Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 17 - Have You Become Blistless

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 16 our definition was "Blistless or B-listless." This is what happens when a blogger doesn't care about posting and becomes apathetic about it. In other words - listless. Also know as "blogathy" which is characterized by lack of interest in your blog. Our question was - "Have You Become Blistless?"

Every blogger suffers from time to time with being a little bored with their blog and with writing articles. You might not have anything new to say or might get a version of writers block called "bloggers block." That's alright. Usually it will pass and usually it just requires stepping back from your blog for a bit.

The problem for a small business blogger is that by not posting frequently or taking too long of a break might result in lost readership. And, once the readership is lost, it is very hard to reclaim.

Lost readership can also translate into a loss of customers and potential business. For the small business blogger that isn't good.

So, what do you do if you're a small business blogger and a little tired of your blog. Well, you plan for the occasional blistless or blogathy periods and re-issue previous posts, stockpile some articles ahead of time, or post some re-cap articles.

What do I mean by this?

Well, you prepare for the blistless periods - which you are going to have - by writing generic articles that are not time or period sensitive that you can re-post later on. Or, you prepare by stockpiling articles ahead of time that can be posted when you're in a blistless period.

Both of these require a little planning and forethought as to what your article will be about. When writing re-post articles just give some thought as to being able to re-post this, say, in 6 months or next year and write with that in mind.

For the stockpile articles I have always found that when I'm in a "blogging" mode that I can write several articles ahead of time and save them to be released later on.

For the re-cap articles this is where having several different theme oriented blogs comes into play. All you have to do is post articles re-capping what's happening on your other blogs.

All three of the above will keep you posting during the blistless periods and keep your small business from suffering in readership and potential customers. Most importantly, don't worry. Your "blistless" or "blogathy" period will pass and you'll be blogging again to beat the band!

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 17 Definition - "Blogroll"

This is a list of links or your blogs sidebar. They can be a manual list maintained by the blogger or a list provided by a "BlogRolling" service. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 18 on "Are Blogrolls Important?"

© 2008 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS, Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Handmade Dolls & Crafts Website, and Linda's Blog

Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 16 - Should You Become A Vlogger?

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 15 our definition was "vlog" which is nothing more than a video blog and a "vlogger" is simply the blogger who maintains it. Our question was - "Should You Become a Vlogger?"

That is a good question and like other things within the blog world not easily answered. You see, "vlogging" just like "blogging" started out as a simple thing and morphed into unbelievable proportions. Think "YouTube" and you know where I'm going with this.

"Vlog" is a combination of video and blog. Entries are posted in reverse chronological order and may combine video and text, images, or other data. In the blogosphere "vloggers" and their blogs are referred to as the "vlogosphere."

Vlogs started out as simple videos posted hourly, daily, etc. to a blog and were pretty much video diaries of a person's life, chronicle of an event, etc. When computer processing speed improved and internet connection speeds increased vlogging became achievable for the masses.

Videos have become so immensely popular that just about everyone is creating them and a whole slew of websites to support video content have been created. YouTube is the behemoth of the video craze and to show you the importance of this phenomenon Google paid YouTube.com 1.65 billion in stock to purchase it in 2006.

And, of course with increased popularity comes awards. The 1st ever "Vloggies" video awards was held in November 2006. Think academy awards of videos.

Anyone with access to a video camera and a high-speed connection can create a vlog and publish it the same way text articles are published to a blog. The content is distributed via RSS feeds. Video content distributed this way is known as a vodcast or vidcast.

And, with the advent of technology in 2007 live interview vlogs and live transmission became possible.

So, for a small business owner the question is "Should You Become a Vlogger?" Well, that is not a simple question to answer for a small business owner. It really depends on what you are selling and whether or not videos would enhance your small business blog. It also depends on how creative you are.

Just like writing articles for a small business blog, creating videos requires creative skill, thought, and, most importantly, organization. You can't just throw a video out there - not if you're a small business owner. You need to think about what your video is going to convey to your readers and/or customers. Does it compliment your products and your business? Or, is it a detriment?

If it doesn't enhance your business image, convey to your readers and/or customers who you are and what your product is, or generate future sales for you then you shouldn't be vlogging. You might create a video that generates a tremendous amount of traffic to your website, but if that doesn't translate into sales for you then you might not have the right video.

So, should you become a vlogger? Well, that depends on what you're selling, how much time you have to devote to your videos, and how creative you are.

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 16 Definition - "Blistless or B-listless"

This is what happens when a blogger doesn't care about posting and becomes apathetic about it. In other words - listless. Also know as "blogathy" which is characterized by lack of interest in your blog. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 17 on "Have You become Blistless?"

© 2008 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh ofLinda Walsh Originals Linda Walsh Originals E-PatternsLinda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Handmade Dolls & Craft WebsiteLinda Walsh Originals Dolls and Linda's Blog

Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

My Tips For Crafters On The Web Blog Blidget

I've been playing again. This time it's with WIDGETS.

WIDGETS that you can add to your websites and blogs. Well, in my case it's WIDGETS and BLIDGETS.

Now you might just be wondering what a WIDGET is or certainly what a BLIDGET is. Well, a widget is a box that holds data that a user can interface with. It can be a game, a calendar, news, pictures, or just about anything you can think of.

And, here's the best part - it can also be a blog. Which means it's a BLIDGET.

