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Is your Blog Usable, or a Jumbled Mess of Information?

Chris — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:50:49 +0000

Is your Blog Usable, or a Jumbled Mess of Information? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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When someone visits your blog, can they find their way around easily? Is everything neatly organized on your site… or is it more of a jumbled mess of information, links and text? Here are some excellent tips to help you get (and keep!) your blog organized.

Be predictable. When we want to know what a site is about, the first thing we look for is an ‘About’ page. When we want to contact the owner of a site, the first thing we look for is a ‘Contact’ page. When we want to leave a comment, we usually look to the bottom of a post. When we want to subscribe to a blog, we look for the subscribe button at the top of the sidebar. These things are so common that they’ve become standards… things we expect. When we can’t find the standard, we look for the next most similar thing. By adhering to these predictable standards, you’re actually making it as easy as possible for your blog’s visitors to do exactly what you want them to do. Sometimes being predictable is not a bad thing!
Be obvious. Look down at your keyboard, and you’ll probably be able to spot at least one key that you’ve never noticed before. This is either because you have no need for it, or you don’t know what it does. It could be the most useful key ever, but your hesitation when confronted with the unknown has probably stopped you ever pressing it before. What if it deletes everything you just wrote? We don’t like not knowing what the result of our actions will be, and so it goes with your blog. Non-obvious links and buttons will very rarely be clicked. Would a new visitor know what this does, or where it leads?
Subtract the unimportant. By hiding important elements (your most popular posts, your feed icon, your comment button) amongst a dozen other unimportant things (widgets and recent comments), you’re making it harder for readers to do what is truly important to you.
Limit options. A category list with 10 categories is a lot more usable than a list with 50 categories. Too many options creates overload, which leads to deferral: a visitor will not engage with that element at all. Your list of 5 most popular posts will get clicked more than your list of 20, and so on. Simplified options make it easier for the visitor to decide where they want to place their attention. Too much choice will actually hurt your blog’s usability.
Do the little things. A usable blog, aside from the above, is also made up of many little touches that make your visitor’s browsing experience easier, such as:
- Does your header image link back to your main page?
- Does your blog have an about page?
- Does your blog have a contact page?
- Do your headlines match your content?
- Is it clear where your links will lead?
- Do you use frequent paragraphs in your posts?
- Do you have comment links at the bottom of your post?
- Do you use sub-headings?
- Are your posts less than 2/3 screen-length wide?
- Are you making your best posts easily accessible?
- Are your links easy to pick out?
All of these are things you should think about, and improve upon where needed, if you want your blog to be successful.

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Are you the only Person who Isn’t Blogging?

Chris — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:41:23 +0000

Are you the only Person who Isn’t Blogging? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Thomas is a 14 year old who recently tried to start a Tech blog to make money via AdSense. He didn’t do so well, but learned a lot along the way. He is passing along his tips for starting and maintaining a more successful blog.

Don’t think you are going to get rich quick. Blogging takes a ton of effort, work and time. You’re not just going to start a blog, write a few posts, throw in Adsense and make a million dollars! So keep that in mind. I do it because I enjoy it as well, not just for money. But of course, I’m only fourteen and I don’t need to feed a family.
Do choose a niche! And no, tech is not a niche, unless you are somebody like Chris. Tech is just too wide of a topic, trust me… I tried it. Also, “about me” is not a niche. Unless I’m your friend, I’m most likely not going to read your personal blog, and it certainly will not make money. Make a list of your top 5 things to do. Those are all potential blog topics. Blog about what you like and know, otherwise it will get boring and become a chore.
Do read other blogs in the niche you choose. This is very important. It keeps you up-to-date on the latest news in your niche, and will give you ideas for posts. A feed reader is a good way to do this. I would also recommend reading ProBlogger or LockerGnome for more tips on making money blogging.
Do comment on other blogs in your niche. This will help get your name out, and drive traffic to your blog. News Flash: “cool post man!” is not a comment. Comments are well-written tips relating to the post, or an answer to a question in the post or other comments. It’s a conversation.
Don’t rush into it. Plan ahead. This is probably the single most important thing when you start a new blog. Choose a name for your blog, get a domain, get a design and get hosting. I would also recommend writing a couple week’s worth of posts to get you started. Do all this before you launch. Also, budget in a little money. You’ll need it for hosting, and you may want to buy advertising.

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Public Relations (PR) and the Blogosphere

Chris — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:31:03 +0000

Public Relations (PR) and the Blogosphere is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I don’t mind PR agents, really. There are some – and their approaches – that I DO mind. There’s a fine line that a lot of PR people don’t realize is there. I’m now being asked by a journalist to give my thoughts about PR and their direct role within the Blogging the community. The question, specifically is “Is it reasonable for PRs to target the Blogging community?”.

