Creating Announcements- An Alternative to Sticky Posts

I must admit, I'm not a big fan of sticky posts. I would rather make a short announcement for my readers to see instead. See the paragraph below my header? It was created as an announcement.

You may wish to create an announcement that links to a giveaway that you are having or to relay some other important information that you really would like for your readers to see.

To create an announcement above your posts:

1. Go to your page elements page. (dashboard-->layout-->page elements)

2. Click on 'add a gadget' above the 'blog posts' section. If there is not an 'add a gadget' option in this area, then click on the one under your header or above your sidebar.

3. Scroll down and click on 'Text'.



4. Write your announcement in the big box, adding a link if you'd like. You can modify the color and bold or italicize the text to your liking. If you wish to center your announcement, you can do so by clicking on 'edit html' in the right corner and adding <center> before the text and </center> after it.

5. Save.

6. If you were not able to add a gadget above Blog Posts, you will need to click and drag your new text gadget so that it rests above this section. See example below:



Enjoy your announcement!

Sticky Posts

Have an important post that you'd like to remain on top of all of your other posts? This is called a sticky post because, well, it sticks in place. :)

There are a few ways to create a sticky post. I'm going to show you the easiest way I've found to do it. No need to do any more work than you have to!

To create a sticky post:

1. Create the post.

2. Publish the post. You must publish the post before proceeding in order to make this work.

3. Edit the post.


4. Click on 'Post Options' (above 'Publish Post'- circled in red above).If you are using the Updated Editor, you will need to then select "Scheduled at".

5. Change the date and the time of the post (underlined in green above) to a date and a time that reflect how long you would like for the post to remain at the top. If you want the post at the top indefinitely, change the year to one in the distant future, like I did in the example above (2013). :)

6. Click on 'Publish Post'.

Enjoy your sticky post! :)

For more help creating sticky posts, visit
Tips For New Bloggers

Creating a Friendly Following

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The following tips are for people who wish to form online friendships with other bloggers. These tips are based upon experience with my personal blog, not this one, which is more informative in nature. For those of you looking to increase your following in a different manner, click here for information that may be better suited to your needs.

You have spent several hours creating your blog. You’ve written a few AMAZING posts. You’ve posted adorable photos of your children. A pretty background from The Cutest Blog on the Block adorns your blog. Your blog is AWESOME! So, why on earth aren’t people commenting on your posts? Where are your followers?

It is entirely up to you to find readers for your blog. You will need to do a little bit of work in order to have a following. The more followers you desire, the more work you’ll need to do.

If friendship is what you desire, this work is FUN!

If you want more followers, follow more blogs. If you want friendship, reach out to other bloggers through kind, personal comments and show your email address in your profile so that they can respond to your comments. If you want people to comment on your blog, leave sincere comments on the blogs of others.

It really is that simple.

To begin, I would suggest finding a few blogs that are similar to yours. If you like what you see, consider becoming a follower of their blog. Leave kind comments on a post or two. Most of the time, these bloggers will visit you and leave a comment on your blog. They may even decide to follow you!

FYI: The more comments/followers/blogs a blogger has, the less likely they will be to visit your blog. I would try to befriend people who are also trying to make friends and increase their following.

In order to keep blogging friends coming back to your blog, you’ll need (want- I hope!) to visit their blogs ever so often to read and comment on their posts. Be sure to show your email address in your profile, so that others can quickly respond to your comments if they wish to do so.

Once you have made a couple of blogging friends, I would suggest checking out the bloggers in their followers lists. If people like their blogs, chances are they’ll like yours, too!

Important note:
I do not recommend advertising your blog in the comments section of other bloggers. “Hey there! Come visit my blog…” , etc. etc. It is blatantly OBVIOUS when I get a comment on my blog or an email from another blogger that has been copied and pasted a million times. Maybe this has been an effective ploy to increase followers for some, but I personally find it to be HUGE turn off. *I do believe that a blog address (url) can be added tastefully to a comment, so long as it is accompanied by a sincere comment about the post in which it is written. Promoting your blog should never be the main focus on a comment, in my opinion. :)

You may also consider participating in a few weekly meme’s, such as Wordful Wednesday, Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop and Photostory Friday. Visit their blogs for prompts, rules and more information. Basically, you write a post that fits the meme. Then you go to the host blog and add your link, which will be visible to all of the other participants. There are tons of weekly meme's out there. Keep your eyes open for cool ones to participate in. Fun, fun!

That, my friends, is what worked for me in the beginning. Blogging has taken me places I never dreamed I’d go. It has introduced me to friends all over the world that I would never have met otherwise. It has been an amazing ride, one that I do not see ending soon.

Best of luck to you as you embark on your blogging adventure. Simply do for other bloggers what you would like to have them do for you and you can't go wrong. Have fun and comment away! : )