Earlier today, I woke up and I had a simple question:

What are the most popular articles on DIYthemes so far in 2012?

So, I dug into the analytics, and I found the Top 10 articles on DIYthemes.

And today, I want to share them with you… just in case you missed ‘em.

10. What WordPress Plugins Are Vital to the Success Of Your Blog?

Coming in at a solid 10th place… is this article I wrote a few weeks back about “what plugins you should include on your WordPress blog.”

I’m not surprised, either. People seemingly love plugins, and they add a TON of them to their site without realizing what too many plugins can do to the performance of your site.

That’s why this article about WordPress plugins is a MUST-READ.

9. The Ultimate Guide to the Thesis Theme Feature Box

John Sexton whipped together an awesome tutorial about the Thesis Theme feature box, and people LOVE it.

It makes sense, too. Feature Boxes are a great way to convert visitors into email subscribers.

To read John’s article, click here. It’s in-depth, and requires some coding know-how, but it’s worth it.

8. How to Create a Blog Sidebar that Converts

Your blog sidebar is found on almost every page of your blog (aside from your landing pages).

And that’s why I’m not surprised to see that people want to learn more about blog sidebar design that converts.

Interesting insight…

…and to check out the article all about it, read it here.

7. Email Marketing for Everybody

I’m an email marketing fanatic…

Why? Because it works.

And that’s why I’m excited to see that the Email Marketing for Everybody has been a huge hit on DIYthemes blog.

6. What’s the #1 WordPress SEO Tactic Every Blogger Should Implement?

And coming in at 6th place… is this simple tip to improving your blog’s SEO.

It makes sense, too. It’s one simple tactic that almost anyone can implement.

To learn more about it, check it out here.

5. 30 Free CSS3 Web Buttons for Your Blog

I’m not surprised by this mainly because people love free downloads.

And that’s why the 30 Free CSS3 Web Buttons was a huge hit.

(Nice job Alex, the kid).

4. How to Get More Twitter Followers

If you’re looking to get more twitter followers, then you’ve got to read this article. It’s a no fluff, data-driven article about how to get more followers on twitter, and you won’t be disappointed.

(No wonder it’s the 4th most visited page on the DIYthemes blog)

3. How to Improve WordPress SEO

You know how much I love resource pages… and the reason why I love them is because they’re GREAT at generating traffic.

That’s why I’m not surprised to see the WordPress SEO for Everybody series coming in at #3.

2. How to Make Your WordPress Website Load Faster

Here’s the bottom line:

Now that people know that page speed is important for conversion rates and SEO, everyone wants to know how to speed up their WordPress website.

And that’s why this article by Willie Jackson came in at second place. “How to Improve Website Load Times.”

If you haven’t read it, go check it out.

1. How to Create an Online Store

Coming in at first place…

…is the article all about “how to create an online store” by Nina Cross.

This is great news, and based on this, you should expect some more content from us about online stores in the coming months.

Now I pass it to you…

Did you have a “favorite” article on the DIYthemes blog?

If so, what was it?

About the Author: Derek Halpern is the marketing guy at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building or increasing online sales, sign up to his list here.

I thought I depleted my store of self-discipline early in life…

During those years, I spent hours and hours practicing the piano… and later the pipe organ. Practicing means “playing perfectly,” and so that’s what those hours were about.

I made mistakes, I fixed them. I made some more mistakes, I fixed those too.

I did this for about 18 years straight. Practice, practice, practice.

My First “Instant” Success

Around 1997, little old me won a national music competition where I competed against musicians probably twice my age.

From the outside, it looked like a little punk (as much of a punk as you can be when you play the pipe organ) from nowhere Pennsylvania just swooped in and stole the show. An instant success came out of the shadows.

It’s a nice story, but it’s not the truth.

The truth is that my success was hardly instant. It looked that way from the outside, but from the inside, getting there took forever.

My Second “Instant” Success

After a few years in the real world, I realized that life as a church musician wasn’t for me. It wasn’t really the music that was the problem, it was the people. Working in a church just wasn’t what I was cut out to do.

So I basically stopped practicing. I hadn’t depleted my store of self-discipline though. I had just lost interest in the goal I was pursuing.

A few years went by where I tried to figure things out. I worked as a banker, a car salesman and a tech consultant.

Eventually, I opened up a copywriting and marketing business. I made more money that first year than I’d ever made in a single year before in my life.

From the outside, it looked like another instant success.

But it wasn’t instant. It took me 30 years of my life to even figure out that’s what I liked to do.

