For the past few years, the media has been predicting that mobile is the next big thing, and with the increased number of smartphones on the market, it looks like that prediction is finally coming true. People use their phones for everything from surfing the web to collecting payments, so it stands to reason that they might want to check out your site while they’re on the go.

What is mobile optimization?

Mobile optimization reduces the time it takes for your site to load on cell phone and iPad browsers and configures your site to look good on those devices. So, how do you make sure your blog is mobile-friendly?

Blogger

Google’s Blogger recently introduced a set of mobile templates, which re-format your blog when it’s accessed from a smartphone. To activate mobile templates on your site, go to Dashboard > Settings > Email & Mobile tab, then check the mobile template option and save.

WordPress

WordPress.com blogs have the advantage of two mobile themes that will automatically display when your site is accessed from a mobile device. Visitors will be able to see your posts, pages, and archives, as well as leave comments. You can access the settings from your Dashboard under Appearance > Extras.

Self-hosted (WordPress.org) blogs have a number of options for plugins that make a site mobile-ready. Some of the most popular include WordPress Mobile Edition, WordPress Mobile Pack, and MobilePress.

Tumblr

Mobile themes help your site load faster and display as much information about your site as possible on small phone screens.  If you haven’t already, take a look at your site on a mobile device (the Apple Store is always a fun place!) and see if you need to do anything to improve your readers’ experience.

The madness of the holiday shopping season has officially started, which means it’s now totally acceptable to tell people exactly what you want without sounding like a complete spoiled brat. Sort of.

Online wish lists have made it a lot easier to let your loved ones know exactly what to get you–a big improvement over sending emails with links or writing lists on paper. Most sites have their own function for creating wish lists, but what if you want a bunch of stuff from different sites? Here are a few options:

Wishpot

Wishpot lets you add anything to your gift list using a handy bookmarklet in your browser. When you come across an item you like, click the Wishpot button and automatically add the things you love–from any store–to your lists.

Amazon Universal Wish List

You can add items from any website to your Amazon Wish List with just a few clicks, making it easy to keep track of all the gifts you’re wishing for, all in one place. There’s a Firefox add-on, Safari and Chrome extensions, and an “Add to Wish List” button you can add to any browser you use. If you sell online, you can also add the button to your own site to make it easy for shoppers to add your items to their lists.

ListIdeas.com

With ListIdeas, you can create a list that’s easy to share on Facebook or embed on your blog. Just add items using the bookmarklet, then select the embed code for the list you’ve created. Friends and family can also subscribe to your list’s RSS feed.

Wishbin.com

With Wishbin, you can add items from any website to make a centralized wish list, then share your wish lists with friends and family by creating a “Buddy List” and sending email updates. Downside? The toolbar is for Windows users only.

‘Tis (almost) the season to get your shop on, and online shopping will play a bigger role than ever. One recent survey found that up to 64% of consumers plan to do some or all of their holiday shopping online (source).

With so many retailers–from big brands to independent crafters–now selling their wares online, it can be difficult to wade through the options. Hence, the newfound popularity of “curated” shops–a group of items selected according to a distinct style and point of view. Here are two ways to try it yourself:

Boutiques.com

Google’s newly-launched Boutiques.com lets you find items that suit your style by asking about your style preferences in a manner similar to the optometrist: “Is this better, or is this better?” Once you’ve sorted out your favorite colors and silhouettes, you’re presented with a selection of items that suit your tastes.

MyRevolve

Part of Revolveclothing.com, MyRevolve prompts you to create an account and pick your favorite brands and items while browsing the site. You can then share your boutique with friends, and earn anywhere from 1-10% commission on purchases made through your boutique.

Most fashion and style bloggers are familiar with the online world and social media–after all, we’re posting our looks and our lives on the web on a regular basis. One way to complement your main blog is to use microblogging service Twitter, which offers an easy way to connect with online friends, network with people who have similar interests, broadcast to your audience, and keep up with events happening around the world–all in real time.

So how do you get people to actually follow you on Twitter?

The most important way is by engaging with other people and organizations using the service. If you’re new to the game or just want to increase the number of people following you, try a few of the following techniques:

1. Follow more people

This sounds simple, but when I first started using Twitter a few years ago, I just posted random stuff and wasn’t really following anyone. That’s not the point of the service. Making connections is a two-way street, so go forth and follow! Research shows that most people have a roughly equal number of follows and followers.

If you’re not sure who to follow, try these fashion lists:

• Twibes
• Listorious
• Mashable

You should also check out who other people are following–it takes a bit of time, but it’s a great way to find less well-known individuals who have a fun and interesting perspective.

2. Connect and respond

One of the great things about Twitter is the fact that two-way (and often three- and four-way) communication is so easy. If you see a tweet asking a question relevant to you, respond. Ask for help and give help when asked. Use Search.Twitter.com to find people talking about the subjects that interest you, and respond to them. Interaction is the most genuine, organic way to grow your following.

