Testing The Blogs Series and Helpful Blog Tips

New Fan Box and Live Stream Widgets From Facebook For Pages

2009-09-13T06:19:00.001-04:00

Facebook.com has several new widgets that you can add to your websites and blogs that can be beneficial for small business crafters on the web who have set-up Facebook pages.

If you have set-up a small business page on Facebook.com (like my Linda Walsh Originals page) then one of the new widgets is a fan box widget. Basically, it can show pictures of all your page fans (like the picture shown above), show the wall stream from your page, or show both the pictures of your fans and the wall stream from your page (like the picture shown below).

I like the fan box widget and have added it to my main Linda Walsh Originals website, Linda's Blog, my Linda Walsh Originals Zibbet.com shop, my Dolls Blog, my Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns website, my Victorian Traditions, The Victorian Era and Me blog, and my Linda Walsh Originals Dolls website.

I especially like the option that shows the pictures of my Linda Walsh Originals page fans (like the picture at the top of this page). That's great and can be beneficial to small business crafters as it's a way for us all to link together and get us all noticed. Think of it as a small linking exchange module instead of page after page of traditional banner exchanges. And, if you post a lot of things to your page's wall or have a fairly active wall of fan comments then you might want to display the fan box widget that contains fan pictures and your page's wall stream.

Facebook.com also has a Live Stream widget which basically allows for a porthole for anyone with a website or blog to add the widget which then allows Facebook.com users to sign-in to their profile and post to their stream or to the live feed stream.

So, for example, if I was visiting a website or blog that had the widget installed and wanted to check my Facebook stream while I was there I'd select the friends tab and my Facebook stream would be displayed as shown below. Please note my friends comments would be shown on the widget. I have blocked them in my post for privacy purposes.

However, this widget also has the capability to display a live feed for an event and is like the widget pictured below. If you want to either make a comment to your Facebook wall or participate and make a comment for everyone watching then this widget will connect Linda Walsh Originals with Facebook and allow you to sign-on under your Facebook.com username so that you can interact with your friends on this site and to share this event on Facebook through your Wall and friends' news feeds. The bottom of the widget has a text link that you can click to visit the Linda Walsh Originals page on Facebook.

This widget has a little box that says "share with everyone watching this event" that you can check. Then when you add a comment to the update box of the widget your comment will appear on your Facebook stream and also on the stream that is shown under the "Everyone Watching" tab like in the picture shown below. Please note the comments would be shown on the widget. I have blocked them in my post for privacy purposes.

So, everyone at the event who is a Facebook user can add their comments in a continuous feed whenever they visit the website or blog that has the widget embedded on it. So, if you have embedded the widget on your website or blog and have an event going on at your website or blog then all of your visitors with Facebook accounts can comment on the event and their comments will be posted to the "everyone watching" tab.

Please note that when you sign-on your Facebook privacy options will be in effect for the friends tab. However, Facebook's privacy statement indicates that if you check the share with everyone watching this event box then this may or may not change some of your privacy settings on Facebook.com. So, you may need to re-check your privacy settings after participating in an event and posting a comment for everyone watching.

The above widgets are new and are only available for Facebook.com pages and not for profiles.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals- "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Linda's How-Do-I Series? Now Comes In E-Book Sets

2009-09-07T06:39:00.001-04:00

Boy, it seems like I just keep announcing more and more with regards to my "Linda's How-Do-I Series? of e-books. I must have inhaled "the energizer bunny" or something! LOL LOL Maybe I'm subconsciously telling myself to slow down. Whatever it is - I seem to be getting a LOT off my "to do" list and I couldn't be happier.

The latest item off my "to do" list is creating e-book sets for my "Linda Walsh Originals - Linda's How-Do-I Series? of e-books. I've grouped them into sets that I think you will like. And, of course, because they're a set they are at a discounted price from buying them separately.

I was going to try and combine my e-book sets into one big .PDF file so you could "instantly download" them from my Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns website, but changed my mind because the file size for some of the sets would have been way too big for some of you to instantly download easily. So, my e-book sets will be sent as attachments to an email back to you once I've been notified by Paypal of payment. That way all of you can easily download each of the e-books individually.

Here's my new e-book sets:

Linda Walsh Originals E-Book Sets- Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Pattern Two E-Book Set

Learn all about E-Products and E-Patterns and learn how to design a print pattern and e-pattern in this two e-book set. You'll receive Linda's complete "Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Design a Print Pattern and E-Pattern?" e-book and Linda's complete "What Are E... Series E-Book #9" e-book. If you are an artist or crafter who wants to sell e-patterns our new e-book set can help.

Linda Walsh Originals E-Book Sets- Linda's How-Do-I Series? Going Online Two E-Book Set

Learn all about what to consider when setting up an online crafts business and learn all about social networking, forums, and groups in this two e-book set. You'll receive Linda's complete "Linda's How-Do-I Series? What To Consider When Setting Up A Small Business Website" e-book #5 and Linda's complete "Linda's How-Do-I Series? All Social Networking, Forums, and Groups" e-book #8.

Linda Walsh Originals E-Book Sets- Linda's How-Do-I Series? All About Blogs Part 1 and Part 2 E-Book Set

Learn all about blogs and blogging in this two e-book set. You'll receive Linda's complete "Linda's How-Do-I Series? All About Blogs - Part 1" e-book #6 and Linda's complete "Linda's How-Do-I Series? - All About Blogs - Part 2" e-book #7. If you're an artist or crafter with an online business and have been thinking about creating a blog to support your online business our new e-book set can help.

Linda Walsh Originals E-Book Sets- Linda's How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips For Crafters With Websites and Blogs - Book #1, #2, #3, and #4" Four E-Book Set

Learn all of Linda's helpful tips for crafters with websites and blogs from her Linda's How-Do-I Series. You'll receive Linda's complete "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #1", "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #2", "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #3", and Linda's complete "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #4" e-books. You'll learn basic html and CSS coding for your websites and blogs from the simplest of signatures up to building simple tables. You'll also learn a ton of other tips and tricks from widening your blog to adding wallpaper, learn about plugboards, building clickable advertising links, and so much more.

Linda Walsh Originals E-Book Sets- Linda's How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips For Crafters With Websites and Blogs - Book #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, and #8" Eight E-Book Set

Learn all of Linda's helpful tips for crafters with websites and blogs from her "Linda's How-Do-I Series" revised Books #1- #4 to her new Books #5, #6, #7, and #8. You'll receive Linda's complete "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #1", "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #2", "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #3", "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #4", "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #5", "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #6", "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #7", and her complete "Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #8" e-books. You'll learn basic html and CSS coding for your websites and blogs from the simplest of signatures up to building simple tables. You'll also learn a ton of other tips and tricks from widening your blog to adding wallpaper, learn about plugboards, building clickable advertising links, and so much more. You'll learn all about what to consider when setting up an online crafts business and learn all about social networking, forums, and groups. Plus, you'll learn learn all about blogs and blogging.

I hope you enjoy my e-books sets and the savings that come from buying a set.

E-Books From Linda Walsh Originals

2009-09-07T06:39:00.000-04:00

Well, we now have a grand total of ten e-books for Linda Walsh Originals. They cover a wide variety of subjects all intent on helping small business crafters on the net.

After we revised out original 4 Linda's How-Do-I Series? of e-books I decided to add to the collection. So, e-books # 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were created. I hope you enjoy our series of e-books and hope they help you with your small business.

If you'd like more information on our e-books please click on the article links below:

NEW E-Book #9 - Linda’s What Are E… Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs E-Book #9 All About E-Patterns and E-Products

Learn about our “What Are E…?” series, learn what e-products are, learn what e-patterns are, learn what e-articles, e-projects, and e how-to’s are, learn what e-books and e-pamphlets are, learn what e-tutorials and e-pictorials are, and learn what podcasts are. You’ll also learn a little bit about using Microsoft Publisher to create e-products learn about our e-patterns, learn why a small business designer would want to sell e-patterns, and learn about our e-pattern website and instant e-patterns. Plus, you’ll learn about how and where to sell e-patterns, learn how to create a clickable e-product ad for the sidebar of your blog or website, learn how to add an e-pattern ad and PayPal BUY NOW button to the sidebar of your blog, learn how to reduce the file size of your e-patterns, learn about creating an e-catalog, learn how to set-up a free .PDF file, and read about “Designing An E-Pattern and The Price of Gas!” Plus, you’ll learn about the “Everything E-Directory – The One Source For Everything E For Crafters Needs.”

NEW E-Book #8 - Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs - E-Book #8 All About Social Networking, Forums, and Group

Learn about forums and online communities, learn about some of the NING communities and Etsy groups we joined, find out if you are a blog hopper, learn about the various blogging communities, learn about some of the different blogging directories, find out whether blogrolls are important, learn about Google alerts, and learn about out “Top Blogs By Crafters” toplist. You’ll also find out about the writing websites that are available, find out about all the free craft articles and projects websites, find out about all the free online newsletter, magazine, e-zine & traditional paid magazine content driven websites out there, and find out about all the free crafting content that is available and how you can contribute. You’ll also discover whether a team blog is for you, learn about Facebook.com and some of the fun things to do with Facebook.com, find out if you’ll get dooced, learn about Twitter.com and Twitter widgets, and learn about YouTube.com and whether you should become a vlogger.

