Top Ten Blog Tips

Reader survey, July 2009 - Please help!

Ben — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:52:06 -0500

This week, it's time to get some feedback from you about the content here at Top Ten Blog Tips. There are a few things I'd like to know - your comments would be much appreciated. It won't take long (don't worry, it's not a list of 10 questions!). Here goes:

Are there any top ten lists that you'd like to see? If you're not sure, have a look at the list of categories on the home page. Look at the categories that interest you, the ones you haven't really noticed before, or the ones that don't have much in them (sorry for not showing the number of posts on each link, I know it would be easier). Brand new post ideas, follow-up posts, alternative viewpoints, posts that would fit one of the existing categories, even brand new categories are welcome.
Which of the existing lists did you particularly enjoy? Let me know what you liked about them - was the content particularly good? Was it a subject you didn't know about that you found informative? Or was there a bit of humour (something I don't do much of, admittedly) that made the post enjoyable for a different reason?
Is there anything else I could be doing to keep you coming back? This is for general feedback that doesn't fit into the previous areas. What do you think?

I look forward to hearing your feedback!

10 tips for promoting your blog offline

Ben — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:47:10 -0500

Image by Eric Rice.

Back in May, I published 10 tips for promoting your blog online. This follow-up post focuses on how to promote your blog offline.

A warning: some of these may be quite difficult to achieve. The way I look at it, if you've got a good enough story to tell and you're able to work on a pitch that packs a punch, all you really need to do is persevere. Don't knock it if you haven't tried.

1. Word of mouth.

Last week I published 10 ways blogging can help you get a job. It's fair to say that not every type of blog is guaranteed to help with a job application. But if you some of your friends or colleagues have an interest in what you write about, why not ask them to visit your blog?

2. Write a column for a magazine.

Some sites are reporting the demise of print media as online media continues to flourish. But there are still magazines out there, especially for specialist markets. Readers may prefer to get their updates in a publication they can hold in their hands and read on the train.

Why not send in a feature to a magazine that is related to the topic you write about? Writing a column may be a bit ambitious, but even a lone feature can work wonders. You're writing for people who are interested in what you're blogging about, so there's a good chance you can attract new people to your blog.

3. Get featured in your local paper.

Similar to writing for a magazine, but with a couple of key differences. On the plus side, you may find that many more people read your local paper than a specialist magazine. However, the audience is not as focused, and may not be overly interested in what you're blogging about. Still, it can be a good way to get your name out there and get some new readers.

4. Attend a blogging event.

Looking to meet some other bloggers? Want to share ideas and do some networking? Attending blogging events can be a great way to do this. Look for events in your area - try Upcoming.

5. Set up your own blogging group.

Blogging can be a very interesting thing to do even if you go it alone, but you open up so many more possibilities when you involve other people.

Don't view other blogs as competition. Getting together with bloggers who write about the same subject as you is a good way to share ideas and promote each other's blogs. You might want to set up a forum, write about other blogs, or work on a group blog.

But this is supposed to be an offline list. Setting up your own blogging group as an offline activity is similar to attending a blogging event, but you're the one organising it. In other words, if there isn't a local group you can join, why not set one up?

6. Sponsor an event.

Still on the subject of events, why not sponsor one? This may be out of reach if it's a large event, as sponsorship often means you need to contribute financially - but a smaller event could be more plausible. It's probably best suited to larger blogs, blog networks, or anyone who makes a living from blogging.

7. Advertising.

You can advertise both online and offline. Offline advertising includes newspaper ads, classified ads (cheaper but less visible than newspaper ads), flyers, and printed newsletters.

8. Branded merchandise.

Badges, mugs, mouse mats, t-shirts... there's a wide range of "schwag" you can offer for your readers. You might be able to make a bit of money from it - but that shouldn't be the primary goal. If someone buys a car sticker with your blog name and URL on it, then puts it in their car, people will see it. This can be a really good way to promote your blog without you having to do it - so why not give out "free stuff" and help spread the word?

