Friday, March 18, 2011

Using Dropbox to Share Articles on Your Blog

You've written a terrific article, formatted it with pictures and links, and you want to share it with your blog readers. Except...how can you link an article from your computer when you need a URL for it?

You scratch your head, play around with your blog service, and finally paste the thing into a new page where you lose the formatting you carefully created. Frustrating, to say the least.

Since I have a website, my articles are hosted there, and I can easily grab the URL and link them. But what about writers who don't have websites? Do they have other options?

I discussed this recently with Constance Phillips and she gave me an excellent idea. Use a file-sharing service such as Dropbox.

Dropbox is a free service that offers up to 2GB storage. If you need more storage, you can purchase it. It's simple to sign up with--only a valid e-mail address and password are necessary. Naturally, you do not have to use Dropbox; you can use any file-sharing service.

After downloading the software, you click and drag files from your computer to your Dropbox account. If you place them in the Public Folder, you can Copy the link, and link them anywhere, including your blog or a widget on your sidebar. (To link one of your articles, type the title of the article in your blog post, highlight it, and use the link button to type or copy/paste the URL.)

Remember, not everyone has Microsoft Word or whatever word processor you use. For a universal way to share your work, consider converting your file to a .pdf file. Plenty of free file converters, like PrimoPDF, abound on the web. A .pdf file allows anyone who downloads Adobe Acrobat to read your work, and Acrobat is a universal, free program.

Type the URL of your blog, your name, and copyright information into your footer. This allows readers to click back to your blog (be sure to include http:// before the link), reminds them who wrote it, and discourages theft of your work. Your footer would look something like this:

http://jillkemerer.blogspot.com/ Jill Kemerer. Copyright 2011. All rights reserved

Do you have a genius method of sharing your articles online? I'd love to hear it!

Thanks!
Posted by Jill Kemerer at 7:00 AM
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25 comments:

  1. Laura PaulingMarch 18, 2011 at 7:07 AM

    I've heard of people using dropbox for backup copies of their work!

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  2. Jessica R. PatchMarch 18, 2011 at 7:19 AM

    Excellent info. Have a great weekend!

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  3. DianeMarch 18, 2011 at 7:35 AM

    I'd never heard of this. Thanks for the info. :O)

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  4. Bonnie R. PaulsonMarch 18, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    If anyone has terrific articles, it's you! great info thanks a ton.

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  5. AnonymousMarch 18, 2011 at 9:47 AM

    I'll have to try this. Thanks Jill. I've played around with One Note but haven't been successfull linking yet. There are so many great tools and I need to get in action learning and using them!

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  6. HeidiMarch 18, 2011 at 11:22 AM

    Funny that you posted about this today--my cousin just emailed me about DropBox! :)

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  7. North Jersey Christian Writers GroupMarch 18, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    Excellent tips! Thanks!
    Susan

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  8. UnknownMarch 18, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    Great service and great find Jill.

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  9. Jill KemererMarch 18, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    Laura: Yes, Dropbox's main feature is to store a back-up of files, and one of the side options is to make the files public--nifty tool!

    Jessica P: Thanks! You too!

    Diane: I know, I hadn't either!

    Bonnie: Thank you--very appreciated!

    Lynn: It's overwhelming to think of all the programs out there. I just figure them out on an as-needed basis!

    Heidi: Dropbox must be in the air! :)

    Suzanne: Thank you!

    P.W. Creighton: Thanks--I appreciate it!

    Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  10. AnonymousMarch 18, 2011 at 2:35 PM

    Jill, since I'm a newbie to the blogging world, I'm definitely still learning! Wow, at times it can be so overwhelming, but where there's a will, there's a way! (And just this week I learned this difference between a Blog Roll and a Tootsie Roll! Kidding...)

    Thank you for your insights...I may be coming to you with some questions. : )

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  11. Jill KemererMarch 18, 2011 at 5:45 PM

    Cynthia: Welcome! I'm so glad you stopped by. When I started blogging, I had no idea what I was doing! It's so much fun, though. Please, feel free to e-mail me with any questions. I love talking about blogging and social media.

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  12. MaggieMarch 18, 2011 at 6:14 PM

    I've never heard of such a thing. But it sounds like a good tool for critiquing. Thanks for the info.

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  13. UnknownMarch 18, 2011 at 7:28 PM

    I literally just started using dropbox about 3 weeks ago. I find it's pretty easy to use. I use it mainly for my photography business, but I'm a fan no matter what ;)

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  14. Robyn CampbellMarch 18, 2011 at 9:21 PM

    Beth and I have used dropbox. This is a great post Jill. I love what you said about PrimoPDF. I need to check on that. Happy weekend. :)

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  15. Carol J. GarvinMarch 19, 2011 at 12:22 AM

    I use WordPress for my blog and it has the option of pasting in regular text or pasting from Word which accommodates Word's formatting. For anything with more complicated formatting, however, I save to PDF and post it on Sribd which allows me to link to a URL or embed the article into my blog. I haven't tried Dropbox; I'll have to have a look at it. Thanks for the tip.

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  16. Sharon K. MayhewMarch 19, 2011 at 12:24 AM

    I've never heard of a dropbox before. Thanks for sharing, Jill! Have a great weekend!

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  17. TanaMarch 19, 2011 at 12:54 AM

    Fantastic info! Thanx Jill! And thanx for being my voice this week while I'm resting my vocals. ;)

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  18. Hilary Melton-ButcherMarch 19, 2011 at 6:01 AM

    Hi Jill for this excellent information on DropBox .. I'd heard of it - but so good to know how to use it ...

    Useful to have the .pdf info too .. especially the Primo PDF converter ..

    Thanks - great share .. cheers Hilary

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  19. Jill KemererMarch 19, 2011 at 10:52 AM

    Maggie: Katie Ganshert wrote a post on her blog a while back about using Google Documents for critiquing. You might want to check that route out too!

    Amber J: I know, you can't beat free, right? Your photography is amazing. I love when you share pics on FB!

    Robyn: Great! It's handy to have information for the future!

    Carol: Perfect! We must have the same brainwaves today!

    Sharon: Thanks, you too!

    Tana: Of course--always glad to share my big mouth!

    Hilary: Dropbox is used primarily to store back-up files, but I love that it can have more uses!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  20. Loree HuebnerMarch 19, 2011 at 11:54 AM

    Jill, Gosh I learn something new everyday about blogging. Thanks for the info.

    Happy Weekend to you!

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  21. Susan J. ReinhardtMarch 19, 2011 at 9:22 PM

    Hi Jill -

    Thanks for the tip. I wish there was an adult education class that gave hands-on instruction with these techy issues.

    Blessings,
    Susan :)

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  22. Jill KemererMarch 20, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    Loree: I do too! I'm glad to pass it on!

    Susan JR: So do I. I'm constantly learning new tricks. There should be a handbook!

    Thanks so much for stopping by!

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  23. Jill HathawayMarch 20, 2011 at 3:09 PM

    Dropbox is great for so many things! This is a wonderful tip.

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  24. Julie GilliesMarch 20, 2011 at 3:52 PM

    Well this is interesting, Jill. I had no idea! Thank you for sharing. :-)

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  25. Rosslyn ElliottMarch 21, 2011 at 10:33 AM

    This is a great tip, Jill. Thanks!

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