Giveaway - Win A Premium Wordpress Theme And Expert Support

This week we have another great Giveaway courtesy of ReadyThemes and CodeinWP.Five of our readers will win a Premium WordPress theme but it gets better ! As part of your prize after you choose your theme you get two hours consultation with a WordPress expert to help you make the theme a perfect fit for your site.

WordPress themes can be found almost everywhere on the web today. While there are many free and great themes around, often it may be a little tedious to find a theme that is truly suitable for your specific need. After you have found your desired theme, the next step is the most crucial part, customizing it to the way you want it.

Sometimes asking for support from the theme creator may not be as prompt as you would like, as you are not the only one using the theme who needs help. So wouldn't it be better if you could get a professional WordPress consultation to solve all your theming woes?

Today, we are glad to partner with Ready Themes and CodeinWP to giveaway a premium WordPress theme plus 2 hours of Free WordPress consultation to 5 lucky readers.Details on how to enter are at the bottom of the post but first let's look at Ready Themes and CodinWP.
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The Best Websites To Learn HTML And CSS For Novice Bloggers

Guest Post - Our host is Christopher Forsythe, who looks at some great sites to learn the basics of coding.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

If you are thinking about starting you own blog, than it's extremely important for you to have, at the very least, a basic understanding and knowledge of how HTML and CSS can properly work to your advantage. Although learning these different coding languages may seem difficult and somewhat foreign at first, as you continue to familiarize yourself with the basics of HTML and CSS, the process will become more clear and easier for you to use. It's critical for you not to give up on learning the specific codes and maintain practicing how to create them in order for your blog to be fully successful. As you continue to learn the "ins and outs" of coding for HTML and CSS, there are many outlets that consist of different websites that will prove to be extremely beneficial in your quest to master these computer languages.Below we list the best sites you can visit to help you learn the basics and get you on the way to become an expert coder.
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The Best Online Back Up Options For Bloggers

We all know the importance of saving or backing up your stuff and many of you will have experienced the frustration of loosing your work in the past.Before auto save features on Emails and indeed blog posts those of us online at the time often pulled our hair out after accidentally deleting an email or blog post draft.While thankfully we don't have to worry about constantly saving such content as we go when it comes to other data backing up is as important as ever.

An example of this for Blogger users occurred when connecting their blogs to their new Google + accounts.When using your Google+ profile as your blogs main profile you also connected all images used on your blog to your Google+ profile.Many blogger users did not realise this and either to reduce clutter or accidentally they deleted the images on Google+ with the knock on affect that the images also disappeared on their blog.One example of this was a blog I worked on recently that lost images from over 200 posts and unfortunately she had no back ups.

So it makes sense to back up your files such as images, video, music, documents, scripts and other work but how does it work and what are the options ?

Online Cloud Back Up

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Spice Up Your Blog Threaded Comment Style For Blogger

I have received a lot of Emails and comments over the last year or so asking about the comments we use here on Spice Up Your Blog.When Blogger introduced threaded comments early last year I wanted a bright looking comment section with the authors comments easy to distinguish from readers comments.

The solution we came up with using some simple CSS adds some cool style to the comment and avatars as well as showing the author comment (That would be your comments on your blog) in a different color.We also overlap the commenter name with their avatar.All unique features for Blogger comments and originally for Spice Up Your Blog but so many have copied it without permission I though we might as well share it with all our readers.

The comments are almost the exact same as you see here on SUYB with some subtle differences so you can see exactly how it will look on your blog by checking out the demo below and scrolling to the comments.

Add Comment Style To Your Blog

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Six Life Lessons Your Parents Taught You About Blogging

Guest Post - Our host is Gerrid Smith, who makes an interesting comparison between the lessons we learned as children and how we can use them as bloggers.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

It’s a very frustrating reality in life as we age when we realize that we are more like our parents than we think. The life lessons our parents taught us while growing up that we denied as truth seem to start flowing out of our mouths later in life to our own children, and we begin to take the advice as actual wisdom.

Some of these ideas and concepts can be applied to your blogs marketing approach as well! Let’s take a step back, look at our marketing techniques and make sure that we’re behaving the way our parents wanted us to:
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Understand The Pros And Cons Of Free WordPress Themes

Guest Post - Our host is Paulius Rasytinis, in this post he looks at the advantages and limitations of using free Wordpress themes on your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

There are lots of discussion about free WordPress themes and whether they are a good solution for your website. Opinions differ, but the truth is that it all depends on your website and what you wish to achieve. Small personal blogs or starter websites may benefit from a free WP theme because it is a quick and inexpensive way to setup your website. Complex corporate websites will often do better with a premium theme.