That's right - it can be a blog. Your blog, in fact, turned into a widget.

That means that I can create a BLIDGET of my Linda's Blog and add it to any of my other websites or blogs.

And, if I make it a public blidget - guess what - you can add it to your website or blog.

How fantastic is that?

So, of course I created public BLIDGETS for all my blogs except my "I Love Crafts and Craft Blogs" and "The Best FREE Craft Articles" blogs. I didn't create public widgets for those two as they contain copyrighted materials from other bloggers and that is a violation of the Widgetbox.com terms of use.

You might be wondering exactly how I did this, what my blidgets look like, and where you can get one for your blog. Here's the where-with-all.

Here's what my Tips For Crafters On The Web Blog blidget looks like:

If you want to get my Tips For Crafters On The Web Blog as a BLIDGET for your website or blog all you need to do is CLICK on the little "Get Widget" button and follow the prompts. How much fun is this? Think of all the possibilities?

So, of course, the "dollies" noticed how much fun I was having and decided that they wanted their own BLIDGETS for their respective blogs. Only, they didn't want just my blogs they also wanted to have some FUN, some games, things relating to dolls. They wanted some WIDGETS, too.

Given that I hardly ever refuse them anything (well, hardly ever) I decided to add some fun WIDGETS to their blogs. That should keep them happy for about 2 minutes! LOL LOL

I'm going to add my blog BLIDGETS to the sidebars of my different blogs so if you're a reader of that blog and want to add it as a widget to your own blog or website all you need to do is click on the "Get Widget" button.

So, where can you get a WIDGET or BLIDGET for your own blog? Just go to WIDGETBOX.COM and open an account to get your very own blidget (which is your blog turned into a widget) or get some of the other widgets that are there.

I just love it when I'm playing. Have fun!


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 15 - A Blog Is Not Your Grandfather's Newsletter

I thought I'd take a little break from my usual "Tips From the Blogging Queen Column" format and use a little different format for Column #15.

My column this month is entitled: "A Blog Is Not Your Grandfather's Newsletter!" Now I know you might all be wondering what I mean by that. Well, let me explain.

From a marketing point of view weekly, semi-weekly, and monthly newsletters have traditionally been considered a good idea for small businesses on the Internet as you are directing your sales efforts towards a "targeted" audience. By this I mean people who have bought from you in the past (i.e. customers) and those people who have signed up as subscribers for your newsletter.

Traditional was always equated with the "best" or "your grandfather's tried and true methods." Well, in today's market if you only focus your marketing efforts on your traditional and targeted newsletter audience your competitors are going to leave you standing in the dust.

Now here's where our title "A Blog Is Not Your Grandfather's Newsletter" comes into play. When marketers want to convey that something is better than the tried and true traditional methods they use words such as "not your grandfather's...." to indicate that the new approach is not only different - IT'S BETTER!

Blogs are unique in that they can be a combination of a traditional tried and true approach as they can serve as a newsletter - ONLY MUCH BETTER - but, also function as critical marketing tools for today's small business environment and here's why?

Posting to your blog and the way your posts can be communicated to the Internet masses is astonishing. Not only can you have a targeted and non-targeted audience with subscribers of your RSS feed, but you have opened up the possibilities for expanding your customer base exponentially on a minute-by-minute, hourly, daily, weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly basis via the search engines.

The nature of the Internet and blogs has changed how we communicate. Internet users can receive RSS feed emails instantly, daily, subscribe to reader services and read what they want anytime they want. They can visit the blogs they like when they want and they can even download the blog articles, RSS feeds, podcasts, etc. to their PDA's, phones, IPods, portable drives, etc. This makes communication available 24/7, available when the reader (i.e. customer) wants it, and available in the format the user wants.

Now comes the really big reason why "Blogs are Not Your Grandfather's Newsletter!" Search engines love content and there is nothing more content driven than blogs. The search engines by their nature create your targeted audience for you and multiply that to mind boggling proportions.

Between the blog feed capabilities and the search engine capabilities the universe for customers has gone from just your tried and true "traditional" customer base to an exponentially limitless potential customer base. There may be people reading your small business blog that you are unaware of and they may just become future customers. Your blog posts are coming up in searches that you will never be aware of. Because of the ways information can be disseminated on the Internet now the potential reach of blogs is truly amazing.

Two years ago I gave up my traditional monthly newsletter in favor of my blogs and I have never looked back. If you are a small business owner on the Internet in order to market to your current, new, and future customer base you need a blog.

Blogs are definitely not your grandfather's newsletter. They are one thousand fold BETTER. As a small business owner on the Internet you don't want to be let standing in the dust.

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 15 Definition - "Vlogger"

"Vlogger" - A vlog is nothing more than a video blog and a "vlogger" is simply the blogger who maintains it. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 16 on "Should You Become A Vlogger?"

Copyright © 2008 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Handmade Dolls & Crafts Website, Linda Walsh Originals Dolls and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 14 - Are You A Blog Hopper?

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 13 our definition was "Blog Hopping" which is to follow links from one blog entry to another, with related side-trips to various other articles, blogs, websites, etc. It is also used to describe visiting blogs that you like frequently and commenting on them.

If someone were to ask me if I provide links throughout my blog my answer would be "yes." As a small business blogger it is essential for search engine optimization to do so. The more links the better the rating.

