Blog Blogger Blogging Social Media Networking

Blog Blogger Blogging Social Media Networking with LilacsNDreams. Hello, and Welcome to all who are visiting!

I don’t quite have my valentine piece done to share the completed vision with you. I picked up a few more things to try with it. Sorry about that. So, I grabbed another topic to discuss with everyone. I know I’ve covered some of the Blogging, and Social Media Networking before, but I wanted to share a little more with it today. 

Blogging, and Social Media Networking had grown fast over time. Today it is still very much used with online sales, marketing, brick and mortar stores use different forms, and so on. So, a question is Why Blog? There are different reasons I will point out to you. 

1) Social Media Networking is one reason for it. Blogging is another form of Social Media like Pinterest, 

Facebook, Instagram, and so on.

2) Another reason to Blog is it gets you published. How you ask? By working with things in regards to like your SEO, your keywords used, topics used which helps you get noticed in search engine rankings.

3) Another reason to Blog is for you to get your message out there that you want shared with others. There is no right, or wrong words and pictures to put out there. It’s up to you what you wish to share, what you want others to see, and what the message is that you would like others to relate with. 

4). Blogging is another way to share some tips, ideas, tutorials, questions, answers, and just sharing. 

5)  This has become a great way for teachers, and students to share work, class notes, pictures, etc. Kind of like a newsletter for some companies, and places too. 

Blogging is not just for one form of profession, but for many forms and ways of things that people do. Online Sellers, Brick and Mortar Store owners, Big Companies, Small Companies, Journalists, Photographers, Publishers, Writers, etc. Many people have turned to forms of Blogging as the Social Media Networking area grew.

Choosing the right platform is a task that you yourself will have to look at, and determine the fit for you. Couple of popular ones are with Blogger.com, and Wordpress.com. Some platforms will be for free, and some will offer paid versions too. Some people have websites that they include a blog with it, and I’ve seen some use their domain, or one of their domains, for a blog too. Choose the platform that works for you, that you are comfortable using, and depending on what you want to do for your blog too. 

As you can see I use Blogger, and I have used them for years. I have wordpress too. But, I don’t spend much time with it. I am use to blogger, I’ve accustomed to the ease of use of things around here, its been easier for me to learn to do things without changes done all the time. I have noticed I can be seen in search with wordpress, and if I work things like I should my blog shows in search engines too.

I wish everyone well, have fun in all you do, enjoy, and please be safe. Thank You for visiting with LilacsNDreams! Take care, and see you soon. Toodles . . . . . .

 

Social Media Tools Use Vintage Collectibles Handmade Crafts

 

Social Media Tools Use Vintage Collectibles Handmade Crafts Repurpose at LilacsNDreams. Welcome Everyone!

I wanted to touch base a little bit about our Social Networking, and Social Media that we all participate in for pleasure, and many do it for business too. 

I think we can agree the more popular sites we use for our social connections are with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn too. Keep in mind there are a lot of places out there being used. Remember this is not all of them, and there are others that some use depending on your interest, business you might have involving it, your personal thoughts and feelings, your goals, etc. I hope this will help you a little bit with what you do now, or maybe any personal goals you have. 

FACEBOOK is a social networking service that allows its users to upload pictures, and share text. There is Facebook Messenger that many will use to contact people with, send notices, share things, etc. Facebook Pages are still around. Some use them for maybe a personal blog, use for their business pages, and so on. With Facebook Pages you can collect fans, and followers that can better follow you, and your updates to things too. 

INSTAGRAM has become quite popular to use too. Those accounts can be connected to your Facebook accounts which is good for business. When you can connect some of your social media accounts you can put 1 message, picture, announcements in 1 spot that will share to some of the other accounts. This is good to get backlinks that will refer to your website, blog, business page, and so on. 

PINTEREST is another form of social networking we do by using pin boards. You use a photo sharing technique of things you find of interest which could include vintage collectibles, handmade projects, crafts you’ve done or of what others have done, repurposed projects, blogs, websites, selling platforms, etc. It’s a great way to organize some thoughts, and another way to bookmark things you find of interest too. 

TWITTER is yet another form of social media, and social networking that is used for people to share things. Pictures can be used, usually limited wording, and we seen how it was popular for our former president Donald Trump too. Usually when I share something on Facebook it will also go to twitter too.

LINKEDIN is another social networking sight that does focus a little more with business relations. 

For those who use the internet for selling, or maybe advertising your products Social Networking is something good to use. It’s free unless with some you want to pay a fee to get a little more of what they offer. Keep in mind being involved with social media will help you be seen, or found at times on the internet. Google picks up on things with your use of keywords, use of backlinks, and so on. Connecting everything where you can, or with those that offer that. Keywords, backlinks, and it all works together. Google LilacsNDreams some time. You will see places I’m connected with, and what is maybe working for me. Takes time, patience, and being consistent with it too. Don’t forget that for some it’s their pastime keeping in touch with people, and their interests. 

