Can I Have Some Space Please?
Wowzeeeee…my head is spinning! I just finished watching all the videos that are included in this weeks “Learn With Sally” lesson. This week included a lot of busy work…basically laying the foundations for all the social media networks that are a must in today’s blogging world.
It’s all about getting that all important traffic and using the appropriate tools to do that…and no one that I know is better than using those social tools for traffic than Sally.
And, if I must admit it…driving traffic to my site is a weakness of mine and something I am paying close attention to.
Sally’s videos are wonderful. Easy to watch…never too long, and always include the details. I have found so many times in the past that I’ll start watching an instructional video only to get to a spot where the “guru” left out an all important detail…that he didn’t think important but to a newbie or someone learning the new operation, that little detail is the key to getting the whole process done and without it you remain stuck.
I have not run into that problem yet with any of Sally’s videos.
We covered Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google + of course. Not only did Sally walk us through all the sign up details but provided us with some excellent plug-ins that help with traffic through these sites. Sally calls this our “traffic circle.”
If you want to read more about each application, Ian Ieba has covered it quite nicely in his blog post so there’s no reason for me to repeat it: Learn With Sally…Building Solid Foundations.
We also learned about a simple little application called WiseStamp that you can use with Chrome, Firefox or Safari. This little application takes your ordinary email and turns it into a traffic generator by leaving a stamp at the bottom of your mail with access to your different social sites, blogs and websites.
To read more about this exciting app, check out this blog post by Dawn Kay…”Freebie Traffic Generator You Can Set and Forget.” You’ll find everything you need to set one up for yourself as well as a few examples.
And, to liven things up a bit, Sally has created a “traffic competition” from August 11 through August 31st. The person who provides their Google Analytics page with the greatest increase in free traffic…is the winner of a brand new Kodak Video Camera…and, boy would I love to win that!
If I had to put money on someone right now…I would give Barry the prize 😉 But there is a long way to go yet…and who knows…we could all be surprised by the winner!
Speaking of Barry…he turned his most recent blog post into a challenge of sorts. Check out his newest blog post: “I am Showing You Mine but Will You Show Me Yours?” Barry is challenging us to make a video. Any type of educational video will do. And, for those who help get the word out…the top ten traffic generators…will get a link in Barry’s next video on the 30th.
As you can see, Sally has some very active students in her class 😉
So, to honor Sally and her video modules coming up and to honor Barry and his challenge I am going to make a video showing a couple of tips that I use over and over on my blog and I think will help others. Some may think them too simple but often times, it’s the simple things that trip us up.
So, as you can see, I am still a bit rough around the edges 😉 And, a few times I forgot to tell you which side of the mouse you were clicking, the right or left ;(
At any rate, I am taking action…even though I feel a bit awkward doing it…it is the only way I am ever going to get comfortable with video.
In fact, I would say the whole exercise of blogging is about taking action. Nearly everything I’ve learned on my blog is from experimenting and watching other people’s videos to learn how to manipulate my own blog, widgets and plug-ins.
Which brings me to the last person I would like to congratulate for taking action and joining Sally’s blogging course. Sarah Knight is a new blogger and look what she has accomplished in just a couple of weeks. She has a brand new blog up and is already receiving comments and tweets and it seems has the appropriate plug-ins placed too. Way to go Sarah!!
So, it’s onto module 3 tomorrow. 😉
I’ll be leaving on a much needed vacation to Colorado and the mountains. on Saturday and won’t be back until the 31st of the month. Although I live in Florida…and I do love the warm climate…I love the mountains more than anything and find that I have to retreat there every once in a while for R & R 😉 I will be trying to keep up as best as possible…except for the 4 days when we are actually camping. 😉 I’ll be thinking about you guys though!
Till the next installment….
enJOY every moment,
p.s.
If you haven’t already seen Nikki Steven’s blog makeover take a look at what some creative action will do for your blog header 😉
She has a great post about the transformation…“Check out my brand spanking newly revamped blog”
Filed under: General • Internet Marketing
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Hi Kathy
Or should I say the video and html wizz (lol)
Omg I didn’t know you could add whitespace around your images like that so I will definitely be going through all mine and updating them.