However, if someone were to ask me if I "blog-hop" my answer would be "ABSOLUTELY." I love to see what my blogging friends are up to by not only reading their latest posts, but by visiting their blog. Each night I visit my favorite blogs (and I do have to admit there are a LOT of them) to see what's happening. Sometimes I leave a comment, sometimes not. Sometimes I follow a link from their blog to another blog that I have never visited.

Now, you might thing that it is a waste of time to hop from one blog to another to see what's going on when you can just get the latest RSS feed. Well, as far as time is concerned you are correct. However, you missed the most important thing about "blog-hopping" which is the experience of seeing what's going on with a particular blogger, the experience of really getting to know the "blogger" through all the vehicles available to them to communicate, and the experience of visiting a totally new and unfamiliar blog.

Blogging has become the "de facto" way to communicate with family, friends, and customers about what's happening with you, your family, and your business. And, explaining what's happening with you and your business can be done with more than just text. It can include pictures, graphics, video, downloads, new products, audio, podcasts, surveys for customer involvement, various widgets, new templates, etc.

There are so many ways to communicate on a blog that to not visit the blog is to truly miss the creative adventure, especially when you are visiting the blogs of small business artists and crafters. The blog becomes the essence of the artist and crafter. It invites you into their world - giving you insight into their art & craft, and insight into the mind of the artist or crafter themselves. You can get a visual feel for the artist or crafter which, hopefully, will entice you to buy from their blog or visit their website.

And, if you like someones blog or post, just want to say "hi", or just want to offer your opinion on something be sure to leave a comment. After all, doing so makes good business sense as you not only provide the search engines with a vital link back to your blog, but provide future readers and/or customers a way to "blog-hop" over to you. If they like your blog maybe they'll decide to do business with you. Maybe they'll add you to their list of "Blogs I Like" which might entice future customers.

So, the next time someone asks you if you are a "blog-hopper" make sure your answer is "ABSOLUTELY."

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 14 Definition - "Vlogger"

"Vlogger" - A vlog is nothing more than a video blog and a "vlogger" is simply the blogger who maintains it. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 15 on "Should You Become A Vlogger?"

Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Handmade Dolls & Crafts Website, Linda Walsh Originals Dolls and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

Try A FREE E-Greetings Card For Fun!

I've been playing again. This time it's with a FREE cinematic E-Greeting card website.

I think you all know how much I love trying something new on my Linda's Blog so I thought I'd try a cinematic e-greeting card. Now you might be wondering what that is so let me explain.

Last November I received an email from Wendy Gale of Greetingflix.com asking if I'd like to try their new cinematic e-greetings card. Given that I love trying something new I, of course, said "yes."

Their GreetingFlix.com website is basically a website that allows you to store photo's and create e-greeting scrapbooks using those photo's and their pre-set scrapbooks and templates within. The e-greeting scrapbooks are a combination of your print pictures and their pre-set video e-greeting templates which when combined form an e-greeting that can be emailed to someone or be embedded into a website using their html code. Their pre-set e-greetings templates include a combination of pre-set music and various forms of video which when sequentially combined with your chosen photo's creates a cinematic e-greeting.

They have two levels - their Basic (FREE) and their Pro which costs extra. For saying I'd review their e-greetings card website they gave me a Pro membership which allows for more storage space and more of their templates.

Unfortunately, due to some personal family heath issues I was unable to review their e-greetings card service until today. And, today, I needed something FUN to do.

So, I decided I'd create an e-greetings card for the "king" of our house - our cairn terrier. I figured why not the "king" as a trial subject. They had a "pet" category after all. It all looked easy enough.

So, first I had to create a picture album for his pictures which was very easy to do. Then I had to upload the pictures from my computer to his photo album - which was also very easy and quick.

After that I had to create an e-greeting scrapbook album and choose an e-greeting template from their drop down menu which was also very easy to do. Next was choosing the photo's I wanted for this e-greeting, editing them using very simple edits if I wanted to, and then changing the order of the pictures within my e-greeting if I wanted to. After deciding that I liked what I had I could add a text message to my e-greeting for the ending and then decide who to email it to or copy/paste the html code to ember in into my website or blog.

After finishing my e-greeting I decided to send it to hubby's email to test the email feature and to add it to my blog post to test the html embed code. The email worked fine and, as you can see from the e-greeting below, the html embed code worked as well.

I found the website easy to use. The albums were easy to set-up and the e-greetings scrapbooks were easy to create. The negatives were that since they are still in "testing" mode the variety of templates is VERY LIMITED. For example, they didn't have any "Happy Birthday", "Get Well Soon", "Anniversary", "Wedding", "Graduation", "Congratulations", or "In Rememberance" e-greeting scrapbooks and templates yet, which surprised me.

However, they are aware of this and are working of creating more e-greetings templates. I do hope so as their current list of e-greeting scrapbooks and templates within each of Baby Announcements (1), Father's Day (1), Halloween (3), Happy Holiday's (3), Joke Flixes (1), Mother's Day (1), Pets (1), Photo Sharing (7), and Valentine's Day (2) is not enough.

