The first month of 2014 is about to end and I am on a roll in terms of changing a lot of things. The renovation of our kitchen cabinet was just finished and I like how the pale yellow color turned out. I also got into cleaning my blog and I wanted to share some of the tips I found online from the bloggers I follow on how to keep blog readers coming back.
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I really want my blog to grow and I feel that I should exert more effort to post more frequently. That is not enough though because it takes more than frequent posts to usher back readers. Here are 8 things that I think my blog needs:
1. Interesting About Me Page - I had a very loooooooooong About Me page before I edited it earlier this week. I love how the revamped page looks like now. Maybe I will revise it again but for now I am satisfied the way it looks. The main reason why you want to create/improve/revise the About Me page of your blog is because your readers would love to know the person who wrote the posts they are reading.
2. Clear Labels - This is one of the tasks that I have put upon myself and I am still pouring through all the published posts of my blog. I have a million and one labels and I feel that it's not really helping me at all. I have decided to write down the primary labels and then go over each article to categorize my posts. It's not an easy task but someone has to do it. If you click on the Pages link under the blog header you will see that posts are categorized depending on what label I used (i.e. Fashion, Beauty, Travel). If you click on any of the Pages link, you will then see all posts with specific label. Pretty neat!
3. Social Media Buttons - Your blog should have this! I currently don't have it but I am working with a blgo designer and maybe next month or early March you will see social media buttons on my sidebar. I currently only have social media links for now though. This will allow your readers to follow you and stay updated on your posts.
4. Subscribe to RSS Feeds Button - RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. Your readers don't need to necessarily check back to your site to see if it's updated - all they really need to do is to subscribe to the RSS feed of your blog. These feeds are text files which will allow your readers to see content and then link up to your site to read the complete article. Feeds are updated sometimes as short as 30 minutes or even less.
5. Contact Page - This is beneficial for your blog so readers as well as advertisers and the like can easily contact you and reach you. Make sure it is placed in a conspicuous area so it can be easily seen. You can also put links to your social media in that area.
6. Turn Word Verification Off - This is an advise to those who are currently moderating comments on their blog. I had this on since 2008 I believe and I think it annoys my readers. I get annoyed as well when I leave a comment and I have to decipher what the word verification is. If you are using Blogger you can turn off this setting by going to - Settings > Posts & Comments and then move the option to OFF. Even the little things count for your blog.
7. Make Sure Your Blog Is Responsive- Blog readers mostly use their mobile devices so you have to keep up with the time and technology. You don't want your readers to constantly zoom in and out or scroll from left to right and up and down to browse your articles.
8. Use Reader-Friendly Fonts and Colors - Use fonts and colors that are easy to read. Don't use fuschia pink or red or lime green and other bright colors for the majority of your posts and sidebar entries. Try to use black or gray when you have a white background and white font color if you have a dark background.
8. Use Reader-Friendly Fonts and Colors - Use fonts and colors that are easy to read. Don't use fuschia pink or red or lime green and other bright colors for the majority of your posts and sidebar entries. Try to use black or gray when you have a white background and white font color if you have a dark background.
That's all I have for now. Of course, you also need to make sure that you check the grammar of your posts too. I sometimes get overexcited and just push the publish button without even rereading what I wrote. There are a lot of grammar nazis out there and you don't want to fall prey.
Please let me know if you have other tips to share with me or to other readers. I would be more than happy to incorporate your suggestions in my blog. You may also leave your blog links in the comments field so I can visit your blog too. Keep blogging!
