10 Ways to Pimp Your Blog
A couple months ago, I wrote a newbie’s guide to blogging to help you get started with blogging. If you’ve been blogging for a little while now, you might be looking at how you can take the next step. To that end, this post offers 10 ways to “pimp” your blog, both in the sense of “tricking out” your blog to make it more attractive and more useful, and in the sense of pushing your blog to earn more readers, subscribers, and (hopefully) fans.
Getting over the hump (or is it a Dip?)
Launching a blog can be a heady experience, especially if it’s your first blog. Suddenly, what you have to say is “out there”, potentially available to millions of readers. You feel something like the pamphleteers of the French and American Revolution must have felt, sending your ideas forth into the Great Wide World.
Pretty soon, you might see a few readers, even get a comment of two, and that feels pretty good. After a couple of weeks of watching your statistics slowly inch into the double digits and waiting anxiously for the next comment, though, the initial enthusiasm fades a bit, and the realization sets in that blogging is long-term work. The Internet is littered with thousands, maybe millions of blogs that were abandoned after a few weeks or months.
If you’re writing good content and actively marketing your blog, though, there’s no reason why you should get discouraged as you slide into your first dip. Although it can be frustrating to commit your brilliant thoughts to the ether knowing only a handful of people are reading it, you’re doing important work for the long-term success of your site. You’re building up an archive of content that search engines will eventually be directing traffic to (Google, for instance, likes to see several months to a year of content on a blog before it starts bumping it up in search results), you’re building up a reputation, and you’re building a core readership — people who will link to your blog, bringing it to a slightly larger audience, who will also link, increasing the audience a little bit more, and so on.
If you’re serious about blogging, the only thing to do at this point is to power through the dip. Spend some time buttressing your site’s functionality to make it more useful to your future readers (and avoid having to do much renovation later when the number of people it will confuse is vastly greater). And commit about the same amount of time you spend writing your blog to promoting it to keep that growth process moving forward.
Gussy it up a bit!
The first group of tips are ways to add functionality or improve the way your blog looks. The idea is to turn your factory-stock ‘04 Taurus into a lean, mean, street-racing machine. Let’s get started:
- First things first: UNPIMP YOUR BLOG! That’s right. Like a pimply-faced teen with no money who puts plastic wheel covers and fuzzy dice in his grandmother’s Civic hoping to impress the hot rod babes, beginning bloggers tend to put a lot of cra… er, “stuff” on their blogs. Counters. Chat rooms. Off-site forums. Badges for every web service and social network imaginable. LOL-Cats. Glitter art.
Most of this stuff isn’t making your blog any quicker, easier to use, or (let’s be honest) more attractive. It’s just cluttering it up and making it harder to find the good content your readers came to read. Be vicious in decluttering your blog — if a particular element adds no useful function for your readers, either a) lose it, b) move it to your “About” page (if it says something meaningful about you), or c) move it to a private page that only you have access to.
- Install a new theme: While you don’t want to get into the habit of changing your site’s layout all the time, now that you’ve been driving it for a couple of months it’s a good time to ask whether your theme is everything it could be. Most popular blogging platforms offer hundreds, if not thousands of free themes — Google the name of your blogging platform and the phrase “free themes” and check out the first few search results. Put some thought into the mood you want your site to convey — is it serious and professional, fun and whimsical, tech-savvy, homey, country, urban? There’s bound to be several themes for any mood you can dream up.
- Revise your “About” page: New bloggers tend to give short shrift to their “About” page. If your writing is at all good, people will want to know about the person behind the voice. Flesh out your bio with information about your background, experience, and reasons for blogging. This is also the place to put all those links to your profile on various social networks that you stripped from the front page while un-pimping.
- Create an “Archive” page: Most blogging software will automatically post links to monthly (or even weekly) archive pages into the sidebar of your blog. While this can look pretty neat when you’re just getting started, after a while that list starts getting pretty long — and it’s debatable whether it’s useful to let your readers browse by date, anyway. Before the list gets too unruly, move it to its own page (put a link to “Archives” in its place on the front page). Better yet, create a page with links to your archives by category or tag as well as by date.
- Add or update your logo: Most blogging programs create a nicely formatted header with your blog’s title and maybe a tagline, which is good, but if you’re in it for the long haul, you’re going to want a stronger brand image than just a title. Create — or have a graphics-savvy friend or even a professional create for you — a cool logo that says something interesting about you and your blog. This can be as simple as the title or its initials in a cool font that expresses the tone of your site, or an actual graphic (think: Nike’s “Swoosh”) that sums up the way you want your readers to feel.
