Monday Q&A | 10 Blogging Tips

Every Monday I answer a few questions from you, my readers! If you have a question you’d like me to answer in a future Q&A post (or a question that you’d like me to pose to my husband), leave me a comment, or email me (the frugal girl {at} gmail {dot} com) and put “Q&A” in the subject line.

I was thinking about starting my own blog (inspired from you, of course). Could you give me some tips on getting started?

-Gabby

Aww, I’m honored to have inspired you! This is a large topic…in fact, there are entire blogs dedicated to answering this question and questions like it. I can’t thoroughly cover such a vast subject here, but I’ll throw out a few of my thoughts, in no particular order.

1. Start a blog on WordPress or Typepad instead of on Blogger. I know that you can customize a Blogger blog and make it look pretty cool, but in my opinion, WordPress and Typepad blogs just look much more professional and sleek from the get-go.

2. Have an “About” page. When I visit a new blog, I want to be able to quickly get an idea of who the author is and what the blog is about. I could get that info by sifting through all the archives, but I’m too impatient for that (and so are the rest of the internet users out there!). Make it easy for people to find out what you and your blog are all about.

3. Use paragraphs. Paragraphs are your friend, trust me. Use even more paragraphs than you would while doing off-line writing. Your readers will be turned off be enormous blocks of text, so your posts should consist of lots of small paragraphs.

4. Use pictures. Images help to break up the text of your post and they provide some visual interest. I’m much more inclined to read blog posts that include at least one image.

5. If at all possible, don’t make your readers enter security codes before they can comment. The vast majority of your readers won’t bother to comment, and even fewer of them will bother if you make them sign in or enter a funky letter/number code before they’re allowed to comment. Make it easy for them.

6. If you decide to include ads, don’t put them all over your posts. The sidebar is a good place for ads, and I think sometimes that an ad or two at the foot of the post is ok, but I hate it when I go to blogs and there are ads above, below, and in the middle of the post. It’s so distracting.

7. Don’t pick a blog theme that has a black background. This is personal preference on my part, but blogs with black backgrounds feel depressing to me, and it’s also hard to read white type on a black background.

8. Don’t use text speak. Real words are much better for blogging. ‘Nuff said.

9. Be humble when you write. Don’t act as though you’re perfect, or that you know it all, don’t be dogmatic unless it’s necessary, and don’t spend lots of time criticizing other people (because most of us have plenty to criticize in ourselves before we run about find fault in others!). Unless your blog is just a personal journal (in which case it’s more for you than for others), focus on serving your readers, and that will go a long way towards keeping you from blogging pridefully.

10. Be kind and polite to your readers. For a variety of reasons, blog commenters are occasionally rude, pushy or critical (though the vast majority of mine are not! My readers rock.). Instead of giving in to the temptation to respond in kind, respond politely. A gentle answer turns away wrath, and you will be surprised how often a rude reader can be won over in this way.

Well. That was probably the most opinionated piece of writing I’ve done on here in a long time. Keep in mind, though, that it’s mostly just opinion. For example, I like images in my posts, but some people write successful blogs while using no images. And while I prefer WordPress, some people do very well with Blogger. Some people even have enormous followings on their blog despite their pompous manner (though I would never encourage someone to imitate that behavior!).

Since I don’t think I have the corner on blogging wisdom, would you like to be opinionated along with me? What advice would you give to Gabby? And just so you know, you don’t have to be a blog author to offer advice. Heaven knows blog readers have a good idea of what they like and dislike in a blog, so share away!