The Most Important Thing I’ve Learned About Success

Over the years, I’ve come to some conclusions about success.

The most important one is that success never feels like you think it’s going to feel before you get there.

Before you get there, you only think you know what it’s going to feel like to reach that goal.

When I started my copywriting business, the largest salary I was every paid as a church musician was $31,500 a year.

So making $100,000 in a year was a bit outside my reality.

Before I made $100,000 dollars in a year, I thought that reaching that goal would make me feel awesome.

But once I got there, making $100,000 in a year… well, it didn’t feel too much different.

I was still the same person after as I was before.

Fast forward a few years and I’m finally beginning to wise up.

So What Does All of This Success Talk Have to Do With Blogging or Running a Business Online?

It has everything to do with both of those things.

And the reason is that we’re all pursuing something. We all have some goal for our business, our website, our subscriber list or our revenue numbers.

Everyone is extremely focused on measuring the progress towards a goal. But you don’t hear too much talk about the quality of your life during that pursuit. That matters because you’re not getting any of that time back. Once you spend it, it’s GONE.

In fact, much of what you hear in the business world gives you the idea that sacrificing the quality of your life in order to achieve a goal is a badge of honor.

I don’t consider that success at all.

Here’s the idea I want to keep in the forefront of my mind:

Getting there fast isn’t as important as getting there the right way.

But you don’t always know what that “right” way is, so it’s best to stop trying so hard to figure it out and just enjoy living your life.

This might sound silly but it’s not. Here’s the reason:

I spent 18 years of my life learning to be a musician. Believe it or not, those skills are what make me unique as a business owner, copywriter and marketer.

The seeds for my “instant success” as a copywriter were sown in those years of effort sitting on an organ bench.

If I had made it my goal to pursue success as quickly as possible, I wouldn’t have bothered to spend the time in the trenches like I did. It’s that struggle which built the foundation for my future. I just didn’t know it at the time.

The Problem With “Instant Success” Isn’t That It’s Impossible, the Problem Is That It’s Not a Goal Worth Pursuing

Chasing after instant success means you’re investing a ton of energy into something that can only be found in your future. In other words, you’re putting energy where it can’t do you any good right now.

When your only goal is to “get there as quickly as possible,” you fix your gaze on that imaginary point ahead of you and ignore everything else… including the huge opportunities that are right in front of you.

The worst part about this is that the pursuit of “instant success” can make you extremely unsatisfied with how things are… right now.

I don’t know about you, but my definition of success includes me actually being happy. And that will only ever happen if I’m OK with things right now, as they are.

There are great things in your future and you will reach them. But you never know how experiences, relationships and other major life events will play into your future.

Leave the chase for “instant success” to the other guy. You’ve got real places to go.

So take one step at a time building your business or working on your website or blog. Go forward with your eyes wide open, a single step at a time.

You never know what you might discover if you’re paying attention.

About the Author: Jason Leister is the Editor of "The Client Letter," the daily e-letter from ClientsSuck.net, where he helps independent professionals create success.

It’s that time again.

If you’ve been struggling to keep up with the articles that we released on DIYthemes over the last few months, you’ve got nothing to worry about.

I went through the archives, and hand-picked 5 articles that I believe you should read right now.

That said, here are the links:

1. How to Make a Squeeze or Landing Page with Thesis

Landing pages are one of the best ways to turn random visitors into loyal subscribers. They convert better than both content pages and resource pages. So, make sure you have at least one landing page on your site, and link to it from a prominent place in your design—like your navigation bar or a Hello Bar.

2. How to Increase Blog Conversion Rates

Here’s a video I did with Pat Flynn, where I talked him through how he could improve the conversion rates of his blog. This video, thus far, has received more than 8,000 views, and a ton of positive comments. This is a must-watch.

3. How to Get More Twitter Followers

I often don’t write about social media, mainly because I’m an email marketing zealot. BUt if you’re using Twitter, and you’re looking to get more Twitter followers, this article is a must-read. It’s backed up by data and research, unlike much of the social media fluff out there.

4. My War Against Bad Blogging Advice…

Do you follow bad blogging advice? Read this article, to see 3 examples of what I deem bad blogging advice.

5. How to Create an Amazing Blog About Page

By now you know the importance of creating a great blog about page. If not, it’s one of the most visited pages on your site, so you might as well make it work for you… not against you. Read this article to find out how to make an amazing blog about page.

About the Author: Derek Halpern is the marketing guy at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building or increasing online sales, sign up to his list here.

