Tuesday 30 September 2014

Stop the world, I want to get off! Courier Bag

Featured Product!

A gorgeous design. Click to customize and personalize. Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it?


tagged with: bewildered faces, staring eyes, screaming, scream, mad eyes, interlocking faces, interwoven faces, zany fun, funny faces, hrfptraz scrmlghs

Fun series A bright, fun painting featuring a mass of jumbled up and interwoven staring eyes, screaming mouths and bewildered faces.Pace of life too manic? If you feel like you want the world to stop, so you can get off, then this design is for you!
more items with this image
more items in the Fun series

image code: scrmlghs

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Motivational Words #1 stickers

A gorgeous best-selling design. Click to customize or personalize. How would it look with your name or monogram on it - why not have a look-see right now?


tagged with: motivational words,, motivation,, positive thinking,, positive attitude,, encouragement,, positive outlook,, hrbstslr,, word art,, stickers,, peel off

Motivational Words series Be positive! Here's a great design using motivational word art that could subtly and subconsciously help you improve your outlook and attitude. Each time you look at these influencing words, you should get a little reminder and a small positive boost!
more items featuring these motivational words
more


»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this

Cute Puppy Dog Look Post Card

Cute Alert!

How can you resist this cute puppy design? Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it? Click to customize and personalize...


tagged with: cute, puppy, dog, money, college, dorm, mom, dad, please, send, wild, williams, card, greetings

Go Wild~ Send a funny keepsake card for a guaranteed smile and maybe a bit of money. Stock up, buy all your favorites now and receive a bulk discount.

»visit the WildCardGreetings store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

It’s been 2 Years Since I’ve Seen A Blog Training Program This Good

Blogging with purpose

original post »

EBA FB Graphic 2

It has been almost two years since I’ve found training for bloggers that I’ve considered good enough to promote as an affiliate.

I’m very fussy with who and what I promote (because there is so much hype and dubious practice in this space) but today have a recommendation for an authentic and valuable program that I know will help many ProBlogger readers.

The Short Story

The Elite Blog Academy is one of the most comprehensive blogging courses I’ve ever come across – and it’s available to enrol in with an early bird offer for just over 48 hours with the coupon code EBASAVE50 (which saves you $50).

Check it out here

The Longer Story

Ruth-Profile-2013-Rounded-735x1024Earlier this year after running a ProBlogger Training day in Portland I had opportunity to grab a coffee with Ruth Soukup. 

Ruth shared with me the story of starting her blog Living Well Spending Less in 2010. Like us all she made her share of mistakes but persisted with it and struggled on and four years later has built a blog with over a million visitors a month that generates her a full time income.

I was really impressed with both Ruth’s success but also the clear and strategic she applied to her blogging.

Numerous times as she spoke I wanted to take notes as she’d been experimenting with techniques I’d not come across before – particularly around Pinterest and social media.

At the end of her story I remember thinking ‘I wish we could bottle what you’ve done and share it with ProBlogger readers’.

No sooner than I’d thought this Ruth slid across the table a white folder with an outline for her Elite Blog Academy course. Yep – she’d bottled it!

The Elite Blog Academy: Enrolments Close in 48 Hours

Ruth’s Elite Blog Academy is literally her stepping you through her process for building a profitable blog in 12 wonderfully crafted lessons. You can learn more about it here (but use the coupon code EBASAVE50 to save $50).

The course is delivered through 12 fantastic videos, 12 very detailed workbooks, 16 helpful handouts, 30 assignments, a series of 4 live webinars with Ruth an a private Facebook Group where you can interact with Ruth and other attendees.

This course is practical and actionable. Really meaty stuff.

Update: if you’d like to hear what others are saying about it, check out this post I did on Facebook where a couple of ProBlogger readers have already chimed in with their experiences of previously signing up to Ruth’s Academy.

This course is not designed for the faint of heart – it requires work (as does successful blogging) and a willingness to really buckle down. That said, for those who are willing to do the work, it also comes with a 200% money-back guarantee.

Anyone who completes the course and has not seen measurable results in both traffic and income growth will get double your money back, no questions asked. That’s a pretty incredible promise, but it means that you’ve literally got nothing to lose. 

If you are ready to finally take your blog to the next level, sign up now to secure your spot here

Don’t forget to use the coupon code EBASAVE50 – it’ll save you $50 at check out. The code expires and enrolments close at midnight US Eastern time on 30 September in just over 48 hours.

