Are you new to the blogging world? Here are six things to keep in mind as you set up your first blog.
- Choose a simple name for your blog. If you’re blogging for business, your blog name ought to match either the name of your business or your own name. If both your business name and your name are available as dot-com (.com) domains, grab them both. Use one and redirect the other to your site. Whenever possible, your blog name and your blog’s URL should match. For more on choosing your domain name, read this.
- Make your blog easy to read. Use punctuation and capital letters, good grammar and good spelling. You don’t need to write to please your 10th-grade English teacher, but you should at least be following the basic rules you learned in 10th grade.
- Reading online is different than reading in a book or magazine. Short paragraphs with white space between then make blogs easier to read. Dark text on a light background is easiest to read. If you feel compelled to use light text on a dark background, make your font one size larger to improve readability.
- If you are going to allow commenting on your blog have some sort of filter system in place to avoid spam. Akismet comes pre-installed with WordPress and is free to cheap, depending on the type of blog you have. I’ve yet to see a more effective spam filter.
- Don’t use auto loading music or videos on your blog. Many people open multiple windows or read at work. Clicking on your site and getting an instant earful will cause many of them to immediately leave.
- Posting images as part of your blog posts can help add interest and bring in more readers. Use an image editing program to web-size them to keep your blog from becoming overloaded and slow. Images posted on blogs rarely need to be bigger than 1000 pixels on the long side (smaller is good) and 72 dpi. Make sure you have permission before you post. For more information about using images in your blog posts, check out my free e-book “The Power of Pictures.”
- Always keep in mind that there really is not any such thing as privacy on the internet. If you don’t want the world to know something, don’t post it online. Deleting it after it’s been published is no guarantee than it will disappear. Be careful about posting sensitive personal information in blog posts that could compromise security. Full dates of birth, private addresses and personal phone numbers fall into this category.
Are there other basic tips you think should be included? Do you have questions about blogging? Please share your thoughts and questions in the comment section below.
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Thanks for sharing these simple but helpful tips.
Great reminders Marie. I am not a fan of music on blog post and love that you mentioned it. Thanks for your insights!
Great tips Marie! Every new blogger should have to read these, especially the one about not having auto-loading music and videos. I’ve probably missed a lot of good stuff over the years because I tend to close the window to stop the auto-load.
simple and effective post… good one
I just love blogging. It takes a while to learn how to express yourself, and find your voice. Once you do, it is amazing! Good post. Thanks.
I love that you mentioned to make the blog easy to read. Sometimes I will leave a blog if the colors make it difficult to see the words. Thanks, Marie!
Great Tips Marie. My husband always tries to get me to put a dark background and I hate them . I can’t read them. I will tell him you said I was right and that should end this back and forth!
Men tend to like dark backgrounds, usually black, dark grey or red and women usually request light backgrounds. I’m not sure exactly why other than perhaps men feel the dark colors are more masculine. Nearly all of my website design requests have fallen along these lines. Even men who have their text area light with a dark type, usually request dark site backgrounds.
Your point about no privacy on the internet is well taken. Best not to learn that the hard way. Helpful post. 🙂
Great list, Marie Leslie, to get someone started off correctly on their blog. Readability and loading speed are probably the greatest factors for whether people stay long enough to read … or not. Thanks for addressing them!
Oh, that auto-loading of audio and video! When will web designers learn that makes me leave their site immediately?? 🙂 Great post!
It does it to me, too, Nisha. There’s nothing like late night surfing when you open a series of windows and all of a sudden one starts blasting at you. Yikes!
Excellent tips as usual Marie 🙂 I learn so much here, thank you!
Great tips Marie! This is a great list for any new blogger and a great reminder for those who have been at it awhile.
Great tips! I think you and I are the only two people who don’t think a video on initial landing is good. More and more, I am hearing that people like them and they have more optins with them. Time will tell 🙂
I’m so glad I’m not alone. I think I’d rather let people get to know me slowly. I’ve just never been an in-your-face kind of gal. As you say, Martha, time will tell.
Great beginning tips Marie! Easy for anyone to implement!
What a lovely tips, thanks for sharing this with us and I do love to share this with my friends….
I agree with everything you have included in this post. I especially emphasize not using auto loading music and video since it is annoying.
Really helpful tips….
Thank you so much for Marie… such a great advice, I especially liked the advice about the way to make reading easier for people, where the short paragraphs and spacing make such a difference! 🙂
Excellent tips Marie! A good reminder for me since I have been slow about blogging! I have to get back into it regularly.
Excellent tips for new bloggers, the internet is definitely not a private place so it is best to keep personal information off your blog.
Thank you for great blogging tips Marie. It’s not always easy to find such straight forward
tips. I’ll keep these things in mind as I write my blog post!
Pretty good !…its really engaging !
great article! Kepp it up!