If your business or personal website is in need of a boost, then it is time for you to consider blogging. This exciting new form of communication can be an effective way to cultivate closer relationships with clients and in turn,, increase sales. Read on to learn some new techniques for building better blogs.
Use tags correctly. Tags let you categorize your posts into different categories, which can then be searched by readers. Each of your posts should have two or three tags. Make sure you use the same words for similar posts (don’t have a “bikes” and “biking” tag, for example), and don’t give posts too many tags, as this tends to clutter up categories.
Blogging is about writing. If you don’t like to write, you probably won’t enjoy blogging. But if you’ve never tried writing, you may have an as yet undiscovered talent that you would enjoy. So try writing a few practice blog posts. Write about something interesting to you. If you enjoy writing, then blogging may be for you!
Attempt to be available to your readers at all times. Choose a consistent frequency for your responses such as once a day or once a week, which will help establish reader confidence that they can expect a response to their input. Your readers expect that you will give them content they can use. Remember that when you neglect your blog, you also neglect and disappoint your readers.
Harness the power of web 3.0. The web isn’t just text anymore, so neither should your blog. Use many different types of content to enhance your blog posts. For instance, if you are posting about a trade show in your niche, add a Youtube video of the event so that people can experience it more directly. If you are posting about a new product, include a Flash product demonstration.
Think of your blog posts as travelers. When you have clicked the publish button, the blog post will continue to survive on its own. Your blog post then becomes a traveler. Try giving your posts what they need to deal with any harsh conditions, along with good instructions on how to prosper online.
Don’t go crazy with font styles, capitalizing, underlining, bolding and the like. While it is important to use formatting appropriately, too much formatting makes everything merge together on the page. Only use special font styles when you really need to draw the reader’s attention to a particular word or thought.
Break your blog up into appropriate headings and subheadings. This serves to make the material more palatable. Readers’ have a tendency to scan the page for key concepts before they begin to read the entire blog. Headings and subheadings will help them get what they are looking for and ensure they stay on your page long enough to read the entire blog.
There are several ways to highlight interesting content on your blog. You can show a list of upcoming posts to pique readers’ interest. Another good topic is a list of most popular posts. These are posts that many readers will be interested in. You can also try most commented posts. Many people enjoy reading comments to blog posts. All these ideas will get your readers interested in more than just your current posts.
Be sure to openly present yourself on your blog. Create an “About Me” page with the type of information you wish to share, as long as you feel that it expresses you properly. Also try including these types on any other sites that you tend to be active on.
Posting images to your blog is a great way to add interest. Public domain photographs can be found online for free, with a little searching or you can add your own photographs. Visual interest is important because if a blog does not capture the interest of your visitors they will not stick around for very long. So, spice up your blog with images that reflect your content.
Now that you are better informed, you can move forward with confidence in creating those blog posts that get attention and bring site visitors back again and again. Remember that readers want content that both informs and entertains, so choose your style and content, then stick with it. The information you’ve gotten here will help you on your way to becoming an expert blogger.