If there has been one thing I have done over the last 6 months or so that has helped my blog more than anything, it was when I really stepped back and looked at my blog. In today’s edition of 28 Days to Build a Successful Blog I want you to do the same.
Take some time and really look at your blog
When I did this last fall and actually spent some time digging into Blog For Profit, I discovered that our design needed some serious attention. It was awful. It lacked a lot of what you see now with it. First of all, it was just a basic design. We had no way to highlight any of the post or any of the “best of” post either.
I was completely lacking an About Page, which we have already discussed in this series. People want to know you and they want to read about you on your blog. And we also completely redesigned the banner and logo. Our original design lacked personality and I hope what we have done has added that. If you are not establishing your own “brand” for your blog, now is the time to consider this. Giving your blog its own brand is a great way to set you apart from the other millions of blogs out there. Do something different that people will remember. We even extend our “brand” to the default avatar we use for our comments too.
Next, are you giving your readers a reason to take some form of action. If you look at the Home Page of this blog, you will see a sign up for a 7-day Ezine. And when you get to the Blog’s main page, you will see an opportunity for our readers to sign up for our Newsletter. Both are adding to the community we are building here at Blog For Profit. Make sure you have a call to action for your readers.
As you continue to look at your blog, is the text or font size easy to read. If there is one thing which causes me to leave a blog quicker than anything it is when it is hard to read. Look at the font and font size. Can you read it. Ask others if it is easy on the eye. And please don’t put your entire post content on a black background. I find that to be one of the hardest styles to read.
Finally, for this post I want to touch on just one more item I want all of you to consider. Are your post easy to read as far as format and style. Are you using sub-headers, bullet points and numbered paragraphs? On your sub-headings, are you trying different colors? These are all things I try to do so the post are easier to read. People like to scan and using these formating techniques catch their attention and cause them to stop and read more.
Today’s assignment
Take some time and step back and take a serious look at your blog. Check those items I have mentioned above and see what you have on your own blog. And if there are other items you think we should be looking at, leave them in the comments. Lets keep the conversation going.
