Everything Typepad

A Year in Review: Check Out Typepad's New Features

What a year 2014 has been! We here at Typepad are committed to making Typepad a better service each day, and we've been busy as bees releasing new features and improving the system overall.  This includes offering new themes, adding entirely new features, and more, all the while implementing your own feedback and suggestions.

We know it's hard to keep up with all the Typepad news, so we're going to take a few weeks to look back at some of the features that we've introduced this year to make sure you didn't miss anything.

The next several posts in this special series will be in-depth looks at specific features like the welcome message, but that doesn't mean that those are all the features that we've added this year.  Here's a quick recap of some of the ones that won't be getting their own topic.  Please make sure to check them all out!

First up, we've made some significant additions to the design area.  We'll be going over the addition of responsive themes (including the responsive theme builder), but we've also added themes like Tectonic and improved others with additional layout options.

We had often received requests to make uploading an image to your sidebar an easier process, so with that in mind, at the beginning of the year, we made it dead simple to add images to your sidebar.

We also gussied up the navigation bar and added hover effects to the links you create in your posts.  It's kind of fancy.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most important features for our subscribers.  With that in mind, we added meta descriptions for Pages.

There was even a new account level - Enterprise - created to allow small companies and organizations a cheaper way to add an administrator to their plans without upgrading to Typepad Business Class.

One of our new favorite features, the Post Carousel, made it easy to add a slideshow of your latest blog posts to the top of your blog.  It's a great way to engage readers and make your blog a little more interactive.

We then went a step further and added the Post Carousel's functionality to the sidebar with the Sidebar Carousel.  We also released the Copyright and Introduction widgets for the sidebar at this time as well.

Just last week, we also announced that we integrated PayPal with Typepad so you could use your PayPal account to pay for your subscription.

Are  you using any of these or our other new features on your blog?  If so, sending us at Tweet at @typepad and maybe we'll showcase your blog!

As you can see, we've been working digilently this year to make Typepad an even better place for your blog content.  Be sure to come back over the next few weeks to learn about other features that we've recently introduced.

Typepad On Pinterest: Viet World Kitchen

Did you know Typepad is on Pinterest? It's true! We love pinning and repinning great content from Typepad blogs in every genre, and we're always looking for great, inspirational content. Are you on Pinterest? Drop your link in the comments, and don't forget to follow Typepad right here! If you're not on Pinterest yet, check it out - it's a great way to promote your blog and connect with others!

Want some inspiration? Check out our featured pinner, Viet World Kitchen

Andrea Nguyen is a food writer, cookbook author, food/hospitality consultant and a cooking teacher. Lucky for us, she also shares her wealth of Asian cuisine knowledge on her blog Viet World Kitchen.  You will not be able to resist trying one of these dishes.

FOLLOW: Blog | Pinterest

Want to promote your pinterest account on your Typepad blog? Just go to Blogs > Content and add the Pinterest Widget to your Sidebar via the center menu. While you're there, make your blog posts "pinable" by adding the Pin It button to your post footers.

Want even more? Learn how to promote your blog on Pinterest and follow Typepad at www.pinterest.com/typepad.

Adding Security Questions to Your Account

When you log into Typepad today, you'll see a red box across the top of your dashboard.  It will look like this:

There's no need for alarm. The red box isn't scary; it's a way to help your account become more secure than it already is. To increase the security of your account, and to get the box to go away, go to the Account link and answer two of the security questions posed in the drop-down boxes.

You may be wondering how these questions increase the security of your account. The answers you provide will help identify you in the event that you become locked out of your account. This is essential for making sure you are who you say are, beyond the measures we already have in place.

If you have any questions, as always, just simply open a help ticket and one of our friendly Typepad staff will be there to assist you!

Featured Blog: Leiter Reports

NAME: Brian Leiter
BLOG: Leiter Reports
TYPEPAD MEMBER SINCE: 2004
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: Brian Leiter is a Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the Center for Law, Philosophy & Human Values at the University of Chicago. He teaches and writes primarily in the areas of moral, political, and legal philosophy, in both Anglophone and Continental traditions. His blog, Leiter Reports, presents news and views about philosophy, the academic profession, academic freedom, intellectual culture...and a bit of poetry.