Over the last 6.5 years, I’ve built blogs in 5 different industries…

…From gossip, to fashion and makeup, to self-help, to the DIYthemes blog, and to Social Triggers.

And throughout the process of building those blogs, I’ve learned these important lessons.

#1 Make Sure Your Domain Name Is Easy to Remember

A few years back, I launched a blog that wrote articles about various self-help style topics.

Originally I launched it as a test. At that point, I only ran blogs about newsy stuff, whereas that blog was about teaching. So I wanted to know if I could do it.

The answer was yes. And I was able to kickstart the growth of that blog quickly by leveraging many of the same techniques I used to grow a news style websites.

The problem was this: the domain was HORRIBLE. It sounded like a major insurance company, and people almost NEVER remembered it.

Every time I’d tell a friend my domain, they’d either mispronounce my domain, misspell it, or just have no idea how to find my website without googling my name.

If you’re struggling with your domain name, there’s a simple cure. THere’s a book called POP! by Sam Horn, and it’s all about coming up with great names (not domain names, but brand names).

#2 Don’t Waste Your Time On Tasks That Don’t Pull In Readers and Revenue

Back when I started blogging, the idea of a “theme framework” didn’t exist.

So, when I wanted to change my font, or the color of my font, or add a sidebar, or anything like that, I’d have to struggle with CSS and PHP.

And before you knew it, instead of writing articles and promoting articles—the two most important things you can do as someone with a blog—I wasted an entire night messing with code.

Here’s what’s funny:

Nine times out of ten, the stuff I spent time tweaking was a big waste of time. It was my way of procrastinating from doing the work that I should have been doing.

What’s the cure? Get Thesis, and let Thesis do all of the heavy lifting for you.

#3 You Don’t Need To Update Your Blog Daily

No joke… that was a HUGE realization for me.

Back in 2007, I ran a gossip site, and I had to update that site several times each day.

I figured, the more content I’d create, the more search engine rankings I’d earn, and the more rankings I’d earn, the more traffic I’d get.

And that worked… back then.

But was the content great? Did the content really deserve to rank in search engines?

Probably not.

And worse, after doing it for about 2 years, I got so burnt out that I walked away from a wildly profitable blog to take a job at a Fortune 100 company.

But then I started experimenting with how often I updated blogs. I realized that you could pull in a ton of traffic by focusing on highly unique and long-form content.

Not only did people like long form content, search engines did too.

That was a revelation because back then people thought that blog posts had to be short, but it turned out that it didn’t. Longer blog posts actually performed extremely well.

What’s the cure? Focus on creating your best content always. And then spend time promoting that content.

#4 Live and Die By Your Email List

By now you know I’m a zealot for email marketing. Ever wonder why?

I’ll tell you why…

I made a huge mistake. When I was running my entertainment site, I received millions of hits in a month.

And instead of trying to convert those people into loyal subscribers… that would continue to read my site forever… I converted them into ad clicks and ad impressions.

I sacrificed user experience to make money in the short term.

And yea, I made a ton of money. But as that site began to lose search engine rankings, traffic dropped.

And as traffic dropped, I started realizing that unique hits meant nothing.

What really matters is how many people want to read every single piece of content you write.

What’s the best way to stay in touch with people who want to read your content?

The email account. People check their email, almost daily. People also rarely change their email.

And unless email dies (which will never happen), once you get an email, you get to keep it forever… or until that person unsubscribes.

In the end though, you’re in much more control with an email list and that’s why I focus on that first and foremost.

What’s the cure? Build your email list. Starting right now. Use a Feature Box, and high converting optin forms.

Now I Pass It To You…

What have you learned from blogging?

Any tough lessons?

Share it in the comments.

About the Author: Derek Halpern is the marketing guy at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building or increasing online sales, sign up to his list here.

No joke. In the sea of information about getting higher search engine rankings, this is the ONE tip you can’t skip.

And when you get in the habit of using it day in, and day out, for each one of your articles, you can start seeing some exponential traffic growth over the long term.

What’s the tip? It’s much easier to implement than you think, and you don’t need to know anything about “technology” to pull it off.

How to Optimize Your WordPress Blog for High Search Engine Rankings

This is going to sound so simple, but seriously, it’s one of the best things you can do for your blog.

When you write content, make each one of your articles target one specific keyword.

Now I’m not telling you to create content for the sake of ranking for specific keywords. That’s a horrible strategy.

What I mean is, after you write blog reader focused content, make sure you have a “dream keyword” that you’d like to rank for on your new article.

