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Introducing Active Rain Outside Blogs
Last week my blog design series was interrupted by a "lecture" to try an get the off topic posts under control. This week the interruption is for a much nicer reason. Unless you've been on another planet for the past few days you've probably seen, read and tested out the new AR outside blogs.
Active Brad
If for some reason you missed it, take a look at Brad Andersohn's very clear/detailed intro & instructions...
ActiveRain Launches Outside Blogs - How Do You Get Yours?
Since this is new, there will probably be a few bugs and wrinkles to work out in the coming days/weeks. After testing it out, here are a few things I found that might help you get your AR outside blog looking the way you want it to look.
Testing Things Out
To test drive the new AR outside blogs I put together a quick header and did some tweaking of the graphics. You can see mine at http://garaughty.activerain.com/
As with anything new in technology there are always things to be adjusted, fine tuned and fixed, so keep in mind that in the coming days and weeks a lot might change. But for now...
Apparently, SIZE does matter!!!
One of the BIG issues was a problem with uploading header images. There was a conflict about dimensions, apparently size does matter! The problem seems to have been resolved and the winner is...
742 pixels W X 105 pixels H
If you make your blog header image too large or too small there's good chance it will be stretched to fit the dimensions, that will distort the image or... if you make the image too large, parts of it will be cut off so sticking with the recommended image header size of 742 X 105 works best.
Question & Answer about "sloppy" title text
A few people seem to be having problems with the TITLE TEXT in their outside blog. i.e. a comment over at Brad's post reads "I cannot adjust the font or size of the typeface in the title and it is a big sloppy mess...can't find anywhere that tells me how to do that either...HELP PLEASE!"...
Right now the text/font size is fixed and can't be changed. The simple solution is to to keep your title text short and you won't have a "sloppy mess".
Again as with anything new (especially technology), it usually won't work perfectly on day one. Having patience goes a long way. The bugs & problems are being addressed.
The Sidebar Photo
The sidebar photo doesn't seem to have any issues as long as you use the dimensions of 189 pixels W or more. I tested several images with different height values and all seemed to work well.
Coming Soon... free background images for AR Outside Blogs
As we did with the AR Blog Customizer (Pimp Your Blog part 2), for anyone who doesn't have the time or patience to design their own blog header, we'll be giving away a variety of free custom designed background images that you can use on your AR Outside Blog. Just add text! I just want to be sure the image header size stays at 742 W X 105 H before we put them online for download.
Really connecting with people on a blog takes more than just throwing together a few property listings. If you give them a reason to interact with you, you'll have a much better chance of having them come back again and again. Here is an excellent example by Diane Aurit in her post...
Localism Idea: Restaurant Reviews!
Shy about video?
Are you shy about posting with video? If you haven't seen it yet, check out Mary Anne Daly's fun and entertaining look at dealing with webcam shyness...
Overcoming Webcam Shyness-Here's How I Did It
LOL Sally!
And another great example by Sally Cheeseman of testing out the video thing, making it real, human and fun. Something we can all relate to. Check out her video post I Really Crack Me Up ...hahahahahaha!
In no particular order, here are some of the best Active Rain marketing posts from this past week...
