BlogHer - 5 Blogging Mistakes Beginners Make - Comments

Blogger boo-boo's

rochellers — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:54:33 -0500

Hi - Thanks (belatedly) for the link - it was helpful. I also changed my blog to white background/black font...and I'm even starting to like it! :)

Rochelle

http://slacker-chick.blogspot.com

As long as its easy to read...

mashadutoit — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:38:41 -0500

And here is an article about colour and legibility http://www.colourlovers.com/blog/2007/12/19/color-and-typography-in-good-design/

This is also pretty cool: it lets you insert a url of a website, and then it tells you what colours are used http://redalt.com/Tools/I+Like+Your+Colors

No background color -- really?

rochellers — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:50:18 -0500

I'm officially pouting now - I LIKE my black background - it POPS! (I think). Does it have to be a white background? How about a light yellow/cream instead? Thanks for the tips!

Rochelle

http://slacker-chick.blogspot.com

avoid the gimmicks!

alittlesandy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:38:41 -0500

I hate it when I go to a blog PACKED with gimmicks, ads, and begging (please vote for me, please click this, etc.).

I go back for one and only one reason. GOOD CONTENT.

Ok, I think we aren't in

MLOKnitting — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:37:24 -0500

Ok, I think we aren't in total disagreement here. Mashadutoit is pretty much saying what works for both SEO and click-through rates. Too often I have seen the overly techie crowd not indicate that something is a link. Many audiences just don't realize what is and what is not a link.

As you know, there are no "always" rules in this business. :-)

Pax,

MLO / Melissa

Depends

Melanie Nelson — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:06:01 -0500

Melissa,

I'm a tech writer too! :)

I can certainly see your POV and I think the decision a blogger makes on how to design links depends on what the blogger is trying to accomplish (and, of course, who the audience is).

If your goal is to have a strong SEO presence, you need to have more descriptive links than just "click here" because the search engines are looking at context of links as well as what they're linking to. In addition, other blogs linking to you need to use descriptive links so those same search engines can discover who is linking to you and in what context.

Melanie
Contributing Editor at BlogHer.com (Web/Tech)
Blogging Basics 101

about click here

mashadutoit — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:26:54 -0500

Maybe one can satisfy both MLOKnitting and Melanie by making the link

You can click here for latest samples

Instead of just

You can click here for latest samples

You can click here for latest samples

But inserting "click here" everytime you make a link is going to be very cumbersome.

Disagree on "click here"

MLOKnitting — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:33:18 -0500

I'm saying this as a very, very experienced technical writer. It really depends on the audience you are writing to. In usability studies I actually participated in we had a much higher click-through rate using "click here" than any other phrase with a general public. This is something that will change eventually, but, for now, if you're targeting older users or non-techie users, "click here" is more effective than other form of writing. (And, I used to subscribe to your point of view on this.)

MLO / Melissa

Excellent advice

Vered — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:27:47 -0500

Reducing clutter on the homepage and moving things to separate pages makes the homepage look better, load faster, and can also help with improving pagerank, especially if the links are do-follow links.

----

Need to hire a blogger? I’m a mommy blogger and a blogger for hire.

Trying to Get It Right

fittothefinish — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:43:32 -0500

I really appreciate these tips, especially as a new blogger myself. In trying to be sensitive to the asthetic value of the blog, I am trying to carefully examine what should be in the sidebars, etc.

I hate dark backgrounds and if I hear music I try to never come back! Thanks again for the great information, and I'm looking forward to the next post on this topic.

Diane

lost 150 pounds and talks about it at:

www.fittothefinish.com/blog

Great Tips!

babybeatnik — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:30:39 -0500

Thanks for the advice. I am just starting a new blog (actually giving it a REAL try this time!) and I really need any help I can get. I look forward to reading more!

Erin

A Beatnik's Beat on Life

Posts are too long!

Myg — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:17:48 -0500

That's one of my pet peeves. For whatever reason, when I read a blog post I want it to be short and punchy. I'll read longer posts but they have to be incredibly well written - better written than your average blogger usually writes. That said, I am often guilty of this very thing!

And the autoplay music thing? JUST SAY NO. Otherwise, when I'm at work and I'm sneaking a peak at your blog everyone will know I'm not working! And that would suck.

