Saturday, January 8, 2011

READERS' ANSWERS to the Question: What Makes a Good Blog?

Last week I asked the question: What makes a good blog? Twenty authors commented, and others commented on Yahoo loops. Several authors said the same thing, which meant the ideas were important.

The visiting authors:

Terry Spear; Adelle Lauden; Linda Swift; Skhye Purington; Steph Burkhart; Morgan Mandel; Cynthia; Miss Mae; Maggie Toussaint; Cheryl Pierson; Keena Kincaid; Paula Martin; Mona Risk; Pauline Holyoak; Diane Craver; Danielle Thorne; Jennifer Hudson Taylor; LK Hunsaker; Connie Chastain; and Savanna Kougar.

The most often mentioned answer was "a catchy title," one that would get the reader's attention and pique their interest. Another most often named was tags--something I often forget. Photos seemed to be very popular, as well as something different from writing topics.

One reader said, "A reason a visitor doesn't comment might be the difficulty of signing in, especially copying those little curly letters." I agree with this one hundred percent. About one out of four times I try to sign in an author's blog, the process becomes tedious. Much of the time I will not leave a comment.

Other suggestions: keep the blog current, don't stray into controversial subjects, promote your blog, and reflect what you write.

Keena Kincaid suggested a unique view: "Show energy and passion in your blog. People who like to blog often get more visitors, too."

Thank you for the ideas, and while I know they're important doesn't mean I remember to use them enough. I'll make notes of these, and hope to write an article soon.

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas
http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com/
http://www.celiayeary.com/
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16 comments:

  1. Thanks for all the great suggestions and feedback.

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  2. BETH--you're welcome. I have some good material for an article, too. Thanks for stopping by--Celia

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  3. I think the signing in with the curly letters and stuff does deter some. Readers enjoy being able to do things without a lot of hassle. If a place is hard to get into then they usually won't bother, a writer won't either a lot of times.

    I've always been told that the simpler you make things,t he better. And of course it helps to have a topic that draws interest too.

    Love and blessings
    Rita

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  4. Thanks for the info. Getting my blog up and running is one of this month's goals. Last spring, I took a seminar called Intro to Blogging. I need to dig out those notes and couple them with your comments. I think I need to map out a few weeks of posts before I get started. That way, I'll be a little ahead of the game.

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  5. I'm playing catch-up here and I really appreciate your summing it up so well, Celia. I tend to agree with the comment about having trouble with the squiggly lines when posting. I often fail the "human testers" and just give up. Great post!

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  6. Now I better go and blog. LOL

    I have to add that maintaining a good blog, or more specifically a popular blog, definitely improve the sales, much more than many fabulous reviews. How do I know that? Let say that I compare my sales to someone else's sales. How I wish my blog was more popular or I was more active at blogging.

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  7. RITA--you are so right! Simple is better in so many ways. I get a little annoyed if I'm asked for so many things--makes me feel a bit like a crinimal. And I really don't know how much good it does. Thanks! Celia

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  8. AARBAUGH--Sometimes, you need to just jump in and get your feet wet. I did, only knowing a little of what I wanted to do. An author I didn't even know e-mailed one day and told me how to make my blog more "me." So, you see, that's the key--it must reflect "you." And be interesting--except my blog is most often more interesting than I am personally. Celia

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  9. MAEVE--oh, yes, thos squiggly lines seem to be a problem with everyone. Really--what is the point? Thanks for the comment--Celia

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  10. MONA--that is a statistic I don't know. If a blog is popular, does it sell more books. Gee, I have no idea. Good thing to ponder, though. Celia

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  11. Blogger ate my comment. Boo hoo!

    Okay - I'll try this again.

    Blogs are an art form, not a science in my opinion. You get a high A for your blog, Miz Celia!

    Maggie

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  12. MAGGIE--bad blogger! It's at it again. Thanks, I just love getting As--Celia

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  13. Celia - did I see blogging for dummies? Cute! I agree - the curly letters are a deterent, but in some cases needed because of the spam factor. Celia, you have an awesome blog and you've found what works for you! Rock it!
    Smiles
    Steph

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  14. It seems we are all searching for the elusive right equation to what makes a good blog. For me it is all about keeping things current.
    So far, I haven't had any complaints. Your blog is lovely, as are you.

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  15. STEPH--you are such a sweetheart. What would we all do without you? But I'm not sure how those squiggly letters deter the spammers. That's one of the things I'm studying. I don't require anything to comment, and in all this time I've had one spammer, and since it was writtne in Chinese characters I had no idea what it was about. I delted it--I have that power as owner. And it never appeared again.Celia

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  16. Ahh, Adelle, after the day I've had, I thank you so much for the compliment. I love my blog--I've said before and I'll say again, it's the one thing that really keeps me happy, and I love to think up something for the next week.
    I know if I tried to blog everyday with ramblings, I'd burn out quickly. Thank you again, Celia

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