Improve Your Blog
5 Quick & Easy Tips For Improving Your Blog from the December Blogcatalog.com newsletter:
1. Purchase your own domain. This will dramatically increase your design and functionality options.Number 4 is the logical starting point. Too many people feel an urgent necessity to blog but have no idea what to write about. Then they whine and complain about it, about a lack of readers, followers and comments. Why would anyone besides the writer's mother read a blog with no focus? The goal need not be overt, but it guides and shapes your writing. Listen to this article
2. Connect with other bloggers. Forming these connections can help inspire you, get you over hurdles and provide a sounding board for new ideas.
3. Try a new theme. While content is king, looks are important too. Catch readers attention with a slick new theme.
4. Find clarity. Clearly defining the purpose of your blog will make decisions about content and design simpler.
5. Always be writing. Good writers are always writing. It keeps your mind limber and gives you a stock pile of good post ideas.
posted by Georganna Hancock M.S. | 8:19 AM
7 Comments:
You say it all with such economy!
Yes, I imagine that #4 is the most important one after #1, of course.
I worried about #5, until I realized that I am always writing, even if it's not for a story. I try to really put thought into every email, twitter, and comment I send. Maybe not successfully every time, but at least I'm trying...and writing!
Good advice here. Thank you.
Hi Marisa. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your comment. Good for you, putting thought into everything you write. I advocate making the most of each opportunity to practice writing well. You're on the right track!
About beginning to blog, I do feel that you would do better first determining the purpose for your blog. The goal drives everything, including the choice of a domain name. This site uses the "info" extension because that was the primary reason for writing it -- to provide information. If I had first intended to sell products and/or services, I would have tried for a "com."
If I were blogging about, oh, say, the top show felines in my home state, I would have called it "California Dreamcats" or something equally silly. That really was the name of the first website I crafted in one of my classes on site design.
At this point, if I decided to blog to promote myself (as an author, speaker, religious leader or something like that), I would try to get a domain name that matches mine, probably GLHancock DOT whatever fits (org, net, name, us, etc.)
Great advice Georganna. I recently redesigned my nonfiction blog to better reflect exactly what it is I write about, and I'm already seeing more visitors as a result. My husband has given me the "go" to buy a domain name, and hosting, but I don't feel that I'm in the right place to do that yet, at least not the hosting; I will buy my domain name. I'm going to upgrade my Wordpress to dot org to give myself more control over the design and go from there. I realized, when writing my mission statement, that I have too much going on in my blog, which made me start thinking about registering a couple more so that the site itself is more clearly defined. I'm not sure if that makes sense or not, I'm quite tired at the moment. In any case, I feel confident that taking these baby steps to build my name as an author will pay off well in the long run.
Thanks for a great post!
Oh, I've got that last one down. I'm always blabbing on... ;)
Great reminder. I don't have a domain specific to the blog, but it's on my list of things to do.
Thanks for commenting, Lori and Deanna (sounds like 'Georganna"!) I don't know if WordPress allows this, but with Blogger, you can have a dedicated domain name and still use the Blogspot free server. I think it looks more professional.
You are off to a nice start, Deanna, and there's always a lot more to learn. You can tinker with a blog or website endlessly. I agree that yours has too many focus points and honestly, I think one blog is enough for one person. Aim for quality. Stick with a niche, and remember it is not all about you, it's all about your readers/viewers/visitors.
Great advice Georganna. I started my blog to get me writing with some consistency. It is a ramble about life, but I know I can and should try to give it more of a focus. I'm not very blog savvy and will probably keep it simple. That's not to say I wouldn't love to have the freedom to design my own blog. I just know my limitations.
I am going to redo it for the new year.
Elizabeth
PS thanks for coming by and the Christmas wishes:)
Hey, ElizabethR. I love receiving comments, especially one like yours -- readers always open my eyes to something I left out of the post. These guidelines do not apply to a blog that has mostly a personal use rather than business purpose.
Anyone is perfectly free to do whatever she wishes with a blog; online journaling is often easier than fumbling with a hard copy diary and finding a pen that works!
Writing just for fun or as a hobby is fine, too. Don't make work out of it if that was not the intent in the first place. Making a hobby into a business usually kills all the fun of a pastime.
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