Mom Central Blogger University

How to get more inbound links to your blog: blog carnivals

To rise in page rank and get more search engine traffic to your blog, you need more inbound links (links from other blogs and websites to your blog and posts). So how do you know how many inbound links you have?

The easiest way is by going to Google.com and entering link: www.yourblog.com and seeing what the results are.

You should also try link: yourblog.com as well as  the URL of some of your more popular posts just to see who is linking to you.

You can also do this using Google Webmaster Tools. Here’s how.

How to increase inbound links

One way to increase your inbound links is by guest blogging, but that requires a lot of work. First you have to find someone interested in hosting your post, then you have to write it. (Chris Garrett's Guest Posting Workbook can help you streamline this process.)

You can also bookmark your posts at sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Facebook or StumbleUpon. Some of these sites use nofollow links (they don’t pass on “Google Juice”). To find out if a site uses nofollow links, use a Firefox tool extension like SearchStatus. It will highlight all the nofollow links on a web page.

A quick and easy way to get inbound links is by participating in blog carnivals. A few years back, blog carnivals were very popular. It seemed that at least once a week, a favorite blogger was hosting them on her site. When that was the case, it got kind of boring. After all, who wanted to read link roundup posts that much? Well, maybe it’s time to buck the trend!

How to copyright your blog

We’re 20 days into the new year. Have you changed the copyright date on your blog yet? (I just did it yesterday on both my personal blogs and the blogs here at Mom Central. Oops.)

According to Brad Templeton in his post, 10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained, “almost all things [including blogs] are copyrighted the moment they are written, and no copyright notice is required.” Still, it looks more professional if have a copyright notice somewhere on your blog – either in the sidebar and/or on your about page.

You should also license you blog with Creative Commons and display the badge in your sidebar. While licensing your blog with Creative Commons does not give you the same protection as registering your copyright, it acts in addition of your existing copyright. (See the Creative Commons FAQ page for more information.)  Also, if you use Feedburner, make sure to display the Creative Commons badge in your RSS feed. (Go to How to set up your Feedburner account to learn how.)

Filing a copyright

If you are concerned about someone stealing your work (for example, if you’re trying to get a book or movie deal based on your blog) you should consider registering the copyright for all your blog’s content. 

According to Denise Wakeman at Biz Tips Blog, “Blogs are considered literary texts and can be registered as such. But, what about the fact you're adding new content all the time?  You can register new content every three months to protect it.”

The U.S. Copyright Office is your best resource to learn how to do this. They offer information on What Does Copyright Protect? (website, domain name and recipe), Copyright Registration for Online Works (PDF) and Copyrighting Recipes (PDF).

Online filings with the U.S. Copyright Office are only $35 per filing and you can pay by credit or debit card or electronic check. Most online filers receive a certificate within nine months, and many receive their certificates earlier.

Before using the service, the Copyright Office recommends you first read eCO Acceptable File Types, eCO Tips, eCO FAQs, or eCO Tutorial (PowerPoint) eCO Tutorial (PDF). For recently added features, see eCO Updates.

More resources

• License your work at Creative Commons
• Bloggers' FAQ on Intellectual Property – Questions about Copyright from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
• What to do when someone steals your content? from Lorelle on Wordpress
• Live blogging of the Blogher07: Business of You: Professional Blogging: Art and Commerce session from the Write Spot, LLC
• 10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained and Introduction to Copyrights from Brad Templeton
• Copyright Crash Course
• More on Recipe Copyrights from Food Blog S’cool
• Copyright and Blogs - 14 Guidelines and Keeping it Legal from Problogger

My whirlwind social media tour: lessons learned so far

I’m off to BlogWorld Expo in Vegas this week after having recently attended BlogHer Food, IZEAFest and Kashi’s Mom Blogger Event as part of my “5 trips in 35 Days” whirlwind social media tour. (My tour ends in November at the FoodBuzz Blogger Festival.)

Call it serendipity, but the same themes kept popping everywhere I went:

• Be helpful. Share your knowledge with others and offer to help when you can. By this I don’t mean give it all away for free. Instead, help friends, become a mentor to newer bloggers, and volunteer for causes and organizations you believe in. Check out The Power of Giving: How Giving Back Enriches Us All by Azim Jamal and Harvey McKinnon. Mr. Jamal was at IZEAFest interviewing bloggers on how they give back.
• Grow your community by helping your community. Blogging isn’t about you, but what you can do for others. When the time comes that you need help, your community will be there for you.
• Work on your personal brand. (See Clean up your online presence and brand for some ideas.)

Don't get hacked! How to prevent WordPress blog hijackings

Recently I received an email about one of my fellow foodies about her site getting hacked by a blog terrorist. He has tried to blackmail her insisting that she let him host her site and keep his Adsense banners up. At one point, he completely took down her site, too, because she was trying to keep him out. Luckily, she had all her posts backed up and was able to restore her blog when he did that. 

So, even though her web hosting technicians are working on it, her Mac laptop was checked, and they’ve changed passwords several times, he’s been able to get into a security hole in the server where her WordPress blog is being hosted and they can’t figure out how to stop him.

