Today we continue with Part 9 of "The How-To's of Blogging Series". I am hosting this awesome series with Melissa over at The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife so make sure and visit her blog as well. This entire week will be filled with posts on how to make you a "better" blogger, so make sure to come back because there will be a new topic everyday. You can find out who will be posting this week by clicking here.
If you missed the posts from earlier this week you can find them below:
Hey Everyone! I'm Jeni from at Two Shades of Lovely! Teaming up with Melissa over at the Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife for this "How-To's of Blogging" was so much fun and I've already learned so many great things from all of our guest posters.
My friend Kendel and I started this blog two months ago as a way to promote our Etsy Shoppe. I guess you could say I've been "bitten by the bug" of blogging - because it has evolved into so much more for me.
When I first started blogging, I really had no experience or any idea how to "make an impact" on readers, let alone get them to want to continue coming back to my blog! The tips below are little things that I've learned and have tried to do myself to keep you guys coming back, and lingering on the blog for longer!
We have progressed as a society - intelligence and a formal writing style no longer go hand in hand. In fact, I enjoy reading blogs when I can almost hear the writer's voice as I read. I still believe in using proper grammar, but the occasional misplaced exclamation mark, improper paragraph structure, and even made up words are all of the things that make your blog YOURS and give it a true sense of who you are to your readers.
Disclaimer: If you do come back to read the Two Shades of Lovely Blog - you will be showered with the occasional unnecessary "SHOUTY CAP" or two {Fifty Shades of Grey reference anyone?}, made up words {I'm a firm believer that "zumba-ing" and "awesome-ness" are both words!} but I will try very hard to keep my commas and "their,they're,and there's" in check!
Using live links give your readers an opportunity to be directed to read other blogs of yours you think they may like, view other sites and related items that you want your readers to check out.
I love reading other people's blogs that direct me to other related, useful links that I may not have found otherwise.
{For Example: Click Here to learn a few things about us you may not know!}
Every established blogger has their "greatest hits" - the blogs that they are extra partial to or in some cases, those which have had the most views (or both!). Perhaps it's a great DIY tutorial, a story that tells a tale of why you are who you are, or even a fun post filled with pictures of your trip to Hawaii.
Some blogs have a place at the top of their blog that directs readers to a collection of their favorite/popular posts. {you must add a page to do this}
Another option is to place photos along your sidebar that link the reader to a specific post.
If you use Blogger, you can do this by clicking "Design" in the top right-hand corner in your blog page. Then click "Add Gadget". At this time, you can add the picture you want to represent your post, link to it, and you can use it wherever you want on your sidebar.
This is perhaps the greatest way to keep me at a blog for hours {literally!}
That nifty little widget at the bottom of a post really keeps readers interested, and allows them to read other related posts that you have come up with! I have found some of my greatest DIY ideas, best giveaways, and helpful blogging tips from clicking those helpful "You might also like...." posts!
*NOTE: As a new blog, I don't have many posts {YET} - but you better believe, when I rack up some posts, I will be installing this little widget!*
I snagged a screen shot of The Life of a Not So Ordinary Wife's page. She not only had the "You might Also Like" widget shown underneath the pink arrow, but also this shows a great example of what the popular post sidebar can look like! She exhibited two great ways to keep her readers on her page for longer!
Click Here to get your very own "You might also like" Widget on your page!
Blogs that I visit are often filled with buttons, links, and graphics that direct you to another source. I think that is great, giving photos source credit, referring to other blogs, and using those links are a must, but many times, those links direct you away from YOUR blog.
There is a simple fix - simply enable those links to open up new tabs/pages when your readers click them!
If you find that a link you have posted is not opening up a new tab or window, you can simply edit the HTML of your post and add "target=new" before the URL of the link address
Voila! Now you have a way to direct your readers to other great pages, while keeping them on yours as well - the best of both worlds!
I am by no means an expert, and I am quite certain that there are other means to keeping readers coming back for more to your blog, but these are just a few things that I have found to work, as both a reader and a blog writer.
11 comments:
Great post! The opening links in a new window is a code I needed to know! Thanks!!
http://goo.gl/DyUPe
This is great! I like the " little widget at the bottom of a post". Thanks for sharing.
I've been wondering how to keep my links from taking readers away from my page! Thanks so much!
Ok so i know this may be random but I really would love to know how to do it: I have two questions to be exact & hopefully you can help me with them if so thatwould be great! my first question is how do i get my name to show on the bottom of each post in cute things & how do i get a message with that to show as well & stay for each post? & then I see those with p for pintrest I for instagram f for facebook & such which allows you to click on them & take you directly to them how do i add them to the page? if you can help I would love the help & be very grateful :)
Hello! wow what a questions... lol... I'm not sure if you will get this because you didn't leave your website or email? But those all take some graphic making and html, If you are not familiar with those then I would talk with a designer about getting something done. You can email me for more info if you need. Thanks!
Great information!! Thanks for sharing!
So many great tips! Thanks so much for all the information! I have to find time and read every part of the how-to's!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I wanted Linked Within but had no idea how to get it. Now I have it! I agree that such a simple feature will indeed keep me on a blog for HOURS :)
totally just installed that widget. I have always wondered how to do that thank you!! x
this was so helpful, thank you!!!
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