PS: as stated above – I am an affiliate for this product but do so having checked it out and genuinely recommending Ruth it’s creator and the program itself.

Update: What to Expect

A few people have been asking for more information on what’s in the units. Here’s what I just shared over on Facebook to give you some insight into what to expect:

1. Start with Awesome – Learn the secret to successful blogging and master the 3 steps to starting with awesome. Understand what makes YOUR blog unique (and therefore marketable), and create the framework for a powerful platform that gets results.

2. Content is King – Discover why the key to a successful, popular, and profitable blog starts with amazing content, master the four essential strategies for creating content that rocks, and learn exactly how to FOCUS™—the secret to creating a killer blog post every single time.

3. Presentation is Everything – Uncover the three visual areas every blogger must focus on in order to be successful and learn not only why Pinterest is the most powerful marketing tool ever created,
and how to harness that power through creating the Perfect Pin™.

4. Grow Your Platform – Learn how to increase, diversify, and stabilize your platform through eight proven strategic growth strategies. Develop the confidence to promote your core message with an authority that draws people in, master field-tested techniques for networking and collaboration, find out exactly how to grow your subscriber list, and discover why good SEO really isn’t as complicated as everyone makes it out to be.

5. Social Media & Viral Growth – Uncover the mysteries of capturing and retaining viral blog traffic through social media and learn to determine which social media platforms are most valuable for your own audience. Find out the ten crucial steps to take if your blog post goes viral, then create comprehensive marketing plans for both Facebook and Pinterest in order to develop a cohesive social media strategy that gets results.

After that it gets more into monetising through ad networks, affiliate sales, private advertising and creating products.

Lastly it gets into working smart/efficiently and being strategic to grow your business.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

It’s been 2 Years Since I’ve Seen A Blog Training Program This Good

Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

It’s been 2 Years Since I’ve Seen A Blog Training Program This Good
 #bloggingtips 

Waltz on the Walls: An Aerial Dance Performance on the Side of Oakland’s City Hall

Fun and Random

Waltz on the Walls: An Aerial Dance Performance on the Side of Oaklands City Hall stunts Oakland dance

Waltz on the Walls: An Aerial Dance Performance on the Side of Oaklands City Hall stunts Oakland dance

This surprisingly lovely dance performance was filmed vertically on the side of Oakland’s 18-story City Hall building earlier this month at the Art + Soul Festival. The dancers are Amelia Rudolph and Roel Seeber from Bandaloop. (via The Awesomer)

 
#funandrandom 
 » see original post http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/colossal/~3/CDsSeLch8sQ/

Multi-layered Laser-cut Wood Artworks by Martin Tomsky

Fun and Random

Multi layered Laser cut Wood Artworks by Martin Tomsky wood sculpture layers

Multi layered Laser cut Wood Artworks by Martin Tomsky wood sculpture layers

Multi layered Laser cut Wood Artworks by Martin Tomsky wood sculpture layers

Multi layered Laser cut Wood Artworks by Martin Tomsky wood sculpture layers

Multi layered Laser cut Wood Artworks by Martin Tomsky wood sculpture layers

Multi layered Laser cut Wood Artworks by Martin Tomsky wood sculpture layers

Freelance illustrator and graphic artist Martin Tomsky is gifted in the art of laser cutting wood. He creates everything from tiny pendants and brooches of small animals to these intricately layered sculptural works depicting entire illustrated scenes. See much more in his Etsy shop. (via Boing Boing, Jessica Olin)

 
#funandrandom 
 » see original post http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/colossal/~3/_UuUGRjZkuA/

Monday 29 September 2014

Stop the world, I want to get off! Coffee Mug

Featured Product!

A gorgeous design. Click to customize and personalize. Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it?


tagged with: scrmlghs, bewildered faces, staring eyes, screaming, scream, mad eyes, interlocking faces, interwoven faces, zany fun, hrfptraz

Fun series A bright, fun painting featuring a mass of jumbled up and interwoven staring eyes, screaming mouths and bewildered faces.Pace of life too manic? If you feel like you want the world to stop, so you can get off, then this design is for you!
more items with this image
more items in the Fun series

image code: scrmlghs

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Motivational Words #1 positive encouragement Poster

A gorgeous best-selling design. Click to customize or personalize. How would it look with your name or monogram on it - why not have a look-see right now?


tagged with: motivational words,, motivation,, positive thinking,, positive attitude,, positive outlook,, values,, hrbstslr mowds1,, encourage,, wordart,, motivating encouragement

Motivational Words series Be positive! Here's a great design using motivational word art that could subtly and subconsciously help you improve your outlook and attitude. Each time you look at these influencing words, you should get a little reminder and a small positive boost!

more items featuring these motivational words
more


»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this

Vintage Cute Baby Phone Puppy Dog Baby Shower Invite

Cute Alert!