Looks sooooooooooooo much nicer the way you’ve done it so thanks for the tip.
It’s a really good video you’ve done for Barry’s competition Kathy that will be very helpful for a lot of people so well done you…..
And thanks for the shout out in your post aswell because that was very good of you.
Have a fab time away and I’ll catch up with you when you come back.
Take care
Dawn
Hi Dawn,
I am glad you like that tip 😉
I use it every time I place a blog post. It was funny I was actually wondering how people left those margins when someone actually bothered to write me an email and told me how to do it!
I thought that was very kind of them 😉
Anyway as good bloggers do…it’s information that needs to be passed on 😉
Making videos is lots of fun…I just need to get a little better at it…
Practice makes perfect and I am glad Barry ran a challenge to get me going again 😉
Kathy
Hi Kathy, wow what a post.
Thank you for the mention and for linking to my challenge post.
Your video is excellent Kathy, 3 lessons that will help every blogger online. I was really impressed by all 3 lessons Kathy, I never knew we could add white space and often waste time trying to edit my wording around the images. Not anymore, thank you Kathy.
Nor did I know the trick about using WP for html coding to add images. I normally use my html editer program for this.
Kathy, your video is great and is exactly the kind of video I was hoping for. You’ve done a fantastic job with not 1 but 3 lessons, I take my hat off to you Kathy and look forward to you making more videos.
Have a great holiday/vacation
Respect and Regards, Barry
Thanks for all those kind words Barry but the thanks really goes to you for getting me motivated into creating another video.
I really love making them and I know with lots of practice they will just get better and better! Now, if I could only figure out why I cannot get that
video frame centered…it just won’t move!
You’ve helped me so much Barry I almost feel as though I have a bit of an IM GodMother (in your case…GodFather 😉 across the big pond looking
after me.
Thanks Barry…
Kathy
Hi Kathy, what do you mean ‘rough around the edges’?
That video was superb! You sounded very professional and the content was very interesting. I didn’t know about the white space either.
I look forward to more videos from you. I am off to do some now 🙂
All the best,
David
Hi David…
Oh…you are too kind 😉 But it’s those type words that keep me inspired to do more…
I am looking forward to yours too David 😉
Wish I had one of those “cute” accents all you guys have across the pond 😉
Kathy
Your accent is really cool though.
Don’t worry about it!
I’m on take 4 of my video. Can’t seem to get it just right.
Oh well, on to take 5
David
Fabulous Kathy – I could kiss YA!
This is a kick ass blog post.
In fact… it’s one of the best blog posts I have seen in a long long longgggggggggg time.
Shout out sharing galore!
Video tutorial that packs 3 big punches with super duper tips!
And just look at those two images for the visual people amongst us, breaking up your post perfectly!
I am so so so happy Kathy, your blogging has jumped up to a whole other level!
I am actually truly lost for words.
Congratulations, you are a blogging superstar for sure.
Sally x
Hi Sally…thanks bunches. You opinion means so much to me 😉
It was a fun post to write and a fun video to make. I am trying to not spend too much time on each video because I have a tendency to be a perfectionist and boy that can take too much time!
I am determined to achieve the kind of success you have done Sally 😉
Kathy
Hi Kathy
Brilliant post, loved it 🙂
Thank you so much for mentioning and linking to my post Kathy.
The video was superb, if I can get mine to anywhere near half that good I will be pleased; I will be giving it my best shot with my new Camtasia software! Thank you again Kathy 🙂
I have already put into practice one of your tips in the video, I have now put a “white space” round my images on the last post, what a time saver and will definitely be using it in the future.
Have a great vacation Kathy
Take care, catch up soon
Ian 🙂
Hi Ian…
Thanks so much! Lots of fun to make the video and I can see some improvement already 😉
It truly is the only way to teach…at least the most effective and something I must conquer…we must conquer…and, there is no time like now 😉
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
I use the advanced feature. I actually set mine to 10px plus I do a white border in the border text.
