threelilprincesses.com

Category: Blogging

  • BLOG: These are a few of my favourite memes (aka blog hops)?

    BLOG: These are a few of my favourite memes (aka blog hops)?

    THREE Li’l Princesses’ audience is fast growing and so far I haven’t had to sell my soul. I could say I’ve been blessed or that my “content is king’’, but I really doubt either are true. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but I’m guessing it might have something to do with:

    • The sheer volume of comments I make on other bloggers’ blogs. No, I’m not stalking you.
    • Getting involved in social media – Twitter and Facebook. It helps save hubby’s ears from my constant natter.
    • Giveaways. Because who doesn’t like something for free? Unless it’s a cold and then, no thanks.
    • Memes (aka blog hops). Rhymes with “cream’’, not “Demi’’.

    The latter is where I see huge spikes in traffic and comments. I’ve road tested quite a few and have four that have worked really well for me. They are:

    This one is pretty simple. You upload a photo. End of story. Although, it isn’t end of story for me, as no words causes huge headaches for my homepage thumbnail, so mine is never truly “wordless’’. And maybe also because I can’t keep my mouth shut. Even for just one post.

    Choose your best post from the week. I’ve found the key to this one working is an eye-catching headline – and headlines have never been my strong point. Thank goodness I married the rather clever Bloke in The Shed (please don’t tell him I said that).

    One of my favourite memes of the week, this one is simply a post about what you’re grateful for. I’ve slightly copied Maxabella’s format, in that she usually posts three things. Hers are numbered and mine and mere dots, so I’m being “slightly’’ original. It’s also my chance to spruik the silly things my three-year-old daughter Ella does.

    This one is just too easy. Allison picks a topic and you have to dive into your archive (or you can just scroll through, if you like) and find a post that fits the subject. Love, love this one!

    My advice though is to 1. Make sure you include the badge in your post to credit the wonderful work of the meme host. 2. Comment on other posts that are part of the meme. *UPDATE* This meme is now hosted by the lovely MultipleMum of And Then There Were Four. Check her out. She has a fab blog.

    *UPDATE*

    Since writing this post, I was asked by the gorgeous Tina Gray to co-host the Aussie Giveaway Linkup. The aim is for bloggers and business owners who host giveaways on their blogs to link up each Sunday morning to 1. attract more traffic to their giveaways and 2. give readers a chance to find giveaways all in the one spot. The linky closes on Tuesdays at 7am.

    If you’re a blogger, do you take part in memes? What are your favourites? If you’re a reader, what memes attract your attention?

  • BLOG: 15 steps to building a mummy blog

    BLOG: 15 steps to building a mummy blog

    Are you a blogger or thinking about getting into blogging?

    SINCE starting this blog in 2010 and my business blog a year later, I’ve been asked quite a few times how you start a blog and does it cost a lot.

    The answer is: no, it doesn’t cost a lot. While it cost me about $110, you can actually start a blog with Blogspot or WordPress.org for free. However, the advice I received early on was to fork out the money for a self-hosted site if you’re serious about blogging. It’ll save you a mountain of work later on – especially if you’re looking to turn it into a business blog later on.

    Here’s how I created my mummy blog:

    1. Buy a domain. I went through Hostgator* to get my domain name for this site for $US15 and CrazyDomains* to get my business site, due to wanting the .com.au.
    2. Buy a hosting package. We did so with Hostgator* and bought the Baby Plan. Cost: about $100/year (there is a discount on the price at the time of writing this). The reason for choosing Hostgator came down to the fact it had some of the best reviews on the net. Every host had negatives!
    3. Once you’re in your cPanel, click on WordPress and download.
    4. In WordPress, click on “appearance’’ and “themes’’ and start clicking through to find the theme that best suits what you’re hoping to achieve. This blog uses Pagelines and my business blog uses Genesis. But if I was starting out again and didn’t have funds for a designer, I’d opt for the Divi* theme from Elegant Themes. It’s divine – and super easy to use.
    5. Download plug-ins from the WordPress.org site to make your blog more user friendly. I suggest: Akismet (to help prevent spam), All In One SEO Pack (makes all that SEO stuff simply), Fast Secure Contact Form (to put on your Contact Me page), ReplyMe (when you reply to a comment on your blog, it is automatically sent to their email), Social Media Widget (this helps apply all your social media links to your sidebar to make connecting with you easier),
    6. Consider using Feedburner. This allows people to view your content via RSS or email subscription. However, I do want to add that since writing this post, most people now use an email marketing system for greater flexibility in building an email list and marketing. When you’re starting out, I highly recommend Mailchimp*. As your email list grow, other options include Infusionsoft* – which I now use.
    7. Join Google Analytics. This will give you a daily, weekly, monthly and annual look at your traffic stats – how many visitors, what pages they’re looking at, how they came to find your site. Invaluable information.
    8. Create some pages within your blog – preferable an About Me page, a Contact page and Advertise page. You can do this under “Pages’’ and “Add New’’.
    9. If you’re looking to use advertising on your site, sign up with Nuffnang.
    10. Through your HostGator cPanel create an email address. For eg, mine is kellie (at) threelilprincesses (dot) com A word of warning, always obfuscate your email address as I’ve shown it here, otherwise the spam bots will pick it up.
    11. Click “Posts’’ and “Add New’’ in WordPress and start typing away. To learn more about content, visit my blogging series.
    12. Once you’re done, add a photo using Picmonkey* to create it, fill in your SEO fields, add some tags and categories, proof read your post once more, then press “Publish’’.
    13. For more information on blogging, sign up to the 7 Days To Making Money With Blogging Mini Course!
    14. Then you need traffic. Right? Look at creating a Facebook fan page and Twitter account, email signature with your URL, submit articles to bookmarking sites like StumbleUpon and join Facebook groups. Other traffic strategies include public relations.
    15. Lastly, respond to comments on your own blog and get offsite and comment on other bloggers’ posts. It’s the best way to start making new friends. And remember, have fun!

