Whether you just started your Twitter account, or you started tweeting a month after Twitter launched in 2006, the thought has probably crossed  your mind…’How on Earth do I make the most of these 140 characters?” You’re smart, your tweets are great, you engage, but somehow you’ve hit a plateau.

While Twitter isn’t a popularity contest, Twitter does require grooming to provide the most meaningful experience. Those with the most followers don’t always have the best community, but at the same time building a solid following base will help give you meaningful contact with your readers as well as helping your blog’s traffic grow. So how do you do it? If you’ve been twittering for a while and you still have less followers than you feel comfortable with, there are a few things you can do to maximize your presence on  Twitter.

Give it lots of light

Make your Twitter account easy to find on your blog.

If someone is reading your blog, chances are they will be pleased to follow you on twitter. I don’t know how many times I wanted to tweet someone’s post and they didn’t have a proper twitter widget, they didn’t have their account listed somewhere in their sidebar, the handle isn’t the name of the blog and so I couldn’t @fashionblogger them when I tweeted their post. That’s the perfect opportunity for other people to spread the word about you!

• Tweetmeme button - a button that you can install on your post that allows readers to RT your posts with your Twitter handle. It’s super easy to use and it’s easy to track  how many people tweet your posts, and look up who’s tweeting your posts. They might be good people to follow.
• Go2Web20 Twitter Badge- a cute customizable tab that goes on the side the browser (as opposed to the side bar or header), therefore visible through any page no matter where your readers scroll. I installed this on my blog yesterday and got something like 30 new Twitter followers that day.
• Twitter Widget- This you can put on your sidebar so your readers can see you have an account and you use it actively.
• Write a post about your new account, or refer to one of your tweets in a post.
• Place a link to your account in the footer of your post.

Publicize, publicize, publicize

Part of it is putting on your blog..but here are some other places you can publicize your Twitter account

• Email signature
• Business card
• Facebook, flickr, Etsy, friendfeed….  you get the drift, everywhere that you have a profile.

Make it pretty

As a fashion blogger you are probably well aware of how important it is to be presentable. Whatever you do, don’t skimp on your Twitter presence. First impressions make all the difference, and you never know how much time someone will give you if you don’t catch their eye right in the very beginning.

• Your Icon/Avatar … what does it say about you? Is it a logo? Is it a computer rendering of a girl? Does it communicate what  your blog is about, what you’re about? Icons do matter, people do pay attention to them, so make sure your icon sends the right message. I just updated mine the other day, and people really did notice.
• Your Twitter Background… I like to have it match my brand, but not necessarily since I use the same account for both my blog and for IFB. However, it’s important, like your icon that it’s also pretty to look at, and not generic.

Sew more seeds, follow people

It’s kinda weird when someone doesn’t follow anyone back, but what are you going to do? Yeah, they may say that they don’t follow people back because how do you keep track of everyone? Well I have news for you… Twitter clients like Tweetdeck and even Twitter lists make it easy to filter out the people you want to follow every single tweet from the people you may want to catch up every once in a while. I admit sometimes I fall behind on following people back…and sometimes I don’t follow back if there is a high chance you will un-follow me (ie. spammers or make money online people) but I always try. Some people can get away with following back the few and get large masses hanging on their every tweet, but I’m not one of them, nor do I want to be.

Here are some ways I use to find others to follow

• Invite people from your email- this has it’s plusses and minuses, on the plus, it’s a good way to let your contacts know you’re on twitter. On the minus, there may be that email in your contacts from someone you would prefer not to get in touch with (ie. that guy…what’s his name.. you went on two dates with five years ago)
• Other blogs (see point one)
• Follow the people your favorite twitterers are following…they could be interesting
• Follow the people who are following  your peers. You might have the same interests
• Follow people who are tweet key words you’re interested in, run a Twitter search, see who comes up.

Because  of spammers and Twitterers who’ve developed ways to tricking the system with aggressive following/following tactics Twitter has clamped down on aggressive following. You can’t follow too many more than are following you…which leads me to my next point.

Be sure to water, fertilize, and talk to your Twitter garden

There are loads of Do’s and Don’ts out there on the net.. and be sure to give your followers lots of love. You can’t be a taker in this world and the more you engage in Twitter the more it has to offer you.

• Reply when you can, engage in conversations.
• Follow Friday them.
• Retweet.
• Have fun.
• Don’t be a robot.

Weed…Unfollow Deadbeats

I’m not saying that you should unfollow people who don’t follow you, but if they don’t provide  value to your Twitter experience, or haven’t tweeted since 2008, it’s time to let them go. I have only done this once or twice in three years, but it’s good to do it every now and then.  I usually go to Google to find the latest and best bulk unfollow tools. Also, if you see someone who is blatantly spam, or just bothers you, don’t be afraid to unfollow. Remember this is your Twitter experience, you have to love it if you want it to grow.

