Building a Better Blog

Plans are essential when it comes to building anything. To measure success there must be a line or point that is the target. Creating a design, a map or a plan that guides each step will give you the guidance you need to get you where you want to go but will also help you monitor the destination. Blogging and writing are no different than building a structure when it comes to the need for plans. There must be some “set up” for there to be “follow through.”

Steps for Building a Blog

1. Find a way to track your readers. Comments are nice, but not all readers will comment. Measuring the level of your blog will require a plug-in or other application that will allow you to record the number of new (or unique visitors) and also the number of return visitors.

2. Make it simple. The more difficult it is for readers to maneuver on your blog then the less likely they will read it. Keep your font simple and spaced so that it is easy on the eye. Don’t overload the website with images, ads or other items. Clean and fresh is best.

3. Keep it easy. Blogging is about community. Any time you make it a challenge for visitors to comment, to sign up for the RSS feed or to sign up for your website then the less likely you are that they will do it. I spent this morning visiting new blogs and was only able to sign up for the feed for about two of them – I couldn’t even find an RSS button on some of the sites. A few of the blogs I visited made it almost impossible for me to comment without registering with Blogger (and we all know how I feel about that) and the rest were just hard on the eyes.

4. Refuse to settle. Following your passion means you can’t rest on what “they” say. You have to find your own path to your purpose. That may mean writing about everything, writing about one thing, writing once a week or writing everyday of the week. Create a blog that is perfectly you and only you and then it will speak to your readers.

A strong blog has to be built on a sound foundation. Create good content as the basis for any blog. Add goals and objectives in the form of a plan. Keep it simple and easy while following your own passion and you will have the blog that will draw the visitors.