What Makes a Good Blog?

seeknulfind · #21 06/08/11, 12:12 PM

Hi Christy,

You are entirely welcome. Blogging can be quite hard because one is expected to keep posting. I have a hard time with that.

One question (because I'm to lazy to look): how much control do you have over your ad placement and look with blogger?

Andy

hmsteader71 · #22 06/08/11, 12:24 PM

I think it looks good. Your soaps are beautiful!

madness · #23 06/08/11, 12:29 PM

Hehehe. I found your blog through some means or another and I didn't know it was you until I saw this thread bumped! I'm Marissa - I've made a few comments on your blog.

Ok, now to the "being perfectly honest" part. I just got all the blogs I read onto a blog feeder this morning. I had a bunch bookmarked and just clicked on the links everyday until my husband informed me that was the 'lame' way to do it. So while transferring to Google Reader, I weeded out the blogs that I never find interesting or I don't feel like commenting on. I was *this* close to not adding yours to the reader...but it did make the list!

Why was I about to stop reading your blog? The subject matter is interesting to me of course and the blog is visually pleasing. The problem (for me) seems to be in the delivery. I feel that many of your posts are very informative (the recipe for feta and chevre, for example) but they are lacking in "personality". I see in your last post in this thread, you say you need to open up more - and I fully agree!

Most of the information on your blog can be found elsewhere on the web. It's hard to come up with something entirely original. What makes a person choose to read your informative blog over someone else's informative blog is usually the PERSON behind it, at least for a genre like this.

My husband (who is an avid blog reader) read some of your posts and wondered if you had "farmed them out" since they were so impersonal. I didn't even know that existed, but apparently people pay others to add content to their site and it can usually be seen by 'bland' content.

I also agree with seeknulfind - while the info is good, there is usually something lacking in the completeness. You;ll notice that I asked what kind of cream separator you use. Also the stuff about the mica...although the post was worth it for the pictures alone! Yummy!

Sooo...I hope that didn't sound too harsh! I only read about 7 blogs right now and you are one of them! So obviously, I enjoy it. It's just such interesting timing that I had this conversation this morning and then this thread was bumped for me to see!

cmharris6002 · #24 06/08/11, 01:05 PM

Not harsh at all Marissa! Thank you for following me, I will do my best to earn that privilege

I hope in a short time more content and personality will be evident in my posts. My natural writing style is very formal and I need lighten it up a bit. I think the more I write (it's only been a month) the less constrained I'll sound. So grow with me, I'll get better, I promise

Andy, I think I have full control over where the amazon ads are placed. I have some control over how they look. After your last suggestion I moved my navigation to a more visible location. When you end up on a post through a search or post link, the post should be on its own page. The only time you get more posts (7 posts) is when you link to the blog homepage. I hope that makes it easier for people.

About ads/selling One thing I was thinking of doing is creating pages one of which would be an equipment list with amazon links with all the stuff that helps me make everything and also a book shelf with helpful books. I just don't want it to look like a catalog...

I would also like your opinions about posting my blog to my web site. Right now I have a link to my blogger but I could put a blog on my website by posting to both places. My web site blog template is VERY limited so I wouldn't want it as a stand alone...

Thank again, you all are so supportive and helpful!

rootsong · #25 06/08/11, 01:19 PM

I haven't even clicked yet on your link to take a look at your blog. But I just wanted to quickly share what I personally think makes a great blog:

Lots & lots of large, clear, colorful pictures.

No lonnnngg paragraphs. They've got to be broken up and/or have pictures put between.

Personal, not just like an article from a magazine.

Zero politics. Unless you are specifically writing a political blog. Which is a hard one for me because I am sooo darn opinionated! lol But if I am reading a lovely blog that I may be considering adding to my blog list, and then come across some mention of politics that are different than my own views, I am immediately distracted. Without even trying, my brain then judges the writer based on the political comment & it's never the same again. I hope that doesn't sound ridiculous.

By far, the most visited pages of my wee little blog are the "how to pages". People end up on them daily, after Googling things like "how to make shampoo" or things like that. Actually, my very, very most visited page of all time is the one where I wrote about turkey butchering. I feel lame though because it was my 1st time & I was doing it with friends so my post isn't a real step by step helper. But people from around the world Google "how to butcher a turkey" & end up on that page several times a week!

So, if you reeeeally want to get some blog hits, perhaps you should write a step by step on how to butcher a turkey. LOL!

The only other thing I can think of off the top of my head is to be sure you have a little "about me" blurb somewhere obvious. I really don't enjoy blogs that don't have them. I'm left to wonder "who is this person? a man, a woman? do they have kids? what is their deal?"

