Blog Love -- Tips & Tricks

{source: Made By Girl}

I'll be the first to admit, I have no idea what I'm doing online, or on this blog, design-wise. I have zero training in web design. What little I have figured out is through someone showing me, doing it for me (John), or reading tutorials online. Today I'd like to pay it forward by sharing some of the blog posts that have helped me, as well as giving a shout-out to these awesome, helpful bloggers!

Paying It Forward When Blogging

I recently read the blog post, Ten Ways To Pay It Forward When Blogging, by Angry Julie Monday. One of the things I find interesting is the suggestion to comment on 10 blogs a day. She stars the blog posts she wants to comment on in Reader, then goes back when she has time & leaves her comments. I do leave a lot of comments on my friends' blogs, but I rarely comment on bigger blogs. Although I will say, the few times I have, it's driven a lot of traffic back to my blog, so there's clearly something to this. I left a comment on The Sartorialist once & to this day, that's the most page views I've ever gotten in a day. So, good advice. Thanks, Julie!

Adding Media Buttons To Your Blog

Another helpful blog post I read recently is Tuesday Tutorial - Adding Media Button Links To Your Blog by Mandipidy. In this post, Mandy gives easy, step-by-step instructions on how to add icons for Twitter, Facebook, etc. on your blog. And she gives instructions for Blogger, which is rare since it seems most of these tutorials are for Wordpress. Mandy has a lot of other helpful Blogger design-related tutorials, including one on Designing a Header. As you'll notice, I actually followed this tutorial & added media buttons to my home page. Thanks, Mandy!

If You See Something You Like, Ask If You Can Copy It

Both of the above blogs I found on the twitter via one of my new, favorite bloggers, Ginger from Ramble Ramble. I found Ramble Ramble when someone linked to her blog post, Publishing Myths and Truths for Bloggers. After reading this post, I actually emailed Ginger, told her I loved her post, loved her blog & then proceeded to ask her about a million blog-related questions. She not only responded, she responded with compliments about my blog & all kinds of helpful advice. My new About Me page is modeled after her About & New Here? pages. Since I've started following her on the twitter, I'm finding all kinds of awesome new blogs. Thanks, Ginger! (Follow Ramble Ramble on Twitter here).

Email Bloggers You Like & Ask Them Questions

Another blogger I emailed is Blair from A Case of the Mundays. Blair made this awesome ruler lamp that was featured on Design*Sponge. I emailed Blair to tell her I love her blog, especially the way she incorporates pictures & to ask her about Photoshop, when I realized that she not only also lives in Nashville, but I know her husband! Small world! Blair gave me a lot of tips regarding Photoshop & web design. Thanks, Blair!

Things Learned About Blogging

One of my favorite bloggers is Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman. Awhile back, Ree wrote a blog post, Ten Important Things I've Learned About Blogging. I love this post & have shared it numerous times. My favorite thing from this post is her suggestion to write like you're talking to your sister (or good friend). Good advice! Thanks, Ree!