Friday, August 19, 2011

Blogging Tips From Other Bloggers - 31 Weeks to a Better Genealogy Blog

This week's assignment from Week 7 of 31 Weeks to a Better Genealogy Blog over at Tonia's Roots is to write a post linking out to another blog or blogs. Since I'm behind, in that I didn't do last week's assignment, I thought I'd use the Week 6 topic (learning from successful bloggers) assignment to "jot down 3-5 key points" that you want to apply to your blog (with some adjustments) and then link out to fullfil this week's assignment. I'm finding I need to be creative to do all I want to do and keep the plate from overflowing at the same time. So here goes.

I learned several things from other bloggers that I am interested in applying to my blog. I hope they help you in your blogging.
  1. In his article, The Commonsense Time-saver We All Missed, Stephen Guise discusses setting up a toolbar folder containing commonly used links you use in writing your blog posts. It will save you time and allow you to remain focused when composing your articles. To this I suggest including (or setting up a separate document that you open whenever writing a post):
    • commonly used programs like Paint, Photoshop Element, Word, etc.
    • Folders you routinely access. For me it's a Photos folder.
  2. The title of this article says it all: 3 Questions to Ask Before You Publish Your Next Blog Post.
  3. You won't see me putting images on the left side of my blog anymore. 5 Simple Font Changes to Boost Readers, Comments, and Shares on Your Blog explains why. I also changed my font size.
  4. Finally, Cheryl's Heritage Happens post on the Week 6 assignment had a tip that grabbed my attention. Cheryl writes, "Under How To Write An Article 20 Minutes, I was intrigued by the statement that said not to hold those best ideas until later, write it now." It made me realize that I've lost some really great posts (or at least some of the pizzaz) because I didn't do it right away when the inspiration was fresh. The article has some other excellent points; I'm all about saving time these days.
I hope these points and the related articles help you in your blogging.

To Cite This Post:

Goodrum, Michelle. “Blogging Tips From Other Bloggers - 31 Weeks to a Better Genealogy Blog.”  Michelle Goodrum. The Turning of Generations, 19 August 2011. http://turning-of-generations.blogspot.com/2011/08/this-weeks-assignment-from-week-7-of-31.html: 2011.

© 2011, copyright Michelle Goodrum

6 comments:

  1. Thanks for these links, Michelle. I sometimes put photographs on the left and now I want to go back and look at those posts and see what I think now that I've read why not to do it. I always thought having photos down the right side of a post was boring.... Maybe I'll change my mind.

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  2. I followed several of the links as well, and who knew about the left hand image thingy?? HMMM???

    I also have increased the size of my fonts, all old eyes will appreciate that decision, even mine! LOL

    BTW, love your favicon!!

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  3. Great points. I implemented the font recommendations. It looks huge on my browser, but I have it set at 120% all they time.

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  4. Nancy, I thought moving the photos around made posts more interesting. What do I know?

    Carol, Glad you like the favicon. I still haven't had it appear on my blog! I'm being patient just like you said.

    Susan, I'm glad I changed my font size. I feel like I've got it "just right", as Goldilocks would say.

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  5. Thank you Michelle for the mention of my post. I read your suggestions you chose, very great ideas! BTW-I think my blog may be working now, crossing my fingers!

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  6. Thanks for the helpful tips, Michelle! I've been wanting to increase my font size but thought it would stick out too much-now I have a reason. The points you picked seem easy and effective-the best combination!

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