What is very important for free WordPress themes is to understand their limitations and to accept them. Chances are that a free theme won't offer many premium features, but perhaps that's not what you need at the moment. Another important thing to keep in mind is security. It's important to download free WP themes from reliable sources, such as WordPress.org free theme directory (http://wordpress.org/themes/).

Best Things About Free WordPress Themes

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Top 5 Backlinks Checker Tools For Your Blogs

Guest Post - Our host is Gagan Masoun, here he has a collection of tools to keep an eye on the links your blog is receiving.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Google will penalize all sites making backlinks with black hat techniques. So, always create backlinks with good methods mainly posting great content people will naturally link to.But you can boost your links with white hat methods like: blog comments, guest blogging, forum posting etc. They are most important factors in determining your blog’s page ranks. There are two type of backlinks; Do follow and No follow. Today, in this post we will provide you information about "Top 5 Backlinks Checker Tools for Your Blogs".

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Choosing The Best Type Of Web Hosting For Your Blog

We have covered the Best Blogging platforms in previous posts and this list included CMS platforms like Wordpress.So we have also listed The Best CMS and if you choose to go with paid blog hosting you will need to choose the type of hosting you want or more importantly need.Unfortunately choosing the hosting that fits your needs perfectly is not as easy as you may think.

In this post that is what we will focus on, the four main types of hosting and which best suits you.
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Keeping An Eye On Your Blogs Health: Google Analytic Dashboards

Guest Post - Our host is Marcela De Vivo, Marcela shows us how to utilize Google Analytics to keep a check on your blogs health.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

By utilizing custom dashboards, you can keep an eye on specific aspects of your blogs health. Doing this will give you a greater overall picture of how your site is performing, as well as how it may need to be improved.

The real benefit of using multiple dashboards is that you can easily segment the data, making it easier to understand and digest. Using custom dashboards, you’ll be able to see a spike or loss in traffic, whether or not your landing pages are performing well and if your social mentions have increased from a social campaign, and much more.

There are several dashboards available to use, but these five should give your site an immediate boost if you use the data they provide properly.

(Note: To use the links make sure you’re logged in to Google Analytics, or the links will appear broken!)
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Are You A Mozart Or A Beethoven Type Of Blogger ?

Guest Post - Our host is Harry Heijligers, Harry makes an interesting comparison between how the legends of classical music composed their masterpieces and how you write your blog posts (Also Masterpieces !).See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Writing articles or Blog Posts is often tough work.. For everyone. And the funny thing is: the more simple an article looks, the more hard work it was for the writer ! As for most creative work there are most of the time two ways to approach this kind of work.

As a kid I had six years long classical piano lessons. Besides learning to play the piano I also was interested in learning about all kinds of music related stuff such as the classical composers. It was then that I learned about guys like Beethoven and Mozart and that their approach of composing their music and symphonies was totally different.

Ludwig von Beethoven was a German composer who lived from 1770 till 1827 and he is seen as one of the most important and influential composers who shaped the music culture of the 19th century. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer who lived from 1756 till 1791. He invented a whole new musical concept in his time and had great influence on later composers such as Beethoven.

Beethoven -V- Mozart Creative Styles

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Giveaway : 3 Annual Subscriptions To PixelKit Premium UI Kits And Design Resources

This week we have another great Giveaeay for our readers this time for PixelKit, providers of amazing design resourses.Below how to take part and win free membership is explained by the PixelKit team.

Important - This Giveaway is completed look out for more Giveaways in the future.

The winners were :

Rachel Edmundson, Marawan Alwaraki and Rob Clarke.

The readers of Spice Up Your Blog are being given the opportunity to win one of the three Annual Membership Subscriptions our PixelKit team has made available. Is it your day to get lucky?

All 3 winners will be allowed to access an Annual Membership Account right at PixelKit.com. UI kits are the focus at PixelKit. They provide solutions that web designers need through thousands of unique graphics. You are given the opportunity to use sliders, icons and buttons through everything they make available to you in their UI kits. You can create the necessary controls for navigation, app screens and just about anything else you need right here.

Your voucher is waiting for you.

All you have to do is enter when you:

• Comment on this post and describe how you would use your UI kits.Add your Email address to the comment so we can contact you if you win.
• Let your Tweet be heard: Win a free @PixelKitcom Membership Account from @paulcrowepro Click Here To Tweet.Leave a comment to let us know you Tweeted and add your Email in the comment.
• Facebook Friends will know instantly when you like us at the PixelKit Facebook page.Leave a comment to let us know you liked the page and add your Email in the comment.