For example, the video I shared with you last week on the blog post “How to increase blog conversion rates.”

It was helpful content, tailored directly towards you, the blog reader, but eventually, I’m hoping that article will rank for Blog Conversion Rates.

What If You’re Dealing With Highly Competitive Keywords?

That takes a lot more work, for sure, but that’s where resource pages come into play.

I’ll explain.

Instead of having a dream keyword for one article, you come up with a dream keyword for a group of articles.

And then you group those articles on a resource page.

For example, look at our resource page about WordPress SEO. Yes, we’re putting high quality content out about search engine optimization, but ideally, we’d also like to pick up some rankings for WordPress SEO.

And instead of trying to do it with one single article, we’re doing it with a group of articles because we know search engines like content that’s complete, and exhaustive.

One Word of Warning about This Simple Tip

I’ve got to say this because many people make this huge mistake.

When you start using this strategy, do not begin stuffing your content with keywords that you’d like to rank for.

The goal is to take your regular content, and just keep a keyword in the back of your mind while you’re writing it.

Don’t use the keywords for the sake of using the keywords. Remember, you want to put your reader first… always.

Because, even though the search engines can be gamed, they’re actively trying to combat “cheating.”

And while you may get away with some shady tactics for a short while, it’s not worth risking your blog… your blog that you’ve poured your time and effort into… because you tried to take a shortcut.

Then, of course, there’s Thesis…

Here’s a dirty secret about WordPress SEO:

There’s only so much you can do to your blog… on your own site… that can help you rank higher in search engines.

Aside from this simple tip, the other thing that you can do is sport rock-solid code that will supercharge your SEO.

For example, small changes like having h2 tags surrounding your headlines on your home page… and h1 tags surrounding your headlines on your single post pages.

Or, as another example, if you’re using a left sidebar, right content layout, you’ll want your content loading “before” your sidebar… even though it looks like it comes “after it.”

Things like this matter when it comes to optimizing your blog for search, and Thesis does all of that for you… right out of the box.

So, if you don’t have Thesis, pick it up today. If you do, take comfort in knowing that we’ve got your back when it comes to optimal SEO settings for your WordPress site.

About the Author: Derek Halpern is the marketing guy at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building or increasing online sales, sign up to his list here.

About a year ago, I sat down with Pat Flynn, the creator of Smart Passive Income, and walked him through how he can improve the conversion rates of his blog.

(I showed him how to use the traffic he was already getting to get more leads and sales).

In the video I shared a ton of valuable advice, and it’s 100% applicable today too.

So, first, you should watch the conversion site video, then I’ll share some helpful tutorials on how you can implement the advice I shared in Thesis specifically.

Here’s Why You Should Watch This Video…

While I can’t guarantee you’ll have the same results as Pat, that would be irresponsible, here’s what he had to say about this video in a podcast:

The blog had about 22 or 23 thousand subscribers, maybe 10k email subscribers, and you know I thought I was doing things pretty well. The systems I had in place to collect emails and get new subscribers was working for me, at a rate of about 35 to 50 email subscribers a day.

Then we did this critique together, I shared it on the blog, gave it some time so people could watch it, see what I had and then later see what I did to improve – based on Derek’s recommendations, and man…

After I implemented those changes, I was getting about 60-90 subscribers a day, sometimes cracking 100, and THAT really was proof that – not only that Derek’s strategies work

Cool? Now watch the video .

Here’s How You Implement This Advice In Thesis

Now, of course you need Thesis. If you don’t have it, you can pick up your copy here. (Pat Flynn uses it, as do many other top bloggers).

But for those of you who have it, here’s what you need to know.

1. For higher conversion rates, you need to have opt-in forms (and ads) in the right places.
2. You need to create resource pages because they’re great at ranking in search engines, and for conversions.
3. You need to optimize your about page because it’s one of the most visited pages on your site.
4. You’ve got to sprinkle some opt-in pages throughout your web design because landing pages convert MUCH better than content pages.
5. You MUST eliminate clutter. More on that in the video.

Now how do you implement that advice in Thesis? We’ve got your back:

1. Email signup forms in Thesis

4 High-Converting Places to add email sign-up forms (and how to add them into Thesis)

(And if you want custom email signup forms, we’ve got them for AWeber, Mailchimp, and Getresponse)

2. Create Insanely Great Resource Pages

Here’s how you can create insanely great resource pages. And if you want to make them into landing pages, here’s a tutorial for that too.