Geez I'm chatty this morning.

madness · #26 06/08/11, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmharris6002

About ads/selling One thing I was thinking of doing is creating pages one of which would be an equipment list with amazon links with all the stuff that helps me make everything and also a book shelf with helpful books. I just don't want it to look like a catalog...

I HATE blogs that I feel like are just out to promote one product or another. Even if they aren't a product the blogger is selling. I've stopped going to some blogs/forums that are inundated with ads. I like blogs with no ads, but I realize some folks are trying to generate revenue. Perhaps one day I will do that too, but right now I'm just having fun so I like reading other blogs where the person seems just be having fun with it. But I doubt you will ever find somebody that says they love to read blogs for ads!

Quote:

I would also like your opinions about posting my blog to my web site. Right now I have a link to my blogger but I could put a blog on my website by posting to both places. My web site blog template is VERY limited so I wouldn't want it as a stand alone...

I just recently made the switch from blogger/blogspot to hosted on my own website. I love that the two are integrated and clearly connected. I'm using wordpress for the entire site (static pages too). I have yet to find a "following" plugin that I think is as easy and intuitive as the google one but mostly it's because I've never done the following thing myself until this morning so I had no idea what to look for. So I think I will be able to come up with something that will be as user friendly.

There is something that just seems more "professional" about a blog on your own domain. Wordpress is free to get on your domain and then you can spend a bit of money on a template. I went with an expensive one and it was only $35. I REALLY like this site for finding awesome templates:

http://themeforest.net/

Mine is the Amplus template. These things are so customizable - see how I've changed it on my site. And I didn't even go out of my way, just changed colors, etc.

So if you are willing to learn to use wordpress (it wasn't so bad!), I think that's probably your best bet.

madness · #27 06/08/11, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rootsong

By far, the most visited pages of my wee little blog are the "how to pages".

Another hippy-goth dreadlocked natural birthing homesteading momma!?!?! And SKINNY PUPPY!?!?! I still wear one of their shirt sometimes and get "looks". *adding to blog reader*

seeknulfind · #28 06/08/11, 02:37 PM

Hi Christy,

Full control is good (not that "I'm" a control freak or anything). For some reason I thought you had adsense on the site.

How you structure you blog depends a lot on what you want your visitor to do. I'll make a couple of assumptions here but if they are off target then some adjustments may be needed. (Otherwise, you MUST do EXACTLY what I say ALWAYS :-)

All kidding aside, after looking again, I see you have a link to your primary website. Thus I'll assume that you'd like to guide folks there to buy soap or take classes. (Is there a video class in your future? I know, big project, but how many folks can you fit in one live class?)

Anyway, if you have bars of this soap for sale, why not link to them? You can suggest something like - "If you love this soap, click here to have some shipped right to your door. (Makes a great gift too!)"

Or even something like: "I have a few bars available for purchase - click here for more information..."

Another tweak you may want to consider is to limit the posts on the first page to the first few sentences. Be sure to...

stop someplace like I did above as this nearly forces the reader to read the whole post.

No matter what you do, I urge you to consider what you would like your visitors to gain from your posts as well as what you want them to do after they've read it.

Andy

seeknulfind · #29 06/08/11, 02:47 PM

P.S. I'm all for you adding your blog to your website. More control and you are no longer at the mercy of blogger. I see no reason you couldn't post short summaries of your posts to blogger and point those visitors to your site also.

cmharris6002 · #30 06/09/11, 07:51 AM

I think what I really want my blog to do is inspire people to try some new projects and support a slowed down kind of lifestyle where it's worth it to wait 10 hours for a glass if tea

I know people are supposed to make money blogging but I don't know much about all that. I put the amazon links because I had people asking me to put where I get all my stuff.

I have no experience with blogging, I didn't even read blogs unless I ran across them on google. I just had so many people telling me 'you should start a blog'. They want to learn more about all the stuff I do and the problem is, I really do all this stuff and I don't have a lot extra time to put into my blog.

I put an RSS feed on my web site. I'm not sure that is the best way to do it though.

PMcNemar · #31 06/09/11, 08:25 AM

I think your setup looked great! I'm going to follow you and see what other neat things you have to talk about.

madness · #32 06/09/11, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmharris6002

I think what I really want my blog to do is inspire people to try some new projects and support a slowed down kind of lifestyle where it's worth it to wait 10 hours for a glass if tea

I know people are supposed to make money blogging but I don't know much about all that. I put the amazon links because I had people asking me to put where I get all my stuff.

I love this attitude for blogging. I think I read only blogs that have this kind of theme.

So in that case, I wouldn't bother with ads. Link to all the supplies in your posts. I don't think you need a supply list on a separate page - perhaps when there is a lot of content, just for organization sake.