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Top 10 Mistakes Beginner Bloggers Make With Social Media

Guest Post - Our host is Chad Goulde, here Chad takes a fresh look at some of the Social Media Mistakes bloggers make be making.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Today, there are so many social media sites, which all operate completely different from one another. For beginners, choosing the right one for your blog marketing can be very confusing. What’s even more confusing for beginners is figuring out how to use these various social media networks effectively.

Social Media Mistakes for Beginners to Avoid

There are some pretty common mistakes that social media beginners tend to make. Avoiding them from the beginning could help save you time, money and frustration in the long-run. Plus, your networking efforts will start to reap great results right from the start. Here are 10 common mistakes beginners should avoid when using social media as a marketing tool:
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5 Massive Ways To Market Your Blog Content Effectively

Guest Post - Our host is Yasir Khan, who looks at the steps you can take after clicking publish to promote your content.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Blog content are the power source of any blog in the blogosphere. If you take a look at the top blogs online, they aren’t topping the search engines for their main keywords just because they overly did SEO little too well, but it’s because they invested a huge amount of their time writing up and publishing epic posts whose value cannot be matched to any similar post out there.

Having said that, it’s imperative to have content that adds value on one’s blog, not only that, it’s also important to know how to market it in other for the search engines to know that the contents are of high value.

So how exactly do you market your blog content in other for it to go viral ? Which talisman is currently working at the moment?

Below are 5 sure ways which you can use to market your blog contents like a professional-
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Check Out These Must-Watch WordPress Tutorials

Guest Post - Our host is Debbie Allen, here Debbie has compiled a list of the very best tutorials for your WordPress blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Most bloggers understand the value of WordPress. It can be used free of charge, and it can be used for personal as well as commercial websites and blogs.

One of the nicest features of WordPress is its ease of installation. In fact, most hosting services offer WordPress installation that can be as simple as clicking your mouse. The WordPress admin panel is designed in a way that is user-friendly so that even beginners will feel at home with the design.

Make your blog special with WordPress!

Simple Design but Powerful in Function

Although WordPress is designed to offer simplicity, it is indeed a powerful platform. The good news is, whether your goal is to add articles or other content to your blog or you want to change the site's overall theme, the WordPress platform makes the task simple to accomplish.

In addition, WordPress is SEO friendly, which can make it easier to climb search engine rankings. The power and functionality of your blog or website can be extended with the addition of WordPress plugins.

The fact that the system is so powerful can be intimidating to some people who are not experienced with online blogging platforms. But fear not -- WordPress tutorials can help with every step of the way.

A Tutorial to Fit Every Need

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A Fresh Look At Finding Free Images To Use On Your Blog

Guest Post - Our host is Graeme Caldwell, Graeme takes a fresh look at finding images to use on your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Words lie at the heart of blogging. The cliché says that a picture is worth a thousand words, and while that may be true in some sense, it's also true that as tools for content marketing and SEO, the success of a blog depends on the richness, originality, and educational value of its written content.

That being said, studies have shown that including rich media can hugely improve engagement levels on most channels of communication, including blogs. There are three basic routes that bloggers can go down when it comes to finding the perfect image to add some spice to the written word: they can create the images themselves, they can license images from a stock image service, or they can take advantage of the many millions of free images available on the web.

Look At Your Options

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Collection Of The Best ScreenCast Tools For Screen Recording

In the last post I listed the best screen capture tools for taking images of your computer screen.In this post it's the turn of ScreenCast tools.A screencast is a video recording of your computer screen with audio or annotations often seen in online tutorials.Regular readers will have seen many screencast tutorials I have posted here on Spice Up Your Blog.

A screencast is a great way to create tutorials and unique blog content.The main factors I look for in a screencast tool is for it to be simple to use, have good editing options and quick options to save online or publish to YouTube.

So let's get to the list, I have listed 5 screencast tools I have personally tried.As with most online tools there are free and paid options so this will be part of your decision.

ScreenCast O Matic (SOC) - Free/Paid

I start with this as it is the tool I have been using for the last few years.As I stated above I have a few features that I require and I feel SOC provides them.SOC uses Java which might not suit everyone but I find it no problem and it means there is no download required.The edit features are easy to use and you can save the video to your computer, SOC, YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, Box, Drop Box.Another feature I like is you can turn short videos into animated Gifs.

Now there is a free and paid version and the free version is very limited and the video will contain a watermark.I use the pro version and it costs $15 per year which I feel is reasonable.

Link - http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/

Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)- Free

This is a tool a lot of people recommend as it's free and open source.OBS has picture in picture (add your webcam feed to the corner of the screencast) among it's many options.OBS also has good post record edit options and being open source new features are being added all the time.

