BLOG STUFF FOR BLOGGERS

Dress: Urban Outfitters || Vest/belt/leggings/scarf: Styles For Less || Boots: KMart

So I pretty much love these crazy leggings, no matter what anyone says. They are my friend. I plan on wearing these babies many more times this winter!!

Now onto blogging stuff....

So this post won't be too exciting for some of you. I was invited to an online private blogging event. This awesome blogger talked about ways to make your blog more user friendly and do's and do not's of blogging. This was mainly focused on independent bloggers (fashion mostly but it applies to everyone). I want to share with you what I learned. I have a lot to work on I must say. When I'm not at one of my two jobs or school I have a lot of blogging stuff to do :) Enjoy bloggers!!

1. Keep it simple and stick to a specific layout.

You want your frequent users to be familiar with your blog, and easy to use. If you keep changing it, it will cause all sorts of confusion. KISS motto!!! (Keep it simple stupid) I've said it before!! If I go onto someone's site and there is too much going on and I can't find anything, I leave. Try to make separate pages if you have a lot going on.

2. Get rid of clutter

This goes along with number 1. White space is your friend. Its kinda like breathing room!!! Your goal is to maximize readability, so ensure that your design and layout is configured for this. Color and font choices should support readability as best as possible, so get rid of anything that is difficult to read or hard on the eyes. 

3. If you post pictures (and it's better if you do), center them

This makes the whole post look so much better

4. Consistency with fonts and colors

This was also mentioned before. Don't use different fonts and colors in every post. Pick one and stick to it. I have been on sites where people have cursive fonts and its not that easy to read. I wouldn't recommend doing a font that is more difficult to read.

5. Divide your thoughts into paragraphs

Have you ever gone onto a blog and saw a post that was LONG and you didn't even want to tackle it?? I have. Like I said, white space is breathing room. Divide up your thoughts to make the article more appealing to the reader.

6. Backgrounds

Now I know a lot of bloggers have different views on this. What I was taught was it is better to have a light solid color background. Dark backgrounds or backgrounds with pictures on it are not only overwhelming but they distract from the actual posts of the blog and its harder to read the text.

7. Write good quality content

Some of your blog posts will be interesting to some and not to others. As for me, some people i'm sure would care less about the house designing posts I write about and some are interested because they actually own a house. This one is a tough one. Carry around a note book and write down ideas for new blog posts. Make sure you always proof read your posts before posting. We all make silly mistakes of course but its always good to double check!!

8. Research

Research your posts. If you find something interesting and want to blog about it, do it. You don't need to be an expert to blog about something!! 

9. Promote and get your name out there

Doing sponsor swaps is a great way to get your blog out there or even paying and sponsoring someone who has a lot of followers. Social media such as facebook, twitter, Instagram, and pinterest is a great way to also spread word about your blog. Put links up so users can easily add or follow you on these sites.

10. Music

I know a lot of people do this, but one thing that was stressed a lot was the playing of music. Its a personal choice obviously, but music is distracting. When I go to a blog that has music I turn my volume off. I can't read and get into anything when music is blaring. I know some people that will close out of blogs if they have music on. It is your choice, just sharing what I have learned. :)

11. Leave comments on other blogs

You know there is nothing better than getting nice comments on your blog. Well believe it or not, everyone feels that way. People who write on your blog, you should take the time to visit their blog and leave comments too. Obviously we don't have the time to go to EVERYONE'S blog and leave comments but a few here and there is a nice start!

12. Socialize

Join blog hops, discussions, link-ups and anything that will help you get to know more bloggers, and spread the word about your blog. And guess what?? All of that is FUN. Even better!

13. Keep it easy
Along with the no music playing, this was stressed a lot too. I run into this a lot and (no offense) its a pain in the butt. When you leave a comment and you have to decipher the word for it to post. I am not sure what the point of that is. In the conference it was discussed how people are blogging more than ever with their phones. Trying to decipher words is a pain for people on their phones. You can change your settings so no one can post who is unknown, but there is no need for this word challenge. It makes people a lot less likely to come back and comment. Keep commenting easy so people will be more likely to do so. 

What advice would you share to fellow bloggers???

XO

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