By the way, my Twitter account is @thecoveted follow me if you like!

Image by muffmuff / CC BY 2.0

A few weeks ago, I asked you which gadgets do you use for your blog? While my own personal arsenal of tech gear keeps growing… it was really interesting to see what all of you were using. In the comments, many of  you expressed your desire for more mobility, some blogging from smart phones or investing netboooks, while others talked about wanting to invest in more photo and video equipment. I was really surprised to see how many people were using Kodak and Fuji cameras, and that generally we really use our electronics until they die as opposed to getting the latest, most recent model.

It’ll be interesting to run this again in six months to see how technology affects our blogging habits. Using mobile devices for things like twitter or tumbler totally work well, but to do extended posts many still need a more traditional set up. Maybe that will change? I just need to get faster on the tiny keyboard first!

What do you think will be different in six months? A year?

If you’re blogging, you’re using some kind of consumer electronic. At first I thought I would just need a cheap digicam and a laptop, maybe even work computer to do the job but as time rolled on, I found that it just wasn’t enough. One by one, I had to get new things, my first laptop died, I dropped my camera and it was no longer under warranty. The video camera I used to have became obsolete. God knows how many phones I’ve been through in the last three years.

Today I have a whole new arsenal of gadgets I use with my blog in one way or another. Honestly I’m not a gadget freak, and only somewhat technical. Many of you probably use more gadgets in lots of ways, @bionicpuzzi goes between her Blackberry and netbook all day, @partycupcakes uses her Nikon D80 and iPhone for pictures.

Here’s a list of what I use, some of it I love and can’t live without, and some of it will be destroyed Office Space style as soon as I get the money to replace them.

• 15″ MacbookPro – As a former graphic designer, I have only ever owned Macs (an industry standard). When my last Macbook caught on fire due to a faulty power cord connection, I replaced it with this in 2007. I like this one a lot, more so because it only gave me lip once in the three years I’ve owned it.
• Vivienne Tam HP Mini 1000 Netbook – I actually use this every day, well the days I go to the gym, it fits perfectly on the stationery bike, so I use it to catch up on my RSS in the morning while I work out (my workouts aren’t very impressive). Sometimes I’ll take it on trips as it’s small size is handy, and it’s a powerful little machine, a year later, I’m still impressed with what it can do.
• Canon Digital Rebel XT- I call this my little baby. Yeah, I should probably get a cat, or at my age, an actual baby, but for now, it’s a camera. It does everything I need, shoots in RAW format, has all the basic SLR capabilities, and it’s lightweight and not overloaded with features I’ll never use.  Plus, many professional photographers say they own this camera and they use it frequently. When you can get a used one for about $350, it’s a good camera to start out with.
• Canon Powershot 2100- My first gadget after my old Fuji digicam died. It’s a great little camera which lots of options to tweak when you’re ready to move beyond point and shoot without going crazy. I don’t use it as much anymore, but like to keep it on hand.  It also has decent video capability.
• Canon 50mm F1.8 Lens-  Have you noticed how amazing the photography is on many French Blogs? From my visits to Paris, bloggers such as Eleonore Bridge and PunkyB and Cachemire et Soie use this lens,  as well reportedly The Sartorialist, AltaMira, Le Blog de Betty. They all have that soft look with a lot of depth of field where you can have an in focus outfit, and a softly blurred background. The problem with this lens is that there is no zoom, and the lens is very wide, so you have to stand far away to get a good shot.
• Flip Mino HD Camcorder- My husband gave this to me for Christmas, I’m still trying it out, and did my first video post using the camcorder yesterday. I love how it’s small, lightweight, easy to figure out (very few options in the user interaction) and the software is in the camera, so I can use it with any computer as it plugs in with an attached USB stick. Oh, I was able to upload directly to YouTube with the embeded software making this super easy to use. LOVE.
• Android G1- Right now I’m using the Android G1 developer phone. I’m not a developer, so I can’t upgrade the software. It’s basically useless now. Otherwise I might like it, but after an embarrassing hiccup in Google’s service this morning, I’m questioning my dependence on Google products. So I’m looking to replace my phone in the next month or so.

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
Do you find that lately you’re changing your habits?

Image by  Foxtongue / CC BY 2.0

This post is by Tierra Wilson from The Fashion Techie

With 2010 fast approaching, the number one thing bloggers always ask me is, “what’s going to be new for blogging next year?”. Of course, that’s a loaded question, especially when you start thinking about blogging trends, tools, templates, software, etc.

