Sandy Appleyard's Blog, page 26
January 24, 2013
What is the Best WordPress Theme to use for Monetizing a Blog?
My free WordPress theme didn’t accommodate for banners and advertisements, so I knew I had to upgrade to a paid theme. I was nervous…
After doing quite a bit of research, I noticed all arrows pointing to the ‘Socrates’ theme. The fact that it gives you the option to try it first for free made the decision much easier for me. Also, after I’d installed the trial and updated my site, I didn’t have to reinstall anything to upgrade to the paid version.
Rather than bore you with all the details of wh...
January 23, 2013
Momentum: Very Important When You’re Blogging
I once wrote a post called ‘Do you like weak tea or strong tea‘. At the time my point had merit, but now that I’ve had more experience with blogging, I take some of it back.
When I first began blogging last April, I was posting about 2-3 times a week. I had almost no exposure, no website traffic (although I wasn’t using WordPress then), and my blogs were almost solely about my kids.
A few months later, I began using WordPress, blogging more often and had expanded my topics to what I have now. F...
January 22, 2013
A Resourceful Idea for Blog Pictures
I’ve been reading for months about the worry of copyright infringement for posting pictures on blogs. Some say you must link back to the original person’s work, some say even that’s not good enough.
To download pictures without the threat of a lawsuit from some websites either involves a serious amount of red tape or loads of money which I, as a starving author, do not have.
THERE HAS TO BE A WAY!!!!
So I decided to figure out a way to do it myself. I’m no photographer, in fact, my picture takin...
January 21, 2013
SEO Yoast: What it is and How to Use it
SEO Yoast: What is it?
SEO Yoast by WordPress is a very helpful tool to get your blog noticed in search engines. It assists you in using the right words to tie your title, blog, photo and tags all together in a perfect little SEO package.
And by the way…..It’s FREE!!!
How do you use it?
It’s a plugin that can easily be installed into your current WordPress theme. Just type in SEO Yoast into the search field in the ‘Add Plugins’ screen.
1. Once you’ve written your blog, save the draft and you’ll se...
January 19, 2013
Social Media Tips and More Learned by Mistake
Yes, it’s true. I learned most of the stuff I know about blogging, writing, social media, promoting and everything in between….well, by mistake. Learning all this stuff was a must in order to write and promote my books.
I’d like to share all my knowledge with you, and I’ve done so by compiling it into a nifty ebook called, of course, ‘Social Media Tips and More Learned by Mistake’. It can be purchased solely through Smashwords.
Writers, bloggers both new and intermediate can benefit from readin...
January 18, 2013
5 Bloggers you Should Subscribe to if You’re in Social Media-Vol.2
I’ve been blogging for almost a year now, and I’ve kept a running list of my favourite bloggers. To see my first list, please visit my blog ‘5 Bloggers You Should Subscribe to if You’re in Social Media-Vol.1′
Amber Meadows
Amber’s blog is very tongue-in-cheek. She gets to the point. I like that. No jargon, simple, straightforward. She talks about social media, blogging, writing and lots more. The post that first attracted me to her site was entitled: ‘Top 10 Reasons I Never Vi...
January 17, 2013
5 Ideas for What to Post on Hootsuite
Photo credit successstoryprogram.com
My last post: What Hootsuite is, How to Use it and Why you Should‘ focused on the basics, but with this post, I’d like to focus on different ideas for what to post. I know it seems simple, but I stumbled upon this when I first started, so I thought I would share some ideas to help you out in case you hit a snag.
What Kinds of Posts Should You Schedule?
A scramble of some or all of your previous blog posts, or your most popular posts (the ones that received th...
January 16, 2013
What Hootsuite is, How to Use it and Why you Should
Photo credit 123rf.com
What is Hootsuite?
Hootsuite is a wonderful tool for auto-tweeting. It is a vehicle for either syndicating your own content (blogposts, advertisements, reviews, etc.), retweeting a specific message or someone else’s, or advertising your own links. The best part is, it is minimal effort, and you don’t have to be around to babysit.
How do you use it?
Simply log on to Hootsuiteand register (all you need is an email address and your links to social media sites).
The main page (g...
January 15, 2013
Book Review: Fifty Shades Darker
In this secondinstallmentof the 50 Shades series, we really see Christian’s comfort level with Anastasia develop into something normal. He lets go of some old ghosts and we get to see their relationship flourish into love.
Anastasia begins her career and learns just how overprotective Christian is towards her. He doesn’t realize though, that she can take care of herself, and this comes as a relief to him in some ways. In other ways, all he wants is to shelter her and essentially keep her in a...
January 13, 2013
2012: The Year I’d Much Rather Forget
Photo credit leshabee.blogspot.com
The year 2012 was probably one of my toughest. When I originally wrote this post, I intended to focus solely on one issue, but instead I want to expand and help you understand why I’m thankful for the new year and why 2012 is a year I’d much rather forget.
1. In March, I began a rather excruciating journey through gall bladder disease. At first it was simple changes in diet coupled with uncomfortable nocturnal attacks caused by a few large gall stones. By July...