How can you resist this cute puppy design? Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it? Click to customize and personalize...


tagged with: sprinkle, vintage, baby shower, infant, child, nostalgic, children, retro, puppy, americana

Easy to customize baby shower party invitation. Just add your info! Can also easy change the wording to create a unique and custom invitation for any event or occasion! If you want to change the background color or the font just click "customize it."

Vintage illustration children and babies design featuring a baby talking on the telephone with a pet terrier dog listening to the conversation. A bottle with milk is on the floral rug.

»visit the YesterdayCafe store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Sunday 28 September 2014

Ear Assaulting Wicked Mad Devil Sound System Pins

Featured Product!

A gorgeous design. Click to customize and personalize. Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it?


tagged with: humor, mzssea, wicked devil, sound system, ear assault, fun cartoon madness, moustache and goatee, maniacal smile, devil horns, hrfptraz, spiky wires

Just Fun series A fun design featuring a mad, zany sound system. It has a horned devil with arched eyebrows, curled moustache, goatee beard and big, red lips parted in a maniacal open-mouthed smile. With fat, spiky interconnecting wires and wicked-looking flails, this sound system will definitely assault the ears!

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more items in the Just Fun series

image code: mzssea

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Motivational Words #2 fridge magnet Fridge Magnet

A gorgeous best-selling design. Click to customize or personalize. How would it look with your name or monogram on it - why not have a look-see right now?


tagged with: positive thinking,, positive attitude,, encouragement,, positive outlook,, hrbstslr,, motivational words,, mowds2,, motivation,, values,, encouraging

Motivational Words series Give some positivity! Here's a great design using motivational word-art. Each time you look at them, you should get a subtle positive boost!!
more items featuring these motivational words
more items in the Motivational Words series

image code: mowds2

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this

Cute Kawaii Ninja Puppy Dog on Red Stickers

Cute Alert!

How can you resist this cute puppy design? Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it? Click to customize and personalize...


tagged with: cute, kawaii, puppy, dog, cartoon, ninja, child, kids, cartoon dog, ninja dog, ninja puppy, cartoon puppy, ani, anime, japanese, kawaii art, dogs

Cute kawaii puppy dog cartoon ninja on a red and white sunburst background. The ninja dog has a sword, throwing stars and traditional ninja weapons.

»visit the giftsbonanza store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Saturday 27 September 2014

Egyptian Eye of Horus Scarf Wraps

Featured Product!

A gorgeous design. Click to customize and personalize. Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it?


tagged with: all seeing, eye of horus, ancient egypt, protecting eye, good luck charm, egyptian amulet, mythology, protection, wedjat, hrfptraz, folklore, juju, talisman

Egyptian series To bring good luck and protect the wearer from ill - the Eye Of Horus talisman. When you have one of these with you, watch your luck improve!

more Egyptian items
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image code: wedjat

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Cute ponies for the bedroom and school

Black Pinto Cartoon Shetland Pony Love Hearts Canvas PrintBlack Cartoon Shetland Pony Love Hearts iPad SleevesBlue Roan Cartoon Shetland Pony Courier Bags

Cute ponies for the bedroom and school

If you know a boy or girl who loves ponies then here's a collection that should give you some gift ideas.
Any boy or girl will love them - some for bedroom and some for school. Which of these would be best?

Click the image for more details and to buy. You'll also see more designs from the artist there.

Motivational Words #2 blank notelet / card

A gorgeous best-selling design. Click to customize or personalize. How would it look with your name or monogram on it - why not have a look-see right now?


tagged with: motivational words,, motivation,, positive thinking,, encouragement,, positive outlook,, succeed,, blank notelets,, positive attitude,, values,, hrbstslr mowds2

Motivational Words series Give some positivity! Here's a great design using motivational word-art. Each time you look at them, you should get a subtle positive boost!!
more items featuring these motivational words
more items in the Motivational Words series

image code: mowds2

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this

Puppy Love - Cute MaltiPoo Dog Photo Key Chain

Cute Alert!

