Previous month:
May 2020
Next month:
July 2020

Posts from June 2020

Create A Word Cloud For Your Blog

Create A Word Cloud For your Blog

Word Clouds take all the words from a text source (like a blog post) and create a cloud of all the words used. They're a great way to showcase a post's main themes by highlighting the words used. The more a word is used the bigger it is in the cloud. 

Wordcloud.com is a great tool to help you create the perfect word cloud image for your post or sidebar! Let us show you how easy it is to create a word cloud. 

First, you need to add your words. If you have the post published, you can use Open URL. In the pop up paste in the URL to your blog post and the words will generate from your text. To add your text, either click on File or Wizard. 

Quick Tip: When you use the Open URL option, the URL must be published and can't be password protected.

Upload text to your word cloud

Wordcloud.com offers a few different ways to edit the image before you download it. 

Size

Select the best size for where you plan to put the image. They have pre-selected sizes or you can create a custom size to fit your needs. 

Word Cloud Size

Wordlist

View your list of words and how many times they are used in a document. Delete words you don’t want to use and change the color of the words by adding a color hex value. 

Word List

Gap Size

This is the spacing between the words. The words can be close together or far apart. 

Direction Of Words

Direction Of WordsThis allows you to pick a directions for the words. They can go horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and more. 

Direction Of Words Pop up

Invert

InvertWhen you select a shape, the words can be that shape or have the words show up around that shape

Invert your word cloudShapes

Pick what shape you want the words to take. Pick from their many different shapes or upload one of your own. 

Shapes
Themes/Colors

Here you can select the colors for your words. Themes provide pre-selected color schemes to choose from. With Colors, you can customize the colors you want on your word cloud. 

Font

Customize the font for your word cloud. Pick a font that fits your blog style and brand. 

Now that you have the perfect word cloud for your blog, you can export it and save to your computer. From the File button, click on Save As Image. In the pop up you can give the image a name and select the file type. With the image saved to your computer, you can add it to your blog post or insert it on your sidebar

Here is one we created from a recent Typepad post. 

Typepad Word Cloud CroppedShow off your word cloud by sharing your blog post or blog in the comments. We would love to see how creative you can be! 


Seen On Typepad: Pretty Edible Flowers

Seen On Typepad

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

image from suchprettythings.typepad.comFrom: Such Pretty Things

If you've been following me for a while, then you know that it's no secret that I love flowers. My home is brimming with them - fresh flowers, paintings of flowers, floral china, fabrics covered in flowers, etc.... The list it infinite. So, of course, I love my food covered in flowers as well! This delicious coconut cake is a good example...

Read more at Such Pretty Things >


Time For A New Blog Design!

Time For A New Blog Design

Is it time for something new?

Now is a great time to get a new look for your blog. Until the end of July 2020 we are offering a 20% discount on any new design. 

Discount code: NEWDESIGN2020

Our talented designers will take one of our many customizable templates and design it to fit your vision. The quote is free and all you have to do is tell us what you want. 

We have many satisfied blog owners that love the new design we created for them. Don't believe us, check out their blogs for yourself! 

Design Services Blog

To learn more or get started, head to our Custom Design Service page. Along the right, fill out the form to contact our design team. Make sure to add the the discount code NEWDESIGN2020 when you fill out the form. This discount is available until July 31st, 2020 and can not be used with other discounts. 

Did you have a service done by our design team? Share a link to your blog in the comments and tell us about your experience.


How To Add Amazon Associates Code To Your Blog

How To Add Amazon Associates Code To Your Blog

Amazon Associates, created by Amazon, is a great way to add some extra income to your blog. You can write product reviews or share special tools used for a delicious recipe. You can add a banner along the top to advertise Audible on your book review blog or link to your WishList. Today we will walk you through the different Product Links and how to add them to your blog.

Let’s get started!

Now that you've created your Amazon Associates account, it's time to add the code to your blog. All the options below can be found when you first log into your Amazon Associates account. Click on the Product Linking tab and you will see them all. Select the one you want and get started. 

