Successful Blog

Adding a WIDEbar — a 2-column widebar — to a Blogger Beta Blog

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Blogger Beta Gets Cool

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Blogger Beta is finally tying up its loose ends, presenting templates with style, and offering bloggers new functions. Hackers are having fun with making changes too.

Great Find:
Adding a wider-sidebar to your blog
Permalink: http://stubborn-fanatic.blogspot.com/2006/11/wider-sidebar-widebar-sidebar.html

Target Audience: Google Blogger and Blogspot blogggers
Content: Documenting Fanaticism is a real find for Blogspot bloggers. From the moment that you land on the home page, you’ll notice that the familiarity of the template only serves to show you the skills of the blogger who has made it into something more in so many ways that haven’t been seen before. Tabs across the top announce and organize the blog into well-defined site locations:

  • Home
  • beta hacks/talk
  • Book Reviews
  • contents
  • projects
  • quotes
  • software
  • Disclaimer

The blog itself welcomes readers with the following statement:

Welcome to the new layout of my blog. I am very happy to announce that with this new layout, my blog is now fully compatible with internet explorer as well. If you like this layout, learn how to implement it here.

The “here” it speaks of is the Great Find I’m sending you to. Click the title below to get there.

Adding a wider-sidebar to your blog

Blogger Beta has taken hold.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Writing for That One Most Important Reader: That Curious, Clever, Intelligent Individual

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How Do You Write for Everyone?

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How easy it is to get overwhelmed when I think of how individual each reader is. How can I possibly meet what they expect, when each of them comes with a different goal, a different history, and a different mind set?

Whatever the subject I choose to write on, I can be sure that some readers will know it far better than I do and some will have never encountered it before. How do I bridge gap to write a piece that meets learners on solid ground while engaging readers with significant expertise? These writing questions are central for anyone who writes for an audience of more than two people they already know.

How do I answer these questions for myself and for others?

I give them the answer Big Roy discovered.
[Read more…]

“What’s Your Most Successful Post, Liz?”

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Did You Really Think I’d Pick Just One?

The answer to the What’s yours? question that you’ve asked me is that I have two most successful posts here and one at my writing blog.

If it has to be one, my choice is a favorite child that think of as the most outstanding piece — it’s human, heartfelt, and hopeful. It still moves me when I read it.

Walking on Water

It’s the essay I offered as a prize. And, Starbucker, there is a car in it.

Liz's Signature

If You Want Me to Care, Tell Me Who You Are

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Identity, Credibility, Humanity

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It happened twice last night. I was reading a new blog and got interested. I went to the About page and there was none. . . .

Most blogging templates come with an About page — a page ready for the blogger add a bio and background. Here at Successful-Blog the About Liz page is so often visited, the page itself has a Google Page Rank of 5!

Why is that?

It’s not because I am so particularly fascinating. It’s because people want to know who’s talking to them.

When I study my referral logs, I check the visitor paths. New readers come. They read a while, and then, go to the About page. It’s not unusual for visitors who read several posts,to return to the About page more than once in a visit. I see that happen daily.

A well-written About page offers asset value and provides a service to readers. It begins a relationship on three levels.

  • Identity. An About page welcomes visitors who come to your blog by telling them something about you.
  • Credibility. It lets your readers see your personal stake in the blog and how only you could write it.
  • Humanity. The About page lets readers know there’s a person behind the blog. Without it, you’ve left an anonymous letter.

Write an About page that introduces you. It’s sets up your brand and starts our relationship. It makes that first connect between us as writer and reader. We’re all so busy and anonymous sources are unreliable at best.

I want to care about what you write. Please tell me who you are.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

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Leaving Folks Room to Comment — Why It’s Imposstible Most of the Time

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In April — Advice from Readers Yea!

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The conversation finally occurred on a Sunday last April. I’d been trying to work out why something was happening. It seemed the more I wrote, the less folks were commenting. Then finally someone said something — a lovely compliment — that put words to what I’d been feeling might be the issue. He said.

I used to comment more than I do now, but she writes so completely that I find it difficult to add my thoughts to hers.

That thought led to me writing, An Open Thought: Please Take the Keys, a post where I said . . .

Please Take the Keys

Movie stars have directors. Olympic athletes have coaches. I’m just a blogger. I have you.

If we’re talking about customer think–brand you and me–what better case study than this blog itself? You can’t hurt my feelings talking about my writing. I know it’s not who I am. I’d like to know how to get myself off the stage and back into the audience again. Will you tell me what you see? Would you do me that favor? Just say YES.

Sometimes the customer needs to be in the driver’s seat. Please take the keys.

How will I learn if you don’t?

And after a few moments of testing the waters. YEA! and Thank you! for everyone who did.

People gave me lots of feedback and great advice. I grew a lot as a blogger that day. Leaving folks room to talk was a big take away for me.

In August — Advice from Liz Uh-Oh

In August when I wrote the post, 10 Reasons Readers Don’t Leave Comments, I was sure to include that — always leave room for people to comment.

I bring it up here because, I have to say that I’ve found that about half the time it’s bad advice. Some kinds of writing need to be complete. End of story.

So I’m here to say that,

It would be silly to leave out part of a how-to post so that people can add it back in as a comment.

It would be frivolous to drop out a fact from a persuasive argument.

You might not want to omit an event in a retelling of a news story.

The only place I’m sure that you can leave room safely is when you’re writing a list post. I’m sorry I gave you bad advice. I’m a long ways from perfect.

By the way, I’m still doing all I can to get off that stage and back into the chair beside you. I still appreciate any help you have on that. I like being eye-to-eye with people I talk to. It’s friendlier.

The keys to the blog are always there on the sidebar.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help with a problem you’re having with your writing, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

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An Open Thought: Please Take the Keys
10 Reasons Readers Don’t Leave Comments
5 Sure-Fire Ways to Break the Promise of Your Brand
Bad Boys of Writing: Just Write and It Will Be Spectacular