Link - http://obsproject.com/

Camtasia Studio - Paid

Camtasia Studio is probably the most popular with professionals and has some amazing options and has a windows and mac version.Like ScreenCast O Matic you have lost of edit options and the options to upload to the same sites including YouTube HD.I guess the reason many people look for a different option is the price tag of $299.

Link - http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.html

Screenr - Free/Paid

Screenr is in some ways similar to ScreenCast O Matic, it runs on Java which again requires no download.Screenr also has a paid and free version with the free version lacking in many areas, however if you just want a quick screencast it will do the job.

Link - http://www.screenr.com/

CamStudio - Free

Not to be confused with Camtasia studio Cam studio is a freeware screen recorder.Cam studio has many of the features of paid tools but maybe lacks some of the video edit tools.

http://camstudio.org/

So that's my list but I would like to hear what you think, are you using a great screencast tool I have not listed ?

Author - Paul Crowe is the owner and main author of Spice Up Your Blog.Paul lives in Ireland, has been blogging since 2006 and writing Spice Up Your Blog since 2009.You can find him in the usual social networks.

Spice Up Your Blogs Content With Infographics

Guest Post - Our host is Montassar Ghanmy, Montassar is taking a look at infographics and how us bloggers can use them to benefit our blogs.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Just like text, infographics can be a good way to present your content. A lot of blogs and websites started focusing on using this type of media to reach and impress audience especially that people are becoming more interested in this type of content with the growth of social medias such as Pinterest and Instagram . Below is a list how infographics can “Spice up” you blog.

- It’s interesting: For most of internet users spending precious times to finish reading one long article is not an option, however making an alternance between text and image is a good way to give your readers a brake and keep their attention.
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Collection Of The Best Screen Shot Image Tools

For me with this kind of blog the use of images and video is very important but not just your standard video and images.I have always relied on screen capture image and scree cast video to make it so much easier to get my message across.Screen capture images are as the name suggests were you will capture an image of whats currently on your computer screen and Screen cast video is were we can record a video following what we are record our actions on a computer.In the next two posts I will be listing a collection of the best tools for screen capture and screen casts kicking off here with screen capture tools.

There are a number of tools you can use for example some tools are built into your browser while others can be downloaded onto your computer.Also options to edit the screen grab and add annotations is important.So we will go through all the options you have so your can get the perfect screen capture tool for your needs.

Screen Capture Built Into Your Computer

For Windows :

Snipping Tool
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Mini Social Icons With CSS And Image Sprite Flip Effect

Just last week I published the pop out effect social icons.In a comment on that post Ger asked "Can you write a tutorial for the icons you have in the footer of this page ? The ones that turn color on hover !".The icons he refers to are a neat set of simple icons with a flip color effect and they are a popular option on many of the top websites and blogs.I only added them to the footer in the last site update and had not planned on a tutorial but ask and you shall receive.

So like the pop out icons these use simple CSS to create the effect but this time we also use a sprite instead of individual images.This makes the flip smooth and adds less load time to your blog.I have tutorials for adding them to your sidebar on both Wordpress and Blogger but you could add them to your blog footer or even in a menu.

The icons are for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Rss Feed, Pinterest, Skype, Vimeo, Dribbble, Flickr, LinkedIn and Youtube.But as I did in the footer you can remove the icons you don't want displayed.

Live Demo :
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Best Free Tools To Compress And Optimize Images On Your Blog

Guest Post - Our host is Salman Farooqui, who takes a look at image compression and the best tools to help.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Image files today are the most used media type to share. However, they are often too large in size to easily share or store. This is where image compression comes to play. Image compression is technique which reduces the image size without significant reduction in image quality. Many people fear image compression because they have a misunderstanding that it is a threat to image quality. Actually, image compression is of two type - Lossless and Lossy.
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Pop Out Effect Candy Social Icons For Blogger And Wordpress

Today we have another great set of social icons to link to your social profiles with an awesome effect created with pure CSS.The icons have a delicious candy design that will grab the attention of your readers and are so easy to add to your blog.The icons can be added to your blog sidebar to let readers quickly follow you on your favorite social networks and we have icons for your Rss Feed, Email, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube and Skype.

I have two seperate tutorials for Wordpress and Blogger users with instructions to add your links and remove the icons you don't want.I have added the no-follow tag to the icons as there is no need to pass link juice to social profiles and also set the target for the links to open in a new window.

The instructions are below but first let's see the demo's.

Here is a working example, hover over each icon to see the pop out effect :
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My Experiences And Tips From Setting Up A New Blog

Guest Post - Our host is Matthew Barby, Matt has some tips for setting up a new blog from content to SEO.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

I took a little time out recently to recharge my batteries and explore a bit of the world by venturing across to East Asia. During my time out there I thought it would be a great idea for me (and a few friends) to set up a travel blog that would share some of our travel experiences and offer a useful resource for fellow travellers.