How can you resist this cute puppy design? Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it? Click to customize and personalize...


tagged with: puppy, puppydog, dog photo, cute dog, maltipoo, little puppy dog, cute puppy, puppy face, puppy photo, puppy photograph, toy dog breed, pocket dog

An adorable young puppy dog with big floppy ears and soft fur wants you to show her some love. Cute dog photograph in vivid color showing what may be either a maltese poodle cross, or maybe even something larger like a labradoodle or labrador retriever crossed with a poodle. Use as shown, or upload a photo of your own snuggly fuzzybutt pooch for a treasured dog lover keepsake.

»visit the CountryCorner store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Why Web Push is the Next Big Thing for Bloggers

Blogging with purpose

original post »

This is a guest contribution from Tim Varner of GoRoost.com.

Raise your hand if you’re a blogger who’d like to turn your one-time visitors into repeat visitors — and eventually, engaged community members.

If you’re not raising your hand, I’m sorry — but we can’t help you. Go watch a cat video or something.

If you are raising your hand, get stoked.

Because coming soon to a browser near you is a new technology called web push.And it’s quickly becoming every blogger’s go-to traffic driver.

Intrigued? We thought so. Read on to learn what exactly web push is, and why it’s the next big thing for bloggers.

So Wait… What’s Web Push?

If you use Facebook or YouTube (or any number of other apps) on your phone, you’re likely already familiar with push notifications — you just might not know it. They’re the messages that pop up on your phone — regardless of whether you’re using the app at that moment — to tell you there’s an update on a stream or channel you’re subscribed to.

Though mobile notifications have been around for a while, web push is brand new. It’s different because it sends notifications through web browsers — not apps.

This innovative technology is already available in Apple’s Safari browser, but this fall it will become an option in browsers Chrome and Firefox, which are used by far more of the population — in other words, more of your readers.

And, yes, this is a solution that will support desktop and mobile web browsers.

Translation: web push is about to become HUGE.

Here’s how it works:

  • While surfing on her laptop, Lucy lands on your blog…. and a window pops up asking if she’d like to subscribe to push notifications.
  • To accept, all she has to do is click “Allow.” (She doesn’t even have to give her name or email address.)
  • The next time you publish a new post, a small notification will appear in Lucy’s web browser. If she likes the headline, she can click on it. If she’s not interested, it will disappear after a few seconds.

This is what the process looks like in Safari:

Screen Shot 2014-09-26 at 10.09.08 am

And here’s how notifications show up (Gigwise box in top right corner).

Screen Shot 2014-09-26 at 10.10.17 am

Now that you understand how it works, it’s time to learn what sets this traffic-driver apart from social media and email.

Why You Should Pay Attention to Web Push

We know you have lots of options for driving traffic to your blog. So why should you shift your strategy to include web push?

One very important reason: Web push is an incredibly effective way to turn one-time visitors into loyal readers.

Here’s how:

It encourages opt-ins

Web push notifications have a 15 percent opt-in rate, which is about 10 times higher than email newsletters. People have grown wary (not to mention tired) of giving out their email address all the time, and web push solves this with just one click of the mouse.

That’s awesome news for anyone trying to build an online community — because once a reader opts in, it’s easy to bring them back to your site again and again. One-time visitors will then turn into loyal, repeat readers, which is exactly what you want as a blogger, right?

It has a broad reach

One of the problems with sharing your message on social media? Your reader has to be a member of that specific network and using that network when you send an update.

With web push, your reader only has to use a browser — which applies to pretty much everyone who uses the internet. Rather than hope your reader will be on a specific social network at the exact time you’re posting, you can catch your readers where they’re already hanging out: on the web.

We all know nobody has a long attention span anymore. That’s why web push notifications were designed to be brief.

When you publish a new blog post, your subscribers receives a headline, rather than the full article — similar to a 140-character tweet. Yetunlike Twitter, the message isn’t lost in an overwhelming clutter of other posts. Instead, it shows up where the subscriber is already working or playing: right in the browser.

It makes audience segmentation easy

You may have always wanted to segment your email list — but didn’t have either the know-how or the time.

Web push makes segmentation easy. It allows you to send specific content to specific subscribers, which means you won’t waste time sending content to people who aren’t interested, and your subscribers won’t feel spammed by constant updates.