- "Listing Exposure" - Creativity in a Challenging Market by Rich Jacobson
- Snickers, Zeros & Zagnuts- Lessons from the Candyman by Chuck Willman
- GET Permission to Use Pictures, Video & Testimonials of Clients by Sally Cheeseman
- HOW DO I PRICE MY HOME TO SELL? by Yvette Smith
- Tips for Writing Good Copy for Web Sites by Vicki Pedersen
- Just a Few Personalized Give-Aways To Get The Creative Juice's Flowing! by Leesa L. Finley
- An Oldie But Goodie - City-Data - Have You Visited Lately? by Leesa L. Finley
- 8 Great Ways to Reinvent the Old Pre-View Home Tour! by Lola Audu
- Nurturing the Internet Lead -- Part 1/Preparation by Nicki Conway
- Press - One of the Keys to Success by Julea Joseph
- Will Your Real Estate Peers Eventually Overcome Their Social Phobia? by William Johnson
- Has blogging helped you become a better professional & expert? by Jeff Belonger
- EMOTIONAL CONNECTION is key to forming relationships with prospects by Kay Steele Faulk
- Testimonials Kick A$$! by Jason Sardi
- Flickr + Video = Happy Denver Relocation Clients by Steve Scheer
- Listing Presentation Out, Video In by Margaret Woda
- TIPS TO MAKE WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY- NEWS WORTHY by Allison Stewart
- Increase your online presence & SEO with BusinessCard2 by Bill Gassett
- Domain Names as We Know Them Will Never Be The Same! by Bobby Carroll
- Just found a new site to advertise listings by GITA BANTWAL
- Makeover2Takeover Contest Update by Active Rain
- Tuesday Truths.....Accomplishments don't have to be Tangible by Kathy McGraw
- Do you want to know the secrets to success on Active Rain? by Jan Evett
- Is Life Really Good??? Life IS Good! by Ray Nellum
If you would like to participate in any of our upcoming marketing projects, branding partnerships or tutorials on creative ways to use new medias and technologies like widgets, etc... please subscribe to our blog using the button below...
For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com
TheBlogArtist.com TheArtOfMarketingYou.com The Ultimate Closing Gift garaughty.com
Marti.....you are one of the best resource centers that I know of.
marti - I had seen Mary Ann's video and thought it was great. I'm really trying to get my head wrapped around that one..I sound like a frog. LOL Now that I have my Sunday reading, I can go to bed.. I agree with Pam. You are THE best resource centers! Simply awesome you are!
Pam... thx, the prolific bloggers in this group give me a lot to choose from. Nite...
Linda... wasn't that a scream. I love how so mnay Rainers are playing around with the video thing. Humor seems to be a great way to break the ice. Have a great Sunday my friend!
You crack me up marti! The video doesn't click in your blog ...how come? I was going to click and listen to me laugh again ...lol! A whole line up ... a lot I've read...many more to go....
Sally... I just put the link under the video pic. Since I listed a few video clips it would make my page too slow. Trust me, you'll be getting extra hits this week. Awesome + fun video!!!
Thank you for the mention Marti. Another great list you have given us for some Sunday reading.
Steve... no problem, I loved your post. It's great to see how technologies are being put together in such interesting new ways. Nite.
marti- I like what you said about patience....it is so true :) Jon and Bob both wrote Posts and CJ...all on the new Outside Blog, and updates on when certain problems would be fixed. I loved that one on Jon's Post....so apparently they already fixed some of the initial problems, and as new ones pop up I am sure they will have those fixed too.....
It's always great that I can come here and get this type of info that is easy to understand....Thanks :) I loved both of those Video's..... and thanks for the mention on my post.
I hate to admit it but this is all GREEK to me! I did go to the 'outside blog' today but could not get the colors to change, only was able to upload a twisted out of shape header, couldn't get my picture on, I feel so Tech-NO savvy. I've put the 'outside blog' in the same catagory as twitter, ipods, and my AR 'inside blog' all things I can't seem to get a grip on!
I was talking to Kathy and clicked on the video again so i could crack up with her on the phone...that was fun marti...thanks for keeping it alive...great fun and fun sharing it..thanks!
Kathy... no kidding about patience. Look at what we went thru with your new Wordpress blog. Every new website, blog or tech thingy has a certain amount of bugs & growing pains. It's not fun but normal.
BTW, your Wordpress posts are being picked up really fast, Sally's guest post earlier tonight at 7:01 PM received trackbacks from 2 other blogs within 45 minutes. Good stuff!!! Nite K!
Mary... if you want to use the outside blog option and have problems with it let me know and I'd be happy to help set it up for you.
It might be a good idea to wait a few days to let the AR tech people deal with the growing pains but once it's all settled down just send me a quick email and I'll either get back to you with more detailed instructions or if you want, I'll set it up for you. Have a great weekend.
marti- These are some very good posts with alot of info in them to keep one busy for awhile! Thanks for all you do to make this group so awesome.
Sally... it's nice to see how many people are getting a handle on video posting. The examples you and Mary Anne gave as well as Brian Block & Debra Brooks last week is encouraging for all of us. You're like the pioneers.
marti: I have tried several times to do the Active Rain blog enhancement that came out about a month ago, and I still cannot get it right. I would love to have a new AR outside blog, and will take your advice and wait awhile for them to get some of their bugs out. But sheesh... so much of this stuff is more Greek than geek to me.