Due to the fact that this project was purely focused around pleasure, I didn’t put too much work in at the start but I soon realised that there was a good potential to make a bit of cash that could supplement my travel costs. With this in mind I decided to use my background in SEO to bring in some good levels of traffic to the website. Six months on and my blog traffic is growing exponentially month-on-month – I decided that it would only be fair to share some of my strategies with the community so that they can also benefit from this.

The content Strategy

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Best Places To Go To Hone Your Creativity As A Creative Professional

Guest Post - Our host is Jake Fisher, Jake lists his favorite places to get your creative juices flowing.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

No matter if you're a writer, an artist, an actor, or any other type of creative professional, finding inspiration for your work is crucial to growing in your field. However, running into a creative block can become common if you simply sit at your desk all day.

Lindsey Leesmann, a communication specialist at Grantham University, says that one of the best ways to overcome writer's block, or any creative block for that matter, is to get away from your desk and change the scenery. Expand your creativity and find inspiration at one of the following locations.

1. The Library

Image via Flickr by Tulane Publications
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7 Reasons For Starting A Travel Or Expat Blog

Guest Post - Our host is Olga Mecking, Olga shares her experiences as an expat blogger.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

There are many reasons why you should start a blog. Your hobbies or interests, such as cooking or crafting or technology, are perfect blog topics. Changes in life can inspire you to start blogging as well. One of these changes is when you leave your home country and move somewhere else. I hadn’t even considered starting a blog before I moved from Poland to the Netherlands because I considered my life boring. Then I met my husband, became an expat and had children. Suddenly, my life became exciting and chaotic. Having an expat blog turned out to be fun and exciting, but soon became more than that. Here are all the reasons why you should consider starting a travel or expat blog if you haven’t done it already.
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Discover New And Exciting Techniques Of Creating Blog Content

Guest Post - Our host is Anna Robeson, Anna is looking at some different types of content bloggers can use and readers will love.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The days of simply writing content and posting it online are long gone. I've heard the phrase „content is king” time and time again, and while I do not disagree with it, hell, I've actually written an article on the subject myself, I have to say that content is not only written. Images, videos info-graphics are also content, visual content, but still, content. The problem with today's internet is the fact that it is over-saturated with information.

Let's be honest, how many of you read articles from start to finish? I don't. Even if I find something that interests me, I usually skim through the text, and bookmark it for later. Many writers are faced with a major problem: people do not read their blog. Moreover, in most cases, it is the first few seconds that attract a user. You can be sure that a block of text isn't as attractive as a post rich in images or videos. Written content is without a doubt the most popular content creation technique, and it is also one of the most poorly done. Any respected agency will tell you that high-quality content is one of the most powerful business promoters. That being said, let us discover alternative content techniques.
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How To Select The Right Narrative Style For Your Blog

Guest Post - Our host is Jessica Davis, Jessica is taking an interesting look at Narrative writing styles you can use on your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” -- Maya Angelou. Before you can get your story out and write it down, you need to decide which narrative style you are going to use. You may have vivid memories, amazing plot lines and great ideas but they will not have the desired effect if your narrative style or type is flawed. When you sit down to write a novel, having a clear narrative style can help you keep track of the story and prevent your from straying too much.

There is no hard and fast rule that you have to stick to one narrative style throughout the novel or short story. Many legendary authors like Margaret Atwood have often used third and first person narrative styles in the same book to great effect. This is done when more than one character presents the story. There may be numerous ways to write your story but there are only a few ways to narrate it.

Third person narrative style

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How Teachers Are Using Blogs to Enhance Their Lessons

Guest Post - Our host is Cara Aley, Cara takes an interesting look at using blogs in the classroom.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The technology tools at the fingertips of a modern-day teacher are better than ever. Many teachers are leveraging blogs in the classroom in order to supplement their lessons. Whether it be by creating their own classroom blogs, incorporating teaching ideas from the blogs of other teachers, or incorporating data from topic-specific blogs into a lesson plan, there are multiple ways to leverage blogs in the classroom.

Here, we’ll review some of these in further detail.

Teachers no longer have to rely exclusively on offline tools for their lessons.

Help students to communicate with one another in the written form - By creating a blog for a class to utilize together, a teacher creates a platform by which students can communicate around things like written assignments, poetry, or personal feelings (akin to a journal entry).
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WordPress Newbies: Follow these tips for WordPress Blogging Success

Guest Post - Our host is Boney Pandya, who has some great tips for new Wordpress users.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

If you're new to WordPress, listen up!

