We have talked a lot about creating a Blog and promoting a blog, and this is the time when we should look into how to build a better blog. Blogging is a constant evolving subject and every day you will learn something new. Though, one of the most common Blogging mistake by Blogger is implementation part. People love to read about tips on Blogging, but hard part is implementing them. For example, we have talked about Guest posting campaign, which is sure shot method to take your blog to next level, but again very few blogger is utilizing the strategy. Anyhow, before I move ahead with this article, I would love to see many of you implementing these ideas and tips to build a better blog for yourself and for your readers.
If you are thinking about starting a blog, start with having a theme for what you will be writing about. If people like what they see, they will more than likely keep coming back to see what is new. It is possible for anyone to develop a blog that is original and interesting, whether it is humorous or serious in nature.
How to Build a Better blog :
Well, there are thousands of tips which you can implement and some of them are crucial and some of them are just basic tips, but when you see any advice for making your blog better, think how it’s going to help you and how your readers are going to get benefit after implementing these tips. For example, you might have heard about Facebook comment system and you will realize many blogs have implemented it, but does it fit your blog niche? Will your readers by comfortable commenting via Facebook profile (Privacy concern) and so on. My suggestion here is, look out for more advises, shortlist the one which you think is going to be beneficial and remove which are just another tip.
Active Commenter
Alright, let me start with very basic tip which distinguish a Blog from a Website/Portal. A Blog is one to many interaction along with readers have ability to add value to the topic via comments. When I read a blog post with some ideas or something interesting, I love to comment with my point of view. Sometime, it’s sad to see many Blogs allow commenting by registration or doesn’t have a comment form at all. Hell, commenting with registration, why not create a forum instead of blog then.
Keep commenting open, and respond quickly and courteously to every comment. This way, audience members are allowed to become active participants in your blog. It also helps you build a relationship between you and your readers. Additionally, if you respond to their comments, they will come back because they want to read what you have to say.More over, you can always comment in detail and add more value to the post. Even from search engine perspective, comments are useful and add more words (LSI, related words) and make your post better.
Accept Guest posts
Ask the owners of popular blogs to contribute a guest post to your site. This brings in more quality content. One good side effect of this strategy is that you’ll probably receive a traffic bump, as many bloggers link any guest posts they make to their own blogs. Engage in this strategy with multiple bloggers to increase the results!
Offer an incentive in terms of Backlinks, adsense revenue sharing and so on, which will attract more newbie and pro bloggers. If you have a high PR blog, inviting other blogger for guest posting will be easier.
Note : Make sure you link out to only relevant domains/niche and don’t accept out of the niche guest posts. After all, we have to make sure that we meet our readers expectations.
Eye Catchy Homepage
One of the most crucial tip to build a better blog, is by offering a usable and great blog design. When we talk about a great design, it doesn’t mean using lots of flash and images, but a fast loading page along with all essential elements for navigation. I’m not going to talk about Blog design in detail, as we all know how important a catchy and unique design is for a blog. Consider putting a little extra effort into your blog’s homepage. Many blogs use as their landing page a list of the most recent posts, but you can create a customized homepage. This will also become very useful in terms of helping search engines finds you. Depending upon your blog niche, you can always give it a magazine or blog layout.
If you are working on redesign of your blog, make sure you take care of Google new page layout algo to avoid any penalty related to too many ads. Using a HTML5 and responsive design is a plus point. You can look into Thesis, Swift and many other premium WordPress framework, which offers out of the box design and functionality.
Though, key point will be your colors and logo. Make sure, you take care of branding from level 0 to level 10. If you unsure, what I’m talking about, look into SocialMediaexaminer. Notice, how they have taken care of branding and also only essential elements are shown throughout. A strategic design, will make a huge difference for your blog.
Update Fresh Content
Add new content to your blog regularly. In order to keep your current subscribers visiting your blog, you need to keep giving them new content to read. Regular new content will also help you to attract new visitors. By not posting new content, readers will have no reason to come back to your blog. In general, you should try to post at least once a day.
Now, depending upon your strategy, if you are planning to cover latest update in your niche, lets say “tech”, make sure your blog is updated with latest and top news in the tech niche. Not only that, have your own insight in the post, which will make your news stand out. For example, “The new iPad” is launched and almost all tech blogs have covered about it, but if you wish to stand out, you need to cover news which will set your blog stand out from the crowd. For example, “Why I’m going to ditch iPad2 for new iPad”, “Why new iPad failed to tempt me” and so on. Instead of creating a new blog, give a call to action in every post.
Maximize Use Of Social Networking Sites
Use the micro-blogging capabilities of Twitter, tumblr, Pinterest to your advantage. These platforms can help you stay in touch with readers and inform them of new blog postings. A happy audience is a well-informed audience; with micro-blogging updates you can keep yours informed and interested in your work.
Create a list of network which consists of your target audience, like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and so on. Start building audience/followers on them and connect with them for long term relation. Instead of self-promotion try to become an authoritative source in your niche. Don’t feel shy to share news, links from other blogs, as people are subscribed to you for information, and good information is always appreciated.
Read:
- 101 tips to become social media rockstar
- Useful Social media monitoring tools
Bonus tip: If possible, instead of automatic posting, start doing manual posting on social networking site. Add your comment and opinion. And again, feel free to ask readers to like, re-share your content.
Content Is King
Posting regularly is key to having a good blog. You may lose readers to other blogs if they do not find new content on your blog when they expect it to appear. Exceptions, like holidays, will be forgiven by your readers, but the rest of the time you must stick to your schedule.
Maintain a post frequency, for example if daily posting is not possible, set a target of 2-3 posts a week. Work on editorial calender and schedule your post accordingly. If you are unable to write articles due to time-constraint, work on guest posting strategy as mentioned above. The idea is, give something to your readers and it’s better be a quality content.
Read:
Bonus tip : With Google new algo, my suggestion is to keep Keyword research and Onpage optimization in your mind. You should consider investing on EasyWpSEO plugin, which is one of the best on-page SEO plugin for WordPress.
Reduce Banners/Pop-ups
Advertisements have now become a big part of blogs, as this is an area where bloggers can help support the site. However, if your blog is cluttered up with too many adverts, there is a good chance people will get turned off and not stay long on your site. All the ads may prompt them to seek a site that is more helpful.
As previously stated, any person can write a blog that is interesting if they give new insights about a subject and mix up the content a little. Posting videos, pictures, or quotes from experts will make your posts more interesting. If you use the hints in this article, you can run a successful blog.
Well, these are some basic tips to build a Better blog. There are many more tips, which you can do today to be a better blogger and have a Blog, that people like to talk about. Here are some more tips, which will make your blog stand out of the crowd:
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Build a Better Blog with These Ideas for Newbies is a post from ShoutMeLoud - Shouters Who Inspires