Today is the day we share our A to Z challenge THEMES in a hop hosted by Mina Lobo and David Macaulay. And even if you don't have a theme, I hope you are signed up because it's going to be an epic, record breaking year!
I had two goals in mind when I started this blog...
To improve my writing for publication
and
To pass on my Lazy Housewife advice
This year I am going to share what I've learned from both of those areas...
Tips from the messy countertop of the Lazy Housewife...
AND
Editing Tips
brought to you by Curiosity Quills
So there you have it, my duo theme. And don't worry, I know how to maximize space!
Speaking of maximize, while I have your A to Z attention, I would like to share some posting tips to maximize yours and your readers' experiences! And these suggestions don't have to be permanent, you could just give them a try for the challenge...
- clean up that side bar! loading blogs can be slow, especially if you have twitter feeds, videos, etc.
- comments as a pop up - so we load your page, wait, then we click to comment at the bottom of the post and the page reloads, wait, wait,wait - if your comments pop up in a different screen, it's much quicker
- update your google plus profile - when I click on a person who has commented on my blog, I see their profile and find their blog link to visit back. If you have blogger, you may have upgraded to google plus. Please make sure your blog link is clearly identified, I have several friends whom I have to search for their blog because it is not in their google plus profile... make it easy for people to find you!
- know your number - another way to help people find you is to know your number in the megalong A to Z list. You can leave it in the comments. The numbers change, especially in the first week, thanks to the minions weeding out spam and such, so your number will be approximate. Last time I checked I was 177, now I'm 174.
- other items that are just good blogging you probably already do:
- remove captcha!!! please, for the love of blogging! and by all means, use this badge to promote the cause!
- be nice or don't comment
- try to reciprocate - this is why having the posts pre-written is a great idea. It gives us time to visit without worrying about our next letter... J and V were the hardest for me!
61 comments:
well that is wonderful... you know i have seen your art all over the place... it's wonderful.
Thanks for the tips! And I can't wait for your editing tips! (-;
Fun topic. I love lazy tips. Also loved the tips you shared today. I revealed my topic today too.
Great theme, definitely will check your blog! and the advice here - amazing! you already helped me by relling to link my blog to G+. now i'm going for comments as pop ups.
Lazy housewife tips. Now that sounds like something I need. It'll be a fun read!
Very cool topic! Mine will be dual as well.
And excellent tips. I've used the pop up comment box since the beginning because I know it takes a minute to load my page. (Dumping over sixty images last year helped though.)
Sounds like an interesting theme, and great tips for the challenge!
Can't wait to read some of those tips, Tara!
How to be lazy while editing - that I would like to learn.
You so rock, Tara! I cannot wait to read your tips!
Looking forward to your posts! And great tips re cleaning up our sidebars etc. As for a theme, uh, still working on it... :)
Great theme and BLESS you for your tips. All of them are great. I'm heading off to clean up my sidebar and check on my google + profile.
I can't wait to read your posts! Thanks for the tips. I'm looking forward to the challenge. Now I just need to come up with my theme. Yikes!
OOH! Good themes!
Great themes, Tara. Can't wait to see some of those lazy housewife tips :)
That lazy housewife advice may prove very useful - another great theme, think the challenge will be big this year..
Lazy Housewife Tips = Le Fun! I think I've got this down pat, though, as I just don't clean anything. No, for real. ;-)
Thank you for the tips, they are very useful.
And I love your theme. I'm sure it will prove enlightening, hahahaha.
Great advice! I'm headed back to my blog to be sure I am reader friendly!
I am a lazy housewife...er...working housewife....er....I dunno...something...
Good luck and your theme sounds amazing!
Jamie Dement (LadyJai)
http://writebackwards.we3dements.com
Tara I think I need to do my comments as a pop up. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the tips. I think I'm failing on "know my number." I'd better fix that!
The other awesome thing about popup comments? you can scroll through the original post and not have to leave the dialogue box.
I'm off to change mine soonish...
Awesome themes. I'm not a housewife (maybe someday I'll have a husband and kids), but editing tips are always good to know.
I agree about long sidebars that take forever to load. They remind me a bit of some of the posters on the old aohell message boards whose posts took like 5 minutes to load because of gigantic signatures and/or way too much white space. You couldn't do anything while you were waiting for the screen to load.
