Creating Collages for Pinterest

One of the best ways to showcase your work on Pinterest is to create a collage. I recommend using a vertical collage, because they get more repins and clicks.

There are several ways to make a vertical collage with free programs.

Free Photo Editing Site

• www.Pixlr.is a free service and you can create vertical collages with 3 or 4 pictures.
• PicMonkey.com is a free service and you can create a vertical collage with 5 pictures. It also has many other layouts for collages. It can be confusing to start with PicMonkey, because you must first make the collage with pictures and then you can "edit" it in the regular editor program. In the edit program you can add text, overlays, 

Collage Making Apps

• PicStich is another great app that allows you to create collages with up to 6 photos. You can post them directly to social networks or save them to your camera roll. I created this collage in no time at all and automatically posted it to Instagram from the app.

• Bazaart app allows you to create collages with however many photos you'd like.  I created this tea party collage in just a few minutes.

Instaframe+ is another collage making app. It's my least favorite these, but works great and links to social networks.

No matter what program you use keep a few things in mind while creating your collages.

Use Good Photos

• The best photos are well lit. You can see which photos are too dark for my tea party collage. I should have lighten each of those photos before using them, or left them out. 
• Crop out anything that you don't want in the picture like too much sky or pavement.

Create a Graphic

•  Cutest Blog on the Block has tons of free banners, buttons, and more. I get the one I want and then modify it, however I like in one of the photo editing programs, like PicMonkey. For example I grabbed this free banner and turned it into pinterest graphics for my posts. Right now these graphics are not hyperlinked, because I didn't need them to be, but if you did just use Powerpoint to add hyperlinks.
  
  
  

Add Text

• Make sure the font you choose isn't "too busy". You want the font to compliment the photo, not ruin it. 
• Center the text. 9 times out of 10 you will want your text centered.
• Only use 1 or 2 fonts depending on how much text you have. I usually use only one font, but sometimes use different sizes for different words.
• Pick out a text color that matches something in your photo. For instance a blue pool with a red umbrella. Make the font red.
• For this photo I used PicMonkey and added a rectangle overlay that I shaded aqua. I choose overlay from the drop down menu and then put my text on top of it. This was the final result. I love it because it made it look almost 3D, like the words are under the water.
  
  

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.

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.