Upgrade Your Blog in 6 Easy Steps
1) Add the TweetMeme button
Guy Kawasaki has called this the most important button on the Web. That alone should cause you to sit up and take notice. The TweetMeme button offers a small piece of JavaScript that you can copy and paste into your posts. The button offers two benefits to bloggers. One, it shows how many people have tweeted about your post. Two, it gives the reader an easy way to retweet your content. If you use WordPress like us, this is available as a handy plugin (which means I don’t have to copy and paste JavaScript). It took me less than five minutes to set up. Brilliant!
Want to try the TweetMeme button out? Now is your chance! We just installed it ourselves. So if you are a Twitter user, click on the green ‘retweet’ button you see on this page to retweet this post.
2) Add a blogroll
A blogroll is a list of links to other blogs that serve as recommendations. Want an example? Just scroll down to see ours. It’s on the lower right corner of the page you are reading. Many bloggers use the blogroll to link to popular sites in their niche in the hopes that those bloggers and their audience will notice them.
3) Install a CAPTCHA
Comments have become a favored target of spammers. I hate spammers, and you hate spammers. Do your part to make them go away by adding a CAPTCHA. Most CAPTCHA programs generate and grade tests that humans can pass but current computer programs cannot.
WordPress offers a free CAPTCHA plugin. According to their site, WP CATCHA-Free “blocks automated comment spam without resorting to CAPTCHAs. It does so by validating a hash based on time (and some other parameters) using AJAX when the form is posted. Comments posted via automated means will not have a hash or will have an expired hash and will be rejected. Unlike using a captcha, this does not place any burden on the commenter.”
Groovy.
4) Write Lists
As you can see, I’ve taken this suggestion to heart. The bottom line is this: readers have an easier time digesting content that is broken down into shorter bits.
5) Write a Tutorial
…Like this one. Focus on making a seemingly daunting task easier for the reader to accomplish. In this case, I want to help you improve your blog. Am I succeeding??? Let me know in the comments please!
6) Improve Your Website Design
Get a good website design. It will hard to be taken seriously without one.
Do you have any other ideas for upgrading your blog? Need some help or clarification on how to implement the above steps? Let us know in the comments section.
Great post Nick! I like the retweet button. I clicked it and tweeted on my account.
In addition, you can add other share type buttons such as the Facebook share button and the Digg button. To cover all type of social outlets, you can embed the Add This (addthis.com) button which allows your readers to share your post(s) to any social site, bookmark site and even email to a friend. There’s also another service like this called Share This.
As for comments, if your blog doesn’t already have the ability to post comments, you can use a service called DISQUS (disqus.com).
And yes I agree with you on the type of posts. Posts that have valuable content in list format or tutorials are good techniques to get people interested in reading. Don’t forget to include visuals such as screenshots or related images for posts like a tutorial. Other type posts that capture people’s interest are posts that contain humor like jokes, cartoons and videos. The humor can be related to the subject of your blog. But these type of blog posts help and people like to share with friends.
Finally, a good web design is very important. I’d like to make a comment about this…which is to please keep your design clean. For example, don’t flood your website with advertisements or google ads. If I go to a website/blog and I can’t find what I want to read or can’t concentrate because I’m trying to filter through ads then I immediately leave the site.
This is just some things off the top of my head. I’m sure there’s much more.
A couple of things to share about blogging. First I have been moving into the world of video blogging. This is for those who do not have the time or wish to read a long post and instead they can watch my post like a television show. Already the feedback has been excellent regarding the video angle. Second you should moderate all comments and therefore regulate what is posted on your blog. This will stop spamming from bots and humans. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Glenn!
You make an excellent point regarding video blogs. They are a great way to interact with those that don’t have the time or patience to read a blog post.
You also make a great point about blog moderation. CAPTCHAS (#3 on my list) are a big help for this.
Glenn Kirk is one of Springfield’s best emerging entrepreneurs. Keep an eye on him at http://www.midwestgsm.com/.
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