Comments on: Blogging Tips: First Impressions Count

By: pelf-ism is contagious

pelf-ism is contagious — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 14:51:44 +0000

Does your blog structure and design attract and hold on to readers?…

As a blogger, one of the thoughts that is always playing at the back of my head is whether the structure and design of my blog represents me or my intent. I am constantly changing and rearranging and developing and improving my blog content and layout …

By: wu zhiyong

wu zhiyong — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 03:41:55 +0000

Justified, I translate it into Chinese

By: Lorelle

Lorelle — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 18:09:30 +0000

Brandon: I don’t know if it sounds spammy, but make sure the rest of your content isn’t so it supports the title you’ve chosen. It’s a fine line to walk.

Grace: I’m a little confused about what you said. Yes, the “first” post you publish is important as it sets a tone for you and for the readers who discover your first post, but within a month, few people will even know which post was “first” off the block. The About and Contact pages are consistent sponsors of your blogging intent, as is the rest of your blog’s design and content. EVERY post counts, not just the first.

In fact, how many of you really had your blog purpose defined when you wrote your first post? Huh? How many still have the sample of the first post with a comment from Mr. WordPress still sitting there on your blogs? Hmmm? :D

While I may lecture “get your purpose before you blog”, few people start a blog with a clear purpose and it usually changes. First posts are worthless for defining your blog in the big picture.

Remember, you are only as good as your most recent blog post. :D

By: Brandon J

Brandon J — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:11:31 +0000

I've been told that the way I come off and the name of my site Money for Military can be considered "spammy." And yes, "spammy" was the actual wording twice. I don't really want to change it because it's so literal. I blog about money for military members. Anyways, first impressions for military members can really have an impact on readers. I'm working on advertising my site on Myspace and in public without sound "spammy." Brandon J Money for Military Money for Military

By: Teft

Teft — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:38:08 +0000

Good points. Makes you stop and think about a visitors perspective.

By: James Mitchell

James Mitchell — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 15:56:27 +0000

Thanks for a snapshot look at the different impression mediums. I was reading What's Your Blog Really About by Copyblogger the other day. It relates to the about page importance as you referenced. However, I tend to agree with Brian Clark that the about page should sell the blog not necessarily the author:

In most other cases, however, a story about the blog author is not the most effective approach.

With that said, I guess it is going to be determined by the blog, author, and the target audience.

By: Jeffro2pt0

Jeffro2pt0 — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 07:53:55 +0000

All of these tips provided seem like common sense but I am sure they will help out the newcomer. For whatever reason, my blogs About page seems to have the most hits out of any other page on my blog. I don’t know if the bots keep crawling that page, or if that many people are stumped as to the blogs initial purpose and they need to read that specific page. Perhaps they just want to know a little more information about the author or the site.

Bloggers should make each post whether it is short and sweet or one of those biography type posts highly important. The first hurdle is adding a descriptive yet captivating title, then your next task is to make the first paragraph entice the reader to read the entire article.

Another good tip is to stay on topic. Don’t create a software blog and then talk about hardware. This makes the reader scratch their heads and wonder why the author is doing such a thing.

Although I believe content is king, design and presentation certainly helps. In today’s world, there is no excuse why a blogs presentation shouldn’t at least look somewhat decent.

By: Manisha

Manisha — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 04:51:10 +0000

The blog is quite good, will be more useful for the newer candidate who recently had entered to make money from their website.

By: A Tentative Personal Finance Blog

A Tentative Personal Finance Blog — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:56:44 +0000

What do you guys think about the use of humor in the About Me sections? About Me has probably had some of the most hits on my site, and I’m not sure how much information I should put in it.

By: karenlim

karenlim — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:55:17 +0000

I agree with Grace

May I request if anyone is willing to participate in mutual review of blogs and suggest points of improvement?

Sometimes it takes another person to point to us some feelings we may have missed on our blog.

Who likes me to review their blog?
My own blog is at http://www.secretofunlimitedprosperity.com

You can email me your blog address at karenlim88@gmail.com

Cheers
Karen

By: Grace

Grace — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:46:06 +0000

I think the first post is also important; to let readers know what the blog is about.

By: James

James — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 22:43:40 +0000

actually i would think that the single most important first impression is the first few words of your post that brought visitors in the first place. If you can capture their attention with your writing & prose, the others are not as important.

By: Jen / domestika

Jen / domestika — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:55:46 +0000

And again, this ephasizes the importance of grabbing your readers’ attention in the first few hundred words – good advice, too easy to overlook.

By: Lorelle VanFossen

Lorelle VanFossen — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:37:04 +0000

This is not so much about design as the way people view and use your blog that most don’t think about, spending more energy on the “look” and not the use of your blog’s design and content.

We need to think about all the ways our blogs are used and viewed in order to make a good first impression with our blogs.

By: narcolept

narcolept — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:21:48 +0000

Good points on design. Most seem to overlook oldschool or traditional design foundations, much like people trying to market new sites could care less about traditional advertising and marketing principles, even though they apply just as well.

By: Terra Andersen

Terra Andersen — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:16:21 +0000

Good post, especially for beginners. Thanks!

By: Your blogging mirror: How your blog presents itself to the world | J.T Dabbagian’s Blog

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:00:01 +0000

[...] I recall a study being done a year or so ago that stated that the first impression of a person can last up to six months. It is in my opinion that a similar concept can be applied to a blog. If I don’t like how a blog writes, odds are I’m not coming back for awhile. A Blog’s first impression is its greatest impression. [...]

By: Mahala

Mahala — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:52:36 +0000

Some good points to consider, thanks Darren!

By: Alex Ion

Alex Ion — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:31:15 +0000

Well I guess those things were pretty obvious.

I don’t find this article very useful !