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Archive for July, 2011

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Today we are introducing a clean and minimalist theme, Blogum.

The Blogum Theme

Designed by WPShower, Blogum has a grid-based layout and is designed in a modern style. This very clean style allows your reader to precisely focus on your content.

Blogum has a widget area in the right sidebar. It also includes a full-width template to hide the sidebar. You are able to customize even more with a header image, background, and custom menu.

Blogum also supports three post formats, Aside, Image and Gallery. Read all about Blogum’s features on the Theme Showcase.

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As soon as a blogger publishes their first post, their first question is: Where’s all my traffic? Everyone assumes they’re the only one seeking attention, when in truth nearly everyone is. It takes time to build an audience and no one gets much traffic without putting in the effort.

Here at WordPress.com we want you to get more traffic, and we build features and services to help. It’s been awhile since we’ve told you about them, so here are our top recommendations:

1. Update your About Page. One of the first things visitors to your site will want to know is something about who you are. If you don’t update your About page to include a short bio, and they find a generic page instead,  they’ll be disappointed. But if you briefly explain (two paragraphs is plenty) what the blog is about, and who you are, they’ll be more likely to come back.
2. Turn on Publicize. You can easily set up your WordPress.com blog to automatically share new posts out to your Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo or LinkedIn accounts. This increases your reach every time you publish a post.
   
3. Turn on Sharing. With a few clicks, you can make it so any visitor can share a link to your post out to their social networks, their blog, or through email.
4. Let readers subscribe by email. Email is often forgotten as a source of traffic. If you turn on the Subscriptions widget, people can choose to get notified of new posts on your blog, automatically, via email. It’s a great way to keep them connected to your blog without any extra work for you, or for them.
   
5. Post regularly. Pick a schedule that works for you – once a day, once  a week, once every two weeks, and stick to it. Mention that frequency in your About page, and put reminders on your personal calendar. It’s only when people can expect regular posts that they’ll be compelled to come back to see what you’ve written next. If you need ideas for posts, read and subscribe to DailyPost, where we give topic ideas and blogging advice every day. You can also use PressThis to quickly generate new posts while you are browsing the web.
6. Write Well.  It’s often unsaid, but better posts get more traffic. There’s no sense in posting every day, if every post is boring or poorly written. It takes time to develop interesting ideas, and to edit posts to be concise and typo free. If people find a careless writer at work, they won’t be back. What good is more traffic if the content they see isn’t good enough for them to choose to return?
7. Pick good titles. Blog post titles are like newspaper headlines. They need to be short and interesting to get people to want to see what’s inside. It takes some thinking to get a title down to a short sentence, but it’s time well spent. On Facebook and Twitter, all people will often see is the title and your link.
   
8. Link to bloggers like you. When you link to another blog, they’ll typically get notified (via a pingback) that someone has mentioned them. This will encourage them to visit your blog and, if they like what they find, link to you as well in their posts. But do it sparingly; too many links and we call it SPAM. If you find a post you like, excerpt a paragraph and link to the rest. Also check out Freshly Pressed and our Global Tags to find blogs with similar interests, and subscribe to their blog. You can use tags in your own posts so your work will surface there as well.
9. Comment on other blogs like yours.  Every comment is an opportunity to show how well you write and think. When people read a great comment, they’ll see your name, and the link to your blog, encouraging them to see what else you have to say. Identify good blogs on topics similar to your own, read and contribute sincerely.
10. Respond to every comment you get. When people comment on your blog, they’ve invested a lot of their time. Reward them by answering questions and taking their feedback, and they’ll come back again.
11. Take requests.  Write a post requesting your readers (or your friends) to suggest topics to write about. Reach out to Facebook, twitter, or friends, for suggestions. Then let them know you’ve written about what they asked for. It’s a great way to make sure everything you write will have at least one reader.
12. Pay for traffic. Web applications like StumbleUpon can bring visitors to your posts with rates starting at $.05 per visit. If you’ve just published a great post and you really want some feedback from visitors, this can be a good way to get started. Companies looking for broader distribution, including getting content seen by journalists, should try services like PR Newswire.

