While going around and commenting on blogs for my part of the Student Blogging Challenge, I realized that many people want to blog, but act like they don’t know what to do on their blog. To make it easier for new bloggers, I have included some of the tips and tricks of the trade.
Posting
Posting is the most important part of blogging. It is what makes your blog unique from other blogs, and is what people come to your blog for. When you make a post, make it about something that interests you, but also gives other people a chance to share their opinions/feelings. For example, if you were making a post about what you did on your birthday, include something at the end that asks “What do you do to celebrate your birthday?” This makes the reader feel like you appreciate their answers and feedback. It also gives you a better chance of having people come back to read your blog.
Commenting
Commenting is all about making connections. You have to connect yourself to other blogs before they might connect themselves to you. If you look to the right of my blog and scroll down a little, you’ll notice links on my blogroll. If you click on these links, you can find the blogs of some of my friends/classmates. When you visit a blog, leave a comment and a link to your blog. If you write a good-quality comment, then they should want to come to your blog and leave a comment back. This is how you get visitors and commenters on your blog.
Links
When making posts, don’t leave readers in the dark. For example, some people might not know what the Student Blogging Challenge is, so when I mention it in my posts, I should include a link to the blog where the challenges can be found. Also, you should make sure that all links work before you add them to a post. Nothing is more annoying and disappointing than a broken link.
Blogrolls
Give credit to your fellow bloggers! Make sure to add a blogroll to the side of your blog, giving links to the blogs of your friends or people that you have met through Edublogs. This is a good way to give praise to the blogs that you enjoy reading.
Appearance
Make sure to make your blog look attractive, but professional. Your theme should be attractive, yet it should compliment your content well. You should also use a variety of widgets (such as ClustrMaps, blog avatars, and blogrolls) to make your blog more interesting and user-friendly.
Some good blogs that exhibit some of the qualities shown above are:
So now, I’ve told you all a little bit about the ways that you can enhance and build your blog to be the best it can be, so I want YOU to try out this tricks and tips for being a better blogger. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, feel free to leave a comment, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!
Happy Blogging!
~Laurenc604 