Remember you are always welcome to share along with things that have been discussed. If you have had success, or good things with a place please share with us. 

Thanks so much for visiting with LilacsNDreams! Always happy to see you. Till the next time take care, and be safe. Toodles . . .

Blog Blogging Website Web Presence Venues For Free

Blog Blogging Website Web Presence Venues For Free 

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Quite a while back I had read about someone making the comment about their brick & mortar store. They had moved from 1 state to another. I'm not seeing the business name in my notes, but she was from California, and had moved to Ohio I believe. Anyway, she had made a comment about wanting to show that using free spaces on the internet...for instance your blog, website, facebook, etc...how it could be done, and that you would profit from it too. Her ideas she shared was that you could do this free with no/low cost, and that it could be done with results. 

So, I decided to implement some of the ideas of what she had suggested. I can say as of right now the one cost that I do have, and have kept is having my domains that I have for my Blog, another Blog, and Blog page that I have chosen. It makes the web addresses easier to remember, and of course shortens them for use too. I started with my .com which I have LilacsNDreams.com that lands you directly on this page to my Blog. I have LilacsNDreamsShoppe.com which lands you on a page with my Blog that I use mostly for showing things that I offer for sale. I note that you can contact Me for purchases and invoicing through Paypal, I share links for items if you wish to purchase through my Etsy Shop, and I will also share items of others who sell with links back to their items for purchase. Another place I haven't worked with for quite some time is another Blog I had started, and I do have my LilacsNDreams.net domain directed to that as well. 

Then, I decided to work more with Social Media too. That's something that is always mentioned to help all of us being seen, found, advertising our business, etc. Now I found if you can follow charts/analysis with these different places you are able to see what you benefit with, what is helping you, where your traffic is coming from, etc. I have played around with Google a little bit. I have a Google website that has been ignored for a long time. Recently I have doodled a little bit with business.google.com which gives you a minor free website. You can share a little bit about your business there, it helps with locating you in google maps and searches, and you can also share some posts there as well. Here is where I shared 2 items I have listed for sale, I can be contacted through email, or to visit my Etsy Shop to see more pictures and more descriptions of items, and to purchase there as well. Just the other day I looked closer at charts that Etsy shares for the sellers to view their traffic, where it comes from, their views, and etc. It was quite interesting, and helpful too. 

From some of the charts I seen with a few places where my traffic comes from. It's nice to see that my Blog helps with some of my traffic. I can also see that traffic comes from Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter.  Once in a while I will see some things coming from LinkedIn as well. What's great is that all of these places mentioned are free for everyone to use. No, I do not sit with all of them all the time. I don't do it morning, day, and night. Facebook I will visit, make a comment with others, and I share things there I have been working on with some links. Pinterest has been known for being good in helping with your traffic too. Not just pinning items of yours, but also of others who have the same interests as they come around and pin on your boards too. Twitter I have set up where my postings on Facebook, and my Blog will go there. When you can do something like this it's a big help in completing tasks that you have for the day. 

With some of these free sites we use to help us we can also get notices sent to our phones, emailed to us, etc. I didn't like the idea, sometimes it still bothers me, but I have found it to be helpful when you do sales online. It's business,right?

I am no professional, and I enjoy sharing with you things I have learned along the way, things I have read by others, what maybe works for me can possibly work for you, etc. I hope this was understandable, and you were able to follow some of the ideas I have shared here today. If you have any questions contact Me. If you have anything to share Please feel free to do so with the comments/talk that you can do below my posts. 

Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams! I enjoy the visits, the contacts made, and comments that are made too. Take care till the next time everyone. 

Blogs Blogspot Blogging Are Social Media Tools

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Blogs, Blogspot, and Blogging are Social Media Tools also. When we work with our blogs, websites, selling platforms, etc. we know to use some Social Media Tools to promote ourselves, and to have us better seen with this worldwide internet we all use. Blogs, Blogger, Blogspot, Blogging, and such are also considered Social Media Tools that we can use for these purposes as well. 

There are many places out there that you can use for blogs, and to blog with. Please remember this as you read through this today. 

Blogs and Blogging  

Wordpress      Wordpress is a popular platform for anyone. A Blogger who writes, or maybe a photographer who wants to put their porfolio out there. With wordpress at anytime you can upgrade, and get your own domain name. Here other wordpress users can either like, see, and reblog your posts which will leave you with the potential of more followers, and readers. 

Blogger or Blogspot      This is one of the most well known platforms. It is backed by Google which makes it trustworthy, and a reliable platform. It is also simple to start. The Blog publishing service allows private blogs along with multi user blogs as well. 

Tumblr      This place has a social networking website with a blogging platform that allows their users to post to a short term blog. Its mostly visuals, images, videos and music. 

