Branding yourself and/or your blog or business is crucial to success. You can do this in many ways, including in ways you deliver your content. Feedburner is one of the most popular resources bloggers use to publish and share their feed. Not only is it easy to use, but it’s also FREE- and really, what can be better than that? (If you don’t have a feedburner feed set up, check out how to do that in this post here). Another great detail about feedburner beyond it’s affordable cost is that it offers some great branding options. One of the best of these options is to add your logo to your feed, so that it’s displayed when your posts arrive in your readers’ inbox.

To display your logo, follow these steps.

1. Log in to your feedburner account and select the “publicize” tab. 

2. Make sure your email subscriptions option is activated, and select “email branding”. 

3.  Insert the url of your logo image. Note that it should be 200px x 200px or smaller. 

4. Scroll down to adjust the font, colors, and then to see your preview. Click Save.

That’s it! Now your logo is in your feed updates delivered to your readers each and every day. Happy blogging!

]]> http://business2blogger.com/how-to-add-a-logo-to-your-feedburner-feed/feed/ 2 http://business2blogger.com/how-to-add-a-logo-to-your-feedburner-feed/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Business2bloggercom/~3/gWFql3gCvMQ/ http://business2blogger.com/google-link-up/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:56:45 +0000 texasholly http://business2blogger.com/?p=5153 OK, if you are at all like me, you have been brought to Google + kicking and screaming.

I already BELONG to a kajillion social networks!

I am too busy pinning!

I am tired!

But Google holds the keys to search engine happiness, so here we all go signing up YET again for YET another social network.

And then we get over there…and there is NO ONE THERE.

At least that is what it seems like.

So!  Today through next Monday, add your Google + link(s) so I can find you and add you to a circle.

Feel free to add both your personal and blog profiles…or more.  I have hardly anyone in my circles and will be glad for the company.

While you are here, please add Business 2 Blogger and some of the other entrants to your circles as well.

Online karma will smile upon you.

Oh!  And Business 2 Blogger is throwing in a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card for one randomly selected linked G+ profile below.

We know that online karma doesn’t put a down payment on a Nook.

On your mark.

Get set.

Circle!

Please add G+ links ONLY. All others will be deleted {and online karma does NOT like that}.

1. Make sure you have a Facebook Fan Page. It sounds so simple, and it is, really. In fact, just a few simple steps get you all set up–check out this link for the basics. A few more steps can help you glam it up–just ask Gigi of Kludgy Mom.

2. Update your page frequently. And not just with your latest blog posts. There is a huge network of people out there, from business contacts, to potential friends, to potential customers. Engage with your audience, grow your audience, and see the positive results.

3. Interact with others. Do you have a friend who is all about me, me, me? Do you also hide that person from your Facebook feed? Remember, Facebook is a social network. Without being social and engaging, you are not going to see results. Try to visit other pages, highlight your friends and share content that is of interest to everyone. Sharing is key on Facebook, so in sharing content you find valuable, you endear yourself to readers and fans. The possibilities are endless, and sharing resources makes you a resource.

To install the Facebook Fan Page:

Go to your fan page and click on edit. From the Resources link, select “Use Social Plugins”.

Scroll down until you find the Like Box:

You can also go to this link here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like-box.

Fill out the form with your Facebook url and the width and height that will fit into your sidebar on your website.  Select whether or not you want a header, faces to show, and whether or not you want the stream to show (your Facebook activity).

Click Get Code. Copy and paste this into a text widget (html widget if you’re on blogger) and save.

Now you are all set to have a fan box on your website!

The variety of social media networks is full of conversations at any given point in time. Trying to stay on top of everything can be a daunting- and impossible- task. The best way to get the most out of your activity in these networks is to follow a few simple tips. These can help your Twitter activity be more productive and efficient.

• Timing. To be effective on Twitter, you need to remain part of the conversation. While watching Twitter constantly is not always an option, scheduling your regular time to spend on there can work effectively. Set up ten or twenty minute intervals at several points in your day, and focus your tweeting interaction to these times. Give it your full attention to make the most of it, but then put it away until your next scheduled time.

• Messaging. One of the most important things is to balance your promotional tweeting and your interactive tweeting. There are plenty of bots out there tweeting links and ads at people who have no interest in hearing them. Become part of the conversation and your message will be much more well-received.

• Automating. Automating messages is a much-debated topic. With Twitter, it can be hard to promote your messages throughout everyone’s time zone. So, it can be useful to schedule tweets, like event reminders or message promoting. One thing to be mindful of is when you schedule these tweets, you need to be sure you do not tweet on top of the time they are scheduled. Or, be sure to work your tweeting in with the conversation.

First, you need to be sure you have a domain name (what will show up in the address bar of your website). For example, this blog is myfrontporchswing.com. Next, be sure to have a hosting account. While several offer great options, I have had great experience with Bluehost (affilate link). (Read more about understanding a self-hosted blog/

Once you have set up your hosting account, you will want to log in to your control panel. Many hosting companies use cpanel, which makes it easy to follow. Most hosting companies also have a 1-click install of WordPress, making the setup process simple. *Note- your host may not offer this feature. You can still install WordPress, just in a different way. We’ll cover that another time.