9. Publish a book.

Publishing a book is another way to get people reading about your blog. Also, it can be a very convenient way to compile some of your best material with some new work exclusive to the book. One example is the ProBlogger book.

10. Do a radio interview.

Can you get on the local radio and talk about your blog? You might not think so - but have you asked? It's all about practising your pitch. Much like applying for a job, you have to give people a compelling reason to show an interest in you. If you can do that and someone picks up your application, you can reach a wide audience.

Have you done any of these? Can you think of any other ways to promote your blog offline?

10 ways blogging can help you get a job

Ben — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:32:16 -0500

Image by 2create.

I've seen plenty of news stories where bloggers have been shown as people who say too much and ultimately lose their jobs because of it. This post is much more positive - I'd like to look at how blogging can help you to get a job. It's particularly relevant to me as I've been looking for work recently. I'll be writing more about that in a future post over at benbarden.com. Anyway, onto the list.

1. A link for your portfolio.

As with several of the points in this post, this is only going to be relevant to certain roles, such as web design or development. Many of these roles will ask for examples of previous work. It's always better to include links that go further than "this is the last full-time job I did".

If you're not looking for jobs in web design or development, keep in mind that your employer may be able to find your blog anyway. It's better to avoid posting anything that could harm your reputation than try and hide your blog from certain people.

2. Community involvement.

Are you someone who looks for ways to improve things? Do you help other bloggers with technical queries or general tips for how to build a better blog? Have you set up a group of like-minded bloggers or arranged any kind of events?

Depending on the role you're going for, networking with other bloggers shows you care about others, and you work well in a team. It's not a substitute for hands-on experience within the industry you're looking for jobs in, but it is a good backup if you don't have as much experience as you'd like.

3. Writing skills.

Posting on your blog will give potential employers a good idea of how you write. Therefore, accurate spelling and grammar is very important. Take the time to proof-read your posts, and edit them if you find any errors after a post is published. Most jobs look for strong writing skills, and blogging is actually a really good way to practise.

4. Some jobs want web-savvy, not just tech-savvy.

Employers have asked for basic PC skills for quite some time now. In fact, some jobs don't even mention this anymore, and instead assume you will already have the skills you need to get started.

Now, some jobs are starting to put the focus on web skills, not just PC skills. Companies are becoming much more interested in blogging, web advertising, and Twitter. If you possess some knowledge in these areas, it can really help your application.

5. Managing multiple priorities.

We all have things that need doing. Cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing, looking after the family, car maintenance, house repairs... all the usual stuff that goes on when you're not at work.

For many people, having time to blog is a good reflection on your ability to manage multiple priorities. It gets you into a routine. If you run multiple blogs, even better.

6. Emerging as an authority.

If you build a blog that helps you to emerge as an authority on an area you'd like to work in, people will start to see that you're out there, and possibly approach you.

I've been approached many times for advice, freelance projects and general feedback. Sometimes it's as simple as a supportive comment, in other cases I've been presented with suggestions or contributions that will ultimately benefit my projects and the people who use them.

If I wanted to be a full-time freelancer, then I'd work harder to pursue leads. Even without actively asking people to give me coding projects, I do get small coding jobs simply by continuing to blog. Putting yourself out there is a good thing.

7. References.

If you've ever helped another blogger or worked with them on something, even if it's just a small volunteer project (rather than a big commercial job), they might be willing to give you a reference. Don't expect it - but if it's someone who could potentially help you with a job application, do ask.

References don't just come from the people you've sat next to at work. Currently, I have three very strong references who can each provide good feedback, but most importantly, they each have a very different perspective. In my view, references are best when each person can comment on a different aspect of your career, your personality, and how you work.

8. It's an interest.

I'm not keen on listing my interests on a job application, but people do ask. Think of what happens if you list your interests as drinking, pubbing, clubbing... would you want that person to work for you? Would they roll in late every Monday morning?

Being able to list interests that are actually interesting can be a great talking point - and it may be a good icebreaker for interviews. Saying you watch TV and not much else isn't going to set the pulses racing. But saying you actively update a blog about (insert your choice of topic here) shows you care enough to blog in the first place, and could generate some interest from an interviewer. Making a solid connection is important - you want to be memorable, not forgettable.