But fashion bloggers have a unique situation that other bloggers will never truly understand. We have to be full out techies like the “tech bloggers” and we have to stay up to date on the latest trends and news in the fashion industry like the “fashion writers”. We are passionate about the two fastest changing industries in the world…fashion and technology; which is exactly why we have to stay one step ahead of the competition to make sure our blogs survive the future. So what are the 2010 fashion blogging trends to look forward to?

5. Fashion Blog Turned Social Network

The Problem: 2008 was the year of web 2.0, 2009 was the year of social media and 2010 will be the year of information overload. All ready people are trying to handle all the information that’s thrown at them online. From Facebook, Twitter, blogs, online magazines, news feeds, rss, email newsletters, etc… it’s beginning to be a nightmare to keep up with.

The Solution: For fashion bloggers, sharing is the key to our success. Making someone leave your page to post to their facebook or share it on twitter is a major “no”. Try and make sure that your readers can stay on your page while sharing your content. Also, try to do more short quick posts, image posts and video posts to grab readers attention quickly. Also, adding a forum isn’t such a bad idea anymore. Eventually, blogs will evolve. Most predictors think everyone’s posts will go to one place depending on your topic (more on that later) so readers won’t have to go to 5 blogs a day to get their fashion, some say blogs will become social networks.

Best Tools For Fashion Bloggers: Google Wave (Coming Soon), Outbrain Star Ratings Widget, Add This, Web2PDF Online, forum software, Lifestream for Wordpress, and if you are not already using it…Linked Within

4. Video, Video, and More Video

The Problem: Video was so hot this year, just about every blogger had their own mini shows during fashion week. Bloggers were taking video cameras with them while shopping, showing readers their closets, and more. But video was evolving on fashion blogs but not in fashion retail. Enter the product video. Today, more and more online stores are using video to talk about their products, they are hiring producers, models, YouTube experts and more to embed product videos and rich content right on the product page. Where does that leave us?

The Solution: First, if you haven’t started implementing video, you really should think about trying to add that to your blog, it’s essential. You don’t have to have video every post…just put one on your sidebar once a week or every other week. If you do already implement video, think about investing in a High Def video camera and taking your videos to the next level. Also, start connecting with your favorite brands. Let them know that when they start adding rich content to their product pages (and I promise you they will) that you would love to get involved with producing, hosting, styling, or whatever your interest is.

Best Tools For Fashion Bloggers: Flip MinoHD Camcorder, A customized YouTube Channel for your blog

3. What’s A Desktop? Laptop Who? Give Me My Mobile!

The Problem: The iPhone. The iPhone has really changed the lives of fashion blogger, and it doesn’t really matter if you are a PC or a Mac. iPhone apps are elusive to bloggers, they take lots of tech skills, and they are just a pain for our blogs because no one likes to be on a computer anymore unless they are at work…leisurely, they prefer their mobile.

The Solution: It’s time to get an iPhone app for you blog. (Mine is in the works now). Forget all that difficult coding, the tools below can help you turn your RSS feed into an iPhone App immediately and some even allow you to charge others for your app. If your fashion blog is in the top 10…maybe you can get away with charging…but other than that, don’t even think about it.

Best Tools For Fashion Bloggers: PhoneGap

2. Click and Point

The Problem: Online shopping has evolved. The one thing that we do well as fashion bloggers is get brand names recognized and send sales. We started doing it as a passion…as a hobby, but now its evolved into something new. Most readers will go to a website and click and buy after reading your blog. Or go to a website and add it to their wish list or saved shopping cart for later. Now, other bloggers in other topic areas are adding shop now features to their website. However, with the new awareness bought by the FTC promotion rules, how do you keep your readers “connected” without stepping on toes?

The Solution: Affiliate Programs. I know they are not new, but for fashion bloggers, affiliate programs are essential for 2010. Write about a product or brand you really love, the brand knows exactly where the sales come from, and you get a nominal fee. The key to not spamming your readers is “LOVE”. Don’t promote a brand that you wouldn’t wear just for additional dollars, promote one that you love and that’s present in your archive posts.

Best Tools For Fashion Bloggers: Commission Junction, LinkShare, Affiliates Lifestyle, Fashion & Beauty Directory

1. The Death of Magazines

The Problem: This is one topic, that as fashion bloggers, we all understand… hey, let’s be honest, regardless of the economy, technology will always evolve…and it’s definitely good news for us in the long run. No matter how much I love my Vogue coming in every month…the smell, the feel…I can’t deny the obvious. Magazines are dropping like flies. But where are all their readers going and How can we get their attention?

The Solution: The online magazine. I’m not talking about a magazine Blogger or Wordpress template, I’m talking about a real online magazine. 2010 will be the year of merging content. Other bloggers don’t care if it’s a portal or a RSS feed. But, as fashion bloggers, we love beauty and the thought of throwing our content into a “portal” is a little heart wrenching. Instead consider partnering with other bloggers and aggregating your content into a real glossy online magazine for next year. No extra work needed as far as writing. Just put your best content from your blogs each month, focus more on layout and high resolution pictures, and you are ready to go.