Product Links

Product links allow you to showcase a specific product in your post. This is great for product reviews or showcasing a special product featured in your post. You can create a URL to add to text or an image readers can click on to review and purchase the product.

From the Product Link page, search for the keyword or ASIN/ISBN of the product you want to share. Review your results and click on the Get Link button for the one you want. In the first pop up, you will see a URL you can use to link your text to the product page on Amazon. To create an image that shows on your post, click on Build Link. Here you can customize the image that will show on your post. Once you have everything customized, highlight the HTML and copy it.

Product Link Cast Iron

To add the code to your blog post, click on the Source Code button (<>) on the Compose page.  In the pop up you will see the code for the page. Place the code from Amazon where you want the image to display. Click on Ok, you will see the Amazon product image on your page. 

Banner

Amazon has banners of all sizes and subjects to fit your sidebar or the top/bottom of your blog. These will show on every page and post of your blog.  The banners encourage readers with discounts or themes to click on the banner to get to Amazon. 

On the Banner page, you will see different categories of banners to choose from. Click on the type of banner you want, then you will see a page that shows you the different size banners for your blog. For your sidebar you want to select a small narrow banner. For the top or bottom of your blog, you want to select the short wider banners.

Adding Amazon Banner

Once you find the banner you want, highlight the code. Make sure you select to use the Iframe code. To add to your Typepad blog, click on the Design tab, then Content. To add to the sidebar, you can add your code to an Embed Your HTML module. To add to your blog footer, click on the Blog Footer module, then click on Advanced. Paste in the code, click on OK, then Save Changes. If you have a Design Lab theme, you have access to the Ad Module. The Ad Module places an ad banner at the top of your blog, under your navigation bar. 

Native Shopping Ads

Native shopping ads allow you to create multiple ads in a row. These ads can be placed on your blog post and customizes to focus on a particular category or with custom products. These are designed to easily allow readers to shop for products. 

Recommended Ads

Recommended Ads allows you to select a category from Amazon. They will showcase different items from this category readers can click on. This is great if your blog post is not about a specific product but you want to share items that people would be interested in that are related to the post. 

Search Ads

Search ads allow you to showcase items based on specific search terms. This lets you narrow down the products that are displayed even further. 

Custom Ads

Custom ads allow you to pick specific products that are displayed on your post. You can narrow it down to specific products that you are talking about in your post. 

Native Ads
Example of Native Shopping Ads

Once you have created your ad, copy the code Amazon provides. Log into your Typepad account and compose your post. From the Compose page, click on the Source Code button (<>). Here you can paste in the code you want to use, where you want it. Click on OK, then you can save or publish your post. It works the best if you create your post first, then add the code where you want it. 

Mobile Popover

Amazon Mobile PopoverThis ad is only viewed on a mobile device and will appear at the bottom of the reader's screen. It shows when the page loads and readers can minimize it. 

On the Mobile Popover page you will see some code to add to your blog. This can’t be customized. Copy the code to add to your blog. Log into your Typepad account and go to your Design tab. Click on the Content tab to add an Embed Your Own HTML module. Give the module a name (like Amazon Mobile Popover) and paste in the code. Click on OK, then Save Changes. 

Link To Any Page

This tool helps you build links to popular pages on Amazon. This is just a text URL, there is no image to go with it. You can build a link to popular Amazon pages, specific search results, or any page you like on Amazon. 

Favorite Destinations

Here you can select the product line and subcategories. The name you give your link will be what readers will click on to view the page. 

Link To Search Results

If you want to showcase products from specific search results you can add the keywords here. You can even narrow it down by product line so only certain results are shown. 

Link To Any Page

Is there a specific page on Amazon you want to showcase? You can create a URL that links to popular pages or specific search results. If you have a wishlist to share, you can create a custom link by adding the URL to Your Wish List. 

Link To Any Page

Once you have the code for the link you can add this anywhere on your site. You can add it to a post by using the Source Code (<>) button to insert the code or you can use the Embed Your Own HTML module to add it to the sidebar. 

With Amazon, you have to make sure you are creating content that will drive readers to click on the links to explore or purchase products. You can’t just add it to everything and hope it makes money. You have to think through what your readers will expect and what would encourage them to click on Amazon’s links.