I agree with you and seeing the images really tight fitting to the text, it is actually quite hard to read.
Great video!
Before you know it you will be a pro!
I actually created my first video training blog post today and uploaded it. I had created a camtasia before but not for the public to see.
Talk about kicking butt! hahahhahhaha
I hope all is going well.
See you back here soon. 😎
Cheers
Jacinta 😀
Hi Jacinta…
I just came from your blog and your video is awesome girl! Can’t believe you didn’t edit this! Wow you truly are a natural 😉
Can’t wait to see more…and thanks for the visit!
Using a white border is a great idea as well!
Kathy
Hey Kathy, loved the video and you did a great job considering it was your first one.
As for Camtasia, I got the MAC version and I love it. It is so easy to use as well as being a pretty powerful editing tool.
I must admit that there are times when I don’t leave a space around my images, just slack I reckon, so I’ll have to keep an eye on that as I don’t want to appear unprofessional 😉
Hi…and thanks for stopping by 😉 I understand the Mac version is good too ;)…
I know what you mean about getting “comfortable” …small things sometimes don’t seem important but in reality can make a big difference!
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Great job on the post and the video. You’re a natural young lady. You look like you’ve been doing this for years.
I’m sure everyone appreciates your tips. I agree with Jacinta, I always use 10 for my settings. I like plenty of space although that’s still really not a whole lot.
Great job and I’m so impressed. Can’t wait to see what you’ll be sharing in the future.
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne…
You are so kind…thank you 😉 I think I may start using 10 for my margins too. The person that actually left me that tip said to use 5…which I did for a while…then I finally got brave enough to make it bigger 😉
Hope to see you here again soon. I know I’ll be visiting your blog. You have excellent material there 😉
Kathy
Hey Kathy…
Loved the video…question is this really your first video, I’m honestly impressed…I tend to get some kind of brain freeze…get the words said but kind of not the way I sometimes want to!
Seriously you must create some kind of video tutorial course created…and from what I can gather as far your expertise in outsourcing that would be the way to go…I watched the video and really you sound so professional…I’m smiling as I just typed that because you have a natural calmness in your voice…
which makes you so easy to understand as you flow through your words and direction…very good!
Tell me also Kathy what player is that you used for your video, I always have to upload to You Tube to get the embed code?
Anyway hope alls well in Florida take care….Ed.
Wow Ed…it’s great to see you again….:)
And, if truth be known…that was actually my second video. The first was made a couple of weeks ago when I ran a contest.
I definitely think I have promise…just have to keep working at it. I don’t have a cute accent like you guys do over there so I’ll have to make up for it other places.
At least I know it is calming 😉
I must get over to visit your blog again. I have missed your humor…;) I always come away from you blog with a smile on my face 😉
Kathy
You’re kidding…I watched yours and Jacinta’s video and thought I wish my accent sounded as professional as that….honestly in my videos I tend to get brain freeze because I try to hard to get the message in my head out to my readers and viewers…I actually get a buzz out of thinking I have just taught someboby a very valuable lession that they can take and run with towards *success*!
As for the visit…they are very far and few between but thats just because I don’t tend to blog hop at all, I just concentrate my time and efforts on creating blog posts and traffic generation!
Will have a Facebook page created soon so keep your eyes peeled for that?
Anyway medication is wearing off now must get back in my cardboard box now for a rest hope you’re all well over in Florida later Kathy….ED.
Hi Ed…funny as ever 😉 😉
You really should blog hop more often as you would bring a smile to so many faces with your humor.
Thanks for the kind words Ed…it’s so nice to connect again…it’s been a while 😉
Curious…how do you drive traffic?
Kathy
Hey Kathy,
Good to know how great it is.
Are you ready to embark on my new adventure?
I’ve seen a lot of bloggers going with Sally’s lessons, i guess i should have taken them too.
Those social networks are nothing compared to what other people use, i’ve seen bloggers with 6-7 social networks, with no idea how to actually make time for all of them.