Best Tools For Fashion Bloggers: OpenZine

This post is by Lauren Cooke of A Typical Atypical Photo of Jordana and Geri using their Windows phones at NYFW.

Blogging is no longer a matter of sitting down at a computer and hammering at the keyboard. Nowadays it is a matter of participation, of getting actively and enjoyably involved in the world around you. It is about interviews conducted via email, constant twitter updates, exploring the world with your digital camera and remembering to check your comments whilst on holiday. This new interactive and slightly daunting world means that we need new technology. I still survive (just) with my laptop alone for my blog… but now I am beginning the long and complicated search to find a blogging super phone that will help to expand my world.

This searching has made me realise just how many phones are out there – and I thought that you guys could probably use a list of the best blogging phones out there, just like I could! So, in no particular order, here are the 4 best options on the blogging phone market.

The iPhone

Yup, it had to be first. I am afraid there is no doubt about it – if this isn’t the best blogging phone out there, it is certainly the most well known! The email facilities and apps mean that this phone really does try to outstrip its enemies, with apps for most blogging system, not to mention for anything else you may ever need! The camera isn’t that great so you will need your faithful digital too, but the screen and usability are quite brilliant! Don’t immediately think that this is the best out there though – if you need a camera and a cheap contract there are better options out there by far!

The Blackberry Bold

The king of emails, these phones made their name by the ability to receive and send emails quickly and effectively on your phone. The Bold is the most powerful option out there, and includes a QWERTY keyboard that isn’t on a touch screen, which is quite a relief. The screen is much smaller but still pretty user friendly, and I know that at least Wordpress are currently developing a specific blogging app for it, that is currently in beta. Given that this phone boasts soo many fabulous features, I am quite disappointed that the camera is a puny 2MP.

The HTC Touch Pro 2

What, you have never heard of HTC? Don’t worry; I hadn’t until earlier this month! They are, however, a real competitor for top blogging phone, giving us a great big touch screen that doesn’t need two hands to hold (hello massive iPhone!) and plenty of good usability. The touchscreen is as good as an Apple, the looks are really stylish, and this baby comes packed with a 5MP camera that is more than enough for everyday blogging needs. Be careful though – this is often sold without an internet package meaning life can get very expensive, even though it has email capabilities and should be on internet contracts!

The Nokia N97

My personal favourite, this phone seems to happily combine all of the good points about the three phones above! I particularly admire the slide out keyboard which means you have enough space to type without difficulty – something that is vital for bloggers. You get tons of storage along with all the things that Nokia lovers already love, as well as a stonking 5MP camera with the much loved lens feature! There are no blog platform specific apps (can we push the Wordpress people, please…?!), but you can blog directly from your phone with generic apps as well as get email, surf the web and listen to music. It is a good looker too, but watch out – the contracts on this beauty can be huge, although affordable ones are out there if you search!

Editor’s note: This post is not sponsored, nor has it been influenced by our sponsors Windows Phone. The content of the  post is purely editorial as noted by Lauren Cooke.

Not all fashion communities are created equal, and as a blogger, we hear about what seems to be a new style community popping up all the time. But Chictopia has steadily risen amongst the ranks gaining respect amongst the fashion community both on and offline. Admittedly, I resisted Chictopia as it was already difficult keeping up with my existing profiles, but after joining… I knew it was some place different. Instead of trying to fit in, Chictopia has features where I can find inspiration from people by my body type, age and or coloring. Not that I always look for those things in style, but it was nice to look around a site where there was lots of search capabilities. I also really love the Chictopia community which really has a great following. Here we talk with co-founder Helen Zhu about how she put together this unique network and how bloggers can really leverage the community.

1. Can you tell us a little about what inspired you to start Chictopia?
I was inspired to start Chictopia after reading an article in Time magazine that named “you” as the person of the year. It talked about how Myspace allowed great musicians to be discovered, and Youtube gave talented film maker a launching pad. I realized that there is one industry left behind – fashion.
I wanted to create a network that would allow future stars in fashion to surface and give back to the community, so the idea of Chictopia was born.

2. When you started, what were some of the challenges, and how do they relate to some of your challenges today?
I think that the biggest challenge of starting any venture is to convince people of your vision – what you’ve done, and where you plan to take your project in the future. When we first started, because the network was so young, it was a lot harder to get users and customers/advertisers on board to contribute to the community. However, this task gets easier over time, as Chictopia has a lot more to show (coverage ranges from Teen Vogue, Nylon, Women’s Wear Daily, to Dazed and Confused), and the momentum has been built up.
Chictopia’s challenge today is to identify and create features that serve our community well. As our user and customer base grow, the list of needs grows as well. We want to build out the site to serve our users, but there are not resources to keep up with all the requests!