3. Be visible

Make sure your Twitter profile is part of your email address, your message board signature, on your business cards, linked to your Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media accounts, and prominent on your blog’s homepage. Include your Twitter handle (ie @StyleSample) so people can immediately see what you’re called, and link it to your Twitter page so people can easily find and follow you.

Add yourself to Twitter directories so people who are interested in similar topics can find you. Try:

• WeFollow
• Twellow
• Just Tweet It
• TweetFind
• TwitDir
• GeoFollow

4. Re-tweet

Use Search.Twitter.com or an application like HootSuite to see which of your tweets are the most popular, and then re-tweet them at various times during the day. This increases the possibility that different people–and new people, see your best tweets. Those people will then either re-tweet those posts, or start to follow you.

and, last yet most important:

5. Create and post good content

Even though it’s limited to 140 characters, Twitter is still considered blogging. Do what you do to keep your long-form blog fresh–create and post interesting content. Share article links, retweet quality posts, ask insightful questions, and don’t be afraid to include a bit of humor!

Sites we just can’t seem to stay away from:

Gary Pepper Vintage

Nicole of Gary Pepper Vintage is a hard-working entrepreneur who just happens to be gorgeous. Fair? No. Worth the read? Absolutely.

What I Saw Today

Designerman – aka Richard Haines – creates deceptively simple-looking pencil sketches of New York street style on his blog  What I Saw Today. You start to think “Hey, I could do that” until you realize it takes massive talent. Which we don’t have.

Couturious

Who doesn’t like styling models with designer clothing? Couturious is like old school paper dolls crossed with Cher’s computer wardrobe stylist in Clueless–completely addictive.

What are you lovin’ right now?

This is a guest post by Tiffany of I’m a Shoe Whore. If you’d like to write a guest post for Style Sample, check out the guidelines and submit your idea.

When I first started blogging I quickly found out the importance of great/fun photos. Photos are the key to your blog, they help pull viewers in and keep them entertained for the time they spend on your site. Sometimes your photos keep readers coming back to see more fun and sometimes inspiring pictures!

After being bored by my own pictures I went on the hunt for some great free online photo editing sites that would help me dress my photos up! Here are three of my favorites:

Photoshop

I use Photoshop whenever I edit my photos. Its interface is so easy that it makes editing photos incredibly simple. You do have to sign up for an account, but it’s free and your images can be stored online for family and friends to view. I love that you can preview how the image will look just by scrolling over the edit options. I also love the pop color feature on this site. Make sure you have a fast connection–it sometimes takes a while to load the photos.

DrPic

DrPic is a great site if you need to do a quick edit or crop your photos. There are some fun options you can use to add frames or a Polaroid effect to your images, and I love the grayscale feature on this site. You don’t need an account–just load a picture, edit, and then save to your computer. Simple! One minor annoyance: the Google ad bar at the top of the picture while you edit photos.

FlauntR

FlauntR has some great editing features and frames you can add. The main reason I use this site is for the text feature–I love that there are so many fonts available. I have never seen so many different fonts offered on a free editing site, and you can move and rotate the text anyway you choose. You do have to create an account to use this site-but it’s free!

Get animated

I remember the first time I saw an animated graphic. I was awe-struck, then jealous because I wanted my own! Soon I was off on an internet hunt for sites to help me create animated graphics. There are a few sites out there, but I always turn to one site to help me create my own animated images.

Gickr

Gickr is free and easy to use–no account needed. You can select up to 10 images at once, the size of the image, how fast the image will move, then hit create. That’s it! Wait for your image to load and you should see the animated image. (I often hit create a few times trying out different image speeds to get the right one.) There are many ways to save it, but I always right click on the image and click “Save Image As”.

Now, loading the image on your blog can be tricky. You first have to upload your animated image to a hosting site like tinypic.com (it’s free). Once you’ve uploaded it to the site you can select the “HTML code for Websites” or “Direct Link for Layouts” code. You’ll then have to put the code into your post via the html/edit page. I’d be happy to help if you ever have any questions!

Informative fashion fodder, just in case you missed it:

• “Has our quest for convenience forever altered fashion?” Dumbing down American design (Part 1)

• Singapore’s Next Fashion Superblogger Contest: Cute bloggers, great style. And it’s sponsored by a mall! When will America catch on to this?

• Suddenly Print is taking the blog challenge seriously: Interesting perspective from a fashion journalist about the so-called showdown between print and online.

• We’re always interested in seeing what bloggers ’round the world are doing: Hong Kong’s hottest fashion blogger Cindiddy

• Gilt Groupe brings flash sales to the iPad: Online flash sale giant Gilt Groupe is keeping up with technology by introducing an iPad app. Tech-geek fashionistas rejoice!

• Speaking of technology, Go Try It On Will Be Your Wardrobe Consultant And Personal Stylist In One

• Interview with 15-year-old Danish fashion blogger, teen insider Nicklas Skovgaard. Way to make us feel old.

• Sure, you love fashion, but will you invest in it? New website allows anyone to invest $50 in young labels.

What were your favorite fashion stories this week?