You're so used to people talking about how easy and great WordPress is, but if you're not the tech-y type just yet, chances are you need a bit of guidance: it's nothing to be ashamed of. This post is for those of you that have done the initial set-up on your WordPress blog or site, and now you're ready for the next step.

Often when you search about WordPress tips or any questions you may have, you're met with jargon that can make the process of getting to know your WordPress site even more confusing and frustrating.

Hopefully this post will clear up some of that confusion for you. Below are a few tips for WordPress newbies that need a beacon of light in that foggy WordPress world.

Use these tips to make your WordPress experience smooth from here on out:

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Connect Instagram And Your Blog With Photo Gallery And Follow Gadgets

Flicker is the most popular photo sharing website for people looking to showcase their photography online.Instagram is currently winning the race to be the top app for sharing your Mobile images and photos.We have previously looked at ways to share your flickr photo stream on your blog, in this post it's the turn of Instagram.I have looked for the best way for you to display your Instagram photos on your blog with a sidebar widget.Also we have a neat Follow on Instagram button to help you get more Instagram followers.

So if your a 'Instagrammer' this is the one for you.

Both these Instagram widgets are added to the sidebar of your blog so first are the codes for the gadgets and below that are our videos on how to add gadgets to the sidebar on Wordpress and Blogger.
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How To Insert Microsoft Word Tables In Blog Posts

Guest Post - Our host is Abhishek, who shows us how and why to use Microsoft Word tabels on your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Inserting tables in blog posts organizes your data in a tabular form which looks more tidy and clear.Tables can be of many sizes including different rows or columns.Mostly today all bloggers use HTML tables,and there is one drawback of using these tables that it is quite cumbersome for a new blogger because it requires right coding for full customization and it wastes more time.

Tables are extremely needed if you are showing your blog post in a tabular form or are comparing the specifications of any service or product.In case if you just write a blog post then it would be unclear to understand,it would be like that you have just thrown colors on the canvas and haven’t created your masterpiece.In this post you will learn a trick to insert Microsoft office tables in your wordpress or blogger blog’s HTML.I am using Microsoft office 2007 to create tables.

How To Insert Microsoft Office Word Tables In Wordpress Or Blogger Posts

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3 Reasons Why Honesty Matters In Your Blog

Guest Post - Our host is Nicolas D’Alleva, in this post Nicolas takes a no holds barred look at being an honest blogger.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

As internet use becomes increasingly more ubiquitous, so do our suspicions about the things we see, read, and hear online. Just like your seventh grade social studies teacher told you, people can write and put whatever they want on the internet (so, STOP citing Wikipedia in your term paper).

Internet users are skeptical of what they see online, and bloggers need to respond accordingly. A little honesty can go a long way in increasing your following, not to mention that there are already hundreds of other bloggers claiming to be Morgan Freeman (yes, other people know how to use PhotoShop too).

So, leave the aliases and the pseudonyms at the door, and start writing from the heart. Here are three reasons why it will make people want to read what you’re writing.

1. People can tell when you’re full of it

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The Future Of SEO And The Application Of Guest Blogging

Guest Post - Our host is Chris Gunn, Chris takes an interesting look at were SEO may be heading in the future.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The SEO world has been very shaky lately as those who have dedicated their livelihoods on the development of websites and blogs have seen a shift in Google’s algorithms on the horizon. There is definitely a legitimate change coming, but is it truly worth all the hype? Does Google really want to eliminate all forms of link building, even the honorable, fair whitehat approaches? What about the people who want to have a successful site and truly follow the rules? There’s been too much doom and gloom on SEO, and it’s time to tame it down. Below is Matt Cutts’ most recent vlog “What should we expect in the next few months in terms of SEO for Google?

CHILL OUT

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5 Strong Techniques For Successful Blog Writing

Guest Post - Our host is Kevin Demlon, Kevin has some well explained tips for bloggers of all levels.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Although it was coined in 1999, the term “blog” did not enter the dictionary until 2004, when it was Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year. The dictionary defined it as “an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer.” Since that time, blogging has become a legitimate and sometimes profitable profession for some scribblers. But like most professions, few bloggers ever achieve wealth or even fame. Most write for a small number of faithful readers who share their interests. There are of course exceptions to this rule.

When the Huffington Post, a news blogging website, was sold to America Online (AOL) for $315 in February of 2011, it sent shockwaves through the blogosphere. Suddenly, everybody and their mother thought they could strike it rich by simply starting their own blogs. As you might expect, most of them fell flat on their proverbial faces. How do we know?
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5 Ways Your Blog’s Design Is Making You Susceptible To A Hacker

Guest Post - Our host is Stephan Jukic, Stephan lists how to to keep your blog safe from hackers.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Running a blog is often a work of love that takes a lot of work and creates something of enormous personal or even business value. This applies especially if you’re blog is old and loaded with thousands of posts that garner you thousands of visitors. Losing all this to hackers and intrusion programs over the course of a single day would be a serious disaster.

