How to be a better blogger
Yes, this is my own version of how to be a better blogger. These are just my opinion but I highly suggest you read them if you want to make your visitors stay longer or if you plan to do advertisements through blog. If you feel that only one or two people will read your blog, then do as you please.
Shall we start?
Content and Readers
1. Find a topic that you’re very comfortable with. Almost all my blogs are filled with parenting and working from home stories. I find it easy to write about parenting because I enjoy reading about it as well. And it sorts of mold together with my work from home stories. This blog on the other hand will focus on everything that you can learn in the Internet.
2. Once you have found your main topic, make sure to exchange links with blogs similar as yours. That way, you can guarantee that your readers will be interested on what you have to say. I don’t see how a 17-year-old who’s into skateboarding can relate to my mommy articles.
3. Install plugins that will promote constant interaction such as comment email responder, >commentLuv, and >subscribe to comments. Keep the comments coming in by responding to them all the time. I always feel special whenever I receive replies from blog owners.
4. Update your blogs regularly. Your visitors will surely come back everyday if they know that they will read something new.
5. Make your RSS links visible so that people can easily subscribe to your feeds. I use FeedBurner for my feeds and it’s very easy to install.
6. Add a brief but very clear description of yourself. People loves to snoop around so knowing how your favorite technology blog owner loves to watch old sappy movies will make them seem more human.
On visuals:
1. If you are using wordpress, take advantage of the thousands of themes available in the Internet. It can give your blog a professional and clean look. I assure you, your readers will appreciate it. Go to the official website for Wordpress Themes.
2. Related to #1, don’t install every single javascript or cutesy plugin that you will find. The mouse cursor effect with the trailing stars or fairy dust might look magical but it certainly giving my browser a headache especially in IE when it’s susceptible to javascript problems.
3. Refrain from using small fonts. Some of us can’t read that well and there are those who are just too lazy to go to File > View > Text Size > Largest so they will just leave your blog instead of exerting an effort to read your oh-so-tiny fonts
4. Always use a white or light background. If you feel that black will suit your blog’s theme more, then use white as the font color and don’t forget to apply tip #3
5. Add links to websites and add pictures (not too big) to make your posts more real and interesting
There’s more but I will have to save those for another day when I’m not being harassed by a client to finish his website design.