You have so much to offer... such an incredible storehouse of knowledge you are. Thanks for all you share with us.
Katerina... thx, as usual the group has been busy & prolific. Have a great weekend.
Karen Anne... and that my dear is why God created Greeks GEEKS. ;-) Seriously...
If you need help, once things settle down with the new outside blogs I'd be happy to get you all set up. And if you need help to do the AR blog customization I'll help you with that as well. Nite.
Hi Marti, I would love to spend about a week with you watching how you assemble all this. I love your new blog. Do you a set price for a header design? I would love to have you create something that might be compatible with either my TextBook design or the ActiveRain Blog. I Love the stuff you do, it is awesome.
Thank you so much for including one of my posts here in your selections. I am in some awesome company with all these great posts. Thank you so much, again.
If you get a minute I would love to know if you would make me a header? No hurry, the system would not upload any photos when I set it up ,and I haven't been back to check yet to see if it is working as yet:-)
Marti, I had seen some of these posts and loved them. I guess I need to go back and look at them all. good homework assignment!
Marti thanks for another great weekly review and of course thanks for the mention as well.
Marti, Thank you for taking the time to post this list. I have missed some of the posts. Thank you for the mention.
I have problems resizing my photo on my outside blog. I would appreciate your help . I will not be able to read much on AR until the 10 th of July.. Thanks again.
I can't wait to see the new templates...send me all of them...I'm just a blog pig!
I will be waiting for the free header images. Anything with four seasons would be great for me.
Excellent post Marti. I'm bookmarking this for future reading.
My Outside Blog is working and under my own domain name. Yeeee Haaaaa!!
My maps don't look very good though. Oh well.
Marti, I kept getiing sidetracked from all the good links that it was hard to get back to leave a comment! Too much good stuff all at once...THANKS!
Marti... thanks for doing this, especially for this week, considering that I haven't been around about 90% of this week. I missed so many.... and thanks for the mention.
Great info as ususal. Thanks for putting on the post of the week to check out, it looks like there are a few I missed. I like it... I will try to work on the outside blog. This week has gotten away from me and I feel a little overwhelmed trying to get caught up. I wish my open house today had access to internet.
Marti, thanks so much for the acknowledgement! As always, I just spent an hour reading most of your suggestions. The best weekly review on AR! (Thanks for the step-by-step as well!)
William... thx for another excellent contribution. I do these posts a bit at a time, I probably put in about 30 minutes a day throughout the week. I'll send you logo info by email this afternoon. I'd love to do something amazing for you. Thx for asking!
Chris... enjoy all the new stuff, there's a lot of quality material again this week.
Bill... as always I appreciate the very cool resources you find for us. Thx so much!
Gita... re "I have problems resizing my photo on my outside blog. I would appreciate your help"... Of course, send me your photo and I'll resize it for you to fit the new outside blogs. My direct email is marti@garaughty.com
Neal... blog pig??? That sounds like me but substitute "cookies" for "blog". I'll put up some header image backgrounds for use on the outside blogs as soon as I'm 100% sure the size will stay at 742 X 105.
Russ... watch my blog in the coming week, the new header graphics will be available very soon.
Monika... thx my friend, have a great Sunday!
marti, One of the BIG issues was a problem with uploading header images. There was a conflict about dimensions, apparently size does matter! The problem seems to have been resolved and the winner is...
I love your sense of humor! You just made me lol.
Later in the rain~Deb
Marti, thanks a bunch for mentioning my post! And for your help with the outside blog. You answered all my questions. I've set mine up and am working on a side graphic that's a bit long. Until I read your post, I was worried that the extra length would be a problem. Also, so glad to know from Lenn that his own domain works and quickly. I have one that's been sitting in the wings until I had time to build a site, which would probably never have happened. So the outside blog will be great for that. Thank you, AR, for doubling the results of my time and effort. Couldn't ask for a better ROI than that.
marti- Ok....tell all now...what kind of cookies and coffee are your favorites? Inquiring fans want to know :)
Lenn... glad to hear it's working, I saw your comment on Brad's blog. It usually takes a day or so for domain pointing to take effect.