Weebly      This place has a lot of unique, and modern themes to start your blog off with for looking fresh. They also offer ecommerce, and iPhone application for posting while you're on the go. It is easy linking to Social Media. This site is suppose to be dummy free, and is suppose to be made as easy as possible for you to dive right into blogging.  

We have some choices for platforms to use for our Blogs which is great. Everyone has their own preferences of how to blog, and where you blog as well. This is perfect, and great because what one person might like or finds to work for them might not work for others. Some have found with their own websites that they can also add their blog with it too. Over time with market places, websites, and social networks blogs have been added to them as it is considered a form of using Social Media Tools. 

I know there are more platforms out there that I have not mentioned for you to consider. Some will be free, and some you will pay for. Consider the favorite phrase that you often hear "Google It"  Doing this you can find more that way too. Better yet, if you know of one you would like to share with us please feel free to do so. If you have a blog there please include your link here that we all may visit with you as well.

Hope you enjoyed your visit today. Thanks so much for stopping by, and visiting with LilacsNDreams! See you again soon. 

 

Have a Cheery Happy Friday

Have a Cheery Happy Friday!

Welcome to LilacsNDreams, and happy you stopped by. Here it is Friday again. Ummm....where did the week go? Seems like it just started, and already it has gone by. Thankful for the weekend to be here because I think I need to be home this weekend doing my own thing. 

Here is wishing all of you out there a wonderful Friday, and a gorgeous weekend! Thrift, Create, Blog, Listings, Pictures, and whatever it is you do this weekend....enjoy it, have fun, and be safe. Take care, and see ya'll again soon. Toodles . . . . . . 

Growing Your Business Online Reputation

Growing Your Business Online Reputation

Welcome to LilacsNDreams Everyone! The next topic to be shared is Growing Your Business Online Reputation. This comes from feedback, trust, and the brand recognition that has been earned. 

With Social Proof this can help your customer to feel right at home with you. This can come from a combination of you having experience, history, and the familiarity of the site. This can help to build customer trust with your sales transactions. You can also get this social proof from having product reviews, word of mouth, and from your brand recognition as well. 

You will need to build your reputation slowly, and gradually. Having your shop start off with a good impression with good photography, professional listings, and then will come to a time when you can build your price points as well. 

You might see others who sell the same products as you, or similar ones. With some of these places you might notice that they sell for a lot more money. Your profit margin will grow with the size of your business, and the reputation that you have built. It could be a couple of years before you maybe start to increase your prices, and by building your reputation you can accomplish this. We don't start out this way in the beginning with making big money. We build over time. 

Many of us dream of getting that big break. Boy, wouldn't that be nice, right? In reality a business will succeed with a history of some wins. Just keep putting yourself out there with things you have learned, use different opportunities to help spread the word about your business, and never stop building and accomplishing your goals.

Visit Lisa with Market Your Creativity, and enjoy the things that she shares from her knowledge, and experiences. 

Well, that is it for now folks. Thanks for visiting with LilacsNDreams, and have a super day! Till the next time. See you again soon. 

Effective Networking, Making Connections Online

Effective Networking, Making Connections Online

Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Recently covered was Blogging, and Social Media. Today I will briefly cover some effective networking, and making online connections that will help us with our businesses.  

I am going to share a statement that Lisa from Market Your Creativity had shared in one of her first posts that she had shared on Etsy in the forums. What she had told the community there was "I am always your friend. We have neighboring shops and we help each other, whether you realize it or not."  

Interesting idea when you think about it as this is something we do with the different platforms we use to sell on, how we become involved with different social networks, and it would be like having a shop in the mall or one of those mini malls. So, what we do to attract customers to our shops, and places we sell can also help those around us. What you do to draw people to your shops is something others near by can benefit from as well. So, if someone comes to visit my shop, you are right next door, and could also get a visit as well. You are not trying to outsell the competition, or take their sales, but rather you are working to make sales. 

So, Lisa shares how she sees this as not pulling competition from each other, but rather how we are all pulling from the same places to make sales. It's an interesting thought don't you think?

We are all human, and sometimes we will get that sudden jolt of envy when we see someone else getting the good sales, and maybe some success too. Consider transforming some of those negative thoughts into admiration for those sellers. Take the opportunity to learn from them, and with some respectful admiration convert that into something positive for you. Get your creative juices flowing, putting your thoughts into work, and go forward to create your own success. 

Try to believe that there is enough business for all of us to have which includes some money too. This positive thinking can open some possibilities, and some potential connections around you. Feel the need to reach out to other competitors, and business owners that inspire you. When you do this you will be surprised with some of the ideas, some of the projects, and some of the exchanges that you will generate. 

This in turn will give you more confidence to build something from nothing. Brainstorming with sharing, and connecting with others can help produce many more things for you. 

