Ask Bree: What are your top 10 blogging tips?

QUESTION: I am in the process of designing my blog with my web designer and would love to know what your top 10 tips are for starting a blog! - Emma, Nest Designs Bree’s answer: Hi Emma! Thanks for your question. Here are my top 10 tips: 1. Name If you haven’t already chosen a name, be sure to pick one that’s memorable, easy to spell, available as a .com, and is also available for popular social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook – consistency is key for branding. Namechk is a useful tool for looking up available usernames/vanity URLs. Reconsider any name where you want to put “The” at the front of it. That, by far, is my biggest regret with this blog! People call it “Blog Stylist” all the time, and I hate to think how much traffic I’m sending to the domain name without the “the”. 2. Designer vs Developer Know the difference between the two. Put simply, a designer does the pretty stuff, while a developer does the serious geeky stuff. Some designers have developer skills, and some developers have designer skills. Don’t hire one and expect them to know everything – ask them exactly what they can do for you. Find someone who can do both and you’re – as Charlie Sheen would put it – WINNING! Also, it’s worth knowing the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. 3. Domain name For the love of blog (like that one? ) get thee a domain name – even if you are using a free platform such as Blogger or WordPress.com. Don’t spend hours, weeks, months or years building a brand (even if that’s not your intention – you’re actually doing that if you plan to or not) only to one day decide to take your blog to the next level but can’t get the domain name to match. It’s a cheap investment – around $12 per year for a .com (and some hosts offer them for free with hosting). Obviously, it’s also wise to spend some time making sure you’re not stepping on anyone’s trademark toes. 4. Hot mess Don’t make your sidebar look like a Hollywood starlet after a big night out. It doesn’t need every widget/button/link etc you can find. I often see all kinds of stat counters etc smooshed into sidebars. They do almost nothing except give the site they’re linking to a backlink, thus boosting their importance in Google‘s eyes. The phrase “less is more” is worth considering. 5. Above the fold The “fold” is actually a newspaper term and refers to the area of the paper that can be seen when it’s bent in half, with the idea being that anything being above the fold (top half of front page) is considered prime real estate. In the website and blog world, this same concept applies, though the “fold” refers to anything that can be seen on the screen once a page has loaded but without you having to scroll down (however, this varies depending on screen size and resolution). All the important stuff should be considered for this area: about and contact pages, RSS and newsletter subscription details, and – if you want to incorporate advertising – ad spots. Think about the fold when choosing a theme or having your blog designed. 6. Your message What kind of message are you hoping to give your visitors? Your home page is like the front door of your home. Is it inviting? Don’t assume people automatically know what your blog’s about. Spell it out for them. The easiest way to do this is with a tagline (“The simple & stylish guide to blogging” is mine) and an about page. Consider adding a photo and a sentence or two about yourself. My about page is consistently one of my most-viewed pages. 7. Make sharing easy If you want people to follow you on Twitter or like your Facebook page, make links to these profiles easy to find. Don’t make your readers go looking for them - that’s not their job. Think back to point five – above the fold is wise. 8. HTML basics Honestly. Take the time to learn the absolute basics of HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language). You will kiss the ground I walk on for encouraging you! Promise! Knowing how to manually add hyperlinked text or a hyperlinked image can open the doors to all kinds of creative ideas. Check out W3 Schools for a step-by-step guide. 9. Network As ProBlogger has said every time I’ve heard him speak: get off your blog. It might come as a shock, but simply writing posts aren’t going to get you traffic*! It’s everything else that will: commenting on other blogs, connecting with people on Twitter, adding your blog to sites such as StumbleUpon, attending conferences and events (this post is a great example of what attending a conference can do for traffic).*They will, however, be the reason your readers return. 10. Evolve Blogs aren’t static. Trends come and go. Social media is ever changing. Remember this and be prepared to make changes to your blog on a regular basis! Hope that helps Emma! Do you have any tips for Emma? Share them below. Got a question? Please submit it here and I might use it in an upcoming post! MQH2N2UX35NP