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5 Ways To Add Details To Your TV and Film Blogs

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Anyone who has an opinion about TV or film can write a blog. But what makes your voice unique? What makes your perspective engaging? Sometimes it’s going to be the way that you use language, or how much experience you have in a particular subset of the TV and film genre.

But, if you want to tighten up your style and information presentation even further, what you’re really looking for, is the way to thread details into your blogging format. So, for instance, with TV and film, you can look into technical details, historical details, character details, production details, and financial details. Consider each while creating your next blog post. [Read more…]

Widgets For Your Blog

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Blogs bring a lot of pleasure to their owners for many reasons, and one of the things I like most is the fact that you can tweak your blog to your heart’s content. Widgets are one of the most useful tools that you can employ to make your blog look just like the way you want it to.

Widgets may sound cool, but do you have a clear idea of what they are and what they can do? Again, let’s go the most basic route: widgets are basically groups of code that can be used in various web sites (including your blog). They do not require any additional programming work on the par of the end user (you and I). All that you need to do is copy the code to your blog, and you’re good to go.

That’s the (slightly) technical part. Now let’s focus on the more practical aspects of widgets. Basically, you can find widgets of any kind that can add visual appeal to your blog. More than aesthetic value, widgets also offer a lot in terms of usability. Think clock widgets, calendar widgets, countdown widgets, map widgets, comment widgets, popular post widgets, and so on. In fact, there are countless widgets available online today, that it is probably impossible to count them!

As you start your blogging journey, you may be tempted to grab each and every widget that catches your fancy. Trust me, this is NOT a good idea. There is such a thing as having too many widgets in your blog, and if this is the case, you will probably end up with confused or irritated readers – both having negative implications for you.

So what are you to do then? Let’s begin with the most essential widgets that you are going to need. After a few weeks or months of blogging, you will have enough experience to pick out more widgets that will be beneficial to your blog.

Popular Posts Widgets
I think that this widget is one of the most important tools out there. Once you amass a lot of posts in your blog, it could be hard for readers to find older posts, even if they are your best posts. The solution is to use a popular post widget which will highlight these posts. Making it easy for your readers to find these excellent posts works in two ways: one, you give quality content to your readers, making them happy; two, you increase your chances of having readers subscribe to your blog.

Labels or Tags Widgets
Blog platforms usually have these widgets as a default, but you should always make sure that your widget is up and running properly. The reason is quite similar to the rationale behind the first widget I mentioned – you want readers to navigate your blog more easily and to find the posts most relevant to them. Just remember, though, that you have to label or tag your posts properly in order for these widgets to work the way they ought to.

Related Posts Widgets
Do you want to get more page views and promote posts that may not be as popular as the others? Then get a widget that provides links to posts with related content. Again, this will give your readers additional information and give you benefits as well.

These are only some of the most important widgets that you can use for your blog. As you go along, I am certain that you will find more.

Pictures In Your Blog

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If you’ve taken a look at other blogs – which I assume you have – you have probably noticed that many of them make use of pictures and photos within the posts. While this makes sense to me, I don’t want to assume that everyone else has the same idea, so let me ask you, why is it important to add pictures to your blog? I could go on and on about the reasons for adding pictures to blog posts, but let me just stick with the most important ones.

1. It adds to the whole visual experience. I am talking about color, texture, and the like. Many people are visual; that is, they have a better reading experience when they see illustrations and graphics. Using relevant pictures in your posts will make these people happier, and that is what you want.
2. Pictures help break up long chunks of text. Whether you like it or not, not everyone likes seeing long blocks of text without a break every now and then. This is where pictures come in. If you have 10 paragraphs of interesting text, use two or so pictures to provide breaks. As interesting as the topic may be, the pictures will make it even better!
3. Pictures add recall value. Again, a lot of people are visual, and they remember images better than text. If you want to make a greater impact on your readers, then adding eye catching pictures is the way to go.
4. Pictures say a thousand words. Cliché, I know, but true nonetheless. There are just some things that cannot be described by words in a single post. With a picture, you can achieve things that may not be easily done by merely using pure text.

So now that I have convinced you of the importance of pictures, what next? Let’s take a look at how you can find images for your blog. One thing to remember: make sure that you are not “stealing” photos off of someone. While everything can be had online, you have to be careful of copyright issues.

The good news is that there are many resources online which can help you find photos without worrying about ethical issues. Try iStockphoto, which provides excellent pictures for blogs. You would have to pay for their service, though. You can also take a look at PicApp, which allows you to link to photos for FREE. Other free sites include Stock.Xchng and Freepixels.