I myself am a huge fan of networking in different ways. Since I live most of my time online most of my networking is done within the virtual world. The benefits, and knowledge that comes from these places can be priceless for many of us, and our careers.  

You can start this by setting some goals, reaching out to others, and maybe connecting with other business owners. Take the step, and see where it leads. It is beneficial to you, but it can also be a fun experience too. 

Remember to drop by, and visit with Lisa at Market Your Creativity. She really shares some good things there to learn from. 

Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams! Until the next time I wish you all a wonderful day. See you again soon. 

Some of the Social Media Basics to Know

Some of the Social Media Basics to Know

Welcome to LilacsNDreams where I will discuss some of the social media basics that you should know to help you with your business. 

Facebook is one that we all know, and is by far one of the most popular ones for anyone to start out with. Most of your small, and creative businesses do have a Facebook fan page. It is simply a great way for you to connect with your customers. 

To create a Facebook fan page from your home tab (the news feed page) on the far right dial click on create page. The rest of your process is pretty much user friendly, and self explanatory for you to use. Decide on the type of business that you own, fill in the necessary information, and twala there you have it. 

For those of you with an Etsy shop you can connect your facebook fan page to it. On your Etsy account page click on Info & Appearance under the Shop Settings category. Under the heading of Links you will see the check box that is for a Facebook page, and for Twitter. Click on the Link a Facebook Page with your shop, and connect the two. This will then result in a Like button that is under your Etsy Banner. 

Twitter is misunderstood at times. It is not for advertising as many think. I would recommend strongly to not go through your shop, and try to tweet one product of yours after another. This kind of thing will result with a large amount of the unfollows. 

Twitter is for networking by reaching our to your peers. It helps to make connections with your customers, and other businesses alike. Like others it helps to contribute to your business.   

A few suggestions that will help you to benefit with Twitter is to consider tweeting bloggers with an interesting comment, or suggestion from their posting. Consider maybe tweeting an article that you found interest in. You could tweet about a story for some of the same interest as your industry. You could tweet about one of your favorite characters in a program while you are watching the show. 

You can also link your Twitter account to your Etsy shop by going to your Etsy Account Page. Click on the Info & Appearance under the Shop Settings category. Under that heading Links see the checkbox for a Facebook Page and a Twitter Account. Just click on the Connect with Twitter to connect the two. You will then get a Follow button under your shop banner also. 

Pinterest is something we have all heard about, and has grown and populated amongst many people. Inspiration boards are fun, and very inspiring for many who visit. Have a board for your shop with others shared from Etsy. Have a board with like interests, and products of not only your items, but of others that fit into your same industry too. Have a board that represents blogs which of course you will have yours pinned in there too. When you pin things you can also share them to Facebook, and Twitter too.  

Instagram has been another popluar form of social media that has become popular as well too. I haven't tried this quite yet, but am working on it. I have seen many great comments about it. Many start an account by their shops name. They then will post likable, and some trendy pictures of their products. As has been seen they will then #hashtag like crazy. You will then answer inquiries from others in the comments section of each photo. They will show prices, and they can link the pictures to their Etsy shops and other places of business. 

So, what other forms of social media have I missed? Believe me, there is plenty out there. Some of you have found success with using other places as well as what has been mentioned too. If you have a favorite not mentioned by Me I would love to have you share with us, and also share some of your experiences with those that have been mentioned too.   

As always don't forget to visit with Lisa at Market Your Creativity to see what more she is sharing of these business topics, and helping out with too.

Thanks so much for sharing time with LilacsNDreams. Until the next time I wish you all a Happy Day, and see you again soon. 

Blogging Represents Your Brand, Drives Traffic to Online Storefronts

Blogging Represents Your Brand, and Drives Traffic to Your Online Storefront.

Hello there, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Today I will talk a bit about blogging which is something I enjoy doing. I want to share with you how blogging represents your brand for your business, and how it can help drive traffic to your online storefronts. Actually it is good for those who have websites, and is a form of social media that is good to use. 

When you blog you should do it regularly. Remember, if you don't have a business yet this is still good to have for a business that you might have some day. If you don't have any intentions of starting a business I believe it is still good for people to do. As you sit down to write for your blog you will ask, like many do, what is it I want to say? Once you start sharing it only gets better for you. 

When I first started to blog online I had no clue as to what I was doing, what I wanted to say, how to get started, and then nervous if anyone would actually find me to read anything. Getting started can be hard. I didn't think I would really have anything to say, or talk about. Over time ideas would come to me, I would read something that would give me a thought, and I learned to make small notes to myself of these ideas for later uses. 

It can take a while to find your way of what you think you should say, or what you think that maybe people would like to read. Once you get started, once you find your way, you will find that blogging is not as bad as you first thought. You find that the words come pouring through you as you open more to share, and more of you is revealed for others to see you which is good for business too. You will find over time how this helps to reveal your brand. 