NEW E-Book #7 - Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs – E-Book #7 All About Blogs – Part 2

In Part 2 you'll learn all the blogging terms and definitions, learn how to take a screenshot of your website or blog, learn why your sidebar is at the bottom of your blog, learn how to widen your blog, learn how to add wallpaper to your blog, learn how to create drop down menus for your blogs sidebar, and see if you need a blogiday. You’ll also find out if you’re a multi-blogger, learn about podcasting and whether you should jump on the podcasting bandwagon, find out about all the free crafting podcasts online, and determine is you are a blog hopper. Plus, you’ll learn why a blog is not your Grandfather’s newsletter, learn about web blog blidgets, learn whether you should become a vlogger, whether you've become blistless, and why blogrolls are important. You’ll learn whether you’ll get dooced, and whether you should join a team blog. Plus, you’ll learn why videos are a great addition to a blogs sidebar, learn how the Twitter widget is the coolest thing for your blog, and learn how following on Facebook’s networked blogs helps all of us.

NEW E-Book #6 - Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs – E-Book #6 All About Blogs – Part 1

In Part 1 you'll learn why you should have a blog for your craft business, learn what to write in a blog, how many blogs there are now, learn about eliminating your newsletter in favor of your blog, learn how to provide subscribers for your blog, learn what the #1 mistake is of crafters with blogs, learn whether blogs are really helpful, and learn about blogs and their features. You’ll also learn about some of the old and new features of the “Cadillac” of blog service providers, learn how commenting on blogs can be helpful to your small business website, learn who your audience is and what you should tell them, and learn why you might want to create generic posts. Plus, you’ll learn why you would want to bleg your readers, learn how to incorporate “keywords” into your blog, learn why labels are important, learn all about pinging, and find out about all those blogging communities. Plus, you’ll learn about a million different blogging directories, learn about using Google reader, learn about Google alerts, learn about Google blog search, learn about backing up your blogs, learn whether you should add blogvert and blogvertsing to your blog, and learn if you’re blogstipated. Finally, you’ll learn if you have blogophobia, learn about Twitter widgets, learn about the Feedblitz multiple blog subscription widget, learn about having some fun with your blog, learn about blogs as heirlooms and family fun, and read about our Top Blogs By Crafters toplist and why you should join.

NEW E-Book #5 - Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs E-Book #5

Learn many of the things you should consider when setting up a small business crafts website, such as what to name a website and how to define your niche. You’ll also learn about getting started and where to begin, learn about using Microsoft Publisher, learn about creating an e-catalog, learn about the browser distortion between Internet Explorer and Firefox, learn about splash pages and why they are bad for business, learn about topsite gateway pages and why they are bad for customers, learn about graphics and graphic websites, learn what blinkies are, learn about using an online photo album as a portfolio, and learn about setting up an internet morning routine.

Linda's How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs - Revised E-Book #4

Learn how to add a banner rotation to your website or blog, learn how to build a simple table, learn how to add images to a simple table, learn how to center those images within a table and make those images clickable, learn how to add padding, spacing, and borders to images within a table, learn how to add clickable text links to a table, learn how to all wallpaper or images to the background of a table, and learn how to handle different size banners within a table.

Linda's How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs - Revised E-Book #3

Learn about coding for promotion, copyright, and bio signatures, coding for clickable links to another section of a page, how to take a screenshot of your website or blog, what a plugboard is, learn how to make your plugboard bigger, learn why plugboards red x’s are bad for business, how to add wallpaper to your blog, how to widen your blog, why you would want to create generic blog posts, how to create clickable e-product links, learn how to create drop down menus for your website or blog sidebar, learn what to do about the size of your e-patterns, learn how to set-up a free .PDF file, and learn about some of the best photo hosting websites out there for crafters.

Linda's How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs - Revised E-Book #2

Learn some of the common HTML and CSS tags and attributes, learn how to center banners, button, text or pictures, learn how to add scrolling banners, learn how to add vertical advertising banners, learn how to add horizontal advertising banners, learn how to add colored borders to your banners, learn how to change the background colors between the borders of your banners, learn how to space banners of different sizes, learn how to make your banners clickable back to your website or blog, learn how to build rows of clickable banners, and learn how to add color to the borders and background of rows of clickable banners.

Linda's How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs - Revised E-Book #1

Learn how to set up an email and forum signature, add text links and clickable link lists, change your font type, change your font size, change your font color, learn how to create an email link, learn how to use margins, learn how to use padding, learn how to create borders, draw a line, underline, skip a line, create a paragraph, add color to your border and text, change the background area within your borders, and create a simple banner out of html code. You’ll also learn what the names and #’s are for the 16 CSS colors, what the various size standard advertising banners are, what the difference is between the different picture file types, what the standard video formats are, and what the standard shortcut computer keys are.

Linda's How-Do-I Series? How To Create A Print Pattern and E-Pattern Revised E-Book

Learn how to create a print pattern and an e-pattern.

We hope you are enjoying our Linda's How-Do=I Series? of e-books.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals- "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

NEW E-Books - All About Blogs and Blogging!

2009-08-27T07:36:00.000-04:00

Our Tips From The Blogging Queen Columns Are A Big Plus In Two Of Our NEW E-Books
We have terrific news to tell you. We've created two new e-books in our "Linda’s How-Do-I Series?" and they are all about blogs and blogging. And, we have to thank our "Tips from the Blogging Queen" column for providing a lot of the articles for our two NEW e-books.

Our NEW E-Books are entitled "Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs – E-Book #6 All About Blogs – Part 1" and "Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs – E-Book #7 All About Blogs – Part 2."

In Part 1 you'll learn why you should have a blog for your craft business, learn what to write in a blog, how many blogs there are now, learn about eliminating your newsletter in favor of your blog, learn how to provide subscribers for your blog, learn what the #1 mistake is of crafters with blogs, learn whether blogs are really helpful, and learn about blogs and their features.

You’ll also learn about some of the old and new features of the “Cadillac” of blog service providers, learn how commenting on blogs can be helpful to your small business website, learn who your audience is and what you should tell them, and learn why you might want to create generic posts.

Plus, you’ll learn why you would want to bleg your readers, learn how to incorporate “keywords” into your blog, learn why labels are important, learn all about pinging, and find out about all those blogging communities.

Plus, you’ll learn about a million different blogging directories, learn about using Google reader, learn about Google alerts, learn about Google blog search, learn about backing up your blogs, learn whether you should add blogvert and blogvertsing to your blog, and learn if you’re blogstipated.

Finally, you’ll learn if you have blogophobia, learn about Twitter widgets, learn about the Feedblitz multiple blog subscription widget, learn about having some fun with your blog, learn about blogs as heirlooms and family fun, and read about our Top Blogs By Crafters toplist and why you should join.

Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs – E-Book #6 All About Blogs – Part 1

Linda Walsh Originals E-Books
Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #6
Buy Instant E-Book NOW

Here's what you'll find in e-book #6:

Table of Contents – E-Book #6

Introduction – Page 4
Should You Have A Blog For Your Craft Business? - Page 8
I Wouldn't Know What To Write In A Blog? – Page 9
Has Anyone Noticed All The Blogs? - Page 11
Taking A Big Bold Progressive Step and Eliminating My Newsletter In Favor Of My Blog - Page 13
Providing For Subscribers To Your Blog – Page 15
The #1 Mistake Of Crafters With Blogs Page 18
Tips From The Blogging Queen – Are Blogs Really Helpful? – Column #1– Page 20
Testing The Blogs Series – Part 1 – Blogs and Their Features – Page 22
Testing The Blogs Series – Part 3 – The “Cadillac” of Blog Service Providers – Page 28
Testing The Blogs Series – Part 8 – The New Blogger.com – Page 34
Tips From The Blogging Queen – Commenting On Blogs And How That Can Be Helpful To Your Small Business Website Column #2 - Page 39
Tips From The Blogging Queen – Who Is Your Audience And What Should You Tell Them? – Page 41
Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Why Would I Want To Create Generic Posts? – Page 44
Tips From The Blogging Queen – Why Would You Want To Bleg Your Readers? – Column 4 – Page 45
Tips From The Blogging Queen - How To Incorporate "Keywords" Into Your Blog - Column 5 – Page 47
That’s Too Much Work! It’s Not Worth It! Why Labels Are Important – Page 49
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Are You Pinging? - Column 6 – Page 51
All Those "Blogging Communities" – Page 53
A Million Different Blogging Directories! For Crafters - Which To Choose? – Page 57
Do You Use Google Reader? – Page 62
Have You Tried Google Alerts Yet? – Page 63
Google Blog Search – Page 64
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Don't Forget To Back-Up Your Blogs - Column 7 – Page 65
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Should You Add Blogvert and Blogvertising to Your Blog? - Column 8 – Page 67
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Are You Blogstipated? - Column 9 – Page 69
"Tips From The Blogging Queen" Column 10 - Do You Have Blogophobia? – Page 71
Gotta LOVE Twitter Widgets! – Page73
Cool New Widget From Feedblitz.com – Page 75
Oh, What Fun I’m Having! Having A Little Fun With Your Blog! – Page 77
Blogs As Heirlooms And Family Fun! - Page 79
We've Got A “Top Blogs By Crafters” Toplist and Why You Should Join – Page 81
About Us – Page 84

In Part 2 you'll learn all the blogging terms and definitions, learn how to take a screenshot of your website or blog, learn why your sidebar is at the bottom of your blog, learn how to widen your blog, learn how to add wallpaper to your blog, learn how to create drop down menus for your blogs sidebar, and see if you need a blogiday.