FOLLOW: Typepad

Typepad 101: What Is My RSS Feed URL?

“RSS Feed” is a term that is used a lot, especially when it comes to getting subscribers to follow your blog.  It is the URL you use to set up email subscription updates with a service like FeedBlitz, and it is also the URL you need if you want your blog updates to appear any place else outside of your blog.  This is a good link to know!

The easiest way to find your RSS Feed URL is by viewing the HTML Source of your blog.  You can do this on any browser by either right-clicking your mouse and select “View Page Source” or similar relating to seeing the source option.  Then use the “Find” feature of your browser and do a search for “RSS.”  The result should direct you to a series of code that look like this (click fo a larger view):

This blog shows three different RSS feed URLs:

- http://mperezsay.typepad.com/myblog/atom.xml
- http://mperezsay.typepad.com/myblog/rss.xml
- http://mperezsay.typepad.com/myblog/index.rdf

Any of these can be used as your feed URL but only the "atom.xml" and "rss.xml" URLs will work if you are setting up a Podcast. The "index.rdf" feed does not include an enclosure that is required for podcasts. Most services requesting your blog feed will accept "atom.xml", "rss.xml", and your FeedBlitz feed URL - if you have your blog connected to FeedBlitz, the link would be http://feeds.feedblitz.com/*yourusername*.

Another way to use your RSS feed URL is to set up a connection between your blog and other social media accounts using a third-party service like IFTTT (If This, Then That) at www.ifttt.com. With IFTTT, you can set up a connection between your blog feed with a series of “channels” including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and much more.

If you are having a problem connecting your blog to Facebook or Twitter, IFTTT is a great alternative to look into for sharing your blog updates.

Lastly, your RSS feed URL is automatically displayed when you first set up your blog in the Navigation Bar with the "Subscribe" link.  This is to make the URL available to your readers so they can add it to their favorite web feed applications like Bloglovin and Feedly.  There are extensions you can add to your browser which can add an RSS feed right in your browser like Google's RSS Feed Reader for Chrome.  Adding an extension to your browser will make it easier to locate a websites RSS feed link.

PayPal and Typepad: Better Together!

We're pleased to announce that, as of today, you can now use PayPal to pay for your Typepad subscription!

If you've wanted to use a bank account to pay for Typepad, now's your chance! This is also useful for our subscribers outside the United States that some times encounter difficulty with their bank approving foreign credit card transactions.

To select this option, simply go to Account > Billing Info and select the option to update your payment method.  On that page, you'll see an option to choose PayPal.

Once you click the button, you'll be redirected to PayPal where you'll be asked to agree to a billing subscription for your Typepad account. This works similarly to using a credit card - monthly and annual subscriptions will be made automatically on your behalf - except billing will be processed via your PayPal account!

If you have any questions about billing, simply open a help ticket and one of our friendly support staff will be delighted to help!

Featured Blog: BoomerBlix

NAME: Suzy
BLOG: BoomerBlix
TYPEPAD MEMBER SINCE: 2009
WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT: Though she has made he name as a Registered Nurse and official Francophile, the most important title Suzy has given herself is that of writer. Join her as she pens engaging anecdotes about the milestones, adventures, and surprises that await life as a single sixty-something.

FOLLOW: Typepad

Promoting and Marketing Your Content: Wrapping the Whole Shebang Up

Over the past several weeks, we've introduced you to a new series to help you improve your skills on marketing and promoting your own content.  Let's take a look back on all that you've learned.

On a general level, we've talked about the importance of stepping up and going beyond the basics.  For example, you can pin your own images to Pinterest instead of waiting for your readers to add them to their own boards.  You can make sure that your Tweets and Facebook shares use popular hastags and keywords, making them more likely to get noticed.