If the business you have chosen is meant for you then you will find yourself eating, sleeping, dreaming, and living your brand. So, share it to the world in a conversational style way by using a blog. 

The blog is an ongoing thing in conversations between you, and your readers. People can come to your blog that would like to get to know you, and maybe ask you questions too. It's great when they wish to share things with you, and the other readers who visit. With your blog they can read a full post compared to the short messages with Facebook, or with the 140 characters that can be used at Twitter. 

Don't be offended with people who are not interested in reading. Some people do not like to read which is okay. Your target audience is going to be with those who are online looking for something of substance every time they visit online. This helps those who like to dig a little deeper, and get more of a feel for things by getting to know you. Consider it like writing an email to a good friend of yours which will help you share what others are looking for. 

Some of the traffic that comes to my shop is from my blog. Once in a while I enjoy sharing items that others are offering to help boost a little traffic for them as well. You will find that the blogging community is friendly, engaged, and they are willing to help other bloggers too! Blogging is not like visiting some of the forums that we have with our online storefronts. Some of those forums can get kind of mean, people get rude, and like others I cringe when it happens to me or see it happening to others. 

The blogging community is certainly people who like to share, and are friendly writers. We all look for new stories, some inspirations, and etc. You will also find that they are happy to link with you, tweet, pin, post some of your products in return, and that they enjoy sharing as well. The more that you can share the more your links are put out there, and the more clicks you can get too. It's a revolving circle. 

So, where do you start to blog? If you have your own website sometimes a blog can be made with that. Many will use the free blog from Google known as blogger.  There is also wordpress that many will choose too. Some will start with wordpress.com, and later will switch to the wordpress.org self-hosted site. Keep in mind that you can also get your domain with a place like GoDaddy, and have that directed to your blog with blogger too. That is something I do for Me. So you might ask, which one is better, and what do I choose? Many like wordpress, and there are some that prefer blogger. Here is a little article about blogger vs wordpress. See what is being shared about the 2 places. 

My preference is with blogger as I have a hard time getting around with wordpress. I am not a computer techie person, and blogger was easier for me to work with myself. Who knows, maybe some day I'll grow up more (LOL), and venture over to wordpress. Till then I am with blogger, and have been content with it so far. I like things simple I guess.  

If you would hop on over to visit Lisa at Market Your Creativity check out Day 14 in her series that she shares about how to build your own creative business. There she gives you some links for the beginning blogger, and for the advanced blogger too.  

Well, there you have it for today everyone. If you are not blogging I hope you will consider it, and know that it truly is good for you to do. It's one of the forms of social media that is good to use when branding, and building your business. Don't forget, you don't have to have a business to blog either. Many do it to share with family, and others too. 

Thanks for sharing time with LilacsNDreams today, and hope to see you again soon. Take care, and have a Happy Day!

Basic Components For Your Online Platform

Basic Components For Your Online Platform

Hello, and Welcome back to LilacsNDreams! Today is about the Basic Components For Your Online Platform. Imagine your customers, or your fans as your online audience. Also, consider your online presence, or your reach as the platform you are creating. We strive to have a bigger platform in order to have a bigger audience that we want to gain.   

Your online platform is an interconnection of many things. Your websites, social medias, and your storefronts you want to build links to all of your projects. An example would be that this blog drives people to my Etsy, and Ecrater shops. Also to my listings at Ebay. Along with those places my blog can also encourage people to visit my facebook, and twitter. In turn all of those places will link back to my blog, my blog shoppe, and etc. This makes a connected circle with building your network. You want to make sure that each place will feed into the next one. 

Storefront

This is your money spot, but will not always be your most important spot either. Remember, you would like people to buy into what you are creating with an atmosphere for them to experience a piece of your business. You will create this experience in many ways for them. Before making this the final stop for your customer they just might have decided they were going to make a sale before this with either the blog, or your social media sites. 

Try to think of ways that you can grow your platform out wider than just your storefront. By doing this you will help yourself attract many more customers as well. 

Blog

I myself feel strongly that business owners should have a blog. A blog is like an ongoing conversation that you can have with your customers, or your readers. This is a place for a live and active form of communication. With a blog you can showcase so much more than just your products. As many have shared a blog is a place where you can share your thoughts, and feelings. People can really get to know you better with your blog, they can relate with you, and it helps them to feel understood as well. 

Social Media Accounts

As mentioned before some where in the beginning, time is truly on your side. Create an account on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and wherever else you think that your customers might like to hang out at. You don't really have to use all of the accounts often, or for a long term. Over time you will see which media accounts have become critical, and beneficial to your business growth and success.

So, any interactions that you have with your customers should be favoring towards them. Don't look at them as fans, or followers. Consider them more as friends as it is more appreciated. Remember, they have invited you, and accepted you so it's nice to respect them as well. 

