There are a few things that aren't ideal about this blogging thing and I'm on a quest to make them better. Here's what I don't like and want to improve:

1. Information can become irrelevant. Online publishing changes at an insanely rapid pace. Consequently, posts can become obsolete. For example, a while back "fan gates" were all the rage on Facebook, so I wrote a post about it. Now "fan gates" don't even work on Facebook. Knowing that post is sitting in my archives sorta bugs me. I want to make sure the information contained here is updated and relevant, no matter where you enter my blog.
2. Information gets lost. The majority of my posts are still relevant, but as we all know, the nature of blogging makes perfectly good posts get buried in the archives. I want to find a more effective way to keep those posts highlighted and easily accessible.
3. Information gets unorganized. In many niches, categories and tags do a sufficient job of keeping things organized, but in this niche, where things change and build on each other, I think there's a better way. I want to reorganize and restructure to make this a well-organized reference site so you can find what you need when you need it.
4. Information can become narrow in scope. Keeping up with the online world is like drinking from a firehose. I could post multiple times a day and still not cover it all. Worthy-to-be-shared content is everywhere–on other social media sites and other blogs. I want to pass on as much as possible without causing information overload on the blog. I've come up with a solution I think will work.

What I'm doing

There are a few things in the works.

• I'm getting a new, streamlined design (launching in a month or two).
• I'm updating and reorganizing what's already here.
• I'm revamping the main way I communicate with you (more below).

In short, online media is changing and I want to keep up.

What does this mean for you?

I will still post here. And I will keep the tips, tools and tutorials coming. However, most of my tips, tools and tutorials will now come via email. This will allow me to share more tips in a more concise way to both new and seasoned bloggers. Trust me on this. If you already get my emails, you'll see what I mean next week. If you don't already get my emails and you want full access, you can sign up here. (Of course, you can unsubscribe at any time–no hard feelings!)

A sneak peek…

Don't think of this new thing as a newsletter (sounds too stuffy). And it's not just my posts in email form (I'm breaking away from this model). I like to think of this as a useletter. Here are some of the things I've got lined up in the weeks to come:

• The photo resource I've been purposefully keeping secret from you because, well, you'll see.
• A fantastic spreadsheet for those of you who want tons of marketing ideas for your book or ebook.
• Speaking of ebooks, the very simple but brilliant tip to make your Kindle ebook better.
• The interesting tidbit I came across about forms on your site and how you might get better interaction.
• Something to look for when you're considering submitting a guest post on someone else's blog.
• A handy tool to help you make sure you're not breaking Facebook rules on your Page.
• The productivity tip I don't think I'd have the guts to try.
• Plus, I'll share the tweaks I'm making on my own stuff.
• And more. From across the internet. All in bite-size bits.

I think you'll like it.

Interested? If you're already on my mailing list, you're good to go. If you're not, click here to sign up.

The post 4 Things I Don't Like About My Blog appeared first on Blogging with Amy.

Click here to purchase it in a new window and then you can read on below.

For many of us who have been part of this sale, it's been a fascinating few weeks as we've prepared for and walked through it. This wasn't just a few moms who threw their ebooks into a bundle to make a few bucks. This was a serious business endeavor resulting in thousands and thousands of dollars exchanging hands.

I thought I would highlight some of my takeaways.

1. You can't skip building relationships

When someone asks me how they can grow their blog or make money blogging, I always tell them to build relationships. It's not a popular answer because relationships take time, but it's very difficult to gain traction online if you don't get to know others. All 75 authors who participated in this sale had a connection to at least one other person in the group. Building genuine relationships takes time but it's worth it.

2. Harness the hiccups

Whether you're launching a new blog, an book or a bundle sale, there are always hiccups when you launch something new. Embrace that fact and push through. Don't let the hiccups, or the fear of hiccups, keep you from doing it. A few hours into the sale I started a "#FAIL" list. This is my goofy way of keeping track of the things I would do differently if I have a similar opporutnity down the road.

3. The biggest gain isn't necessarily monetary

If we only look at the sales figures or the revenue totals, we're missing some of the most advantageous benefits of this sale. Some other direct effects have been increased traffic, widened exposure, individual ebook sales boosts and most importantly, new relationships and partnerships. Those things have the potential to reap great rewards down the road.

