7 Reasons For Starting A Travel Or Expat Blog

Guest Post - Our host is Olga Mecking, Olga shares her experiences as an expat blogger.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

There are many reasons why you should start a blog. Your hobbies or interests, such as cooking or crafting or technology, are perfect blog topics. Changes in life can inspire you to start blogging as well. One of these changes is when you leave your home country and move somewhere else. I hadn’t even considered starting a blog before I moved from Poland to the Netherlands because I considered my life boring. Then I met my husband, became an expat and had children. Suddenly, my life became exciting and chaotic. Having an expat blog turned out to be fun and exciting, but soon became more than that. Here are all the reasons why you should consider starting a travel or expat blog if you haven’t done it already.

Discover New And Exciting Techniques Of Creating Blog Content

Guest Post - Our host is Anna Robeson, Anna is looking at some different types of content bloggers can use and readers will love.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The days of simply writing content and posting it online are long gone. I've heard the phrase „content is king” time and time again, and while I do not disagree with it, hell, I've actually written an article on the subject myself, I have to say that content is not only written. Images, videos info-graphics are also content, visual content, but still, content. The problem with today's internet is the fact that it is over-saturated with information.

Let's be honest, how many of you read articles from start to finish?  I don't. Even if I find something that interests me, I usually skim through the text, and bookmark it for later. Many writers are faced with a major problem: people do not read their blog. Moreover, in most cases, it is the first few seconds that attract a user. You can be sure that a block of text isn't as attractive as a post rich in images or videos. Written content is without a doubt the most popular content creation technique, and it is also one of the most poorly done. Any respected agency will tell you that high-quality content is one of the most powerful business promoters. That being said, let us discover alternative content techniques.

How To Select The Right Narrative Style For Your Blog

Guest Post - Our host is Jessica Davis, Jessica is taking an interesting look at Narrative writing styles you can use on your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” -- Maya Angelou. Before you can get your story out and write it down, you need to decide which narrative style you are going to use. You may have vivid memories, amazing plot lines and great ideas but they will not have the desired effect if your narrative style or type is flawed. When you sit down to write a novel, having a clear narrative style can help you keep track of the story and prevent your from straying too much.

There is no hard and fast rule that you have to stick to one narrative style throughout the novel or short story. Many legendary authors like Margaret Atwood have often used third and first person narrative styles in the same book to great effect. This is done when more than one character presents the story. There may be numerous ways to write your story but there are only a few ways to narrate it.

Third person narrative style

How Teachers Are Using Blogs to Enhance Their Lessons

Guest Post - Our host is Cara Aley, Cara takes an interesting look at using blogs in the classroom.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The technology tools at the fingertips of a modern-day teacher are better than ever. Many teachers are leveraging blogs in the classroom in order to supplement their lessons. Whether it be by creating their own classroom blogs, incorporating teaching ideas from the blogs of other teachers, or incorporating data from topic-specific blogs into a lesson plan, there are multiple ways to leverage blogs in the classroom.

Here, we’ll review some of these in further detail.

Teachers no longer have to rely exclusively on offline tools for their lessons.

Help students to communicate with one another in the written form - By creating a blog for a class to utilize together, a teacher creates a platform by which students can communicate around things like written assignments, poetry, or personal feelings (akin to a journal entry).

WordPress Newbies: Follow these tips for WordPress Blogging Success

Guest Post - Our host is Boney Pandya, who has some great tips for new Wordpress users.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

If you're new to WordPress, listen up!

You're so used to people talking about how easy and great WordPress is, but if you're not the tech-y type just yet, chances are you need a bit of guidance: it's nothing to be ashamed of. This post is for those of you that have done the initial set-up on your WordPress blog or site, and now you're ready for the next step.

Often when you search about WordPress tips or any questions you may have, you're met with jargon that can make the process of getting to know your WordPress site even more confusing and frustrating.

Hopefully this post will clear up some of that confusion for you. Below are a few tips for WordPress newbies that need a beacon of light in that foggy WordPress world.