I did run into one problem with their software and that is that I uploaded several old black and white photo's into one of my albums. While the black and white photo's did display correctly in the final phase of the e-greeting scrapbook that I put them in they did not display in the photo album correctly nor in the selection of photo's phase of the e-greeting scrapbook creation. They show as red X's in the photo album and selection phase of the e-greeting scrapbook. This is definitely something they need to correct.

The photo albums and the e-greeting scrapbooks you create are stored in your account. You can go back to any of the e-greeting scrapbooks you've created or partially created and resume, change, re-send, delete, or re-play it. The photo albums allow you to add more photo's or delete selected photo's.

They also have an e-greeting reminder where you can store dates within your account and they will send you an email reminder 1 to 6 days before the date to remind you of the event. They also have a mobile uploads feature that I did not test.

All in all - it's a great concept blending print pictures with e-greetings containing pre-set music and video imagery. It's very easy to use, but they need more e-greeting scrapbooks and templates. I'll be waiting for them as I have a lot of people I can send e-greetings to.


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

New FREE Forum For Folkart Square

If you are looking for a wonderful FREE forum to join then you might want to take a look at the new Folkart Square Forum.

Annie Kelly, who is the owner of Folk Art Square , which is an "Online Primitive Magazine & Crafts Marketplace", created this FREE forum for members of her Folkart Square community and for anyone else who wants to join in.

Annie also asked me if I wanted to be a moderator over there. Well, I can never say no to Annie as she has just been so wonderful to me over the years so I said, "Okay!" Then she asked me what section I'd like to cover. Now, what subject do you thing "The Blogging Queen" picked? Hmmmm...... could it be blogging!!!!!

Since the forum has public and private threads only one of the blogging threads can be seen without becoming a member. The public thread is Introduce Your Blog! If you've got a blog we'd love to hear about it.

The private threads are:

What's New On Your Blog! Tell us what's new on your blog. New posts, new widgets, new products.

Great Blog Finds! What have you found while "blog hopping" that you'd like to share.

Tips For Bloggers! Any great tips for enhancing your blog that you'd like to share.

Now, I know you really want to read what's on those blogging private threads that I've linked to above. If you're a member you are in luck. If you're not well, you have to become a member to do so.

Blogging is my thing, but there's a whole lot more for members of the Folkart Square Forum to do. We have a terrific group of moderators in place already. Annie and the rest of the moderators have a whole bunch of things planned for members to participate in. So, if you're looking for a GREAT forum to join look no further than the new FREE Folkart Square Forum.

Hope to see you over there.


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Cool New Widget From Feedblitz.com

I don't know how long Feedblitz.com has had this widget, but I don' think it's been that long as I think I would have noticed it before.

In any event, I think it's terrific.

Why?

Well, it provides a widget for you to use on your blog for all your newsletter (i.e. blog) subscriptions under your account at Feedblitz.com.

So, for example, I have 12 active newsletters (i.e. blogs) at Feedblitz.com that I offer subscriptions for. With this new widget I can offer everyone the ability to subscribe to all my blogs on say, just my "Tips For Crafters On The Web" blog, or offer it in the sidebar of every one of my blogs.


How cool is that? And, how convenient.

Now you can subscribe to all my blogs in just one place. You can subscribe for either email or RSS feeds for each individual blog by clicking the email envelope or Feedblitz RSS icon next to each blog name. Or, you can subscribe for email or RSS feed for ALL my blogs at once by clicking the email envelope or import into RSS feed aggregator feed icon next to Reading List by Feedblitz at the bottom of the list. How convenient is that?

I'm adding the widget to the sidebars of all my blogs so it won't matter which blog you're on. You can subscribe to all my blogs on any of them.

The widgets are in the sidebars under the heading:
Subscribe To Our Linda Walsh Originals Other Blogs.

I'd show it to you here, but the post doesn't allow this Javascript. Oh, well. Check it out on the sidebars.


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Twitter! The COOLEST Thing!

follow LWOriginals at http://twitter.com

If you are a reader of my Linda's Blog then you know I just LOVE to experiment with new widgets and gadgets for my blogs.

Well, I have been experimenting with Twitter.com and I have to tell you that I LOVE it.

Not for the reasons that anyone at Twitter.com probably intended, but because it allows me to do something really COOL as a small business owner who is also a multi-blogger.

If you are not familiar with Twitter.com I should tell you that it is the LATEST thing in FREE social networking services (i.e. Internet communities). Twitter allows you to post instant text-based messages up to 140 characters per post to the Twitter website and your profile page. The instant messages are sent via Instant Message services, email, via RSS feed, or to your mobile phone to other users who have signed up to receive them and/or that you have approved to get them.

They also have a widget that you can add to your blogs or websites that looks like the widget above. It can be color customized for your particular taste and your profile page on Twitter.com can be customized as well.

In thinking about the Twitter widget I thought that it would be great to add it to all my blogs so that if I have fabulous news that I want to tell everyone I can just send an IM to my Twitter.com profile and update all my blogs at once. That way I wouldn't have to post the LATEST NEWS from Linda Walsh Originals to every blog. COOL, huh!

The Twitter widget has up and down arrows so you can view all my instant messages or connect to my profile page at Twitter.com.

Since I have AIM as my instant message service I set TwitterIM as a buddy on my AOL buddy list and connected it to my Twitter.com profile. So, now I just go to my buddy list and send TwitterIM an instant message like the one shown above. That updates my Twitter.com profile and all the blogs that have the Twitter widget. How COOL is that?