You’ll also find out if you’re a multi-blogger, learn about podcasting and whether you should jump on the podcasting bandwagon, find out about all the free crafting podcasts online, and determine is you are a blog hopper.

Plus, you’ll learn why a blog is not your Grandfather’s newsletter, learn about web blog blidgets, learn whether you should become a vlogger, whether you've become blistless, and why blogrolls are important. You’ll learn whether you’ll get dooced, and whether you should join a team blog.

Plus, you’ll learn why videos are a great addition to a blogs sidebar, learn how the Twitter widget is the coolest thing for your blog, and learn how following on Facebook’s networked blogs helps all of us.

Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs – E-Book #7 All About Blogs – Part 2

Linda Walsh Originals E-Books
Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #7
Buy Instant E-Book NOW

Here's what you'll find in e-book #7:

Table of Contents – E-Book #7

Introduction – Page 4
Blogging Terms and Definitions – Page 8
The Fun Is In The Learning - How To Take A Screenshot Of Your Website or Blog – Page 23
Why Is My Sidebar At The Bottom Of My Blog? – Page 24
Linda’s How-Do-I Series? How Do I Widen My Blog? – Page27
Linda’s How-Do-I-Series? How Do I Add Wallpaper To My Blog? – Page 29
Linda’s How-Do-I Series? Drop Down Menu’s For Your Blog Sidebar – Page 31
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 11 - Do You Need A Blogiday – Page 33
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 12 - Are You A Multi-Blogger? – Page 35
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 13 - What Is Podcasting and Should You Jump On The Podcasting Bandwagon? – Page 37
What Are Podcasts? – Page 39
Do You Like Free Crafting Podcasts? If So, Check Out Our List! – Page 41
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 14 - Are You A Blog Hopper? – Page 43
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 15 - A Blog Is Not Your Grandfather's Newsletter – Page 45 My Tips For Crafters On The Web Blog Blidget – Page 47
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 16 - Should You Become A Vlogger? – Page 4
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 17 - Have You Become Blistless – Page 51
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 18 - Are Blogrolls Important? – Page 53
Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 19 - Will You Get Dooced? – Page 55
Tips From the Blogging Queen - Column 20 - Should You Join A Team Blog? – Page 58
Video's Are A Great Addition To A Blog's Sidebar! – Page 60
Twitter! The Coolest Thing For Your Blog! – Page 62
Facebook.com Networked Blogs - Following Helps All of Us! – Page 64
About Us! – Page 66

If you've thought about starting a blog there's no better time than now and our new 2-part e-book series can help.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Great News - We've Revised Our Linda-How-Do-I Series? E-Books #1 - #4

2009-08-23T14:42:00.001-04:00

We have great NEWS. We not only revised Our Linda-How-Do-I Series? E-Books #1, #2, #3, and #4, but we've added a few new articles as a surprise that we think will also be helpful to you.

Several years ago our blog readers asked if we would be converting our Linda's How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips For Crafters With Websites and Blogs to .PDF versions and we decided to not only convert them into .PDF format for you, but to make them available as "Instant Download E-Books" as well and did so in February of 2007.

Well, over the past few years some of the HTML coding has become more standardized and some of the original HTML coding wasn't appearing in some of the browsers as it should have. So, we decided it was time to revise our e-books. In doing this we also went back and corrected all of our original blogs posts that may have been having a browser distortion problem as well. Not only have we corrected for the browser distortion, but we've added to the e-books as well.

Just like before, some of the articles contained within the e-books are the exact contents of some of the articles in our blog except they do not contain the 3 ***'s that were necessary for the HTML code to be displayed on our blog. That's a wonderful advantage and incentive for buying the .PDF "Instant Download E-Book" version.

So, you can copy/paste the code from the e-books and just add your own information. There are no 3 ***'s in the HTML coding that you need to remove here. So, you can save the .PDF instant download e-books to your computer and when you need them you just open them up in Adobe Acrobat and copy/paste the code you want and change whatever information you need to change for your website or blog.

How GREAT is that?

So, what's in each of the revised e-books? Well, here's what's contained in each of the revised e-books #1, #2, #3, and #4:

Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #1 (LINDASHDISEP1) - Revised 8/16/09

Learn how to set up an email and forum signature, add text links and clickable link lists, change your font type, change your font size, change your font color, learn how to create an email link, learn how to use margins, learn how to use padding, learn how to create borders, draw a line, underline, skip a line, create a paragraph, add color to your border and text, change the background area within your borders, and create a simple banner out of html code. You’ll also learn what the names and #’s are for the 16 CSS colors, what the various size standard advertising banners are, what the difference is between the different picture file types, what the standard video formats are, and what the standard shortcut computer keys are.

Linda Walsh Originals E-Books
Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #1 - Revised August 16, 2009
Buy Instant E-Book NOW

Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #2 (LINDASHDISEP2) - Revised 8/16/09

Learn some of the common HTML and CSS tags and attributes, learn how to center banners, button, text or pictures, learn how to add scrolling banners, learn how to add vertical advertising banners, learn how to add horizontal advertising banners, learn how to add colored borders to your banners, learn how to change the background colors between the borders of your banners, learn how to space banners of different sizes, learn how to make your banners clickable back to your website or blog, learn how to build rows of clickable banners, and learn how to add color to the borders and background of rows of clickable banners.

Linda Walsh Originals E-Books
Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #2 - Revised August 16, 2009
Buy Instant E-Book NOW

Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #3 (LINDASHDISEP3) - Revised August 16, 2009

Learn about coding for promotion, copyright, and bio signatures, coding for clickable links to another section of a page, how to take a screenshot of your website or blog, what a plugboard is, learn how to make your plugboard bigger, learn why plugboards red x’s are bad for business, how to add wallpaper to your blog, how to widen your blog, why you would want to create generic blog posts, how to create clickable e-product links, learn how to create drop down menus for your website or blog sidebar, learn what to do about the size of your e-patterns, learn how to set-up a free .PDF file, and learn about some of the best photo hosting websites out there for crafters.

Linda Walsh Originals E-Books
Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #3 - Revised August 16, 2009
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Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #4 (LINDASHDISEP4) - Revised August 16, 2009

Learn how to add a banner rotation to your website or blog, learn how to build a simple table, learn how to add images to a simple table, learn how to center those images within a table and make those images clickable, learn how to add padding, spacing, and borders to images within a table, learn how to add clickable text links to a table, learn how to all wallpaper or images to the background of a table, and learn how to handle different size banners within a table.

Linda Walsh Originals E-Books
Linda's How-Do-I Series? E-Book #4 - Revised August 16, 2009
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We hope you enjoy our revised Linda's How-Do-I Series? Helpful Tips for Crafters With Websites and Blogs E-Books #1, #2, #3, and #4 and our new articles.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

The Browser Distortion Once Again!

2009-07-05T08:40:00.000-04:00

Last June I wrote a post on my Tips For Crafters On The Web blog entitled "Mozilla - Firefox Versus Internet Explorer" How Does Your Website Fare?

My post concerned using Microsoft "Publisher" to create my websites. At that time I was using Internet Explorer and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to update my websites.

When I checked last year 86% of my traffic was coming from Internet Explorer and 12% was coming from Mozilla - Firefox.

Shortly thereafter I switched to Mozilla - Firefox because I was having a horrendous time with Internet Explorer 7.0. It was SLOW as molasses, was freezing during printing from my blogs, and causing a multitude of other issues. After using Internet Explorer exclusively for over 30 years I'd had enough and made the switch. A year later I am happy to report that I'm delighted with Mozilla - Firefox and have had few, if any, problems with it.

I have found that Mozilla - Firefox, for the most part, is much more stringent on the HTML coding than Internet Explorer is so when I've made changes to my FTP websites using Firefox and then viewing them in IE everything has displayed just fine.

Well, something must have changed in Internet Explorer during the last few weeks as last week when I made some changes to my Everything E-Directory a friend of mine told me that some of the avatar links were not displaying properly. I was getting X's. YIKES! I hate x's!

So, I decided to check it out. Indeed, there were x's where two of my avatar pictures should have been and I was getting text boxes at the top of each page that shouldn't have been there. They disappeared once the page loaded, but were there initially. I didn't like that and knew there had to be something wrong in the HTML coding.

Well, after hours of work I finally resolved the problem in Internet Explorer and everything is now displaying properly. Mind you now, it was displaying correctly all along in Mozilla - Firefox. So now both IE and Firefox are displaying my websites correctly.

So, why am I telling you this? Well, if you are a small business website owner or blogger you might want to check your website and blog to see if both Internet Explorer and Mozilla - Firefox are displaying your website and/or blog properly.