While no site or blog can be made completely and totally hack proof, you can limit the possibility for total damage by following the following crucial steps, and making sure that you do one other vital thing: Back up, back up and back up again! Do it regularly, never forget to do it.Click Here To View Full Post >>

Google+ Authorship: Where You Become The Link

Guest Post - Our host is Shannon Williams, Shannon is looking at how and why you should use Google+ authorship on your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

You may have noticed the last time that you searched any newsworthy topic on Google—whether it be a recap of the Academy Awards or new developments on the latest iProduct—that some of the search results have a small picture of a smiling individual beside them.



That picture is likely the result of what is known as Author Rank. Sites with regularly updated content can add a specialized link onto each author’s name (a link that connects with the individual’s Google+ account), so Google crawlers recognize that this person wrote the content for the page. The more that author publishes, the higher their Author Rank.
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Comparisons Of Wordpress Theme Customization Methods

Guest Post - Our host is Brian L, Brian is looking at the best ways to customize your WordPress theme for a unique look.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Wordpress has become such a popular CMS that it's common to see "cookie cutter" websites that use the same theme. Fortunately, it's possible to dramatically alter the appearance of your Wordpress site through various customization methods.

The most common methods of customization include editing a Wordpress theme's code, creating a child theme, using a theme mask and paying a custom designer. In this article we'll go through these options in more detail, along with the pros and cons of each.

Directly Editing a Theme's Code

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How to Write Breathtaking Blog Posts with your Readers in Mind

Guest Post - Our host is Emmanuel Obarhua, who takes an in-dept look into article writing.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

The only way you can make your articles unique and mind boggling is to make a difference in how you write; your writing is the most essential part of blogging. It propounds how good you are, it brings paid writing opportunities, it reputes your blog and a million more... I guess you must have heard the blogosphere’s number 1 adage; “Content is king”. This cannot be attained by the length of an article, instead it either spoil the whole thing or delay the way you update your blog as you only want to write lengthy posts.

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Load Posts With Infinite Scroll On Blogger Blogs

In this tutorial we have a new way for posts to be viewed on your blogs homepage, namely infinite scroll.Infinite scroll has been a popular trend in web design for some time and now you can have it on your blogger blogs.On Blogger we have on the home page by default 'Previous' and 'Next' buttons to load a new page of posts.Now this tutorial takes another step with adding Infinite Scroll to Blogger blogs.

This is user friendly and will cut down on load time.So I have the demo and a quick add button for you to add it to your blog in seconds.
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Stuck on a Blog Topic ? Use These Exercises to Get the Ideas Flowing

Guest Post - Our host is Cara Aley, Cara has some fresh new ideas on getting those creative juices flowing on your blog.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Writing can be a fabulous avocation, but all writers at times face the inevitable writer’s block. It can be extremely frustrating to feel as though you are fresh out of ideas, especially as a blog writer who is under pressure on a daily basis to write original content.

Here we provide some ideas in for how to get those ideas flowing when you simply feel fresh out.
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5 Creative Ways To Get To Know Your Blogging Audience In Real Life

Guest Post - Our host is Garrett Moon, who has some interesting views on how you can profile your audience.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Many of us think that we know who we are writing to, but do we really? The problem with identifying and understanding our blog audience is that we resort to dated techniques that don't help us understand who they really are. Sure, our audience might be made up of 25-35 year old females, but who is that, anyway? What keeps them up at night? What makes them happy? How can we, as bloggers, motive them to read and share what we have to say?

What Really Matters

For starters, you need to understand what matters to them. I have been an advocate for completing basic audience profiles. The goal of these profiles is to get a sense of how your audience thinks, rather than just who your audience is. In these profiles, you will identify a few key things:

• What is their name?
• What do they do?
• What keeps them up at night? (i.e. What are they worried about?)
• What motivates them to read your stuff?
• What do they need most from you? How can you help them?

The goal is to complete several profiles and then use them as you write new posts. As you write, you should be talking directly to one of your audience members. You should have them specifically in mind. When we write TO someone rather than simple FOR someone we can do a much better job of relating to them on a human level. But, sometimes even this exercise isn't enough.Click Here To View Full Post >>

Complete Guide To The New Google+ Comments On Blogger And WordPress

It's been a week since Google launched the new Google Plus commenting system for blogger.In this post we will look at how to use Google+ Comments on Wordpress, Bloggger and the custom blogger templates.

With Google Plus trying to compete in the social network scene with Facebook it's no surprise like Facebook they launched their own comment system.The question for us bloggers and publishers will be "Should We Use Google Plus Comments ?".

