Blogging Resource

Stumble Tumble Tuesday – #BloggingTips

Welcome to Stumble Tumble Tuesday!

This fun weekly event is hosted by Acting Balanced, Sunshine and Sippy Cups and Wyoming Girl Turned Coastie Wife! The goal of this hop is to use Stumble Upon to help you promote your blog posts and get more traffic.

Even if you think you are stumbling correctly, please readthis post on how to check and see if your stumble was successful. Some stumbles aren’t showing up, thanks!

TO TAKE PART IS SIMPLE

Add a link to a blog post that you would like people to stumble to the linky below. It *must* be a link to an actual post and NOT your main site. Please do not list giveaways.
Stumble as many other posts as you care to, check to make sure that your stumble went through by clicking on the “Info” icon. If you’d like to, you can leave a comment on their post saying something like, “I’m stopping by from Stumble Tumble Tuesday and just stumbled you – great post! My post is _____(add link)”. That makes it easier for them to return the love! The great thing about Stumble Upon is that it is fast and easy to do with the Stumble Upon toolbar.
PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR LINK IF YOU AREN’T GOING TO STUMBLE ANY POSTS.
Remember, link directly to the actual post, not your home page.
PLEASE – Don’t list any giveaways. StumbleUpon is for Evergreen posts.
PLEASE – Only one link per blog.

Feel free to post about Stumble Tumble Tuesday on your blog and help us spread the word – The more people are stumbling, the more traffic we’ll all get, and, hey – the more, the merrier, right?

HAVE FUN WITH IT AND LET’S DISCOVER AND STUMBLE SOME POSTS!

The first person to “like” a post on StumbleUpon assigns it a category. If your post has not been discovered yet, please leave the category you would like, in your link to help the discoverer assign it correctly. Example: Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (food).

If you have ANY questions on how this works – remember to read the post above, which covers some great basics. If that doesn’t answer it, leave me a comment here or on my Facebook wall – and I’ll get back to your right away. StumbleUpon can be an uh-MAY-zing new way to increase traffic to your site – and this is a fun way to use it!

STUMBLE TUMBLE TUESDAY LINKY

Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 1, 2012 Filed Under: Blog Hops | No Comments

Click, Color, Capture – Photography Challenge Linky – Week 1: Red

Click, Color, Capture Photo Challenge!

Welcome to Week 1 of the Color, Click, Capture photography challenge hosted byEast9thStreet, A Helicopter Mom, Nap Time Is My Time and Sunshine and Sippy Cups! Our color this week is RED.

“When life gives you lemons… just bake some lemon cupcakes.” – Unknown

I’m not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. It’s never really been a good experience for me. But – there’s nothing that a great cupcake can’t fix, right? These little beauties started with the new Fun-da-Middles mix from Betty Crocker, with a little bit of extra creativity thrown in. Recipe will be posted later today – so stay tuned!

Weekly Photography Tip

Our first photography tip comes from Rebecca Cooper who blogs at Simple As That. A professional photographer, Rebecca has written a eBook called, 40 Top Tips for Better Photos that contains easy-to-follow instructions with lots of images to guide you! Since most of want to capture images of our children, this first tip is one that is easy to apply.

No More Cheese Please. While it may seem to do the trick, asking your child to ‘say cheese’ will yeild a smile that is just that…cheesy. Try engaging your child in a conversation about something they are interested in (ie. an upcoming birthday, their favorite tv show, a recent family trip, what you’re going to do after pictures) and be ready to catch that winning smile. While it may take a little more time, that beautiful smile is always worth the wait!

Want to participate in our challenge? It’s super easy! Here’s how It Works:

Take a picture the represents the color of the week.
Write a blog post that features your picture and link it up.
Visit other people’s posts and hopefully find some inspiration!
You can put the button and link code on your blog if you wish but it’s not a requirement.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 1, 2012 Filed Under: Blog Hops | 9 Comments

Stumble Tumble Tuesday! 1/25

Welcome to Stumble Tumble Tuesday hosted by Acting Balanced, Sunshine and Sippy Cups and Wyoming Girl Turned Coastie Wife! The goal of this hop is to use Stumble Upon to help you promote your blog posts and get more traffic.