9. It might be a blogging job!

Well yes - if you're going for a blogging job, previous experience as a blogger should help. But before you say "I don't want to make money from my blog", think of how many companies have blogs now. Honestly, I couldn't give you a figure, but business blogging seems to be a lot more common than it used to be. Someone has to update that blog. What if you could do it, either as your main responsibility or as part of a larger job?

10. It shows that you have knowledge in what you do.

We've already looked at emerging as an authority on a topic. If you blog about the kind of work you do, as I do, then it doesn't just help you to get noticed - it confirms that you know your stuff. You're not just someone who says they have however many years experience in something. You're showing that you have a deep understanding and appreciation of your career. This is what pushes you from being a good candidate to a great candidate - and who knows, it might land you a great job with a great salary.

What do you think?

10 tips for conquering writer's block on your blog

Ben — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:36:29 -0500

Image by hannahspanna.

Sketch out some ideas on paper. Whether it's some bulletpoints for a new post or you're planning a series of related posts, writing things down on paper can be a good way to get creative. It's also good to take a break from your computer.
Break from your usual style. Always writing structured posts? Write a free-format post. Sick of writing with headers everywhere? Put it in a list. From time to time, you've got to mix it up a bit. It helps to keep your writing fresh.
Guest post for another blog. Writing for someone else's blog can be very stimulating, especially if you get some comments. You could also invite guest bloggers to post on your blog. They might come up with topics you hadn't thought of, or you could give them a post title you haven't been able to finish. This can help you to look at your posts in a new light.
Write a follow-up to an earlier post. Was there a post that your readers loved? Why not write a follow-up? You could also write a continuation of a post that hasn't had much exposure, as it is good promotion for the old post as well as a good subject for a new post. Or you could write an alternative viewpoint.
Try a new layout. For some reason, it helps me! Every time I have a new design on one of my blogs, I feel compelled to write new content.
Reply to a commenter in a new post. Sometimes, comments go further than the post itself. Why not develop a reader comment into a post?
Read other sites for inspiration. Perhaps they've written about a topic you haven't featured yet. Make sure you take the topic and add your own thoughts - don't copy someone else's post.
Promote an old post. I covered this in #4 above, but this is more to do with promoting an old post than writing a follow-up post. Find one of your least viewed or least commented posts, and share the link to get new comments and insights. Not everyone will have seen it the first time around.
Clean up your categories. If you've got a few similar but very specific categories, why not combine them and give the category a new name? This might spur on a few new post ideas. Blogging Observations is my latest example of this.
Start another blog. This depends on how much time you have to spare, and you can only run so many different blogs, but you don't have to update all of them daily. Each week, I usually have a few new posts across some of my blogs. I currently have six blogs - they aren't all updated regularly, but they are all active. Writing multiple blogs allows you to move from one blog to the next if you get bored. This can really help with writer's block, and allows you to revisit the other blogs once you've regained your motivation.

Do you get writer's block? How do you handle it?

10 well-known blogging tips - and what I think of them

Ben — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:22:49 -0500

Image by Will Lion.

There are all sorts of blogging tips out there. Some come up time and time again, and few people really question those tips. But not all of them should be taken at face value. Here are 10 of the most common tips and what I think of them.

1. Content is king.

The image I've used for this post suggests otherwise. Apparently, conversation is king. There's some truth in this - even if you write the greatest posts, how do you feel if nobody comments on them?

Great content is important, but it also has to be relevant to your target audience - there's not much point writing loads of great posts if they don't have a running theme. You also have to keep writing, and promote your content in the right places. Content is king, but marketing is queen.

Here are some more of my posts on writing great content.

2. Post every day.

This ones is rather annoying. I fully appreciate that if you post a lot, you can get started much more quickly than if you post very slowly. But most of us just won't be able to sustain such a frequent posting rhythm after the first few months.

I've already blogged about this in greater detail - check out 10 reasons not to post too frequently.