Last year 12% of my traffic was coming from Mozilla - Firefox, with 86% from Internet Explorer and 2% from the other browsers. This year 19% of my traffic is coming from Mozilla - Firefox and 76% from Internet Explorer with 5% from the other smaller browsers.

So, why am I telling you this?

Well, if your website is displaying correctly in one browser it doesn't necessarily mean that it's displaying correctly in all the others. So far I've only been concerned with Internet Explorer and Mozilla - Firefox. For now, the others are really too small percentage wise to make it worthwhile to see if they are displaying properly and, if not, to spend the time to correct them.

I'm hoping that since I use Mozilla - Firefox and since it's pretty stringent on the HTML coding then I should be okay in the smaller browsers. However, I thought this would be true for Internet Explorer until recently. Obviously I was wrong about that. So, now when I make any changes I'm checking both.

Another reason I am telling you this is that from time to time in my blog hopping I have noticed that some of the blogs of some of the bloggers who deviated from the standard blog providers templates are not displaying as the blogger may have intended. In checking the blogs of several of my blogging friends who have gone to 3-column templates I have noticed that they aren't always displaying properly either.

So, the good news for Mozilla - Firefox is that it's certainly gaining ground over Internet Explorer. The bad news is that for small business owners who have websites and/or blogs on the internet it means more work. You need to see how your website and/or blog is displaying both in Mozilla - Firefox and in Internet Explorer. The % of users to Mozilla - Firefox is steadily increasing and to not have your website displaying properly in either one means lost business.

We'll check in next year around this time to see how both are faring. Happy browsing.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

We've Got GREAT NEWS - We Launched A New Website and Blog

2009-06-01T09:08:00.001-04:00

If you've known me for awhile you know that I have a LOT of websites and blogs so starting another website and blog might sound a little crazy to you.

Well, it is and it isn't.

You see I've been mulling something over in my head for close to a year now. It has to do with being a small business crafter online and has to do with my experiences with that and with my experiences trying to find everything I need in one place.

There's just SO MUCH that you need for your websites and blogs and just SO MANY places to look. I wanted to make that a little easier, especially when it concerns e-products.

So, I thought that an EVERYTHING E-DIRECTORY to be "YOUR ONE SOURCE FOR EVERYTHING E FOR CRAFTS" would be a perfect solution for small business artists and crafters and e-hobbyists alike. Everything in one place.

Whether you’re looking for E-Patterns, E-Books, E-Tutorials, E-Pictorials, E-Classes, E-Printables, Graphics, Video’s, Podcasts, Blogs, E-Zines, E-Tailers, E-Stores, E-Directories, E-Communities, Handmade Crafts Websites, Crafts Suppliers, Crafting Plugboards, Website Hosting, Picture Hosting, Crafting Topsites, Crafting Twitters and FACEBOOK Crafters, E-Products Classifieds, E-Products Specials, Free Craft E-Products and more we are your one source for EVERYTHING E for your crafting needs.

One place to list all your websites and blogs - even your products. Something suitable and affordable for the newest of small business crafters to the more experienced artist and crafter.

You can list your websites, blogs, and even single products, and you can have your website, blog, even single products as featured advertising. We've got lots of options and lots of possibilities. And, of course, plenty of "freebies."

And, like I do with everything, I have an EVERYTHING E FOR CRAFTS E-DIRECTORY BLOG to support the Everything E-Directory. All our listings members and 12 month featured advertisers will have links back to their websites, blogs, and/or products on the sidebar of the blog. And, we'll have monthly posting for our listing members and 12 month featured advertisers "Latest News", "Contest" and "Specials." And, whenever anyone lists their website. blog, or product or advertises their website, blog, or product we'll post about it during that month. It's a win-win for small business crafters and more experienced crafters alike.

Listing in the Everything E-Directory is FREE and easy to do. Your listing contains a clickable 125x125 button banner for your website and/or blog, or clickable 125x125 product picture on the applicable e-directory category page. It also contains a clickable text link back to your website, blog, or product page as well as a short website, blog, or product description on the applicable e-directory category page.

Advertising in the Everything E-Directory and/or Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog is also easy to do and is very affordable. For the featured advertising we offer you a choice of either a button banner or product picture on the applicable section of the HOME page of the Everything E-Directory, top of the applicable Everything E-Directory category page, top of the Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog, or sidebar of the Everything E-Directory for product advertising.

For the button banner advertising or product picture you can choose 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or one year of sequential advertising. The prices for months 3 through 12 reflect a discount for placing sequential ads. The longer sequential period of time you advertise the less you pay per advertisement. Featured advertising button banners and/or product pictures run for the length of your sequential advertising period and needs to be 150x150 in size.

We are a family-friendly website and do not allow websites, blogs, banners, or product pictures that are not family-friendly.

I hope you'll agree that this was a great idea. If you'd like to visit our Everything E-Directory please CLICK HERE.

If you'd like more information on listing in our Everything E-Directory please CLICK HERE.

If you'd like more information on featured advertising in our Everything E-Directory and Everything E For Crafts E-Directory Blog please CLICK HERE.

I hope you decide to join us.

Video's Are A Great Addition To A Blog's Sidebar!

2009-04-26T06:46:00.000-04:00

YouTube Finally Got Me! I finally took the plunge and set up a LWOrig channel on YouTube.com and added two slideshow video's to it.

I'd been resisting doing this for quite some time. I'm not exactly sure what my rationale was, but maybe it had to do with the very nature of YouTube.com and the video's that were first placed there. Maybe I didn't see the small business and advertising potential for my online business at first.

Well, YouTube has become so mainstream that I decided I'd give it a try. Besides they didn't just have video's - you could also have slideshows, etc. And, in thinking about promoting all my websites and blogs I decided that video slideshows would be just the thing.

So, I created two of them without music to promote my Linda Walsh Originals business and my "faceless" doll creations. I decided not to add music as these were being used for my small business purposes not being created for personal use. I respect copyrights and didn't want to have a copyright or royalty issue by using music.

I created my video slideshows using Microsoft Movie Maker software (MSMovieMaker) and found that it was very easy to do. It actually took less time to create than it did to upload it to YouTube.com. Uploading was time consuming due to the size of the video's, but very easy to do from the YouTube.com website.

In fact, it was so easy to do that I decided I should add more video's to my LWOrig YouTube Channel. If you'd like to visit my LWOrig YouTube Channel please CLICK HERE.

I don't know why I didn't create video's before as I can now see what a GREAT way they are to promote your business and what a wonderful small business tool they are. I have added either the video's or links to the video's on the sidebars of all my blogs and links to them on some of my websites.

The first video is all about Linda Walsh Originals and how much there is to do on our websites and blogs. It's entitled "So Much To See And Do At Linda Walsh Originals" and is shown below:

The second video, which is shown below, is about my "faceless" beauties and is entitled "Faceless Beauties By Linda Walsh Originals" and is also shown below:

I hope you like the videos.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Twitter Dee and Twitter Dumb!

2009-04-25T06:36:00.000-04:00

If you are a reader of my Linda's Blog then you know I just LOVE to experiment with new websites, widgets, applications and gadgets for my blogs.

Well, for the past few weeks I have been learning the ins and outs of Facebook.com and all the applications that have been written to interface with it. One of the applications that I have been using for awhile is Twitter.com . I have had the Twitter widget on the side bars of all my blogs for awhile so that I could update my "Latest News From Linda" modules with one Twitter comment otherwise known as a Tweet.

With my new interface with my Linda Walsh Facebook.com wall I have found myself Tweeting more and more. Actually I have found myself spending way too much time on Twitter and Facebook, which is a story for another day.

If you are not familiar with Twitter.com I should tell you that it is a social networking service (i.e. Internet community) that allows you to post instant text-based messages (i.e. Tweets) up to 140 characters per post to the Twitter website and your profile page. It retains all your messages and lists them in a continuous stream under your profile page. The text-based messages are sent via Instant Message services, email, via RSS feeds, via any one of the various Twitter interface applications, or to your mobile phone to other users who have signed up to receive them and/or that are following you.

They also have many widgets now that you can add to your blogs or websites that can be customized as well. I used the basic Blogger.com Twitter widget so that it would add the module to the sidebars of my various blogs using the style of that particular blog. If you want to see what they look like just go to any one of my blogs and scroll down the sidebar until you see the module entitled "Latest News From Linda."

The Twitter widget lets me determine how many of my instant messages I want to display (right now I have 5) and provides a link to my profile page at Twitter.com.

Besides the latest NEWS any time I use one of the Twitter applications that I have signed up for it will automatically update my LWOriginals Twitter stream, which also updates to my Linda Walsh Facebook.com wall. Now how cool is that? Better yet - how wonderful for saving me some time!

Besides spending too much time on Twitter and Facebook I have been trying to investigate all the various applications that have been written to interface with Twitter and/or Facebook or both. There seems to be hundreds if not thousands of them.

Some of the applications are organizer programs that you can download to your desktop to organize all your Internet communities into categories of your choosing. Their aim is to speed up the time you are spending on the more well known Internet communities you may belong to.

Others are directories whose aim is to make you more visible on Tweeter or groups that help you to network and connect with your friends or other individuals with similar interests.

I am hoping that one of these applications may help me as I know that I have been spending way too much time doing this. After I've investigated the different applications, directories, and groups I'll let you know what I think.