Even if you think you are stumbling correctly, please read this post on how to check and see if your stumble was successful. Some stumbles aren’t showing up, thanks!

To take part is simple

Add a link to a blog post that you would like people to stumble to the linky below. It *must* be a link to an actual post and NOT your main site. Please do not list giveaways.
Stumble as many other posts as you care to, check to make sure that your stumble went through by clicking on the “Info” icon. If you’d like to, you can leave a comment on their post saying something like, “I’m stopping by from Stumble Tumble Tuesday and just stumbled you – great post! My post is _____(add link)”. That makes it easier for them to return the love! The great thing about Stumble Upon is that it is fast and easy to do with the Stumble Upon toolbar. PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR LINK IF YOU AREN’T GOING TO STUMBLE ANY POSTS.
Remember LINK TO AN ACTUAL POST, NOT YOUR MAIN SITE.
PLEASE DON’T LIST ANY GIVEAWAYS.
PLEASE ONLY ONE LINK PER BLOG.

Feel free to post about Stumble Tumble Tuesday on your blog and help us spread the word – The more people are stumbling, the more traffic we’ll all get, and, hey – the more, the merrier, right?

Have fun with it and let’s discover and stumble some posts!

The first person to “like” a post on StumbleUpon assigns it a category. If your post has not been discovered yet, please leave the category you would like, in your link to help the discoverer assign it correctly. Example: Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (food).

If you have ANY questions on how this works – remember to read the post above, which covers some great basics. If that doesn’t answer it, leave me a comment here or on my Facebook wall – and I’ll get back to your right away. StumbleUpon can be an uh-MAY-zing new way to increase traffic to your site – and this is a fun way to use it!

Stumble Tumble Tuesday Linky

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 25, 2012 Filed Under: Blog Hops | 2 Comments

Weekly Bloggertunities – 1/25

Weekly Bloggertunities

I love the feedback I’ve been getting from you guys on these weekly posts – and I’m so glad that they’re helpful! As always, feel free to share this post with your own blogging friends, and if you have a great contact, event sign up, or other blogging opportunity that you’d like to share – leave it in the comments!

Reviews & Sponsored Posts

SITS Girls: Fill out their application to get matched with exciting opportunities to partner with sponsors. Learn more and sign up – SITS Girls Blogging Opp.
Kids Learning Program: Check out K5 Learning’s site for an open invitation to review their learning program for grade school kids, plus an opportunity to earn $25 for each customer who signs up for the program from your review. K5 Learning Blogging Invite.
Shoplet.com: They’re looking for new product reviews. You’ll be checking out new office products. Sign up on Facebook – Shoplet.com Review Bloggers.
Mom Select: They’re looking for Midwives, Doulas, or Pre-Natal Coaches to share some new product information. If this is you, or you know someone who is a good fit, here is the sign up form – Pre-Natal Program Sign Up.
Peer Index: If you’re a blogger, enter your info here, and they’ll see if your eligible for a fun free chocolate bar for Valentines Day! Peer Index Influencer Perk.
Sabino Haircare: Write a blog about how you use Sabino products, or share a review on their Facebook page, and email your links to gift@sabinohair.com. The first 50 posts will receive a $22 Gift Code to their online store.

Networks to Join

Giveaway Blogs: If you run giveaways on your blog, you’ll love this site! {I got super lucky last summer, and won a Wii from them – how awesome is that?} And if you’re already a member, or sign up today – stop by my profile page and say hi.
Mom Central: One of my very favorite networks to work with – Cool opportunities, easy to follow directions, and great compensation! Open to US and Canadian bloggers – Join Mom Central.

Love to Write?

Parent Palace: They’re looking for new writers to join their team! This is a great way to get some new exposure, and maybe bring some new readers to your blog too.
Examiner: I have a new local column – I’m the Yakima Frugal Living Examiner – and you can have your own column too! I know you all love to write, so you’re the perfect fit for this. You can connect with more local businesses and fans, while earning a steady income too. Check out my column, and then apply here – Examiner.com Sign Up.