3. What is your philosophy in cultivating communities?
My philosophy in cultivating community is to first create a common goal, and then to increase communication to help users exchange information to achieve this goal. Stars are not stars without their fans. Chictopia has given birth to stars in fashion but we have also allowed their fans to become accessible to them through our supportive community.

4. Can you tell us a bit about Chictopia’s resources and how they’re different to other style networks?
Chictopia is a community that brings style seekers closer trendsetters. For style seekers, this is a great way to enhance her fashion sense. Learning from the stylish, and those that are similar in body shape and skin tone are the best way to enhance anyone’s looks. For trendsetters, Chictopia is a place to build up a fan base and get noticed. Our ever-expanding community is diverse, and has appreciation for people of all shapes and styles.
The registration process takes less than five minutes, and by becoming a member, you now belong to not just another social network, but a movement that pushes our fashion industry to become more
open to new ideas, talents, and shapes.

5. Which resources are particularly useful to bloggers?
For bloggers, who are essentially trendsetters, Chictopia is a great way to hone your photo taking and writing skills. Our community is open to anyone, so whether you are just starting out, or a veteran in the blogging world, everyone is welcome to participate and get feedback from our audience.
Chictopia also works very closely with major brands and publications. When they look to sponsor or feature a blogger, they often ask us for recommendations. If a blogger is an active member of Chictopia, she will essentially have us promoting her blog to audiences that are not usually accessible to independent bloggers. American Apparel has sponsored Chictopia’s bloggers (with our recommendation), Cosmo, Dazed and Confused, and Refinery 21 have all worked with us to feature bloggers in the past. Chictopia is the community to be seen.
Over the past year, we watched the rise of many stars from our community – from Karla getting featured by Lucky Magazine, to Corcorosa’s DIY being covered by Vogue, Chictopia is now known as THE PLACE to be if you want to be discovered by fashion editors from the industry. We’ve even helped a few users landed jobs. This fashion week, a few of our top bloggers are even covering New York fashion week shows for us!

6. You’ve had a lot of success with leveraging the traditional fashion media… do you care to share a bit on how you did that?
Most print magazines noticed us because their editors/interns heard about us through a friend or a blog they read. I think the key is to build a strong differentiating product, and then people will notice you. Chictopia was the first pioneer in aggregating Sartorialist like blogs into one place, offering a wide diversity in styles, trends and shapes for inspiration-seeking shoppers. The usefulness of the information we offer is unparalleled, and we were fortunate to see that the editors of print magazines saw that and reached out to us.

7. Does Chictopia reflect your own personal style? Or is it the other way around? In what ways?
My personal style is nothing special, and a lot of users on Chictopia have styles that are much more creative and point of view much more original than mine. I think that my personal style has evolved a lot through observing influencers on Chictopia. I used to shop a lot at stores like Anthropologie, Free people, and Ann Taylor. Now, I’ve branched out to more edgier shops like American Apparel, Forever 21, and Topshop. I suppose you can say that my style is constantly evolving, and that to some degree, is aligned with the pace of Chictopia – growth and the pursuit of the next amazing fashion innovation.

8. Which communities and or bloggers are you keeping an eye on now?
I keep an eye on Teen Vogue, Nylon, and Independent Fashion Blogger’s fashion community, as they all do a good job of serving and pleasing their users. I also keep an eye on Susie Bubble, Childhoodflames, Karla, and Corcorosa. They offer very well-thought out and original representations of their styles.

9. You’re going to have a Chictopia party at NYFW… do you want to let us know a little about that?
Yes, Chictopia throws a party at NYFW every season. his September, we will be partnering again with the 66sick girls to throw a fabulous event at Broadway East on Tues, September 15. Forever 21 is a sponsor of the event and will be giving out 200 goodie bags to our VIP list. The event is invitation only, but readers of IFB can rsvp at http://www.chictopia.com/rsvp/fallfashionweek

Questions from IFB Members:

What advice do you have for new users? (twitter.com/leia12)

My advice for new users/bloggers is to take your time to get to know the community, and then offer something of value. Whether it’s style advice or a supportive comment for your style icon, Chictopia’s community appreciates and rewards those who help our community advance.

Why did they named the site chictopia? And how to contribute at EIU? Thanks! (twitter.com/candydoll07)

We named the site Chictopia because we wanted the community to be a utopia for fashion minded people. Traditionally, the fashion industry is known to be exclusive and hard to break in. However, those that are in the industry rely having common people as fans and shoppers to keep them afloat. Chictopia wanted to create a place where anyone that takes an interest in fashion can feel included and contribute.
Contributing to EIU is easy – simply message Cheri and let her know that you’d like to contribute, and our editor will work to see if there is a good fit for you!

