October 2009 | Spice Up Your Blog

Showing newest 6 of 17 posts from October 2009. Show older posts

Saturday, October 31, 2009

How to make a custom latest Tweets / Twitter updates Gadget for your blog

Twitter can be a major source of traffic for Bloggers and the evedince can be seen on some top blogs giving their twitter gadgets and widgets prominent positions on their Blogs.Not only can Twitter bring you new unique traffic it's a great way to keep potential return visitors updated.

While most bloggers are using the bland default Twitter Updates gadget you will have seen a few more custom stylish gadgets on your travels.The gadget i have for you in this post will add some spice to your blog and is a step away from the default.

I have used the light blue colors used in the Twitter layout and some nice Twitter icons.

You Can See A Demo / Sample of the gadget on my Demos blog here : Demo Blog

Heres The Steps to get your Latest Tweets Gadget :

1.Click Layout-> Add a gadget for your blog.

2.Choose Html/Javascript

3.Copy all of the code below into the area provided :

<a href="http://www.twitter.com/YOUR TWITTER USER HERE" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i631.photobucket.com/albums/uu40/paulcrowe/twitter.png"/><img border="0" alt="Twitter" src="http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad259/spiceupyourblog/twitter.png"/></a><font color="#49C8F0"><br/><br/><b><center><u>Latest Tweets</u></center></b></font><br/> <div id="twitter_div"><font color="#49C8F0"><i> <h2 style="display:none;" class="sidebar-title">Twitter Updates</h2> <ul id="twitter_update_list"></ul> <a id="twitter-link" style="display:block;text-align:right;" href="http://twitter.com/YOUR TWITTER USER HERE">follow me on Twitter</a> </i></font></div> <script src="http://twitter.com/javascripts/blogger.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script src="http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/YOUR TWITTER USER HERE.json?callback=twitterCallback2&count=3" type="text/javascript"></script> <a href="http://twitter.com/YOUR TWITTER USER HERE" target="_blank"><font color="#49C8F0">Twitter.com/YOUR TWITTER USER HERE</font></a> <br/><br/>

Edits:

You MUST now make the following changes to set gadget to your Twitter :

If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below..
This is a Do-Follow Blog so leaving a comment will also help Your blogs Google rank.

1.Were you see YOUR TWITTER USER HERE replace with your twitter User name
(Make sure to change all 5)

Example : http://twitter.com/paulcrowepro

2.Were you see 'count=3' in the code this can be changed to set how many tweets will be displayed in the gadget.

Example: count=4 count=5 count=6

Once you have made the changes click save and your done.

Your gadget has been added you can now drag and drop it into place on the layout page.

You can Find Me On Twitter Here : @PaulCrowePro

If you get stuck help is only a comment away.What do you think?

Friday, October 30, 2009

My Top Ten Elegent Artistic Style Free Blogger Templates

My Top Ten Artistic Style Free Blogger Templates

There are now thousands of blogger templates available.A lot of them are very similar and quite boring so in this post i have my top ten templates that are a bit different.All the template are free to use and have been tested on all browsers.

The following templates will get you well on the way to spicing up your blog.

Included are templates with built features like :

►Social bookmark buttons ►Re-tweet buttons
►Email subscriptions ►Search bars
►Read more functions ►Featured content sliders
►Menu bars and more..

Here's the top ten in no specific order:

Another Under Sea World Template

Features

Built in search

Built in Rss feed link

Menu bar

Thursday, October 29, 2009

How to make a Rollover / Mouse Over image link

A rollover or mouse over image is a great image effect you will have seen used on lots of blogs and websites.When you use this effect with an image you add to your blog the image will change to differant image once you hover your cursor over it.It's also a very easy to use and can have so many uses.

Here's a preview of a rollover image :

Place your cursor over the image to see it change:

The image is also a clickable link so you can use it as a link on your blog.

Making a rollover image is quick and easy heres the steps :

This is the code we use to make the image.