4. Create your own product

There are a lot of ways to make money as a blogger. Creating your own product is one of the best income streams of all because it gives you leverage and options. Clearly, without my own ebook, I couldn't have participated in this sale. I highly recommend creating your own product. Publishing an ebook is an easy and doable place to start.

5. Get your own site

And you'll need your own website (or blog) too. In fact, I'd recommend you get a site while you're working on your product. In the future, I firmly believe having your own website will become as common as having your own email address.

6. Pick yourself

Maybe you already have a site and a product and you want to be part of a sale like this but you haven't been asked. I think Seth Godin was the first one who said, "Pick yourself." In other words, don't wait to be asked by someone else, start something yourself and ask others to join you! The internet has made it possible to connect with others, pool your resources and research how to pull it off. You can grab our bundle to see what we did, but be creative. (Remember, today is literally your last chance. This sale will not happen again in the future.)

The post 6 Blogging Takeaways from The Ultimate Bundle Sale appeared first on Blogging with Amy.

What is a disclosure?

A disclosure provides a reader all necessary and relevant information regarding a purchase or promotion so they can make a well-informed decision. It's "the fine print."

Disclosure: I am not a lawyer and this should not be considered legal advice. You should seek appropriate counsel for your own situation.

Please note, this post is directed toward readers in the United States. If you are conducting business outside the United States, I highly encourage you to seek out and understand your obligations regarding disclosure.

Two conversations today have prompted me to do three things:

1. Review more thoroughly the .com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising released last month (March 2013) by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
2. Edit my post about The Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle.
3. Summarize my takeaways below.

A couple of things you should know

• I will not address every point covered in the document and it's very possible some of them will apply to you (like guidelines for Twitter) so I highly encourage you to read the whole document yourself.
• There are multiple examples of proper disclosures in the Appendix of the report that are very helpful. For example, Example 21 describes a common blog post in which the disclosure is included at the end of the post but is not sufficient. According to this example, bloggers are disclosing incorrectly all the time. Take a look and note the commentary at the top:

Why do we have to disclose?

The FTC wants to make sure business is conducted fairly. This is good for all of us.

The FTC has enforced and will continue enforcing its consumer protection laws to ensure that products and services are described truthfully online, and that consumers understand what they are paying for. These activities benefit consumers as well as sellers, who expect and deserve the opportunity to compete in a marketplace free of deception and unfair practices.

My takeaways from the FTC's report

Overall, disclosures must be "clear and conspicuous" both on a computer screen or on a mobile device. You must disclose on microblogging sites like Twitter as well (see Appendix for specific examples.) There is no set standard or format for disclosures but here are some general guidelines:

1. Your disclosure should be obvious and unavoidable.
2. It should be placed in close proximity to the "triggering item" (such as an affiliate link).
3. It should not get buried in or covered up by text, banner ads or other graphics.
4. It should not get separated from the "triggering item" by unrelated information or graphics. For example, a standard disclosure in your footer may not be sufficient if your footer is separated from your post. Or, if your disclosure is placed in another section of your site (say your sidebar), many times it will get separated by unrelated information when it's being read on a mobile device.
5. "Disclosures must be effectively communicated to consumers before they make a purchase or incur a financial obligation. Where advertising and selling are combined on a website or mobile application — that is, the consumer will be completing the transaction online — disclosures should be provided before the consumer makes the decision to buy, e.g., before clicking on an “order now” button or a link that says “add to shopping cart.”
6. It should not be placed apart from links that might take the reader away from the site before seeing the disclosure. (See Example 21 above.)
7. If getting to the disclosure requires scrolling (on mobile devices too), you should "use text or visual cues to encourage consumers to scroll" to find the disclosure.
8. It should not be located in a place that readers typically do not look on a screen.
9. Simply including a disclosure somewhere in the post does not necessarily mean it meets the "clear and conspicuous" standard. If there's a reasonable chance the reader won't see it, it's not sufficient. (Again, see Example 21 above.)

Sometimes it's acceptable to link to the full disclosure, but…

If you cannot reasonably include your full disclosure near the "triggering claim," you may link to a page where the full disclosure is displayed. However:

1. The link to the disclosure page should be near the "triggering item."
2. The link to the disclosure page should be obvious & unavoidable.
3. The link to the disclosure page should not be an icon, symbol or abbreviation.
4. "Hyperlinks that simply say 'disclaimer,' 'more information,' 'details,' 'terms and conditions,' or 'fine print' do not convey the importance, nature, and relevance of the information to which they lead and are likely to be inadequate."
5. The link should look the same as all the other links on your site (i.e. the same color, font size, underlined or not, etc.).
6. The page containing the full disclosure should be easy to navigate and the disclosure itself should be immediately visible.
7. Do not use "blockable pop-ups" to house your disclosure.

