Three Things Your Blog Shouldn’t be Without!
12 November, 2007 - Blogging - 10 Comments
During the time I have been active in the blogosphere, I have realised that there are some small, albeit very important features that immediately turn me away from a blog if they are not present.
The Three Features You Must Have!
#1: An About Page - Every day I come across new blogs that don’t contain an ‘about’ page. To be a successful blogger you need to develop your brand. That brand is your person. It is your name. Your vision. Your photo. It’s you! Without a page that gives some background information about you, you’re going to find it very difficult to build a brand.
Your readers like to know who they are listening to and they like to know why they should listen to you. To show you this, I ran the math on my stats. Since I started blogging, my about page has accounted for 7% of the total page views. It’s surpassed only by the home page and a post that recently received 2,000 views from StumbleUpon traffic. 7% might not seem like much, but we can put it in to perspective when we take in to account the next most popular page has received just 3% of the total page views.
You need a page that gives some background information about you. When you give this to your readers, you suddenly become human as opposed to a screen name.
Having Trouble With Your About Page?
If you’re not sure what to write on your about page, use the who, what, where and when tactic.
- Who? - Share your name.
- What? - What’s your day job? What do you aspire to be?
- Where? - Where do you live? You don’t have to give specifics. The country or state you live in will more than suffice.
- When? - When did you start blogging? If you’re blogging on a specific niche such as being an entrepreneur, when did you enter that niche?
Sharing that information will allow your visitors to better associate with you and they are much more likely to stick around and become readers.
#2: A Contact Page - I have seen several blogs in recent weeks that have no contact page. There has been not a single way to contact the author. This does nothing for your image of somebody who should want to connect with your readers.
Your contact page should be prominent and you should constantly invite your readers to contact you. Engaging with your readers is a fantastic way to build relationships, and we all know that blogging is all about relationships.
I would not advise displaying your email address. By doing so, you’re leaving yourself open to spam. Always use a contact form, and make use of the WordPress Contact Form with Challenge Question. CAPTCHA images are no longer effective at preventing spam. However, a challenge question is very effective.
#3: Comment Email Subscriptions - I find nothing more frustrating than having to regularly check a post to see if there are any new comments, or worse still, forget I commented on a site and miss out on valuable comments.
I use the subscribe to comments WordPress plugin to allow users to subscribe via email to comments. It ensures readers come back to the site when there are new comments, hence increase your page views and potential revenue.
Your Thoughts?
What do you think a blog must have, and what frustrates you when it isn’t present?
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Posted on 12 November, 2007 by Jamie Harrop
Filed Under Blogging |
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Thanks so much for the mention! I agree that no one should be without a contact form!
No problem, Douglas.
Ah good points Jamie, I’m guilty of not having a full about page and an email subscription option. I think I should probably work on these during the next few days. Nice post!
Sounds like a good plan to me, Erik.
Fortunately, your blog is so good the lack of email subscription didn’t turn me away.
Sadly, TypePad doesn’t yet offer comment email subscriptions — at least for those of us who don’t use advanced templates.
They promise new commenting features soon, and I hope this will be one of them.
Thanks for commenting, Sharon.
I’m surprised TypePad doesn’t offer this feature. I’m not all too familiar with the software. Does it allow for plugins that the public can create like WordPress does?
TypePad is by the SixApart/ Moveable Type folks — and while Moveable Type does, I believe, have that feature, the hosted blogs at TypePad do not.
We can have widgets, but not plugins.
I think.
Those are different things, aren’t they?
Heh. I’ve been blogging nearly four years, believe it or not. But I learn as needed…
A blog without a contact info or offer any other ways to contact the author is my #1 blog reading pet peeve.
I’ve listed it in my post and many follow up comments also agree on this point.
http://www.betshopboy.net/blog-reading-pet-peeves/
Thanks for the comment, betshopboy.
That’s quite an interesting article you have there. I’m glad I’m not alone when with my thoughts on a lack of contact page.
[...] For others, I can simply relate to their story. The story they so eloquently write on their about page. [...]