I want to know what her favorite flavor of ice cream is! (twitter.com/theXartist)
Cherry garcia from Ben and Jerry’s!

Hi there again, Icy of IndividualChic.com here. I hope you found my last post on how to make your Blogger blog more searchable useful. Thanks very much for all the lovely comments and suggestions, they’ve inspired me to write another post.

Are you the sort of person who uses a consistent sign-off on every post? Or perhaps like me, you might have a repeated line of text in every post; you’ll see on IndividualChic.com each post finishes with a RELATED line. If you are, Blogger has a feature that can make your life easier for you. It’s call a Post Template and you can set it up any way you like.

The easiest way to do this, is to write a temporary post, formatted exactly the way you want it, and then to copy the HTML off to the Post Template.

Prepare your Post Template:

1. Create a new post and make sure it has all of the formatting and text in it that you want to appear in every post. You might want to have a consistent sign-off like “Thanks for reading” or a signature image, or a related link like I do. Copy and paste from an existing post if that’s quicker
2. If it’s an existing post, make sure you delete any information you don’t want to appear. You might also consider replacing text with placeholder words for where you expect to type later. I use things like “Text here” and “Link here”
3. Check once more the post looks exactly the way you want it too
4. Click the Edit Html tab above your post
5. Select and copy all of the HTML code in the window

Create your Post Template:

1. Open your Blogger Dashboard in a new browser window or tab
2. Click on Settings beside the Blog you want to create a Post Template for
3. Click on the Formatting link at the top of the page
4. Scroll to the bottom of the page till you find the Post Template section
5. Paste the HTML you copied earlier into the Post Template box and press the Save Settings button

Test your Post Template:

1. Switch back to the Posting tab
2. Create a new post
3. Check the Post Template has automatically inserted your default format into the post
4. Finish writing your witty and informative post
5. Publish the post and check the whole thing looks the way it should
6. If you’re happy, congratulations on making your blogging just that bit easier
7. If you’re not happy, keep fiddling until you get it just the way you want (it will be worth the effort)

Once again, I hope you’ve found this post useful. Let me know what you think in the comments. I’d love to hear from you all.

Thanks,

Icy.

image by Sabrina Eras

A Blogger blog is a fairly simple thing. It’s easy to get up and going and it’s quick to post articles. However, there are a few simple things you can do if you want to make it easier to find your blog in the Interwebs.

The first two things you can do are really simple and require no knowledge of HTML or the back end of Blogger. These instructions work for whichever blogging platform you use.

Descriptive titles

Yep, you’d thing this one should be easy, but many people (including myself) forget this really simple step. Make your titles really descriptive and they’ll be more likely to be indexed by Google and the other search engines. For example, Special Report: CHOICE clothing sizes is a good title but Great vest is really pretty boring. What I should have used as a title was something like Dramatically tailored vest (in-fact, I might just rename it).

Descriptive links

This is another one where people (including me) get lazy. A link that points here is far less likely to be indexed than a link that points to a post on Icy’s shoe rules.

The next three things require you to start playing around a little bit with HTML, don’t be afraid though, you can do it ^_^.

Use headings within your posts

Now this is one I use rarely (except perhaps the headings within this post) but it is just as effective as the first two. In-fact, any text within any HTML tag is treated with higher priority in a search engine, than the normal text in a post, so this goes for bolded text, numbered and un-numbered lists as well. Here’s how to use a heading in Blogger.

1. Write your new witty, informative and interesting post
2. Click on the Edit Html tab at the top of the post
3. Find the text you want to format as a heading
4. At the start of the text type <h1> and at the end type </h1>. All HTML tags use the left and right angle brackets and the closing tag always uses the / symbol (that way you know it is the closing pair of the tab.
5. Switch back to the Compose tab and check the result. If the text is too big, switch back and try using the <h2> </h2> tags, or even h3 or less until you get a look that works for you.
6. Save or publish your post!

Alt tags for pictures

Alt tags for pictures are more likely to be indexed by a search engine, just the same as links and headings. IFB has talked about this before. Here is how to do it specifically in Blogger.

1. Write another witty, informative and interesting post.
2. Upload your photos into your post and position them to your liking.
3. Click on the Edit Html tab at the top of new post.
4. Look for the images in the text, they start with the code <img…
5. Scroll along each <img> tag looking for the text alt=”” (use the search function in your browser if this makes it easier.
6. Add your descriptive text within the quotes, including your site name. I might have something like alt=”Fabulous fashion @ Individual Chic”.
7. Save or publish your post.

