How to Blog Series
When was the last time you looked at your blog the way your readers do? If you write only for yourself, you look at it that way every day. . . . You are your audience. You’re done.
The rest of us are looking for an audience a little bit larger than one.
Humans have unconscious tendencies. We do lots of the things we like to do and ignore the things we don’t. This makes for a blog that looks great from our point of view, but can leave gaping holes–holes that our readers see, holes they probably won’t tell us about.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s okay to leave things out, as long as we know that we’re doing it. Not every blog has to do everything. In fact, most really shouldn’t. But walking around with a hole in your blog could be embarrassing, especially if you don’t know about it.
Here’s a checklist to make sure your blog’s (ahem) vital parts are covered.
Blog Review Checklist
- Audience: What words would your readers use to describe your blog? What do they like best about your site?
- Purpose: What is the purpose of your blog? Why does it exist? Is the purpose stated plainly where your readers can see it? How well does your blog meet that purpose?
- Content: How well does the content support the purpose? Is the content readable, interesting, accurate, entertaining, and appropriate for your audience?
- Design: How well does the look of the blog communicate the kind of blog it is? Is navigation easy and intuitive? Do items flow naturally from the first to the next? Do the color palette, image, and type choices support the content or call attention away from it?
- Posts: Do you post on a consistent schedule the information readers came to find? Do your posts reflect the unique purpose and style of your blog? Do they offer variety and interest within your blog’s purpose and theme?
- Comments: Do you read and respond to comments to form a sense of community? Consider which posts get most comments and which get none. How does that effect the topics that you’re posting on?
- Technical Issues: Have you checked lately to see whether and how fast your blog loads in other browsers? Have you overdone the use of plug-ins and gadgets, making the experience more confusing than fun?
- Writing: Is your writing clear and respectful of your readers? Have you established a writing voice that lets readers know who you really are? Is the blog essentially free of errors in grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation?
- Organization: Have you set up your categories to draw readers into your backlist? Do you feature “Golden Oldies” that new readers would have interest in? Do you name your Categories things that readers can understand?
- Marketing and Social Networks: What are you doing to let readers know that you are here? Are you listed in the right directories? Do you read and comment on other blogs within your readership? Have you included linked to the social networks where your ideal readers spend their time?
Sure it takes time to review your blog. It takes even more to make tweaks and changes. But you invest so much time blogging. Doesn’t it seem worth it?
A rule of good publishing says, Spare the reader not yourself. In the end, you won’t be sorry.
Be irresistible.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!
Thanks for sharing your link with us. It might be nice had you also shared your name.
Good stuff! It would probably make sense to add “Delivery Options” to this list. Be able to offer your RSS feed and the ability to add to my yahoo, bloglines, etc right off the bat. If not on the front page, then somewhere obvious. Options, readers like options.
Under second read, I guess that would probably already be covered under design and marketing. Carry on…
Please note that the first comment was not posted by me and I do not know who did or why. I loved the post and linked/referred to both the author and blog in my original entry.
@Ross/Liz: It’s a trackback. It’s done automatically by most blogging software when you reference a post in your own blog. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrackBack
Sam,
It makes sense though to be explicit. I’ll add that into the checklist. under Marketing as you suggested.
Liz
Thanks Ross,
The mistake is probably mine.
Thanks Sam. For that Trackback clarification. I’ve been confused for quite a while about exactly how a TrackBack works. I’ll leave my remark of shame (blush) for all to see.
smiles, Liz
I think it was more likely a pingback, not a trackback.
A trackback is purposeful in that the author of the entry has to enter the trackback URI of the post s/he wishes to trackback to when publishing the post.
A pingback is automatic in that if I include a URI in any entry, my blogware will send a pingback to that URI. If the receiving blogware is able to handle pingbacks then the excerpt from the pinging entry will be inserted as a comment in the pinged blog.
Since Ross has no knowledge of that comment (which he would if he purposely trackbacked you) then I would think it was an automatec pingback from his WP installation to yours.
Thanks Jon for that explanation. I always thought the two were the same thing, but it makes total sense now that you explain it. Even the words seem self-explanatory. I appreciate your stopping by.
smiles,
Liz
Yep, Jon is exactly right on this. WP automatically pingbacks when a link is placed in a post to another WP blog’s post.
Many people get the two confused.
I’m new to Word Press by about 10 days now. It’s got it’s glories, but I drive a five on the floor. I’ll never be totally comfortable with machines, in this case software deciding things for me. 🙂
Thanks to you nad Jon. At least I won’t be getting confused about what it is anymore.
Liz
CT Biz Blogs point out a common pitfall we all can fall into–doing things one way because that’s how we learned it.
Thanks for adding to the conversation, CT Biz!
Re: trackbacks and pingbacks; Well, I guess I demonstrated both a pingback and a trackback!
I have a WordPress blog, and put the trackback URL into the trackback field in the editing form. I forgot that WordPress pingsback other WordPress blogs. So I wound up leaving 2 entries in here. It looks to me as if the first entry is the trackback, and the second is the pingback. Neither one has my name.
Maybe that’s something I need to format in my admin desktop. Oh boy, more holes.
Well, first of all no harm done. Twice the attention is better than none. 🙂 The place to check out your settings is options Discussion. I think you’re right about which is which based on the format.
But no worries. Word Press holds many mysteries for people just learning it. I’m blogger trained so I’m in heaven right now.
Liz
David,
Thanks for thinking my checklist worth talking about.
Liz
Thanks for thinking my Blog Review Checklist was worth sharing with your readers. 🙂
Liz
Great Advice! Thanks!
Great useful tips. Really takes in consideration of the viewers perspective.
Hi Mike,
Glad you found it useful. I get charge out of making things that people can walk away with and immediately put to work. YEA!
Come again! You’re not a friend here.
Hello Liz!
Thank you for a very help set of pointers for setting up a new blog.
I’m currently researching to start my first blog and, sometimes, I feel like a Scottish cowboy trying to lasso cattle as I learn about blogging…
For example, in all my travels, I’ve still to find a post that explains HOW to add content to a pre-launch blog i.e. using WordPress without making the blog live/ without it pinging or being seen before launch day.
The nearest I’ve found is how to install WordPress on your pc- hardly simple e.g. transferring the content-filled blog up to your server for the first time etc.
If there’s a better way to build a blog prior to launch day, I’d love to find out.
Still lassoing…
Hi Scott,
Those are good questions all.
In short, you’re making it too hard.
Write the posts as drafts. Then fire them all on the day that you launch, giving them any date that you want.
(be realistic)
No need to install WordPress on your pc really — unless you’re self hosting, but it sure seems that way until you understands how it all works.
Bingo!!! With that one suggestion, you’ve helped solve the mystery of how to create my pre-launch blog.
As with most solutions, the key is simplicity- the more familiar I become with the “tools”, the easier it should become to focus on the important stuff like the content (I’m raring to go on that one!)
I’m a new subscriber to Successful Blog because, even though I’m currently at the planning/ researching, I value the ideas and advice shared here by both yourself and your readers.
It’s excellent, so thank you. 🙂
Great checklist on blog marketing. Another point I would add is to watch anchor text distribution (keyword links text) in your blogs as it can greatly influence your search rankings (if they are going to be published or shared outside your own site). Favour branded, unique and URL links anchor texts and restrict exact match keyword links.