Conclusion

I want to say again that I am not a lawyer nor do I claim any expertise in this area at all, so if you have specific questions, I will probably refer you back to the FTC report.

Personally, I will be changing the way I disclose from this point forward and I am going to be editing my posts, particularly the ones from March 2013 forward, starting with The Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle.

If you find blogging tips like this useful, you might consider signing up and I'll send 'em to you. You can do so under my picture in the sidebar. Thanks!

The post Are You Disclosing Properly in Your Posts? appeared first on Blogging with Amy.

On Saturday, I spent many hours working on a post due out this morning. (Just for context, I am the world's slowest writer. And also, I don't like to write. Why I chose blogging as a career is still a mystery.)

Those hours of writing were squeezed in around soccer games, a run to the airport and dinner out for a friend's birthday–you know, normal Saturday stuff.

Well, I don't know if you're a blogger and if this has ever happened to you, but at 11:00pm I was still working on the post (with no end in sight) and I suddenly realized I was done. Absolutely done. Like, I hit a wall done. Like, "I've got nothin' left" done. Just plain done.

So I closed up the computer and went to bed.

The post I was working on was about a sale. A big sale. Objectively, it's an excellent value, but I had been wrestling with the "right" way to tell you about it. I wanted everything to be just so. "Do I say it like this or like that?" "Is it better to put that there or here?" "Should I link like this or not at all?" Perfectionism kicked in big time.

Perfectionism paralyzes. (<--Click here to tweet this).

And I am so tired of being paralyzed.

So I thought, "Why am I doing this? I should just tell them that there's a huge ebook bundle on sale and I'm buying it I bought it and maybe they should too."

So that's what I'm telling you. There's a huge ebook bundle on sale. I'm buying it I bought it and maybe you should too.

Here's the gist

The name is a bit of a misnomer because it's really so much more, but it's called The Ultimate Homemaking eBook Bundle. A $640 value for less than $30. You can see the entire list of almost 100 (!) ebooks & ecourses included, as well as all the fine print over on the not-really-finished post that made me cry uncle.

For homemakers and women, it's a no-brainer. For non-homemakers, the reason why I think you would benefit is because there are several ebooks in the bundle about blogging, time management, money management and more. It's certainly enough to make the bundle totally worth it. And then you get a BOATLOAD of other ebooks to boot. (Did I say there are almost 100?) Plus freebies. Score. It's definitely worth a look.

The post Perfectionism Paralyzes (Or, The Post That Made Me Cry Uncle) appeared first on Blogging with Amy.

Raise your hand if you frequently find yourself rabbit-trailing as you follow all those links!

I know from experience that open browser tabs are one of the biggest causes of distraction and loss of productivity.

Pocket is still awesome

One way I've been able to curb my habit quite a bit is to use the Pocket app that I described in this post. Pocket allows me to quickly save things to read later. Then, when I have a few minutes of dead time (like waiting in line at the grocery store or waiting for my daughter's volleyball practice to end) I can open up Pocket on any of my devices and catch up with my reading. I love it.

But now I have come across another tool that adds another layer of accountability.

Controlled Multi-Tab Browsing

I use Google Chrome for my browser and there's an extension called Controlled Multi-Tab Browsing that's sure to keep you on track. (Firefox users, try the Window and Tab Limiter add-on.)

As the name suggests, once installed, you can specify how many browser tabs you're going to allow yourself to have open at once. If you try to open a tab above your limit, it just won't open.

To override the system, you either have to close an already open tab or you have to change the limit number. (Changing the limit number isn't difficult, but let me tell you, it makes you stop and think.)

Wanna give it a whirl?

Here's how to get it:

1. Grab the extension here.

2. Click "Install" to add it to Chrome.

3. Once installed, click the icon in your browser bar. Set your tab limit and save. (You can change this limit at any time by simply clicking the icon.)

4. Now, if you try to open too many tabs, no dice. Instead, you'll get this message:

5. Click OK, feel a little sheepish and get back to work!

Hat tip goes to Danielle!

The post How to Be More Productive By Limiting Open Browser Tabs appeared first on Blogging with Amy.