Twitter Leads:

Looking for #coffee bloggers/lovers to review our roast! Any interested #bloggers? https://twitter.com/#!/getcoffee/statuses/162212504943083523

Blogging Events

Spring Fashionista Giveaway Event: I’m not joining this time, since I have a lot going on – but this looks like an amazingly fun giveaway to join up with! – Fashionista Sign Up.
Will You Be My Valentine: Join this sweet {pun intended, of course!} giveaway event just in time for Valentines Day. Limited amount of sign ups allowed, closes in a couple of days – Valentine Giveaway Event Form.
Blogging Conferences for Women: Find lists of all the cool conferences coming up this year, and plan to attend your favorites! Women’s Blogging Conferences 2012 schedule lists.
Stumble Tumble Tuesday: Link up your favorite “Stumble Worthy” post anytime this week! It’s an awesome way to get more SU traffic. Find it here.

Resources:

8 Wildly Effective Ways to Promote Yourself Today: Free ebook you can request from Grow with Stacy. Get your free guide to promoting your blog posts.
31 Days to Build a Better Blog: I’m working on through this book right now – and LOVE it! Totally recommend checking it out, to get your blog rockin’ in this new year. Click here to view more details.

Business Owner?

Mompact: Free listings for Mom Businesses in their community of thousands of moms. List your blog, your store, your services, or your company on Mompact.com for free. I’m a member of this community and love it!
Social Buying Circles: Business Among Moms has a very cool new feature – Join this, and you’ll get to try out cool new products, while guaranteeing new sales for your business! Social Buying Circles Sign-Up.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 25, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Resources, Weekly Opp's | 3 Comments

Blogging Conferences for Women – Event Schedule for 2012

Who else is excited for some cool blogging events this year??

Last week I shared my exciting news – That I’m going to be speaking at Reviewer’s Retreat 2012 – in North Carolina this June. I am super excited about it! There are so many great friends that I’ve made online – and now I’ll get to meet some of them in real life. Plus, it’s going to be fun having the chance to share some of the tips I’ve learned along the way during one of the sessions.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

I’m also planning to attend a couple more events this year – The BIG one – BlogHer in New York City this August, and then Bloggy Boot Camp in Las Vegas in October. I was soooo bummed to find out that Bloggy Boot Camp is coming to my area – Seattle – but it’s the same darn weekend that I’ll be speaking at Reviewer’s Retreat! So instead, we’ll be heading down to Vegas – which will be a great time, since we’ve never been there.

Which Event will You Attend this year?

If you want to take your blog to the next level, attending an event or two is a great way to do so. Not only will you learn SO much, but you’ll also get to meet and connect with some amazing new people. I’m in the process of finding a sponsor or two to partner with on these trips – {if you’re reading, and think we’d be a good fit to work together – I’d love to hear from you! Email Meagan at sunshineandsippycups@gmail.com} – but I’m willing to fund them myself if needed, since I know that it’ll be worth it. I’ve heard so many incredible stories from other bloggers, and can’t wait to jump into some fun events too! If you want to start planning for YOUR events this year, Jennifer James put together an awesome list over on Mom Blog Magazine –

2012 Mom and Social Media Conferences

And The Blog Stylist has a similar list, with some great contact info for each conference. This list includes a lot of fashion and beauty style conferences too, which would be a ton of fun –

2012 Women’s Lifestyle Blogging Conferences

If you’ll be attending any of the events I’m going to – I’d LOVE to connect with you while we’re there! And if you have some great tips to share for preparing for a conference, please leave some comments – I’m excited to attend my first events, but not totally sure what to expect. What events are YOU hoping to attend this year?

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 20, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Events | 5 Comments

Largest Online Protest in History: Why SOPA & PIPA Matter to You

Want to know why some of your favorite websites suddenly went black?

If you haven’t heard of SOPA or PIPA yet, I’m really not all that surprised. Mainstream media has done a great job of keeping this issue out of sight, and many people have no idea that the freedom that they now enjoy when using the internet is seriously threatened by these two bills that our government has been putting together to “protect us”. That’s why some of your favorite sites will be blacked out today – to make you aware of what’s going on, before it’s too late.

SOPA, PIPA, WTH?

Confused already? SOPA stands for the Stop Online Piracy Act, and PIPA stands for Protect Intellectual Property Act. Those sound like good things right? The problem is, the names of these bills are quite deceiving. What these bills will do is give anyone the right to shut down any website at any time. Seriously. And they would make many of us criminals.