Work the streets
Making your blog friendlier to readers won’t do much good if you don’t bring more readers to the site for a look. To build up traffic, you’re going to need to reach beyond your site and put links in places where your potential readers are likely to see them. Here are a few ideas:
- Add links to all your profiles: It seems obvious, but so many people don’t even fill out a profile on social networking sites — leaving a great resource untapped. If you participate to any significant degree on networks like Twitter, Pownce, Digg, StumbleUpon, Facebook, LinkedIn, and so on, people will check out your profile to find out more. Those are exactly the people you want reading your site! Make sure you give them a link that’s clearly marked as your site (so many people put their favorite sites in their profiles; make sure yours stands out as yours).
- Recognize active commenters: Respond to as many comments on your site as possible. Then, click through to your commenter’s sites and leave comments there. Build up a community of like-minded readers — ideally with your site as the “hub”. Some people post weekly or monthly “thank you” posts with links to the top 10 or 20 commenter’s sites — this not only helps build up a sense of warmth and goodwill, it makes it more likely that your readers with websites will link back to you.
- Write at least one valuable comment a day on someone else’s site. This is basically the above tip, inside-out. Leave good, insightful comments on other people’s sites — a sort of “mini-version” of your own site’s content — to get people interested in you. Remember, some people recognize quality commenters, by linking to their site and even by creating new posts around the points made in their best comments.
- Invite someone to guest post: In my newbie guide to blogging I suggested approaching well-established bloggers about writing a post for their sites. Once you get a little traction in your niche, you can also ask other bloggers if they’d like to do a post on your own blog — maybe as an exchange. You post on their site, they post on yours — you’ll both enjoy the opportunity to write for a slightly different audience, and of course you’ll both link to the other blogger’s site where your new post can be found.
- Create a massive resource post: Put your knowledge of your niche to work creating a massive resource — the 50 best sites in your niche, 100 great posts on your topic, 25 great web tools, etc. Make sure that you keep the filler to a minimum (there’s nothing wrong with posting the best 47 sites, instead of adding 3 more so-so sites to make it an even 50). This kind of post is often referred to as “linkbait”, because if it’s useful, a lot of people will link to it and/or bookmark it to return to later.
Of course, you can always pay for traffic — you can buy StumbleUpon hits and Google ads and place banners on other people’s sites. It’s uncertain how powerful this kind of promotion is — some experts believe that on-line advertising doesn’t help anyone, and blogs are a special case even among online brands. While you can build a short-term spike in traffic through paid placements, it’s much harder to build long-term return traffic — that is, “fans” — in any way other than providing quality, meaningful stuff for them to read, both at your site and around the Web.
In my experience, the people who go for the quick burst of traffic rarely offer any reason to stick around. The ones who write well, show they’re serious, and have some staying power — the ones who manage to get over that first bout of doldrums a month or so into their blog’s life — those are the ones worth following. Follow some or all of the tips above, and you’ll be part of that select group.
If you’ve been blogging for a while, let us know: how did you manage that first plateau — and all the slow periods since? What are your tips for bloggers whose feet are wet but they want to make sure they’ve built a strong enough foundation to make it for the long haul? Tell us your tips in the comments!
WRITER'S BIOGRAPHY
Dustin Wax
Dustin M. Wax is a freelance writer and project manager at Stepcase Lifehack. He can be reached though his freelancing site at DustinWax.comDon't Be Stupid: A Guide to Learning, Studying, and Succeeding at College.
Follow him on Twitter: @dwax.
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Comments
Mrs. Micah says on April 23rd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I think #1 is the biggest reason I haven’t ever gotten interested in MySpace. People add so many effects….music, sparkles, badges, etc that it’s hard to see any useful information.
Abhijeet from Jeet Blog says on April 23rd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Some nice points there! Although I have had a fair bit of success with my new blog, certainly to retain the traffic in the long run is a challenge and this post helps in motivating me to blog better. Thanks
Rob O. says on April 23rd, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Good stuff! I especially like the “unpimp” advice you gave!
I’d add that, while revising your “About” page, be sure to provide a means for readers to contact you, either via a web-based form or direct email.
I’d also advise that, along with updating your “About” page, you create a custom “404″ page. You can use this to redirect wayward visitors to a search page, site map, “About” page, or just to your site’s main URL.