In the current issue of Style Sample, Fajr of Stylish Thought wrote a great article about hosting your blog on your own domain. She recommends using WordPress (so do I–both this site and my personal blog run on WordPress), but it can be confusing if you’ve never purchased a hosting account or registered your own domain name. Here’s a great video tutorial series to show you the basics:

How to install WordPress from scratch (Part 1)

How to install WordPress from scratch (Part 2)

This video is a few years old, so make sure you download the most current version of WordPress. As of today, it’s version 2.9.1.

This guy uses Host Gator, but there are multiple site hosting companies to choose from. Some of the most popular are:
BlueHost
GoDaddy
Host Gator
1&1
DreamHost

Let me know if you have questions or need help!

~Tamia

With the proliferation of fashion 2.0 came the explosion of style sharing sites, communities where internet-savvy fashionistas post their photos and inspiration and bond over mutual sartorial longing. I fondly remember when MyStyleDiary started as a post in the old LuxuryFashion forums back in the proverbial day. I think most style bloggers are a part of at least one of these communities–which one is your favorite?

[poll id="2"]

With over 300 million active users, most people have some sort of presence on Facebook. It’s one of the most popular social networking sites in the world, and can be used for everything from keeping up with your best friend from kindergarten to making business contacts.

Most of us have a personal Profile, but if you want to take promoting your blog a step further, you may also want to create a Fan Page for your site. Before you do that, though, think about the purpose of your page: Would it be to drive readers back to your blog? A place to post extra content? A way to reach friends/family who may not visit your blog regularly?

Setting up a fan page means you’ll need to regularly post content there in addition to your blog/MySpace/Twitter account/wherever else you may be, so think about what works best for you. If you’ve considered the pros and cons and are ready for a fan page, here’s what to do:

Setup Your Page

Log into Facebook and click on Advertising at the bottom of the page. Go to Pages> Create a Page, and start adding your information. Most blogs will fall under the category “Brand, Product, or Organization.”

Add Content

Add some applications: the most useful ones integrate your blog’s RSS feed and your Twitter feed into your page, like SocialRSS. It’s a good idea to link your online presences in order to cross-promote. Try adding extra tabs with Involver.

Now, based on the purpose of your page (which you determined above), add some introductory content so people will have something to look at when you invite them to become fans. Don’t send folks to a blank page!

Here are some ideas:

• Post your best photos or images and links to popular blog posts

• Post a summary of the comments on one of your blog posts if you’ve got a really juicy discussion going on. Encourage your fans to respond on Facebook or your blog.

• Create a contest where the winner will be determined based on a comment posted on your Page, or post a link to a contest taking place on your blog.

• Post some “behind-the-scenes” information or images from your blog. You know the pictures you like but didn’t have room for on the blog? Put ‘em here!

• Post a link to an interview or guest post on another site, or another blog/brand/item you like. Promoting others is good karma!

Try to add something to your Facebook page at least once per week.

Promote Your Page

Invite your personal contacts to be fans of your page. Since they already know you, they’re likely to become your first fans. Try to get some activity going on your page before inviting the general public. Then, you can:

• Embed a “Join our Facebook Page” widget in your sidebar

• Include a link to your Fan Page in your email signature

• Invite your Twitter followers to become Fans

Make sure people know what’s in it for them: Additional content, regular updates, special contests, whatever your purpose. Continue to promote your page to new contacts, readers, and followers on a regular basis to build your fan base.

Interact!

Encourage discussion by asking questions or sponsoring contests that require a comment. Remember, not everything has to be strictly business or blog-related all the time.

Note that setting up a Fan page requires additional work and may not be for everyone, so consider your needs and limitations before taking the plunge. However, it can be a great way to reach your readers where they are!

In issue #4 of Style Sample magazine, Valerie of Beauty and the Budget explained how to use Google Analytics to keep track of your blog stats. Tracking is extremely important as it’s important to know how many readers you have, what they’re looking at, how they’re finding your site, especially if you plan on advertising on your blog. While Google Analytics is one of the best known and most in-depth tracking applications, there are plenty of others, too!

StatCounter.com: Shows your most popular pages, the search terms visitors use to find your site, and the number of new vs. returning visitors.

GoStats.com:
Shows information about unique sessions, sessions per visitor, time spent on each page, and the path visitors take on your site.

SiteMeter.com: Provides detailed information about last 100 visitors to your site including which browser they used and their screen resolution, and visits by hour to see busy/slow periods each day.

AddFreeStats.com: Graphs search engine estimates, visits per visitor, and which Adsense links people click while on your site.

Most are as simple as signing up and registering your site, at which point you’re given a snippet of code to insert into your HTML. It’s easy and free and full of valuable information, so if you haven’t already, start tracking your blog stats!

MOD TV lets you live the glamorous life…at least for as long as the episode (and your imagination) allows. This podcast brings the exciting drama of the fashion world up close and personal. If you haven’t been so lucky as to sit front row at the hottest shows and mingle with supermodels (and let’s face it, most of us haven’t) then escape to the world where those dreams can become a reality.

Dear fellow fashion techies,