A blog in itself isn’t a “community”. There are subsets of types of blogs and genres. They themselves are communities. The bottom line is that I am not a journalist. I’m a columnist, yes. I’m a blogger. I’m a video caster. I help other people blog. I don’t know how you’d classify me. The one thing I am is that I”m not a media agency. I’m just someone who enjoys Technology.

I think it’s reasonable for PR people to contact bloggers, yes… with these five things in mind.

Be transparent, and expect transparency in return. Don’t email us pretending you’re someone you’re not. Be up front, and honest about what you’re after. You’ll have a much better shot at getting us on your side or promoting your product(s) and services.
Don’t ask for links. It’s rude to just ask us to give you a link. If I’m interested, I’ll talk about it, and link to it. But for you to just send me a message and ask me to “embed this link”… is just not cool.
Be proactive with review links or products. The only way to really get me to talk about your item(s) is to put something in my hand. Give me something to review. Send me coupons or savings I can pass along to my community.
Know who they are, and why they matter. Don’t just send out some generic email. Make sure you put something into your approach that shows you really DO read my blog, don’t just state it.
Keep it short and sweet. No. Press. Releases. Scan… delete. Software, if you don’t offer me a review code, then it’s deleted. If it’s hardware without a review sample… delete. Maybe you should post your press releases on Twitter.

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How to Start (and KEEP) a Blog

Chris — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:21:54 +0000

How to Start (and KEEP) a Blog is a post from Chris Pirillo

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It happens to the best of us. We start a blog with every intention of keeping it up, and then things get in the way and we forget it. Maybe you don’t know what to write. Maybe you just don’t have time… many things come into play. Here are some excellent tips to help you get started, and stay focused.

Decide what it’s about If you’re writing for a particular audience, write what that audience wants to read. If you’re trying to reach out to D&D fans, don’t start writing about the Civil War. Only write about D&D and related topics. If you’re going for a more general audience, research what you’re going to update about and see if it’s already been blogged to death. Everyone blogs about politics, so stay away from it, unless your story is less than 12 hours old.
Don’t be concerned about comments. Just because someone doesn’t comment on an entry, that doesn’t mean people aren’t reading it, it most likely means they didn’t have anything to say about it. I’ve read tons of articles and blogs that I’ve never commented on, because I felt everything that needed to be said had been said in the entry itself, or was already in the comments. This doesn’t mean completely ignore comments – if no one ever comments on your blog, that almost certainly means no one is reading. I prefer to have comments disabled on my LJ, so I don’t have to worry about it. Instead, I let my readers comment me by email.
Let readers know when you’re gone. If you’re going on vacation and won’t be updating for a while, let your readers know. They may think that you’ve abandoned the blog and didn’t update about it, and remove you from their RSS subscriptions. This will decrease the number of readers of your blog.
Make sure you like your blog If you don’t like the way your blog looks, or your URL, change it. If you think there’s something wrong with it, there probably is. I’ve gone through this myself, and I changed the look of my previous journals countless times before I became completely happy with it. However, you may just think other people don’t like your look, so you need to get opinions. If you change the look of your blog, people may stop reading due to lack of familiarity.
Get a life Instead of worrying about what your next update will be about – get out and do something. If you just sit on the computer all day and tweak with your blog, it’s going to be a very boring read. I’ve learned that the less time you spend worrying about your blog, the more content you’ll have to write about. But make sure it’s interesting, because quantity does not equal quality.

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To Link or not to Link

Chris — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 20:56:53 +0000

To Link or not to Link is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – A community member at large wrote in to ask why some Websites in this day and age do not use any type of Hyperlinking, to link to outside articles, products and Websites. I understand the reasoning behind some sites, but fully believe you HAVE to have links to the outside world in order to drive traffic back to yourself.

Many news sites may not use any type of Hyperlink on their site. Much of what they put on their site is bascially copied and pasted to be used to read live, or else to put into actual print. You can’t exactly click a link in print, or while the newscaster is talking!

Nothing gives you more traffice on your site, though, than when you link to outside sources and receive Trackbacks. You shouldn’t have too many links within any given post, but you do have to have SOME. How else are people going to find you?

Any time I talk about a specific product, service, or Website in a video, I link back to it in the blog write-up. Well, I should say we link back to it. Kat is the person who helps me out with the video converting, editing, embedding and write ups. She makes sure to do the research on what I record, get the proper links, and add them to the write-up. This allows you to get more information as you read or watch my videos, and also allows others on those sites to find us. Well… hopefully anyway. Knock on… particle board!

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How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from GoDaddy includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter code CP2 at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order.

Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.