Some of the content (images, widegts, etc...) from our AR blogs is scaled down in size on the outside blogs. I hope that is one of the issues that will be resolved in future updates. Thx for stooping by & have a great Sunday!
Lizette... I just saw your post about Lizette.TV Sorry I missed it in time for my week in review but I loved it and had to share it here... Lizette.TV
Jeff... as always, thx for another excellent contribution to the group!
Leslie... great idea, too bad there isn't wifi in the area of your open house, I hope all goes well.
Diane... I thank you, it's nice to see you connecting with your community that way, plus their friends, friends of friends, etc... Your blog(resto reviews) gives people a reason to visit and interact with you! That is way more important than the technical stuff of blogging!
Deb... my dear, you know anytime you have tech questions or problems just ask me. That's why AR has geeeks. And yes, SIZE does matter, 742 X 105 ;-)
Kay... thx for the excellent post and yes, the height of the pic in the sidebar (within reason) doesn't seem to matter. Thx for stopping by.
Kathy... I don't drink, don't smoke, don't use drugs. Cookies, chocolate, coffee are my vices. I eat 'em all. Unfortunately I have to workout a lot to stay in shape.
With the price of gas, I should raise my rates! They don't trade oil for cookies. :-(
Marti, Thanks for the catch-up on what is happening in AR. Great post as usual. I loved your test "outside" Blog site. Clean, neat, easy on the eye. AJ
AJ... hi and thx, clean & simple always seems to works best. As I've commented on your blog before, you have one of the best looking blog headers on Active Rain. It's minimal, clean, professional and blends well with the background color. You have great taste!
Ok marti here you go....a treat for Sunday afternoon....blogging pay at it's best :) :)
Hey there Marti! I love the outside blogs! Haven't started one yet - I was kind of wating for a few of the bugs to get worked out. When I do that will make 5 blogs to keep up with - YIKES! Thanks for the mention up there - much appreciated! Have a great rest of the weekend - I am off to have a glass of wine! (or two or three)
Kathy... that is sooooooooooooo cool, thx my friend. Gawd I'm so easy to please, Milk & cookies!!! What am I, 10 years old? I wish! ;-)
Leesa... I mean BIRTHDAY GIRL!!! Thx for the excellent contributions to the group again this week and if I'm not mistaken, according to my Facebook calendar today is your birthday(???) so have fun, celebrate much and have an amazing year!
It IS Marti! Thanks so much! Everyone on AR has been wishing me Happy Birthday and it is much appreciated!
Marti: Thanks for the "Special Mention" of my post. Much appreciation. I'm bookmarking this post so I can come back to watch these videos a little later today.
Jan... I thank you, judging by the amazing feedback you received a lot of people loved your post. It shold be mandatory reading for all newbies.
Leesa... cool, enjoy your special day and have a glass of wine for me!
for Leesa- Happy Birthday :)
for marti- being 10 had it's benefits, but hey so does being "grown up" LOL :) Thanks for everything you give to all of us, every day, and every week......what a great Group , now I'm off to play with my outside blog that you designed for me :)
I really enjoy your artistry and just wanted to say thanks for your hard work on this review. Well done. I will be reading for a while, that's for sure, but my searching was done for me!
Marti, you're wonderful!!! This is a great post! Question I would have, and maybe it's been answered somewhere else.....so, your new blog has your name and active rain? Is that how it will be? OR??? what? Truthfully I've been waiting for more time and also for the bugs to be worked out before I jump in. Thanks again. ;-)
Kathy... looking back, 10 was fun but had it's downside too. ;-)
David... thx, I appreciate that. Our group's members make my job pretty easy.
Teri... re "so, your new blog has your name and active rain? Is that how it will be? OR??? what? Truthfully I've been waiting for more time and also for the bugs to be worked out before I jump in"...
You're a very smart cookie, waiting for the dust to settle is the smart thing to do, this kind of stuff always has kinks to be worked out. The short answer to your question is either/both.
I'm setting up my new blog on Wordpress for stuff I do outside of AR but with the AR blogs you can write your posts here using the AR editor and then send the post to either the AR blog you have now, to your new outside blog option or to both.