So, here are some basic components for your online platform. Hope these topics are being helpful to you, and remember to visit with Lisa at Market Your Creativity who shares all of these things, and is very helpful with many things as well. 

Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams, and hope to see you again soon. Take care, and have a Happy Day everyone!

Happy Grandparents Day to Everyone !!

Happy Grandparents Day to all those Grandparents out there! Have a beautiful sweet day, and enjoy!!

Welcome to LilacsNDreams Site

Hot! Hot! Hot! Whew, has it gotten hot around here again, and humid too! Good thing the a/c was juiced last week because it has been working over time since then.

So, how has everyone been? Hope ya'll had a great weekend. How about this next weekend? Any big plans for the weekend, or for this holiday? Nothing here.

Been missing my routine of some things, and here too. Thought I would drop in on everyone, say Hi, and drop in for a quick chat. Hopefully soon I will be back into my routine of things, and sharing with you here again too. Till then I wish you all a super week. Have fun, be safe, good luck with all your creativities and up cycling. Hope you find some fun treasures too! 

Thanks for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams, and see you all again soon. Toodles . . . .

Welcome to LilacsNDreams Blog Site

Welcome to LilacsNDreams Blog Site. Nice to see you, and glad you stopped in. 

Hello Everyone, and happy to see you dropping in with LilacsNDreams! I normally keep this site for sharing items found, likes and dislikes, informational, things I have read, business, things of interest, and etc. Generally I try not to do anything personal here, but today wanted to visit with you all shortly. 

As you have seen my posts are off this week compared to what I normally share, and I apologize to you deeply for that. I have been home in bed ill for about 2-3 days now. Starting to show signs of improvement, but still worn out from it, doing a lot of sleeping, and the usual of what comes with this stuff. So, just letting everyone know I am still around, and did not purposely forget about my postings for the week. 

Hope this finds you all doing well, and hopefully everyone had a great week! Here is the start to our weekend, and wishing you all a super weekend with all that you do! Thanks so much for visiting, and sharing your time with LilacsNDreams everyone! Appreciate it, and enjoy seeing all of you, and hearing from you too. 

Thanks again everyone, and have a super weekend! See you again soon!:)

Ebays Yearly Spring Seller Changes Have Started

Ebay Yearly Spring Seller Changes Have Started

Happy Monday, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! How many of you deal with Ebay? Do you only buy there, do you maybe auction there, or are one of the many many sellers that they have? If you are a buyer you might notice changes with different things as time moves along. Some you might like, and some you might not. As a seller there are many things to face, and always changes when dealing with Ebay. 

I started Ebay in 2004 as my first venture of selling online. Whew! Did I have fun too! I enjoyed what I did, enjoyed finding things to sell on ebay, treasure hunting and thrifting were always a blast to do for this venture, I enjoyed some of the extra cash, and really enjoyed selling online because of ebay. As time as gone along ebay has made changes. Some have been drastic, and some are disappointing and questionable too. For me what use to be fun, and enjoyable has really become a heartache selling there. 

Every year Ebay has their spring changes they do. Generally it is a price increase for selling there of course. They are now at 10% they charge on your final value fee of what you sell. No more listing fees, or at least not for the first 50 listings. Those first 50 are free, and then they will charge a listing fee after that. If you have stores with ebay you will also see some changes for you. Then there is the final value fee you pay with your shipping cost that you charge. 

This year by July 1st you will see most changes have gone into effect for what they have notified of. I recently read with Ecommercebytes for those who have signed up with ebay, have accounts with them, but have not been active for a long time that they would like to expire those old IDs. Interestingly ebay has been around for about 18 years, and some of us have had our user IDs for like forever. If you want an account there it has been frustrating for some who choose a name they like, and find out it is already taken. Even more frustrating is to find the person is no longer registered with Ebay, has not had an active account for 2, 3, 4+ years, and so on. So, emails are being sent out to those who have been inactive too long to determine if they keep those user IDs, or if ebay is expiring them. 

Another thing I have been dealing with when I am relisting items myself to ebay is another new change. You will have your listing price of items, and some of us along with a listing price/auction price will also include a buy it now (BIN) price too. Some people don't like to auction, and would just rather buy the item now which is fine. Ebay is now enforcing with sellers that if you have the buy it now price it is to be 30% more than your listing price. Say what? Seriously? Not quite sure what it is to them about this new rule, and why it is being enforced. Isn't ebay making money from the sellers no matter what they do? So, upon relisting items if I want the buy it now, and they don't like the amount I have because it is below the 30% they are not letting relist items till I change that. To me this is disappointing, and as mentioned before, the fun of selling on ebay back when I started is not anything like it use to be. 

There are more changes, but I promised myself I would not write a book with this posting to you all. So, do you sell on ebay? How do you feel about the changes that they have been making? Have you found other market places that you enjoy selling with? Would love to hear from some on this issue, and would be happy for us all to discuss this a little. 