Besides the latest NEWS I can let everyone know if there are any problems with any of my blogs or websites, if I'm on vacation, craft shows I'm currently in, etc.

Of course, I can also use it as a social networking gadget for all my friends if I want to. For now, I'm going to use it for my "Linda's Latest NEWS" flashes and see how all my blog readers like it.

So, what do you all think? COOL, huh!


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 13 - What Is Podcasting and Should You Jump On The Podcasting Bandwagon?

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 12 our definition was "Podcasting" which is a combination of the words IPod and broadcasting where you distribute audio and video material over the Internet using syndicated feeds like an RSS feed specifically for playback on portable digital players and personal computers.

I'm sure that most of you are aware of IPod's and probably have at least heard the word "podcasts." If you're not then you should know there has been a mini-revolution going on over the last few years with the way in which content is being delivered to the masses.

Content has become extremely mobile and "podcasting" is allowing audio and video content to be delivered to portable media players on demand.

What does this mean for you as a small business owner? It means that you can deliver audio and video content to your customers that they can watch or listen to whenever they want and wherever they are. Content has become available anytime and anywhere.

Also, the way in which content is being delivered is also evolving. It used to be that only audio content could be podcast and required MP3 files to be downloaded into IPod's or personal computers where separate player software (i.e. Real Player) was used to play the audio files. You would click on the link and download the audio file. The audio file would then open up in your "player" and begin playing the file.

This started with music downloads and quickly evolved into "radio broadcasts" where anyone could broadcast if they had a microphone connected to their computer and sound recording software.

Now "podcasts" have become so sophisticated that your can broadcast audio and video content just about anywhere, anytime. Some broadcasters are now combining "podcast" within their blogs and creating what is known as a "blogcast."

The latter allows bloggers to post an article to their blog and include an audio or video "podcast" within the post that can be played right from the post utilizing and inline audio/video player. Readers do not need to open up a new player.

So, should you jump on the "podcasting" bandwagon? That depends on what you are selling and how good you are at conveying your message either verbally or via video capture. In essence you would be creating a "radio show" or "video" for your customers.

Either of the above or combination of the above would have to contain content that is interesting enough for your blog readers to want to take with them and watch or listen to at their leisure?

"Podcasting" is not for everyone. Disadvantages include the fact that it does require practice and the ability to conceptualize what and how you want your idea conveyed to your customer. Advantages are unlimited mobility and being able to convey your ideas to your customers anytime and anywhere.

If you are capable of the above then for bloggers "blogcasts" are ideal. Blog posts can now contain audio and video podcasts within the posts. For small business bloggers there are so many ways to convey your message to your customer now that to not take advantage of some of them puts you at a severe disadvantage in the marketplace.

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 13 Definition -

"Blog Hopping" - To follow links from one blog entry to another, with related side-trips to various other articles, blogs, websites, etc. It is also used to describe visiting blogs that you like frequently and commenting on them. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 14 on "Are You A Blog-Hopper?"

Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Handmade Dolls & Crafts Website, Linda Walsh Originals Dolls and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

Three Ways To Get FREE Advertising This Holiday Season!

I'm so happy to announce that Cinna-Minnies and Friends is in the process of creating their second annual "Holiday 2007 Specials E-Book" featuring holiday ideas, family traditions, recipes, and holiday discounts from many of our vendor friends.The theme for this year is three-fold and centers around traditions.

In exchange for FREE ad space within the eBook we are looking for one of the following: 1) "How You Decorate For The Holiday Season", 2) "A Family & Holiday Tradition of Yours", or 3) "A Tried and True Family Holiday Recipe." So if you're looking for FREE advertising this holiday season and are willing to offer a "holiday special" to readers of the eBook all you have to do is contribute one of the three spotlighted "holiday tradition ideas."

The holiday season is filled with so many holiday traditions. We thought it would be fun to spotlight three "Holiday Tradition Ideas" and they are as follows: "Decorating Ideas", "Family & Holiday Traditions", and "Tried and True Recipes".

Our E-Book is distributed based upon the Viral Marketing Theory which involves the sharing and promoting of the E-Book. So, If you would like to participate as a vendor shown below is what you need to do once the E-Book is published:

1 - Put the E-Book .PDF download link and our E-Book graphic on the home page of your website and/or blog.

2 - Send a personal email to members of your mailing list, to members of any groups you belong to, to your blog subscribers via a blog post, and everyone you can think of inviting them to download their own copy of the E-Book on your website or blog. Sample E-mails will be provided, if need be.

When each of us sends an invite to the aforementioned the impact for sales can be tremendous. For example, half of my holiday sales last year were a direct result of the ad I placed in our first E-Book. I have a mailing list of close to 1800 which grows each day by 5 to 10 new members per day.

3 - Within your email invitation you will need to include the following text except you would replace your website name and URL where "Cinna-Minnies website www.cinna-minnies.com" is in the example below:

Pick Up Your FREE Cinna-Minnies and Friends 2007 Holidays Special E-Book
at our Cinna-Minnies website at http://www.cinna-minnies.com/ .

Whatever else you wish to include in your email invitation is up to you.

As we don't not want to overwhelm the E-Book with vendor specials we are limiting our ads to 20 vendors. To date we have received 5 "Holiday Tradition Ideas." We will be accepting 15 more.

