blogging & had very little knowledge of what Blogger, WordPress or any other platforms were or how they worked. All I knew about blogging was appealed to me as a reader & the content that interested me.This is a continuation from 14 Tips to Promote Your Blog, which covers a variety of methods and tips I learned & implemented through my mistakes.
General Tips
1. Be Unique – There’s far too many blogs on the net, so understanding what makes your blog unique is extremely important. I continually assess my site & ask myself what it is that differentiates my site from the rest. This helps me strive to be different. Try interjecting your personality to put a unique spin on your content.
you’ll be able to rediscover that inspiration to post after burnouts or blogger’s block.3. Stay Focused – Try to have a central focus that ties in with your site concept. Eazy Cheezy started as a humor/Internet resources site. As I learned more, I realized I needed to choose one focus & stick with it.
4. Make People Think – I’m still looking to improve upon this, but by asking interesting questions or posting thought provoking content, it will help to pique further interest, conversation, etc.
5. Use a Traffic Tool – By using a traffic analysis tool, you’ll be able to see everything you need about your visitors, your top content, trends, etc. I use Google Analytics, which is a free tool that accomplishes this goal and then some. By using the data from Google Analytics, I was able to publish the 2008 Eazy Cheezy Traffic & Visitor Analysis.
6. Establish a Posting Schedule – Keep readers coming back for more by publishing new content on a schedule. I started blogging & posting 3 or 4 posts a day, which was impossible for me to keep up with with the research I have to put in for each post. I set a posting schedule of 1 post per day. I also post a weekly “my favorite bookmarks” entry. Avoid the “I’m finally posting again” type posts.
7. Focus on Your Post Titles – Which would you rather click to read, “Sites For Shopping” or something like “10 Money Saving Sites to Knock Your Socks Off”? Think in terms of article titles you’d like to read. If you’re title stinks, your content will go unread. People judge books by a cover, so give them a flashy cover to make them want to see what’s inside.
8. Be Human – Show your profile, social networking links, etc. Talk to those who comment & don’t be afraid to tell readers about yourself. I’ve attempted to improve this by adding an About Me section & The Story Behind Eazy Cheezy.
9. Use RSS & Display it Near Top of Your Site – Make your RSS easy to find. This gives your readers different methods to obtain your content as it’s published. Flexibility allows readers to pick the reader of their choice. I recommend using some fancy RSS Icons & Feedburner, although there are other great options. I noticed by moving my RSS to the top, I’ve increased subscribers.
Readers & Followers
10. Appreciate Readers & Followers – If someone takes the time to comment on a post, be sure to respond to them. If you can, visit their site & comment on an article of theirs you like. I implemented Intense Debate, to further enhance the commenting system.
11. Show Your Appreciation - Show appreciation to those select readers who always return & interact on your site. Realize that they are spending their valuable time on your site. I’ve continually tried to improve upon this & have recently posted entries, such as Special Thanks! Top 5 Eazy Cheezy Commentators. I also provided an opportunity for readers to show
their best post of 2008, with Post Your Best Blog Post of 2008.
13. Think In Terms of Your Readers – You have to know your audience & stay on top of trends to really figure out what your readers want to read about? I started using these sites early on to keep up with the trends.
14. Help Readers Solve Problems – If you post a “How To” or provide tips, try to do everything you can to help any of your readers solve problems they may have. Chances are, if you gain their trust by helping them to their satisfaction, they’ll come back for more
Enhance Your Blogging Experience
15. Play Like the Pros – Take a look at your favorite sites. What widgets or social networking badges do they use? How do they communicate with their readers? What kind of design do they have? Observe & borrow some of your favorite elements to help take your site to another level.
16. Contact & About Page - Every well established site has an About & Contact page. If you use Blogger, you’re a little more limited. There are many different hacks & tools to use. For my About Page, I created it within an actual post & published it for an old date. Then I just added the About link to the top. For the Contact page, I used Kontactr, which is a free site that readers enter info & their message in and send it to the e-mail you prefer.
