10 (Must Read) Tips to Grow Your Blog

Last week as I was looking through all the fabulous projects, crafts, eats, and link ups at the Link It or Lump It party my eye kept being drawn to all the posts on blogging and social media tips. Perhaps it's because Two It Yourself is celebrating it's first birthday in the blogisphere and I'm finally feeling like I know what I'm doing - somewhat.

Blogging takes a lot of work.  Blogging takes a lot of patience. Blogging is a lot of trial and error.  It's dedication and determination for what is often a very small dime..especially at first.  More than anything making your blog a success means a lot of marketing, self promotion, and putting yourself out there.  I certainly don't know everything or even a fraction of everything - I learn a lot of new tips, tricks and techniques everyday to drive visitors and increase readership and brand recognition.

That's why today I thought it would helpful (no?) to pull all of those awesome blogging tips shared during last week's link party together into one awesome  post.  I'm also throwing in a few blogging tip posts that have appeared here on Two It Yourself during our first year.    

Be sure to click through to read all the awesome tutorials to grow your blog - this is definitely one to pin now and read through later!

How to Blog Series: Making a (Free) Blog Header

This week marks Two It Yourself's First Blog-iversary.  We're celebrating a year in the blogisphere with a "How to Blog Series."  Today's topic is on how to make a free blog header.

Every blogger knows looks matter...I may be in my pajamas and makeup-less at the keyboard, but my blog's gotta look good. :) Since the blog header is the first thing people see when they come to your blog, you want to make a good first impression and that means having an eye catching blog header. 

Two It Yourself has gone through a series of blog headers, but in recent months we've finally found one that works, for us, for several reasons.

1) It immediately gives off the look, feel, and vibe of our blog.  It sets the tone that we use throughout the blog.

2) The header takes up the full width of the screen without forcing a scroll bar along the bottom.

3) The header is short enough that the ad above the first blog post is 'above the fold'

4) The background is transparent. 

Let's make one thing clear: I am in no way a blog graphics design expert. For all I know my blog header could make blog and graphics designers cringe, shriek, and go blind all at the same time.   All I'm here to do is to share with you what I have found works on my blog.

DIY Blogger Business Card Ideas

Less than a year ago when we launched Two It Yourself I never would have imagined needing blogger business cards.  But when Hometalk asked me to host a Pinterest Craft Party at my local Michaels store, I knew I couldn't pass up on the opportunity on getting a little plug in for Two It Yourself.

I literally was lost. I had no idea what I would put on my blog business card.  I searched Pinterest and found Lauren at Thinking Closet's tutorial on DIY blog business cards and I was instantly inspired..and impressed!  Lauren was a little more on top of her game than I was, so she was able to mail order her cards. I was up against the clock and couldn't afford the ship time so I had mine printed locally at Staples.   The price was a little higher than if I had been able to order them online, but they came out beautifully and I had a coupon for 20% off.


I started by going to Staples.com and getting the exact dimensions of their business cards.  From there you can either use one of their templates to design cards or upload your own design.  I simply used the measurements and the safe zone measurements and then created my own design in PicMonkey.

DIY Faux Chalkboard Menu Board

My husband and I recently hosted a small dinner party for about four other couples.   Since I wasn't doing much in the way of decorations - my house is already decked out for Christmas - I decided I would just do a few extra special party decorations.  I had been given a free trial upgrade by PicMonkey to use their Royale Package I decided to make a Faux Chalkboard Menu Board.  It came out awesome - despite my misspelling on Nutella (sorry 'bout that, 'Tella- I hope we can still be BFFs).   More on why I didn't fix it in a minute...but first how I made it using PicMonkey.

I started by "creating a design."  Since I was printing it at home and wanted it to be as large as possible, I selected the 8 x 10 canvas.   Using the chalkboard background in the 'School' theme, I was able to make the entire canvas a faux chalkboard.  Then I added an overlay at the top and made it transparent before adding my "Menu" text.

Then it was time to start adding my menu items.  I used all the different chalkboard-like fonts available on PicMonkey.  Some of them are part of the standard free package, and a few like Sketch Block and Stroke Dimension I could only gain access to because I had the free trial of PicMonkey's Royale (indicated by the little crown).  

My Favorite FREE online photo editor: PicMonkey (Upgrade Trial Offer)

Ever wonder how bloggers like yours truly easily edit photos (and design graphics like the one to the left) with all those overlays (ie the adorable elf hat) and fun fonts (hello, marquee!)?  There's actually a lot of thought that goes into the editing of a photo and it starts with snapping the picture: Is there logical, clear and unobtrusive spot on the photo for an overlay or banner? Is the photo's orientation blog friendly? Is the edited picture Pinterest-friendly? Is the font color and size easily legible?  Will text be cut off if only a square thumbnail of the photo is displayed?

Many people don't have Photoshop - perhaps the most well-known photo editing software.  While there are many free online services to edit photos PicMonkey is a favorite of many bloggers - including this girl right here.  Why?  There are many reasons, but #1 and 2 in my book are ease of use and a huge selection of graphics, fonts, options, and overlays.

I have no affiliation with PicMonkey, I just like to use it and do so on a daily basis.  Here a few ways I've used PicMonkey recently on the blog and even on my family's Christmas card....