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Great Photo Resources to Support Readers

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When it comes to dressing up a blog visually, great photos go a long toward class and style–if they are well-chosen and well placed to support your message. Photos can draw in an undecided reader and can communicate a message faster and more deeply than words. In that way they can be underscore what you are trying to say, making it more powerful and give it more emotion.

The advantages of using photos with readers have been researched by educators.

  • Photos involve the reader more interactively. Therefore your message gets “heard” more deeply.
  • Visual learners are drawn in by photos. They find the information in instructional photos more easily accessible. They pick up the information there first and process it, then the words on the page make more sense to them.
  • Decorative photos make an article more appealing and inviting. Blocks of text don’t seem intimidating to readers when illustrated by photos.

Well-placed photos also can take an unremarkable template and “kick it up a notch,” giving it the feel of a more sophisticated design. If you have no experience, do give it a try, but read up on design basics before you begin. Add photos slowly and be careful not to have them overwhelm the text in size. Then ask a customer-reader or designer friend to give you feedback on your choices until you feel confident.

Experienced or not, you’re going to need to get some photos–not everyone is a photographer with a great library to pull from. Here are some resources on basic design, places to find free and inexpensive stock photos, and photoshop tutorials.

The first is
Photoshop Tutorials Blog, and not just the blog, but the page with the listing that shows where you might find some smashing images to spice up your blog posts. To access the listing, click this logo

You’ll find a few more if you visit Presentation Zen and get Garr’s tips on using stock photos.

Presentation Zen Where Can You Find Good Images?

If you’re up for taking your own photos, you might check out this series from Kodak on The Top 10 Tips for Taking Pictures.

Photos are an integral part of any design and add to the “curb appeal” of a any blog or online business. How might you use photos to strengthen your brand, your blog, your business?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Turning Reluctant Readers into Loyal Fans
Blog Promotion: Checking Out Curb Appeal

Stand-Alone Trackback Tool from WhizbangTech

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Good news for bloggers who work on platforms that don’t perform trackbacks to other blogs. Rather than hacking your template to do things it wasn’t meant to do WhizbangTech has a stand-alone trackback tool.

Trackbacks are a great way of building visibility for yourself, your business, and your blog. When you read a post on another blog and realize you’ve posted on the same subject, a trackback offers a chance to say, “Hey, I’ve had a few insights into that topic myself.” Without trackbacks, you’re missing out on another way to promote your business and your blog.

If your platform doesn’t offer trackbacks, bookmark this site and pull it out whenever you need to let that expert you read daily know you’ve written something that ties into the current conversation. If you do it with thought and not too liberally, you’ll find some folks will follow your trackbacks home to see what else you have to say.

To get the WhizbangTech Stand-Alone Trackback Tool, click the logo below.

Now you can let people know you were paying attention to what they said and add to the conversation too.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Blog Basics 1: Comments and Comment Policies
A Little More about Trackbacks
Blog Promotion Basics [for Everyone]

Welcome to ePublishingDaily.com

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ePublishing Welcome 90

You’ll notice right away when you visit Martin Neumann’s ePublishingDaily that this is not like other blogs that you’ve been to before. First of all, he’s got a Welcome Mat at the door–a Welcome Mat that says ePublishingDaily is there to help entrepreneurs create quality eBooks–and that’s not a Welcome Mat that’s meant to be walked on, or taken lightly. This is an enterprise and an endeavor that’s going places.

Martin’s serious about those words and these:

The idea behind ePublishingDaily.com is that I believe there has never been a stronger demand for quality information. It’s been proven that people are willing to pay top-dollar for e-Products (especially eBooks) that give them what they want: clear, concise and affordable information on niche topics.

My ideal reader (but I’m happy with any and all readers) is the serious entrepreneurial blogger looking to make their blogging profitable by developing e-Products for sale.

To you, welcome to ePublishingDaily.com – a news and information blog that will keep you up-to-date on the information products industry. A mix between news and commentary, I’ll be endeavouring to provide you the best resources available on the Internet …

The Internet needs quality eBooks from a real journalist.
Good Luck, Martin! You’re just the guy to do it.

If you want to know what’s going on in the world of ePublishing, this is the newsite to bookmark, the industry watcher to keep an eye on.

Click the logo to pay him a visit.

www.ePublishingDaily.com Logo

When will your next eBook be coming out?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Google Measure Map Tracks Readers

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Guest Reviewer: John Hamman

John Hamman, at the Ladder Project, has a fine review of Google’s newest purchase, Measure Map. Measure Map is a focused, real-time stats program for blogs that measures visitors and links, comments, and posts. Click the screenshot to get to John’s thorough and timely review.

Measure Map’s Features Look Attractive

This screenshot takes you to the Google blog discussion of Measure Map.

It’s good business to ask questions about our readers. Will Measure Map have the answers?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Check Google Backlinks Through Yahoo
Google Homepage–Got Yours Yet?
Google Zeitgeist–Will Make ME Millions
Speaking of Zeitgeist–Don’t Leave Trends

Fun Find: Button Generator.com

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I was looking at some sites around the Internet that had unique and personal buttons for their blogs last night. That seemed like a fun thing to do. Fun is something there just isn’t enough of in my life during the gray Chicago winter months. So I went hunting for a button maker. I figured it was one more way I might brand my personal blog.

Boyhowdy! Did I find one! What kind of button would you like? Will you be having a menu to go with that?

FUN Find: Button Generator.com
Type of Site: Webmasters’ resource for creating buttons and menus
Target Audience: Anyone who wants a one-of-a-kind button
Content: This site has an easy and a pro generator. It has a huge variety of free choices for making buttons and menus and provides member services. The free choices are extensive and quite elegant. In fact, I found myself enjoying the experience of making choices a relaxing change from a stressful day. (But that could just me be. We know I have that weird side.)

Before you enter there are two things you should be aware of:

All buttons also come with their own code. We’re talking Super-Buttons. You can use hex charts to change every color. If you use the advanced format you can change every layer of color. You could be here all day. You could be here until next Friday morning!

buttongenerator_com

There are 11 pages of sample buttons. This is just one of them. The menu generator designs menus that match the buttons. How cool is that?

I can’t believe you won’t be able to find something that perfectly expresses you and your blog’s design. In fact, the bigger worry is that this site could very well get you into a button collecting mood. You might even start a button-trading club. Then you’ll have to join Button Generators Anonymous. Please use this information with caution. This site really is addictive. I might just have to become a member so that I can play with the button generator everyday now and forever.

C’mon. You know, you wanna.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

More Fun:
Internet Dictionary and Slang Translator
A Message for Everyone
Top 10 Ways to Become a Miserable Blogger
65th Crayon Finds that Google Doesn’t Use Search