On Rabu, 20 Mei 2009
To blog is very, very ‘in’. We either blog, or blog-post every now and then, or go around reading some blog or the other. Blogs are all so popular and so many that, more often than not, we’re spoiled for choice. Each time we come across a blog, we tend to judge or rate it. Some get tagged as great, some make it to the good list, whilst some languish at the bad or eeew position.
To make it to the great or at least the good list, you'll need to do quite a few things. Not too difficult, but you'll need to go about doing a few tweaks here and there. For starters, let's take a small step. Instead of targetting for a spot in the great or good list, we'll set our target as avoiding a listing in the bad or eeew position.
Righto... so here's what you DON'T need to do to have a serious chance of being a successful blogger.
WHAT YOU DON'T NEED TO DO:
* Flashy and elaborate templates are a sure no-no. All you need to have is a simple template that is well categorized and easy to navigate. Flashy templates don't just look amateurish but also take tremendously long to load. They can actually scare off visitors from your blog. The focus needs to be on the readability of the text and nothing else.
* Never write anything on your blog keeping in view Search Engine Optimization or the likes. Your blog will be read by humans, not by any crawler from a search engine. If it is to be popular, it'll have to be the readers who'll make it so and not the Google bot or one of its friends. Forget all you know about keyword density and SEO. Primary focus: reader. And none else.
* The third: widgets. Now every blog does use widgets and you're sure to find a few here too. What you need to be careful about is overusing them. You haven't a blog to display fancy widgets or templates. You've one because you want to share something unique with your audience and this, you intend to do through your posts. Let the posts take center stage and make sure everything else takes a back seat.
* Don't have a thousand links displayed on your blog. These are sure-fire ways to drive away traffic from your blog. Your blog must look neat and authentic and not some link farm. It is best to not have links pointing to other sites on your blog. If that isn't possible, try keeping it to a bare minimum so that readers get to read more of your blog than anything else.
* The last one, perhaps the most challenging one too. Forget about earning through your blog. You don't really have to try severely hard to earn your living via blogging. Sure you can have a few ads here and there on your blog but make sure you don't overdo it by splashing them all over the place. Your reader must be able to access your posts without having to wade through too many 'guest appearances'. Again, focus on the reader and none else.
Now that you've dodged these dangers, here's what you need to keep in mind: Your blog must be such that when a reader- your potential blog regular- gets to your blog, he must judge it to be one that'll benefit him in some manner or the other. When this happens, you're sure to turn these readers into avid blog followers.
To make it to the great or at least the good list, you'll need to do quite a few things. Not too difficult, but you'll need to go about doing a few tweaks here and there. For starters, let's take a small step. Instead of targetting for a spot in the great or good list, we'll set our target as avoiding a listing in the bad or eeew position.
Righto... so here's what you DON'T need to do to have a serious chance of being a successful blogger.
WHAT YOU DON'T NEED TO DO:
* Flashy and elaborate templates are a sure no-no. All you need to have is a simple template that is well categorized and easy to navigate. Flashy templates don't just look amateurish but also take tremendously long to load. They can actually scare off visitors from your blog. The focus needs to be on the readability of the text and nothing else.
* Never write anything on your blog keeping in view Search Engine Optimization or the likes. Your blog will be read by humans, not by any crawler from a search engine. If it is to be popular, it'll have to be the readers who'll make it so and not the Google bot or one of its friends. Forget all you know about keyword density and SEO. Primary focus: reader. And none else.
* The third: widgets. Now every blog does use widgets and you're sure to find a few here too. What you need to be careful about is overusing them. You haven't a blog to display fancy widgets or templates. You've one because you want to share something unique with your audience and this, you intend to do through your posts. Let the posts take center stage and make sure everything else takes a back seat.
* Don't have a thousand links displayed on your blog. These are sure-fire ways to drive away traffic from your blog. Your blog must look neat and authentic and not some link farm. It is best to not have links pointing to other sites on your blog. If that isn't possible, try keeping it to a bare minimum so that readers get to read more of your blog than anything else.
* The last one, perhaps the most challenging one too. Forget about earning through your blog. You don't really have to try severely hard to earn your living via blogging. Sure you can have a few ads here and there on your blog but make sure you don't overdo it by splashing them all over the place. Your reader must be able to access your posts without having to wade through too many 'guest appearances'. Again, focus on the reader and none else.
Now that you've dodged these dangers, here's what you need to keep in mind: Your blog must be such that when a reader- your potential blog regular- gets to your blog, he must judge it to be one that'll benefit him in some manner or the other. When this happens, you're sure to turn these readers into avid blog followers.