Meta tags

Way back in 2007 Jeannine went into what Meta tags are and how to use them. They’re pretty simple, just a way to add keywords and descriptions to your blog. For instructions on how to add the tags to Blogger, see below.

1. Go to your Blogger Dashboard
2. Click on the Layout tab and then Edit HTML
3. Click on the link that says Download Full Template. Save the template somewhere on your hard drive with a nice descriptive name. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. If you screw things up, you want to be able to go back to a working copy
4. Look for the <head> tag. It should be right at the top of the Edit Template window. Put a couple of blank lines below it
5. Type in the tag below, substituting your name of course ^_^
   <meta content=’Icy’ name=’author’/>
6. Add another line and type in
   <meta content=’Your blog description here.’ name=’description’/>
7. Add a last line and type in
   <meta content=’all of the keywords you can think of, separated by commas’ name=’keywords’/>
8. Click the Save Template button
9. Load up your page and check it all works.

I hope you’ve found these tips helpful. Let me know in the comments.

Thanks, Icy.

image by ClickFlashPhotos

I have a giveaway on my blog… now what?

I pretty much think that’s what I said when I ran my first giveaway last December, I didn’t have a clue. While we have some great tips on how to give stylish giveways, like announcing/twitter/facebook trifecta for your giveaway, finding threads to announce in forums (IFB has a giveaway thread… don’t just show up on a forum you never posted and announce it there, it may not have a nice effect… but we’ll always love you).

Lovely IFB member, Grechen (of grechen’s closet among other grechen sites) launched free!grechen last year in response to the growing trend of blog giveaways. Like many sweepstakes and contest blogs, free!grechen takes submissions, however free!grechen specializes in fashion related giveaways, and works with many members of our community, therefore increasing the chance that you’ll attract more new traffic that’s more likely to stay than from a more general aggregated contest site that doesn’t specialize in fashion. I’ve used free!grechen for all of my giveaways and they have brought new traffic, though I’d like to see it grow, and the site has a lot of potential as a resource for the fashion blog community.

In addition to free!grechen there are several other contest sites that also bring in traffic, here’s a few:

• Contest Girl (recommended by Grechen herself, brings in great traffic)
• CashNet Sweeps (also recommended by Grechen)
• Sweeties Sweeps (has nice tips like how to WIN sweepstakes)
• Tip Junkie

What sites do you submit your giveaway contests to?

This post is written by Miss Elle of Broke and Beautiful

Oh, the wide world of open-source software…

It’s brought pleasure and pain to the lives of aspiring bloggers everywhere. The leader of the pack for bloggers-going-pro? Wordpress, that magical publishing platform that allows full customization as well as a squeaky clean user interface that so many of us hold dear to our hearts.

Wordpress understands our needs for a categorized dashboard, a clean color palette, and WYSIWYG, well, everything. As we are fashion bloggers, I’m pleased to note that Wordpress also understands our need for unique style and a tailored fit, which is precisely why plugins are a fashion blogger’s best friend.

But which to choose? The Wordpress Plugin Archive boasts over 4,000 plugins from users who know the software from the inside out. Well, take it from a girl whose plugin addiction runs rampant – I’ve already done the trial-and-error for you.

There are four major categories of plugins that I deem absolutely necessary: Monetization and Traffic Building, Readability, Relationships, and Back End. Regardless of how long your blog has or hasn’t been around – you need these.

Traffic Building & Monetization

You don’t really have much of a blog if people aren’t visiting it. In a similar vein, you’ll likely never “go pro” without monetization… So this category is fairly important.

LinkWithin
This little gem of a plugin is not only has easiest installation process I’ve ever seen, but the work it does is invaluable. After installation and activation, the plugin pulls three related posts from your archive and displays them at the bottom of each post, complete with a thumbnail image from each related post. The setup takes 30 seconds, and the results are top notch.

ShareThis
Displays a button that allows readers to share your post via social network, email, instant message, or text message.

Events Calendar
Allows you to build and display a calendar of upcoming sales, shopping events, etc. via sidebar widget, or its own page. Giving readers a credible, one-look summary of all the sample sales will keep them coming back. (Plus, the link out of the calendar could easily be your referring URL, earning you a few bucks of spending cash!)

Post Footer
A simple plugin that places an ad (of your choice) between your content and the comments on a single post page. The in-dash user interface allows you to skip the code-skimming to replace or change the ad.

WP-Affiliate
If you’re a regular user of affiliate programs, this plugin will definitely ease your mind. Along with integration of Commision Junction’s database, this plugin allows you to mask those crazy affiliate URLs by using your own URL to redirect the reader.