<a href="TARGET URL GOES HERE"><img src="URL OF FIRST IMAGE GOES HERE" onmouseover="this.src='URL OF SECOND IMAGE GOES HERE'" onmouseout="this.src='URL OF FIRST IMAGE GOES HERE'" /></a>

You now need to customize the code by adding the images you want to use and the address you want it to lead to when clicked.

In the above code change the following:

1.TARGET URL GOES HERE

Place the address you want the image to lead to when it's clicked.
Example : http://www.spiceyupourblog.com

2.URL OF FIRST IMAGE GOES HERE (x2)

Place the URL of the first image here this is the image shown before you hover over it.
Example: http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad259/spiceupyourblog/info.jpg

3.URL OF SECOND IMAGE GOES HERE
Place the URL of the second image there, this is the image that appears when your cursor hovers over it.
Example : http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad259/spiceupyourblog/Blogger-2.png

We Are Nearly Finished - If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below.
This is a Do-Follow Blog so leaving a comment will also help Your blogs Google rank.

Once the changes are made your done you can place the image in your blog posts/sidebar or anywhere html can be used.

Another Cool Effect For Your Images Is The Opacity Blurred Hover Effect Check It out.

Thats it a nice easy trick that can be used in so many ways, Do you like it ?

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

How to add a fixed floating image to your blog

A floating image is an image that will always appear in the corner of your blog even when you scroll up and down the page.

In this blog you can see a floating image most of the time i change them regularly at the moment i have two :.

If i am not currently using it click here to see a live demo

This is the first:

Home

When clicked it leads back to my blogs home page.

This is the second :

It leads to my blogs Rss Feed.

Heres how to add a floating image to your blog:

1.Click Layout-->Edit html for your blog

Tick the 'Expand widget template' box.

2.Find the following piece of code in the html:

]]></b:skin>

3.Add the following piece of code above it :

#float_corner { position:fixed;_position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;clip: inherit;_top:expression(document.documentElement.scrollTop+document.documentElement.clientHeight-this.clientHeight);_left:expression(document.documentElement.scrollLeft + document.documentElement.clientWidth - offsetWidth);}

You can change the following attributes : bottom :left
Change them to make the image appear were you like :

top left
top right
bottom left
bottom right

4.Now find this code in your html :

</body>

5.And place this code before it :

<div id="float_corner"> <a href="ENTER TARGET URL HERE"> <img src="ENTER IMAGE URL HERE" border="0" /></a> </div>

You Must change the following attributes :

ENTER TARGET URL HERE - Place the address you wist the image to lead to when clicked here.

Example: http://www.spiceyourblog.info

ENTER IMAGE URL HERE - Place the Url of the image you want to use here.

Example : http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad259/spiceupyourblog/info.jpg

(You can find images on image hosting websites like Photobucket)

If you wish to use the images i use in this blog here they are with their Image URL :

Home

URL for this image:

URL for this image:

To add a second floating image just repeat making sure to add the image to a differant corner.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

What is social bookmarking /How does it work / How can it help my blog ?

Unless you have been living under a rock you will have seen these icons in the blogs and websites you visit.
These are the links to the webs fast growing list of social bookmarking websites.

The social bookmarking phenomenon began in the later stages of the 90's with the appearance of Del.icio.us and has kept growing at pace.

At the foot of this blog check the list of the most popular Social Bookmarking websites.

So what does it do?

You could see Social bookmarking as "search engine marketing" with a human touch. The information is seen as relevant due to the fact that it has been provided by a human being, rather than assessed by search engines like google for relevancy by a robot and through search engine algorithms.
As most of the individuals who use social bookmarking sites often give points to the content based on its relevancy and usefulness, this human touch is emphasised even further.

How can it help me and my blog?