3. Create Opt-in Pages with Thesis

You’ve got to sprinkle some opt-in pages through your design. We just linked the landing page tutorial above, and that works for opt-in pages too. As an example of an opt-in page, look at this page for Nonverbal Website Intelligence.

4. Eliminate Sidebar Clutter with Thesis

One of the biggest conversion killers on the web is clutter. And much of that clutter is found in sidebars. Here’s how you create high-converting blog sidebars.

5. Finally Start Using a Feature Box

Even though Pat Flynn doesn’t use a Feature box on his site, I whole-heartedly believe you should. Not only has it helped DIYthemes greatly, it’s one of the highest-converting forms on Social Triggers too.

What do you think?

How did you like that video?

What do you plan on implementing in your Thesis design?

Note: If you loved that conversion video, and you want more advice on improving your Thesis design, you can watch 3 more videos right here.

About the Author: Derek Halpern is the marketing guy at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building or increasing online sales, sign up to his list here.

Every business who has a blog could use more traffic… you, me, all of us.

Question is how do you get it?

You could spend MONTHS working on your WordPress SEO, but if you’re pressed for time, this simple tactic is the answer.

Keep reading.

The Power of a Transformation

Here’s the deal:

Writing about a good transformation is one of the best ways to get traffic, land major media links, and social media shares.

What’s a transformation?

It’s exactly what you think it is. It’s when someone changes something about themselves drastically.

For example, a story of someone who changed their body from flab to fit. That’s a transformation.

Or as another example, a story of someone who went from thousands of dollars in debt to debt-free.

Those types of stories are transformations, and they’re GREAT for getting attention because people LOVE the contrast between bad and good.

The David Siteman Garland Story

To really nail this point home, the idea that transformations are GREAT for attention, let me share the story of my friend David Siteman Garland, from The Rise to the Top.

Last year David decided he wanted to have a beach body. The problem was, he had the “I am obviously really good at World of Warcraft look.”

But he worked at it, and soon he had what he wanted—a beach body, and a great transformation story. Here’s the picture:

Now check this:

Once his transformation was complete, he was featured on Bodybuilding.com as one of their monthly transformations.

And now, months later, he’s in the running to land a two-page spread in Iron Man Magazine.

How crazy is that?

I bet if I sat David down a year ago, and asked him, “Think you ever have a shot of landing a two-page spread in a fitness magazine?”

He probably would have laughed.

But his transformation allowed that to happen. His transformation got him TONS of exposure and free traffic.

For example, he also landed a COVER story in Small Business Monthly as one of St. Louis’s Fittest CEOs. Here’s the picture:

(By the way, if you loved David’s transformation, help him land that 2-page magazine spread in Iron Magazine by voting for him here).

The Secret to a Great Transformation Is…

I’ve told people about the power of transformations before, but they almost always say something like, “Well, it’s been done before.”

But here’s the deal:

The secret to a great transformation has nothing to do with whether the transformation was unique.

Why?

It’s simple. EVERY transformation is unique because when you add a new person into the mix, it’s unique by default.

Then what’s the secret?

The secret is CONTRAST. The more contrast between the before and the after, the better.

What If I Never Transformed Myself?

That’s a good question.

And the answer is it doesn’t matter.

You don’t have to be the person who trasnformed. You can simply write about someone else who transformed…much like what I’m doing here.

Or you could write about one of your readers, fans, or friends, and you’re set, too.

Just remember, the more contrast between the before and after the better.

What Types of Transformations Work?

Despite the media being overrun with negativity, the best transformation stories are positive.

No one wants to read about someone who went from fit to flab. They want to see someone go from undesirable to extremely desirable.

Why?

People look at those transformation stories, and imprint themselves on the person who transformed.

Or, in other words, people want to imagine themselves going through that same transformation.

So, unless you’re dealing with some kind of weirdo, no one wants to imagine themselves going from debt-free to debt-ridden.

Now I Pass It To You…

Have you ever written about a transformation that scored you traffic? Leave your story in the comments.

If you haven’t written about a transformation, do you plan to now?

About the Author: Derek Halpern is the marketing guy at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building or increasing online sales, sign up to his list here.

…ALWAYS up for debate.

And as the questions get more subjective, that statement becomes more true.

But there are people who close their minds to new ways of doing things once they believe they’ve found the “right answer.”

These same people are the ones who get smoked, while the smarter, more open-minded people pass them by with better solutions.

Now you’re likely wondering what does this have to do with blogging?\

The short answer is EVERYTHING.

When you’re building a blog, there are people—you know, people like me—who say they know the RIGHT way of doing things.

