Remember: the point of that was to provide an interesting blurb about you that makes new readers want to check out your blog.

At the time I wrote that post, adding the URL to your blog would add a cute little “globe” to your profile, which linked out to your blog:

Thankfully, Pinterest now has a better option for us.

If you have just five minutes (okay, ten minutes if you have to install an FTP client on your computer), you can get some new bling for your blog: the full URL, written out under your profile, that is a more obvious link to your home on the web.

Take a look:

In case you’re not convinced that it’s worth those five minutes, I checked out my Analytics stats this morning and since I verified my blog with Pinterest 24 hours ago, I’ve had eight (8) new visitors to my site from my profile.  For a huge blog, this might be just a drop in the bucket…but for others who are just getting started, 8 new visitors each day could be huge.

Ready to do this?Continue Reading

“How will I ever find the time to blog?!”

Sure, there are people who are professional bloggers, who lock themselves away all day and do nothing but write and promote their latest posts.  But if you have a hard time relating to those bloggers – if you have a day job? – you’re not alone.

Most of us have precious few hours each week to devote to blogging – and the overwhelming majority of emails I receive from my readers say it’s a big cause for frustration.  How can you keep up with your blog, but not neglect the rest of your life?

Well.

Here are a dozen “best practices” I enacted in 2012 that have made a world of difference for me and my blog. Continue Reading

It seems like people who visit from Pinterest just want to pop in to see what they came for, repin your post if they like it, and then never come back again.  You can feel good about the popularity of that one post, but what about the life of your blog as a whole?  Do these people ever stick around and become loyal readers?

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I’ve talked before about converting your blog’s Pinterest visitors to subscribers by sprucing up your sidebar. And hopefully you took the time to ditch those blog awards taking up that valuable piece of real estate, and got your sidebar organized!

But good organization is only part of the story.  Remember: you have a limited amount of time to capture a new visitor’s attention.  You have to make it count.

What if I told you that you can use your past successes with Pinterest to engage your new blog visitors?   And that there’s a way to feature your older (forgotten?) posts and give them new life by just placing an image with a Pin It button in a certain spot?

Would you take just 10 minutes to do it?

Because 10 minutes is all it takes.

In this video, I’ll show you how to add those Pin-worthy posts to your sidebar, inviting your blog’s visitors to browse around and share more of your posts on Pinterest.Continue Reading

Or, Avoiding Your Worst Nightmare

This afternoon I got a phone call from my good friend and colleague Emily White.  It went something like this:

[Me] Hey, how’s it going?

[Emily] Um…my site is gone.

[Me] Like, it’s not loading?  Sometimes that happens.  Just wait a couple of hours and check back.

[Emily] No, as in – there’s a blank WordPress install showing up where my site should be.  I’ve been hacked.Continue Reading

I’ve had thousands of people read and share my post series “Growing Your Blog with Pinterest: The Ultimate Guide” – and most of what I’ve written has been about content: how to write posts that are helpful to readers, so they’ll want to share them with others.

But these posts have overlooked one critical thing: Pinterest is about the images.

I’m fully aware that not everyone is a designer, but everyone can use professional tools to “step up their game” and make their blog posts sparkle.  That’s why I’m starting a post series on Photoshop Elements for Bloggers.  This series will take you from Zero to Proficient in Photoshop Elements, with a focus on integrating words and images.Continue Reading

Last Thursday I got an email from a blogging client and friend.  It read, “I have a situation where somebody has already stolen a photo from my web store. What should I do about it? There is no question it’s my photo.”

Cathy had followed a pin on Pinterest that featured her photo…but ended up on someone else’s blog.

I took a look at the blog she pointed to and – sure enough – it was a photo from Cathy’s web store.  I had just finished working on the site and still had the high-res version of the photo in question on my desktop.  The Photo Thief had obviously googled her subject and just decided to take the first photo that appeared, for use on her own blog.  There was no link to Cathy’s web store, no mention of where the photo came from.  It wasn’t this blogger’s property, but she took it.

If you’ve ever had a photo from your blog published elsewhere without permission, you know exactly what I’m talking about.  Anger isn’t the right word: it’s infuriating to see your work on someone else’s site, when you pour hours of every week into creating original content and original photos for your blog.

So what did we do about it?  Keep reading.Continue Reading

If you’ve been blogging for awhile, chances are, your writing has taken lots of twists and turns.  But now is the best time to refocus your writing and build a solid foundation for the long-term growth of your blog.

In this post, I’ll share how you can start blogging your passion with clarity, purpose, and your own blogging voice.Continue Reading

Two words: Media Kit.

Whether you’re new to blog sponsorships or a seasoned veteran, having a polished and professional media kit will give your sponsorship program an edge over bloggers with a similar audience, helping potential sponsors recognize the value of sponsoring your blog.

I’ll tell you straight: it does take a bit of time investment to put a great-looking media kit together, but once it’s done, you’ll have it for the rest of your blogging life.

So folks, this doesn’t have to be some terrifying project – it’s pretty simple, really. 10 steps and you’re done – so as soon as you’re finished reading, share this post with your friends and then get going.Continue Reading

This week I had the pleasure of working with Donni of The Magic Onions to move her from Blogger to WordPress.  Donni wanted a simple, fresh, open design with a traditional blog header as a backdrop for her beautiful nature and lifestyle photography.

Donni’s blog is a favorite among Waldorf inspired families and homeschoolers, and I can assure you that she’s every bit as personable in “real life” as she conveys on her blog.

It has been an honor to work with such a lovely soul, and Donni, I wish you all the best in your new blogging home.  Welcome to WordPress.

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Please visit The Magic Onions, now on WordPress.Continue Reading

Y’all blew it up.

So thanks.

You already know I’m a huge fan of WordPress – and if you’re a self-hosted WordPress blogger, you have lots of tools at your disposal to run a well-oiled Pinterest campaign.  Forget manually adding buttons to your posts.  From embedding Pinterest buttons inside your images to tracking your stats, to scheduling your pins – all you need is a boost from some plugins, and you’re ready to rock!

…and if you don’t want anyone sharing your images, there’s a plugin for that, too.

But let’s start with the positives, shall we?Continue Reading