Why a Blog?

A blog is better than a website because it constantly is fresh with new topics that are relevant and has value to educate others. A website is only new for about 5 months. Because a website is static and does not have new content added, Google no longer will pay attention to it and it merely disappears in the internet space.

According to CNET News, two new blogs are being created every second of every day. This number is huge! So how can your blog stand out from the crowd? One way would be to have content that has value and is relevant. Second, is to make sure that your blog has a great design and is appealing. New readers might look at your blog, find out that not only is it not user friendly but that it really isn’t very appealing to read. They will leave your blog before they will get a chance to read your article. Wouldn’t that be a shame and a wasted moment? You must realize that looks do matter even in the blogosphere.

How Do You Make Your Blog Stand Out?

A blog can stand out by being clutter free and user friendly. When a person discovers your site what will keep here there?

Valuable and relevant information is a great first step. Educating and teaching others through your experience is a great way to pay it forward. Unfortunately, you might have a great post but there is also the fact that the way that you write your article is just as important.

Create White Space

Make sure your article has a lot of white space surrounding your headings, pictures and paragraphs. White space tends to lead your eyes to areas of your blog and compartmentalizes your blog. A great way to accomplish this is to have your paragraphs no more than three sentences.
Divide your side bar with sections. Create the space by using headings. Separate the archives, videos, and categories. You don’t want them to look like one continuous section. By breaking up the flow of information, you are showing your reader that there is an easy way to find the information that they came to your blog for.

Use Headers

Use headers to divide up your paragraphs. Think of it as an outline of your thoughts.

Clear Sidebars

There are certain items that should be included in your sidebar. For easy navigation, your sidebar should include categories and archives. This way when a reader wants more information about a certain topic, all they need to do is to look at the category section of your blog. Make sure your categories are clear and concise making it easy to navigate and find other articles on the same subject.

Include a search feature in your sidebar. People actual do read your articles and some might even come back to search for one. How will they be able to if you do not have a search feature? Having a calendar is another great way to search for an article by name. When you put your cursor over the date, the name of the article will show up. Try mine at the bottom of my sidebar.

Contact Information

Your reader should be able to leave a comment for you. You should allow both positive and negative comments. Negative comments can generate more activity and engage in conversations. Sometimes a reader will want to get in contact with you other than leaving a comment. You should have a tab enabling your reader to reach you. My tab says “Contact Ginny”.

Backlinks

Create backlinks to other articles that you have written. This will make it easy to navigate through your blog and show what is relevant to the subject matter. This also will help your SEO rankings. It’s a win/win for you and your reader.

Your Blog is an Expression of You

Your blog should be user friendly.

• Make sure that the font size is big enough to read. There is nothing worse than having to struggle to read an article. Most people will give up and leave.
• Make sure that your links work and are recognizable. Either underline the links or use a different color so that they will stand out.

Read my article “5 Easy Steps to a More Appealing Blog” for more tips.

Your blog is an expression of what you stand for. Make a good first impression and your readers will become followers.