Articles by Ileane Smith

Welcome! I'm Ileane and this blog was created to help you learn about WordPress blogging, Social Media Optimization, YouTube Tutorials and more. Visit my YouTube channel packed with additional blogging and social media tutorials. and add me to circles on Google+ If you have questions, or want some feedback about your blog, sign up to get free tips and resources to help you expand your audience!

Ileane has written 91 awesome articles for us at Basic Blog Tips

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Ileane

1

Marcie Hill from The Write Design Company is a prolific writer and live blogger. For those of you who are curious about what live blogging is, check out Marcie’s guest post where she gives us Quick Lessons in Live Blogging. I was introduced to Marcie during the Small Business Influencers Awards in 2011 and we have been Twitter buds ever since. I jumped at the opportunity to interview her and gain more insights into her expertise in freelancing, writing and of course to learn even more about the process of live blogging.

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59

One crucial component to starting a podcast that cannot be overlooked, is getting the right podcasting gear. You might find podcasting gear to be one of the most fascinating and down-right fun aspects of the whole concept of podcasting. And just like anything else you can take the high road and make a huge investment or you can try to do it on the cheap. I started out using a really cheap headset microphone that picked up tons of background noise and hum. I ended up somewhere in the middle of the road with a USB mic from Samson.…continue reading…

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35

You might remember that last year Small Biz Trends along with Small Biz Technology hosted the Small Business Influencers Awards and we all got a chance to nominate someone or a company who had significant impact on the success of small businesses. Anita Campbell, the CEO of BizSugar and Small Business Trends, is spearheading these awards and I’m proud to be one of the media partners along with the other supporters of small businesses you’ll find below…continue reading…

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108

It’s no secret that you can embed videos from YouTube on your WordPress blog to keep readers on the page longer and to add interest and variety to your blog. You can also add attractive and eye catching images to help set the mood or tone of your post and instantly grab the attention of anyone who visits your blog or shares your posts on Facebook or Google+. Now, WordPress has made it simpler than ever to embed YouTube videos and images from Flickr by simply adding the unlinked URL in your post editor…continue reading…

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39

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Tom Shivers a few weeks ago, and you can listen the the audio podcast of the interview, on his SEO blog Capture Commerce in this post How to Blog Successfully – Tips from Ileane Smith. Now I get my chance to ask the questions and in this interview we get the inside scoop on Tom, as he shares his blogging journey with us…continue reading…

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93

A few months back Brian, the owner of Blog Engage made the decision to stop taking free memberships and he began charging a fee for all new members. The fee is $29.99 but after today and for a limited time, you no longer need to worry about the sign-up fee for your Blog Engage membership!…continue reading…

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116

I hope you’ve had the chance to read some of the blog interviews I’ve conducted here on Basic Blog Tips. Interviews are like a hybrid blog post – on one hand it’s like a guest post, but on the other hand, not really because the interviewer picks the topic. The reason we all enjoy blog interviews so much is because they are a great example of those successful collaborations I’m so in favor of, and the “engagement” that we all seek to have on our blogs is pretty much built in by nature.…continue reading…

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83

When Dee Ann Rice contacted me about taking the My 7 Links Challenge, I’ll admit that at first I was reluctant. But after taking a closer look at the requirements, on second thought, I realized it would be a lot of fun! “THE GOAL – To unite bloggers (from all sectors) in a joint endeavor to share lessons learned and create a bank of long but not forgotten blog posts that deserve to see the light of day again.”…continue reading…

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60

YouTube underwent a massage redesign of the entire website that promises more engagement, bigger audiences and even higher earnings for content creators like you and me. Previously we looked at some of the changes introduced to the layout of our YouTube channel pages and what our subscribers will see when they watch our videos. Ivin’s post discussed the YouTube Creator’s Playbook and how it offers strategies for building an audience by maximizing the use of meta-data, calls to action, audience retention and video commenting. Let’s take things a step further in this post, and take a look at the changes YouTube integrated on the back-end. Let’s explore the revamped video tracking tracking platform, not surprisingly called YouTube Analytics…continue reading…