Jonathan Plutchok says on April 23rd, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Thank you for the excellent advice. I needed this bit of extra motivation to keep plugging away at my weekly blog (recommending utility software and Web sites), whose readership seems to have plateaued again.
I already had implemented some of your advice, and can attest to its value:
My readership bumbled along at about 40-60 unique visitors a day until I wrote a guest post for the well-regarded FreewareGenius blog. That increased readership nicely, and again when FreewareGenius named my blog as one of his favorite 10. I still get readers regularly from that source, though it has been a long time since I posted there.
Then I started commenting regularly at giveawayoftheday.com, and readership spiked each time I did. And my occasional comments on other, widely read software blogs also draw in readers, whom I hope will return frequently. However, I am careful to comment only when I have something truly useful to contribute – for example, when I have reviewed software or Web sites being discussed on the other blog.
I am very selective about cross-linking, however, as I believe one is judged by the company one keeps, even in cyberspace.
Now my readership is bumbling along at about 200-300 unique visitors a day, peaking much higher shortly after I comment elsewhere. And though I blog for the ego gratification and the pleasure of helping others (I certainly don’t make money from it, and have not tried to), I want to push the numbers still higher. Therefore, I will try to implement your suggestions as time permits.
Thanks again for your cogent advice, in this post and so many others. Best wishes.
Mike says on April 23rd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Thanks for the advice! I just started a new blog and more than anything else the encouragement is helpful. I’ve read a number of these types of articles and the recurring piece of advice is the obvious: write stuff people want to read. That’s simple, but challenging. Luckily, it is usually fun to learn to do things that are simple but challenging.
rruben says on April 23rd, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I also had a dip, and that dip made me realise that it wasn’t the subject that I should go on about. So I stopped after arround 40 posts, but there where some great moments though when you see the number of visitors increasing.
Now I am planning to make a new website and I already bought the domain name, but to challenge myself that I can do it for years I will first write 50 articles which is more than when my first dip started. By doing that I will be sure that I won’t stop blogging again.
And thank you very much for the great advice. I really learned from it.
Michalis Firillas says on April 23rd, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Thanks for the pointers. Can you expand on how to go about setting up a separate archive for posts?
As for the seemingly myriad of blogs out there, any advice on how to ‘navigate’ the maze – and actually track down ones whose content is of interest to me? I am finding that using the standard available search methods (Technorati, for example) is just not good enough… or I am not doing it right.
Once again, thanks.
Peter Knight says on April 23rd, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Good advice, as always. I am now two months into blogging on the WorPress platform and have two blogs up: Main reason is to test the themes on one and the other, though the newer one
http://www.byknight,com/journal
Aims to be more personal. I agree with keeping themes simple: Visiting, I’ve found so many overloaded with kitsch and the ‘minimalist’ones seem to me the most attractive.
Peter
MrAchievement - Stanley Bronstein says on April 23rd, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Excellent advice. Guest posting is definitely a good thing. So is commenting on other peoples blog.
Wordpress also has some incredibly powerful themes if you know how to use them. I love using it on my blog. I can’t believe how many choices it gives me.
MrAchievement
Stanley Bronstein
Attorney, CPA, Author, Blogger & Professional Motivational Speaker
tracy ho says on April 24th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Great advice , I am currently follows some of your advise , still keep up with regular posting .
Hope times to come can achieve my Goals ,
Thank You
Tracy Ho
wisdomgettingloaded
Provi says on April 24th, 2008 at 3:05 am
I’ve actually been contemplating whether or not to make a blog at all. I started trying to find God, and I said to myself “If I can be home everyday, and just talk to God all day and tell him what’s on my mind, the really important stuff, why should I even need to tell that to anyone else? It’s between me and God.”
I felt is I just posted all my thoughts on the web so simply, it would degrade the meaning of what I told God, since I would just be telling a lot of it to other people as well.
The only reason I WOULD make a blog, would be a travel blog, because those are always fun to read and write.
Totally off subject, but one aspect of blogging that perhaps few people consider.
Kaji says on April 24th, 2008 at 6:34 am
I don’t think there is a ‘God’.
Jessica says on April 24th, 2008 at 8:15 am
Love the advice. However, is it ever too early to start pimping one’s blog? I just started a blog about networking for new professionals. I’m really excited about it but I wonder if I’m just glowing in blogging’s “honeymoon” phase. Should I wait a few months before aggressively promoting it?
Money Kacper says on April 24th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Nice post. Very helpfull for me as I’ve run my blog already for 2 months and need new ideas to boost it.
