I posted awhile back about enlarging photos and have since found a much better method for posting to your blog and loading pics . Windows Live Writer. All you need to do is get this downloaded onto your computer and you will be in blog heaven, loading pics faster than you can snap your fingers, editing, changing fonts quick and easy, and even moving your pics around at will. And you’ll wonder what took you so long to find this wonderful tool. I have to thank Joni, from Cote de Texas for turning me on to Windows Live Writer a few months ago. She nudged me over to it and I haven’t looked back.
No more changing codes to enlarge pics, no more loading pics in order so that they can still be clickable to enlarge. With Windows Live Writer, you can move things around as you wish before it gets published. You will love it! So, what are you waiting for, go here and download and start blogging. This is the screen from the Windows Live Writer site:
And come back and tell me how much you love it too. Be careful when you are downloading it to only choose the Windows Live Writer portion, you really don’t need the other Windows Live features. You will need to attach your blog to it once it’s loaded and then you’re good to go. The only glitch so far is that picture storage can sometimes cause an error message when you try to publish or save a post to your blog. When that happens, it may say error 500, which might mean that you are over your picture storage with Blogger and Picasa (where pics are stored). After 2 years of blogging, I just recently had to pay for a year of extra storage for my pics ($20 per year), but that’s what happens when you post lots of pics like I do. It’s worth it! I also recently got another error message and Joni helped me with that one. She suggests that you go in and rename the last album in your picture storage file and that takes care of the error. In case you don’t know where your picture storage area is in Picasa, click on Dashboard, then My Accounts, and then click on Picasa. That is where all your pics are automatically stored in Blogger.
So, this is a tip from me to you and I hope you new bloggers will take note and try it out. It will make your blog life SO much easier. I only wish I had started using it months ago.
While we’re talking about new bloggers, let me take this opportunity to give you a few other tips on blogging. Many of you have asked me over the months about better ways to get your blog out there. I really don’t have any great advice, except to be yourself, write about what you love, and go and visit lots of blogs and comment. Those blogs will get to know you the more you put yourself out there and then they’ll come back to see you too. I think the best thing I can tell anyone is to be yourself. Pure and simple, a real personality is your best asset. I have been blogging 2 years now and it’s only been by word of mouth and networking that my blog has grown to where it is now. I’ve never had a big feature or any sort of story that has promoted my blog all that much.
Another thing that really continues to be a pet peeve of mine and that I’ve mentioned before is the feature of Letter Verification on blogs and I continue to see it on a lot of new blogs. Some will argue with me on this one, but people, I’m here to tell you, you absolutely do NOT need to keep this feature turned on at your blog. If you feel the need for higher security or to control spam, then leave on Comment Moderation, which means you will moderate each and every comment before it hits your blog, but please, please, please turn off the Letter Verification thingy. It’s highly annoying to your readers and takes SO much longer for them to leave comments. You will not find any big blogs out there that have this feature, so please take that suggestion in the manner it is meant to be taken and consider turning it off. I’ve had a few problems over the last 2 years with some ugly spam at my blog, but it has been very sporadic and not enough to warrant me turning it on. I’ve had to turn on Moderate Comments one time only for just a couple of days. You have the power to delete any rude comments at your blog, so use it.
I see so many new blogs out there these days and I hope these suggestions will help many of you get your blogs going and growing!
Next Wednesday, I have a very exciting GIVEAWAY going on and I promise, you will not want to miss it. Some great things that you will ALL love!
Amongst The Oaks says
What great advice; and all of it so true. Thanks for sharing. I’ll definitely check out Windows Live Writer.
Laura
Mary says
Rhoda, I agree with you 100%, I don’t leave comments anymore with the letter verification…it takes too much time! Mary
Barb @ GritsandGlamour says
Rhoda my friend! Fabulous advice!!! I can’t wait to check out the Windows writer. I am heading there now. I also agree about word verification. I got rid of mine b/c I could not expect others to do it when it irritated me. 😀 I wanted to say I am so so on other sites. I’m sorry that I did not know about your event on Wed. I think it would be fun if we cross reference both events. Hope you’re having a great weekend. Barb
Sher's Creative Expressions says
Thank you Rhoda for sharing this information. I will have to look into it. Also, thank you for your willingness to always share your wealth of knowledge with us fellow bloggers.
