Friday, June 8, 2012

Armchiar BEA ~ Day Five ~ Blogging Tips

Well, today is the last official day for ArmchairBEA!

Today's Topic: Blogging Tips

 
My Advice?


More cats! 

Just kidding. Kind of. I mean, isn't that kitty cute?! Kitties and books, what more could you ask for?


I've been book blogging for a little over a year now, and blogging in general for about four. I blogged about this topic last year, and what I said is still relevant. Check it out HERE. Basically it said these things:

    1. Make your blog pretty. It doens't have to be fancy, but it should be nice to look at. If it's crazy and hard to read, then no one will read it. If it's super boring, you might be losing out on some readers.

    2. Don't use CAPTCHA. You know those word verification forms you have to fill out? Yeah, those are annoying and  no one likes them. I guarantee you're losing comments by having that on.

    3. Don't have sounds that automatically play.
    Those annoy the poop out of me! Arg! If I want music playing, I'll put it on myself, thanks though.

    Those are just three basic things that will make more people read and comment on your blog. Honestly though, your blog should be whatever you want it to be. Shannon over at Books Devoured was thinking the same thing I was and beat me to it! She posted on twitter while I was writing mine (you know, while dealing with my four year old who keeps pestering me to paint her toe nails and trying to entertain/feed/cuddle my 11 week old baby - in other words, writing this is going slow).

    Basically, it's your blog, and it should be how YOU want it. Sure, it's nice to have people actually read your blog, but it's not very fulfilling if your blog starts to become something that doesn't reflect who you are. You will burn out really fast (I did!). If you want captcha and want music, go ahead. 


    So, my biggest advice is to do it however you want to! Make it a reflection of who you are! 

    The Future of Book Blogging -This is where I'm at in my blogging Journey:


    Last year I took a break in blogging. I didn't quit altogether, but my posting slowed down a lot. I just got burned out on it! I think a big part of it was trying to keep up with everyone else, and I wasn't enjoying it as much. Well, that and being pregnant. Holy geez, growing a baby is exhausting!

    I'm actually in the process of trying to figure out how I want my blog to be. I want to change the way I do reviews and stuff, because it's feeling boring and not like me at all. I'd also like to incorporate more of my personal life into the blog, although I'm having a hard time trying to decide how much is too much.

    I have decided that I love book blogging, and that I'm going to try to do it for a long time. I'm just going to do it my way. :)

    Well, that's it!

    Armchair BEA 2012 is over! How sad. I love getting to meet other bloggers and chat with them! I still have some catching up to do. I hope to get to meet some more bloggers over the weekend. Fpr those of you I just met, yay for new friends!



    Oh! Don't forget to enter my giveaway! You could win one of these, yay!



    18 comments:

    1. Oh THANK YOU for the suggestion on Captcha! I really don't like it and I don't believe it's necessary at all. I turned mine off a few months back and it makes a huge difference. And you know what? Haven't had issues at all.

      Thanks for participating!

      Here's my experts say post

      Valerie
      StuckInBooks

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I haven't had a single spam comment, ever! So no problems for me either. :)

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    2. Love the photos! I agree that life is much better when it includes LOLcats. I'm also keen on the disapproving animals photos (http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/animals-who-are-extremely-disappointed-in-you). I will take your advice and resist the temptation to make my blog more mainstream (good advice, btw).

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Ahhhh! A new website for me to check out... with animals! Eeep! Thanks! :)

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    3. Totally agree on the no captca rule. It always throws me off whenever I'm commenting and it shows up all of a sudden.

      And awesome pictures :)

      ReplyDelete
    4. KITTIES!!!!!! LOL almost guaranteed to make any blog post more fun!

      I hope you can find a way to meet your own little goals. For what it's worth, I don't think there's "too much" of a personal touch - blog about your life as much as you want, as long as you're keeping it interesting (and not telling a million boring stories about what you ate for lunch or too much about your kids if you have them) then it won't be too much, and it will only enhance the relationship between your readers and you!

      Happy ABEA

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. LOL! I actually DO have kids. :P I just worry about how much of them to put online what with the creepos on the internet and all. I can't see more than sharing a tidbit or two!

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    5. Love the kitties! I do Cat Thursday every week on my blog so I can certainly appreciate the cats. =O) Yup, Captcha is the pits. lol

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    6. Definitely NO SOUND on any of the blogs! The hard thing is when the sidebars are so cluttered that you can't even figure out WHERE the sound is coming from. At that point, I just close it down and don't even go back.

      Love all the cats! :)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. I close it too! It drives me bonkers when i can't find it.

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    7. I've been planning to get a cat! Maybe this is a sign I shouldn't put it off any longer. :p

      I had a countdown widget once that I didn't know play sounds. My visitors were commenting they are surprised to hear sounds when my blog loads. :p But I love that book so I really put that widget. :p

      Dropping by from Armchair BEA,

      -Len of Musings of a Reader Happy

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Yes!! Get a cat! I have three. :)

        Well, once in a while there is a really super awesome widget that happens to play sound. I don't know why they do that! I'd have to put it up if I loved it too.

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    8. Lol the cats! :)
      I agree, captcha is evil and those sounds coming out from nowhere...scare me to death.

      Love the layout of your blog, it's really pretty :)

      Cayce @ Fighting Dreamer

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      Replies
      1. Thank you Cayce! It took me hours to get the design right... which is why I haven't changed it around in a very long time. LOL!

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    9. Oooh man I HATE when music/sounds start up on a blog. Once I was browsing blogs while my students were taking an exam- imagine their surprise when some crazy flute music started playing out of nowhere!? Hahaha

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. LOL!! I'm sure that freaked them out! It always scares the poop out of me when I have the speakers loud. Gah!

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    Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Yay! :)

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