If you are willing to offer a "special holiday discount" to readers of the E-Book and contribute either "How You Decorate For The Holiday Season", "A Family & Holiday Tradition of Yours", or "A Tried and True Family Holiday Recipe" then we would love to include you.

AD DEADLINE DATE - October 28, 2007 as we need to have the E-Book ready to send no later than the end of October.

SAMPLE "Holiday Discount Ad" -

Please visit Cinna-Minnies at for http://www.cinna-minnies.com/ for our Holiday 2007 Special Offer

When you place an order for one pound of our Cinnamon Clay,
you will receive a FREE bottle of our cinnamon oil and a cookie cutter.
Holiday Discount good until December 20, 2007.

Use the same heading as shown above, but substitute your own website name and link where http://www.cinna-minnies.com/ is shown, and include your e-mail address accordingly.

Neenee is in charge of collecting your decorating ideas, family & holiday tradition ideas, and recipes so please email these to her at kklprimitives@comcast.net . Please type Cinna-Minnies Holiday 2007 in the subject line.

If you are interested in participating as a vendor in Cinna-Minnies Holiday 2007 Specials E-Book please email Rochelle at rochelle@cinna-minnies.com .

We hope you decide to participate in what is the second of what we hope to be an annual tradition.

Thanks from

Rochelle of http://www.cinna-minnies.com/
Neenee of http://www.kklprimitives.com/
Linda of http://www.lindawalshoriginals.com/
Nancie of http://www.craftenewsletters.com/



Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 12 - Are You A Multi-Blogger?

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Are You A Multi-Blogger? Column 12

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 11 had two definitions "Multi-Blogger and Multi-Blogging." A Multi-Blogger is a person or business with more than one blog and Multi-Blogging is creating, maintaining, and running multiple blogs at the same time.

My question to you was: Are you a multi-blogger?

For those of you new to blogging I suspect the answer is "no." For those of you, like me, who have been blogging for awhile I suspect the answer is definitely "yes."

Now I know some of you are going to say, "I can hardly think of enough material to include in one blog for my small business - why would I create more than one?"

Well, the reason is simple - To provide directed content for your readers and/or customers.

Sometimes when you have been blogging for awhile and see how easy it is to post articles on just about anything you want about your small business, about your products, or about yourself you begin to realize that your posts cover a wide spectrum. In other words your blog begins to contain many, many different articles, subjects and/or facets about your business and your interests. Some of these may be entirely different areas with a vastly different audience. So, what do you do?

You create a blog specifically for that content and that audience. By doing so you provide your audience and/or your customers with the material that is specifically geared towards them.

For example, my small business sells e-products, print products, and a large variety of handmade items. When I started blogging I found myself writing about subjects that were as varied as my small business.

However, while some of those subjects were of interest to some of my customers and readers some were not. They had their own targeted audience so I created separate blogs for them. By doing so I allowed my readers and/or customers to subscribe to the blog that was specifically of interest to them. Of course, they could still subscribe to and read my main blog if they wanted to as it was a compilation of my entire business, but that was now up to them.

Now I know that you're going to say that multiple blogs is a lot of work. Granted setting up multiple blogs is extra work initially, but maintaining and posting to them isn't that much more effort. If you were going to post about a particular subject to your main blog then adding that same post to another blog is nothing more than copying and pasting.

Is the extra effort involved in setting up and maintaining multiple blogs worth it? Well, if it gives your readers and/or customers directed content that they like to read then you've made your readers and/or customers happy. And, hopefully, happy customers means more sales.

If you are currently a multi-blogger I say, "Congratulations!" If you're on the fence and wondering if you should create another blog then I say, "Go for it! Become a multi-blogger!"

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 12 Definition -

"Podcasting" - A combination of the words IPod and broadcasting where you distribute audio and video material over the Internet using syndicated feeds like an RSS feed specifically for playback on portable digital players and personal computers. Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 12 on "What is Podcasting and Should You Jump On The Podcasting Bandwagon?"

Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Handmade Dolls & Crafts Website, Linda Walsh Originals Dolls and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

Tips From The Blogging Queen - Column 11 - Do You Need A Blogiday

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 10 my definition was "Blogiday" which is getting fed up with your blog and taking a holiday from blogging. My question to you was: Do You need a Blogiday?

If you are like me and have been blogging for awhile you undoubtedly know that blogging creativity comes in phases. Some days you are in "blogging mode" and can write and create to your hearts content. Other days you can't think of a thing to write about and can't even get your fingers to move on the keyboard.

What's your problem? Well, you have just have "bloggers block" or "creativity block" and need to do something to get your creative juices moving again.

What should you do? Quite simply, don't despair - take a "blogiday" or a holiday from blogging.

You need to step away from the blog for a day or two or even a week or so and relax, enjoy yourself, and do something you love to do. Or, spend some time doing some of the mindless work you may have put on the back burner. For small business crafters there's nothing like mindless work or doing something you love to get your creative juices flowing again.

Better yet do something fun with your kids, or your friends, or visit your grandchildren. Take a day trip, go out to eat, or indulge yourself at a day spa. Go to the library or the bookstore and browse through all the books. Plan a vacation, take an online course, start a new hobby. Do whatever it takes to relax and take your mind off blogging.

