Way back in February or March or maybe May, Autumn asked if I would share with you all what I’ve learned at the blogging conferences and seminars I’ve attended in the past year. Being generous and a giver in general, I said, “Of course I will!”
And then I promptly did not do any such thing.
Ohhhhhhh, I’m so sorry. My friends, I have a huge folder that won’t even close anymore, jam-packed with notes and handouts and presentation slides and ideas and rules. And I carry it with me, from home to work and back again, intending every single day (well, you know, most days) to write up a great summary of all the knowledge that has been dumped into my brain in the past several months.
But here we are. And still no post. [Insert big, guilt-ridden sigh here.]
By this point, I’m not even sure if anyone out there wants this information. And I’m not sure typing out my scribbled notes from a conference six months ago would help anyone. But just in case someone is still interested – and honestly, to alleviate my bloggy guilt – I’ve gathered up a bunch of great resources for improving your blog design, content and more.
Blogging Basics 101 – Exactly what it sounds like! Here are three of the best posts, in my opinion: 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a New Blog, 5 More Mistakes to Avoid and Blogging Etiquette Tips.
Mommy Always Wins – Colleen writes great how-to posts for all sorts of bloggy design projects. She’s also helpful, hilarious and oh yeah, starting her own blog design company!
Musings of a Housewife – Jo-Lynne runs her own blog design company, but she shares her secrets every once in a while. Easy step-by-step tutorials that anyone can use.
Michael Hyatt – As CEO of the largest Christian publishing company, Mr. Hyatt is – of course – on my must-read list. But he writes about so much more than books! I have not found anyone else who writes posts that explain social media better, and I highly recommend checking out all his posts about blogging. Two recent posts are 13 Idea Starters for Stuck Bloggers and Focus on Blog Content Before Traffic.
ProBlogger – Darren Rowse is one of the few people out there actually making money by blogging full time. Even if that’s not your thing, he has great posts about how to blog well. Try 9 First Step Goals for New Bloggers, 13 Things I’ve Learned, and Warning: Do You Recognize These 21 Blogging Mistakes?
Also:
- CopyBlogger writes about the seven deadly sins of blogging.
- Darcy at Life with my 3 Boybarians is refreshingly honest about 10 Blogging Mistakes.
- Kevin & Amanda share tons of blog design tips, as well as tons and tons of free fonts.
- Sarah at Real Life Blog has a few tips about blog design, too.
- Nathan Bransford, a book agent, goes over the absolute basics of blogs right here.
Okay, what do you think? Am I leaving something out? Do you have any burning blog questions? I don’t know that I have answers to your burning questions, but I’d be happy to help you find them.
And though this whole darned post is belated, it will be linked to What I Learned This Week and Top Ten Tuesday.
I think you covered it well! And thanks for the link love. :-) I absolutely love copyblogger. Good stuff.
Wow! Thanks Mar! I'm sure I weekly commit major blog sins! I'm really getting into it now, and want to be on my best blog behavior!
You're the best!
Thank you so much for this! I am in a huge rut and just can't seem to figure out where I want to go with my blog. This post is a great help!
Thanks for sharing. Here is something else…
when you post a link on your blog be sure to include this tag in the html: target="_blank"
It goes right after the quote at the end of the website you are referring to. (I tried to give you an example but mr. blogger does not want me to. Won't accept it. He thinks I am being tricky or advertising for "Target" or something.)
That way when people click on the link it opens a new window and does not take them off your site. It is especially helpful for a post with a lot of links, like this one. That way people can easily navigate back to your post and continue reading.
great list! I need to do some reading…
I think this is a fab-o list!! I have got to read all of these and brush up on my etiquette. I'd hate to burp at the bloggy table or something like that.
Thanks for all the links … I'll have to click & read away later tonight:)
Wow! Thanks for all the great resources! As a brand new blogger, I can really use them. I'm trying to learn the ropes and I'm sure I've already made mistakes, so I'm anxious for all the info I can get.
thanks soooooooo much for this post. I so needed this…I have so much to learn…..Thank you for the links..
Wow – what a great resource post you have made up here! Very comprehensive!
WOOHOO!!! What GREAT stuff here! Good links – Copyblogger and Problogger have really given me some serious food for thought! I am going to take my time to walk through these links and enjoy them!!! Glad you took your time getting it all together.
Wow. Love this list. *sigh* Now I'll have a jampacked folder to tote around for a few months…
Thanks for linking up with me!
I really appreciated this post. I still consider myself a relative newbie, so these links are really helpful. Thanks so much for taking the time to put it together – I've bookmarked it!
You mentioned reallifeblog had great fonts available, so I went there b/c that's on my to-do list (my fonts are totally basic, and I have some buttons I want to make for carnivals). I don't know where they are, though? Can you give some direction? Thanks for this post – helpful links!
Mary…obviously i've been on a hiatus…so it's a 10 day overdue "thanks" for the linky love & big thanks for all the info.
Hopefully my new layout is done in the next couple of weeks, she's working on it now, we'll see.
Hope you're well!
Autumn aka Hip Mama :)