Here’s an example: If you write blog posts on pizza, pasta and hamburgers, but your subscriber is only interested in pizza-related content, they can choose to only be notified when you’ve written an article on pizzas. This ensures that both you and your reader get the most out of the experience. (Not to mention it gives you an inside peek at your audience’s true preferences).

Bottom line: Web push works.

It opens a world of opportunities for content creators, helping bloggers and publishers see incredible results for opt-ins and engagement. So when are YOU going to turn your visitors into a loyal community?

Tim Varner is co-founder of Roost, which makes it easy for content producers to use web push notifications to grow their audience. Sign up for free at GoRoost.com.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

Why Web Push is the Next Big Thing for Bloggers

Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

Why Web Push is the Next Big Thing for Bloggers
 #bloggingtips 

Chicago in the Fog by Michael Salisbury

Fun and Random

Chicago in the Fog by Michael Salisbury fog cityscapes Chicago

Chicago in the Fog by Michael Salisbury fog cityscapes Chicago

Chicago in the Fog by Michael Salisbury fog cityscapes Chicago

Chicago in the Fog by Michael Salisbury fog cityscapes Chicago

Chicago in the Fog by Michael Salisbury fog cityscapes Chicago

Chicago in the Fog by Michael Salisbury fog cityscapes Chicago

Local photographer Michael Salisbury snapped some excellent photos of the fog swallowing Chicago this summer. You can see more over on his Flickr stream and on Instagram. Some of these are available as prints on Crated.

 
#funandrandom 
 » see original post http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/colossal/~3/Z1jPHTj0N_M/

Circle of Abstract Ritual: A Stop Motion Timelapse Created from 300,000 Photos of Wildfires, Painted Houses, and Riots

Fun and Random

Circle of Abstract Ritual: A Stop Motion Timelapse Created from 300,000 Photos of Wildfires, Painted Houses, and Riots video art timelapse stop motion optical illusion

Circle of Abstract Ritual: A Stop Motion Timelapse Created from 300,000 Photos of Wildfires, Painted Houses, and Riots video art timelapse stop motion optical illusion

Circle of an Abstract Ritual is the latest stop motion timelapse from artist Jeff Frost (previously) who creates short films that defy description. This latest work gathers hundreds of thousands of photographs taken over the last two years during wildfires, riots, and inside abandoned houses where he created a series of optical illusion paintings. Frost says the film “began as an exploration of the idea that creation and destruction might be the same thing,” and that it is in part “a way to get an ever so slight edge on the unknowable.” Whatever it is, or is not, it’s really up to you to decide. I definitely recommend watching through to the end for the scene with trees—keep in mind the entire film was created without digital special effects or graphics. (via Vimeo Staff Picks)

 
#funandrandom 
 » see original post http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/colossal/~3/5gx-FlOr3t0/

Friday 26 September 2014

Monogram Spiral Galaxy outer space picture Lamps

Featured Product!

A gorgeous design. Click to customize and personalize. Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it?


tagged with: spgxy253, spiral galaxies, spiral galaxy arms, heavenly stars, inspirational, deep space astronomy, outer space pictures, sky watching, hrfptraz, monogram initials, heavens, eso, european southern observatory, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A gorgeous image that reveals a little of the wonder that is our universe.
Measuring 70 000 light-years across and laying 13 million light-years away, the nearly edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 253 is revealed here in an image from the Wide Field Imager (WFI) of the MPG/ESO 2.2 m telescope at the La Silla Observatory.
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image code: spgxy253

ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA www.eso.org
Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Fine Art Pony Head and Mane business cards tempate

A gorgeous best-selling design. Click to customize or personalize. How would it look with your name or monogram on it - why not have a look-see right now?


tagged with: dartmoor ponies, black and white, monochrome, hrbstslr hrmon251, wild horse, grazing animals, free running, mares, wild pony, horse care

Animals and Pets A fine art black and white image of a pony emerging from the gloom and quietly grazing in the UK's Dartmoor National Park.
The pony's mane is tousled by the wind and is falling over its eye.

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more pony Items

Image code: hrmon251

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this

Cute Puppy Dog Baby Shower Invitation Blue

Cute Alert!