For those who are looking for an easy way to set up an outside blog i.e. "YourTownNews.com", it's a quick & free way to get a blog up & running quickly. Plus you can use it under your own domain name.
The main advantage is that you don't have to learn a new blog platform. I love Wordpress for it's flexibility and a ton of design options but it takes a few days(or more) to really get used to posting on Wordpress.
Once AR has the tech bugs worked out it should be pretty smooth. Apparently there will be more design options in the future so people will have more control over the look other than just their blog header, photo and basic colors. If you have any other questions or need help setting it up I'm always around & happy to help. Nite T...
You always have the most lengthy and most packed blogs on the planet.
Heath... hi, I'm not sure if that's good or bad but it definitely keeps me busy. Thx for stopping by!
Wow, Marti, thank you for your effort! I just spent 5 mintues (my maximum allocation) bumbling through figuring out blog headers, and then I gave up and came back and found your post. I'll be lurking for your generous contribution!
Thanks for providing these wonderful summary best of the best blogs regularly. It certainly helps me keep up with the best of the best.
Karen... the new blog header graphics will be available soon, it seems the opening day AR blog bugs are almost worked out.
Vickie... you're more than welcome, this does seem to make it easier for those of us who are time challenged. Thx for stopping by.
Mr. Blog Artist---how can I pimp my blog?
Aida... to pimp your AR blog go the the AR search box and type in Active Rain Customizer, in the past 2 months there has been a ton of info about it as well as some demo videos & step by step instructions. If you have a specific problem/question with it, let me know and I'll be happy to answer it for you.
ketoepa
Mike... ???, hope u had a great 4th of July!
How do you get all the cool type fonts you have? Obviously some great software, but I LOVE it! Will Active Rain Customizer do this? (A newbie, can you tell?)
Sharon... hi and welcome to the group. The fonts in my posts are something I design myself using color samples from my paintings and then digitally airbrushing them onto the font itself. The look has nothing to do with the software.
Thanks, I'm having that very problem with my banner right now! Hopefully this will Fix it!
Garren... hi, if you still have problems check the tutorials in the search feature of AR, there's a ton of stuff including videos by Jeff Turner & Brad Andersohn.
Where do you find the time. I am trying to do something with this outsid e blog thinge and ran across your blog. Your stuff is always interesting.
Joyce... hi and thx, I'm glad it was helpful. have a great weekend.
Thanks for some great tips!
Thomas... you're more than welcome, thx for stopping by!
Wow great blog I need to go update my outside blog look it's been awhile. I do however hate how it adjust the size of my blogs different from that of AR.
Heather... thx, if you need help just ask!
You always do such a great job of getting good articles to read. I try to check your post weekly
Russ... hi and thx, have a great weekend!
Thank you soooo much! Sure is nice to have some of the trial and error on photo sizes done for us. What a great resource this post is also. Have bookmarked it for later and subscribed.
Eileen... you're more than welcome and have a wonderful 2009!
Very good information... i love the simplicity of use on y our blogs... thanks for taking the time to educate us all.
Jerel Washington
The NJ GoodLife Team
www.NJGoodLifeTeam.com
609-933-9044
Jerel... hi and thx, I try to keep my tutorials to the point and not too techie. Have a great 2009!
Your post are always a plethera of info...I am bookmarking this one and heading out to pimp my blog!
Trish... thx so much, have fun blog pimping! ;-)
A lot to read and digest...but thanks for the info. I'll get back to it later...
Mike & Cindy... thx & enjoy!
a lot of info, have marked this page and will com eback to review - thanks
Randall... excellent, emjoy the weekend!
I like the idea of the outside blogs.....any lists of nicely designed ar upgraded blogs? I would love to see a showcase.
Shuki... you'd have to look around to find/see what members have signed up for it, I just do the graphics.
wow ..................there is so much here to absorb...i don t know if my little brain can handle this all..
but i am determined..thank you so much
Hannah... we were all new to this at one point, you'll get the hang of it in no time!
thank you for compiling all of this in one place. it's hard to sift through so many blogs & see all of the great ideas - being able to go to one location for numerous pieces of content is truly appreciated
Michael... my pleasure, also check out the group guidelines in The Art Of Marketing You group for more resources and tutorials all in one place!
