Comments on: Are your Readers Doing what You Want Them to Do?

By: I got a Patriots Tom Brady Jersey

I got a Patriots Tom Brady Jersey — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:47:51 +0000

As a far-away (Europe) Patriots fan, I am always looking for new sites with Pats’ information.

By: Oluwayomi

Oluwayomi — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:21:16 +0000

You such a lifesaver Darren,thanks for this tips.It’s a very good and important post.Thanks

By: Keral Patel

Keral Patel — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 06:47:41 +0000

Okay I am inspired now :) I will go to my blog and rearrange some stuff here and there. I had not kept the RSS subscribe link at bottom of my posts I will do that :)

By: Kelly

Kelly — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:50:45 +0000

Jonathan,

Great post as always. I remember reading that jam-research before, and I’ve found it to be true at my blog and in my “real” work, too. Three choices is what I prefer to give a client or a reader, and six is the outer limits. Know what you want, and just stick to that. Simple, necessary advice.

Thanks for having Jonathan over here, Darren!

Regards,

Kelly

By: Steven-Sanders

Steven-Sanders — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:35:06 +0000

I’m trying to catch up on blog posts I’ve missed since my power cord went out on my laptop.

You get a whole lot of comments! I feel like I’m scrolling down to the bottom of the page forever.

By: Tony Teegarden

Tony Teegarden — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:03:21 +0000

Great insight. AS I just set up my newest blog I can tell you I’ve screwed up in a few places as far as optimizing my blog for the actions that I really want. New subscribers.

Thanks so much for the clarity. As usual you share 1st class great content.

By: atlanta wedding photographer

atlanta wedding photographer — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:45:24 +0000

I’ve have used the “to many choices = no choices” rule in trying to design my blog. There are going to be those things that you put up front and then there are going to be those things that you put on a separate page for those who want to search a little bit may.

By: CoolProducts

CoolProducts — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:33:27 +0000

I’m currently trying to come up with innovative solutions for solving question #2, thanks for this write-up.

By: Devin @ CoolProducts

Devin @ CoolProducts — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:50:40 +0000

When creating my first blog, I put much thought into how I would design my page so that it was as appealing to the reader’s as possible in both aesthetic and usability aspects. I found that the best way to do this was so look around @ other blogs and see what I personally felt was a good equilibrium for the user interface.

By: Nathan Hangen

Nathan Hangen — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:20:19 +0000

I’ve been struggling with this exact topic in my blog re-design. I use Sharethis mostly, but I also throw a Stumble button in the bottom. I haven’t really experimented with throwing the buttons up top, but maybe that is something I should try.

I would like my readers to take all 3 actions, however most important to me at the moment is for them to tell others. I agree that giving them too many actions is likely to cause inaction. I’d like to find a way to implement a footer that asks them to take action every time, not just throw in a button and expect them to.

By: The Black Tom Brady

The Black Tom Brady — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 03:48:11 +0000

Great post. This is extremely informative and answered a lot of questions that I had. It definitely reconfirmed for me Keep it Simple!

Thanks!

By: Rory Hansen

Rory Hansen — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:05:44 +0000

Good post. I really took to heart the statement that too many social media buttons can detract from action, rather than providing the freedom to do so. Looking at my blog now, I realize that I probably do need to simplify!

The question is, which social media hubs should one focus on?

By: Will - TheSatisfied

Will - TheSatisfied — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 22:47:04 +0000

The main goal for TheSatisfied is to get users to submit content. When I launched the site, I required registration to submit. After reviewing the analytics, I saw that ~10% of my readers clicked the Submit link, but I had a very low conversion. In an effort to make the submitter's job as painless as possible, I removed the registration all together. Since then the conversion has gone up significantly. Now I can focus on promoting my site without worrying about the terrible conversion rate.

By: MLRebecca

MLRebecca — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:06:55 +0000

You’re right on the money, Jonathan. If there’s some kind of response you’re hoping to elicit from your readers, it’s best to really think about how to get that response. I also think, as Franklin Bishop mentioned, that your design can play a big part in your reader’s ability to effectively provide the response you’re hoping for. It’s important to avoid cluttered layouts. Great post!

By: Thomas Flight - Netager.com

Thomas Flight - Netager.com — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:00:52 +0000

This is a great tip. Mostly I want people to comment and subscribe.

You also have to keep your blogs clutter at very low levels.

By: Ajith Edassery

Ajith Edassery — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:01:26 +0000

Unfortunately the blogs and their support components (widget, badges, gadgets…) are making things complicated for the layman. Sometimes, I get a feeling that many blogs are meant only for tech-savvy people… so readers find it difficult to interact as well.

Cheers,
Ajith of DollarShower.com

By: Debo Hobo

Debo Hobo — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:34:34 +0000

All I want is for my readers to comment and maybe stumble once in a while. Is that too much to ask!

;)

By: grechen

grechen — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:19:46 +0000

I love that whenever I read something here, I have to leave halfway through to implement some of the tips on my websites…I always get “action” items reading problogger.

so, now that I’m back from tweaking my blogs….I have different goals for my visitors depending on my blog – on http://www.grechenscodes.com, I want them to click on my ads/affiliate links. And they are :-)

On http://www.greengrechen.com, I am interested more in building a community – so I want COMMENTS, and subscribers. It’s a brand new site, so I am pleased so far with the interaction I’ve had with visitors and other bloggers, but am working hard to take it to the next level…

in general, I think my visitors are “doing what I want them to do,” and that is not an accident – it’s by design.

By: Maria Reyes-McDavis

Maria Reyes-McDavis — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:12:06 +0000

This is an absolute brilliant post. Positioning is very important, as is design and content. It’s all about maximizing everything you have available to you as a blogger to get your readers to behave in the manner you wish. Thanks for sharing.

By: Randi

Randi — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:05:26 +0000

I think we often get tempted to use bells/whistles b/c there are so many tools out there…Keep it simple and herd ‘em to one gate! ;-)