I went to your webpage. The link was never obvious to me until I saw seek say it was there. I do think the blog feed on your site is at least better than immediately going to another webpage. And you can always change these things in the future. Just keep working on it!

seeknulfind · #33 06/10/11, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmharris6002

I think what I really want my blog to do is inspire people to try some new projects and support a slowed down kind of lifestyle where it's worth it to wait 10 hours for a glass if tea

I know people are supposed to make money blogging but I don't know much about all that. I put the amazon links because I had people asking me to put where I get all my stuff.

I have no experience with blogging, I didn't even read blogs unless I ran across them on google. I just had so many people telling me 'you should start a blog'. They want to learn more about all the stuff I do and the problem is, I really do all this stuff and I don't have a lot extra time to put into my blog.

I put an RSS feed on my web site. I'm not sure that is the best way to do it though.

Hi Christy,

Fair enough. Profit is not always measured in dollars.

For my part I think blogging (web log) started out as a means to share one's experiences with a wide range of people. The "making money" aspect came later.

If you are content to share your life I don't see where anyone should have a problem with that.

And since I now have a better idea of what your goals and aspirations are, I'll back off on the marketing aspects.

So the best input I can offer now is to keep doing what you are doing. You're off to a great start. I'm sure you'll find your bog will start taking on a life of its own.

I still think moving the blog to your own domain makes sense. You are already paying for hosting and a good hosting plan should allow plenty for your blog.

If you want to keep the "artisanfarmsteadliving" - it's a simple matter of creating a subdomain under the domain you already have so it would look like this: artisanfarmsteadliving.goatmilksoapandlotion.com or you could buy artisanfarmsteadliving.com (it looks like it's available) and add it on as a stand alone.

Either way, your hard work stands a better chance of staying online. Maybe I'm paranoid but I just don't trust these blogging hosts to keep my content for me.

Andy

equinecpa · #34 06/10/11, 01:15 PM

Christy;

I see you've embedded your blog on your webpage. That's what I did with my accounting blog that replaced my newsletter. I did adjust my blog page width so that when viewed through my webpage you can see the sidebar links -that way people can move around the blog whilst on my webpage and can opt to follow the blog -I may be wrong but I don't think people who find your blog through your webpage will see your links to become a follower?

I love your topics and my, you have been prolific! I've playing catch-up with my blog -I have a whole list of topics/events to write about that occurred earlier this year while I was submersed with tax returns. Only now getting them typed out...

cmharris6002 · #35 06/10/11, 03:06 PM

Quote:

I did adjust my blog page width so that when viewed through my webpage you can see the sidebar links -that way people can move around the blog whilst on my webpage and can opt to follow the blog -I may be wrong but I don't think people who find your blog through your webpage will see your links to become a follower?

Excellent advice!! I am going to try to do that but I might need your help. I don't know if I'll need a different template, to adjust the RSS feed element on my web page or the page width of my blog but I really think the people need the labels and archives available.

madness · #36 06/10/11, 03:27 PM

My understanding is that if you are using an RSS feed on your webpage, all you are going to get is the post. You'll have to import it in some other way to actually see the entire 'blog' as it appears on blogspot. I'm new to the RSS feed stuff though and Carolyn may have a way to do it!

cmharris6002 · #37 06/10/11, 03:31 PM

I just tried every trick I could think of and still, I only get the post.

madness · #38 06/10/11, 03:55 PM

That's what I was thinking.

I don't know if this is the best way, but iframes will work. Here's a tutorial:

http://blogging.nitecruzr.net/2007/1...r-blog-on.html

cmharris6002 · #39 06/14/11, 07:55 AM

Marissa, I just wanted to thank you here for passing on the Stylish Blogger Award to me. I know I just barley made the cut on the short list of blogs you read

You have really helped me a lot. I am starting to feel more like I am talking to real people and not just putting stuff out randomly into cyberspace.

madness · #40 06/14/11, 09:49 AM

Yeah! I honestly wait for each new post from you now. I've either gotten more used to your voice or 'you' are coming through better in the posts. I think the photo of your daughter (right?) really helped - a personal touch, showing real people are behind the blog. I need to do this myself actually as there are virtually no pictures of anyone on my site! :O

Isn't it nice getting comments? I never realized until I got a few people commenting on mine and it just feels like people care. It has made me far more active in commenting on other people's - even if I have nothing that interesting to share!

Now I've got a question for you! You have 47 likes on facebook. Are these just from your new blog or did you have a facebook page before? I don't "get" facebook yet - my husband made me sign up saying I HAD to do it if I was ever going to get a good following. But I still don't really see how to use it well. I have 7 "likes", all either people living at the farm or close relatives! Any tips?