What else can you do to get your creative juices flowing? Well,you may need to do some "blog hopping" and research on other blogs that you like to see what's new in the blogging world, catch up on the latest in blog widgets, search for some new graphics, find new content to add to your blog, etc.

Or, you may need to spruce your blog up. Try reformatting your blog, adding new colors, change your blog format, increase or reduce the columns or widths, add new wallpaper, or create a new banner. Sometimes a little "blog spring cleaning", "blog remodeling", or "blog sprucing" is all it takes to get your creative juices flowing.

And, when your creative juices are flowing again you'll find you're quickly back in "blogging mode." This time, however, when you're in "blogging mode" draft a few articles or ideas for articles and save them in "reserve" for those times when you are "blogstipated" (see my TFTBQ Column 9 in the July 2007 Faithful Friends Online Newsletter) and need to take another "blogiday." Then you'll always have articles to post when you get fed-up with your blog and need another "blogiday."

But, most of all don't despair. "Blogiday's" are as necessary as "holidays" and "vacations" to get your creative juices back on track. Your blog will always be there when you get back.

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 11 Definition -

"Multi-Blogger and Multi-Blogging" - A Multi-blogger is a person or business with more than one blog and multi-blogging is creating, maintaining, and running multiple blogs at the same time.

Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 12 on "Are You a Multi-Blogger?"

Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Handmade Dolls & Crafts Website, Linda Walsh Originals Dolls and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

I've Been Playing Again! This Time With An Online Photo Album

I've been playing again!

Not with dolls or blinkies or books, but with an online photo album.

You see, I can't resist trying FREE things that I get for buying this or that. I just love to check them out.

This time it was a FREE Online Photo Filer that GoDaddy was offering as an incentive for buying or renewing something. I can't remember what it was, but GoDaddy.com is always rewarding you with some great FREEBIES. That's one of the things that I love about GoDaddy.com. So, I decided to use one of my CREDITS and try the online photo album for my Linda Walsh Originals E-Pattern pictures.

Well, I have to tell you that I LOVED IT! It was very professional and just what I was looking for as a supplement for my Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns small business. In fact, I was so happy with it that I set up a second album for my Linda Walsh Originals Handmade Dolls & Crafts pictures. The latter isn't ready for the public yet. It contains so many pictures that will take me awhile to organize it and add all the descriptions. I'll let you know when it's ready.

In the meantime my Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns online photo album is ready for you to see. I was able to set it up as a sub-domain of my domain name so it's URL is so easy to remember. Just go to http://photos.lindawalshoriginals.com/ and VOILA you have my new album.

So, what do I like about it? Well, there are so MANY things it's hard to know where to start.

First and foremost is you can have multiple galleries (i.e. sub-albums) and EACH gallery can have it's own theme (i.e. background). So, if I have pictures concerning Fall dolls I can make that albums theme a Fall one. If I have bridal pictures I can make that backdrop one of their bridal themes. They have 70 different themes to choose from so there is plenty of variety. Plus, you can change the order listing of the galleries to be what you want. Viewers can view the individual galleries and pictures within the galleries can be searched for by name, date, or #.

Each photo can have multiple tags assigned to it and your photo album can be displayed by tags instead of galleries. You can also change the order listing of the tags. Pictures can be searched for by tag name or viewed by tag category.

Each photo can also have its own name and text description. However, no html or script code is allowed in the text description which is a negative.

Within each gallery or tag group viewers can see the pictures as individual thumbnails, as a filmstrip, as a slide show, or as a list. The slide show can run as fast or slow as they want.

You can make your album or EACH gallery public, private, or even assign a password. You can have a mix within your photo album. Some galleries can be public while others are private.

The online photo album also has some picture enhancing capabilities. You can rotate the pictures, adjust the brightness or contrast, remove red eye, crop the image, orient the image as portrait or landscape, or crop it to standard photo sizes. You can also convert .bmp photo's to .jpeg.

You can adjust your gallery thumbnail views from 6 to 12 to 24 to 48 per page. And, you can decide whether you want your album default to be gallery or tag view and the photo's can default to thumbnails, filmstrip, slide show, or list view.

You can also easily move photo's from one gallery to another and the UPLOAD of photo's is a snap. Multiple numbers of photo's can be uploaded quickly and I had no problem upload hundreds of my doll pictures.

Plus, you can create badges to add to your blog or website for each gallery or album. And, viewers can subscribe to the overall album feed or individual gallery feeds.

GoDaddy.com also has a link to their photo store so you can easily buy print copies of your pictures or have them added to tee shirts, etc. What's great about their photo store is all your pictures are already loaded by gallery. You just check the ones you want to select. If you DO NOT want visitors to be able to order prints of your pictures then you MUST remove the check from this box in the site settings tab of your settings.

Personally, I think the default here should be that visitors are not allowed to order prints of your pictures and can only do so if you checked the box. But, that's me. If this is a photo album that you are sharing with your family who are located all over the country or world then you would want them to be able to order prints of the pictures they want.

However, if this photo album is being used to support a small business then you should remove the check from this box. If anyone is going to make money on your pictures it should be you. Now, if GoDaddy.com were offering you a commission from the sale of your pictures that would be another story.

In any event, if you make your album or galleries public remove the check from this box. If you want your family to be able to do order prints then password protect that particular gallery, give them the password, and leave the box checked for that gallery.