Don't forget to add your Amazon Associates ID to Typepad. That is another way to showcase products from Amazon and earn a little money as well.


Accepting Payments On Your Blog With PayPal

Accepting Payments On Your Blog With PayPal

While there are many ways to accept payments on your blog, PayPal has been around for a long time and is a trusted service that allows customers to pay with cards, PayPal Exclusives, and local payment methods. It continues to be the leader in accepting online payments for many businesses (including Typepad!) If you are ready to sell your product through your blog, try PayPal as your payment option.

In your PayPal account Dashboard, there is a section titled "Quick Links" - click "Show More" for more options, select "Accept Payments."

Accept Payments With PayPal

You have a few options on how you can accept payment on your blog - whether it's selling an exclusive download, recurring payments to access exclusive content, or a button to accept donations.

Sell On Your Website With PayPalIn this case, we will use PayPal Checkout. With PayPal Checkout, you can get paid online and enable buyers to pay the way they want to pay. Click the blue button "Choose a way to integrate." From simple to completely custom, no matter which integration you choose, PayPal Checkout will intelligently present the most relevant payment types to your customers. Let's do the "Quick Setup" option which can be set up in minutes by copying prebuilt code and pasting it next to the products or services you want to sell on your website - click "Start Setup."

PayPal Checkout

In the Setup page you can customize the appearance of your item, then click "Copy Code" on the bottom of the page.  You can now paste the code on to your blog. 

In this example, a separate page was created to sell a photo print.  In the Compose Page, I switched to the HTML editor tab and pasted the code from PayPal - do NOT switch to the Rich Text editor.  To preview your PayPal Check, click the Preview button.  Add any additional text or images to the page and publish. 

Accepting Payments On Your Blog With PayPal
Are you currently accepting payments on your blog? Share your link in the comments so we can see what you're selling! 


Using your Amazon Associates ID with Books & Albums Typelists

After you set up your Amazon Associates account, you can add your associates ID to your Typepad account. Go to Account > Other Accounts, select Amazon from the drop-down menu, and click Add.

Other Accounts

In the pop-up box, select your local vendor from the drop-down menu, enter your Amazon Associates ID, and click Save.

Add-account-amazon-2

Now, your Amazon Associates ID will be used for links to Amazon items included in Books and Albums Typelists.

Creating a new Typelist

To create a new Typelist, open the Library menu and select Typelists. Click the Add A Typelist link.

The type of Typelist will need to be Books or Albums in order to select items from Amazon which use your associates ID. Regardless of whether you select Books or Albums, you can mix and match items from Amazon and include items which aren't books or albums.

Add Typelist

Enter a List Name which will appear as a heading above the list in your blog's sidebar. Click Create New Typelist to get started adding items to the list.

Adding Amazon items to the Typelist

In the Add Item section, you will need to use the Quick Add search to find the item on Amazon. If you enter the details for the item manually, the item will not link to Amazon using your associates ID.

Add Item

Enter your keywords to search the Amazon database and click Go. Tip: If you want to link to a specific item, grab the ASIN (for non-books) or ISBN (for books) from Amazon and use that number in the Quick Add search. A list of results from Amazon will appear.

Choose Selected

You can select the item based on the thumbnail image or the specific item you wish to link on Amazon. Click Choose Selected. After reviewing the item details, click Save Changes.

To add the Typelist to your blog, open the Blogs menu, select your blog, and click to Design > Content. Select "Your Typelists" from the Categories list, choose the correct module, and click Add This Module. You can drag the Typelist to the preferred location in the sidebar and click Save Changes.

When you view your blog and click any links in the Books or Albums Typelists, the link will take you to the Amazon page using your associates ID in the URL. You'll get credit to your Associates account if anyone buys an item through your links!

Note: You can add new items to the Typelists at Library > Typelists, and the module on your blog will update automatically with the new items. Update your Typelists and rotate items regularly to get more click-throughs.

How do you use Books & Albums Typelists? Share a link to your blogs in the comments so we can take a look!