MamaBlogga

Rebecca

Hayden

I think they look pretty similar, don’t you? Or is that resemblance just the way that all babies look alike?

Thank you to everyone who commented on Saturday’s post. Rebecca and I are still both recovering well.

So, what’s going to happen around here? Well, we have a few great guest posts lined up (with plenty of openings, if you’re still interested!). I have a series of posts that I’ve been saving for this—and I think we’ll have a group writing project some time soon. And, of course, I’ll be popping in with updates on Hayden and Rebecca and our family.

So stay tuned for the next GWP and some great guest posts!

So, in case you’ve missed this, I’m expecting a baby in about two and a half weeks. And I’m assuming most of you know how life after birth can get pretty crazy. I have a few post ideas lined up, but I’d love to get more of my great readers involved here on MamaBlogga with guest posts.

Interested? Here are the basic guidelines:

• Write a post of fewer than 1000 words on one of the main topics on MamaBlogga: fulfillment in motherhood, parenting, or blogging.
• Send it to me in the body of an e-mail (no attachments) to blog (at) mamablogga.com.
• Include your name (as you would like it to appear), a biography (with credentials, if you have any. Like, y’know, children), and links to your blog and your blog feed (if you have them).
• I’d prefer to receive guest posts by Friday, 25 July 2008. After that point, I don’t know how long my response time will be, but I’ll still try to feature posts submitted.

What’s the benefit for you? Well, this can help drive traffic to your blog, as well as give you a few new links. Plus, you get to feel good for helping another mom out .

How can you make the most of this? Read the MamaBlogga article on tips for effective guest blogging!

How many will I take? I’ll take as many as I can get—who knows when things will get back to “normal” after a new baby!

Any other catches? I reserve the right to edit submitted guest posts for content, clarity, grammar etc., but I will not alter meaning. The original author retains copyright, but grants permission for MamaBlogga to post their submitted guest post indefinitely on MamaBlogga.com.

Don’t worry, you won’t miss out on great blogging tips today—just not here. I’m guest blogging over at Blogging Basics 101 for the week with lots of great information on RSS features.

Yesterday, I covered how to find out how many RSS and e-mail subscribers you have. Continuing with the RSS/subscription theme, today’s post is on how your readers can get e-mail updates from your blog.

Still to come this week: how to display the number of subscribers you have and how to encourage more people to subscribe to your blog.

So, for lots more on RSS, check out Blogging Basics 101 all this week!

Thank you, gentle readers—you have spoken. And since I know you’re waiting with bated breath, here’s the results from our five question survey on blog ads (winner below!). Figures here have been rounded and may not total 100%.

Do you notice ads on blogs?
Yes—35%
Sometimes—62%
No—4%

Do you mind ads on blogs?
Only if they’re annoying—65%
Always—15%
Nah—12%
If they’re irrelevant—8%

Do you feel ads on blogs detract from the blog, its content and/or its professionalism?
If they’re irrelevant—81%
Never—12%
Always—8%

Where do you notice ads on blogs you read?
Right sidebar—21%
Within posts—16%
Left sidebar—16%
Above post text—14%
In the footer of a post viewed in an RSS reader—12%
Above the header—11%
Below posts—10%
I don’t notice ads—1%

Where do you find blog ads annoying or disruptive to your experience?
Within posts—34%
Above the header—20%
Above post text—20%
Below posts—7%
I don’t find blog ads annoying or disruptive—7%
Right sidebar—5%
Left sidebar—5%
In the footer of a post viewed in an RSS reader—3%

Now we know. Thank you to everyone who participated!

And the winner of the $20 Amazon gift certificate: Romie of Romie’s Rants. Congrats; a gift certificate will be winging its way to your inbox soon!

Happy birthday, Jai!

Some of you know that in my “day” job, I’m an Internet marketing blogger. Occasionally, I come across something cool enough in my line of work that I have to share it with you here.

Last week, a Google-watching blog, Google Blogoscoped, reported this week on features coming up for Blogger—and a lot of them are pretty cool. Like other beta features (a search box, future posting), they’re currently available on the Blogger Draft site.

The latest features, ranked by order of coolness (IMO):

• Comments form embeddedable below the post. Can you believe it? Soon (well, now if you want to switch to Blogger Draft) even Blogger blogs can have the comment form right on the post page, rather than a “Post a comment” link. Google Blogoscoped explains how to get this feature on Blogger Draft now: go “to Settings -> Comments, and in the Comment Form Placement segment check the “Embedded below post” box. Click Save Settings to approve.”
• Integration into Google Webmaster tools. A link in the Dashboard takes you to Google Webmaster Tools. Now, you may not be familiar with Webmaster Tools (and if not, let me know and I’ll be happy to write about it!). The short story here is that Webmaster Tools helps you to interface directly with Google to see any problems with your site in the search engine index, to see keywords people use to find your blog in search results, and to see their click data (though I still recommend using a separate analytics package like Google Analytics). If you don’t want your blog listed in search engines, this isn’t really as useful .
• Exporting and importing your blog. Not only will this make it WAY easy to backup your blog regularly, it may also make it easy to move to a new blogging platform if you so choose. Posts, comments, etc. will be downloadable as XML files. This is under Settings, as Import blog and Export blog.
• A new post editor with new image handling. Google says, “When you upload an image to the new post editor it will appear as a thumbnail in the image dialog box. That way, you can upload several images at once, and then add them into your post at your convenience.” Very nice.
• Star ratings. Personally, I don’t find this one as interesting, but it could definitely be useful for getting feedback from your readers on what kinds of posts they like. It adds a five-star rating system and readers can rate the post. You can then see the average rating for each of your posts. This feature is under Layouts, at Edit at your Blog Posts element. Select the Show Star Ratings box.

If you don’t want to switch between regular Blogger and Draft, you can now also make the Blogger Draft site your default dashboard. But if you don’t mind switching, you can make these changes in Blogger Draft now and still post from regular Blogger with the changes intact.

If you always want to stay on top of new beta-stage features for Blogger, head on over to the Blogger in Draft blog and you’ll always be in the know!

The survey has closed. See how MamaBlogga readers feel about blog ads to see the results.

Scribbit had a great post last week on making money from a blog; Littlemummy did a whole series on ways to monetize your blog.

I’ve shied away from advertising on MamaBlogga, but I’ve been inundated with emails from people pitching products, services and sites to me lately. I’ve always thought that my readers don’t want to see advertising—but I never thought to ask.

Would you mind filling out a quick, one-page survey on blog advertising? If you don’t mind leaving your email address, you’ll be entered to win a $20 Amazon gift certificate. Survey closes July 2.

Please—spread the word! I’d love to get as many responses to this survey as possible, and I’ll share the results with you as soon as I get them!

Take the survey!