The number of social networks is virtually unlimited, but what’s the point in using more than 3-4 which are really the big guys and get over 90% of the market? Waste of time, my opinion.
I’d probably have to agree with you. I barely have time to keep up with Twitter, Facebook and now Google +. Those three are plenty for me!
Kathy
Hi Kathy, Good post. I confine my self to a few social networks and also plan out my work very clearly to avoid stress and burn out.
Hi Kathy,
Great post and video. Super little tips for improving frame area around your images. I have a ‘dummy draft post’ where I do exactly what you’ve demonstrated there to get the codes for widgets.
Thanks Kathy for sharing.
Take Care
Julie
Hey Kathy
Hope you are well.
A really excellent video..a natural talent I would say 🙂
Wonderful quick tips and I will be putting to good use, funny enough I had come across the issue with images when I first started out and this is a great tip 🙂
The Html codes for the side bars is a neat little trick as well, will be using that more often as well.
I can see that Sally is doing really well with her course and everybody seems to be having a lot of fun 🙂
I think when we meet people and interact we always learn something and knowledge is passed on.
I remember when I first started out I was e-mailing people and asking how they did this one thing on their site etc
You probably remember getting a few from me as well 🙂
I really appreciated the time you took to reply and the tips as well 🙂
However not been around much recently still having problems with my injury, so just doing what I can at the moment.
Barry Wells has kindly done a guest post for me titled “Why I think People Fail Online and How To Avoid It Yourself”
A great read and well worth checking out.
Best Regards
Zahid
Hi Zahid…actually I do remember getting an email from you asking for help on something. I think that is a great idea and more people should do it 😉
At any rate…thanks for the kind comment.
I hope you are doing better…it sounds like you are…Barry helps everyone out…I must go check his post on your blog…
Kathy
Kathy:
I just came over from Barry Wells blog to check out your video. You did a great job on the video.
It was very informative and you were very relaxed with the explanations.
Take care!
– Rick
Thanks Rick for your kind words. Practice makes perfect and I’ll be doing lots of that 😉
Kathy
A very professional video, Kathy!
If I didn’t know otherwise I’d assume you’ve been making videos for years!
Thanks for the tips too!
Stuart
Hi Stuart…nice to see you here. Thanks for the kudos…at any rate…lots more practice for me but at least I have started 😉
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
This was a very down to earth and informative video that was a pleasure
to watch.
I am just about to start my my own blog and your
little video has given me the answers
to the few things I needed to know before plucking up the courage to
actully start my own blog – thanks!
My biggest fear is – what the heck do I say to people ?? … and I’m a
very private person who likes to keep
to myself – so pasting myself all over the net is a big challenge for
me!
Thanks for thr great tips – keep them coming – you are a natural
teacher and the vids are great to watch!
regards
xxxxcarlxxxx
Wow Carl…those were such kind words. You made my day. I do hope to someday be teaching…I love sharing what I’ve learned as I started out hardly knowing how to create a folder on my computer 😉
Kathy
Kathy a very big thankyou, for this super dooper post….you learn something new everyday with people like you on the net. This is a great tip thanx again. Great Video I might add, very proffessional.
Hope to see you again back at my Blog,I will be a regular here with tips like this one!!!. Hope you had a super break…look forward to having you back…!!
Sarah..
Hi Sarah…Thanks for the kind comment. I truly love making videos and helping people blogging…hopefully this will pan out and someday I can make a living at it like Sally does. I must tell you that I am fascinated with the part of the world you live in. I do hope you reveal more of yourself and your life in Africa…I am so curious!
Kathy
Hi Kathy, excellent tutorials. I do use white space around images and I too have been frustrated seeing other bloggers who leave the text rubbing up against the image! I actually use the caption box to create my white space, I just pop a few spaces in it and it creates a box around the image. Your way is much more uniform though, I get a bigger space at the bottom than at the side. Thanks so much for sharing that!
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
Hi Mandy…We’ve both come so far haven’t we? Anyway…thanks for your tip…I hadn’t thought of doing it that way. Someone actually did leave me a comment on my blog explaining to me how to do it… that’s where I learned 😉
Kathy
We do learn so much from comments, don’t we!
