I have a blog, and I read blogs. Neither of those facts makes me any sort of blogging pro, but in my opinion, these tips will make reading your blog more enjoyable for anyone who visits. 🙂
1) Make an “About” page.
Keep it fairly short, but give me the basics I need to know for your blog to make sense if this is my first visit. For instance: If you frequently blog about your kids, tell me their ages and [blog] names. This makes my blog-reading life much less confusing. Update anytime something significant changes.
2) Streamline your categories.
Identify the main things you blog about, and make those your categories. Then make them easy for me to find, either in a navigation bar, or perhaps in your sidebar.
3) Let me read your feed in my feed reader.
In this post by Tentblogger, he says it pretty bluntly: “If your visitor has taken the time to subscribe to your blog then you should do everything that you possibly can to serve them the content in the fullest way possible! I believe that if they want to read it via their RSS Reader then they want to read it IN their RSS Reader!”
There are some really wonderful blogs that I’d like to subscribe to, but if I can’t read the feed in my feed reader, then what’s the point of subscribing?
4) Let me easily turn off music.
If you choose to have music, please make it EASY for me to turn off. I often have more than one tab open in my browser to read several blog articles, and having several different blogs playing music all at once is particularly crazy-making.
If you choose to allow comments, please make it easy. . .
5a) Double-check your comment settings.
On blogger, for instance, if you choose “users with google accounts,” that means no one can comment without a google account; that may eliminate comments from friends who don’t blog, or who only have accounts with other blog hosts.
5b) If possible, please don’t use captcha codes.
I hate spam, so I understand the reasoning behind it, but if at all possible, try using comment moderation instead of captcha codes. I know blogger and wordpress both allow this. (I love the fact that wordpress only requires that I moderate a comment from a commenter one time, and then they are on my “approved commenter” list.)
6) Paragraphs are your friend.
It’s so much easier to read (or occasionally skim) blog posts that have paragraphs. Maybe even put your main point in bold type. If you (like me) are too loquacious to keep every post short and to the point, it’s best to make it easy for readers to figure out what your point really is.
What suggestions would you add?
Wife, mama, homeschooler, dog-wrangler. Introvert who finds joy in good books, sunshine, and authentic conversation. Fitness enthusiast and strength coach. Often seen with a steaming mug of tea in hand.
Wow, great list! I’m off to make some changes on my blog 😉
Jamie- I love this post! Agree with it all!
Thanks for stopping by today & for the encouraging words. I think we are on the same page on this one 🙂
I don’t know how to add the RSS thingy to my blog. Do you really think it’s necessary? Don’t most people use Google Reader or something similar where you can just add a blog to the list?
I am stymied by the technologies, man.
And YES – I hate embedded music! I refuse to read blogs that have it.
Your blog has a feed automatically, so readers can use google reader or whatever to read that. But you can set up a Feedburner account if you are interested. A helpful how-to post on that is here.
Great list! You are right about the embedded music, it drives me crazy.
Great list Jamie. (Want to know my pet peeve right now? Blogs where the blog column is smaller than the columns of affiliates and ads.) I love your clean fresh style and your worthy content. Keep it up Jamie….I love reading.
GREAT Tips!
Great post!
Music – no matter how beautiful we think it is – has got to go. Nothing makes me leave a blog faster than that. I have opinions about what is easy to read, what is “too much” advertising and so on but music on a blog is almost always a “never go there again” experience for me. Sleeping babies & blog reading have to be compatible! 😉
I’m a visual learner, so I like pictures :-).
And I agree about the music, sometimes when clicking over to a blog, the music will actually startle me…but this is usually due to my husband having turned the volume waaay up the last time he was using the computer :-).
Wonderful post!
Great list. I agree 100% about the music. I can be really frustrating to have music on a blog when I’m trying to listen to something else in the background while I’m reading.
1. Finally have an ‘About Me’ page…but have to admit, it feels odd to talk about myself in a way that will ‘grab’ readers. 2. Streamlining catergories…you’re the 2nd person to suggest that, I thought making my labels ‘specific’ would be easier??? 3. I have a ‘Subscribe’ page with BlogLines that my Blog Creator made…have no idea what BlogLines is…or if I have any subscribers! I’m pretty sure I have FeedBurner, which feeds automatically into Twitter, which is (supposed) to feed into FaceBook…I need help! 4. I finally ditched the music (even though *mine* was beautiful)…it’s true, everyone else’s was… Read more »
I’m in complete agreement with you on #3. So key.
Enjoyed reading your list!
Okay! I got the RSS thingamabobber up!
Also – I thought of a pet-peeve of mine: When bloggers do not allow their full feed to appear in a feed reader. I HATE clicking over to see the whole post, even though I know why they do it – to have better stats.
But, I am Just That Lazy.
Great ideas on blogging! Visiting from the HHHop!
This is a great list, thanks for sharing 🙂
I don’t like music either. If I can’t sleep I like to read blogs in bed. I have woken my husband up many times because I forgot to mute the laptop and someone’s “peppy” music started up. I will usually click off the blog pretty quick.
Thanks for sharing the list! I love your blog.
Good tips! I like your “about me” comment…I’d add that it’s important to make your name obvious. Of course, not everyone blogs under their real name, but the name they use online needs to be obvious. I hate not know who I’m talking to!
I wish someone would just customize my blog for me. I see other bloggers using the same provider I use, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how they do the things they do. I would love to put individual shots of my kids along the side and have custom tabs at the top. I do not have the time or inclination to figure it all out.
Maybe in the future or when I get volunteers to do it for me … 🙂
Oh my goodness, can I admit something?….I didn’t even understand some of those things. This means I MUST learn. I like simplicity so thank you for showing me which things are important so I can now go and learn them. I don’t have ads or any of that and just recently have I even opened it up to others to read. Now I need to get a little more “blog savvy” and get with it so it is easy to read for others. The other comments have been helpful as well! Now…off to learn. What a fantastic post!
I loved this post! I have been thinking about, and praying over the direction of my blog. It’s been 4 years in the making, and I have been very wishy-washy as to my posting schedule and content. But isn’t that like so many other things – we change as we learn, we are ever moving things into those top priority slots? Blogging, for me, has such an ebb and flow to it, but I have been feeling a pressing to either make it more a part of my rhythm or let it go. I definitely want to keep it, and… Read more »
I have no idea what an RSS feeder is and the link you directed us to was much more complicated than I can get.
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