30 Linkups for Blogs

Linkups are a great way to get some traffic to your blog. Here's a list of linkups that you could participate in.

Monthly Linkups
Share Your Best
Organize It

Weekly Linkups by Day

Monday
Made by you Monday

Tuesday
Handmade Tuesdays
Tuesday Tots
Take a Look Tuesday
Time to Sparkle
the diy dreamer

Wednesday
Whimsy Wednesday
Wow me Wednesday
What's for Lunch Wednesday
Empty your Archive
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Wanderfood Wednesday
The Disney Wordless Wednesday

Thursday
Thrifty Thursday
All Things Thursday
Blog Stalking Thursday
Transformational Thursday
Tasty Thursday

Friday
Shine On Friday
The Pin Junkie
Link Party Paloozay -  i heart naptime (same party, link up on one show up on both)
Tickled Pink Times Two
Photo Friday
Friday Day Dreamin

Saturday
Saturday Show and Tell
Strut Your Stuff

Sunday
Think Pink Sundays

Monthly Linkup
Share Your Best
Organize It

Pinterest Tips for Bloggers

Tips for Bloggers on how to use and utilize Pinterest.

Pinterest Profile Tips

• Connect you profile to Facebook and Twitter
• Make sure your profile picture is of you, not something random. It is ok to use your brand logo/pict if that is easily recognizable.
• In your profile description, include keywords to describe yourself:

Travel blogger

Writer

Stylish Crafts

DIY Projects

Recipes

IF you connect your account to twitter, then your twitter description will show up as your profile description and you will need to go in and change it.

Pinterest Boards Tips

• Utilize keywords in the title of the board. For example Travel with Kids, Travel Tips, Family Travel, Recipes, Crockpot Recipes, etc.

• Make sure you’ve selected the most fitting category for all of your boards.

• Add a description to each board. This is the best place to add hashtags. For example #travel #Disney #recipe #dessert

• Make sure the cover photo for each of your boards is the best picture out of all the pins on the board.

• Create a board just for your blog.

Tips for Pins

• It is better to pin vertical photos then horizontal.

• Do not pin tons at once. Instead pin for five minutes here and there throughout the day.

• Add a clear to the point description to every pin. Include hashtags.

• The best times to pin are 2-4 PM EST and 8-1 AM EST

• If you want to repin your pin to multiple boards do it over the course of a week. You do not want to spam someone else’s feed.

Gain Pinterest Followers

• Join PinWoot a site that helps you gain followers.

• Create a collaborative board or join one relevant to your blog. Try to join one that’s relevant and has a massive following.
• Tweet your pins occasionally, once a day is fine.                                                       

• Share on Facebook based on your friends. This works great for a few, but not for the majority.

• Comment on others pins. Others that repin it will see your comment and hopefully will follow you.

• Join Repinly and occasionally pin one of the most popular pins to attract more views on your board.

• You can buy Pinterest followers through Public Monkey.

Pinterest for Your Blog

• Add a Pin It button to all of your posts. The best place for it is with your other social media buttons.

• Verify your website on Pinterest. This option is found under settings.

• If you have an article people would love make sure it has a pinable graphic! Go back and add photos if you need to.

• If you have a post that needs a pin friendly graphic you can make one at one of these sites.

             http://Infogr.am

http://www.Easel.ly

http://Visual.ly

http://Piktochart.com (This one has a monthly fee.)

PicMonkey

To see what has been pinned from your website go to 

http://www.pinterest.com/source/insertnameofyourblog.com, do not include the http or www.

When you find what has been pinned from your site be sure to

 1) Like or comment on the pin to increase the ranking of the pin and expand it’s reach

 2) Repin the most interesting and unique images.

 3) Follow those who pinned your pages. This may encourage them to return to your site.

• Add a Pinterest widget to the sidebar of your blog. This widget will show your most 30 most recent pins and direct your readers straight to your Pinterest account.  It’s easy to set up from this Pinterest link. http://business.pinterest.com/widget-builder/#do_pin_it_button Choose Profile Widget.

Please leave any questions you have below and I will answer them.

6 Ways to Make Money with your Blog

6 Ways to make money blogging

Although there are hundred of programs out there that promise you will make money using them on your blog; I have found that few are worth your time.  Here are some I have tried and can recommend.