Create interesting, eye-catching images for your posts to really draw your readers in.  As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

In the same vein, maybe there's an older post that you think is fantastic, but your readers might not be aware of it or perhaps you've got a popular post with lots of related content that you want to showcase.  We've given you information on how to do this both within posts and within your sidebars.

We've also suggested asking guest authors to post to your blog.  It provides a wonderful opportunity to market yourself to your guest's readers and may even set you up to be a guest author on another blog in the future, getting your own posts out to new readers.

Another way to engage readers is to make your blog more interactive with them.  You can ask them to submit images of a specific subject for a post.  Readers get excited to see their images and name on your blog and will most likely even share this post across their own social media, furthering your blog's viewers.  Surveys are also a great way to interact with your readers and can be run on just about any topic.

Finally, we introduced you to link parties, which has a group of bloggers sharing their posts across all the blogs involved.  Talk about getting your message out!

We hope you've enjoyed this special topics series and have learned some great ways to market your blog's content like a rock star.  Are there any ideas that we missed?  We'd love to hear how you market your content!

Typepad On Pinterest: Creative Thursday

Did you know Typepad is on Pinterest? It's true! We love pinning and repinning great content from Typepad blogs in every genre, and we're always looking for great, inspirational content. Are you on Pinterest? Drop your link in the comments, and don't forget to follow Typepad right here! If you're not on Pinterest yet, check it out - it's a great way to promote your blog and connect with others!

Want some inspiration? Check out our featured pinner, Creative Thursday

Marisa Anne is an artist and Creative Thursday is not only where she shares her work, but the inspiration and stories behind the pieces.  It's a chronical of her artistic journey through posts and podcasts, "My hope is that for everyone who visits here: that you leave feeling a little more joy, than when you arrived."

FOLLOW: Blog | Pinterest

Want to promote your pinterest account on your Typepad blog? Just go to Blogs > Content and add the Pinterest Widget to your Sidebar via the center menu. While you're there, make your blog posts "pinable" by adding the Pin It button to your post footers.

Want even more? Learn how to promote your blog on Pinterest and follow Typepad at www.pinterest.com/typepad.

Typepad 101: Create a Photo Showcase Blog

One of the great things about Typepad is the ability to create blogs with many different designs and layouts, including blogs that don't look like a "traditional" blog. Today, we're going to learn how to set up a photo showcase blog.

The photo showcase blog serves as a kind of album or slideshow that puts all the focus on your big, beautiful photos.

The first step is to choose a minimalistic design theme that doesn't distract attention from your photos. We've chosen the Loft theme, one of our great one-click themes, but you can choose from any of our themes, or create your own with the Theme Builder.

Go to the Design > Overview page for your blog and click Choose A Theme. This takes you to a new page where you can view the themes on offer. Loft is one of our featured themes so it's easy to find, or you can select another theme of your choice. Click on the theme you want to use to select it, then click Choose over to the right.

If you're using Loft, you'll be taken to the Colors page to select one of the three available colors. Be sure to select the option "Apply this design to [Blog Name]" (where [Blog Name] is the name of your blog), then save your changes.

Next, you'll want to set up the layout for your blog. We recommend a one column layout to put the full focus on your photos. Go to the Design > Layouts page and choose the "One Column" option, then save your changes. (Please note that depending on the theme you choose, you may see different options on this page. The Theme Builder allows you to customize the width of the main content column.)

To create the album or slideshow look, we're going to configure the blog's settings so that only one photo is displayed on each page. Go to the Settings > Posts page for your blog and look for the "Posts to Display" section. Enter "1" as the number of posts to display both on the recent posts page and on the archive pages. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and save your changes.

If you want to go super-minimalistic, go to the Design > Content page and de-select all the options except "Post Title", then save your changes.

And that's it! Now all you need to do is to start taking photos and uploading them to your blog.

Check out our sample photo showcase blog here - click the "Next" link at the bottom of each page to see how you can page through one photo at a time.

Have you set up a photo showcase blog? Do you have any other design tips? Share them in the comments!