Monday, January 5, 2015

MailChimp Newsletter Tab for Facebook Tutorial




Hi there!

If you are using the MailChimp platform for creating a newsletter (free or paid),  you can now add a tab on your Facebook page so that your fans and followers can easily click on the tab and sign up.  I created this tutorial to help explain how to integrate the tab with MailChimp and Facebook.

If you haven't set up your newsletter yet,  you will want to log into your MailChimp account and set up the campaign for your newsletter so that you can begin building your mailing list. 

Step 1.  
Log into your MailChimp Account.

Click on the name of your account (below the monkey) and it will open up the menu in black. 
 Click on Account.  


Step 2.  
Click on Integrations


Step 3.   
Click on the Facebook Beta


 Step 4.  
Fill in the page you want the tab to appear, the *MailChimp list that you want to use, and the name of the tab that you want to use.  * If you haven't started your mailing list yet, you will want to set up the list via your MailChimp dashboard before proceeding.


Step 5.  
Check your Facebook page.  Click on More and then Manage Tabs on the pull down menu. The Manage Tabs window will open and you can change the order of tabs on your menu.  In my example I swapped places with Pinterest and Newsletter.


To customize the look of the tab itself, continue on.

Step 6.  

At the top of your Facebook page,  click Settings.


Step 7.

Click Apps,  and then Edit Settings (Under MailChimp App)


Step 8.

Edit MailChimp Settings - Box will open up.  Here you can change the look of the tab by clicking Change next to the Custom Image.  The Tab needs to be 111 x 74.    Where the words Newsletter is, you can change it to say anything you want it to.



If you already have  a tab and you would like to change it at any time, follow the above instructions, and then click the edit link in the top right corner of the tab. 







Sunday, January 4, 2015

Adding Buttons to Sidebar Tutorial


Hello Friends!

I've been asked to write a tutorial on how to add buttons to the Blogger sidebar.  A lot of Facebook Groups, Collaborative Blogs, and Affiliate programs use small images to link to their pages.

For the purpose of this tutorial,  I am using Mel from Graphics from the Pond's I <3 Clipart graphic, (Used with permission).  The graphic is for followers of her page, and members of her Graphics Club.

I Love Clipart

Some link graphics will already come with the code you need to install in your sidebar.  If a code is not provided, save the image to your desktop and upload to your favorite host such as Photobucket, or hosting account.

Step 1.

Open your Blogger Dashboard and click on Layout.   


Step 2.

Add a new HTML Gadget



Step 3. 

Copy and paste the code below.  Edit where the text is red.  The Image URL is the direct path to the image that you uploaded to Photobucket or your own hosting.  The Title Image is the text that will be visible when your mouse hovers over the image.

Please note that the <center> tag is included in the code below.  If this tag is not included, the image will be off center in the sidebar.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<center><a href="http://IMAGE URL HERE" title="Image Title Here" target="_blank">
<img src="IMAGE URL HERE" alt="Image Title Here" style="border:none;" />
</a></center>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Step 4.

Save the widget and preview the sidebar.

If you want to add more buttons, separate the images with the <br> code.  That will provide a blank space.  You will need to finish the next line of code with </br>