Why and How Your Site Needs to Be Visually Interesting

May 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

 

Take a second and think about the blogs and websites that you visit the most often. Are they sites that have large blocks of uninterrupted text? Doubtful. Most of us prefer to visit sites and blogs that have a high level of visual interest. This is the reason why Pinterest is so successful and why businesses are incorporating it into their marketing strategies.

Personally, I love to cook. But would I be likely to visit a cooking blog that doesn’t have photos illustrating the steps of the recipe, or at the very least, a beautiful photo of the final product? No, because it’s hard to imagine how this great-sounding recipe should turn out if there is not a photo of the finished product.

The same goes for blogs and websites in all industries. Ryan Biddulph mentioned in a recent post that his site began to generate more traffic when he added images to each post. We are still a very visual society. If anything, the advent of the Internet and the subsequent movement of advertising and marketing to online platforms has driven us to be even more visual. Keeping your blog or website visually interesting will keep you readers/visitors coming back again and again.

Luckily, there are quite a few ways to add visual interest to your site. Here are a few easy suggestions:

Photos

– Using photos on your site can seem like an obvious suggestion, but you would be surprised how many people do not share photos. Usually the posts that get the most hits are the ones that contain several photos. Instead of a wordy blog post, sometimes just a quick photo share is the way to go. People love to look a photos, they feel like they are getting a glimpse into someone else’s world.

Graphics

– Have you ever realized that while you probably don’t notice every graphic on a website that you always notice if there is a lack of graphics? To me, a site without any graphics, fun fonts, or color looks like someone forgot to finish it. The last thing you want for your business or even personal blog, is to look like you didn’t put in the time or effort to finish the site. There are tons of websites where you can attain free graphics to use on your site. If you can’t find what you want for free, sites like Shutterstock offer relatively inexpensive graphics for purchase.

Visually Interesting

Infographics

– The use of the infographic on blogs and business sites is still relatively new. But infographics have caught on and the use of them is now spreading like crazy. They are a great way to cram a ton of information into one visually interesting space. Infographics use different fonts, images, colors, and sizes in order to relay information that otherwise could be thought of as dry or boring (read: statistics). You can pay a graphic designer to design an infographic for you, or if you are savvy with editing software like Photoshop, you can even make them yourself.

(Photo Source)
Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.

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9 Things You Will Quickly Need to Learn to Run a Successful Blog

May 5, 2013 By 9 Comments

 

I came across this awesome guest posting opportunity five minutes ago. Literally, five minutes ago. Five minutes later I wrote this post. Why? Well, I will discuss below, as my first line item. You learn things as a blogger, things which promote your success. If you are foolish you’ll ignore these lessons.

If you are wise you will cash in on these lessons. You must be aggressive to succeed in the blogging niche. Digest, and act swiftly. You will quickly need to learn these things to run a successful blog.

Run a Successful Blog

1 – Seize Guest Post Opportunities within Seconds

I remember a few years back. I’d struggled to generate one lead daily. I would write a guest post and 5-10 leads would flow in quickly. Now, since I am human, I forgot my success and stopped writing guest posts. But I smartened up a while ago.

Now I have 7 guest posts out there, either in the queue, or already published, plus this post. Guest posting is the quickest way to reach a massive audience, fast.

2 – Get Ready for Critics

Critics will find you. I have been heavily criticized for multiple elements on my blog and writing style. Why? Because I hit the “Publish” button for the first time 4 years ago and fell in love with blogging.

Do not take criticism personally. You receive opinions, or feedback, and if somebody is nasty, thank God for block buttons or blacklisting.

3 – Check Your Energy

I consistently churned out great content for months. However, critics were my audience. I thought like a failure. Sure, my content was excellent but on a subconscious level I felt no one would show up to visit my blog.

Check your energy throughout the day. Think, feel and act from a high energy, calm and confident place. You must blog with enthusiasm.

4 – Stay on Topic

Readers leave like mad if you change topics. I ran a personal development blog. Then I ran a cash gifting blog. Then I covered like 4 topics. Now I run blogs helping you generate cash online.

By staying on topic, you program your audience to respond to your persistent, consistent message.

5 – People Love Eye Candy

People rarely stuck around my blog until I used images for each post. Then I scrapped the images on each post but posted pictures of myself traveling all over SE Asia, from my top banner through my sidebar.

Images grab reader’s attention, quickly. Use images on each post or paste images all over your blog.