Great theme and I look forward to A-Zing this year
Hi Tara .. great tips and thanks for the reminder re my About blurb, which I need to update ...
I cleaned up last year and it's stayed the same?! That could be one of your lazy housewife tips??!!
Oh ya .. the number good idea ...
Enjoy ... your subjects sound fun ...
Cheers Hilary
I'm not a mom, but cleaning tips will help anyone! And I'll be all over those editing tips!
Great tips and I know I am really in need of cleaning advice LOL.
Great tips. I hope in your cleaning advice you have something about menehunes coming while I sleep. :)
Sounds great - I can't wait to read your posts!
Great tips for the challenge!
Love the theme and your lazy wife pic.
Awesome tips and theme, Tara! I removed captcha already, but a pop-up comment box - I never thought of that. I may have to do that come April in a few weeks :) And definitely, it's gonna be a EPIC April and a busy month in blogosphere.
Looking forward to the editing tips! Good advice too :)
Allison (Geek Banter)
great advice!! Especially removing captcha and updating G+ profiles.
Lovely advice! I agree that if people don't have anything nice to comment on, then they shouldn't comment at all.
Great tips and looking forward to your A to Z entries. They sound pretty interesting!
A duo theme - very cool! Best of luck with it!
I use Mollum as my spam filter, which is only supposed to toss up a captcha if the comment looks suspicious. The only problem is I have no idea how sensitive the trigger is, so I don't know how often people get challenged. I just have to hope for the best because without Mollum I was getting over five hundred spam comments a day.
Any sort of lazy housewife stuff and editing tips is very me, I have to say.
Maria RR
Tara, thanks for this post. I've given these tips till I'm hoarse but I still find blogs that could use them.
Wish you all the best for your AZ!
Damyanti
Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013
I love your theme. I can't wait until this thing starts!
Excellent theme...and Challenge tips!! I'll be dropping by often! :)
Great advice! I love this pre-hop hop and hearing about everyone's themes. It's getting me excited about AtoZ, even though I'm not participating.
Re: your comment box suggestion... I have mixed feelings. It can be more convenient if the visitor enters on the home page and would have to reload the page to comment; but when the comment list is already long, it forces the visitor to scroll through the comments (and if they came in on the specific post page - do it twice!). On popular blogs, that can be a real pain.
Tara, I'm so glad I popped over this morning to visit your blog. What great tips for bloggers for the challenge, and I LOVE the badge for turning off Captcha. I have so much trouble reading those codes they use and most of the time do not even try to leave a comment, even though most of the time I would like to. It often takes me three or more tries to get it right - my eyesight is not great - and some of my friends have similar issues.
I look forward to all these tips, Tara. Anything on how to get the pets to do chores? :) Have a wonderful weekend.
Happy spring break! Enjoy your rest and remember: It only lasts for a week Make the most of it!!!!!
Don't know if I'll do a theme, but am looking forward to the journey!
BTW, I'm having a giveaway to celebrate 100 followers on my blog.
All wonderful advice, Tara. Your A to Z posts will be awesome.
I can't wait to read your A-Z posts! I need as many tips as possible in both areas. Sad but true.
#398, as of this morning
Great tips, thanks for posting. I have got to get to work!
Thanks!
Great tips. I despise capitcha. It's such a stupid waste of time and some of them are impossible to read.
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com
Thanks for the tips - looking forward to visiting you again during the challenge.
So you're giving us a double treat Tara?
You rock!
Great advice! And love your theme duo!
What a great idea! Good luck to you! (I am NOT doing this... haha) But I will be by to visit!
Excellent themes! I did editing last year and people really seemed to find it useful. :-)
cant tell you all how much i appreciate all the comments & support! see you in april!
I can't wait to read your posts! Excellent suggestions. I've been meaning to make my comments a pop up. Guess there's no time like the present!
Nice. Great ideas! I need the housewives one for sure!
Heather
Hello, just stopping by to wish you luck with this challenge :)
http://rebeccahgiltrow.blogspot.co.uk/p/a-to-z.html
Love your themes. I'm sure I'll learn something from both of those topics! even if I'm not a housewife....
GREAT tips. I learned most of these last year when I joined for the first time. I would have liked to have known these things earlier. :-) Fun post, I like your writing. I'm #120, by the way.
from The Dugout
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