Mariannes Motifs

Tips for How to Blog (Almost) Every Day

I read an interesting blog post on Chris Brogen's blog: How to Blog Almost Every Day.

Here are some of my blogging habits that help me find fresh ideas for posts:  popurls.com is a nice aggregator of new web content.  I also like to check Google.com/trends for the top web searches of the day.  (Gives me ideas of what's buzzing at the moment).  I love to check the Google news page for my blog tops as well as using Google alerts as another commenter noted. 

I love to carry my small digital camera around with me so I can snap a quick picture of anything that catches my eye out in the world.   I can also Twitter from my cell phone and have a Twitter feed on my blog, so that helps add fresh content when I am on the go and it's harder to do a full blog post.

Also, I advise don't stress over creating a post every day.  It's fine to post every 1 to 3 days in general.  Just keep the blog fresh and interesting.  Keep your audience in mind - I like to have a fictional audience in my mind for each blog and pretend I am talking to that person when I post.  For this personal my target blog audience is my mom!  For my Crohn's Disease blog the audience is someone just diagnosed and wanting advice. On the Sci Fi blog my audience is my friends who are Sci Fi fans.

Remember - blog posts can be short.  I completely agree with Chris that perfectionism is the enemy of forming good habits.  Do not fear mistakes - just point yourself in a direction and keep going!

Premium Wordpress Themes

As I have mentioned before I have purchased a new internet domain, cheesyromance.com with the intentions of building a web site focused around Romance fans and authors.  I have a great vision of what the site could be, with romance novel reviews and community forums.  So far however, I have hit multiple stumbling blocks to getting it started correctly.

First, I tried to go with very very cheap web hosting, and found that the host was much too difficult for me to use.  I needed a better web control panel, and help to be able to install Wordpress myself, let alone PhpBB.  Finally I scrapped the cheapie web host and went with DreamHost, who has some great 1 click installs, good help, and a decent price.  I got started and installed Wordpress.  Yep - 1 click. 

However, now I have Wordpress and I have no idea how to customize it.  I got a Wordpress book out of the library and am about to delve in.  I checked out some nice looking free Wordpress Templates, but I have to jump into some text configuration files and fire up Photoshop to make some custom graphics and banners.

The thought is a bit overwhelming and I haven't done it yet.

Today I learned about a premium wordpress theme called WPREMIX.  I think that when it comes to WordPress templates, like webhosting, and just about everything else in the world, you get what you pay for.  Free is great if you have the time and some knowledge about what to do with it.  For me, even though I have the time, I would much rather have a graphical interface than mess with code.  Even though I am perfectly capable of coding, it is not my favorite method of spending my time and energy.

What do you get with WPREMIX?  From looking at their website, the product is billed as "WordPress as CMS."  It features not only temples but a WYSIWYG page editor for the templates, and also over 50 static page designs so you can use it to make your entire site, not just blog.

The single user license is only $75.00, which is pretty reasonable for a professional theme, let alone for the GUI coding interface it provides.

They offer an affiliate program, which I signed up for, which has a 50% payout to affiliates.  (It used to be 20% and was recently increased) If you want to check this out and use my link I would appreciate it.  Here is the link with my affiliate code.

Click here to visit WordPress Remix website!

I will write about women in technology for Ada Lovelace Day on March 24th

This morning I learned about a special day coming up in March. Almost a thousand people have already pledged to take this day to write about a woman in the field of technology that they admire.  It is intended to help spread the word about positive female role models.

I think this is a fantastic idea, and as a woman in the field of technology I would love to help spread the word that technical careers are the best place for women to be.  In my opinion, the technical fields tend to more open, have better pay equality, and lots of room to prosper.  Young girls need to know that these fields are open to them as are any that they wish to pursue.

  'I will publish a blog post on Tuesday 24th March about a woman
   in technology whom I admire but only if 1,000 other people will
   do the same.'