The thing that first struck me was the fact once implemented only people with Google plus accounts would be able to comment on your blog.With the current blogger treaded comments or indeed Discus and Intense debate readers had a number of options as to how they wanted to comment.I think the real let down with Google+ comments is the lack of an option for people that don't have a G+ account to comment either as anonymous or with name and email.

So the other comment systems defiantly have the advantage of choice but that is just one aspect.Google plus comments do look great, are lightweight and Google+ is a fast growing network.

If you think Google+ comments is for you below we have information on how to add them to Blogger and Wordpress.
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77 Billion Wordpress Spam Comments To Date ! Are You Protected?

Guest Post - Our host is Jason Roiz, Jason is looking at keeping spam comments to a minimum on Wordpress.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

77,430,232,104- That’s the number of spam comments prevented by Akismet to date. Unbelievable but true! Are you wondering how many of these were directed towards your blog? If yes, then it’s time to quit thinking and start acting!

Spam commenting is at an upsurge. At the time of writing, 52,453,722 spam comments had already been detected for the day! It is the easiest way for attackers to compromise with the security of your Wordpress blog. So, what do you do? Akismet will obviously do its job, but as a blogger how will you decipher between ‘ham’ and ‘spam’? Let us help you. Enlisted below are some ways to give spammers the boot.
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7 Reasons Why Acting Goofy On Your Blog Helps Business

Guest Post - Our host is Brianne Walter, here Brianne explains why you don't have to be serious on your blog at all times.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Bloggers, like any other business owner in the world, take their blogs very seriously. Every bit of information they put on there and every post is somber and serious and high on information. Not many would ever want to tamper with the serious image that they have created in front of their audiences. However, as many successful bloggers know, acting goofy on your blog could be a great alternative to always being super serious. Here are a few reasons why you should consider bringing out your goofy side every once in a while on your blog.

1. It helps you and your content team relax

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A Slick New Featured Posts Image Slider For Blogger

In the past I have provided Blogger users with a number of different Image sliders or featured posts sliders.Recently while working on a blog design job I had a client looking for a very specific slider to display some of their best images.The slider needed to have some specific specifications which were not covered by my previous efforts.I also needed to make the slider lightweight and easy to edit so the client could quickly change the images and links.

So we were looking for the slider to be :

1. Full Width - so it spans the entire width of the blog but also for this tutorial I wanted the width to be easily changed.

2. Auto and manual scroll - We wanted the slider to scroll through images automatically, the slide would stop on hover and also visitors would have the option to scroll at their own pace.

3. Two ways to scroll - We wanted to have the classic Next/Previous buttons but also bullets below the slider to skip to any image.

4. Easy to edit - The HTML code for the slider can be accessed via the layout page rather than buried within the template.

So in this post I have to tutorial to add this new slider to your blog.You can see a live demo of the slider by following the like below :
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List Of Useful Traffic Monitoring Tools For Bloggers

Guest Post - Our host is Teyona Dame, who lists some of the best traffic tools for you.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Do you want to make sure your blog stays in the limelight? Do you want to be certain that it remains almost always in the top 20 stats of any search engine? Then you need to get seriously cracking with the hottest traffic monitoring tools on the net today.

Monitoring traffic, and applying the stats gathered in bettering your blog gives it that extra zest needed to attract more traffic. Tracking visitor traffic and analyzing the information you gather thereby is essential in measuring the high and lows of your SEO tactics.

In today’s digital domain, where the race for fame extends across the waves of a different medium altogether, the following traffic monitoring tools should prove of immense help to bloggers.Click Here To View Full Post >>

Blogging Tips For A Niche That's Not So Exciting

Guest Post - Our host is Lauren Smith, in this post Lauren tackles the problems faced when writing for niches seen as less exciting or boring.See How To Become a guest author on Spice Up Your Blog.

Hello, my name is Lauren Smith and I'm an online editor for safe retail website, ADCSafes. I have been reading Spice Up For Blog for a little while now, and have been wanting to contribute a blog post for a while, the only thing that has been stopping me so far is not knowing what to blog about. I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to blogging, I'm 19 and have a couple of years experience in SEO and Wordpress, so hardly an online guru, I have, however, had experience of writing for a small variety of niches, some of which have been easier than others.

The content I find easiest to write is content that is relevant to my interests, and maybe not even necessarily my interests, but broader interests of people from my demographic. For example, I don't particularly like Nicki Minaj, but I'm pretty sure that with a little research I could write a killer article on her. Why? Because there are plenty of other people surrounding me who do like her, and know a lot about her, so it's easy to find a target audience and thrive on it.Click Here To View Full Post >>