You are a special and amazing woman, and I am blessed to have come to know you through blogging.
Blessings,
Sher
Kristi says
My hubby used LW for his blog and now I MUST get him to show me how to use it! Thanks for giving out the great info.
southerninspiration says
Thanks so much…your post was very timely because I remember reading about this not too long ago, and wanted to try to go back and find it…now I don’t have to. I am going to put it to use! I am very delighted at the prospect of the ease it will bring to blogging! and yes, I agree with you on the letter verification. I often will take the time to do it, but I sure don’t like to, and sometimes will make the choice to skip commenting if I have to do that.
Thanks again.
Suzanne
marty39 says
Oh I will be sure to check out Windows Live Writer. I have a hard time doing a post, always getting the pics all messed up. Thanks for the tip and the advice. Hugs, Marty
Kristi M. says
I have never heard of this. I am definately going to have to check it out.
Iam so with you on the word verification. I have been blogging for almost two years and can remember just 2 random comments that I easily deleted. People take it off! You are all so overly paranoid. The other thing that drives me nuts are some of my friends that went private. Since I use google reader, they don’t appear and I have to look them up individually. They just don’t hear from me that much because I flat out forget to check theirs. Gotta love the blogging.
Diane@A Picture is Worth.... says
Hi Rhoda,
I’m with you on the comment verification!
I’m downloading WLW as I type this. I hope will give me the boost I need. I’m in a blogging slump!
the BLAH BLAH BLAHger says
I agree, the letter verification thingy is a pain!!! Hope you’re having a great day!
Tales From My Empty Nest says
Another blog that I read posted about the Windows Live Writer today too. Small world! I'll have to check it out. You are so knowledgeable about blogging. I am just learning the basics, since I have only been blogging since January. It has been so much fun!
Love & blessings from NC!
Lori E says
Just when I think I may have things set up the way they should be I come across another great program, widget, gadget, idea or tip. My family is lucky they get food once in a while. I can’t get off my blog.
Thanks.
No, really I mean it.
The Country Nest says
Rhonda, Thanks so much for a great post, I am new to this and sometimes learning it all is so trial and error. I wondered why I could only enlarge some of my pictures and now I know why. I am going to check out Windows Live writer. Thanks for the hint. I love your blog!
Hugs,
Donna
Oxford Impressions says
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I did not even know that letter verification was an option to turn on and off. I’ve got a lot to learn! Thank you also for having a link on your blog to mine. It has increased my traffic and I appreciate it greatly.
A New England Life says
Great post Rhoda! I don’t have an issue with posting photo’s and text on my blog but I’m sure there are plenty of others out there that do.
I’m going to link this entry on my blog if you don’t mind (which I know you don’t : ))
I never knew comment verification irritated people so much until recently so I removed it pronto!
Sharon
Susan Lang @ Designing Your Dream Home says
Rhoda, thanks for sharing the WLW information. I am still learning as I go and anything helpful is a plus for me.
Sandra says
Thank you for the advice. I’m learning so much from you gals:)I’m a newbie to the blogging world. I’ll definitely take the comment verification off. *blush* 🙂
Susan says
O.K. so I’ve only been blogging about 6 weeks, and love my blog, but I don’t receive alot of comments.Sometimes I feel like I’m blogging into a black hole! I know, though, that it takes time to build a following, and I now know to turn off the word verification thingy. Happy blogging, ya’ll!
Marfa says
Hi Rhoda! I haven’t commented in a while, but I’m keeping up with all your shenanigans. Looks like you’ve been having a ball lately. I’ve been using Windows Live for a few weeks too, but only and off. I have pet peeve with it. I can’t find a way to add my “Labels” to it, so I end up having to go into Blogger anyway to edit the post and add the label. Have you found out a good way to do i? And I’m not talking about the tags that they use, but my own labels that go in the Label/Index thingy. If I could find out how to do that I would use Windows Live all the time! Take care.
Robin's Nesting Place says
My blog is almost two years old and I’ve never had the word verification. Every once in a while I get spam but I just delete it, no big deal. Usually the spam is on older post so I moderate comments only on post over 10 days old. Problem is pretty much solved doing this and it saves my readers the aggravation.
I’ll have to check in to the Windows Life Reader, I’m for anything that makes blogging easier.