Enjoy the journey.
Mandy
mandy@LearnToBlog´s last blog post ..My First Video Post
Hey Kathy,
You have an awesome accent! 😀
Congratulations fellow video challenge participant! I really enjoyed watching your video and definately agree that borders around images help beyond belief.
You want to keep readers on the page and readability is a big thing here. It makes it pleasing to the eye and also helps emphasise the picture… and pictures can tell a 1000 words as they say.
I particularly liked the little HTML lesson. I don’t know ANY HTML (until now) and can see that there are some relatively simple ways to make quick changes so thank you!
I really think you should do more about wigdets and HTML. I’d love to see some more!
Nick
Hi Nick…
Geez…I never think of myself as having an accent. I feel like everyone else has the great accent…especially those of you in England, Scotland and Australia…I love that accent 😉
At any rate…I am so glad you learned something. I was hesitant to put it up as I thought…everyone probably knows this already…but I am glad I did as I have gotten great feedback and really it is the simple things that most of us need the most help on.
Kathy
This is a great resource of information, really like it! About the whitespace of the images, I like it that the image can breathe from content. Good read and great video!
Hi Sanjoy…Thanks for your kind comment. One other thing I’ve copied from Sally is to leave plenty of white space around my blog posts…it makes it so much easier on the eyes.
Kathy
I see more and more bloggers who go with Google+ forgeting about the Facebook and i wonder if i must go with the crowd or is better to remain on facebook? In this moment i just use twitter and facebook and is very hard to keep updated this two accounts.
I absolutely agree about finding time to keep up with all these important social sites.
On top of the ones you just mentioned, LinkedIn is on the list now too!
Kathy
Hey Kathy,
So you have been away too! Lets hope people don’t start talking and think we have been away together!!
Nice little cool trick you gave us here. I knew about the image tip but the html in the widgets makes it look far more pro!
So thanks!!
Craig
Craig Sowerby´s last blog post ..One Of My Best List Building Techniques!
Kathy,
Great Video!!!!
It was so easy to follow what you are demonstrating.
I love watching good videos in order to learn new things as it is easier for me to see it and then do it.
Thank you for a great lesson.
Dee Ann Rice
Dee Ann Rice@Online Marketing And Blogging Basics´s last blog post ..How To Upload A Video To A Blog Post
Hi Kathy,
First time on your site. Came over from Barry’s site… I also took him up on his challenge (although I have been doing videos for some time 😉 ).
You definitely have a talent for video. Keep up the good work!
Michele Welch´s last blog post ..Scaling Your Business By Including Multiple Streams Of Income
Hey Kathy,
Great video, thanks. Barry noticed that my images were a bit cluttered and referred me to your video. It is really simple to fix as you pointed out, but I just had never figured it out.
Thanks for sharing,
~Jeremy
Jeremy Ruggles @ list building´s last blog post ..My First JV Giveaway- Already Building My List After In The First 24 Hours
Hi Jeremy…you are welcome and a thank you to Barry for sending you over.
It’s one of those simple things that so many don’t know and yet it makes such a difference in the way our blogs appear.
I need to get busy and get my next video done for his challenge!
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
How are you doing??? It’s been too long! I dropped on over from some tremendous advice from our friend, Barry Wells!
He saw my latest blog post & saw that my image was to crammed in to the post. There wasn’t enough white space around the picture,
So, I confess, I looked like one of those blogging amateurs you spoke about in your video.
After watching your video, I’ve since corrected the problem No more amateurish blog posts for me, thanks to you!
Thanks so much for the great post. Like Sally Neill is correct, you are a blogging superstar!
George
George Nieves´s last blog post ..A Zen Moment: Clearing Your Mind and Finding Focus
Hi George…
Wow, it’s great to see you here 😉
As you can probably figure out I am in the middle of a blog redo.
This whole design will change sometime soon but it’s great to get Kathy Dobson
going again.
I have missed this blog sorely!
Hope you are doing well yourself and I will drop in to see you soon 😉
Kathy