Readability

Even if you have the best content out there, your message won’t come across if your readability is off. These plugins not only keep things on the aesthetically pleasing side, but also offer major functionality. You can only improve your blog by installing them.

iMax Width
Fashion bloggers love a hi-res image. Prevent your layout from getting screwed up by oversized photos by setting a maximum image width.

Google Translate
One of the greatest things about fashion is its international appeal and influence. This plugin allows readers from all over the world to translate your site via Google.

Ajax Edit Comments
This plugin gives your readers the ability to go back and edit their comments within a certain window of time after they’ve posted, you specify the amount. This eliminates the need for “correction comments” by your readers, as well as gives your commentators control.

Exclude Pages from Navigation
Well, this plugin is pretty self explanitory. If you’ve got pages that definitely belong on your site, but don’t necessarily belong in the main navigation bar, this plugin provides a check box which, when unchecked, removes pages and child pages from the main navigation bar.

Back End

These plugins aren’t pretty, and they don’t smell nice, but the work that they do on the inner workings of your blog is priceless.

Article Templates
If you’re like me, you have “columns” – or regular themes that you post on each week. This plugin allows you to store templates of these posts so you don’t need to format an empty post with your headers/footers/whatever when its time for your regularly scheduled feature.

Future Calendar
This plugin is especially good if you a) have your blog organized to the point where you only make x posts per day, or b) manage a multi-author blog. It allows you to see what days you have posts scheduled for from the edit post page. It’s also available as a widget to show your readers when they should expect to see posts.

Maintenance Mode
While it’s (hopefully) not a plugin you’ll use regularly, when it’s time to redesign your ever-changing layout, activating this plugin will put a simple “Under Construction” notice on the front page of your site, making it unavailable to everyone except for logged-in administrators.

Shortcut Macros
Is it super nerdy to have a favorite plugin? Well, regardless of the answer, this is mine. If you’re constantly adding the same code for the same links in different posts, you know it can be pretty annoying/time consuming/frustrating. Shortcut Macros allows you to use “codes” that are linked to text/HTML  (specified by you) to easily throw images, links, or text into your posts without having to enter the same 256 character HTML codes. For instance, “##ifb” could be a shortcut macro that, when inserted into a post as-is, would (when saved) populate the HTML code which would create this: Independent Fashion Bloggers.

Relationships

Building relationships could, quite possibly, be the most important part of becoming a succesful blogger. Forming and maintaining communicative relationships with your readers builds trust, credibility, and offers a more enjoyable experience for your readers – these plugins make building relationships a cinch.

Brian’s Threaded Comments
Brian and his threaded comments have really done a number for reader-blogger interaction. This plugin gives you the ability to respond to individual comments in a “nested” format.

WP Enhanced Form
Often times, when you invite readers to contact you, the site of an email address can ignite the laziness in some people – having to open up email programs, copy/click the link, format the email… When you just want to drop a note, it can seem a little time consuming to send an email. (Hey, I said for some people!) This plugin gives you a contact box that doesn’t require anything but your reader’s email address, their name, and their note.

CommentLuv
Bloggers love to comment to other bloggers – this is a fact. Why not show them some “luv” by using this plugin, which lists their last post (via RSS) as a link directly below their comment?

Comment Relish
This plugin sends off a customizable “Thanks for commenting!” email to each new reader who makes their first comment on your site. A great way to promote your RSS feed, an upcoming event, or a popular post.

WP Polls
I’m consistently baffled as to why Wordpress doesn’t include this feature in their builds. WP Polls gives you an extremely user-friendly, effective system of polling your readers. No registration is needed – just a click. It’s particularly good for obtaining demographic information about your readers.

Obvious-but-Honorable Mentions

These plugins definitely get an A+ from me, but they’re pretty standard fare, and only being included for any newbies who might be out there reading.

WordPress.com Stats – Gives you a full-featured view of how many people are reading your site. Includes referring site, out-click, search terms, and which posts were most viewed.

Akismet – An excellent spam filter for comments. (Included in your installation of Wordpress.)

Exec-PHP – Nearly idential to a regular text widget, installing this plugin will allow you to execute PHP commands from your sidebar and posts.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that “21 Essential Plugins” is a bit of a stretch for the common blogger; however, I guarantee that once they’re all installed, configured and activated, you’ll be shocked at how smoothly your blog runs, and how much time you save. If you’re still uncomfortable with the idea of configuring 20+ plugins, I urge you to go through your blog, find out what you’re missing from your perfection of a mental image, and return to this list to see if any of these plugins fit the bill. Don’t be afraid to search for a specific plugin if you don’t see one here, either. Some of the best plugins I’ve found have been discovered via my googling “WP plugin makes images all the same size and stuff”.

Do you have a favorite plugin that’s not featured here? What is it and why do you love it?

Photos by: yonderlove & Patrice Speed