Hi all! Today I wanted to share with you some links (ok a LOT of links!) to the 3 best blogs (in my opinion) to learn more about blogging, the 3 best books to improve your blog & increase your followers & the 3 best articles about blogging and the law.
Then I want to share how to create/code a rollover image like this:
3 Best Blogs to Learn More About Blogging:
- ProBlogger- Hands down THE most comprehensive site ever for blogging for profit. He is the standard for ‘how-to blog’ I am currently working my way through his best-selling (in the bloggy world that is!) ebook: 31 Days To Build A Better Blog. Get it. Read it. Do it.
- SavvyBlogging- These ladies are fantastic! I love their Twitter stream the best ( use hashtag: #savvyblogging) for any and all questions I need answered that Google just doesn’t seem to know about. They are quick, friendly & very helpful.
- Blogging With Amy- Amy is my favorite out of this list. She doesn’t shy away from the complicated tutorials for all you advanced bloggers out there but what she does best is the ‘walk-you-through-it-step-by-baby-step’ video tutorials of the basics of blogging. Love her site. Really.
3 Best Books to Improve Your Blog & Increase Your Followers:
- UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.
I had the pleasure of hearing the blogging stand up comedy act that is Scott Stratten at Blissdom. He is funny & approachable and honestly? He knows his sh*t. He gives you real, common sense advice on how to Un-market yourself, your blog, your company, whatever. A. MUST. READ. I promise you that you won’t regret it! (oh and follow him on twitter where he is kind of important
) - 31 Days To Build A Better Blog. I know I’ve mentioned this already but seriously. I know it’s expensive. But WORTH it. Again, common sense approaches to building your blog and making it better.
- The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
Another speaker I had the pleasure of hearing at Blissdom is Brene Brown. I love her. I love her message and I know you will too. Be happy where you are, who you are and what you are. Be YOU!
3 Best Articles/Posts About Blogging & the Law:
all 3 (and MANY more) come from Sara at Saving For Someday- she is a lawyer who I first heard of when she spoke at Blissdom)- Is your Giveaway Legal? (here’s a hint: 95% of what I see is NOT-including mine in the past-YIKES!)
- FTC Disclosures & You ( a MUST read)
- Know Your Digital Rights-Blog Etiquette (Yes it is ILLEGAL to use a photo and not credit properly. Yes it is illegal to steal someone’s photo or post or even a paragraph of their post and pass it off as yours. You MUST give a click-able link crediting where you got the idea in the first place if it’s not your original idea. And while we are on that topic-GOOGLE YOUR PROJECT IDEA BEFORE THINKING YOU WERE THE FIRST TO THINK IT. It has all been done before. )
How to create cute rollover images for your blog:
Use these as ‘before & afters’ for a project you did (type the code in your html of your actual post) or as a navigation bar (like I have up there ^) Keep in mind that if someone views your site from a mobile phone or iPad they won’t be able to see the pop-up so either post the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos separately also in your post or let them know it is a rollover image and to view it on a computer to see it.
You need to create two images. One that is viewed when the person comes to your site/post and the other they can see when their mouse ‘rolls over’ the image. I use Photoshop Elements but you can use Picnik very easily (for free too!) to create images.
Here is the code (change the RED parts only):
<img onmouseover=”this.src=’http://www.URL OF WHERE YOU UPLOADED YOUR FIRST IMAGE.jpg‘” onmouseout=”this.src=’http://www.URL OF WHERE YOU UPLOADED THE SECOND IMAGE.jpg’” src=”http://www.URL OF WHERE YOU UPLOADED YOUR FIRST IMAGE.jpg” alt=”" />
Notice you have to put the first image url in twice. Also watch all those ‘ and ” in there. They all have to be there and be the straight up and down kind (not the curvy apostrophe kind)
Let me know how it works for you 
And FINALLY (I know I know!) here are some links to bloggy help posts I wrote awhile back. They are still relevant and might help you:
- Publish your blog to the Kindle Store and make money from any subscriptions (also has how to create an ‘app’ icon for your blog so it looks cute when someone ‘bookmarks’ it to the home page)
I truly, truly want to know:
What one thing about Blogging would you like me to write about for you?
I want to continue posts similar to these but I need to know what you don’t already know & want to know!
Have a happy day,
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Disclosure: some links in this post are affiliate links. If you click them & purchase the item then I will gain a very small income from that sale. This does not make the item more expensive to you (clicking my affiliate link or typing the url yourself yield you the same price). Thanks for helping to support Creative Kristi!
Wo, lots of links to follow! You’re always up there on ghanding out advice! Thanks Kristi!
Carin, Thanks so much for your comment! I hope you find some useful information in the post & don’t forget to pass it along!
What a great, helpful post. Honored to be a part of it!
Brene, Thank you so much for your comment and kind words! My goal this summer is to re-read your book while visiting our family’s cottage by the lake. I speed read it after Blissdom and I want to re-read it slowly. It really spoke to me and made so much sense. Thanks for the inspiration and I hope some of my readers will benefit from your book also!
Wow! What great information!! I can’t wait to read a few of these books. Thanks for sharing!
Beth, Thanks so much for your comment-Please please let me know if you like the books! They were literally life changing for me and I just adore both the authors (Brene & Scott). The ProBlogger book is a pretty ‘easy’ read and so helpful!
Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you so much for the shout-out, Kristi! Excellent resource here.
Amy @ BloggingWithAmy.com recently posted..Why You Should Be Part of a Mastermind Group
I just found you and thought it ironic that I’ve been wanting to start a blog. You asked what one thing we’d like you to blog about…where to start? What first thing, besides content, do I do?
I think that you should write at least 2 weeks worth of posts before you even publish one. That way you have ‘back-up’ in case life happens and you can’t write a blog post one day you can just publish a draft you have already completed. Content content content is THE most important by far but I think that having a simple, easy to read blog is important and a way for people to contact you & subscribe (go to feedburner.com & sign up for a free account and make sure you allow all types of feed readers & email subscriptions then put the link on your sidebar so people can subscribe), join lots of link parties and comment on lots of different blogs with really thoughtful well-thought out comments. That way your name is out there, your blog is readable (no black background with white letters-it is so hard for everyone to read lol & no auto-play music..people just click away really fast so as not to let on they are reading blogs at work or wake up the baby), and you have consistent quality content.
Thanks,i am new and need a LOT of help and you told me a lot of good stuff !!!