1) Social Spark is one of them I recommend the most.  Register your blog and if companies are interested they will contact you with an offer.  You can turn down any offer.  Each post pays a different amount and it is negotiable.  It is very easy to use and not a scam.  I've have successfully used Social Spark.

2) Blogsvertise  This program is the same as social spark.  Register your blog and an advertiser will contact you if they want to pay you to post about something.  You can accept or reject the ad. 

3)
LinkShare - I have used this in the past, but currently I am not running any ads from them.  I have nothing negative to say about them and there is no particular reason I am no using them at the moment.  The one ad I did run in the past with them was a Lego ad.  Join LinkShare Today!  You can sign up for an account and browse through the companies available through them.


4) Savvy Source - Savvy Source is another website I have used.  They have many cities they offer daily deals in.  You can sign up for an account and get a ad widget for your blog.  If anyone purchases something through it you get a small percentage.  I have run this ad in the past, but not currently.  I know of a few bloggers that have made $100 or more a month using Savvy Source. 


5) JuiceBoxJungle has an ad network that you can participate in.  You place widgets like this one shown and you get a 50% ad split with them.  This is another type of ad that I know some bloggers are making $100 a month or more from. 

6) Commission Junction is another ad network that has lots of different companies you can choose from. I have been trying their ads for a while, but have yet to make any money off of them.  That is where I got the Travelocity and Priceline ads. They charge you fees to work with them, which they take out of any revenue you make.

4 Ways to Make Money Blogging

How to Make Money Blogging

Two of the questions I get ask the most about blogging are, "Can you make money blogging?" and  "How do you make money blogging?.

Yes, you can make money blogging and there are lots of ways to do it. I know because I've tried like a hundred ways. Many of them aren't worth your time, but some are. Here are 4 ways I make money off my blog that are good enough to actually recommend.

Social Spark is a sister company to Sponsered Tweets, but instead of making money from a tweet, it's from a blog post. You create an account for your blog and if companies are interested in you reviewing them or writing something about them they will contact you with an offer.  You can turn down any offer you are not interested it.  Each post pays a different amount and it is negotiable.  It is very easy to use and not a scam.  I've have successfully used Social Spark many times.


 I have not been using  shareasale.com for very long, but I was able to meet with the people behind this website while I was at Blogher and I was very impressed. They like working with bloggers and want you to succeed. They are growing too. With Google ending their affiliate ad network, Shareasale has picked up many of their merchants. Which means there is a high chance they work with a company you might want to work with.











Escalante Network is a good one to work with. They email you several times a week and you literally just have to copy and paste. I find them less time consuming and the most engaged. It's mostly deal type offers like coupons.










The newest way I'm trying to make money blogging is with Goldstar. They have discount tickets for shows and plays in different cities. Chances are they offer 50% off tickets in your city or a city near you.

What this family travel blog is about

 Mommytravels

Yes, I'm a mom blogger and this is a travel blog.

I'm a big believer in family vacations.  Growing up out family vacations were some of my best memories.  There was not a lot of money available for us to travel, which makes me a budget minded traveler.   This is why sometimes we camp and sometimes we stay at family resorts.  It depends on the year.

I have been lucky to travel to many fun places. I now have three children that go with me everywhere.  So, I am all about family trips and traveling with children most of the time. However, I'm a huge fan of couples trips without the kids. (That's us on an actual adults only trip!)

I will start by posting travel places that we have enjoyed the most and go from there. If you have any questions, just ask! I will answer the best I can.  Hopefully you will be able to come up with many travel ideas as you follow along.

I will be posting soon on many different places, activities and little travel tips that I have picked up from the various areas.

For example, did you know that you can take food into Disney World. We hated waiting in the the long food lines with starving children. So, I finally got smart and ask someone if we could bring in our own food. Their response, "Of course!" From then on we packed at least lunchables and were able to eat quick and get on with the fun!

Related articles

• Dealing With Flight Delays on Your Family Vacation (familytravelmagazine.com)
• Family Travel: 10 Ways to Explore Local Culture (travelexperta.com)
• Tips for Traveling With Food Allergies (familytravelmagazine.com)