Over the past few weeks, a few different bloggers have asked me questions like "how do you get so many followers?" "how do you get so many comments?" and "how do you maintain your blog?" so I thought it would be interesting to discuss and share some of my blogging tips and hear what you guys think. While I'm by no means a blogging expert and my blog definitely isn't one of the most popular out there, I feel like over the past year and a half of blogging I've gained some experience that I'd like to share.
Layout:-Keep your layout very simple. Pick a simple color scheme and definitely create a pretty header.
Rachel did this header for me, but for my other blog I created my header using
Scrapblog.
-White space is important. A cluttered blog layout makes me stop reading immediately. Do you have all kinds of clutter/applications on the side of your blog? It's distracting to the reader.
-Make it easy for your readers to contact you. Make sure your e-mail address is somewhere on the main page of your blog.
-Make sure your RSS feed button is very clear so readers can easily subscribe.
Content:-Keep a list of topics that you might want to write about. I have a running word document full of topics that I randomly think of. If I'm ever pressed for a topic, I go to that list and choose one.
-Don't use your blog as a diary of your every day life. Sorry, that's a little boring. YES, please tell us about interesting things that happen to you and stories you want to share, but by all means, we don't need to know that you went to class, went to work, ate dinner with your family every day. It doesn't make for interesting content.
-Participate in weekly features. Most of you know that each week I host
Where In The World Wednesday's (which is tomorrow, by the way!) If you scroll through the comments, you can go to each of the other blogs that participate and meet new bloggers. Another feature that I love to read and am planning on participating in this week is
Lilu's TMI Thursday. Weekly features get your name and blog link out there while sharing interesting content with your readers.
-Use photos in your posts when possible. It makes your post more interesting to look at. Let's be honest, when you see a ton of text, do you want to read the entire thing? Using photos helps break up the text which is a good thing.
-Use bullets or lists when possible. People like to scan posts before they decide to read them and bullets and lists just aren't as intimidating as a ton of text.
Building a readership:-Comment often. It's pretty simple. If you want someone to read your blog, it's common courtesy to comment on theirs. You don't need to comment on every single post, but I try to comment at least a few times a week on my favorite blogs.
-However, don't comment just for the sake of commenting. Only comment if you actually have something to say. Meaningful comments are much better than random meaningless comments.
-Reply to comments you receive.
-Make sure to visit each blog that leaves a comment on your blog and try to comment at least once. It's common courtesy. If you find that you don't like the blog, no need to add it to your reader or comment regularly, but at least show the person that you appreciated their comment by returning the visit.
-Join
20sb. It's a great place to find new blogs to read and to share your own blog. If you're already a member of
20sb, become more active on the
discussion boards and add new friends often.
-Blog regularly. It doesn't have to be every single day, but get yourself on some kind of schedule so you actually do it. If you're blogging regularly, your readers know where to find you and will keep coming back for more.
-Most importantly, be friendly and be yourself!
Comments:
-Many people don't agree with my on this one, but PLEASE take the word verification out of your comments. I know you don't want spammers and neither do I, but when you read 100 blogs a day and try to comment on several of them, those 5 seconds spent trying to decipher the little blurred word and typing it into Blogger really does count.
-Replying to comments is an excellent way to make new blog friends and keep readers. However, DO NOT reply to a comment IN your own comments section. When I read and comment on a blog, I don't usually come back to see if the blogger replied to me. Like I said above, I read so many blogs a day (and usually in my Google Reader) so I don't go searching for replies to comments.
If you are using Blogger, MAKE SURE that you click SHOW MY E-MAIL ADDRESS in the user profile section of your dashboard. This way, when a blogger receives your comment in their inbox, they can click reply and VOILA! They can e-mail you back. It's a beautiful thing.
-Inviting readers to comment by posing a question or asking them to share a story or experience will get you way more comments than just posting your own post. It seems kind of silly, but a question at the end of the post prompts a reader to think and makes them want to share their opinion too.
Now that I've given you my blogging tips...what do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Feel free to share your blogging tips in the comments.
It's Wednesday and that means it's time for my feature, Where In The World Wednesday!
Florence, Italy
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