Often you’ll hear about get traffic fast schemes, but we don’t believe in those sorts of things. There’s not much magic or secrets necessary. The advice above, used thoughtfully, is more that sufficient to increase visitors to your blog.

Have other suggestions for what we can do to help you build traffic? Let us know.

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From the runways of Milan to the streets of New York City, jewellery is fashion. Trendy tassels on long dangling earrings are a sexy look this year. Combined with Cabochon-style stones in big cuts with soft colours white
gold rings and silver charm bracelets are all the rage. A single piece of jewellery can complete an outfit, freshen a look or change a classic outfit from business to pleasure without undressing. Jewellery is as personal as clothing and finding your specific style is tough without the help of a designer or a personal shopper. Most women are completely comfortable pairing their standard gold bracelets with some matching earrings, but to find a truly unique piece of jewellery and have it blend seamlessly with your lifestyle is not quite as easy.

Pandora’s website is the coolest way to push your jewellery style away from frumpy and into fabulous. The website is filled with trendy options for ring designs that are completely your own. Click to create the unique right hand ring that you’ve always wanted. Add gemstones in brilliant colours or choose some sparkling crystals to accent your creation.  Precious materials and genuine stones are among the options for a designer ring of your own. Build your own wedding set in a style that you cannot find in stores or use the Your Perfect Match application to inspire the ring and necklace or earring combinations that you’ve always wanted.

Simple to use, the Your Perfect Match page has spinning wheels that rotate to display your selection of rings or earrings or whichever type of body decoration that you prefer. Choose a ring and then cross over to the second wheel to find the earrings that match. The combinations are endless and the styles and choices are completely your own. Pick a ring, pick a pair of earrings and add the choices to your wish list. The site stores your matches and gives you a huge selection of styles to choose from. Simply order your design combinations and ship them directly to your home.

A simple pendant in a signature stone is high on the list for spectacular fashion this year. Combine the pendant with an eye-catching ring or dazzling earrings and you have your own blend of trendy and functional. The best part about this year’s jewellery trend is the colour. Your Perfect Match lets you find your most flattering colour and place it into a jewellery collection that is totally you. The application is so much fun to use and there are so many combinations available that you will have a blast creating a style that is uniquely you. Spin the wheel, grab a ring or a necklace and see where the fashion takes you.

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Also, Forever21 officially has a store on Oxford Street in London - I dropped by yesterday and it looks very promising. Wahoooo

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It’s rare to find a bag with multiple prints that work well together.  The colorful, graphic print on the Kipling Ryne Round Tote immediately grabbed my attention.  The oversized canvas tote features double handles, magnetic snap closure, and lined interior with sewn-in key clasp and detachable pouch.  Price: $89.00 at Macys.com

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Today, we’re happy to launch React, a simple and elegant theme designed especially for business websites. In fact, React is for anyone who would like a clean design to showcase their work and inspire visitors to — well — react. If this describes you, React is yours for the lifetime of your blog for only $68.

The React Theme

Designed by The Theme Foundry, React packs an impressive array of features. In the theme options panel, you can turn the sidebar on or off, depending on your preferences. You can also choose to display a recent projects footer, a latest news footer, and a widgets footer. Add a personal touch with your own logo, a custom background, your choice from one of 7 primary fonts, and links to your Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr profiles. Finally (but certainly not least), load your site on a mobile device or tablet and enjoy the view — React’s responsive layout adapts beautifully to smaller screen sizes.

Read more about React’s features on the Theme Showcase or preview it live on your blog from Appearance → Themes.

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Amy Winehouse left us too early when she died in her London home but she left a fashion statement that was admired and copied constantly. She brought back the shapely styles of the early 60’s and an eye catching bee hive hair do that became her trademark. Her curvaceous body was ready made for tight tops showing clevage and skin tight jeans or short skirts to match.

I miss you all ready Amy!

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{music: Sugar Water by Cibo Matto, 2 Japanese-American sampling queens of the 90s}
{title: lyric from spoken word artist and musician Dizraeli}

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