For this weeks Blogging 101, Im going to be talking about something a little different! I am going to answer one of the first questions Laurie mentioned receiving when we first started talking about this blogging series.
Q: What are the most important elements on a blog? Are there things I shouldn’t do? How can I make my blog visually appealing to readers without going overboard?
A: These are important questions to consider if youre trying to attract new readers or really just build a blog that you can be proud of. As a designer, Ive spent many hours viewing, reading, and designing blogs. Ive certainly formed my own opinions about what makes a great blog, but I thought Id broaden my perspective by reaching out and asking other bloggers for their opinions. I hopped over to BlogFrog and posed this question to readers.
It turns out that a lot of people, including myself, have similar opinions. I think this is important to note because while one persons opinion isnt always critical, the shared opinion of many might be worth considering. So here are a few blogging dos and donts for you to think about…
“Donts”:
1) One of the complaints I hear most often from blog readers has to do with automatic music players. While readers dont mind having the option to play a few songs, they do not want to hear the music start playing the minute they open a blog. For me personally, if I open a blog where music immediately starts playing, I will quickly close out of the blog without ever reading a post.
2) Another dont that was mentioned quite often was having a blog that is extremely cluttered. Having sidebars filled with numerous ads, buttons, and other widgets is often distracting to readers. Consider which things are really important to you and leave those on the sidebars while removing some of the unnecessary extras.
3) Ive often heard people say that they will not read blogs with a black posting areaeven if the text is written in white. Similarly, readers are often turned off by fonts and colors that are hard to read. Pay careful attention to how your writing appears on your blog. Afterall, your posts are inevitably what your followers are there to read.
4) Finally, although it may seem obvious, many bloggers mentioned that they are immediately turned off by vulgar or offensive blogs. While honesty and authenticity are important, make sure to keep readers in mind.
“Dos”:
1) My personal favorite do has to do with the design of a blog. 🙂 Readers are drawn to your design. Make sure that your blog design portrays who you are and what your blog is about. Even before someone reads a post, they see your design. Think of it as a first impression. While you have the choice to hire a designer or create something yourself, take time to make your space on the internet truly yours.
2) A do that is often overlooked is including pictures in your blog posts. Pictures are not only a great way to enhance your writing and tell a story, but they also serve as a great way to break up your postsmaking them easier to read.
3) The most important do is simply to have good content. This is almost always the first thing someone mentions when discussing what draws them to a blog. Your content is ultimately what will keep readers coming back. Be yourself, be friendly, and just write!
I hope you have found some of these blogging dos and donts useful. While I think it is important to consider your readers and what makes a great blog, remember that ultimately its YOUR blog. If youre true to that, you will succeed.
Do you have a question you want me to answer? Leave a comment! 🙂
P.S. If youre looking for ways to promote your blog, check out 31 Days to a Better Blog over on the SITSgirls Community.
Great advice! I think based on this post and the feedback I may go make some revisions of my own. I have been contemplating moving buttons I picked up from other sites to a stand-alone page to make everything a bit more streamlined and organized. I don’t have any paid advertisers with buttons, I just wanted to share the blog love to those who I really like and follow. Any thoughts?
This a great question…for me, I sometimes reply within the comment thread OR I will send a personal email about the comment/post and of course thank them for taking the time to stop by and visit. I’ve really connected to some awesome people that way and I think it builds a level of trust with my readers – this has also resulted in readers referring others to my site, guest blogs, and other fun blog acknowledgements. Sometimes I visit the commentor at their site and leave a little note letting them know I stopped by and maybe refer to a message they left me. I change it up depending on the day and how much time I have but all in all, I think recognition is key regardless what way you decide to do it.
This is another good question! In my experience, most bloggers don’t take the time to reply to comments. However, I think it really depends on your readership. When you are first starting out and getting only a couple of comments a day, replying can be a great way to build relationships and encourage readers to come back. It’s almost a way to build a “community” within your blog. On the other hand, once you start getting a large number of comments, it can be very hard to reply. While I do feel that it’s still important to reply to commenters who ask questions, I don’t think you necessarily have to reply to each comment.
Does anyone else have an opinion?
This is an interesting question… I’m not sure I’ve heard anyone say one way or the other! I’m curious now so am going to do a little “research”. 🙂 My personal opinion is that you should have at least 3-4 posts a week if you are really trying to build a readership. I sometimes struggle to continue following blogs when they only post once a week–I almost feel like I have to refresh my memory on the blog’s view point, etc. Of course it’s important that you aren’t posting just to post, but I’ve never felt that a blogger posting once a day was too much.
Again, all my opinion! 🙂 Good luck and do what feels right!
This is a great question! I’ll try to do a post on this in the next couple of weeks.