In The Blogininng 7 - What Do I Think Makes A Good Blog?
5 03 2007We all have blogs we like and read regularly and so what makes a good blog is entirely personal to each one of us. Here are a few things that matter to me in terms of what I feel makes a good blog:
- Quality content
This has to be the top for me. “Quality content” may be an overused term when it comes to content, but to me it’s content that’s shows that thought has gone into producing it and it’s well written. I’m not so much talking grammatical accuracy – although for me that is also important to me from both a reading and writing perspective. Though I know some things still slip by me in my posts, (and I hate it when they do) I am pretty anal about my own presentation. I like to read blogs that the writers enjoy writing – when they do, it really comes across.
For me, a good blog is one that’s a good read, is entertaining, tells me something new, gives me something to think about, or a new perspective to consider, or something great to look at (I have come across some amazingly creative blogs) or presents something in a new way.
Especially good is when a blog breaks something complex into easy to understand parts – essential for non-techie technically challenged bloggers like me when trying to get information of a technical nature. A good blog – and most of the ones I link to and frequent – also give me an idea of the writers personality – even if this is their blog personality. And of course the blogs encourage me to leave a comment.
Some say that content no longer matters – what with ads, links and what have you, and that you can get traffic from simply slapping on a few of these. I think great content does matter if you want people to be more than just a hit, to return and read your blog regularly and hopefully go beyond the Home page into your other interesting content. What makes “great content” is probably the stuff of a different article.
I spent some years in the web content world and I have never been able to leave behind that content is king, web users have short attention spans and very little time and usability is all-important.
- Easy to navigate, easy to read
When I’m on a blog I usually visit several pages so I like to be able to move easily from page to page. I almost always read About pages, and I love to check out other readers comments…and a very visible contact page. A blog that makes it as easy as possible for me to comment… no eating up my comments during composition!! This only seems to happen on Blogger blogs though. And I when I’m reading I hate to have to squint… or struggle with hard to read text…chances are I won’t visit too often unless I really like the blog.
- No Ads
Or if a blog must have them, discretely placed ads that do not interfere with what I want to read on the blog. I want to read what the blog owner is saying and then what their visitors are saying in response. I never click Google Ads, in fact I actively avoid them. Blogs with lots of adverts remind me of billboards, plastered with so much advertising that the actual content is all but invisible. Since I don’t have time to hunt for the content, I leave.
One of the reasons I moved to hosting my own blog was the possibility of ads on Wp.com – although I would have paid to keep them off my blog. And more than once I’ve happened on blogs where the whole top part of the page is ads, and the content is halfway down! Needless to say, I clicked away, pronto. I don’t have time to go clicking on ads, so I don’t know why bloggers persist in making them overshadow their content.
- Updated regularly
Every day, twice or three times a week – as long as the frequency is consistent and I can look forward to reading new stuff I’ll try and visit as often as I can. Any less than that, is probably too infrequent for me.
So, what makes a good blog for you? What’s the make or break?
i seperate my ads into sections, and they are not too obvious, at least on my blog, i use haloscan for my comments, it seems much easier to use than blogger. and it gives me more control.
i dont have much in the way of an about me, sometimes i feel the content is more important than who i am.
and i really must create a contact address. i did have some but no one used them, so.. i deleted the original ones..
For me the big ones are presentation, and update frequency.
i agree completely…especially about the quality content part.
Usability: While it won’t drive me away from a blog I find incredibly scintillating — I don’t find myself returning to blogs that are poorly organized or hard to navigate.
Spelling and Grammar: I find poor spelling and grammar very annoying so I avoid blogs I find myself mentally editing. The odd typo is not an issue — good thing too, considering I’m the queen of the odd typo.
Content: There are exceptions but generally I don’t enjoy tell-all or overly emotional blogs. Some people find this type of writing therapeutic — and that’s great for them — but it does not usually make good reading for me.