And they may.

But don’t let that discourage you from questioning the status quo with new, and better answers.

Because nowadays, the better answer always wins.

What say you?

About the Author: Derek Halpern is the marketing guy at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building or increasing online sales, sign up to his list here.

I’ll be straight up. This is a hit piece.

When I ask around, I’ve come to the conclusion that people use too many WordPress plugins.

Are you one of those people?

Well, if you’ve got to ask, the answer is probably yes.

How Many WordPress Plugins Should You Use?

When you use more plugins, your website loads slower.

And when your page loads slower, you’re killing your conversion rates, and your search engine rankings.

(Google recently announced that it uses page load times in their search algorithm. Additionally, countless studies have shown that if you increase your page load times by as little as 0.1 second, you can lose a huge amount of sales).

So how many WordPress plugins should you use?

The answer is FEWER.

You’ve got to cut WordPress plugins from your blog until you’re left with only what’s absolutely essential.

And that leads me to this next question…

What Makes A WordPress Plugin Essential?

Here’s the rule of thumb: If you stop using a plugin, and your website explodes, then you shouldn’t delete that plugin.

That’s a bit extreme, but it’s true.

There are people who use plugins because they say “I NEED THEM,” but NEED is a funny word because people think they need “related posts” at the end of their articles.

Why do you need related posts at the end of your articles?

You say you want people to find more of your content, and that’s fine.

However, you’re better off linking your other articles from WITHIN your content… not at the end of it.

So what makes a WordPress plugin essential? There are three key components:

1. If the plugin speeds up your site, it’s essential.
2. If the plugin eliminates spam from your site, it’s essential.
3. If the plugin adds a feature to your site that is VITAL to your site’s success, it’s essential.

What WordPress Plugins Do I Recommend?

There’s aren’t that many that I fully recommend.

But here’s my exhaustive list:

1. W3 Total Cache – This plugin speeds up your site because it caches your site, successfully making your site load faster.

2. Akismet – Battling comment spam sucks. This plugin handles most of it for you.

3. Google XML Sitemaps – When your blog has a sitemap, it makes it easier for search engines to crawl your content. This is a VITAL to your site’s success, and that’s why I believe this is a must-have plugin.

4. A form plugin – If you’re running a blog, chances are you want to create a contact form. You could use a free form plugin like Contact Form 7, but I personally use Gravity Forms. It’s a premium plugin, but it’s got great support and functionality (it’s not for the faint of heart though. It’s not the easiest to configure).

Now, I’m not saying you can’t use more than just those 4 plugins.

But definitely don’t use 20, 30, or 40 plugins.

As a rule of thumb, I try to use fewer than 10 plugins.

(Not all WordPress plugins are created equal. Some aren’t resource hogs, others are).

What WordPress Plugins Do You Use?

Share your list in the comments!

About the Author: Derek Halpern is the marketing guy at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building or increasing online sales, sign up to his list here.

Over the last few weeks, some people have alerted me to the fact that they did not receive the latest DIYthemes blog updates.

So, if you missed them, today I’ve got a quick summary for you.

Additionally, I’ve got some other links that I believe you’ll find helpful.

That said, here’s the links:

1. How to Paginate WordPress Posts (new Thesis tutorial)

Ever notice how long in-depth articles on top-tier magazines and newspaper sites are broken up into pages? Well, if you’d like to do the same thing to your articles, here’s a tutorial on how to do it.

2. How to Get More Twitter Followers—And Keep Them

There’s a lot of advice out there about how to get more Twitter followers. The truth is that much of it is bad. However, this post is different though because it has concrete actionable tips… and DATA to back it up.

3. How Often Should You Update Your Blog?

There are two camps when it comes to updating blogs. There are those who say you should do it daily, and then there are those who say you should do it a few times per month. Read this post to see where I stand on that issue.

4. Why is Responsive Design Such A Big Deal?

Responsive design is a hot topic on the web right now… but why? In this post, Alex “the Kid” Mangini, shares his thoughts about it. Additionally, if you scroll down in the comment section, you’ll notice that Chris Pearson shared his ideas too. (You may also know Alex because he releases a bunch of cool graphics for you through the DIYthemes blog).

5. How to Crop, Rotate, and Flip Images in the WordPress Image Editor

Here’s how you can use the built-in WordPress image editor to edit your images for your blog posts. It’s a simple tutorial, but it’s great when you don’t have your image-editing software handy.

About the Author: Derek Halpern is the marketing guy at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building or increasing online sales, sign up to his list here.