3. Use Twitter.

This is one that I agree with, but there's a pretty big caveat. Yes, by all means use Twitter to meet new people, to socialise, to share your latest blog posts and to read other people's blog posts.

However, if all you do is post links to your newest posts and you never interact with other people, you probably won't get all that much out of Twitter.

Not only that, but you can overuse Twitter. I've been through high and low periods but I haven't really overused it. There are quite a few people who seem to be on it a lot though. That's their choice, but I wonder how they keep up with it.

I find it's best to use Twitter in short, sharp bursts. Get on, chat for a bit, post a link, visit some other links. Then go and do something else. Don't sit on it all day - it's very distracting, and will stop you from doing other things.

I have some more Twitter posts here at Top Ten Blog Tips.

4. Get your own domain.

I think this is a good idea, but there are a few things to consider. Firstly, you won't get the maximum benefits from having your own domain unless the URL is "well-keyworded". A URL like "myramblingsaboutstuff" is not going to rank too well - will anyone actually search for that? This isn't a reason not to use your own domain, but you should choose a URL that includes the keywords you wish to target, as this is an important factor in getting search engine traffic.

Secondly, as I'm sure many bloggers will be happy to confirm, there may be benefits with getting your own domain but plenty of blogs do just fine without one. This doesn't mean they wouldn't be better off with their own domain. It's just that running your own domain requires a bit more technical expertise than using a hosted blog does.

I'd always recommend using your own domain instead of the alternative (not using one!), but it's not always as simple as that. However, if you'd like to try using your own domain, my Blogging Quick Start Guide might be of interest.

5. Comment on other blogs.

Too many people take this literally. Getting your name out there is all about commenting on other people's blogs, right? Cue plenty of generic "great post!" comments (which is a sign your blog sucks), and various other mistakes you shouldn't make when commenting.

It's not just down to the commenter and what they write. Some bloggers get a lot of comments and can't reply to every single one. Sometimes there's not much to say. But some bloggers appear to ignore even the greatest comments. Commenting on these blogs is usually a waste of time. Look for the bloggers who appreciate your views, and comment on their blogs. Not replying to every single comment doesn't mean the blogger is someone to avoid, but not replying to any comments may not be a good sign.

6. A unique design is essential.

I do agree with this, but not everyone's a theme designer! A good starting point is my list of blogging design tips. You can find some great themes out there, but you won't find many that haven't been used by other bloggers. Having said that, there are a lot of themes, you just have to know where to look for them. This is something I'll be looking at in a future post...

7. Don't put up too many ads.

Too much blog clutter is a bad thing, ads or otherwise. Minimise all blog clutter, not just ads. Don't need it? Lose it. Keeping things you don't need is a waste of space, and a distraction for your readers. Keep them focused on what's important - your content - not that flashing, spinning, trendy widget in your sidebar.

8. Use WordPress.

OK, WordPress is well-known, widely used, there's plenty of support and resources out there, so it gets recommended a lot. That doesn't mean it's the best solution for every site, and it's certainly not the only platform out there.

I know quite a few people who are more than happy with Blogger. Also, as many of you know, I have my own CMS - Injader. On analysing some reasons for using WordPress, I found that many of them apply to Injader, too. Also, here are 10 things that Injader can do without plugins.

9. Join blogging forums.

Not all forums are worth using. To get the most out of a forum, you need to interact with other members, and not just post links to your site. I can recommend the CMF Forums and the Bloggeries Forums.

10. Be original.

What makes your blog stand out? Why should people read your blog rather than the others in your niche? People can read more than one blog, but being original is really important. This means writing original content, having an original focus (such as a well-known niche with a twist), and giving your readers something to be interested in every time you post.

The acid test is whether people subscribe, comment, share your posts, and keep coming back. Are your readers coming back for more? If not, why not?

Which of these blogging tips do you agree or disagree with? Can you think of any other well-known tips that are worth mentioning, either for being accurate or frequently misinterpreted?

10 reasons why plugin overload is a bad thing

Ben — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:09:22 -0500

Sidenote: Have you visited the Top Ten Blog Tips homepage recently? I've reorganised my categories so it should be easier to find previous posts.

