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“How can I be a better blogger?”
It’s a question I asked myself once or twice when I started blogging and it’s a question other bloggers think about too. So today I’m here to share six ways you can become a better blogger right now!
These are tips I wish I had known about when I first started blogging. And while they’re not revolutionary and mind-blowing, they are simple things you can do today to help your blog become more user friendly and efficient.
1. Stop being a “no-reply” commenter – When you leave a comment on someone’s blog through the basic blogger comment feed, they get an email in the account they have linked to their blog. If you’re a no-reply commenter, it doesn’t link an email to your comment, so bloggers can’t email you back a response. They have to go and reply to the comment in the actual post. It may seem like a trivial thing, but I love the ability to send a quick reply through my email, especially if it’s a conversation just meant for you and the commenter.
This is one thing that is so easy to change. Not many bloggers know they are a “no-reply” commenter, so here’s how to check.
Click on your thumbnail image in the upper right hand corner of blogger. Then click on “Blogger profile”
Next you’ll click on the “Edit Profile” button in the upper right hand corner of your Blogger profile.
Once there, make sure “Show my email address” is checked. This will remove your “no-reply” comments.
2. Turn off the word verification – This is another pet peeve of mine. I didn’t know I had word verification turned on in my comment feed until someone pointed it out to me one day. Does this look familiar?
Yes, that’s word verification and it’s a huge turn off to me when I go to post comments. I want to have the ability to leave a quick comment and having to figure out what that jumble of letters says is so annoying. Here’s how to turn it off.
Go to the “settings” tab in blogger. Click on “Posts and comments”. The fourth option is “show word verification.” Click no, and it’s gone! You can still control the comments on your blog with “Comment Moderation” and the “Who can comment” option.
3. Pictures should be big and beautiful – I struggled with my pictures for a long time. At first they were small with bad quality, then they got larger with an improved quality, and now they are large and crisp. It’s so hard to see what’s going on in a picture if it’s swallowed up on the screen.
My philosophy is that the pictures should be the focal point of your posts. As a rule of thumb, I re-size all of my pictures to 600 px x 905 px in PicMonkey.
4. Get Google Analytics – I only recently added Google Analytics to my blog and I wish I had done it sooner. This program is so helpful for not only you, but also potential sponsors. For a long time, I just used stats tab in Blogger to pull all of my analytic info, but Google Analytics has opened my eyes to the kind of traffic I get.
When you install Google Analytics you’ll get info on:
- Page views per month
- Unique visitors per month
- The country, state, and city where your viewers live
- Hourly page visits
5. Use a notebook for your blogging ideas – Carrying a notebook around with me has been critical when it comes to outfit ideas and my shopping lists. Whenever I see an outfit I like, I jot it down in my notebook so I can remember it when I’m brainstorming outfits for the week. Pinterest is handy for pinning pictures, but my notebook is an easy way to keep my ideas at an arm’s reach.
6. Leave meaningful comments – I can’t stress this one enough. Have you ever received the “Love your blog! I’m your newest follower!!! Follow me back at…” comment on a post? I’m guilty of it myself.
Here’s the trick: Leaving a meaningful comment will usually garner a meaningful response. I love getting comments where I can tell the reader took the time to read my post and thought out a sincere compliment. There’s nothing better! Most of those comments lead me to find their blog so I can share the love on one of their posts. And when I can tell a reader is sincere, I’m more convinced to follow their blog. All it takes is some thought and effort and you’ve got a dedicated reader right here.
I hope these tips are helpful. It is no where an all-inclusive list, but it’s a start.
Have a wonderful Thursday!
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evelynne
Wednesday 4th of September 2013
Dropping in from Pinterest and wanted to say OMG, that pink outfit is amazing. I love matching, so all the pinks together is making me squee. I like the mix of the metallic brocade with the studs on the shoes, too.
Robyn
Friday 16th of August 2013
I love following your blog and that you don't have word verification! That is one of my biggest reasons for not commenting/following someone too. What is great about this post is that I already follow you and found this through Pintreset when looking for how to be a better blogger. Nice job on that one :)
Lovin' Lee Life