Coming Soon - Adgitize review

I am going to give blogging advertising network  Adgitize a try.  If you are familiar with Entrecard, it looks like Adgitize has taken some similar ideas and expanded upon it by adding an affiliate component, as well as the ability to pay for ads on their network on a monthly basis.   The price for one month of ads on blogs all over the network is just $14.00, or you can try it out with a 7 day ad for just $7.00 or 14 days for $10.00.  It's a low cost way to advertise your blog.  Blog writers can get points for writing blog posts as well as from clicking on the ad on other bloggers blogs, so you can get some blog traffic this way.  (Although a lot of the traffic might be "drop by and run" quick hits)

I am planning a blog redesign for Marianne's Motifs, so this might be a good time to try Adgitize.  I have a little bit of sidebar room to spare for a 125x125 ad. Here's an example of what the ad might look like.

I think this guy has a great idea in that he is charging a reasonable fee for the ability to advertise on lots and lots of blogs.  I haven't wanted to pay the money to advertise with AdWords from Google because they expect you to start at paying about $50.  But I think I could get my feet wet with $14.00.

Blogger Wish List - Dragon Coupon Code

My Top 10 Blogger Wish List

To get into the holiday spirit I am going to make a wish list of things that could help me with my blogging.  Now that I am between jobs, I am finding blogging to be not only a wonderful outlet for my creative energy, but also a actual source of income.  Its interesting to see how much money I can make now that I have lots of time to dedicate to the blogs. 

I actually have 3 blogs, about 5 Squidoo web lenses, and a new domain not yet set up.  I am quite excited about the possibilities as I have discovered that there are a number of affiliate programs and blog ads that can help a blogger out.

1.  Upgrade my Typepad account for more custom templates.

2.  Set up Dreamhost account for cheesyromance.com.  (Coming soon to a web browser near you)

3.  Get approved for textbroker.com so I can make some dollars writing.

4.  Logitech Wireless Microphone for use with #5 below.  (Check out the video listed above where the guy blogs from outside with his wireless mic while his computer is INSIDE.)

5.  Dragon Naturally Speaking software so I can type by talking and write faster to make more money.   Tip: here is a $25 Coupon Code DNSMSBG -Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard

6.  Improved page ranking from the big wigs at the big G.

7.  Lots of ideas for writing essays and articles.

8.  Time and energy to re-design mariannesmotifs for a better look and cleaner feel.

9.  Great keyword ideas.

10.  More Amazon orders!  Please use my search box to right to start your holiday shopping.  I get a small commission thanks!

• $50 Coupon Code DNSMSBG -Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Preferred
• $25 Coupon Code DNSMSBG -Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard
• $25 Coupon Code- DNSMSBG -MacSpeech Dictate

Guest Post - Make More Money Writing with Dragon Naturally Speaking

This is a guest post by a fellow blogger on behalf of  Dragon Naturally Speaking.  The full white paper is available here.   Now I am going to check out this textbroker.com and see if I can make any extra money through them.  Also I want to check out ChaCha.com where people can text chacha (242242) and get the answer to any question.  They actually pay their "web guides" per question answered!

This  guest post is an excerpt from a white paper discussing how bloggers can earn more money through several different monetization and freelance writing services. It shows that bloggers that utilize Dragon Naturally Speaking can earn more money through these various services and how fast these extra earnings will pay for the software itself.

Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Blogger Break Even Analysis with TextBroker.com Earnings

I would like to walk you through several different scenarios to help all of us understand better what our words are worth.
I would like to start first by talking about a company that pays people to write. They pay them to write based on the number of words that are written. The company is called text broker.com and they are out of Germany and relatively new. I’m starting with TextBroker.com because the business model is very simple. The models will get more complex as I go through some of the other popular blog revenue sources.