Also, I just wanted to note to those who are buyers. I am sure it is frustrating sometimes when buying there, but please do not have ill feelings to all the sellers for some things that you see. It is no longer our items to sell as we use to. For us to sell on ebay we have rules to follow, and if we don't we cannot list, our items are pushed to the bottom of searches, or sometimes they do not allow our listings.

Thanks so much for sharing your time at LilacsNDreams today everyone. I love having you visit, enjoy hearing from all of you, and it's always a pleasure coming by here to catch up. Hope to see you again soon. Happy Day to everyone!:)  

Google Plus Is it Needed and What is It

Google Plus Is it Needed, and What is It?

Hi there, and Welcome back to LilacsNDreams! Social Media has become a very big thing over time, it's fun, there are advantages for using with business, great way to socialize, way to get your brand name out there, meet people, make new friends, and to grow your businesses too. 

Google Plus is Googles Social Network. This had revolved to make some of the exiting Google products such as Gmail, Picasa, and Blogger socially compatible. When having a Google Plus account you will not have to sign into different sites, and into different accounts to share and update activities. Information, and your functions from all of these can be integrated right into your Google Plus. 

Thanks to Google the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) has been changing. Google is interested with how businesses encourage personal interaction with their customers, and to see how activity can be generated by the buttons and links on your sites. 

Next thing many ask is why should I have a Google Plus when I already have Facebook. As with many things how many real friends do you have on Facebook? It is generally assumed that everyone is your friend, but this is not how your social circles actually work in real life. 

Google Plus allows you to categorize your friends, acquaintences, and so on with groups or better known as circles. Doing this you can treat each circle separately too. Yes, Facebook does allow some of the same things. But, their privacy settings are confusing, and always changing too. You don't have to follow someone who is following you with Google Plus. 

Google is the most powerful search engine compared to Bing, Yahoo, and so on. Of course businesses that use their products will naturally rate higher with their pages compared to those who don't. 

To do these things you will need a Google account, and with the one account you can do many of these things from there. The security is great with a Google account, and I myself have noticed that I am not spammed quite as much with it. 

So, do you have a Google Plus account? Do you also have Facebook? Do you have a preference with these, do you use them both, or are you only using one of them? I would love to hear some input with this as to what others are using, the good, the bad, and your experiences with this. 

Hey, thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams! I enjoyed you visiting, and hope to see you again soon. Take care, and have a fabulous day everyone!

Social Media is Better Than Granny and Fun Too

Social Media is Better Than Granny, and sometimes a little bit more Fun Too.

Hi there! Welcome to LilacsNDreams! You know that now a days all you need is a computer, internet connection, and a browser for you to have the best of all worlds literally right at your finger tips. Knowing some of this we create Blogs, open up a Facebook page, set up Google+ to publish online, tweet with Twitter, pin on Pinterest, and so on. Then, you have the "global crowd" that will show up to read, maybe like your page, sometimes tell you well done, will comment back, converse with you, loved your photos, and appraise a good article or video. 

We take photos with smart phones, iPads, and post them to instagram. We pin images to Pinterest, we also do this with likes on Facebook, comments made on Blogs, and Twitter retweets. 

We are all human. We crave the attention, the encouragement, and the pat on the back sort of thing. Provide us with some positive feedback, give us a smile, and we will keep showing up having a go at it one more time. The Social Web provides a 2 way channel where we can publish, and receive the encouragement that drives us to maybe some potential greatness. We now have the tools for this, sometimes gaining more as days go by, and we now have the confirmation of the world wide web too.

All reasons for the online creativity, the expressions that are growing, and as we have noticed at a rapid pace too. This is why the Social Networks, or Social Medias have been touching with our souls, and minds.   

So, why would I mention that Social Networking would be better than Granny? Well, the global crowd that we have never seems to sleep. Think about how your friends on Facebook, your circles with Google+, the followers with Twitter, and your readers with your Blogs from the USA, Germany, South America, or wherever fill in the time gaps that Granny cannot match. Ummm, Grannies also need to nap (LOL), and the social crowd is always there 24/7. 

Blogging, Social Networking, Feedback, and encouragement will sometimes get me up early, and sometimes keep me up late reading, writing, researching, sharing, sometimes hearing a "wow" for what I shared, or even a "well done" gives me even more energy. I am often reminded why I like to Social Network with the few places that I do, and I have all of you to thank for that as well. With all of this I am growing, and keep learning. So, call me old fashioned if you like, but this is what I would consider to be the "Granny Effect".

Just some thoughts, and ideas that I thought I would share with all of you today. We often see people talking about Social Networking, and I thought maybe I would share kind of a light fun view into this idea. 

