues. It was only replying by email.
Also - I have only had comments disappear from IntenseDebate. That and the fact that in my primary blogging niche most of the users used Disqus made me switch. But you will see that in this blog, I am very happily using IntenseDebate.

Installation:
Simple. Each site has step by step directions. The IntenseDebate ones are slightly confusing since some of the menu options have changed wording since the move to Blogger in Draft.

Both platforms have a simple widget installation. IntenseDebate also has a more complicated installation that goes directly into the template, but they take any of the guess work out of it with their built in installers, which is helpful to people who are completely unfamiliar with looking at HTML code.

For IntenseDebate users: On their site it will ask you to make sure that the box is checked for the option New Posts DO NOT have comments. This is not one of the options in Blogger in Draft. What you choose instead is:

Under settings > Posts and comments > click on the dropdown menu next to Show Comments? and choose HIDE, and make sure that you save the settings in the upper right hand corner.

Benefits:

Interacting with your readers is one of the most important thing that you can do, and anything that is going to make that process easier, and more fun is definitely a plus.

On the fun side, IntenseDebate definitely wins, because you can enable CommentLuv, which is a neat plugin that shows the commenter's most recent post on their own blog. It is a great tool for visibility. If you are planning a high traffic blog, with hopes to monetize, and create a large following, then IntenseDebate with the CommentLuv plugin is definitely worth considering.

If you are just trying to build a strong readership, and not planning to monetize, then Disqus is a great option. For me, I am using Disqus on one of my main blogs because most of the other bloggers in that genre are using Disqus - and it is nice for them to be able to have their avatar and familiarity.

Always consider your audience when making your decision.
And thankfully, since the installation process of both platforms is so simple, it is easy to change your mind, and change it back again.

How to Make a Blog Button and Grab Box

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 03:13:00 +0000

There are two excellent tutorials that I will direct you to for making a blog button for your blog, and a grab box, so that you readers can easily grab the code to that they can display your button their blogs.

The first tutorial is by blogging expert, Amy Anderson. Her tutorial about making a blog button is clear, concise and easy to figure out. You can find it here.

Now to create a nifty box underneath your button, so that your readers can grab your code, I will send you here.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Layout Design Basics

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:28:00 +0000

The Blogger (in Draft) Layout screen is a thing of beauty.

It is clean, elegant, and very easy to understand.

Let's talk about the screen shot above.

As you can see, my blog is using the layout with the blog posts on the left hand side, with a sidebar on the right. The actual layout is cannot be changed from this screen - - - only customized. Changing the layout (reverse the blog post area and sidebar, for example) can only be done from the Template area. (See left hand list on screen shot.)

If Blogger does not already have the gadget that you want, then you can add nearly anything that you can think of by simply adding a gadget called "HTML/Javascript." It allows for the freedom to create custom graphics, blog buttons, follow me buttons. Anything!

Blogger Help!

noreply@blogger.com (Meredith) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:56:00 +0000

So you want to learn more about taking your blog to the next level?

You have come to the right place.
I have discovered, through multiple different sources, how to do some really awesome things with my blogger blog.

I will point you in the right direction!

-Meredith