In most cases, you are dealing with cpanel and a simple script install. After you click on the WordPress icon, you will see this screen:

Click Install and follow the directions on your screen. When it is finished, you will get a message that tells you where WordPress was installed and your username and password. IMPORTANT: Write this down! You will need it to get into your blog.

Go to your login page (http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin).

Enter your username and password and you will now see your WordPress Dashboard!

WordPress is now installed.

One important detail after you get started is to customize your profile’s url. Just as it’s important to set a custom Facebook name and Twitter Profile name to reflect you and your brand, the same can be applied to LinkedIn. Make it easy for people to identify and connect with you in just a few simple steps.

1. Log in to your LinkedIn profile.

2. On the upper right corner, click on the arrow that displays your name and select settings.

3. Scroll to the bottom where it says “helpful links” and click on “edit public profile settings”.

4. At the bottom of this page, there is an option that says “Customize your public profile URL”. Click this box and make your change.

That’s it! Now you’re all set with your custom URL for LinkedIn and ready to network. Bonus tip: head to this link for your own profile buttons: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/profile-badges. 

To do

@ people. I know this sounds obvious, but talk to people. Even if they don’t you. Twitter is all about meeting new people and networking, so go ahead and talk to someone. Even if they ignore you, there are millions of other people who won’t.

Share interesting content. While updating your Twitter stream with random thoughts throughout your day is definitely allowed (such as daily pictures of #coffee), be sure you are tweeting out links that are valuable in some way to people. Whether you are sharing tips and suggestions or even a humorous break, people will follow you if you share interesting content.

Interact with your followers. If you only share your links and do not really engage with people, then others won’t find you appealing to follow. People want to have a conversation, so they follow those who will talk back.

Not to Do

Follow someone and unfollow after they return your follow. Trying to ramp up your numbers this way is just plain rude, and eventually, people will catch on.

@ your links to people. When you have something valuable to share with someone, by all means, share away. But spamming links at people will just get you blocked from their streams- and probably reported to Twitter.

#FF people you don’t follow. #FF is the Twitter hashtag for Friday Follow . You send out suggestions of who your followers should follow and you find new people to follow. Great concept, right? Except, every so often, I will get random #FF mentions by people who don’t follow me. Um, if you’re not following me, why tell others to? I am not going to follow you just because you mention me- Twitter is about interaction.

What are some of your Twitter rules?

• First, login to your gmail account. On the right hand side, select the gear for your settings.

• Next, scroll down under the general questions until you see Signature.

• In the signature box, you can enter a text signature, such as your name, your blog url, Twitter handle, or even a confidentiality notice.

• Alternatively, you can crate a graphic signature as well, or insert a graphic to accompany your text signature. Simply upload your image to your blog or a photo-hosting site (such as photobucket) so you can get the image link. Insert the image link into the url prompt in your signature.

That’s it! That’s all it takes to add a custom signature to your email messages. Again, a great way to further your branding when communicating with your community, potential clients, and readers!

]]> http://business2blogger.com/how-to-set-a-custom-gmail-signature/feed/ 0 http://business2blogger.com/how-to-set-a-custom-gmail-signature/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Business2bloggercom/~3/JC8l0bwWnLw/ http://business2blogger.com/three-things-to-put-in-your-blogs-footer/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:38:34 +0000 Ashley http://business2blogger.com/?p=5107

The footer space in your blog is often an underutilized and overlooked opportunity to share more content with your readers. While trying to ensure all of your important information is shared throughout your site, many details are often put in the sidebar. Although your sidebar is a crucial element of your blog, some items are better left for the footer as to keep from cluttering too much of the blog. Three things you can quickly and easily relocate include:

Community badges/buttons

Showing support is one of the best things you can do in the blogging community, and sharing buttons and badges from your site can be a great way to do just that. However, it can become messy in your sidebar quickly if you try to show too many of these. While putting a larger number of these badges on a separate page to take them off of your home page can be a great solution, you can use your footer to highlight a few of the main ones you want to showcase.

Social Icons

One of the easiest way to foster communication is by making it as easy as possible for your readers to connect with you through social icons on your blog. Give them multiple options to follow you on Twitter, Like your fan page on Facebook, or subscribe to your RSS feed. These are items that should also be in your sidebar, but repeating them in the footer gives them a bit more of a feature.

Favorite Posts

Depending on how much information you feature on your blog, your footer can be a long way down. Even if it’s not, you have managed to keep a reader’s interest enough to investigate your blog further. If they have made it to the bottom of your blog, you want to give them somewhere else to go. Make a list of your favorite posts or use a plugin that displays readers’ favorites. Make it easy for readers to browse more of your content.

These are just some of the items that can find a home in your footer, helping you to keep your blog neat, uncluttered and more organized. Always make sure that ways to contact you are easily found throughout your blog, even if you include it in your footer as well. This is a perfect opportunity to take a look at your blog and see what you can reorganize.

What are some of your favorite uses of the blog footer? Leave a link to an example if you have one!