Text broker.com will pay a person approximately 7/10 of a cent for a single word. They charge their customers approximately 1 penny per word. And they sell this service at increments starting at 100 words and go up from there.
That’s what they do; now let’s see how Dragon Naturally Speaking can pay for itself!
So, I’d really like to talk about how much you can earn from them based on how fast you type.
If you type 35 words per minute, and you typed for 50 minutes straight, you could theoretically type 1750 words.
Now at seven tenths of a penny per word, that work would be $12.25 per hour assuming that you take a ten minute break every hour. If you work four hours a day doing this, that would be forty-nine dollars per day.
If you could type 105 words per minute, that would be 5250 words in a fifty minute period of time. At that rate, you would earn $36.75 per hour assuming the same ten minute breaks every hour.

Obviously you can earn more if you can type faster.
If you could type 150 words per minute, then under this formula you could earn $52.50 per hour. That's almost 5 times more than you can earn if you type thirty-five words per hour.
So in this example there is definitely a value in typing faster!
There is a cost associated with being able to type as fast as well. You could go and take a typing class and learn how to type 150 words per minute. That might take you many months of school, and many years of practice.
It's also possible, that you may never be able to achieve that speed with your fingers.
Alternatively, you could buy Dragon NaturallySpeaking and be able to do it before the night was out. Dragon NaturallySpeaking costs $99 for the basic version and $199 for the preferred version.
As I write this, there are coupon code or discount code offers that you can use to save more money off that price. The coupon codes vary from $25-$50 off the price. Typically a bigger discount is offered for the preferred version, which I use myself.
Now in our example, if you bought Dragon NaturallySpeaking for ninety-nine dollars, and you did not use the coupon code to save twenty-five dollars, you would be able type 150 words per minute, and if you could previously type 35 words per minute, then based on the extra money that you could earn by typing faster, you would be able to pay for Dragon NaturallySpeaking in less than three hours of work using textbroker.com.
It kind of seems like a no-brainer. In many ways, it is a no-brainer with one exception. Not everybody writes for textbroker.com.
If you consider how much additional money you might earn by using Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and consider how much more work you could do by being able to type at 150 words per minute, then you might be able to figure out how long it will take you to pay off the software with your earnings.
I will cover a number of other situations, which will highlight this using other examples where people that typically write a great deal, could benefit from using Dragon NaturallySpeaking.
If you have an example that you would like to share, please let me know, and I will be more than happy to share it with everyone. :-)

Nuance is allowing a 25% Discount Coupon code for Dragon Naturally Speaking.  To get the discount click the image below and use code DNSMSBG.

25% off Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Standard

So as you know I looking for a new j0b at the moment so I figure any way I can make a bit of money with my blog is a good thing.   This gives me some more information to check out.  And the discount code to get Dragon Naturally Speaking using Discount code DNSMBG is handy too.

Hot Images for Your Blog

How would you like to be able to add clear gorgeous images to your blog without having to worry about wrestling with copyright protection, complex coding, or taking your own pictures?  There is a new services called Acobox that makes adding blog pictures a complete breeze.

Everyone knows that the human eye is drawn to striking pictures, and adding the right graphic style to your blog or website can really make it pop.  One of the neat things about Acobox is that they take all the hard work out of this process.  Once you find the picture you want from their database they give you all different options and you can just copy and paste the code you need from their buttons.

The thing I don't really understand is what their business model is.  How can they offer this all for free to the blogger?  The images are very nice (all under free use) and the site is very easy to use.  I wonder if they have a plan for a pay service later or something? The site is based on the open source content management software called Drupal - http://drupal.org.  So perhaps its that open source spirit coming through that allows the site to be free.

Here is an example of a picture I snagged from their site - a habanero pepper in honor of "hot images for your blog."

Entrecard - now you can add more blogs to your account.