Use these tips to make your WordPress experience smooth from here on out:

Connect Instagram And Your Blog With Photo Gallery And Follow Gadgets

Flicker is the most popular photo sharing website for people looking to showcase their photography online.Instagram is currently winning the race to be the top app for sharing your Mobile images and photos.We have previously looked at ways to share your flickr photo stream on your blog, in this post it's the turn of Instagram.I have looked for the best way for you to display your Instagram photos on your blog with a sidebar widget.Also we have a neat Follow on Instagram button to help you get more Instagram followers.

So if your a 'Instagrammer' this is the one for you.

Both these Instagram widgets are added to the sidebar of your blog so first are the codes for the gadgets and below that are our videos on how to add gadgets to the sidebar on Wordpress and Blogger.

How To Insert Microsoft Word Tables In Blog Posts

Guest Post - Our host is Abhishek, who shows us how and why to use Microsoft Word tabels on your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Inserting tables in blog posts organizes your data in a tabular form which looks more tidy and clear.Tables can be of many sizes including different rows or columns.Mostly today all bloggers use HTML tables,and there is one drawback of using these tables that it is quite cumbersome for a new blogger because it requires right coding for full customization and it wastes more time.

Tables are extremely needed if you are showing your blog post in a tabular form or are comparing the specifications of any service or product.In case if you just write a blog post then it would be unclear to understand,it would be like that you have just thrown colors on the canvas and haven’t created your masterpiece.In this post you will learn a trick to insert Microsoft office tables in your wordpress or blogger blog’s HTML.I am using Microsoft office 2007 to create tables.

How To Insert Microsoft Office Word Tables In Wordpress Or Blogger Posts

3 Reasons Why Honesty Matters In Your Blog

Guest Post - Our host is Nicolas D’Alleva, in this post Nicolas takes a no holds barred look at being an honest blogger.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

As internet use becomes increasingly more ubiquitous, so do our suspicions about the things we see, read, and hear online. Just like your seventh grade social studies teacher told you, people can write and put whatever they want on the internet (so, STOP citing Wikipedia in your term paper).

Internet users are skeptical of what they see online, and bloggers need to respond accordingly. A little honesty can go a long way in increasing your following, not to mention that there are already hundreds of other bloggers claiming to be Morgan Freeman (yes, other people know how to use PhotoShop too).

So, leave the aliases and the pseudonyms at the door, and start writing from the heart. Here are three reasons why it will make people want to read what you’re writing.

1. People can tell when you’re full of it

The Future Of SEO And The Application Of Guest Blogging

Guest Post - Our host is Chris Gunn, Chris takes an interesting look at were SEO may be heading in the future.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The SEO world has been very shaky lately as those who have dedicated their livelihoods on the development of websites and blogs have seen a shift in Google’s algorithms on the horizon. There is definitely a legitimate change coming, but is it truly worth all the hype? Does Google really want to eliminate all forms of link building, even the honorable, fair whitehat approaches? What about the people who want to have a successful site and truly follow the rules? There’s been too much doom and gloom on SEO, and it’s time to tame it down. Below is Matt Cutts’ most recent vlog “What should we expect in the next few months in terms of SEO for Google?

CHILL OUT

5 Strong Techniques For Successful Blog Writing

Guest Post - Our host is Kevin Demlon, Kevin has some well explained tips for bloggers of all levels.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Although it was coined in 1999, the term “blog” did not enter the dictionary until 2004, when it was Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year. The dictionary defined it as “an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.” Since that time, blogging has become a legitimate and sometimes profitable profession for some scribblers. But like most professions, few bloggers ever achieve wealth or even fame. Most write for a small number of faithful readers who share their interests. There are of course exceptions to this rule.

When the Huffington Post, a news blogging website, was sold to America Online (AOL) for $315 in February of 2011, it sent shockwaves through the blogosphere. Suddenly, everybody and their mother thought they could strike it rich by simply starting their own blogs. As you might expect, most of them fell flat on their proverbial faces. How do we know?