Some people are paying thousands of dollars to have their websites built for them. From the content and design to the keywords and everyday maintenance, choosing to go this route can really break the bank. Instead, a blog may be a more cost-effective avenue to explore. Continue reading so that you can build your own.
Make sure you write about things people find interesting and useful. Blogging about mundane things like vacuuming or doing dishes probably won’t hold anyone’s interest. If you don’t have a unique presentation for that information, then your readers probably won’t care. Choose topics that are sure to be interesting. The goal of your blog is to draw readers after all!
Providing an RSS-to-Email option is a great tip for those running a blog. This can be used so that readers have the ability to subscribe to all your latest posts without needing an RSS reader. Even today, lots of people do not use RSS, so using a RSS-to-Email service is crucial. An excellent choice for one is Feedburner.
Simplify your blog by avoiding inordinate amounts of multi-media. While pictures and the occasional video are definitely a nice touch, your words are more important than your ability to place obnoxious GIFs or pictures on your blog posts. Your readers will appreciate having balance in your posts and enjoying both written word and visual elements.
Make sure your posts don’t elicit the “It’s too long so I didn’t read it” response from your readers. Studies show that people stop paying attention more quickly when reading on the web than they do when reading print. For this reason, try to keep posts under 300 words or so. Some types of posts, such as scholarly articles, don’t suffer from this loss of attention of much as others, so know your audience.
Pay attention to what font you are using, the text size you choose, the color scheme you have in place and the title of your blog. All of these different factors affect how easily people can read what you have written. You want to make your blog user-friendly to everyone.
Post new content frequently on your blog to keep your readers interested and they will have the incentive to come back to your website regularly. As a very general rule of thumb, a daily post is the minimum for a good blog. If you aren’t sure where to start, think of material before you start posting. That way, you’ll have content to post for a while.
Whenever possible, utilize header tags in order to separate particular sections of your blog posts. All the different tags that you should use are H1, H2, and H3 tags. In addition, you should ensure that you are using excellent search engine keywords whenever you can in all these different headers.
Try doing some writing challenges. Push yourself by completing writing exercises. Try choosing a number of words per every post. Try writing personal stories. Create a how-to. Try writing a 100 item list. Write a specified number of posts within a certain time frame. Try expanding your skills beyond what you already possess.
Be sure to use a dictionary when writing content. There are many online, or even desktop-based dictionaries out there that you can use. This can be very useful when searching for synonyms or other words. Brushing up on proper English can be beneficial to both native speakers and non-native speakers alike.
Always try to make sure that you make your titles catchy and unique. Titles play a powerful role in catching the attention of your readers. It is important that you have a clever title that is interesting and has plenty of keywords so that your viewers can find your posts.
If you write your blogs in a list form, and use a lot of pictures, it will be easier for visitors to read. Articles that are set up in this fashion attract more people because the content can be read faster. Pictures will also help people stay interested in your work.
If you are writing an article, and it is under 500 words, it is best not to use it. People are reading your blog to gain knowledge or information, and you want to make sure that you are meeting this need properly. Articles that are too short will not give your readers everything they are looking for.
Creating relevant blog posts will improve your chance to get your website found by the search engines. As such, you’ll see a spike in readership as your page rank grows. Remember that a boost in visitors means a boost in readership, making your blog a very popular one.
A good way to keep readers coming back to your blog is to tell stories. We’ve all read blogs about the woman who is overweight and is beginning a new weight loss plan. Readers like to follow stories such as this, wanting to know what happens and what the end of the story will be. Keep your readers glued to your blog with a great story!
Add some questions at the end of your posts that will create discussion. When you leave your readers with a reason to interact, they will. Your questions should stir the thoughts of your readers and make them want to share their opinions, as well as debate with those who may offer a different point of view.
Strategically place short bits of relevant content up close to your page’s link bar. The area around the link bar attracts a lot of reader attention. One relevant bit of information you can put there is your total subscriber numbers. The link bar is not as popular as the start or the end of your post, so just use it as an overall subscribing aid.
Building your own blog will most certainly provide you with a sense of accomplishment. More than that, however, a blog is something that is totally your own. It is a reflection of your personality that you can share with others. When you’re ready to build a better blog, just remember to use the tips you’ve read above.