    If you have trouble with any of the above, don’t hesitate to leave a comment and I’ll help walk you through it. Also, if you’ve noticed something on my blog that you’d like to know more about, feel free to ask. I’m more than happy to share my experiences.

    Photo credit: here.

    If you’re a blogger, share some of your favourite plug-ins or steps you took to create your blog? If you’re not a blogger, have you ever considered starting your own blog?

    If you’d like more, you can also go through the entire free 30-day blogging challenge here which will help you set up your blog, Facebook and Twitter accounts for business.

    FREE COURSE

    Click the image below to learn how to make money from blogging in this 7-day mini course

    Click Here to Start

    As a disclaimer, the * links is a referral link. So if you decide to work with the company in the future, I may receive a commission. However, it doesn’t mean you will be charged any extra for using their services.

  • FEATURE: Best of…

    FEATURE: Best of…

    One of our “best bits''.

    IF THIS was an album, it would be called a Best Of. Instead, it’s a blog, so we’re calling it a Sneeze Page. It’s also part of Day 18 of 31 Days To Build A Better Blog.

    A Sneeze Page is something that “propels people in different directions deep within your blog by highlighting a variety of posts you’ve previously written”. Of course, we’ve only been blogging for a month, so our archives aren’t exactly “deep”.

    So we’re bringing you the best bits from the past month that made us laugh, cry (that would be the iPhone story) and think about the future. Enjoy!

    Do you agree with our list, or was there another of our posts that you would have included? Let us know.
    FYBF

    By the way, today I’m taking part in FlogYoBlog Friday for the first time. Click on the links to read some other awesome posts from around the mummy blogosphere!


  • FEATURE: Help! I’m a perfectionist

    FEATURE: Help! I’m a perfectionist

    Help!

    THE Three Li’l Princesses blog has been up all of two weeks and already I’m trying to improve it.

    Yes, my name is Kellie and I’m a perfectionist.

    We’re part of the 31 Days To Build A Better Blog challenge along with a group of talented women from Aussie Mummy Bloggers. Day one is to write an elevator pitch.

    It’s meant to be a short summary to define this blog’s “value proposition’’ and is named so to reflect the idea “that it should be possible to deliver the summary in the time span of an elevator ride, or approximately 30 seconds to two minutes.”

    So, here goes… The tag line and elevator pitch. There’s a new About page included too.

    Tag line:

    Where parents are sent for time out…

    Elevator pitch:

     Just endured the fourth all-out, screaming, kicking tantrum for the day (yours, not the kids)? Then stop. Breathe. Step inside Three Li’l Princesses’ tranquil palace – home to a funny mummy blogger, hilarious daddy blogger and two li’l princesses. Catch up on news. Share a laugh. Shed a tear. Be inspired. Or simply recharge the batteries. This is your virtual mum’s group when the real thing just isn’t available. After all, when parenting gets “interesting’’, it’s nice to know there’s someone out there experiencing the exact same moment.

    About page:

    Where parents are sent for time out…

    After 15 years in journalism, much of it producing newspaper entertainment magazines, this mum-of-two decided to start Three Li’l Princesses.

    The catalyst was requests from readers to continue the successful long-running “Mum’s The Word’’ newspaper series _ one I still get asked about two years on. It was an honest account of Princess Ella’s existence from when she was a mere bun in the oven, with a bit of humour thrown in.

    But, as we know, parenting can also be damn challenging. Even more so with the addition of Baby Holly in October.

    Some days you barely survive the piercing repetition of “but why?’’, tripping over mountains of toys, two hours of sleep in 24 hours and the fourth tantrum for the day (yours, not the kids).

    So stop. Breathe.

    Step inside Three Li’l Princesses’s palace, where there’s plenty of space to curl up with a good ebook, maybe some baby knitting or tinker away at winning cool stuff.

    Or is cooking or photography what’s therapeutic for you?

    Then again, you can just pop in to catch up on the news, share stories or be reminded why you became a parent in the first place in this virtual mum’s group.

    Subscribe to the site and join us on Facebook and Twitter and you’ll never miss out on a conversation.

    Dads, you’re not left out either. Daddy blogger Julian has plenty of room in The Shed.

    So whether you’re living through it, lived it in a past life or are on the brink of jumping in, make yourself at home in The Palace and catch up on news, share a laugh, shed a tear, be inspired or simply recharge the batteries.

    After all, when parenting gets “interesting’’, it’s nice to know there’s someone out there experiencing the exact same moment.

    Who lives here?

    Kellie (Li’l Princess No. 1) : Journalist, funny mummy blogger, mum to Princesses No. 2 and 3 and a li’l princess herself, at just 150cms. OK, so that’s being a tad generous. As a breastfeeding mum, she misses chocolate, wine … and sleep.

    Julian (Bloke in The Shed): Deputy editor, daddy blogger and dad to Princesses No. 2 and 3. Married to his iPhone and is finding a thinner version of himself via the Nintendo Wii.

    Ella (Princess No. 2): Now three years of age and ruler of the house. Loves dancing, singing and coming out with ridiculously funny lines, which is inevitable when she talks as much as she does.

    Holly (Princess No. 3): Born in October, she loves laughing, giggling and chortling. Oh, and boobie juice. But, for some reason, doesn’t like sleeping. Hmmm.

    So what do you think? Accurate? Need work? Please be as honest as possible. Any feedback is welcome.