Why this Matters to You

SOPA would give the Department of Justice the authority to shut down any website that hosts copyrighted material – Meaning, not just those sites you go to when you want to illegally download movies or music. Sites like eBay, Craigslist, Wikipeida, and my beloved Pinterest could be shut down simply because their USERS uploaded material that they didn’t own. Right now those sites are protected by “Safe Harbor” laws – but if SOPA were to pass, those sites could be deemed “enablers”, and have their entire website shut down. And there is almost nothing that a site owner can do once this happens to them.

This is Serious Stuff

There are a lot of theories about the motives behind this – But most people agree that if either of these bills were to pass, it will lead to a major censorship of the internet. Sites like Facebook won’t want to risk being shut down – so instead, they’ll have to censor their users strongly to ensure that they are in compliance with the new bills. And I don’t know about you – But I do NOT like being censored.

Who is Protesting?

This is such an incredibly big threat to the internet that we know now, that website owners are going so far as to black out their sites as a show of protest. Who is blacked out? Well, if you haven’t already noticed them, here are a few:

Google.com – You’ll see the black bar over their logo.
Wikipedia – Directs you to contact info for your representatives.
Craigslist – Black site, with a SOPA opposition message.
Reddit.com – Goes down in a few hours, you can read more on their site.
Mozilla.com – Goes black at 8am Eastern Time, read more.

Visit SOPAStrike.com to learn what other sites are protesting, how you can join the protest by blacking out your own site for 12 hours, how to join the movement on Twitter, and more.

Wasn’t the vote canceled?

Yes, due to the growing pressure from so many influential people on the web, they’ve temporarily delayed the vote on SOPA. But PIPA is still on track to be voted on, and SOPA is far from defeated. If you want to learn more about these bills, these sites explain it all much better than I can:

If you aren’t feeling angry, frustrated, disgusted, or a wee bit scared after reading all of those – then you didn’t read them right. JK – but seriously. I debated joining this strike, since I am EXTREMELY opposed to these bills. But – I have sponsors and media partners that I have obligations with, and since I couldn’t reach agreements with all of them on going black for a day, I’ll be staying live. I hope to black out my site for at least part of the day, this afternoon. But I wanted to do my part to spread the word about this – and encourage YOU to take action. Whether it’s writing to your congressman or simply sending out a tweet. Visit SOPASTIKE.com for more info.

What do YOU think?

Share your thoughts on SOPA and PIPA in the comments…. If you disagree with someone, be respectful. Discussion is encouraged, disrespect is not. But I would love to hear your views on this…

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 17, 2012 Filed Under: Blogging Resources | 9 Comments

Stumble Tumble Tuesday

Even if you think you are stumbling correctly, please read this post on how to check and see if your stumble was successful. Some stumbles aren’t showing up, thanks!

To take part is simple

Add a link to a blog post that you would like people to stumble to the linky below. It *must* be a link to an actual post and NOT your main site. Please do not list giveaways.
Stumble as many other posts as you care to, check to make sure that your stumble went through by clicking on the “Info” icon. If you’d like to, you can leave a comment on their post saying something like, “I’m stopping by from Stumble Tumble Tuesday and just stumbled you – great post! My post is _____(add link)”. That makes it easier for them to return the love! The great thing about Stumble Upon is that it is fast and easy to do with the Stumble Upon toolbar. PLEASE DO NOT ADD YOUR LINK IF YOU AREN’T GOING TO STUMBLE ANY POSTS.
Remember LINK TO AN ACTUAL POST, NOT YOUR MAIN SITE.
PLEASE DON’T LIST ANY GIVEAWAYS.
PLEASE ONLY ONE LINK PER BLOG.

Feel free to post about Stumble Tumble Tuesday on your blog and help us spread the word – The more people are stumbling, the more traffic we’ll all get, and, hey – the more, the merrier, right?

Have fun with it and let’s discover and stumble some posts!

The first person to “like” a post on StumbleUpon assigns it a category. If your post has not been discovered yet, please leave the category you would like, in your link to help the discoverer assign it correctly. Example: Strawberry Shortcake Recipe (food).