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148

With all the hustle and bustle of holiday shopping on top of a hectic blogging schedule, it makes sense to take a few moments to relax and pamper yourself a little. Ease the tension in your neck and shoulders using simple self massage techniques presented in this video. Practicing yoga is a great way to soothe your spirit, but I’m sure you can think of others. What do you do when you need to take a break, have you tried yoga before?…continue reading…

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47

My best advice is simply to get out here and DO it. Take action. In fact, take IMPERFECT action because its the only way to learn. Don’t be afraid of “failure” because there is no such thing unless you give up. Don’t make excuses for why you cant… make reasons for why you can! Be sure however, that what you are planning to create content on is something you are 100% passionate about and TRULY would do even if there were no financial reasons…continue reading…

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86

Thesis Awesome is a BlogSkin that you install on top of Thesis Theme that will give you a custom look for your blog and added features for your blog theme. The good news for you is that Thesis Theme is having a Black Friday Cyber Monday sale that will knock your socks off.…continue reading…

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66

Google has been experimenting with a new YouTube design for channels. This new YouTube design is based on the feedback they received from the users, partners and channels owners as a result of the Cosmic Panda experiment. According to Google, the goal of this redesign is an effort to help users.…continue reading…

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107

Your most prolific writing can be found in guest posts that appear on blogs more popular than your own. If you’re smart, you already created some backlinks to the guest post on your own blog, and maybe you even went so far as to add banners on your sidebar or in your footer to show off your guest posting accomplishments. But there’s another way you can get backlinks for your guest post and judging by the title of this post, you probably figured out already that I’m talking about using CommentLuv…continue reading…

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79

Just last week I wrote a piece reflecting on life before blogging and haven’t decided if I’ll make it public yet but it really made me realize just how long it’s been. I’d like to thank Ms. Ileane for taking the time to interview me and I’d especially like to thank her readers for taking the time to read it. I’m a big fan of Basic Blog Tips and I’m so glad we live in a time, and work within a niche, that blogs like ours can become allies rather than cold competitors.…continue reading…

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88

Screencast-o-matic is a powerful recording platform that can be used for screen capture and screencasting. You can use the free version Screencast-o-matic to record YouTube videos, but your creation will include their branded watermark on the lower left hand side of the finished product. I highly recommend that you invest in the Pro version, and for the price it’s very affordable and should fit in everyone’s budget. I have relied on this service for the last two years and I’m truly amazed with the flexibility of features and user friendly interface they provide.…continue reading…

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134

If you signed up for a YouTube account but you haven’t figured out what to do with it, here’s your answer – start promoting your content! I know, I know…you have a list of excuses for why you didn’t make a video yet, but I’m prepared to address each one of your fears so you can get started with promoting your blog, your website and even your ebooks on YouTube! …continue reading…

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In the sea of Twitter apps and other solutions to monitor your success on social media, Crowdbooster towers above the rest. The unique interface provides users with both a broad overview of their activity and detailed insights to scope of their social influence at the same time. Although Crowdbooster is currently in beta, I strongly suggest that you apply for access now so you get in as soon as possible.…continue reading…

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73

Many of the developers who make extensions for Google Chrome are focusing on YouTube and as a result they’ve come up with extensions that allow you to by-pass any ads or other distractions when were watching videos on YouTube anyway. Lucky for you guys, my love for sharing awesome Chrome Extensions far exceeds my love for Google AdSense earning from my YouTube videos! Therefore, here’s a list of the top ten extensions available to customize your video watching experience.…continue reading…

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89

BizSugar is the perfect resource and social networking community for Small Business bloggers. The BizSugar community is run by Anita Campbell of Small Biz Trends and her staff. I got to know more about Anita through an interview on Torrey McGraw’s blog – Grind and Thrive. At the time I was already a member of BizSugar and I was pleasantly surprised to find that Anita is the owner and I was delighted to hear the story of how she got started with blogging.…continue reading…

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