How can you resist this cute puppy design? Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it? Click to customize and personalize...


tagged with: dog, puppy, boy, invitations, baby boy, boy shower invitations, blue, puppy dog tails

This cute invitation goes perfectly with any puppy dog theme for a boy baby shower. Its baby blue and deep chocolate brown make the perfect combination. Invite your guests in style, you won't "bee" disappointed!

»visit the LittleBeesGraphics store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Thursday 25 September 2014

Monogram Cats Paw Nebula in Scorpius space picture Table Lamp

Featured Product!

A gorgeous design. Click to customize and personalize. Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it?


tagged with: monogram initials, star galaxies, deep space astronomy, inspirational, ctspwneb, star forming regions, scorpius constellation, cats paw nebula, outer space pictures, hrfptraz, star clusters, gas clouds, european southern observatory, eso, vista

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series A breathtaking outer space picture showing an infrared view of the Cat’s Paw Nebula (NGC 6334) taken by VISTA. NGC 6334 is a vast region of star formation about 5500 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius.

The whole gas cloud is about 50 light-years across. NGC 6334 is one of the most active nurseries of young massive stars in our galaxy, some nearly ten times the mass of our Sun and most born in the last few million years.
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more items in the Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series

image code: ctspwneb

ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA www.eso.org
Reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this
The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Horseshoe Generic business card template

A gorgeous best-selling design. Click to customize or personalize. How would it look with your name or monogram on it - why not have a look-see right now?


tagged with: business cards, horseshoes, horse shoes, logo, profile cards, genbct, smithy, blacksmith, farrier, hrbstslr, generic, businesses

A great generic business card template. Just upload your logo or use the lucky horseshoes provided. Then customise with your details and give a strap line, quote or personal message for that professional feel.

this business card template with other artwork

»visit the HightonRidley store for more designs and products like this

Wednesday 24 September 2014

Monogram Starry Wingtip of Small Magellanic Cloud Custom Tie

Featured Product!

A gorgeous design. Click to customize and personalize. Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it?


tagged with: monogram initials, small magellanic cloud, star galaxies, starry, outer space picture, wismcg, galactic, deep space astronomy, interstellar, hrfptraz, deep space image, universe exploration

Galaxies, Stars and Nebulae series The tip of the "wing" of the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy is dazzling in this new view from NASA's Great Observatories. The Small Magellanic Cloud, or SMC, is a small galaxy about 200,000 light-years way that orbits our own Milky Way spiral galaxy.
The colors represent wavelengths of light across a broad spectrum. X-rays from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory are shown in purple; visible-light from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is colored red, green and blue; and infrared observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope are also represented in red.
The spiral galaxy seen in the lower corner is actually behind this nebula. Other distant galaxies located hundreds of millions of light-years or more away can be seen sprinkled around the edge of the image.
The SMC is one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors. Even though it is a small, or so-called dwarf galaxy, the SMC is so bright that it is visible to the unaided eye from the Southern Hemisphere and near the equator. Many navigators, including Ferdinand Magellan who lends his name to the SMC, used it to help find their way across the oceans.
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image code: wismcg

Image credit: NASA/CXC/JPL-Caltech/STScI

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The Zazzle Promise: We promise 100% satisfaction. If you don't absolutely love it, we'll take it back!

Cute Thank You Beagle Puppy Dog Greeting Stickers

Cute Alert!

How can you resist this cute puppy design? Maybe you'd like to see your name or initials on it? Click to customize and personalize...


tagged with: beagle, beagles, dog, puppy, puppies, hound, thanks, thank you, pups, love, pup, cute, greeting, dogs, doggy, sticker, stickers, puppy dog, greetings, labels, doggies, designer, girly, white, pedigree, breed, canine, akc, kennel club, breeds, canines, mutt, hounds, mutts, pooch, hunting dog, mans best friend, always dogs, jasmine macdonald

Who can you resist the cute face of Beagle puppy dog? These fun Thank You greeting stickers feature a brown, black and white Beagle pup resting on a crisp clean white background. Send smiles and appreciation by attaching these Doggy greeting stickers to your letters and let this cute pup help you send Thanks to your family and friends. <p>For some fun and daily inspiration please visit our blog.

»visit the merrybrides store for more designs and products like this
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Respect Kindness Trust Virtues word art poster Poster

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Why Your Blog Isn’t Growing and How to Make It A Success

Blogging with purpose

original post »

How To Build A Successful BlogThis is a guest contribution from Gary Dek from StartABlog123.com.

