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Posts from May 2020

Add A Google Album To Your Blog

Add A Google Album To Your Blog

Have you ever been in this scenario? 

You're out on a great adventure and you take a tone of pictures with your phone. You create a great Google Photo album to share with your readers. Now you need to add it to your blog. Google doesn't offer embed code so now what do you do? 

No need to worry. You can create embed code using Embed.ly! It's fast and easy to use. Let us show you how. 

Create Embed Code Google Album Options

First, you'll need to create a Google Photo Album. If you already have an album created, open the album you want to use. On the top right, click on the 3 dots, then Options. 

Next to Collaborate, turn it off. Collaborate allows others to add to your album. Now copy the Link To Share. 

Once you have the URL go to Embed.ly and paste in the URL. 

Embed Code Generator

A preview of the code will show below the URL. You can customize the code on the right hand side. Here you can add social buttons to the images, choose a dark theme, and embed SEO. You can also customize the width of the display and align the display. Once you are done customizing the display you can copy the code generated. 

Quick Tip: To keep the album mobile responsive leave the width on auto. 

Add To Typepad

To Publish on a Post

From the compose page, click on the Source Code button (<>). In the pop up, you will see the code for your post. Put your cursor where you want the album and paste in the embed code, then click on OK. On the compose page, you will only see text from the album. When you preview or publish the post, it will show the first image in your album. When readers click on the album, it will open in Google for them. 

Google Album PostTo Publish on a Sidebar

You can also make an album to share on the sidebar of your blog. When you create the code in Embed.ly, you want to change the width to be 150 or smaller. 

Click on the Blogs tab, then the name of the blog. Click on the Design tab, then Content. Under Modules, select Embed Your Own HTML, then Add This Module. In the pop up, give the Module a label (like Google Album) and paste in your embed code. After the code add <br>. Click on OK, then Save Changes. 

Google Album code and sidebarNow your readers can view and comment on images from your latest adventure! Share with us what you would add to your Google Album. 

Embed.ly is a great tool and can be used to embed anything that gives you a URL. Here are some examples from The New York Post and Reddit. 

Embeddly post


Seen On Typepad: Bee Bath

Seen On Typepad

image from helmarusa.typepad.com

Seen on Typepad highlights new and interesting posts from our community of Typepad bloggers, enjoy!

From: Helmar Creative Team Blog

I have been reading up on all sorts of stuff about container gardening and veggie gardening when I came across a Bee Bath and it seemed like a really cute idea and a great way to use this broken chair I rescued from being sent to the tip as I felt it would work in my garden to rest my Bee Bath on. 

Read More at Helmar Creative Team Blog


Get Started With Amazon Associates

Get Started With Amazon Associate

Now that you have been blogging for a while, you may be wondering "what's the next step?" You work hard to create amazing content, joining Amazon's Associate program is a great way to monetize that content. You can easily start an account and generate code to add to your blog.

Amazon's Associates program is a referral program. When a reader clicks on an Amazon link from your blog, you get a percentage of what they purchase in the next 24 hours. Let’s go over creating your Amazon Associates account. 

Join Amazon Associates Program

From the Amazon Associates homepage you can click on Join Now for Free to either log into your existing Amazon account or create a new account. 

Join Amazon Associate

Set-up Your Amazon Associates Account

Amazon will ask for your personal information. Add your name, mailing address and phone number. If you already have an account, you will see your information there. 

Step 1 Account Information
Add Your Blog URL

Amazon needs to know where you are on the web. Add the URL to your blog along with any social media sites (they only accept Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Twitch.tv). If you have a mapped domain, add your mapped domain and your Typepad URL. Once you click on next, you will need to confirm your blog is not directed to anyone 13 years or younger. This is to be compliant with Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule ("COPPA").

Step 2 Your website

Set-up Profile

Here you can tell Amazon about your blog. What is your blog about? How do you drive traffic to your blog? How many unique views do you receive each month? Most of these questions are answered with multiple choice answers or picking from a drop down menu. You will need to accept their terms of service and then click Finished. 

Payment and Tax information

Tell Amazon how you would like to be paid. You can get a direct deposit after you have earned $10, an Amazon gift card after you earned $10, or have a check mailed to you after you earned $100. If you are unsure how you want to get paid or need to gather information you can skip this part. 

Next, you can add your tax information. You can set it up as an individual or as a business. If you select individual, you will need to add your full name and SSN/ITIN number. If you select business, you will need to select a Federal Tax Classification and add your EIN. 

Congratulations! You've created your Amazon Associates account. At first you are under their Application Review Process. You have 180 days to generate at least 3 sales to continue with your account. Amazon offers several ways to generate sales. Something we will go over in our next post!

 


Support A Cause With Your Blog - GoFundMe And Kickstarter

Support_cause1

If there is a charity or fundraiser you feel really passionate about, are you using your blog to share this with your readers?  Many websites offer an "embed" option to share information from their site to yours.  GoFundMe and Kickstarter include an Embed option to share their fundraisers to other places besides social media accounts. 

NOTE: Because you are dealing with a third-party script, it is recommended that you complete your blog draft first and then proceed to insert your script last, just as you're ready to schedule or publish your post.

Locate the "Share" button on the GoFundMe or Kickstarter page and select "Embed", this will direct you to a pop-up window where you can customize the appearance of your makeshift fundraising widget.

Embed Code From GoFundMe
Embed Code from GoFundMe
Kickstarter
Embed Code from Kickstarter

The code is generated for you, all you need to do is copy and paste it into your blog post. It's very easy to embed HTML code into your post using the HTML editor tab on the Compose Page. In your draft, switch to the HTML tab.

Html_tab

We do not recommend switching back to the Rich Text editor as this type of editor does not read javascript and you will not see the fundraising widget appear on the Compose page but it will appear if you click the Preview button. Just make sure you copy and paste the embed code entirely with all its closing tags to ensure it will display properly.

 


Quick Tip: Change The Color Of Your Navigation Links In Magazine

Navigation Bar

Our new Magazine Layout showcases your blog posts using a featured card layout. You can further customize this theme by changing the color of the navigation bar links to match your branding. Let us show you how. 

The Magazine layout is available to our Beta Team members. Join our Beta Team and have access to all the new features and provide feedback. To access the Custom CSS you need to have the Unlimited plan or higher.  

Custom CSSTo add Custom CSS, click on the Blogs tab, then the name of the blog. Click on the Design tab, then Custom CSS.

Copy the CSS code below and paste it onto the page. 

.nav-item a, .nav-item a:visited {
   color: #DD77D2;
}

Next, update the color: to include the hex color value you want for your navigation links. Once you are done, click on Save Changes. 

Example of colors:

Black
.nav-item a, .nav-item a:visited {
   color: #000000;
}

Blue
.nav-item a, .nav-item a:visited {
   color: #002fa7;
}

Red
.nav-item a, .nav-item a:visited {
   color: #ff4105;
}

You can customize other parts of the Magazine. We have a great post to help you customize your blog title.

What other parts of the Magazine Layout do you want to customize? Let us know in the comments and you may see a post about it!


Featured Blog: Laowai

Laowai

Laowai means "foreigner" in Chinese and is the name of a blog about an American family living in Switzerland - what?? Ok, they were supposed to move to China but that didn't pan out but the blog name stuck! Read about their adventures in Switzerland, how they stay connected to family back in the United States, crafty projects, cooking recipes and more.

Follow: Profile