What Makes a Good Blog?

What Makes a Good Blog?

Kenneth Thames

COM480

Dan Tinianow

Blog are a great way for writers to express their thoughts and opinions on specific topics and facts. There are millions of blogs published on sites like WordPress, Tumblr, Blogger and TypePad. There are various things that a blog must have that sets them apart and attracts more viewers. Appearance is very important with a blog to draw readers in. A blog can have the best content, but if it visually does not please the viewers eye, it makes no difference. Unless you are Wikipedia or Craigslist, you should probably avoid the oh-so-boring-nothing-but-black-text-on-white-background look. Add a splash of color—this could be via photos, changing the color of your Hx tags, changing the font color of a quote, etc. Keep in mind that the goal is to highlight your post with some color. Avoid the temptation to add too much color, though, as this could be distracting (Thompson, 2012). People also do not like to look at words jumbled up in paragraphs. Reading text on a screen is different from reading it on paper. There’s just something about the internet that has conditioned us to gravitate towards shorter blocks of text, and avoid long, dense ones, when online (von Weber-Hahnsberg, 2014). Blogs posts need to be broken up to keep the viewers eyes moving.

One way to accomplish this is to use bullet points. Numbered lists are also effective, as are subheaders. Short sentences and short paragraphs are necessary to keep readers’ attention (von Weber-Hahnsberg, 2014). Photos also take a blog to the next level in appearance. Stock photos can be great for adding some color and visual appeal to a blog post. But as a Marketing Experiments’ study found, “an image is only as valuable as the value it communicates.” If a stock photo doesn’t add anything unique to your post, then it doesn’t communicate any important piece of information (Thompson, 2012). I tried to incorpoarte pictures in my blog to add some spice. I am still trying to learn how to make the layout better flow wise and maybe make the font a little more fun.

• Tashiba:  http://happyfreethinker.blogspot.com/-

This blog layout is welcoming with the contrast of the post against the background design. The color scheme is a little bland, but I do like how it is organized. The blog could use some pictures in the posts because it comes off very wordy. In the first blog post, it may have been better to not only have  the different media technologies in bold, but maybe used bullet points and add some graphics. I will say the blog has a nice flow because it does not have a bunch of run on paragraphs. Every paragraph is well written and it is broken up into pieces.

I feel like the bland look adds to the blog personality. It makes me feel as though it is straight to the point and factual.

• Lorri:  http://lpmcommunications.blogspot.com/-

The blog layout incorporates the use of pictures to help with the visual flow of the blog. I am not a fan of the layout though. With red being such an energetic color, I would expect the font to be also have personality. I personally would not have given the blog a second look, however the content of the blog was great! Everything was very well written and was enjoyable to read.

• W. D.:  http://stubblefieldweek1.blogspot.com/-

This blog's layout is superb! The background, layout, color scheme and flow are all great. Each blog has a picture and a hyperlink to read all of the content. I love how each entry give a small snippet of the blog entry that draws you in wanting to read more. The blog is not over the top or crowded when it comes to the pictures or backdrop. Every entry was a great read and very informative. Once clicking on each blog, though, the content was all words. It did not follow the rule of breaking things up into bullets or shorter paragraphs. Everything was written in essay for which, in my opinion, is fine. It may not be appealing to all readers though.

References:

Thompson, A. (2012, September 27). Appearance Matters: How To Format Your Blog Posts For Social and Linkbait Success - Search Engine Journal. Search Engine Journal. Retrieved May 30, 2014, from http://www.searchenginejournal.com/appearance-matters-how-to-format-your-blog-posts-for-social-linkbait-success/49116/

Weber-Hahnsberg, A. v. (2014, May 22). 9 Essential Elements of an Effective Blog. The Marketing Zen Group. Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http://www.marketingzen.com/9-essential-elements-of-an-effective-blog/