Guide to Your WYSIWYG & HTML Tabs for Blogs & Special Effects

You've seen articles with special effects like: signatures, logos, pictures, smileys, etc., and wondered how they're incorporated into the blogs, haven't you?  For example: 

Many members already know how to do this, but I didn't know how so I learned it by trial and error gleaning information from several posts that did not specify the step by step process.  This is so simple even I am able to do it.  I'm certain that there are more elegant and efficient ways to do this, but if you're technically challenged like me, this is for you!

• This also works when you want only to write your first few blogs without special effects--just type on the WYSIWYG text box (What You See Is What You Get), and ignore the html portion of the instructions. But do follow the other numbered steps. 
• If you want to insert images, click on the green tree icon, browse, and upload.  Fill in the Description, click on Appearance and experiment where you want to place the image (top, bottom, right, left, etc.), then Insert.  Hop on over to Step 6.
• If you only want to post your article to Localism, when you're finished writing skip on to Step 8.

The most important thing is to write your article (presumably you've written it in Word, Notepad, etc.), and create and save a copy of the html code for your special effects.  Create them free from mylivesignature, postlets, and vflyer websites.

1. Go to My Blog (Post) page.  Fill in your Title, go to the Visibility button, and choose DRAFT (this saves your work and it stays in this mode until you change it).
2. Click on the HTML tab, paste the html code of your special effects; signature, logo, postlet or vflyer, (even YouTube--I haven't tried this admittedly).  For this exercise, I put in the clipboard the html code for a similar widget under my photo that I created from the vFlyer website.

But you're not done yet--

     3.  Post Blog Entry, click on the WYSIWYG tab (you should now see the graphic of what was pasted):      

      4.   Click on Edit, put the cursor (the blinking thingie) where you want your prepared content, and paste

      5.   Keep posting and editing until you're satisfied with the result, use spell check, put in Tags (keywords)

      6.   In Visibility, change from the DRAFT mode to either Public, Associates Only or Members Only

      7.    Post To:  Public Categories to either For real estate professionals

Or if your article is about your locality, news and events;

      8.     Post To:  For Consumers (Posted to Localism.com)--drill it down to state, county, city, neighborhoods

      9.    Choose up to 5 Blogger Groups that you're a member of (only relevant groups please) then...

     10.   Post Blog Entry!  Congratulations!

Other tips and inspiration:  

• Mike Mueller is animated!  How to upload an Animated .gif
• Teri Ellis in red! (Check her signature).
• Desiree Daniels would love to know.
• Joanne Hanson asks, Would you like to sign your blog posts in cursive?

Please use common sense and don't abuse these special effects - make them fun but not loud like the samples above!  Cheers!

UPDATE: The glittermaker link has been removed due to its unpredictability. My apologies. 01/08/07