GoDaddy.com provides the URL or permalinks for your album, each of your gallery pages, as well as the permalinks for each individual picture so can utilize your pictures URLs elsewhere on the web.

The FREE version allows for 1000.00MB of picture space. The upgrade has a monthly fee and allows for 2.5G of space. However, I always re-size all my pictures for the web anyways so I was able to load hundreds of pictures and only utilized 1.81MB in one album and 31.1MB in the other. So, there's plenty of room for more of my e-patterns, and handmade dolls & crafts pictures.

All in all, GoDaddy.com offers a lot in their FREE online photo filer. A lot of positives. The only negative that I could find so far was the text description can't contain html or script code. That would have been nice.

I almost forgot to tell you. GoDaddy.com's FREE online photo filer is free of advertising (i.e. no GoDaddy.com advertising at the top) which is wonderful. I certainly appreciated that.

I added a link to my new photo album on all my blogs so you can easily view my pictures. It's in a section entitled Linda's Photo Albums which is just after my profile on all my blogs. My e-patterns album is linked there now. When my handmade dolls & crafts picture album is done I'll add a link to that as well.

In any event, I LOVE my new online photo album and, as mentioned, have already started working on my next one. It is a perfect fit for my small business needs. Hats off to you GoDaddy.com.


Posted by Linda Walsh Originals - "Doll Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals Dolls -"Handmade Dolls & Crafts for Grown-up Girls!"
Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Website- Handmade Dolls & Crafts
Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns - "Instant Download E-Patterns for Grown-up Girls!"

"Tips From The Blogging Queen" Column 10 - Do You Have Blogophobia?

Last month in my TFTBQ Column 9 our blog definition was "Blogophobia."

"Blogophobia" is a fear of blogging. So, my question to all of you is "Do You Have Blogophobia?"

I suspect some of you would answer "yes" to that question while others of you have already jumped on the "blogging wagon" and have written hundreds of posts already. If you are the latter you have no doubt found out that "blogging" can be contagious and one blogs begets another blog which begets another.

If you fall into the first group and are afraid of blogging I suspect it's because you are afraid that you have to be a professional writer to blog or you feel you don't have anything to say. I've got some good news for you. The beauty of blogs is that you don't have to be a professional writer to have a terrific blog. You don't have to be an expert on anything to have a terrific blog. And, more importantly, you have more to say about you and your business then you think.

If you are afraid of blogging because you think it's too time-consuming then you need to give it a try and see how quickly you can promote the latest news for your small business, today's sales items, current events and happenings for your business, the latest news for your field, or whatever you want to tell your customer, etc. It's as easy as pie and less time-consuming then traditional advertising methods, newsletters, or flyer's.

If you're still worried about not having anything to write about just think about all there is to know about you, your business, your field of interest, and things you would like your customers to know about your products.

Why would you want to do this? Quite simply - blogs generate exposure for your craft business. They can generate sales. They can tell your customers important things that you want them to know about your small business and are an exceptional advertising vehicle.

But, most importantly, they personalize you to your customer. Through your blog your customers get to know you. Personally, I like to do business with people I know and, I suspect, most people feel the same. Through your blog you become human to your customers. They start to learn about you and, hopefully, start to like you. If they like you then they are more likely to do business with you.

For a small business owner blogs can become crucial to sharing your ideas with your customers. Allowing them to share their ideas easily with you. Allowing them to comment on your ideas or articles directly on your blog. In essence, you're providing a forum for the exchange of ideas - yours and theirs.

So, do you need to be a professional writer? The answer is a resounding "no." Think about what you love and then write down what you're thinking. Or, think about your business and your products and write down what you want your customers to know. Or, provide your customers with a little research on your particular kind of products and their respective history. Give your customers some ideas and suggestions as to the best uses of your products. The possibilities are unlimited as to what you can write about especially when you are writing about your passion.

Just remember - there are no blog rules. There are no blog police. Your blog is just that. It's your blog. It can be whatever you want it to be whether it's about you or your small business. There are no right ways and wrong ways in the blogging community and you don't have to be a professional writer. In fact, the real charm of blogs is that they are so "personal" and so "human."

So, if you're afraid of blogging you shouldn't be. It's time to get over your "blogophobia", get your feet wet and join the "blogging" community.

"Tips From the Blogging Queen" Column 10 Definition -

"Blogiday" - Getting fed up with your blog and taking a holiday from blogging.

Be sure to tune in to my TFTBQ Column 11 on "Do You Need a Blogiday?"

Copyright © 2007 - All Rights Reserved - Written by Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals, Linda Walsh Originals E-Patterns, Linda Walsh Originals DOLLS NEW Handmade Dolls & Crafts Website, Linda Walsh Originals Dolls and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer. http://lindawalshoriginals.com/

We've Slashed Our Advertising Prices For Hot Fun In The Summertime!

It's Hot Fun In The Summertime and we've slashed our Linda Walsh Originals button banner and product picture advertising prices. Now you can get twice the exposure for, basically, half the cost. That's right! Twice the exposure for half the price.

We offer advertising on the following websites:


The Dollie & Crafts Plugboard
Crafting For All Plugboard
I Love Crafts and Craft Blogs
The Best FREE Craft Articles
Testing The Blogs Series and Helpful Blog Tips