Annie Anderson | Blog

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Before I show you my new theme preview, let me say that yesterday’s post about being picky was *supposed* to be about not finding a new theme for this blog that totally fits my vision. I had intended to talk about being picky about my site design. Well, that didn’t happen. LOL

Anyway, although there are many themes I truly do like and wish I could use them all, there just isn’t one (that I’ve found, yet) that follows exactly what I see this blog as being. So, I thought since I’m a graphic designer - but not a web designer, technically - I would try to create my own. And I’m happy to say that coding with WordPress (the platform this blog uses) is fairly straight forward. Although, if any of you pro’s out there have any tips for me, I’m all ears!

The weekend was largely spent learning the basics of coding a theme with WordPress and yesterday I threw together the graphics vision. It’s not entirely finished yet and I don’t plan on having it live until next week at the earliest but I thought I’d give you a preview. I would greatly appreciate any feedback you have for me.

Please tell me what you think and again, if you know a thing or two about creating a WP theme from scratch, please do share any tips you have.

Have a great day!

In the arena,

(The gallery seems to be having a few issues. If you can’t see the image in the box above, click the middle of the box and it will open the image in a new window.)

By the way - if this is your first time here, or you haven’t done so yet, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed. You can use any feed reader you wish.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

It’s time for a new theme here at AA|Blog but I’m not sure what I really want. I have *some* idea - 2 or 3 column, widget compatible, custom header image capable and preferably free - although I am considering a premium theme.

So far, I really like Fresh News, WP Remix and a couple of others. On the one hand, I’d like something “newsy” or magazine feeling but on the other - I’d rather have full articles on the front and not have truncated posts like many of the magazine or news style themes have. I like being able to read the whole post without having to click to another page to finish it.

I also want to be sure the theme doesn’t truncate (or cut off) the RSS feed. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves as an RSS reader - having to click to the website to finish reading something. Trust me - if I want to post a comment or something, I *will* click through. Just don’t expect me to click to finish reading. It’s not only cumbersome, it’s time consuming and when I have a bajillion tabs already open, it’s just not fun. Let me read the whole post in my RSS reader or I’m likely to unsubscribe.

It’s about value.

Oh, but anyway . . . I was talking about a new theme, wasn’t I? LOL . . . it’s been a long day. Can you tell?!

Yeah, I think a new theme is what I’d really like. I do like this one, though but it’s kinda limited in what I really want to do with the site and some of the newer premium themes have some great options.

All of that to say - do you have a favorite theme? Would you purchase (or have you) a premium theme? How much are you willing to spend on such a theme?

Please tell me your thoughts.

In the arena,

By the way - if this is your first time here, or you haven’t done so yet, please consider subscribing to my RSS feed. You can use any feed reader you wish.

Annie Anderson is a freelance copywriter and graphic designer specializing in the small business and real estate markets. Her tagline “Making your business, my business” means that she’ll take the utmost care when creating words and images for your business - just as if it were her own.

What inspires you? Makes you want to write? And when you get that inspired writing urge, how do you satisfy it?

As much as I love computers and all the cool tools available, sometimes what inspires me to write most and what satisfies that familiar burn, is a good ol’ paper and pen!

Give me a notebook, a good writing pen, mug of hot coffee and shove me in a quiet room with a radio and I’m good. I could sit there for hours on end just writing and thinking. Making lists. Creating little jingles and rhymes. Coming up with titles and slogans and stuff. And whole books, even.

But I don’t get that time or freedom nearly often enough. Mostly, I seem to be all but chained to my desk and my laptop. Now, don’t get me wrong - I enjoy working on my Mac. It’s just that sometimes I long for those days when I could sit cross-legged on the bed, lost in a world that only existed on the page.

Actually, I think part of what I miss is the uninterrupted time! LOL. It seems that nowadays, even if I had the gumption to go sit on the bed with my pad and pen, someone would invariably interrupt me. Whether that be a kid or a cat or my husband. I would not be alone. Nor in solitude.

Nope. Not going to happen in this house anytime soon!

So, tell me . . . What inspires you to write? And how do you make it happen? If the world were a perfect place, what would be your special “writing zen?”

I think mine would be in a nice little cabin tucked close in, yet far away, somewhere along an ocean with a cozy nook and gorgeous view. I would sit there in a big, comfy chair with my notebooks and my pens and pencils and a radio playing all my favorites. No phones. No televisions. Maybe my trusty laptop, though. Just me and my writing.

Yeah. That would work.

I haven’t had too much opportunity to surf the web and find new and interesting sites recently, but I did happen upon a rather cool website in the past few days. Generally, I like to share a variety of pages or articles that I’ve come across because there is so much great stuff out there. It can be daunting sometimes, finding useful info and I think a lot of valuable content goes unnoticed.

On my incredibly short list this week (if you can even call it a list), is the Reader Appreciation Project. It’s a website dedicated to blog readers, basically, and according to their “About” page, their purpose is to show readers “that they are one of the most important assets a blogger can have.” And they give bloggers tips and advice on how to “implement and spread the concept of reader appreciation.” So go check it out. There’s lots of good stuff over there to peruse.

Sometimes being an entrepreneur has its drawbacks. Like accountability, for example. Who do you have to be accountable to? At times there’s no one but yourself. And this is the downfall of many well-intentioned new businesses.