Social bookmarking can be an awesome S.E.O (Search Engine Optimisation) tool for bloggers.
As bloggers most of us don't have the capital to invest in expensive tools to bump us up the rankings in search results but if you post relative content your readers enjoy with the help of social bookmarking websites you can create a kind of "Word of mouth" Buzz that will
as it feeds off the networking capabilities of the web. The most famous sites have incredible numbers of active followers who are essentially establishing a new trend by getting their news on any particular subject or niche online instead of through other more traditional methods. Social bookmarking sites can be linked and an RSS feed set up, thereby creating an aggregate of news that can be delivered efficiently with very little necessary effort.

Social bookmarking is a relatively new phenomenon. While we can look back to the mid-to-late 90’s for a predecessor, social bookmarking didn’t spring onto the unsuspecting world until the forerunner site Delicious appeared. Social bookmarking sites gather together information, articles and blog posts which are stored, organised and managed according to relevancy, or tags

While it is not always the case, you can build back links to your site by attaching URL’s to your content. There are quite a few social bookmarking sites out there that have a “no follow” policy, which means that the managing personnel involved attach tags to your links that neutralise any SEO advantage you may have otherwise achieved. This does not stop people from clicking through to your site and becoming a potentially valuable visitor, of course, but it means that you won’t gain any advantage in terms of the search relevancy ranking for your page.

If you’re savvy about your online marketing and website development

You can

use social bookmarking to great effect. Put meaningful content out there with valid and informative material, and people within the social bookmarking arena will rate it highly. Sharing of content is actively encouraged, and as a user’s network is informed of the existence of your content, the potential to go viral appears.

Make sure that your marketing message is subtle, as with any Internet marketing initiative. Blatant advertising is frowned upon, but relevant links when displayed in a soft-sell way will result in an increase in visitors. Make sure that you accurately attach your tags or keywords, to ensure that your message can be found within this vast Internet world!

Thereare hundreds and hundreds of social bookmarking sites, and you should try and include a plug-in within your site to allow people to easily and quickly bookmark your content. Sites such as WordPress make this very easy for you. RSS feed aggregators essentially summarize blogs and content and allow users to categorize things they find of interest into one easy to find place.

List of social bookmarking websites available :

Phew...So there it is and i really hope this post has informed you as much as researching and writing it has helped me learn more on the subject!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

How To Automatically Share Your Blog Posts On Facebook And Twitter

How To Have You Blog Posts Automatically Posted On Facebook And Twitter

In this post i will show you how to have your blog posts automatically sent to your Twitter and Facebook profiles.

This is a great way to keep your friends on both sites up to date with your blog and bring more traffic to your blog.

This is how it works :

Once you publish a new post on blogger, Twitterfeed gets notified via your feed.
Twitterfeed now forwards your new post to Facebook or Twitter or both if you wish.
What does it send?
Here's a screenshot of my Twitter page (It looks the same on Facebook) as you can see all the updates / tweets are from Twitterfeed:

Here's how its done:

We Are Nearly Finished - If you need more help or have an opinion or suggestion Please leave a comment Below.
This is a Do-Follow Blog so leaving a comment will also help Your blogs Google rank.
OK Back to business....

1.Go to www.Twitterfeed.com

2.Sign up for your free TwitterFeed account.

3.Submit your blogs Rss Feed URL

All-New BN Kids Store! Inspiring curious minds everyday.

Don't have a feed for your blog? You should get one:
Go to www.Feedburner.com

Follow the easy steps to connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Have you connectd ?

Saturday, October 31, 2009

How to make a custom latest Tweets / Twitter updates Gadget for your blog

Friday, October 30, 2009

My Top Ten Elegent Artistic Style Free Blogger Templates

Thursday, October 29, 2009

How to make a Rollover / Mouse Over image link

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

How to add a fixed floating image to your blog

Sunday, October 25, 2009

What is social bookmarking /How does it work / How can it help my blog ?

Saturday, October 24, 2009

How To Automatically Share Your Blog Posts On Facebook And Twitter

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