I think I will start with some guest blogging and writing valuable comments on other site.
Haha, so this is my first comment since now, but I’m not sure if it is so valuable.
Have a nice day.
Dustin Wax says on April 24th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Jessica: I don’t think it’s ever too early, but some things — like exchanging guest posts — will make more sense when you have some authority in your niche. My earlier post (the “newbie’s guide) covered some basic promotion stuff — you have to get out there from day one. The idea here is, after a little while, you need to do a “re-think” — eliminate what isn’t adding value, etc. But most of the stuff here can be usefully implemented from day 1.
Gregory Fisher says on April 24th, 2008 at 10:33 am
That was excellent advice and I’ll be re-writing my About page today.
One thing that helped get me past the dips is to check my stats for clues as to what my readers were looking for. WordPress Stats shows me what google searches led to my site. As long as the topic fits the general parameters of my blog (introducing people to horror fiction) I’ll write a post about that topic.
If you can fullfill the information needs of your readership, I believe, they will return.
Cameron Cook says on April 24th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Definitely some great info here for the weekend warrior.
I too back #1 of de-pimping. Hold each piece accountable from links to widgets, on top of your articles of course ;)
Mrs S | A pocketful of pixie dust says on April 24th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Some great advice here – I like the *unpimp* your blog first suggestion – I see so many blogs – esp on blogger – where the blinkies and red text just put me off reading – and some of them have really good copy so it’s a real shame!
I can vouch for the *comment on other blogs that comment on yours* tip – it’s helped me meet some great people as well as increasing visitor numbers.
Talking Books Librarian says on April 24th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I think commenting on other people’s blogs is a great way to get your name out there and to introduce yourself to other bloggers with like interests. And then just read other blogs on a regular basis – stay abreast of the blogging world!
-Talking Books Librarian
http://talkingbookslibrarian.blogspot.com
Talking Books Librarian says on April 24th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I think commenting on other people’s blogs is a great way to get your name out there and to introduce yourself to other bloggers with like interests. And then just read other blogs on a regular basis – stay abreast of the blogging world!
-Talking Books Librarian
Steve Bannister says on April 25th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Dustin,
After skimming down through the other comments I guess I don’t have much new to add except to offer another thank-you for providing a great source of info. for newbie bloggers like myself.
Keep up the great work!
Cheers,
Steve
Paul from I Help Stupid People says on April 28th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I agree with the other comments, this list has been very helpful in getting over the hump. My favorite suggestion is writing down 100 topics to write about and keeping a back log. Great stuff! Thanks.
Jake says on April 30th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
This blog is very much appreciated! We just started a company blog, and the tips in this blog will hopefully help us spread the word of our product to as many people as we can. We totally overlooked the potential of blogging when we first started our website, and I greatly appreciate anyone looking to help.
Thanks again!
Jake
http://www.notescribe.net
Matt says on May 6th, 2008 at 9:42 am
I have been blogging for a while about a niche HD digital/video camera, the Canon TX1. I’ve picked up a small but enthusiastic following of devoted owners.
Almost all posts generate comments and when I did hit the big dip in posting frequency, the readers were disappointed and sought other sites to discuss the camera on.
As a way of attracting back that following I created a dedicated forum site which is now starting to rev up. The community is back and their contributions to the site make it an even more valuable resource.
Matt
http://www.powershot-tx1.com
Paul says on May 11th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Useful article.
I think the points about getting through the dip and having good content are key. Thanks.
Salar Madadi says on May 16th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Thanks for the tips Dustin! I came across this article some time ago and bookmarked it. I’ve only now just started to put some of it in effect.
Pickup Artist says on October 10th, 2008 at 2:22 am
I appreciate the article, it lays the foundation for a successful blog.
Katie Lauren says on March 3rd, 2009 at 11:49 pm
You forgot #11
11. Have kids. Lot’s of them funny finicky ones that talk like little adults. Those mommy bloggers have this shit in the bag! : )
Phillip Gibb says on March 4th, 2009 at 4:55 am
Working the Streets right now :-)
Very practical advice
Thanks
Phill(synapticlight)
Aman says on June 24th, 2009 at 5:55 am
Very helpful info… Really inspiring for a new blogger… :)
Newsfop says on September 7th, 2009 at 1:01 am
Thank you for posting this content. It helped confirm in me a lot of decisions that I made correctly, and it sobered my understanding that it will start slowly at first. But thankfully, all great things must start somewhere. Thanks again!