The food community has tried to help out by offering advice such as file a police report. Yes, really. After all what is being done to her is illegal, especially the blackmail part. She has a WordPress expert friend who’s been trying to help out, too.

And since he’s posting Adsense banners on her site, she’s reported the situation to Google. (Though good luck trying to get any customer service out of them. She still hasn’t heard back yet after several days.)

Say it better with pictures part 2: using images correctly

Now that you know where to get pictures (see Say it better with pictures: sourcing images), there are a few considerations on using images on your blog. 

Copyright

Photos taken by or artwork produced by someone else is protected under US copyright law. You need to ask permission (via email is fine) to use their photograph or illustration. It is a no-no to post the photo first (even with attribution and a link), then ask permission later. If you're using an image without permission, the copyright owner has every right to ask you to take the picture down.

For more information on copyright, see my post What every blogger should know about copyright protection for photos and content where I ask for advice from Denise Howell of Lawgarithms, Between Lawyers, and Bag and Baggage, and Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes.

Properly attribute

Include the name of the photographer or illustrator (if possible) and their blog or website name. (Or when you’re asking permission to use someone else stuff, ask them how they’d like it attributed.) Make sure to link the attribution to the person’s blog or website. If possible, place the attribution close to the image. Depending on the layout of your post, this could prove challenging, so include it at the bottom of your post instead.

Say it better with pictures: sourcing images

Notice how a magazine or newspaper article is usually accompanied by a picture? Well, you should be doing the same thing on your blog.

The eye is naturally drawn to images. Using a photograph or illustration in a post looks more professional, and gives the eye a break from reading blocks of copy. Since most people scan online content, you’ll improve readership by breaking up your written content with images.

So where can you get pictures and how do you use them properly? Part 1 of this series will cover sourcing images. Part 2 will cover how to use them properly – both from a design and a legal standpoint.

Search me? 10 reasons why you should use a Lijit search box on your blog

Aside from creating captivating content, you need to encourage your visitors to spend more time on your site. One way to do this is by adding a search box on your blog so they can look up other topics you may have posted about.

There are a zillion search widgets out there, so why use Lijit’s ?

1. A Lijit search widget captures ALL the content you create online from your blog to your Facebook page to what you’ve been stumbling, digging and tweeting. You’re constantly creating your own little publishing empire of content and Lijit helps your readers find and search it.

2. Lijit gives you detailed statistics who’s searching what so you can better understand your readers and visitors.

3. The Lijit widget is easy to use and FREE. And they finally allow you to put all your blogs’ widgets on one account instead of separate accounts. Unfortunately, this was done after I set up all my personal accounts, but with the Mom Central blogs – all of them are easily accessible under one login.

Two ways to improve your writing skills

At Mom Central Blogger University, I strive to help mom bloggers to take their blogging to the next level, whether that’s making money off your blog or just becoming a better blogger.

If you’re reading this, I assume you’ve been doing this blogging thing for awhile now and feel you’re a fairly competent writer. Posting frequently helps build up your writing chops, and was one of the reasons I started blogging at A Mama’s Rant over five years ago. Still, at some point  you may feel like you’re stuck and could be a better writer. So what are ways to improve your writing?

Books

Many books have been written about the process of writing. Two of my favorites are:

• On Writing by Stephen King. Reviewed here by Kerrie Flanagan, Director of the Northern Colorado Writers
• Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott author of Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year

King’s book is partially a memoir dealing with his alcoholism and early rejection by publisher. Lamott’s book is full of self-depreciating humor. Both give great advice.

Two books for women who want to write about motherhood are:

• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman's Guide to Igniting the Writer Within by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett

I have not read Pen on Fire, but have seen good reviews about it. I have read Writing Motherhood and found it full of terrific advice and inspirational writing prompts.

How to set up your Feedburner account

Here’s how I burn my feeds, but there are many variations on what to turn on or leave alone. Learn by my example, but use the services that are a good fit for your blog. Experiment and ask how other bloggers are using their Feedburner accounts.

Burning your feed

1. Login to http://feedburner.google.com using a Gmail account. If you don’t have Gmail, this is a good time to set up an account for your blog(s) so you can sign in once to use Google Analytics, Webmaster Tools, and Google Adsense under the same account.

2. Burn a new feed by typing your blog or feed address in the box.

3. If “Identify Feed Source” shows up, just click on the Next button.

4. The next box asks for a feed name. Make sure your feed name is simple, straightforward, and doesn’t have dashes or underscores in the name. For example: feeds2.feedburner.com/MyCoolBlog NOT feeds2.feedburner.com/My_Cool_Blog.

Why should you use Feedburner?

A blog feed is a way for bloggers to syndicate their content and deliver it straight to their readers. Most blog platforms (TypePad, Blogger, WordPress, etc.) come with a feed and you don’t have to do anything to turn it on – it’s part of the package.

However, you may want to track your feed stats to see how many people are subscribing. Or you may want to give readers who aren’t savvy about feed readers a way to get your blog posts delivered to their email inbox every time you update. You may even want to monetize your feed. How? By using Feedburner, a free service from Google.