Another thing that I like to do is go to Flickr and search for relevant photos. The thing is, you have to click on the option that says Creative Commons License. This will give you results of images that you can use for your blog, as long as you give the proper credit to the owner.

The bottom line here is to find pictures that are related to the content of the post and that are “available” for use. Follow these two simple guidelines and you will have much better posts (visually) without the headache of copyright issues.

Blog Design Versus Blog Content

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This argument is as old as time. Perhaps it has been phrased differently in various contexts, but the comparison of form and function has been around for as long as I can remember. And this is basically what this page is all about. Which is more important, blog design or blog content?

Let’s begin the discussion by clearly identifying what we mean by blog design and blog content. In the simplest possible way, when I say blog design, I am referring to the layout, the template, the colors, and all other visual aspects of the blog. When I say blog content, I am referring to the text and relevant images.

You’ve probably heard of the catch phrase “content is king.” A lot of people believe in this, simply because it makes sense. At the end of the day, what you want is to offer people content that they can make use of. It can be practical information on a topic. It can be insights for daily living. It can even be simple humor that will make the reader smile or chuckle. The bottom line is that when people go to your blog, they will find something in terms of information that will suit their needs and preferences.

On the other hand, design makes a HUGE difference in the experience of a reader. Think about the many times that you’ve visited a blog or any other web site. Think about how your perception was affected by the visual elements. More likely than not, a shabby looking blog turned you off even before you could read the contents in detail. When the layout is not user-friendly, it gets even worse. Even the most dedicated of readers might not stick around for more content if navigation is an arduous task.

At this point, you probably see where I am headed – both content and design have their purpose. One cannot be placed on a pedestal at the expense of the other. Indeed, many have come to the realization that your blog design will catch the attention of readers, while your blog content will keep them coming back for more. I hold the belief that a good blog design will attract people. In addition to that, a good blog design will work together with excellent content to keep readers coming back for more.

So how do you strike a balance between these two elements? Here are a few simple things to consider.

One, make sure that the visual elements come together to create a pleasing whole. Different elements – the header, images, widgets – may look good alone, but you have to see the overall effect and make your decision based on that.

Two, make sure that readers will find it easy to browse through your blog. Archives, tags, categories, and other relevant links – help your reader find these without exerting too much effort.

Three, always provide well-written posts about information relevant to your blog’s theme. Don’t fall for this trap: “poor content is better than no content.” Take the time to think out your posts before publishing them. When you look at your blog, you want to be proud of what you are offering!

All About Blog Templates

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If you were to ask me which aspect of starting a blog involves the most fun, I would have a hard time answering you. Right now, though, off the top of my head, I would have to say that choosing the blog template is right there at the top of my list. This is even truer for those who are into designs and those who place high value on aesthetics.

Let’s revisit the term “blog template” just in case you’ve forgotten what it means. Simply put, a blog template determines what your blog looks like. Of course, it is coded using a language, but the end result is what you and your readers see. From colors to fonts to the number of columns – all these depend on the blog template that you choose. As you can surmise, your blog template of choice could very well define the visual success of your blog. As such, you have to be discriminatory in choosing a blog template.

So where do you start? The beauty of blogging platforms (especially Blogger and WordPress) is that they come with default blog templates. This makes things so much easier for the new blogger. Even better, you can choose any default template if you cannot make up your mind just yet – you can always change the template later on.

As with many things that have “defaults,” the blog templates that are available from most blogging platforms may not meet all of your needs and preferences. The good news is that you can find other blog templates online which you can use for your blog. You can either look for FREE blog templates or find a designer/programmer who will create a custom blog template. Naturally, if you decide on the latter choice, you should be ready to pay for the designer’s services (unless you happen to have a friend who does this).

Here are some things to consider when choosing a blog template – whether free or paid.

1. What sort of layout do you want?
What I mean is this: how many columns do you want in your blog? Do you want one main column for the posts and one sidebar on the right? Or maybe you want it on the left? Or maybe you want one main column for the posts and two sidebars – one on each side. This is a great place to start as you can search for free blog templates depending on the number of columns that you want.

2. What color scheme do you have in mind?
Everyone has a favorite color – what’s yours? Blog templates have default color schemes but many also have options to tweak the hues. When checking out blog templates, make sure that the color suits your preferences AND the overall theme of the blog as well.

3. Do you want a custom header?
The header is that image at the top of the page, and it is something that I value highly. The header is often the first thing seen by readers and I think that it has to make a good impression. Now if you think like me, then you will have to look for a blog template that allows users to change the image for the header.

4. What other customization requirements do you have?
Aside from changing the image header, you might want to be able to customize other aspects of the layout such as the size of the sidebar and so on. I suggest listing these things down so that you can check as you are going through various blog templates.

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