Question

Topic: E-Marketing

New Blogger Seeks Feedback

Posted by Neil on 1/26/2009 at 10:28 PM ET 432 Points
Though I very often comment on other people's blogs, I am relatively new to blogging myself. Most of my blog posts so far have been practical tips and the like but some of my posts have been based on personal experience.

The "tips" posts are clearly useful but it is the personal experience posts that I wonder about. I would like some feedback on a couple posts in particular and whether these sorts of posts are interesting to read and if you think you gain from reading them?

What Scuba Diving Taught Me About Life and Business

I would love any feedback on these or any other posts on our blog and suggestions for how to improve. Thank you!
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  • Posted by Neil on 1/26/2009 at 10:37 PM Author
    I meant to include this example above but I messed up the HTML the first time:
    What Scuba Diving Taught Me About Life and Business

    I'd like feedback on this post, the one above, and general advice on blogging. By the way, I have done quite a few very practical blog posts but I want to branch out into posts based on life experience. I am not even sure that is a good idea or not.
  • Posted by Neil on 1/26/2009 at 10:40 PM Author
    Ug, I posted the same one twice. Sorry, I meant this one as the second one:
    How Calm, Smart, and Hard Work Saved My Life

    It has been a long day so sorry about not properly including this in my original post. Thanks.
  • Posted by Harry Hallman on 1/27/2009 at 8:33 AM Accepted
    I think you are doing a great job. Good stories and good points. Once you get a number of posts on different subjects you will have a good body of work.

    Welcome to the 11 percent of Americans who write blogs
  • Posted on 1/27/2009 at 1:03 PM Accepted
    I agree with Harry. It is well written, interesting and definitely useful in that it encourages a positive attitude. Blogging consistently seems to generate a loyal fan base. A nice balance between personal experience themed blogs and tips posts will keep it interesting. Try to keep the blog visually appealing as well. (Pictures etc.)

    Welcome to blogging!
  • Posted on 1/28/2009 at 3:16 PM Accepted
    I enjoyed your articles and left a comment. I have a personal blog.
    Judy
  • Posted by Neil on 1/28/2009 at 3:30 PM Author
    Thanks for the kind words on my attempts at blogging so far. BTW, Judy, I did not see a comment from you. Are you sure you left one?

    This blogging thing is a challenge because there is always that balance between practical tips and more personal experience type of posts. Ideally, some posts would combine the two elements.
  • Posted on 1/29/2009 at 5:55 AM Accepted
    Hi Neil,

    As the others said, I think you are off to a good start.

    But you asked for some suggestions on how to improve your blog. I've noticed similar things you are doing that I struggled through during my first year of blogging.

    So here goes:

    Your Audience

    I do not get a clear feeling of who this is in the first couple of seconds. The tagline tells me one thing, but it gets a little fuzzy when I read the blog post titles.

    First sit back and clearly identify who you are writing for.

    Now, as you blog, you will probably notice a different type of reader dropping by too. And you might decide to change your audience. This is why blogging is a social media - you get to know people more.

    But first identify one primary target reader. You can also have a secondary target reader and possibly a third one. But stay focused on your primary target reader for now.

    Get this right - try to make the reader feel this immediately when he lands on your page. Yes, this is work and an on-going process you will probably revisit often.

    Categories

    Once you have your primary target reader in mind, think about your categories. What do you want to write about and what does your primary target reader want to read? Where is the intersection?

    You have too many "labels", I assume these are your "categories" and not your "tags". (As a blogger you need to understand the difference between categories and tags - check into this if you are not clear).

    Ideally you should aim for 5-7 categories and try to keep it under 10.

    Focusing on one primary target reader and writing under the right categories will strengthen the personality of your blog. People will want to come back for more.

    Post Titles

    Next, try to pick up some more copywriting tips to improve your blog post titles.

    These can be stronger - both for the reader and for SEO.

    I like using a keyword in the title and as early as I can in the title.

    But above all, I try to imagine an attention-deficient and impatient person like myself reading the title with a finger on a click away button. This technique has worked well for me.

    You can see how well your title writing skills are doing in your search results

    Consistency

    One small remark. The use of capital letters is not consistent on the blog.

    There are different trends. Choose one and stick with it.

    In general, the more you work on making the navigation experience more consistent and clear, the better your blog.

    Also, I question the use of "Descriptive Word:" in your blog post titles. If your categories are good, I think you can take this away.

    Remember to use tags consistently to help your blog readers navigate and find related posts this way.

    Practice & Interaction

    And the best way to improve your blog is through practice.

    The more you write the better you will get at it.

    The more interaction with your readers, other bloggers and social media the better your blog will get.

    Hope this helps you.

    I've bookmarked you blog to go back and have a look in a month or so.
  • Posted by Neil on 1/29/2009 at 6:20 PM Author
    Great, advice, Cindy, thank!
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 1/30/2009 at 8:20 AM Accepted
    Given your targeting a business reader, make your lesson points obvious visually (bullet points? summary in bold?). The problem with articles (in general) is if I don't know the author I'm not sure if it's worth my time to read it. If I can easily skim the article and see the "punch-line", then I can always go back and read the details.

    Also - some visuals supporting your article would be nice as well.
  • Posted by Neil on 1/30/2009 at 8:58 AM Author
    A couple of people have mentioned visuals.

    Do you mean of the graphic design variety like you might see on a Web site or something a bit different?

    Thanks.
  • Posted by Neil on 1/30/2009 at 9:12 PM Author
    Thank you very much for the good encouragement and advice on blogging here.
  • Posted on 2/2/2009 at 9:05 AM Member
    Hi again Neil,

    One option is including something visual like you mentioned that you might see on a website. Also, you could include pictures that correspond to your post. Kind of like those inspirational sayings about life being a challenge at times with a picture of a mountain - it just gives the reader something visual to go with your post. This can make your post or article more appealing to those who are more visual. It will change the overall look and feel of your blog just enough to attract a bit broader of a following. It kind of follows the same idea as seeing an article in a magazine; a picture can catch attention and make the reader curious about the post.

    Good luck and keep up the good work.
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