Blog Buttons & Blouses: Really Useful "How-To" Tips for Both.

Whether you need information about blog buttons or clothing with buttons, this post provides some good "how-to" tips for everyone!  

For Non-Bloggers:

 

Unless you are a blogger, you might not find the topic of blog buttons very interesting. However, if you scroll down lower in this post, you'll find some information that could be really useful to you! 

For Bloggers - Some Tips About Blog Buttons:

What Exactly Is a Blog Button, Anyway?

When I first started blogging, I kept seeing the phrase "grab my button" on different blogs. I had absolutely no idea what that meant, and it took me a while to figure the whole thing out. Have you wondered, also?

A blog button is essentially a hyperlinked image or "badge" which links back to a website when it is clicked. Before the explosion of social media, bloggers commonly published blog buttons as a way of showing support for other websites. Although there are many ways of doing this now, a clickable blog button graphic can still be quite useful.

In order to make it easy to publish these images so they link back to the blog of origin, bloggers sometimes create a "grab my button" piece of code. This code appears in a box ("a grab box") below the image. When the code in the box is copied and inserted into another blog, it creates the blog button image on that site.

Amy Lynn Andrews wrote a really informative post about blog buttons and how to create them: How to Make a Blog Button. (Oops - after reading this post, I've realized mine would be better if it had a call to action or an enticing title!)

When I made my button, I followed a different blog button creation tutorial (which has the same title as Amy's) because it provides "how-to" instructions for Blogger instead of Word Press. That tutorial was published on the blog Teacher Blogging Basics. HTML seemed like Egyptian hieroglyphics to me at the time and I struggled, but finally I was successful! 

Use Blog Buttons to Show Readers Other Places Your Work Has Been Published.

Bloggers frequently guest post or have their content featured on other blogs. When we do, it is nice to have a way to direct our readers to find that content. Many of us either provide information about this in our sidebar, in a post, or on a separate page of our blog. 

Our readers can easily view the sites where we have been published, featured, or mentioned when we provide a blog button for them to click. When they do, a little of our own traffic flows to the sites where we were recognized. This can be a really nice way for bloggers to say thank you for the opportunity or recognition provided by those sites.

Displaying other blogs' buttons on our own websites can also improve our own credibility  - especially if that other site is well known, respected, or has a lot of readers.

Where To Find Another Blogger's Blog Button

If you want to publish another blogger's button, you can often find it (with or without a grab box) published on their sidebar or in their footer. Or, a blogger may provide their button when they host a link-up; where they are promoting a product; on their media page; or on a separate "Grab my Button" page of their blog.  

My blog button used to be available on my sidebar, but I recently did a little blog decluttering and removed it from there. It now just appears on my "Grab My Button" page, easily located from my drop down menu under the About This Blog tab.

Here's how to find my blog button:

How To Add Another Blogger's Blog Button To Your Blog (Say that three times fast!)

To show you how to add another blogger's blog button to your website, I will use mine as an example. 

Just copy the complete HTML code from the box below the image, and add the code to your blog as you would any other HTML code, where you want the button to appear. (Use whatever method your blog hosting platform provides for adding HTML code to your blog post, page or sidebar.) 

Note that only part of the code is visible in the box, you must scroll through the box to view or grab all of it. Don't just copy part of it! 

<div class="the-most----of-every-moment-button" style="width: 150px; margin: 0 auto;">
<a href="http://www.ofeverymoment.com" rel="nofollow">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5davO8beFnJRwGZUMkOlAQqo-hdg_KAAG3fNsp0FZ6TIqblH5tyUXVBNTLqHROKSg5-Ae6OQeGc0K55tMy-cqlYDT6at5TQbfAhpim5VrUrEqK0c7l-lHkVg_xjJvQY6V1KF4RqCpJGQj/s1600/new+blog+button.jpg
" alt="the most - - of every moment" width="150" height="150" />
</a>
</div>

Tell others about The Most - - of Every Moment (and your other favorite blogs)

If you want to inform your readers about this blog (or any blog you love) one way to do so is to publish their blog button on your own website. 

I am very happy to share my button (above) with anyone who wants to post it. If I have ever mentioned, featured or posted any of your work, however, you probably will prefer to use the "I was featured on The Most - - of Every Moment!" button (image and code provided below) instead.

How to add another blogger's button using a Blogger website:   

I work on Blogger and these are the steps that have worked for me:

To add a blog button to a page or post:

1. Click Create new post or go to Pages and click Create New Page 
2. Click: the HTML button (top left)
3. Paste the code where it is desired in the post or page. 
4. Switch back to compose mode to be sure it looks correct
5. Save post and publish.

To add a blog button to a sidebar or footer:

1. First - back-up the blog!
2. Go to Layout 
3. Click: Add a Gadget
4. Select an HTML/JavaScript gadget
5. Paste the code into the content box (add a title if you want)
6. Click: Save. 
7. Drag the gadget to desired location in the layout.
8. Click: "Save Arrangement" (Orange box at top right.)

To add a blog button without using HTML code: 

Alternatively, you can just copy and paste the blog button image, as long as you are sure to hyperlink the image so that it clicks back to the blog where it originated. (In this case it would need to be linked to: http://www.ofeverymoment.com)   

Instead of just copying and pasting, you may need to download the blog button image, then upload the image to your site as you would any other image, and link it back to the button owner's site.

Have I Ever Mentioned or Featured Your Work on This Blog? 

If I have mentioned or published any of your posts here, you are welcome to display my "I was Featured" button on your blog. Feel free to add it to your sidebar, the page where you list the places you have been featured and published, or anywhere you like! Here it is:

<div class="the-most----of-every-moment-button" style="width: 150px; margin: 0 auto;">
<a href="http://www.ofeverymoment.com" rel="nofollow">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhYuDX0ebKMqfIMppq1ja6etgCv8cZPD96pxL1TFi1ft-Z2nhWY9-L32UHcO5eSIAn3ZsShbhNwicXSehR1jODIXvLLkuBHd0OEUGC9jcUyx-_fDNelyUMxuA9UpTsrnEsneYJxaiQwHNQ/s1600/I+was+featured+Button+11-15-15.jpg
" alt="the most - - of every moment" width="150" height="150" />
</a>
</div>

For Bloggers and Non-Bloggers: 

There are all kinds of buttons. Some open a connection between blogs and others close up a blouse!

Everyone Has Buttons In Their Closet!

Unless you have a website, you probably don't have any use for a blog button; but practically everyone has blouses and other clothes with buttons in their closet. Keeping these clothes organized can be a challenge; fortunately, I have found a great system!

Almost exactly a year ago I discovered a successful way to declutter my closet, and wrote a post about it: Life-Changing Magic: Well hello, little black dress! If you haven't read it, be sure to click the post title link and read how I did it.

A whole year later, my closet is still very tidy and my clothes are easy to locate and put away. I haven't always been faithful about discarding an item for every new one I acquire so my closet is a little fuller than it was; but this system of organizing has kept things really tidy.

I have applied the "Marie Kondo method" of decluttering to other areas of my house as well. Like most people, I still have lots of sorting to do, but I have found that her tips really work and are very helpful.

 Do you think this method would be helpful to you, too? Just click here to view and purchase the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. 

(I would get a very small commission if you purchase it after clicking here - but this does not affect the price you pay. I would never recommend an item on this website unless I believe it is a good product.)

Whether the word "button" brings to mind blogging or clothing or both for you, I hope you have benefited from this post today. 

Now I have my own Band-Aid tin full of buttons. 

Where do you keep your extra clothing buttons? 

If you have any more tips about blog buttons, please add them in the comments.

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!