So much information to digest, but I am on it! Thanks,
Lisa
Lisa... excellent, thx and enjoy!
Thanks for the wealth of information. These are my favorite blogs, saves me so much time not having to do the surfing. Thanks!
Ben... nice to know this was helpful. Later!
Glad to see we have an "outside blog" now to learn it all. Thanks again for your precise instructions! Just have to sign up now and figure it all out!
Al & Peggy... totally my pleasure, nice to "meet" you!
Thanks so much for your help with the outside blog. Mine is now functioning. Hooray!
Patsy... awesome, I love happy endings! ;-)
This is the second day back to Active Rain after several months so Im a bit upset at all of the info I I have been missing! Although I am glad I came back and found your blog. Great post!
Joel Schmidt Team... welcome back to the Rain!
Marti I've read your posts before and now this one........whew. I bookmarked it and will spend time going thru it all just not at 5:00 Saturday night! My husband is starting to get that I've quickly become a rain head. He just said.....you going to dog and blog on the rain......again! He's really ok with it ....probalby just more surprised by it.
Thanks for all this info. It is things we were working on this week and couldn't resolve. Now we can.
Anna Banana, Phoenix, AZ
Anna... hi and thx, enjoy the weekend, we all need some down time!
Lots of good links with good information. Thanks for tharing this with us.
Cheryl... totally my pleausre, enjoy!
This is WONDERFUL information, Marti, thank you SO much for sharing! I have been weary of video myself -- I *may* just have to try it now. Thank you!
Marney... you're totally welcome, have a great week!
WOW. I thought I was a very accomplished user but this opens up a whole new world or opportunities.
Bob... hi, nice to "meet" you. A lot has changed here on AR since I wrote this post but I have a new series for the outside blogs starting soon.
amazing ideas and thanks for sharing Marti !! I use your graphics on my blog and I love them !
Rama... hi stranger, nice to see you and thx so much for that comment!
Hi, Marti. I am subscribing to your blog. I am new to Active Rain and new to blogging so I am studying others' pages and posts to learn how to make mine better. You are really gifted, and I am grateful that you are sharing this information. Thanks so much!
Leslie... hi and welcome, nice to "meet" you. A lot has changed on AR since this post but I have a new series starting very soon.
Hi. I'm still just 14 days old (AR years) with lots to learn. Please forgive what may be a really dumb question but I believe I have what is considered an "Outside Blog." I've been posting a lot since I joined.
Can someone please tell me the difference between what I am doing and paying the extra $19 for what I thought was an outside blog?
Kind of confusing to me at least.
Thanks so much for any insights.
Rick Pelleriti
Rick... hi and welcome to the group. A lot has been written about Outside blogs, you should contact AR or type in "outside blogs" in the search option and you'll find a ton of info that has already been written about it.
Marti, Thank you for all of the great information all in one place!
Marti, Thank you for all of the great information all in one place!
Crystal... hi and nice to "meet" you. I'll have updated info & graphics about this topic soon.
Marti, Congratulations on the feature. Truly well done an a wealth of cutting edge information.
Steve... hi and thx, have a great weekend!
Thanks for all the helpful information!
Joyce & Terry... my pleasure.
Joyce & Terry... hi and thx. Some of the info in this post is outdated because of changes made to Rain blogs, be sure to use a blog header size of 960 X 134 pixels.
Marti,
Such a tremendous gathering of material and links. Thanks for putting all of this together so comprehensively for us!
Jane... my pleasure!
Marti - thank you so much - I posted and asked for help last week about how to do my header on my page - I was referred to Brad so I sent him an email and asked for help - he was at the convention and said he would contact me when he returned but I do think this is my answer - thank you again so much! This is great!
Marti - thank you so much - I posted and asked for help last week about how to do my header on my page - I was referred to Brad so I sent him an email and asked for help - he was at the convention and said he would contact me when he returned but I do think this is my answer - thank you again so much! This is great!
Norma... things have changed since this post. be sure to use a blog header size of 960 W X 130 H. If you have questions, just send me a note. Later...