Creating
the Perfect Blog
In
the past few years, blogging has moved up to the mainstream. It allows individuals to show their creative
personality. Blogs now have their own search engine, and even forums for others
to write their thoughts and or feelings about a post. They have also gained popularity because unlike
a webpage, blogs are free! You don’t
need to pay for your domain names or hosting the blog; therefore many
businesses have opted to start a blog because they don’t have to put in money
to gain the interest of people. Blogs
can be started for personal reasons, business or corporate reasons, or even
educational reasons. Heck, blogs can be
started just because! For a blog to gain
appeal of readers, it has to stand out above the other thousands of blogs that
have been created. If you have a good
number of people reading your blog at the moment, it is important to understand
and follow some of the tips and tricks to keeping the readers interested in
what you have to say. This will ultimately
make your blog appealing to others.
When
starting your first blog, you want to make sure that you choose a layout that
best suits your personality.
Blogspot.com, a popular blogging website has made it easy to get started
posting on your new blog. Ready-made
templates are available when choosing the perfect background; therefore you can
pick one that fits your personality and style.
Using colors are beneficial in creating an appealing blog, but make sure
you don’t use ones that take away from your posting. Instead chose colors that invite
readers in. A perfect example of the use
of color would be from one of my fellow classmate’s blogs. Http://Kirstensoler.blogspot.com
shows just how using colors in a blog can be welcoming to a reader. Kirsten used a soft baby blue as her
background and kept the text box white.
There were small images of birds flying in the background of the blog,
which still did not take away from her words.
Using colors on a blog adds more dimensions to a page and also makes a
blog pop. Adding color can also help
lure viewers to reading your blog, but don’t get too hung up to stressed about
picking a color. Be aware though, that
color can affect how viewers perceive a blog.
Another
thing to think about when starting your blogging career is to make sure that
you proofread your blogs. I have read a
few blogs that did not take the time to read over their blog and make the
proper corrections. This in turn leaves
the blog with misspelled errors, which will only make the readers want to
critique everything that is written.
One
thing I am drawn to when reading a blog is how the blogger interacts with me,
the reader. I want to read a blog that
uses their words and images to invite me in to their world. The way to do that is by writing how you
would talk to a person face-to-face. We
all have a specific way of talking; if you are bubbly and outgoing, it
translates the same in your writing.
When blogging be sure to write how you would speak because when you try
and write differently than you speak, people may sense the difference in your
tone.
When I am reviewing a blog, I look for people who know their
stuff! Most people create a blog to
express their creative side, which is interesting to me because I could then
learn a thing or two. A great example
would be blogs that teach me how to have a creative outlet, like that of
blogger Chole at http://cholesnails.blogspot.com. This blog is a how-to-guide to achieving the
perfect set of nails. As many women
know, getting their nails done is a process that takes time out of your day and
can really add up financially. I recall
a time when I would get my nails done every two weeks (sometimes once a week if
the polish chipped). Although my nails
looked nice at the moment, I would always try and do things to prevent me from
having chipped nails, so I wouldn’t have to make another trip to my local
salon.
I started doing
my research on bloggers that perfected their nails at home, and stumbled onto
Cholesnails blog. She took a set of
plain nails, and turned them into designs that caught people’s attention. This particular blogger knew what she was
doing and it showed in every photo she uploaded.
One major component in
creating an appealing blog is the images you use. To me, this is one of the most important
aspects of a blog; it could either make you or break you. Using images on your blog can relay a message
to the readers, which to me is a necessity when trying to build more readers on
a blog. An image helps to set the tone
of a posting, and also appeal to the readers.
When bloggers use images, readers then want to know the story behind the
photo and then would continue reading, which may not always happen when you
just have text on your blog. From the
Webdesigner blog, writer Krisit Hines writes, “Images
add richness to your content, and make readers more willing to read a long
article (Hines, 2011). This is
definitely true when I choose to focus my attention on a blog.
Lastly, when trying to appeal to an audience, be
passionate about what you are putting out.
Keeping readers interested can be achieved with the colors, posting, and
images, but if you want readers to continue to view your blog, they need to
know what you are presenting is something that excites you; which in turn will
excite them when reading your journey.
You will be known as a credible blogger and more and more people will
find your passion interesting.
Blogs
will continue to gain popularity because with a blog you are able to share and
read about things that are appealing to you.
People love to read about the latest fashion or the new book that just
came out, and could find that with a click of the mouse. Individuals love to post on their own blogs
as well as on others, which will only give the ever so popular blogging trend a
spot in technological history.
Reference
Hines, K. (2011). 1st
Web Designer. Why Images Are Important for Blog Posts and Content. Retrieved April 04, 2012 from http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/why-images-are-important-for-
blog-posts/#.
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