If your blog is dependent on Google search engine rankings like most websites, you should know that one record month of traffic can easily be followed by a record low. Growing your blog’s traffic and revenue requires leveraging traffic and design strategies to build and retain visitors, eventually converting them into loyal readers and followers. Otherwise, you risk the chance of starting from zero after an algorithm update.

Here are some possible reasons your blog is failing to capitalize on its current readership, and what you can do about it.

The Cornerstones of Building A Following

You are not actively seeking growth. If you update your blog regularly with comprehensive, high-quality content and are not seeing growth in terms of traffic from returning visitors, then you are doing something wrong. Chances are, your traffic is comprised of one-time visitors who forget all about you after they’ve exited your blog.

What can you do to maintain a connection?

  1. Collect emails. If you don’t collect email addresses from your readers, you can’t get those readers to come back to your blog on a regular basis. You can use these emails to send a message each time you publish a new post. Alternatively, you can send a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter highlighting your best posts within that period. A mailing list can even offer a targeted audience who may be interested in a new product or service you’ve developed, leading to a higher conversion rate than a general blog post. Whatever your reason for collecting emails, doing it will keep your readership updated and constantly interacting with your brand. Word of caution: make sure you ask for permission before you add an email to a newsletter or mailing list. Like you, I absolutely hate it when blogs add me as a subscriber when I input my email for another purpose. The last thing you want is to be labeled or even reported as a spammer.
  2. Build a community. Blogging has always been all about people interacting on a more personal level compared to traditional news outlets. If your blog is not growing, then you may have issues with engagement. Are you getting comments? Are you responding to comments? Do you have a group of people who talk to each other through your blog? Do you ask for user input at the end of each blog post? Is your comment system intuitive and easy to use? Is your content original, personal, and addressing the needs and wants of your readers? These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself when building a community around your blog.
  3. Get on social media. People spend more time on social networking platforms than other sites. In 2014, Facebook reported that the average user spends 17 minutes on the site every day. If you want to get a reader’s attention, then you need to have a social media presence. Start with one or two platforms – Facebook and Twitter – and build your presence there. Share your posts. Ask your readers for their opinions or experiences. Pose a question. Share other experts’ guides. You don’t even need to stay on your own Facebook page – interact with other blogging authorities in the niche and build relationships. If your contributions are insightful, you may even be invited to guest blog. The traffic you build through your social sharing can never be taken away from you by Google’s algorithm.

Are You Insecure About Your Knowledge or Blogging Skills?

You lack conviction. Some of the most common indications that you don’t believe in yourself or your ability to offer value through your blog content include:

  • You don’t think you’re a writer because you didn’t major in journalism or creative writing.
  • You question your authority to write about a certain topic.
  • You think, “Who am I to express my opinion strongly to the public?”
  • You’re afraid to let your personality shine in your writing.
  • You’re a perfectionist and afraid to post anything but a 10,000 word “masterpiece” that covers every angle, argument, or consideration.

If you consistently feel self-doubt, then you need to take a step back and remember why you started blogging in the first place. The barriers to entry when starting a blog are so low that you could have written about anything, but you chose this niche for a reason.

Either you had first-hand experience and knowledge in the industry and you believed you could make a difference or you were passionate about learning something new and wanted to document your research and journey.

The former is common in the SEO industry, where online marketers who worked for agencies or themselves building and selling sites decide they want to finally share all their SEO knowledge with the masses. The latter is common in the personal finance niche, where individuals document their own troubles managing money and share their journey to financial independence.

If you do not have that confidence and passion anymore, you can do all the research you want and spew thousand-word posts, but your writing will not resonate with your audience.

Blogging Isn’t Just About Writing. Remember, you don’t have to be a poet to create a useful article. As the respected author E.B. White said, “Writing is an act of faith, not a trick of grammar.” You need to find that confidence and believe that you have something to offer your readers. Don’t let your lack of training as a writer bring you down. All things can be learned, but passion can’t be faked.

This lack of self-belief can also lead to the next problem.

Your blog is bland. Tepid. Has no personality. There are millions of blogs out there and the number of online visitors is finite. You need to have something unique to attract readers and grow your audience. Since more than one person is ever writing about the same topic, you must add your own unique touch or contribution.