6 – Sell the Dream

Posting pictures is one thing. Selling the dream is quite another. I lived in Bali for five months, Phuket, Thailand for five months, and I hit a host of other tropical paradises over the past 2 years. Stop by my blog. I have pictures of many locations where I visited.

Read my blog. Follow my online cash generating tips. Live the dream like I live.

7 – Write Frequently to Improve Your Skills

As a newbie blogger you want to hide away. You write maybe once every week or two. Well, unless you are a talented writer bump that schedule up to daily writing. There is no need to post daily, but you must write daily to improve your writing skills.

The quality of your posts improves if you improve as an author. Don’t stop blogging. Write posts. Be patient. Find your writing voice. Prosper. Grow your audience.

8 – Write How You Speak

How do you speak? Write like that. Engage readers in a conversation. Be chatty with your posts. Recount your stories. Relate your experiences with your niche, or topic of choice, to make strong connections with your audience.

9 – Become Best Buddies with Influential Bloggers

I wrote for about a year until people discovered me. That is because I wrote for a year without making any friends in the blogosphere. After becoming good friends with influential bloggers, these buddies promoted my content to their audience.

Voila! The traffic started rolling. So that’s where my traffic was, right? Make buddies by promoting people aggressively. Post helpful comments to their blog posts. Build your network. Leverage your presence.

What tips can you add to my list?

 

Former fired security guard and current world traveler, Ryan Biddulph went from having a net worth of a nickel to generating steady cash flow online while traveling to tropical paradises like Bali, Phuket and Hoi An. How does he help you magnetize yourself to cash? To find out Click Here

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How to Contribute to a Blog and be Seen

April 5, 2013 By 9 Comments

 

Guest Blogging is so 2011.  If you want to deliver your content to another site it is now termed “Contributing”. Contribute to a blog and be seen.  Contributing to a site where many eyeballs view content is important to writers/bloggers.  This is especially true if you’re just starting a blog, or you have no blog at all.  It helps with reach, and exposes you to an audience you just don’t have with your own blog.  There is plenty of opportunity and outlets for inspiring writers to be seen online.

It use to be all about the link, and that still holds some importance, but your motivation should be about getting your content in front of a large audience.

Follow this protocol below and you’ll optimize the experience and results for both you and the publishing site.

 

Contribute to a Blog

commons.wikimedia.org

Don’t be Shy

Some sites will openly accept contributors, and others will not.  I wouldn’t shy away from contacting any blog/site about contributing an article.  I’d start with an e-mail, but they are likely on many social networks.  So a tweet or message on another network is suggested.  Don’t go overboard.  Sending 10-15 messages to 10-15 different networks equals scary.  Dial it down. An e-mail and/or tweet should get you a reply.

 

Follow Directions

Some sites will spell out exactly what they’re looking for and what you need to do to be considered.  Two sites in my circle that do this well are Dashburst and itechcode.  They detail the steps you need to take in a clear concise matter.  These are two sites with a huge following and strong Alexa Rank.  I definitely recommend these two sites if you have an interesting piece on Social Media, Technology, etc.

 

Create Solid Original Content

You have the green light to write your post.  You want to put out solid content anytime you publish, but I think it’s imperative to produce something extra special when you’re going to be on a bigger stage.

Don’t waste your time or the blogs time by submitting duplicate content.  Don’t send your article to several sites.  Unless the site is a syndicate, it is expecting original content from you. Do not, under any circumstances, copy any article (or portion), and submit as your own.  This is plagiarism.  Most sites will run your post through Copyscape to make sure your content is original.  Do the right thing.

You’re not in your basement.  Your post is going to get views on a seasoned popular site.  You need to make the very most of the opportunity.  Bring your “A” game.

 

Promote your Post

While the onus is on the site to promote your post through their social networks and e-mail list, you should be promoting hard as well.  Why wouldn’t you want to share wherever you can?  It should be celebrated.  Be proud and let your network know, they’ll be glad you did and share accordingly.

 

Reply to Comments

I know it’s easy to fall into the trap of completing your post, seeing it published, watch the shares grow, and not reply to comments. This is a big mistake on several levels.  If you can’t reply to comments you risk not being asked to contribute again no matter how riveting your post came across.  Replying allows you to possibly create a connection with the person commenting.  Most commenting systems allow you to receive an e-mail whenever there is a new comment.  This is a must for you.

 

Any others thoughts are welcomed.  If you enjoyed the post please share with your network.

 

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