I'm Not a Highly Effective Blogger.

I was reading this nifty article over at BlogHer and have realized I may not be a highly effective blogger. Oops. 


#4 says bloggers are lifelong learners. I've got that covered. I learn something new every day. I learned today that if my 9 year old was an only child, she'd probably weigh about 30 pounds more. Why? Because now that her sisters are on vacation, I am letting her fend for herself and she has eaten frozen pizza 3 days in a row. Bad mommy. 


I've also learned that my readers think (know?) I have ADD. I was looking at my Alexa reviews today and saw this one from Real Mom Reviews. It says: Sadie is a mom to three beautiful girls. Her blog is full of stories on being a same sex parenting couple, coupon deals, and some amazing recipes (marshmallow brownies OMG yum)!!! She does have a bit of what I assume to be ADD, because she switches from subject to subject super fast, but THAT is what makes this site worth reading! :) -- When I read this review, I had to giggle (and call my mom, so she could too). I know I jump from subject to subject all the time. It probably drives some of you crazy! I just can't help it. Forgive me? 


That brings us to #5. It says effective bloggers are focused and consistent. Err... um... oh look, a butterfly! Just kidding. But seriously, I'm rarely consistent. I mean, I am consistent in the fact that I blog almost every day. And I'm also consistent in the fact that I change subjects at least once a week. So, maybe I am consistent after all?? 


#6 says effective bloggers plan ahead. I totally agree with this one, and if you want to be a good blogger you should try to plan ahead. This is one of those "do as I say not as I do" things, because even though I'm a planner in some ways (my budget, grocery list, etc), in other ways I am not (er.. blogging). Did I mention that my designer was up til 5AM configuring my layout because I emailed her saying "The guy from the newspaper is going to look at my blog at 7AM and I need a new layout!"? Yeah, bad blogger. Lack of planning = stress. So, it is best if you plan ahead. It leaves you much more relaxed. Trust me! 


Last but not least, #8 says: effective bloggers are self-starters. This is so true. So many people ask me "how do I start a blog", "how do I make money blogging", "how do I get more followers"? The answer is simple: be a self-starter. The readers are not going to come to you unless you go to them first! Find some blogs and comment on them. Leave genuine comments (not the annoying ones like "Great post come look at mine here ____".) Ones that show the blogger you ACTUALLY read their post! Ones that show true interest in what they have to say.


Overall, the BlogHer article is pretty correct. I am a known rule-breaker though, so of course a few of the points didn't apply to me. If you want to get started blogging, all I can say is just do it. Dive in head first. And if you have any questions at all, just email me or leave a comment! I always answer as soon as I possibly can, and I never charge to help people out. It's just something I love to do. Just remember to pay it forward. :)

Protect your photos online!

I created this video to show you how to protect your photos online. This is great for blogs, Facebook, etc. It's a simple process, it's free, and it will only take you a minute. Let me know if you need help with anything! 

How to Create a Custom Header for Your Blog

Suggestions? Want to see a specific tutorial? Click here!

Sorry about the weird borders on this video, I was trying to make it bigger and it ended up cutting off the edges. If you have any questions, let me know! Hope this helps with creating your blog.

Don't have a blog yet? Click here and I will show you how to create one!!

Blog Tip -- Making a Button!

 I'm no expert, but I love helping other people out! So if you want to start a blog but just aren't sure how, or if you have a blog but want to take it up a notch, I will help you through it. Email questions to randomosityblog AT gmail DOT com and I will answer them in a future post. If you want to make your blog better, this series will definitely help!

Today I'm going to walk you through making a button for your blog. There may be an easier way, but this is the way I do it. This is assuming you have a layout that you love (like I do).

First, take a screen shot of your layout. To take a screen shot, hold down the PRTSC button on your computer. With my laptop, I have to hold down "FN" and "PRTSC" at the same time. Then open up Paint (Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint). Right click, PASTE. Save the image in JPG format.

Go to www.picnik.com and register (it's free). Upload your photo from above, and then crop it. To crop, just go to EDIT, and then click CROP. Highlight the area you want to keep.

This is what it will look like after it's cropped.

Now, click on CREATE. You can do whatever you want at this point, but I always put a frame on my buttons. Click FRAMES. Then on the left, you will see BORDER. Change the thickness, colors, etc.

You can make your button any size, but I think most pages use 150x150. At this point, you want to go back and click EDIT then RESIZE. Resize to 150x150 (or whatever size you prefer). I chose 150 in the fist box, and checked "keep dimensions" so the other number ended up being 138.

Go back to the CREATE tab. Your dashboard will have less options because I have the premium version, but there are still tons of options when using the free version. Now is when you want to add text.

Top left hand corner: Type your text here.

Left hand column: Font choices.

Box on the right side: Colors, size, fade. If you click the area where the arrow is, the cursor will turn into a "dropper". Click the dropper on the button you have created, to match the color perfectly. I used the dropper on the lips section, so the text matches. You can click "fade" if you are using a bold color and want it to fade a bit. I do that on lots of my pictures.

Now, it's time to save. Just choose "SAVE PHOTO" and there you have it! You have created your own button! Picnik.com is great and a fun free way to edit photos and make buttons. Play around with the different effects and you will be surprised at what you can create!

To get the button to your blog, upload it on Photo Bucket and copy the HTML code into the template of your blog. 

Edit: The HTML code will have a link towards the beginning of the code. It will be something like "http:// target=_blank". Take the address out (http://blahblahblah) and replace it with your blog address (http://yourblog.com). Hope that makes sense!

I hope this was easy to understand... I didn't think it was going to be this drawn out. :) If you have any questions, just ask. I'd love it if you would leave a comment so I can see the buttons you have created!!