I like to read amusing blogs no matter the focus — if it’s funny I’ll read it. I also like serious blogs but only ones about topics I’m interested in. I enjoy reading about décor, architecture, PR issues, HR issues, advertising, marketing and technology…and of course, childfree issues. I also like celebrity gossip
Occasionally, I like to read about people whose lives are very different from mine. One thing I am is very loyal. If I find a blog or website I like, I tend to be a regular reader — until one spelling error too many drives me off the deep end and I toss my laptop into the sink ;-).
I’ve always appreciated the posts you make in your blog. They are thoughtful, well organized and focused.
These are the elements I notice in blogs that affect my choice to become a faithful reader, or not.
1. Clean and fast loading pages
A blog page should load in a reasonable amount of time. When they don’t readers feel irritated rather than “welcome”. Too many posts on the front page or too many images and embeds, or images are not scaled and saved in the most efficient format, means readers are liable to tire of waiting for the page to load and click out before reading what you had to say.
2. Advertising and pop-ups distract attention away from blog posts and can be a major annoyance.
3. Compelling content produced at regular intervals
No matter what the topic - it ought to be interesting, thoughtful and clearly expressed.
4. Navigation ought to be intuitive.
5. Formatting is important. Using paragraphs and white space between them in the text body to improve readability.
6. Broken links are frustrating.
7. Blogs that aren’t updated frequently don’t have what it takes to encourage return visits.
Rirath - thanks for stopping by… I have to say you have an amazing blog… amazing.
Mercurior… the thing about contact pages is that just when you think no-one wants them, someone turns up and wants to use one…I can’t count the numbr of times I’ve wanted to say something to a blogger about their site that wouldn’t work in a thread - and - no contact button
Christine.. let me guess you are an editor? A proofreader? I also love amusing blogs. Is D-Listed one of your fave blogs as well
I get all the celeb gossip via my husband who has a number of sites he’s subscribed to - and who’s always telling me to go and get my own links…lol.
Janette - can’t argue with that one!
Thanks TT
- agree and in particular for the point about page loading time - it is a major irritant for me too. I realize I don’t wait for the pages and I’m one of the clicker-outers.
I find you are excactly right about blogs being an insight into the writer personality. That’s why I don’t do alot of news articles as it just seems I am telling the news and I hate that.
I can see you spend some time preparing your posts, I on the other mainly, but do feel that my personality is based on improvisation. Most of the things I say, do and think are all spontaneous. Like I could wake up tomorrow and decide to go to the cinema with a friend. They all know what I am like and are always expecting my call, lol.
I’ve never seem blogging as the art form you seem to be describing, but now that I think of it, it is like all art forms. It requires imagination, creative and talent. Not a great deal of talent. I suppose when you think about it, blogging is like reading someone’s autobiography while they are living it.
As for this post, you have given me a thought to take away and ponder on. I will probably come up with some fancy ideas to improve my content and if I do, (and they work) I will have you to thank.
I think that the quality of the writing is paramount, and dependent on a few things. One, good headlines. You gotta draw the reader in somehow. Two, a consistent language style that caters to your chosen audience. If you want to talk to semi-educated people, don’t be a guttermouth, and vice-versa. Three, you have to mean what you say, or really have some passion for what you’re writing about. It does no good to write about any topic when you can’t put your heart into it, and it shows in the writing no matter how you fake it.
I have a lot of blogs in my RSS bookmarks, and all of them share these traits, yours included.
Other things that make a blog special: Organization of content, easy navigation, ways to find past subjects/articles, links and utilizing linking services like Technorati… and some personal stuff about the author(s). Oh, and contact info or comment boxes… some way to get in touch with the author. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve not gone back to a blog because the author, while having great posts, was not accessable to contact.
Hello my dear,
I like blogs from all over the world, mostly those that are about ideas and events rather than cathartic, overly personal ones. Lack of attention to grammar/spelling drives me crazy, especially if there is no attempt to use paragraphs. I can’t deal with that visually.
I think layout is imporant, but most of my blogger friends are on Blogger, which has pretty easy-on-the-eyes layouts.