Some ways to do this:

  1. Inject your real-life personality in your writing. If you’re outspoken and unabashed, then write that way. If you aren’t, force yourself to be and share all the things you’ve always wanted to say but didn’t.
  2. Don’t shy away from controversy. Even though you may not have a confrontational personality, discussing controversial issues can help your blog get attention. People like controversy, and they like discussing it. Whether they agree with you or not, it doesn’t matter. What counts is that you get them reading, sharing, and commenting. However, always think before you “speak” and don’t make a fool of yourself.
  3. Talk to your readers as if they were right in front of you. Much like letting your personality shine through your writing, you also need to remember that your readers are real people and not just numbers in your analytics report. Write as if you were having a conversation with one of them. Create something that you yourself will want to read and share.
  4. It’s okay to be weird. Let’s be honest – we’re all weird. I’m OCD about cleanliness and organization. Everything on my desk is parallel or perpendicular to each other. Everything on my laptop is titled a certain way and saved for optimal convenience and efficiency, including my music and movies. When setting my thermostat or the volume on the TV, I prefer even numbers or ones ending in 5. Those of you who share my “weirdness” may feel an instant connection with me because we share the same “problems” ;). Weird is definitely more eye-catching than bland.

Treat Your Blog Like A Business

Everything you offer is free. There is nothing wrong with giving away free content, products, or services. But if you want to grow a blog and make money online, you need to train your readers not to expect everything for free. Sometimes the most valuable information or tools require an investment of your time and money to develop, and you will need to take that into consideration.

Nevertheless, you should understand that “paying” doesn’t always involve money. Many readers have an aversion to shelling out money for content, especially if you are not a big name yet or have given everything for free up till now. Fortunately, you can achieve growth in other ways.

One way is to show only a snippet of a long-form resource. Make sure that the preview is interesting enough to make readers want to read the entire resource. Here comes the caveat – in order for the reader to see the whole article, you ask them to tweet or share the URL on Facebook. Not only do you provide something of value, but you also get something in return: more exposure. Similarly, you can require an email address for your mailing list.

This strategy isn’t innovative and new for 2014, but it does work and can provide a way to constantly keep in touch with your readership, as discussed earlier in this post.

You’re not taking things seriously. You most probably started blogging as a hobby. Then one day, you installed AdSense on your blog and started making a couple dollars a day. Several months went by and that part-time income started growing to an amount that made you realize the potential of your blog.

The problem is that some bloggers who want to succeed still don’t take blogging all that seriously. They think that it’s just writing and publishing whenever they want. And when they analyze their websites, they are subjective and passive instead of being honest and critical with themselves.

Here are some things you can do to take your blog to the next level by taking it more seriously.

Be consistent. Consistency is vital to your blog’s success. You should maintain an editorial calendar or simply choose to post Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Consistency means being in it for the long haul. Don’t rest on your accomplishments for the past month – set new goals and keep working.

Manage your time well. If you want blogging to be a source of income, then you need to run your blog like a business. That means you need to learn to manage your time and have a good work-life balance. Set work hours, and set aside time to spend with your friends and family. When you know you have all day to accomplish a task, you will likely procrastinate. Alternatively, when I’m feeling burned out, I like to go on vacation or visit a nice part of town. Having fun or observing other successful people motivates me to get there too.

Always Hold Yourself Accountable

I feel this is where a lot of people fail, whether they are bloggers, entrepreneurs, or employees. Do you want to appear to be or feel successful, or do you want your dreams to be a reality? You can blame your blog’s stalled growth on Google, Facebook, competing bloggers, or your hosting company, but ultimately, you are the boss.

You are the master of your own fate, and that is one of the best feelings in the world. Except for extenuating circumstances, your blog’s success begins and ends with you. This can either empower and motivate you or cripple you.

As a final thought, I leave you with one of my favorite quotes by Mark Twight:

“Modern man is conditioned to expect instant gratification, but any success or triumph realized quickly, with only marginal effort, is necessarily shallow. Meaningful achievement takes time, hard work, persistence, patience, proper intent and self-awareness. The path to success is punctuated by failure, consolidation, and renewed effort.”

Author Bio: Gary Dek is the founder of StartABlog123.com, which provides a free step-by-step tutorial on starting and growing a blog. He is passionate about helping new and professional bloggers build sustainable online businesses via content and social marketing.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

Why Your Blog Isn’t Growing and How to Make It A Success

Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

Why Your Blog Isn’t Growing and How to Make It A Success
 #bloggingtips