Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You're only a stranger once.

More Blog Designs to Discuss

Filed Under Blog Review, Community, Design, Successful Blog | 110 Comments

muddy teal strip A

Successful bloggers are constantly trading ideas and talking about things.

Remember tonight is Tuesday Night Successful Blog Design Discussion Night.

Here are some more blog designs you might check out.

Koray Online about Web 2.0, technology, business, and college life.

koray online ws

Living with Music about collecting music and all that goes with it.

Living with music design

I Remember about brief experiences and feelings.

I Remember design

A Venture Forth about venture capitalism.

A Venture Forth design

Travel Dive about scuba diving.

Travel Dive design

Phil Renaud blog page “35 sexiest websites.”

phil renaud design

muddy teal strip A

Come if you can. If not it will be just Javier and me, figuring out how to comment on everyone’s blog.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
NEW————->> Cool Designs April 2006
Call for Designers
Blog Promotion: Checking Out Curb Appeal
GAWKER Design: Curb Appeal as Customer-Centered Promotion
Turning Reluctant Readers into Loyal Fans
Blog Design Checklist

SEO–Five Traits of Relevant Content

Filed Under Blog Review, Content, SEO, Successful Blog, Writing | 28 Comments

Practical SEO for Every Blogger

Five Traits of Relevant Content

Relevant is the keyword. Content without “relevant” is less than content. Who would want to post something irrelevant? Here are five traits of relevant content.

Relevant content is text.
Search Engines love quality relevant content. They love quality content because readers do. Content here means text, not graphics or photos. That’s where search engines and readers see pages differently. Readers “read” photos and graphics; search engine spiders crawl right past them. So under that photo or graphic include a caption explaining what’s in it.

Relevant content is fresh and free-flowing.
Search engine spiders are demanding creatures. They want original, relevant content to list for their readers–and lots of it. Provide original content with accuracy and frequency about topics readers search for, and your posts will be born relevant.

Relevant content is formatted.
When your document follows a structured format, a search engine can follow how topics relate. Relationships between topics establish that keywords aren’t just mentioned–they are connected and relevant.

Relevant content is linked–Links in, links out, and links to yourself are relevant.
Spiders crawl the web by following links. Links draw spiders to related pages from blog to blog and within your blog. Connections in content are inherently relevant.

Relevant content is error free and accessible.
Open HTML tags, gross errors in spelling, and unnecessary plugins trip spiders. Enough said.

Relevant content is what readers are searching for, what spiders are crawling for, what bloggers are blogging for–right?

I’d rather not blog than be irrelevant.

I think there’s a t-shirt in that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Next Week–Interview 2: The Reign of Ellen

Filed Under Blog Review, Community, Interviews, Successful Blog | Leave a Comment

An Interview with ELLEN who’s been blogging since 2003, and
The Reign of Ellen where you’ll enter the Blogdom of Royalty.

Ellen Alone

Click her picture. See the blog that crowns readers Kings and Queens.

See you then!

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Blog Hooks that Bring Readers Back

Filed Under Audience, Blog Review, Content, Marketing, Successful Blog, Writing | 8 Comments

Since this is Building Readership Week at Successful Blog, I have to share this with you.

Some posts are a 10 out of 10. Darren Rowse’s post Blog Hooks – Elements that Draw Readers Back is one of them. In it he lays out the qualities that hook readers into becoming devoted fans. He says

We are blogging in a context where there are literally millions of blogs, in some niches there are hundreds (if not thousands) of alternatives for people to read. Successful blogs do something that makes them distinct from the rest.

They are not ‘just another blog on ((insert topic here))’ – they are ‘the blog that….((insert ‘hook’ here))’

He then lists what he thinks are the seven most intriguing hooks for readers.

Some appeal to readers who are thinkers. Some appeal to readers who are feelers. All tell readers that their time is well invested. Every one in some way tells readers this is a quality experience.

Imagine a blog that has 3 or more of Darren’s “hooks.” How could a reader leave without planning to return?

Sometimes you have to say, “I wish I wrote that.”

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Done These Lately?

Filed Under Audience, Blog Review, Marketing, SEO, Strategy, Successful Blog | 9 Comments

This is Building Readership Week at Successful Blog. Have you done these three things lately?

This is going to be one fun week.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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