Of course, I'll also Tweet about it so if you're a friend of Linda Walsh on Facebook.com or are following LWOriginals on Tweeter.com you'll already know.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Twitter Bird Courtesy of ProductiveDreams.com

Facebook.com Networked Blogs - Following Helps All of Us!

2009-04-09T07:26:00.001-04:00

I just love the Facebook.com networked blogs. They're a great way to not only promote your blog and websites, but a great way for you to help promote your friends blogs and websites. And, they're something we can all do together to hep each other.

The way they work is that you add your blog and they will link your blogs, the blogs you are following, and your Facebook.com profiles together. They pull the RSS feeds for the last 5 posts and also provide an avatar widget that you can add to the sidebar of your blog for promoting your own Facebook.com blog and profile as well as your Facebook.com friends blogs and profiles.

What's really neat about the Facebook.com widget with followers avatar pictures is that when you click on the avatar of one of the friends in the widget it displays not only a link to their blogs profile page, but a link to their Facebook.com profile page, and a listing of all the blogs they follow. This is a terrific way to link all our blogs and websites together and promote each other.

I wasn't able to add this to my post and show you as when I tried to it affected the Facebook avatar widget I have on my sidebar and added a message to this post that my "Facebook widget not installed properly." YIKES!!!! They tell you to only install it on the sidebar and not in a post. I guess they really mean that and know when you don't!

For Facebook.com they only pull the RSS feeds for blogs that have 7 followers or more on the blog profile page. I added the Facebook.com widget to the sidebar of my Linda's Blog , The Best FREE Crafts Articles blog, and my I Love Crafts and Craft Blogs blog already as I have more than 7 followers for each of those blogs.

I would LOVE to add the widget to the sidebars of all of my blogs but will only do so when I get 7 or more Facebook.com followers to each of these blogs. I know I have a LOT of blogs (ya think! LOL LOL) but would love for everyone to follow them and then I can add the widget to all of them.

This is a GREAT way for all of us to gain exposure for all our blogs. Please come and follow my blog(s) and I will follow yours. And, you could do the same by adding your blog to the Facebook.com networked blogs and then adding their widget to the sidebar of your blog.

If you have a blog and are on Facebook.com you might want to consider adding your blog to their network. It seems to be one of the fastest growing blogging communities on the web.

Just CLICK HERE for my Facebook.com profile page and then click on the "Blogs" tab at the top of the page for all my blogs.

Happy blogging.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls - "Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"

Tips From the Blogging Queen - Column 20 - Should You Join A Team Blog?

2009-04-07T06:34:00.001-04:00

Last September in my TFTBQ Column 19 our definition was "Group or Team Blog." This is a blog maintained by two or more bloggers. Also known as a team blog. Our question was -"Should You Join A Team Blog?"

If you are a small business crafter on the web you probably know that networking is very, very important to getting your website and/or blog seen. Not only has networking blossomed from communicating and mingling with friends with the same interests, but has mushroomed into multiple ways in which to promote your websites and/or blogs.

You can join any of the thousands of social communities out there, become an active member of any of the thousands of online forums, or participate in groups with your interests. You can write FREE articles and gain a following on any of the FREE articles content websites. You can even create your own channel and video's on YouTube.com that other viewers can add to their favorite video's play lists.

You can gain followers on Twitter.com and update them minute to minute with what's going on. Or, become a member of Facebook.com and provide updates to your network of friends. Plus, if you set up a business page for your website and set up a networked blog page on Facebook.com you can update your fans with what's going on with you and your business. You can join any of the hundreds of blogging networks and communities and add "friends" or "admirers" of your blog.

And, you can even become a member of a "team blog" which is nothing more than several people writing posts for the same blog.

Team blogs are usually centered around a common theme or idea. They might contain content about any number of different crafts or interests for the members of the team. They might even be formed by any one of the various clubs you might belong to and used for updating the other members on the various activities of the club and its' members. Team blogs are even being used to create monthly e-zines.

They can be very helpful and versatile for promoting your interests, products, website, and blog and may be maintained by one or several of the team members. Posts may be contributed individually by each of the team members and published by each or they might all be filtered through a team leader who publishes the posts and maintains the blog.

The advantages are that they are being maintained by more than one person and therefore updated more frequently. Less pressure for you to constantly be coming up with a post for your blog. Plus, with more members of the team promoting the blog the wider the spectrum of readers.

The disadvantages are that they may be being maintained by more than one person or persons who may or may not have your posting style and posting demeanor. You might like your blog posts and blog to be maintained in a certain way and style and might not like the style of any one of the team members. Plus, with a wider spectrum of readers comes a wider circle of connections that you may or may not like for your small business image.

It may seem confusing that the advantages of team blogs and disadvantages of team blogs are, well, basically the same. Team blogs can be very beneficial to helping you to promote your website and/or blog, but like everything else on the web it's important to know who the other team members are, what their style is, and who their audience is before deciding to become a member yourself.

Are team blogs beneficial? Yes!

Do they help promote your small business and/or interests? Yes!

Should you join a team blog? If the team blog is conducive to your small business and will help promote your small business to a wider audience then after a careful review of the other team members - yes!

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 21 Definition - "Labeling and Categories"

This is a method of organizing blog entries by assigning each entry to a predetermined label. Each label will link to a list of entries, all with related content. See also "categories." Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 21 "Should You Label Or Categorize Your Blog Posts?"

Copyright © 2009 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

New Updates and A Fresh Coat of Paint!

2009-01-25T06:03:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been awhile since I've updated my Testing The Blogs and Helpful Blog Tips blog. So, I decided it was time for a fresh coat of paint.

I've updated it, reformatted it, and added a few tweaks here and there.

I haven't tested any blog service providers in quite a while and there are so many more of them now - with so many different benefits. I'm hoping to be able to test more during the course of this year. So much has changed - all of it SO EXCITING.

I hope you like my Testing The Blogs and Helpful Blog Tips blog's new paint job!

Stay tuned. We've got a whole LOT more planned.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 19 - Will You Get Dooced?

2008-09-24T06:33:00.002-04:00

Last June in my TFTBQ Column 18 our definition was "Dooced." This is having lost a job because of entries posted to a blog. Our question was -"Will You Get Dooced?"

I read somewhere that at last count there were over 185 million blogs out there and that hundreds of thousands are being created every day. In fact, if you key the word blog into Google you get 949,000,000 results. That doesn't mean there are that many blogs out there. It just means that there are that many results on the Internet for the keyword word "blog."

Blogging has become so mainstream that Human Resource departments of companies are now creating "blogging" policies for their companies and employees. With blogs becoming so mainstream and with that many blogs out there you have to be saying to yourself, "That's a lot of blogs. Mine will never get noticed."

You might also be thinking that with so many blogs out there the chances of your being fired because of entries posted to a blog has to be minuscule. Besides you have a right to post whatever you want to your personal blog or your small business blog. Right?

Well, you have the right to post what you want to your blog, but if you're a small business blogger who is trying to attract business and customers doing so might just hurt your business. If you have a small business blog where you're trying to personalize yourself to your readers and attract business then hot button issues and controversial images and/or opinions would not make good business sense. So, you stay clear of that for your small business blog. Right?

Well, what about your personal blog. Certainly your have the right to say and post what you want there. Right? Besides the likelihood of something being seen has to be minuscule. Right?

Well, the chances aren't as minuscule as you might think and the reason for that is due to the search engines. You see, the search engines have a funny way of uncovering exactly what you don't want uncovered. Even things you think you've deleted.

If you are like many small business crafters on the web you probably have a full-time job. With Human Resource departments creating "blogging" policies you have to know that employers are very aware of the power of the Internet to disseminate information rapidly and are therefore watching what is said about their company.

Does this mean they're "googling" their employees? Probably. As a small business owner - wouldn't you? In fact, how many of you "Google" your own name, your small business name, your product names, etc. to see what is being said about you and your business. Most of you I would bet. It only makes good business sense to do so. After all, it's your small business reputation that is at stake. So, you have to "Google" things about you and your business as a prudent business measure. Right?

Well, employers are no different. It is their job to maintain the reputation, integrity, confidentiality, security of copyrights and trademarks, and good standing of the businesses they work for. Right? And, in doing so they are going to go to the Internet to see what is being said.

Which brings us all back to the likelihood of your blog posts being seen. Will they be seen? Absolutely. There are just so many variables for how you could be uncovered by a search engine that I'd be here all night just listing them. Suffice it to say that despite your best efforts to remain anonymous you will be seen.

What about your Facebook page, your MySpace page, or any number of social networking websites? Will employers be looking here? Well, the idea of these websites is to create a profile containing your real name. Right? That's because they are set-up for all your friends to find you. And, old school chums aren't going to be able to find you if you use a pseudo name. Right? Does that mean your employer can find you, too? Absolutely.

Does that mean you shouldn't post the pictures you want and say whatever it is you want? Right again. You shouldn't and here's why. If you use your blog or your social networking pages to post objectionable material or post about your frustrations with the company you work full-time for or your boss then you are going to have an issue with your employer.

And, if your full-time employer can find you, well so can your small business customers. Whether or not it has anything to do with the small business products you are selling or not you can bet that a customer will think twice about doing business with you if you are posting objectionable material or venting your frustrations on the Internet.

