Buttons, Bells, and Whistles

• Create an Etsy Mini to highlight items from your online store. Here's an excellent tutorial for installing it on a Blogger blog. (If you have a free Wordpress blog, you'll need to understand HTML in order to install it.)

• If you have a Flickr account, you can also create a Flickr Badge, which is a cool animated widget containing your most recently-uploaded photos. This tutorial explains how to install one on a Blogger blog. (And here's how to install one on a free Wordpress blog.)

• Lots of crafty websites offer free buttons you can install on your blog to help spread the love. For example: IndiePublic, Buy Handmade, CRAFT, Threadbanger, and many, many others. Poke around your favorite blogs and websites to see if they offer a badge. (You can install these easily on a Blogger blog, but you may need some HTML savvy to install them on a free Wordpress blog.)

• If you're interested in creating your own blog buttons, Musings of a Housewife has an excellent how-to.

• Be sure to add a Blogroll to your blog! Here's how to add one in Blogger. If you're using a free Wordpress blog, here's how.

• Remember, you can also add lots of interesting sidebar elements. Blogger has many to choose from, and they're easy to install. A free Wordpress blog also has several options.