Image by ph0t0 (loves you too).

Having too many plugins on your blog is not a good idea. Here are 10 reasons why.

1. Upgrading will become a nightmare.

The more plugins you have, the more incompatibilities that may arise when you upgrade your blogging platform. You may have to disable your plugins before doing the upgrade, then enable them one by one once the upgrade is complete.

2. Security issues.

Many of your plugins will do various things to your database. Now, what's going to happen if you install a plugin that has security problems?

All software can have issues, but installing loads of plugins on your blog is like running dozens of different packages, all with their own security procedures (or lack thereof). While your blogging platform may be solid as a rock, installing a badly written plugin could bring the whole site down.

If you do have problems, switching to another platform may not solve your woes if you install loads of plugins there, too.

3. Your blog may end up running much more slowly.

Some plugins are very resource-intensive. Some plugins are badly coded. Some rely on someone else's server. These are the reasons why you should always test your blog immediately after installing a new plugin. If everyone did this instead of installing loads of plugins in one go, it would be a lot easier to find the problem.

4. You have to disable ALL plugins if one goes wrong.

Troubleshooting a bad plugin is not much fun. It takes time, and it's not particularly exciting. Once you've done this a few times, the wide range of available plugins might not seem like such a great feature.

5. Your host may shut down your site due to excessive CPU usage.

Badly coded plugins can cause major problems to the point where your host shuts down your site until you sort it out. It's not a good situation to be in.

I've heard people saying things like, "If your host shuts you down without talking to you first, get a better host". I don't agree at all. Firstly, very few people can afford a dedicated server - most sites use shared hosting, which is considerably cheaper. There are a lot of shared hosts who will shut you down if you cause major problems on the your server, as it affects other customers. Secondly, a LOT of people don't pick up their emails immediately for whatever reason. So if the host emailed you when the problem occurred and you replied 12 hours later to say "sorry I was sleeping" or "sorry I was at work" - well, that doesn't really help them. It's your responsibility to ensure that you don't bring the server down - if you do, your site's going to be taken offline until you sort it out.

If you have a big enough site that you can't afford to have any downtime due to problems with plugins or scripts, don't use shared hosting. You get what you pay for.

6. Some plugins may break other plugins.

What if a plugin defines something that another plugin has also defined? What if one plugin changes something that other plugins rely on? There are all kinds of ways for one plugin to break another, and with so many plugins out there, can you really test every possible scenario?

The fewer plugins you have, the less chance there is of two plugins conflicting.

7. Some plugins may have inconsistent interfaces.

Any plugin that has a user interface - a screen that you go to in order to change the settings - could potentially have its own interface. If every plugin uses an inconsistent interface, that's a lot of new screens to learn. Not all plugin authors will create plugins with usability in mind, so some of them may be very confusing to use.

8. You may depend on plugins that stop being supported or developed.

This could happen no matter how many plugins you use, but as with most of the points on this list, it's more likely to occur if you use a lot of plugins. What happens if your favourite plugin is not supported anymore, and it stops working at some point in the future?

The beauty of open source development is that other people could take on an abandoned plugin, but in reality, does this usually happen? If it was a one man project, who else will know enough about the code to be able to take it on?

9. Every time you set up a new blog, it takes forever to install the plugins.

I like running multiple blogs, so the "famous 5 minute install" is great for me. Except it's never 5 minutes, once you factor in the time it takes to install and configure all those plugins. You should try it sometime. It's easy to forget how much customisation you've done on your blog and how long it would take to set up a new one. Plugins do not make the situation any easier.

10. Running an accessible blog with valid HTML can become almost impossible.

This is because of the differing coding styles used by plugin authors. If a plugin produces horrible HTML, validating your code will be a lot tougher.

The reason why I validate my code is quite simple - any new errors that appear will be much easier to identify and fix. You might also be interested in my post, 10 misconceptions about web accessibility.