-AM
Themiget…Hello! I had forgotten how much I enjoy your blog! Thanks for reminding me… I read the CineWorld/phone box adventure and was laughing so much I had to stop for a while and return..
and I’m currently unable to stop giggling at the word “gimp…” Priceless! Your style is great (if I may say so) you make the most ordinary things that happen to you into very funny stories. Keep it up!
Chris W - thanks for this… you’ve given me some ideas. I know I should use my RSS more effectively (duh!) and I could do more with Technorati. And one of these days I hope to get around to putting a guest book on my blog… btw - did I say how much i enjoyed your “50 Things About Me” post?
Hey Anne-Marie! Thanks for stopping by. Yes, the formatting is a biggie mentioned by a few other commenters above… to me there is nothing worse than being confronted by a long, long block of unbroken text on a screen, not a paragraph in sight. I find it really hard to read those blogs… so I generally find that I don’t. Like you, I can’t cope with that much unbroken text
I also hate reading an essay, entry, post that’s not broken up into paragraphs. Especially when it’s needed for several different topics or subtopics. To me, it indicates a lack of organized thought on the authors part.
Like you, I encounter lots of blogs that are just terrible, gramatically and structurally. Makes me feel like a middle-school english teacher, ready to whip out the red ink and go nuts. Of course, I’ve seen mistakes in my own posts that made me scramble to correct, thinking “Why the hell did I do that!?
i have a problem with the over correction of grammar, english is forever changing, i type in dialect. If you hear me speaking its EXACTLY how i type, sometimes the content is more important than the looks. i do use paragraphs, maybe not how the “grammar” police want me too, but i say to them, grammar does change, and there is dialectic grammar as well.
i have added an email me on my blog, i have a single picture of me and my fiance and her dad, with a bit about me, not too much, as i am quite a private person.
Chris - I discover poorly written blogs all the time… but I won’t read them. Honestly it’s too much like hard work.
Given the number of times I read and re-check my posts before posting them I am continually amazed at the gramatical boo-boos that manage to slip through which I usually see after I’ve posted the article. I can’t rest until I’ve corrected it. I’m of the mind that it’s almost impossible to really be able to proofread your own stuff… because once you’ve read it a couple of times, you see what you expect to see (and not what’s actually there.
mercurior - I didn’t know you typed in dialect.
yes, i use local phrasing, even local terms. i dont follow the RP, or queens speech rules, i speak exactly how i type, and i type how is speak (sometimes i actually read stuff out as i type). when i am passionate about a subject, i devolve into the language of my home. (st helens the north west of england)
but it can lead to a few problems, i admit that, i do have a tendency to use ellipses a little too much… but thats as a break for my thought processes.
and i know how hard it is to proof read your own stuff, i write poems, stories, but i can never read them, i have destroyed dozens, why because they feel wrong when i re read them. so i dont, i am my own worst critic when i re read, thats why i love blogs, i can post, and its gone, and i dont have to think about is it right, is it wrong.. (you can go too far into the grammar police state)
“I can post and it’s gone…”
Yes, and that’s the precise reason I proof-read all my posts before releasing them as well as after I press “publish”. I proof read to check for mistakes - (grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence syntax etc.) I do the same with email and with stuff I write off-line. I believe I owe it to my readers if I want them to read what I write to write in a way that makes it easy for them. I think blogs are like any other published/public work, because they are “out there” on the world-wide web for anyone other than me to read.
Whoever the grammar police are, I know I don’t need them, but more power to ‘em
When I proof read my stuff I don’t feel it is bad. Posts that I feel don’t reach my own standard either don’t get past the draft stage. No, by the time I am “Proof-reading” (as I understand it and as I do it for blogging and any stuff I write, even off-line) I am checking for and correcting errors before I let my post loose on an unsuspecting world. I don’t always succeed in catching every single one but I have a darn good try. I owe my readers that much!
Well, at least I think so…
I look for a combination of relevance/irreverence in my most often visited blogs. Spelling and punctuation are appreciated, avoidance of big pancakes of text (hello!??? paragraphs????).
Nudity can be a plus.