That's here and now. What about the future? Well, if you're looking for a prospective employer to hire you then in this day and age you'd better check yourself out on Goggle to make sure their isn't anything objectionable about you anywhere on the web. Will prospective employers Google you? Absolutely. A comment you might have made about your employer in a forum is fair game for the search engines, too. In fact, anything and everything on the Internet is fair game for the search engines and for prospective employers to find.

Are employers Googling existing employees and prospective employees? Absolutely. They'd be foolish not to. If you do anything that might reflect badly on your employers good name, reputation, business standing, etc. with anything you may have said or posted in your personal blog, social networking website, forum, etc. then they are not going to be happy with you and you may or may not get "dooced." That all depends on your employer and their respective "blogging" policies.

A good rule of thumb to follow is this. Do not post anything that you wouldn't want anyone else seeing or reading. This includes blog posts, images, social networking pages, emails, chat rooms, instant messages, video's, groups, forums, etc.

For those of you with small business websites a good rule of thumb is this. Do not post anything that any of your small business customers might find objectionable. With worldwide customers this encompasses a huge area of objectionable material.

My grandson and I were having lunch and I happened to mention that I had seen his MySpace page. He then asked "Did you read my wall, Nana?" I, of course, said, "Well, ya!" His response was, "Don't read my wall, Nana. That's private!" Well, in this day and Internet age the only thing that is private is something you keep to yourself.

So, will you get dooced? Maybe, maybe not! But, do you really want to test that?

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 20 Definition - "Group or Team Blog"

This is a blog maintained by two or more bloggers. Also known as a team blog. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 20 "Should You Join A Team Blog?"

Copyright © 2008 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com

How Do You Do It All? What's Your Internet Morning Routine?

2008-09-18T06:08:00.001-04:00

I get a lot of comments about "How can you handle so many websites and blogs? You must be extremely organized!"

Well, I do have to admit that I am organized and do something everyday that helps. It's my daily morning routine.

I know we all have routines for things we do every day. Without them it's hard to be organized. Especially if you have multiple numbers of websites and blogs - which I do!

To keep up with everything I have a morning routine where I check what's been going on with my Internet business overnight. I start with my emails and try to answer all of them in the morning or do whatever might be requested of me in the email.

Then, I check my plugboards to make sure there aren't any RED X's. I hate Red X's and think they are bad for business. So, if I have a red X on my permanent plugboards or changing plugboards they get deleted.

I do the same for the banners on my Top Blogs By Crafters topsite except instead of deleting the blog I make the banner inactive. If the blog is no longer available then I delete the account, but if it still is available then I assume that the blog owner just changed the URL of their banner and didn't update their account.

After this I check all my business accounts to see the overnight activity and handle whatever it is I need to do there. If there is any activity that requires posting to my small business accounting system then I try to do that as well. Sometimes this activity tends to pile up. This is my least favorite activity and sometimes gets postponed until the pile gets so large I can't ignore it.

Then I check my various community pages to see if there is anything I need to respond to there. After that I check some of the forums I belong to to see what's been going on overnight.

After doing this I go to my Google Reader to read all the posts of the blogs I am tracking. Google Reader is a time saving tool that I couldn't function without and I highly recommend it to anyone who follows different blogs.

And, last I post to my blogs. This is where stockpiling blog posts can be very beneficial as all you have to do is just post the article you'd written ahead of time.

I also try to write a few blog posts daily if I'm in a "blogging mood." If not then I wait until I'm really in a "blogging" mood and write multiple posts at the same time and hold them for releasing at a later date.

Every few days I back-up all my files, folders, websites, and blogs to my external hard drive. And, just recently I started utilizing an online folder at GoDaddy.com, which I absolutely love because it makes me "mobile!" There will be more about this in a later post.

After all this I'm done with my morning routine and I'm free to work on my new creations, research places I might want to advertise with, review some crafting books for my "The Book Review Corner" blog, or do some research for some posts I might want to write about on my blogs.

It really doesn't take that long to maintain a daily routine for your small business and definitely helps to keep me organized.

So, what's your daily routine?

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Blog Terms and Definitions Updated

2008-09-17T05:23:00.001-04:00

It's been about a year and a half since I updated my blog terms and blog definitions list. Well, in the blogging world that's a lot of time. Lots of things have changed and a lot of new terms have been added.

So, to help my craft blog readers and anyone who is starting a blog for the first time I thought I'd update my blogging terms and definitions list. It's not a definitive list by any means and doesn't intend or claim to be so. I provide it as nothing more than a tool for my craft blogging readers and friends.

Blogs and bloggers have a language all to their own that might seem strange for anyone being introduced to blogging for the first time. So, I thought it might be helpful to compile a list of the more common blogging terms and their definitions that crafting bloggers on the web might run into.

Because the list now contains hundreds of words and phrases I decided to only post the complete list on my "Tips From The Blogging Queen" blog.

Just CLICK HERE or go to http://dearlindabloggingqueen.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-terms-and-definitions-updated.html for my post.

Just like text messaging, forum commenting, etc. bloggers have their own shorthand, words, and definitions, too. You don't have to be an expert on them right away or know what everything means.

If you're new to "blogging" don't worry. If you decide to create a blog before too long some of these words will become common language to you. I'm sure you may have heard some of the terms already. Some may be more obscure and you may never use them or know what they mean. I gave them all to you because I like to be thorough.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 18 - Are Blogrolls Important?

2008-06-07T06:18:00.001-04:00

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 17 our definition was "Blogrolls." This is a list of links or your blogs sidebar. They can be a manual list maintained by the blogger or a list provided by a "BlogRolling" service. Our question was -"Are Blogrolls Important?"

Given that there are hundreds of millions of blogs out there nowadays you have to wonder if your blog will get noticed.

For some of you your blog is a personal blog that you write for yourself and your family and/or friends. Getting noticed isn't paramount to you.

For others your blog is written in support of your online small business and helps to personalize you to your customers and keep your customers in touch with what's going on with your small business. Getting noticed is paramount to the survival of your online small business.

So, what do you do?

Well, just like your website you need links to help you get noticed and, most importantly, to help with search engine optimization. Search engines love blogs because they are filled with so much text. So, they crawl all over them and while doing so they follow the links from one blog to another. You want you blog to be one of those links.

It has been customary for bloggers for a long time to add the name and URL of other blogs that they like to the sidebar of their blogs. Bloggers just love to jump from one blog to another and the link on the sidebar provides the opportunity to easily do so. This also provides customers with the ability to check out other blogs as well.

So, how do you get linked with other blogs?

Well, just like with websites you can email other bloggers and ask if they'll exchange text links with you, join blog communities, join blog link exchanges, or join blog linking services like "Blogrolling."

Emailing other bloggers is a nice way to establish communication with other like minded bloggers and helps you with networking within your field of interest.

Blog communities are springing up all over the web and provide for a linking of blog URL's via their widgets. The widgets are small snippets of HTML code that you add to the sidebar of your blog and contain links back to other member's blogs, the bloggers avatar, etc. This is also another great way to network with other bloggers.

Blog link exchanges usually require their members to visit other members blogs in exchange for points. The more blogs you visit the more points you earn and they more often your blog is displayed for other bloggers to visit.

The blog linking service providers make linking easy by providing you with the ability to easily add the URL of a blog that you like to the sidebar of your blog. They do not, however, link your blog URL to the blog that you like. It's a one way link which according to some SEO experts is also good for search engine optimization.

Personally, I prefer an email exchange of links. I love to blog hop and if I find a blog that I like I will leave a comment so the blogger knows that I visited their blog. If I like their blog then I might add a link to their blog on the sidebar of my blog and I might ask them if they want to exchange links with me. If I like their blog and establish a relationship with them I may just refer someone to it.

Just like in the business world word of mouth is important. In the blogging world word of mouth is a text link on the sidebar. It says that the blogger likes your blog and is recommending it to their readers and/or customers.

Word of mouth is paramount for a small business and is why I prefer an email exchange of links over blog communities, blog link exchanges, and blog linking service providers. The latter three are very useful for exposure, but to me personalization, which is why you are blogging in the first place, is crucial. It doesn't get more personal than word of mouth.

So, the long and short of it is that blogrolls are very important for blog exposure. Which way you choose to blogroll is entirely up to you.

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 18 Definition - "Dooced"

This is having lost a job because of entries posted to a blog. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 19 "Will You Get Dooced?"

I Reinstated My "Top Blogs By Crafters" Toplist Plugboard

2008-06-06T06:41:00.002-04:00

I decided to reinstate the plugboard on my "Top Blogs By Crafters" toplist. It's at the bottom of each page of the toplist and holds 88x31 mini banners.

If you are an artist or crafter or in a "craft" related industry please feel free to add your 88x31 mini-banner URL and your website or blog URL to the "Ever Changing" "Top Blogs By Crafters" toplist FREE plugboard.

We are a family-friendly website. Any non family-friendly banners, websites, or blogs will not be added.

There is no requirement on any of my "crafts" plugboards that you have to have a plugboard on your website to plug on mine. They are there for all "crafts" related small business artists and crafters to plug away whether you have a plugboard or not. So, if you have a crafts blog, crafts website, Etsy shoppe, eBay shop, etc. please come and add your banners.