Have you ever wondered what the little "Entrecard" ad is on the sidebar of my blog?  Entrecard is a very cool blog promotional tool which allows you to drop cards (drop in on) other blogs and rack up points which can be used to then advertise on other Entrecard blogs.  It used to be that you could only have one blog per account, and just today they have announced that you can now add additional blogs to your Entrecard account, and even link up extra accounts that were created to get around the limit in the past.  Yay!  Now that I am rolling out CrohnsDiseaseRelief.com, I actually have 3 blogs, so this is perfect for me.

Also, here is a link to the new Entrecard Official E-book which is a helpful resource for learning to use the features of their system.

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due - Attribution & Blogs

I read a very interesting blog post on the Izea Posties blog about Attribution.  The author talks about how he had a blog feud with the writers of Engaget because he felt they were using his ideas with attributing them to him.  Now, as the writer of a blog with a much wider audience, he finds himself on the other side of the debate.

As blogging takes over some of the space previously inhabited only by professional journalists, it might behoove bloggers to adopt some of the rules and conventions of "proper" journalism.  The correct attribution of reputable sources is probably the most important item.  This can help bloggers avoid plagiarism, copyright infringement, and also the spread of false information.  By doing your research and then properly crediting your sources, you can take a personal blog and give it some real professional polish.

So instead of So and So Via So and So Via So and So, I like to find the MOST reputable source I can, such as the manufacturer itself, CNN, etc. and use those types of articles as my sources.  I do like to credit the one blogger who happened to be the one I learned something from though.  We could all use a little link love, right?

Previous Next Links (pagination) in Footer of Typepad Blog

Typepad has a new beta feature available that alot of people have been looking for: the ability to add a Previous/Next Posts to the footer of the main page of your blog.  They call this pagination.   This is great because if someone is reading your blog and comes to the bottom of the page you want them to be able to easily continue reading.  Blogger has had this "Pagination" feature but Typepad lacked pagination until now.

I had to enter a help ticket with Typepad and ask for this feature to be enabled, and they told me that it does not yet have support for Advanced blog templates or Multimedia templates.

Here is some info from my help ticket - you can see what the typepad previous next pagination feature looks like by looking at the bottom of this here blog!  Its sort of backwards of what I am used to, the older posts are to the right, but whatever.  I solved any confustion by just labeling them Older and Newer so its hopefully idiot proof.   I really like Typepad and this again proves that they are a great blogging platform and well worth the money I pay for it.

Hello,

I would like to add next/previous links to the footer or bottom of my main page on my Typepad blog. I understand that this is a new feature you are in the process of rolling out and may need to be added to my account?

Please advise. I really think this is a good feature for people to keep reading when they get to the bottom of the front page of the blog.

Marianne

 

  On Apr 9, 2008 11:24:12 PM, TypePad Customer Support said: 

Hi Marianne,

Thanks for your interest in beta testing new features in TypePad.

At this time, we are able to make the changes to your account that will allow you to see the new features. Please be aware that Advanced Templates and Mixed Media Layouts are not fully supported with these new features, so if you use or switch to either of these, you may experience problems.

If you notice any problems after we switch your account, please update this ticket and let us know as soon as possible.

Please respond to this ticket if you would like these changes to be applied to your account.

Thanks,
Kymberlie

 

  On Apr 10, 2008 9:47:33 AM, you (Marianne) said: 

Yes, please, I would love to have this feature.  I have a custom template, but not an advanced template. 

Marianne

 

  On Apr 12, 2008 12:55:21 PM, TypePad Customer Support said: 

Hi Marianne,

We have now made the changes to your account necessary to see our new beta features.

As we mentioned previously, Mixed Media Layouts are not fully supported with these new features, so if you notice any problems, please update this ticket and let us know as soon as possible.

To turn on pagination for your weblog's recent posts page, go to Weblogs > Design > Preferences and put a check next to "Show navigation links on the recent posts page".

You can configure the appearance of the navigation links and set how many posts to have per page from Preferences also.

More information setting your weblog preferences is available at:
http://kb.typepad.com/id/72

I hope this helps. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.

Thanks,
Laura