A Great Idea for a Blog is No Longer Enough!
Posted on 11. Sep, 2009 by admin in Blogging
There are heaps of blogs on the internet ranging from artists displaying their work to how to paint a zebra. It can be really tough to distinguish your blog from all the others. Whether you are starting up a new blog aimed at bloggers or whether you are looking to make your existing blogging site more distinctive and colorful, the key to building and maintaining a blog site, that will capture the interest and attention of the blogging community, is finding your niche.
When you fill a unique need in a way that no other blog does, then you have found your niche. You then can build a lasting relationship with your readers by giving your subscribers what they want. Once you have discovered your niche, you will still have a lot to do, but finding your one of a kind place in the blogosphere is the place to start.
Every blog should start with a great idea. There are heaps of sites aimed at today’s bloggers so competition is fierce. To get your blog to stand out from the crowd you need to offer something that no other site is currently offering, or find a micro-niche of an already popular site but with a twist. The twist would be adding extra value to your readers.
One way to discover an ideal style for your blog is to look at other blogs that have already got a good following. Look at these blogs, analyze what the blogger does and says. Read the comments from their readers – this will give you an insight as to what the readers are asking. Hmm your niche could be in their questions.
Adding a unique flair to your blog will make you stand head and shoulders from your competition. Websites and blogs that do the best in today’s market are those sites that have personality, character and individuality. Surfers of blogs are a demographic that responds strongly to personality, so consider how you can give your blog a distinctive and attractive feel by lending your own voice and personality to your site’s content and design. Just be you.
Right, you’ve got your idea for your blog, you’ve narrowed down your niche, you’ve got pizzaz and personality on your site, the next step is getting the word out to bloggers and web surfers. A great idea isn’t enough to drive your blog site to success. A simple yet smart and realistic marketing plan should be used in order to draw readers to your site.
Once you hook a blogger, your unique content, style and personality will keep them coming back for more.
A Great Idea for a Blog is No Longer Enough!Blog Design: What Can You Do To Increase Website Traffic
Posted on 21. Aug, 2009 by admin in List Building
Today, in this fast-paced world, people get annoyed when they visit a blog that doesn’t look good. They get frustrated and leave. That little X box is clicked on and you have lost a potential visitor. We all want our blog to look good, I know I do.
To get your visitors to read your content and to want to come back for more there are some simple blog design strategies that you can do.
#1: Design
You have a very short time for your blog to make an impact on your reader. Does it hit them in the face with bright colors or does it draw them in so they want to stay and read your content. Having a simple or minimalistic design can create harmony for the reader.
Is your ‘above the fold’ area too cluttered? Does your text tell the reader what the blog name is and what the blog is about?
The use of white space is very effective in drawing your readers into your blog. White space means the empty space on your blog. The human eye needs this space so that we can easily see what is there.
#2: Does the design compliment the content?
Blog design and related content go together. If you visit a blog that sells dog blankets and they have an article on trout fishing, would you stay? Most likely not, I know I wouldn’t. It would confuse me and I wouldn’t go back to that blog.
Font and font size needs to be considered as well. Are your fonts modern or are they curly and old-fashioned. Images are another important factor in designing your blog to be visibility enticing. Keep your images to one size and place them in the same place in your posts. This gives the reader familiarity and confidence so that when they go back to your blog things will be in the same place.
#3: Is Your Design a Platform for your Content?
The purpose of your blog design is to draw your reader to the content. Are your posts easily found? Or are they buried under uncategorized categories. Do you have ads that detract from the reader and make them want to run from your blog.
#4: Is your design functional?
Blog readers want to know about you, they want to know your story. Have you got your ‘My Story’ and ‘About Me, on your blog.
Navigation Bars – Is your navigation bar on the right side, left side, top or bottom of your blog. Books read from left to right so it makes sense to have our navigation bar at the top and on the left side. Eyetrack research has shown that our eyes are most often fixated on the upper left of the page. Only after looking at the top of the page do our eyes explore further down the page. It makes sense then to put your navigation bar top and left of your blog.
Take a look at other blogs to give you an idea of want you want your blog to be. While you are looking, write down what you like and don’t like. Then and only then change your blog or get your web-designer to do it. It will be worth it.
I’m off to do this myself to this blog.