I think this is part of the reason social networks have taken off so well in the past year or two. It gives people a simple way to not only network with others and meet new people, but also to be accountable. If you tell a friend on facebook or twitter that you’re going to do x, y and z this week, you start feeling guilty when you put it off. Plus it’s fun to see what others are doing - it provides a sort of healthy competition.

The same is true for weight loss. And I think this is why there are so many weight loss blogs out there today (mine included). Because it gives us someone besides ourselves to be accountable to. Being accountable to other people helps us be accountable to ourselves. In the end, we get more done, we complete our goals and benchmarks and we feel better about ourselves. Maybe our businesses grow too.

That is why I share what I do about my projects with you. I hope you find some motivation in them and maybe even some ideas for your own life or business. Having a support network is essential to success. In Napolean Hill’s classic “Think and Grow Rich,” he devotes an entire chapter to the mastermind group. I think social networks are like mastermind groups - they allow members to share and explore ideas and this helps other members grow and succeed too.

When we help enough other people get what they want, we ultimately get what we want in the process as well. What social networks are you on? You can find me on several. A list of them is here.

Speak soon,

I’ve been blogging for quite a few years now and have changed blogs, hosts, and platforms on several occasions. But it’s never really been about making money for me. I know there are many blogs out there with that exact aim and they are great blogs. I enjoy reading a variety of them and some have taught me some interesting things with regard to promotion and marketing. Likewise, I’ve also learned some of what NOT to do. Still, it isn’t about money, although I do share some affiliate links and things I support with you in the sidebar and other posts - I share only what I enjoy and believe in.

So, what does blogging mean to me and why do I do it?

Good question. Let me answer the second half first. I do it because I love writing. Plain and simple. No other reason. I love writing. I cannot imagine NOT writing. In fact, there’s a period of my life where I didn’t write at all and that is probably the darkest time of my life. I felt like I was living someone else’s life, like the real me was hiding somewhere. When I started writing again, I felt like a whole new person. Like I was doing what I came to this earth to do.

Now, to answer the first half of the question.

Blogging to me is a release. Things I don’t really say in the rest of my writing that for whatever reason want to come out. It also means sharing, teaching and learning. Some of my other passions. When I was a child, my first love was writing and my second was teaching. I still love it also. And that’s my aim - to share what I know and what I’ve learned with those who would like to listen.

Sometimes what I post here will be serious in nature - things about writing, real estate, marketing and such. Others will be more fun - like music or what is currently on my reading bookshelf. I hope most of it will hold some value for you. I know not everyone will always like what I post and I’m ok with that. Once in a while, I might get a few who unsubscribe and really, that’s ok too.

See, what I write here is as much for me as it is for you. And the bottom line is that I write for you too. Because maybe what I write will help with some aspect of your life or your business. Or maybe it’s that you just need a little breather one day. It could be just one small thing that for whatever reason is just what you need at that given moment.

I don’t believe in coincidence. However, I do believe everything happens for a reason. You landed here for a reason today or yesterday or last week or maybe last year. And I’m grateful you’re here. This blog is a journey for me just as my other writings and blogs are. It’s my sincere pleasure that you’re here whether for 1 minute or a day, a year or a lifetime.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

Til tomorrow,

I’ve been rather lax in my “around the web” reading this week. Since I have been busy with writing and composing songs, there hasn’t been much time for anything else. Speaking of songs, one of my new ones is just below here. I’d appreciate it if you’d listen to it. That would really make my day!

So, back to around the web - the list is short this time but all should be back to normal soon. I’m nearly finished with the above-mentioned songs and will be able to get back to writing and design soon.

First on the list is the release of WordPress 2.5. I’ve been using and testing it for a few weeks now on a couple of my sites and really love it. My only quibble is with the “write post” because the categories and tags along with a couple of other things that used to be in the sidebar, are now below the post box. This just makes it a bit more difficult for the way I like to work and since I spend a lot of time writing, it’s quite the major annoyance. I suppose if you don’t post much, it’s not going to bother you. But for me, I hate it. Otherwise, WP2.5 is totally awesome. I love the layout of the dashboard and there’s better managment of plugins and widgets which is a huge benefit.

I ran across a great series by Lorelle Van Fossen of Lorelle on WordPress that is excellent. It’s called “Blog Struggles” and is a series of posts on things bloggers struggle with from content ideas to planning to focus and more. If you want to take your blog higher or just find your groove or whatever, go check it out. Well written and quite helpful for new and seasoned bloggers alike. Lorelle also has book out called “Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging” that I’m planning to get soon. It sounds good.

And lastly, Darren at ProBlogger.com writes about 20 pages bloggers should consider. The top 5 on Darren’s list are: an about page, contact page, press page, disclaimer page, and an FAQ page. You can read the rest of the article at ProBlogger.com for the remaining 15. It’s a helpful article for me as I’m often wondering just what I should have on my blog. This has helped answer some of those questions. However, I’m not entirely sure I want 20 pages listed at the top of the blog. I think it would look cluttered. Perhaps I’ll consider creating a page with a list of pages or something like that. If you follow Darren’s advice, how would you add those pages to your site?

I hope you’re enjoying your weekend. I’m glad it’s finally stopped snowing/raining (yes, it snowed here in the Seattle area on Thursday and Friday). It’s not very sunny but at least it’s not totally wet. I can live with that.