Footnote

This post paints a bleak picture, but I'm not completely against plugins. There are good plugins out there that many bloggers are happy with. The main thing to be aware of is that the more plugins you install, the more likely it is that you'll encounter some of the problems outlined in this post. Choose your plugins carefully, test them out before you commit to them, and keep an eye out for larger plugins that replace several smaller plugins.

What do you think? How many plugins are you running on your blog? What problems have you noticed, if any?

10 reasons why blog clutter is a bad thing

Ben — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:06:38 -0500

Image by MadAboutCows.

Clutter refers to the various widgets, buttons, ads, animations and goodness knows what else that can be found on many blogs, in the areas not populated by content.

It's as if the blogger puts up a basic template, adds some content, then looks at a blank spot and says "I haven't filled that yet". So off they go to add yet another image or whatever else they could find.

Like it or not, there are many reasons why blog clutter is a bad thing. Let's go through 10 of those reasons.

1. It's distracting.

If I go to your blog and the sidebar is jam-packed with junk, it's going to be hard to read your posts without my eyes constantly drifting off to look at the junk. Wow, look at all these other blogs I can visit!

2. Too much clutter can overpower your content.

If you have more ads and widgets than content, something's not right. The focus of a blog should be the content, not the sidebars! Tell me, am I visiting your blog to look at the clutter, or your posts?

3. It affects load time.

OK, so let's get a few things clear. Some widgets load faster than others. Some readers may have slower connections than others. Some web hosts aren't particularly fast, either. Sometimes the Internet is just having a bad day. Load time is not something you can easily guarantee.

But one thing's for sure. If you cram every available space with every possible gadget, widget and squidget (I just made that up - someone go and register the domain name - I bet it's taken!), your blog is going to be S-L-O-W. That's not fun for anyone.

I've seen blogs that are still loading various bits and pieces after a whole minute of "transferring data from...". Nobody really waits that long - I just like to wait and see how long it takes before the browser says "Done"!

4. It can make browsers hang or crash.

Blogs with lots of widgets are one thing, but if your site causes my browser to temporarily stop working, or my browser crashes completely, I'm not coming back. There is no excuse. Test your site.

5. It provides little or no value to your readers.

Is it really important for your readers to know that your blog is worth $30,000? Do they need to see a scrolling list of other blogs? Maybe, but I think it's better to have a few ads than for dozens and dozens of blogs to scroll by. Animation is very distracting!

6. It often clashes with your theme.

How many widgets or gadgets allow you to customise the design so they match your theme? Some do, but most only provide very limited customisation options.

Even if you can customise them, most will not be a seamless fit. Anything that doesn't fit with the rest of your theme will stick out like a sore thumb.

If most of your clutter does this, you'll have a mess of differing styles that clash not only with your theme, but with each other.

7. It looks unprofessional.

This reason depends on the goals of your blog. Perhaps you're not too bothered about professionalism. However, if you are, ditch the clutter. Use what you need, and lose the rest.

8. If problems occur, it will be a nightmare to find the cause.

I've seen so many sites with popup ads, which are annoying enough - but what if you didn't realise the popup was appearing? If you have loads of clutter on your blog, how do you know which widget is causing the problem?

The same applies to browser slowness or crashes - it can take ages to find the culprit. Reduce your clutter and troubleshooting should be relatively trouble-free.

9. Too much clutter can cause excessive scrolling.

As a general rule, I try to keep the length of my sidebar shorter than the length of my content. This isn't always possible, such as on category pages where I only have a few posts.

But when viewing a post with comments beneath, your sidebar should not go all the way down the page. It looks silly, and just creates an unnecessarily long scrollbar.

10. It can prevent entry into sites you actually want to use.

Some blogging networks or directories may not allow blogs to sign up if they have popup ads or autoplaying audio. As mentioned above, you may run into difficulties if you have a problem but you're not sure what's causing it.

It's best to read the rules before you join, and solve any problems if you want to sign up. Some sites may have stricter rules than you're willing to abide by, in which case don't join those sites. But others have quite sensible rules that may actually help you to get more readers. Popup ads and autoplaying audio are two good examples of this. You may not mind them, but how do your readers feel?