My plugboards are as follows:

Crafting For All Plugboard

The Dollie & Crafts Plugboard

Top Blogs By Crafters Toplist

Happy plugging!

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Do You Use Google Reader?

2008-06-03T05:19:00.001-04:00

I have been a big fan of Google.com and all the services they offer for a long time. One of the services they offer is Google Reader which I have found to be an invaluable tool and time saving resource for me.

Google Reader is a feed service that allows you to track RSS and Atom feeds. For me, I use it to keep track of all the current posts for all my Top Blogs By Crafters Toplist blogs.

Since I now have 357 members on my toplist that's a LOT of blogs to read. But, Google Reader makes that a breeze and I just love keeping up-to-date on what's happening with my favorite blogs.

The only negative is that I'm only seeing the feeds and not all the changes everyone has made to their blogs, which I also like to see.

So, from time to time I just visit everyone's blog to see what they've done to their blogs. It's always fascinating to see the creativity involved with all the bloggers and see how much the new bloggers have learned for managing their blogs.

Since I use I-Google as my home page I have a widget for Google Reader right on my homepage. So, I can read the blog updates as they happen right from my homepage or just go to my Google Reader page.

Adding new subscriptions is a breeze and managing my subscriptions is a breeze.

If time is of the essence, and you have a LOT of blogs you like to read then try Google Reader. It will save you some time. It certainly does that for me.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

"Mozilla - Firefox Versus Internet Explorer" How Does Your Website Fare?

2008-06-02T05:16:00.001-04:00

Three years ago when I decided to create a website I decided to use Microsoft "Publisher", which is an old "dinosaur" to create my website. I had been using "Publisher" for years and thought - "why not?" It used Internet Explorer as its browser and I would be using FTP to update my website so it was a good fit.

Back then "Publisher" had a LOT of coding issues and was not the optimum for coding finesse. However, I was familiar with the program and could easily update and maintain my website myself which was appealing to me. After I created my Linda Walsh Originals website I soon learned that it wasn't being read properly by some of the other browsers such as Mozilla - Firefox.

At the time I only used Internet Explorer and AOL, which used Internet Explorer as their browser. My website was FINE there so I asked some of my friends who had a problem with their browsers what was showing when they went to my website. The answer was as varied as the various browsers.

So, I decided to use my GoDaddy.com website hosting statistics to see how much of my website traffic was for browsers other than Internet Explorer. At that time 98% of my traffic was by Internet Explorer with close to 1% for Mozilla - Firefox. The other 1% was made up of several smaller browsers. I decided that less than 1% was not something I had to immediately address.

When I decided to update my website I was hoping that Publisher 2007 would contain more standardized coding and, hopefully, solve the browser distortion problem. To my delight it did and solved most of the Mozila - Firefox distortion problems.

So, I decided to check my browser statistics to see if more of my traffic was coming from Mozilla - Firefox these days and whether it would be worthwhile to spend the time to fix both my Linda Walsh Originals and Linda Walsh Originals Dolls websites which had been created in Publisher.

To my surprise 86% of my traffic was coming from Internet Explorer now and 12% was now coming from Mozilla - Firefox. The remaining 2% was coming from several much smaller browsers. In evaluating the statistics I thought that 12% now was way too much of a customer base to be missing so I decided to spend the time to fix both of my websites and I'm happy to report that I no longer have a browser distortion problem with Mozilla - Firefox in either website. In fact, none of my website and blogs have a browser distortion problem.

I recently switched to Mozilla - Firefox myself because I was having a horrendous time with Internet Explorer 7.0. It was SLOW as molasses, was freezing during printing from my blogs, and causing a multitude of other issues. After using Internet Explorer exclusively for over 30 years I'd had enough and made the switch. I'm happy to report that Mozilla - Firefox does have a few problems, but I haven't been happier. It works like a charm and ALL my websites and blogs are FINE and load exactly as I want them to.

So, why am I telling you this? Well, if you are a small business website owner or blogger you might want to check your website and blog to see if Mozilla - Firefox is displaying properly. If my percent of website traffic from Mozilla - Firefox is par for the course then 12% of a customer base is WAY TOO MUCH to be losing.

Plus, if you are a blogger and have deviated from some of the standard blog providers templates you might want to consider checking your blog. In checking the blogs of several of my blogging friends who have gone to 3-column templates I have noticed that they aren't displaying properly.

For now I'm happy with Mozilla - Firefox. Happy browsing.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 17 - Have You Become Blistless?

2008-04-21T06:05:00.002-04:00

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 16 our definition was "Blistless or B-listless." This is what happens when a blogger doesn't care about posting and becomes apathetic about it. In other words - listless. Also know as "blogathy" which is characterized by lack of interest in your blog. Our question was - "Have You Become Blistless?"

Every blogger suffers from time to time with being a little bored with their blog and with writing articles. You might not have anything new to say or might get a version of writers block called "bloggers block." That's alright. Usually it will pass and usually it just requires stepping back from your blog for a bit.

The problem for a small business blogger is that by not posting frequently or taking too long of a break might result in lost readership. And, once the readership is lost, it is very hard to reclaim.

Lost readership can also translate into a loss of customers and potential business. For the small business blogger that isn't good.

So, what do you do if you're a small business blogger and a little tired of your blog. Well, you plan for the occasional blistless or blogathy periods and re-issue previous posts, stockpile some articles ahead of time, or post some re-cap articles.

What do I mean by this?

Well, you prepare for the blistless periods - which you are going to have - by writing generic articles that are not time or period sensitive that you can re-post later on. Or, you prepare by stockpiling articles ahead of time that can be posted when you're in a blistless period.

Both of these require a little planning and forethought as to what your article will be about. When writing re-post articles just give some thought as to being able to re-post this, say, in 6 months or next year and write with that in mind.

For the stockpile articles I have always found that when I'm in a "blogging" mode that I can write several articles ahead of time and save them to be released later on.

For the re-cap articles this is where having several different theme oriented blogs comes into play. All you have to do is post articles re-capping what's happening on your other blogs.

All three of the above will keep you posting during the blistless periods and keep your small business from suffering in readership and potential customers. Most importantly, don't worry. Your "blistless" or "blogathy" period will pass and you'll be blogging again to beat the band!

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 17 Definition - "Blogroll"

This is a list of links or your blogs sidebar. They can be a manual list maintained by the blogger or a list provided by a "BlogRolling" service. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 18 on "Are Blogrolls Important?"

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 16 - Should You Become A Vlogger?

2008-03-15T06:12:00.001-04:00

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 15 our definition was "vlog" which is nothing more than a video blog and a "vlogger" is simply the blogger who maintains it. Our question was - "Should You Become a Vlogger?"

That is a good question and like other things within the blog world not easily answered. You see, "vlogging" just like "blogging" started out as a simple thing and morphed into unbelievable proportions. Think "YouTube" and you know where I'm going with this.

"Vlog" is a combination of video and blog. Entries are posted in reverse chronological order and may combine video and text, images, or other data. In the blogosphere "vloggers" and their blogs are referred to as the "vlogosphere."

Vlogs started out as simple videos posted hourly, daily, etc. to a blog and were pretty much video diaries of a person's life, chronicle of an event, etc. When computer processing speed improved and internet connection speeds increased vlogging became achievable for the masses.

Videos have become so immensely popular that just about everyone is creating them and a whole slew of websites to support video content have been created. YouTube is the behemoth of the video craze and to show you the importance of this phenomenon Google paid YouTube.com 1.65 billion in stock to purchase it in 2006.

And, of course with increased popularity comes awards. The 1st ever "Vloggies" video awards was held in November 2006. Think academy awards of videos.

Anyone with access to a video camera and a high-speed connection can create a vlog and publish it the same way text articles are published to a blog. The content is distributed via RSS feeds. Video content distributed this way is known as a vodcast or vidcast.

And, with the advent of technology in 2007 live interview vlogs and live transmission became possible.

So, for a small business owner the question is "Should You Become a Vlogger?" Well, that is not a simple question to answer for a small business owner. It really depends on what you are selling and whether or not videos would enhance your small business blog. It also depends on how creative you are.

Just like writing articles for a small business blog, creating videos requires creative skill, thought, and, most importantly, organization. You can't just throw a video out there - not if you're a small business owner. You need to think about what your video is going to convey to your readers and/or customers. Does it compliment your products and your business? Or, is it a detriment?

If it doesn't enhance your business image, convey to your readers and/or customers who you are and what your product is, or generate future sales for you then you shouldn't be vlogging. You might create a video that generates a tremendous amount of traffic to your website, but if that doesn't translate into sales for you then you might not have the right video.

So, should you become a vlogger? Well, that depends on what you're selling, how much time you have to devote to your videos, and how creative you are.

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 16 Definition - "Blistless or B-listless"

This is what happens when a blogger doesn't care about posting and becomes apathetic about it. In other words - listless. Also know as "blogathy" which is characterized by lack of interest in your blog. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 17 on "Have You become Blistless?"

My Testing The Blogs and Helpful Blogs Tips Blog Blidget

2008-02-20T06:24:00.002-05:00

I've been playing again. This time it's with WIDGETS.