Amy

http://wisermom.org

What you're doing should be

Melanie Nelson — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:06:51 -0500

What you're doing should be OK depending on what the Creative Commons license covers. The photographers sharing their photos via Flickr can choose specific CC--check their pages to confirm you have permission to use the photos in that way (I'll bet you do).

Melanie
Contributing Editor at BlogHer.com (Web/Tech)
Blogging Basics 101

One of the guilty ones

Ms Batman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:40:45 -0500

i made eeveral of those mistakes when I first started blogging. I had the uber busy sidebar. Every new gadget I saw I had to get and add to mine. There were days I would post several (read 5 or more) times a day, and then not at all for days. Britt told me that in order to increase my readers, post once a day, and make the post something of substance. I am still working on that mistake.

I look forward to next week, with more mistakes to avoid. I want to be a better blogger, and write more than just fluff n stuff. Thanks

Becky

You saved me ;-)

Ria605 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:23:37 -0500

Thanks for the post. I was one of the evil music villians... I did get carried away in all the cool gadgets you can have on your page. However, even i realized it could be a bit annoying so i've taken the music off of my blog.

Thanks for the helpful advice.

Ria~

5 Blogging Mistakes Beginners Make

Melanie Nelson — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:00:00 -0500

Starting a new blog can be so much fun. There are so many shiny, fancy widgets and plug-ins you can use on your blog to really show your personality! That's what blogs are for, right? Yes and no. While you want your blog to be a true reflection of yourself, you probably also want to develop a community and a following. In order to do that, you need to consider your readers' perspective and make sure you're giving them a site they'll want to return to. I'm going to point out five mistakes that beginning (and even some seasoned) bloggers make. In fact, most bloggers have made these same mistakes; they are almost a right of passage, but why waste time with mistakes you can easily avoid?

Mistake #1: Auto-loading music.

Auto-loading music is not only annoying and surprising, but it's a bandwidth hog, meaning it makes your blog load slowly. Do you really want to lose a reader because she couldn't wait for your site to load? And if she waits for your site to load, will she be annoyed because she didn't know there would be music, had her speakers on high, and a sleeping husband (or child) right beside her? I can tell you this: She won't be back.

Mistake #2: Using a template with a dark background & light text.

This issue is less about your aesthetic and more about usability and readability. Reading online is harder on our eyes than reading on paper. Using a dark background with light text makes it even harder on your readers' eyes.

Mistake #3: Too much sidebar clutter.

A sleek, uncluttered design goes a long way with readers. You can use white space (uncluttered space) to lead your readers' eye toward specific content. When there are fewer items competing for your reader's attention, they'll be drawn to what's important. Are you proud of your awards, badges, and various trinkets? That's OK, those things are a right of passage too. You don't have to get rid of them, but why not put awards on their own page and link to it from your main page? You'll trade 20 links for just one link and de-clutter the sidebar.

Mistake #4: Accidental plagiarism (including photos).

Very few legitimate bloggers plagiarize on purpose. In most cases a new blogger won't realize what they're doing. Plagiarism applies to using any content that isn't originally yours, whether it's content or photography or music or anything else. I'll be honest and tell you that when I started blogging I would Google a picture, then copy it to my computer and use it in my blog post. That's a big problem because it's the same as plagiarism--even if I cited where I found the picture. I hadn't asked the owner if I could use it, I just did it. If you're new to blogging, take a minute to find out about and understand the issues of plagiarism and copyright. U.S. Copyright Office bluntly says: “Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.” These links will help you:

Mistake #5: Using "click here" instead of keyword phrases for links.

I advise you to choose your links words carefully. When you are writing a post and need to insert a link, consider how you are going to write that sentence and where you will include the link. For example, which of these is more effective (potential links in bold)?

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The top sentence is more effective for your audience because it tells them exactly what they need to do. It’s also effective for SEO purposes because search engine spiders are looking for unique word strings and context. Strings like “click here” or even just the word “here” linked to other files or pages are everywhere on the web. Make your pages stand out by being more descriptive with your links. Help the search engines catalog your site effectively.

Next week I'll have five more mistakes bloggers make. In the mean time, if you're doing these things, take a minute to make some changes and see how it affects your blog community. Ask your readers for feedback. I'd love to know what you're seeing and what your readers are saying.