17. Widget Control – Be careful adding too many widgets or those that take too long to load. I’ve removed widgets in the past, due to the extremely slow loading time. Seconds seem like a lifetime when your browsing the web. You’ll definitely lose those readers with slower connections.
18. Don’t Blog to Make Money – When I was job hunting, I had thoughts of trying to blog full-time & making money. Rather than destroying my site by including annoying ads everywhere, I opted to just shoot for making back what I spend in Domain cost, etc. There are ways to make money blogging, but many fail. In my 3 month existence, I’ve made $100 from Adsense which covers me. On the flip side, the curiosity I have will have me experimenting with different methods other than Adsense in the near future. I love experimenting with stuff.
19. Try to Post Quality of Quantity – I’ve heard arguments from both sides, but SEO or not, sloppy posts could find people unsubscribing & you can lose more readers.
20. Accept Reader Input & Feedback – I was able to extend my 50 Free Sites to Watch TV & Movies Online posting by listening to valuable reader feedback.
21. Take Some Chances – I’ve taken some chances by modifying my design multiple times & tweaking my logo multiple times. The big chance I took was moving to a domain, which proved to be a better long-term decision. I’ve also considered moving to WordPress.
22. Guest Blog - Until recently, I didn’t know how to go about this, but I have two outstanding bloggers who I’ve developed relationships with through social networking & following their blogs. They will be guest authors on Eazy Cheezy in the very near future and I will be a guest author on their site. This is an exciting way to open yourself and guest blogger to an additional audience & to get a fresh point of view & voice. I’m very excited about the opportunity!
23. Be Open to Learning – I learn things every single day. I started off having no clue about blogging, but have quickly learned from fellow bloggers and sites like Problogger, BlogDoctor, Warrior Forums, Digital Point and the Authority Blogger.
24. Use Images – Vector images and graphics are appealing to the eye. A big personal turn-off for me is a site with all text and no pictures. Images can help to enhance the look and feel of your site and posts. Check out Free Icons & Vector Buttons for RSS, Social Networking, Twitter & More.
25. Get Site Reviews - I’ve had my site reviewed at Warrior Forum, Digital Point and Blog Catalog. Each have given me a different perspective and pointed out ways for me to improve. The reviews were honest & extremely effective.
26. Work To Get Returning Visitors - Getting visitors to your site is great, but in reality a small percentage will actually return. This goes back to setting yourself apart & understanding the value you bring to your readers. There is no magical formula, but one things that’s worked best for me is helping newer bloggers in forums & via e-mail, frequently visiting my favorite blogging sites & being active in social networking communities. Building relationships is vital to blogging.
27. Find Forums In Your Niche – If your niche is something like Career Assistance, you’d want to participate in discussions at LinkedIn, Monster, Careerbuilder, etc. You’ll build relationships with those offering similar services & gain trust in your target audience by helping solve their problem.
A Few Don’ts
28. Don’t Get Offended - If you write a post that could incite a strong reaction from readers, don’t let the bad feedback offend you. People tend to be more negative and the anonymity of the Internet makes many brave. I learned this when I posted Top 15 Punk Bands of All Time at Eazy Entertainment.
29. Don’t Over-Moderate – Editing and deleting posts can turn people off. Unless absolutely necessary, try not to moderate. Also, if moderating is necessary, do so to keep your site under control. Another lesson I learned on the fly, with the article in the previous entry. I had posts such as “Go Kill Yourself, F Yourself, etc. Due to the nature of the post, I only removed the few posts I felt would be offensive to my readers. If the same comments were posted at Eazy Cheezy, they would disappear quickly, due to the nature of this site.
our site. The specific statistics about your site are important to understand & track, but understand you’ll have good days and bad days. I had 9,800 visits in October 22nd, but on November 22nd I only had 690 visits. Be prepared for good days & bad days.These are just some of the many things I’ve learned over the course of my blogging journey. I’ve learned so much and the experience has been amazing. I think I’m typing a little faster too. 
What mistakes have you made blogging? How did you overcome them? The more tips you provide, the smarter we’ll get. Many of the readers of the site are newer bloggers, so please feel free to share your valuable input.