Bonus Tip

I had to include this as a bonus tip, because it's not a reason why blog clutter is bad. Actually, it's quite the opposite. Not all widgets are bad. Some may create value for your readers, others may create value for you, but without negatively impacting your readers.

The main rule is not to overdo it. Try a few things at a time, and give them a chance to sink or swim. Then keep the best performing items and lose the rest.

What do you think? Do you have any clutter on your blog? Which widgets or gadgets work well for you? Are there any you could remove?

10 reasons not to blog on a schedule

Ben — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:35:28 -0500

Image by alistair_uk.

"Blog on a regular schedule". This blogging tip comes up over and over again, and while I see some reasons to do it, I also see plenty of reasons not to.

Despite the numerous drawbacks, I do post weekly at Top Ten Blog Tips, but every week I wonder how much longer I can keep it going. Maybe one day I will ditch the weekly updates and post as often as I do at benbarden.com, which is "when I have something to say". And yes, I do know about scheduling posts in advance, but I rarely do it.

Here are the reasons why I think blogging on a regular schedule is not all it's cracked up to be.

1. Sometimes, life gets in the way.

Whether you're working late, your train's been cancelled, you're unwell, it's a friend's birthday, or a family emergency (which some people use as an excuse for not bothering to post that week), there are always going to be days when you don't have time to blog.

If you blog for a living, then it may be a different story. For the rest of us, can you really say that you'll always be free at the same time on the same days, week in, week out? How long will you be able to keep up that routine before life gets in the way?

2. You may run out of new post ideas.

This is more of a problem if you leave your blog posts until the day you need to publish them. I'm always thinking of my next blog post well in advance of writing it, and I'm still short of ideas for Top Ten Blog Tips.

When it's Wednesday evening, I start to wonder if I'm actually going to come up with something this week. In the end, I usually bounce around some ideas with my wife, and between us we come up with 10 tips that I sit down and organise into a coherent post.

Even with a healthy stock of post titles in reserve, many of them don't have as many as 10 items for me to write about. I may start writing posts with 5 pros / 5 cons in the near future.

3. You may sacrifice quality just to get the posts written.

For the last few months, I've been running a pretty tight schedule at Top Ten Blog Tips. I have a few posts that may be "good enough" to post, but they don't really strike me as being all that interesting. So I set those posts aside for future consideration.

At some stage, I may run out of content and resort to publishing some of the lower quality posts just to get a post out every week. See why a schedule is bad? If not - we've still got 7 points to go!

4. Not all readers can commit every single week.

Whether you write daily, three times a week, or once a week, how many readers will be able to read every single one of your posts? I can see that some readers want a schedule they can rely on - but what if life gets in the way for them? They miss out, and you're none the wiser - you still think everyone wants you to keep to a schedule.

5. Some readers will only check in on the days you post.

If I only post on a Wednesday, why should anyone bother checking the blog for the rest of the week? They might read some of the older posts, but you're not exactly encouraging readers to check your site all that often.

6. You may be too late to comment on current events.

This really depends on the topic of your blog, but some stories will be time-sensitive. What if you only post once a week, but it's the day after your latest post and a huge story comes up? Should you post out of schedule? Or should you wait and be the last to cover it? Each approach has its pros and cons, but neither really works if you want to keep to a schedule.

7. Most of the blog may end up being badly themed.

If you decide to theme your posts, the blog may become far too rigid in structure with absolutely no opportunity for deviation. Writing a specific post on a specific day can help to set reader expectations, but it can also result in your blog getting stuck in a rut.

Also, beware of "lazy post days", such as Music Monday or Wordless Wednesday (assuming you're just posting someone else's content on these days). Do these posts add value for your readers? Though they may seem acceptable once in a while, is it really a good idea to knock out two of your posting days every single week for uninspired posts?

8. Changing or not keeping to your schedule could lose you some readers.

Here's the scoop: once you pick a schedule, it's very difficult to change it. Stick to an unrealistic schedule (e.g. posting daily) and you will quickly burn out. Keep changing your schedule and you'll confuse your readers. Not having a schedule could be confusing, but at least you can be consistently inconsistent...!