Hope you enjoyed, and happy to have you share your time with LilacsNDreams as always. Thanks again for visiting, and hope to see you again soon. Have a Happy Day everyone!

Social Media Facebook Google Plus Pinterest Twitter For Whom

Social Media, Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, Twitter, Blog, LinkedIn for business, pleasure, or both?

Social Media is a phrase often heard, seen, and dealt with today. You have Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, just to name a few. These days everyone seems to be posting to each other, tweeting, and pinning. Hey, even our grand parents are on Facebook now too.  Social Media has become a great way for us all to communicate.

For business Social Media is an excellent source that is a cost effective marketing tool to reach many people with. With just a click of a button you can feature deals, promote products, and just about any brand is using some form of Social Media for all of this. 

• FACEBOOK is a social network service that allows you to upload pictures, and share text.  

• GOOGLE PLUS is another social network that is a new service than Facebook. Here you can also upload pictures, text, and videos that you would like to share with others. You can share things publicly, or with different circles that have been organized by you. 

• PINTEREST is another form of social networking that you will find to be popular. With this site you use pin boards . . . like bookmarking . . . You share things you find of interest like vintage collectibles, handmade, repurposed, upcycled, recipes, blogs, websites, how to, and etc. 

• TWITTER is also considered social networking. Some see great benefits with using this site, and others are still confused by it. Here you do what others refer to as Tweeting things to everyone. These tweets are short, and only about 140 characters long. Read what people are saying, and you can join the conversation that is being shared. 

• BLOG is a platform provided by some places that people use to share thoughts, information, pictures, show links to different things, some use as journals, some use like a diary, and many use for their own personal interests and businesses. You have places like Blogger, Wordpress, Tumblr, and more that are popular by many according to your preference, and your goals. 

• LINKED IN is another social network site that is focused more for business relations. Like many other places on the internet is still growing, changing, and each time becomes better for those who prefer to use this place. 

Keep in mind that there is much more out there for Social Networks that were not mentioned here. The ones I have mentioned above are the ones that appear to be more popular at this time, that have had some great growth, and over time have improved. Like I always tell many people there are many great ones out there that everyone will talk about, and mention. Remember what one likes, or finds to work for them might not be the one for you. Something that you need to test yourself, spend some time with, depending on your goals, and see what is a good fit for you. 

How many of you use Social Networking? Do you use this for business, personal pleasure, or both? Would enjoy hearing your thoughts being shared with us all too. 

Hope you all had a great weekend, and thanks so much for sharing your time at LilacsNDreams. Take care, and see you all again soon. 

Stop Using Internet Explorer and Find a New Browser

Stop Using Internet Explorer, and find a New Browser! Trust Me everyone as I share this.

Believe Me when I say if you are using Internet Explorer as your browser you really need to reconsider things with this everyone. Why you ask? I have been reading about issues of many who are having problems with uploading pictures on their blogs, and other places. Some are having problems with responding to blogs, and to other places on the internet as well too. 

I have seen many who have been complaining about uploading images to their blogs, and the option to upload from their computer is no longer there. Many times when they have been asked if they were using Internet Explorer, guess what the majority vote has been? You got it, they are using Internet Explorer! 

I know it has been said before, and many times it has been mentioned by others as well too. But, if you would like your blog to function at it's best, if you would like to see all the pretty things on blogs the way they should be, if you would not like to have problems all the time....quit using Internet Explorer. 

As some know Internet Explorer just has not been keeping up with all the changes that are happening on the internet all the time. It has been buggy, and slow as well. I know it comes with all the PC's, and people will just use the browser that came with their computers because it is easier. That is understandable, and I too use to be like that. You need to know that you don't have to, and there are other choices out there that can be used with much more success reported by many people. 

The question you are asking I am sure is what should you use then? From reading, watching what others comment on, and from experience I would strongly recommend using Fire Fox, or Google Chrome. Both are excellent choices, and it is your preference to which you choose. Blogger does recommend the use of both of them being a compatible browser. Yes, there is Safari that is used by some as well. I know of others who have had some issues with this browser too. So, I would still recommend using Fire Fox, or Google Chrome. 

Trust me that once you start using a new browser not only for your blogs, but for other places with the internet you will never look back. They run faster, and they are much more user friendly too. I have also seen those that are Mac Book users comment how they have switched to Fire Fox, and also use Google Chrome. They felt it was the best decision that they had made to switch their browser. 

Believe me, I am no expert when it comes to computers. I have had to learn many things myself by trial, and error. Many times researching, and learning from others has been good for me too. When my old computer went down a few years ago, and we got the new one I switched my browser right away to Fire Fox, and have never regretted it either. Please know that when I share this with you all it is because of what I have learned from time, and also from what others have reported as well. 

Hope this finds all of you doing well, you had a good weekend, and that you will also find this to be helpful with your computer tasks as well. Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams. Hope to see you all again soon. Till the next time my friends.