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Tips Accepted Here

Tips have long been a traditional way of saying thanks. The method of giving tips varies from country to country but the general nature of a tip is the same — a way to express gratitude to someone for a job well done. Now, Pro Level subscribers have a fast and easy way to receive tangible feedback from their readers by adding a Tip Jar to their weblog sidebar.

You put effort into your weblog – now you have the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of your effort. And to make it easy, the Tip Jar feature works via PayPal, so millions of weblog readers can simply drop cash in to your weblog from their PayPal accounts or directly from their credit cards.

We updated TypePad’s Earnings Tracking section while developing the Tip Jar feature. This means that as a Pro-level blogger you can earn money from ads and tips, and track your progress as well as manage all of your Earnings activities in one place. We will be posting more details about how we updated the Earnings Tracking section soon. But first we want to get you started on receiving tips from readers.

Configuring Tip Jar is easy. Just follow the simple steps below or learn more details in the TypePad User Manual.

Setting Up Your Tip Jar

1. Log in to TypePad and select the weblog to which you want to add a Tip Jar.
2. Click on the Design Tab and Change Content Selections. You will see the new Tip Jar check box listed under Your Side Bar Content.



3. Configure and select your preferences. You can choose a Tip Jar badge style, customize the badge title, provide a suggested Tip amount or even link to a post that describes your Tip Jar.



4. Click Save Changes, and you are done.

You can also manage the location of your Tip Jar in the blog’s sidebar as you would any other sidebar content item. Just click Change Ordering in the Edit Design screen.

We look forward to seeing all the creative ways this new feature is put to use to help you get the most out of your blogging experience. Have fun!

Keep in touch by giving the gift of blogging

We had several college interns in the Six Apart offices this summer. While we were very sorry to see each of them head back to school last month, it’s also been great keeping up with them through their blogs. One of our interns went to study in Rome for a year, and we’ve been enjoying her updates and commentary on both Italian food and men. Apparently, a good way to learn Italian is to find a good-looking man who doesn’t speak too much English. One Six Apart employee has a six month old niece who is so smart she keeps a blog of all of her activities several times a week. Teething, trying solid food for the first time, and Daddy and Me swimming classes are just some of the topics she covers. While the rest of the world may not be taken with her daily activities, her family members located around the world find each of her posts inexplicably fascinating. There are also a number of us at Six Apart who have moved across the country to join the company, and our friends and family enjoy keeping up with our new lives via our blogs.

If you’ve been wishing you could hear more from your favorite teenager who just went off to college, or your old college friend who just had a baby, or your neighbors who just moved to Australia for sabbatical, we’ve put together some special TypePad pricing that can satisfy your need for more information AND make you look like the considerate, generous person that you are.

If you are already a TypePad customer, you can get a free TypePad subscription (at the same level) to give as a gift by renewing your subscription for an additional year. Or, if you just want to buy a subscription for a special person, annual subscription prices for our TypePad Basic, Plus and Pro services are now reduced to just $39, $69, and $99 respectively, allowing you to save up to 55% off a yearly subscription. (If you are not a TypePad customer yet, sign up here.)

We hope that you and the special people you want to stay in touch with enjoy keeping up through your TypePad blogs as much as we've enjoyed it.

How your blog can help victims of Hurricane Katrina

Ever since Monday, I have been touched by the amount of support shown by my fellow co-workers to those of us here at Six Apart who have family and friends living in the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. I myself have over 20 relatives who live in the city of New Orleans, including my parents, 5 aunts and uncles, 3 cousins, and a large extended family. Jay Allen has family in New Orleans as well, and many more of us have friends there. We suspect that we here at Six Apart are not unlike many of you - we all have been affected by Hurricane Katrina, and are wondering, "what can we possibly do to help?"

Believe it or not, one of the best things you can do is also the easiest: send money, and encourage others to do so as well. It only takes a moment to add one of the following badges to your weblog:

In an area where people have no food, no potable water, no electrity, no shelter, and in many cases: nothing at all, a little bit can go a long way.