Feature Article: Advertising Services for your blog

It's that time of the month again. This month, I've written an article over at at Adori Graphics about the some of the options you have as a blogger to advertise your blog.

As you know, there are many ways to advertise on blogs these days. I want to give a brief overview of the options available. You might want to get comfortable. :)

Many times, people use technical terms to talk about advertising, but I’m going to keep it simple. The first option (and probably the most well known) is AdSense. It doesn’t cost anything to sign up, which is always a good thing. As I was researching, I found out you can customize the look of the ads so they fit in with your blog. This link provides a great summary of what to expect if you choose AdSense.

To read more about the various advertising options available, visit Adori Graphics for my complete article!

Feature Article: Writing for an Audience

I've been waiting to announce something. I am now one of the five feature writers for Adori Graphics! I'll be writing articles on all things related to blogging, which is so me. As you all know, I love to write so this just allows me combine my love of writing with helping others. That's what communication is all about, so the things I've learned in class will definitely be put to good use.

Here's a little snippet of my first article which is about writing for an audience: Writing for readers versus in your private journal are two very different things. I'm going to give you some tips to keep in mind...

Join me today at Adori Graphics for the rest of the article!

Not your Ordinary Giveaway

I don't usually post on Sunday, but this is an exception. My friend Louise, from Louise Franks Designs is having a giveaway. She's giving away a favicon. A favicon is one of those super cool totally custom little buttons that you see in the address bar beside people's URL. It's a way to make your blog stand out in the sea of favorites, browser tab, and address(aka browser) bar. Usually you just see Blogger's logo, but not if you won this.

So, how do you enter?

To enter:

1. Please check her giveaway terms and conditions
2. Make sure that you are a follower of her blog
3. Tell her what you'd like for your favicon
4. If you choose to enter some additional entries, please leave each entry in a separate comment
5. Giveaway closes at 8am GMT on 27th December. Prize will be made in the new year
Please make sure your email address is visible on your profile or leave it in a comment

For additional entries:

1. Follow her on Twitter - my link is in the sidebar. Leave your Twitter username in a comment.
2. Tweet about her giveaway. Leave your tweet link in a comment
3. Blog about her giveaway. Leave your blog post URL in a comment.
4. Put her Countdown to Christmas link in your sidebar. Leave your blog URL in a comment
5. Put her regular link button in your sidebar. Leave your blog URL in a comment.
6. Follow her shop
7. Suggest a theme (or more) in which you'd like her to produce a digital scrapbooking kit or pre-made template. Leave your suggestion in a separate comment

New Look

How do you like my new look? I love it. For those who don't have bigger screens, click here to see a better picture of the whole layout.

Louise at Louise Franks Designs (formerly Adori Graphics)is responsible for this awesome look. She is one in a million. She does blog makeovers for free.(Right now she's doing all of them for free because of the economy) Due to some changes, she's charging for some things, but she's still the best deal around, in my opinion, for blog design(this includes buttons, headers, and everything in between). She also does free makeovers for anyone struggling with a long term illness, has lost a child, or someone who uses blogging as a way to deal with their grief. Her philosophy is that if you have a fabulous blog, you'll be motivated to blog more.

The best part about it is that this look is completely custom to me. No premade template here, baby. Louise was so easy to work with; she answered all of my questions until we achieved the look that I wanted. I feel like this blog represents me, and everything flows so much better. My new URL also makes much more sense. When I first started blogging, no one had catchy blog names--they were just basic. I don't have to say "I like writing" in order for you to know what this blog is about. You can just tell. I'm finally happy with my blog.

Header image credit goes to NG71. Norm, thanks for letting me use your beautiful photograph in my header.