WIDGETS that you can add to your websites and blogs. Well, in my case it's WIDGETS and BLIDGETS.

Now you might just be wondering what a WIDGET is or certainly what a BLIDGET is. Well, a widget is a box that holds data that a user can interface with. It can be a game, a calendar, news, pictures, or just about anything you can think of.

And, here's the best part - it can also be a blog. Which means it's a BLIDGET.

That's right - it can be a blog. Your blog, in fact, turned into a widget.

That means that I can create a BLIDGET of my Linda's Blog and add it to any of my other websites or blogs.

And, if I make it a public blidget - guess what - you can add it to your website or blog.

How fantastic is that?

So, of course I created public BLIDGETS for all my blogs except my "I Love Crafts and Craft Blogs" and "The Best FREE Craft Articles" blogs. I didn't create public widgets for those two as they contain copyrighted materials from other bloggers and that is a violation of the Widgetbox.com terms of use.

You might be wondering exactly how I did this, what my blidgets look like, and where you can get one for your blog. Here's the where-with-all.

Here's what my Testing The Blogs and Helpful Blog Tips Blog blidget looks like:

If you want to get my Testing The Blogs and Helpful Blog Tips Blog as a BLIDGET for your website or blog all you need to do is CLICK on the little "Get Widget" button and follow the prompts. How much fun is this? Think of all the possibilities?

So, of course, the "dollies" noticed how much fun I was having and decided that they wanted their own BLIDGETS for their respective blogs. Only, they didn't want just my blogs they also wanted to have some FUN, some games, things relating to dolls. They wanted some WIDGETS, too.

Given that I hardly ever refuse them anything (well, hardly ever) I decided to add some fun WIDGETS to their blogs. That should keep them happy for about 2 minutes! LOL LOL

I'm going to add my blog BLIDGETS to the sidebars of my different blogs so if you're a reader of that blog and want to add it as a widget to your own blog or website all you need to do is click on the "Get Widget" button.

So, where can you get a WIDGET or BLIDGET for your own blog? Just go to WIDGETBOX.COM and open an account to get your very own blidget (which is your blog turned into a widget) or get some of the other widgets that are there.

I just love it when I'm playing. Have fun!

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 15 - A Blog Is Not Your Grandfather's Newsletter

2008-02-17T06:18:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd take a little break from my usual "Tips From the Blogging Queen Column" format and use a little different format for Column #15.

My column this month is entitled: "A Blog Is Not Your Grandfather's Newsletter!" Now I know you might all be wondering what I mean by that. Well, let me explain.

From a marketing point of view weekly, semi-weekly, and monthly newsletters have traditionally been considered a good idea for small businesses on the Internet as you are directing your sales efforts towards a "targeted" audience. By this I mean people who have bought from you in the past (i.e. customers) and those people who have signed up as subscribers for your newsletter.

Traditional was always equated with the "best" or "your grandfather's tried and true methods." Well, in today's market if you only focus your marketing efforts on your traditional and targeted newsletter audience your competitors are going to leave you standing in the dust.

Now here's where our title "A Blog Is Not Your Grandfather's Newsletter" comes into play. When marketers want to convey that something is better than the tried and true traditional methods they use words such as "not your grandfather's...." to indicate that the new approach is not only different - IT'S BETTER!

Blogs are unique in that they can be a combination of a traditional tried and true approach as they can serve as a newsletter - ONLY MUCH BETTER - but, also function as critical marketing tools for today's small business environment and here's why?

Posting to your blog and the way your posts can be communicated to the Internet masses is astonishing. Not only can you have a targeted and non-targeted audience with subscribers of your RSS feed, but you have opened up the possibilities for expanding your customer base exponentially on a minute-by-minute, hourly, daily, weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly basis via the search engines.

The nature of the Internet and blogs has changed how we communicate. Internet users can receive RSS feed emails instantly, daily, subscribe to reader services and read what they want anytime they want. They can visit the blogs they like when they want and they can even download the blog articles, RSS feeds, podcasts, etc. to their PDA's, phones, IPods, portable drives, etc. This makes communication available 24/7, available when the reader (i.e. customer) wants it, and available in the format the user wants.

Now comes the really big reason why "Blogs are Not Your Grandfather's Newsletter!" Search engines love content and there is nothing more content driven than blogs. The search engines by their nature create your targeted audience for you and multiply that to mind boggling proportions.

Between the blog feed capabilities and the search engine capabilities the universe for customers has gone from just your tried and true "traditional" customer base to an exponentially limitless potential customer base. There may be people reading your small business blog that you are unaware of and they may just become future customers. Your blog posts are coming up in searches that you will never be aware of. Because of the ways information can be disseminated on the Internet now the potential reach of blogs is truly amazing.

Two years ago I gave up my traditional monthly newsletter in favor of my blogs and I have never looked back. If you are a small business owner on the Internet in order to market to your current, new, and future customer base you need a blog.

Blogs are definitely not your grandfather's newsletter. They are one thousand fold BETTER. As a small business owner on the Internet you don't want to be let standing in the dust.

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 15 Definition - "Vlogger"

"Vlogger" - A vlog is nothing more than a video blog and a "vlogger" is simply the blogger who maintains it. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 16 on "Should You Become A Vlogger?"

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 14 - Are You A Blog Hopper?

2008-01-16T06:13:00.001-05:00

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 13 our definition was "Blog Hopping" which is to follow links from one blog entry to another, with related side-trips to various other articles, blogs, websites, etc. It is also used to describe visiting blogs that you like frequently and commenting on them.

If someone were to ask me if I provide links throughout my blog my answer would be "yes." As a small business blogger it is essential for search engine optimization to do so. The more links the better the rating.

However, if someone were to ask me if I "blog-hop" my answer would be "ABSOLUTELY." I love to see what my blogging friends are up to by not only reading their latest posts, but by visiting their blog. Each night I visit my favorite blogs (and I do have to admit there are a LOT of them) to see what's happening. Sometimes I leave a comment, sometimes not. Sometimes I follow a link from their blog to another blog that I have never visited.

Now, you might thing that it is a waste of time to hop from one blog to another to see what's going on when you can just get the latest RSS feed. Well, as far as time is concerned you are correct. However, you missed the most important thing about "blog-hopping" which is the experience of seeing what's going on with a particular blogger, the experience of really getting to know the "blogger" through all the vehicles available to them to communicate, and the experience of visiting a totally new and unfamiliar blog.

Blogging has become the "de facto" way to communicate with family, friends, and customers about what's happening with you, your family, and your business. And, explaining what's happening with you and your business can be done with more than just text. It can include pictures, graphics, video, downloads, new products, audio, podcasts, surveys for customer involvement, various widgets, new templates, etc.

There are so many ways to communicate on a blog that to not visit the blog is to truly miss the creative adventure, especially when you are visiting the blogs of small business artists and crafters. The blog becomes the essence of the artist and crafter. It invites you into their world - giving you insight into their art & craft, and insight into the mind of the artist or crafter themselves. You can get a visual feel for the artist or crafter which, hopefully, will entice you to buy from their blog or visit their website.

And, if you like someones blog or post, just want to say "hi", or just want to offer your opinion on something be sure to leave a comment. After all, doing so makes good business sense as you not only provide the search engines with a vital link back to your blog, but provide future readers and/or customers a way to "blog-hop" over to you. If they like your blog maybe they'll decide to do business with you. Maybe they'll add you to their list of "Blogs I Like" which might entice future customers.

So, the next time someone asks you if you are a "blog-hopper" make sure your answer is "ABSOLUTELY."

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 14 Definition - "Vlogger"

"Vlogger" - A vlog is nothing more than a video blog and a "vlogger" is simply the blogger who maintains it. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 15 on "Should You Become A Vlogger?"

Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

I Love This Widget From Feedblitz.com

2007-12-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

I don't know how long Feedblitz.com has had this widget, but I don' think it's been that long as I think I would have noticed it before.

In any event, I think it's terrific.

Why?

Well, it provides a widget for you to use on your blog for all your newsletter (i.e. blog) subscriptions under your account at Feedblitz.com.

So, for example, I have 12 active newsletters (i.e. blogs) at Feedblitz.com that I offer subscriptions for. With this new widget I can offer everyone the ability to subscribe to all my blogs on say, just my "Testing The Blogs & Helpful Blog Tips" blog, or offer it in the sidebar of every one of my blogs.

How cool is that? And, how convenient.

Now you can subscribe to all my blogs in just one place. You can subscribe for either email or RSS feeds for each individual blog by clicking the email envelope or Feedblitz RSS icon next to each blog name. Or, you can subscribe for email or RSS feed for ALL my blogs at once by clicking the email envelope or import into RSS feed aggregator feed icon next to Reading List by Feedblitz at the bottom of the list. How convenient is that?

I'm adding the widget to the sidebars of all my blogs so it won't matter which blog you're on. You can subscribe to all my blogs on any of them.

The widgets are in the sidebars under the heading: Subscribe To Some Of Our Other Linda Walsh Originals Blogs.

I'd show it to you here, but the post doesn't allow this Javascript. Oh, well. Check it out on the sidebars.

Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"