9. It's too easy to be over-ambitious.

If you have to pick a schedule, it's easier to post daily, every weekday, or every other day than it is to try and choose a few days for week 1, then different days for week 2.

As a result, it's all too easy to pick a schedule that will be simple to remember, but difficult to keep to, because of the sheer volume of posts you'll be writing from one week to the next. Daily is too much, weekly doesn't sound quite enough.

I've seen a lot of blogs that suggest writing daily. If your blog is on a topic that just doesn't have enough subject matter to enable you to write daily, following this advice could result in a lot of posts that are not focused enough to be compelling.

10. There are only so many days in the week.

There are seven days in the week. It's usually pretty quiet at the weekend, it's not a good idea to try and post every single day, and it's not wise to post too many consecutive posts. That leaves you with the following schedules:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Monday, Wednesday
Monday, Thursday
Monday, Friday
Tuesday, Wednesday
Tuesday, Thursday
Tuesday, Friday
Wednesday, Friday

Not very many is it? Also, seven of them include either Monday or Tuesday! How many other blogs will be posting on those days? What if every blog posts on a Monday? How many blogs can readers keep up with?

I guess you could say that no matter when you post, either with or without a schedule, the same problem occurs here. But the situation can be a lot worse if you force yourself to post on the same days every week, as it effectively tells your readers that you will always post on the same days as some of the other blogs that they read.

It's like having two TV shows on at the same time - you can't watch them both, but you could record one of them. Suddenly, it doesn't matter when the second show is on, as you can watch it at your leisure. Subscribing to blogs is a bit like recording a TV show - you consume the content when it suits you, not when the provider broadcasts it.

What do you think?

10 things that Injader can do without plugins

Ben — Wed, 20 May 2009 21:47:45 -0500

Image by edzahid.

When I returned from a blogging break back in April, I promised to write about some of the reasons for migrating from WordPress to Injader. WordPress has a lot of plugins that you can use to extend its functionality, but I think it relies too heavily on them. One of Injader's fundamental principles is that it has some really useful features built into the core. Some of these are summarised below.

1. Related content.

Simply add tags to your content, and any that share the same tags will be displayed at the bottom of each page. The output can be customised in your theme.

2. FeedBurner redirection.

Want to ensure that anyone who accesses the Injader feed is counted in your FeedBurner stats? No problem - just enter the URL of the FeedBurner feed in the relevant field under General Settings. Save the changes, and all will be good.

3. A simple contact form.

It's not suited to every possible scenario, but you can easily use the simple contact form to get feedback from your readers without revealing your email address.

4. Meta description and keywords as settings.

These are displayed in your theme. You could add the relevant information to your theme by going into the code, but it's far easier to set them in General Settings - and you don't need to be tech-savvy, either.

5. Sitemap.

You can easily grab the URL of the built-in sitemap and add it to Google Webmaster Tools. This will help Google to index every page on your site and add new pages very quickly.

6. Exclude areas from the RSS feed.

Want to set up an area of your site that won't flood your feed with new posts (such as a forum)? No problem - just untick the "include in RSS feed" option for any of your areas. You can still subscribe to the area feed, it just won't be included in the overall site feed.

7. Different themes for different areas.

If you feel like being extra creative, or you want to develop themes and show people what they look like, you can override your site theme for certain areas of your site.

8. Three navigation types.

Instead of pages and categories, you can create areas using up to three different navigation types. This means you can have three sets of navigational links, such as a horizontal navigation bar, links in your sidebar, and links in your footer. Or you can place them all in the sidebar if you prefer. It's up to you!

9. Advanced TinyMCE.

This allows you to do more when writing a post. In particular, you can create tables in your posts, and there's a very handy context menu if you right-click anywhere within the editor.

10. Flexible, per-area permissions.

Want to allow comments in some areas but not others? Allow registered users to create articles in certain areas? Hide certain areas from guests? Control a wide range of permissions based on custom user roles? No problem. Injader provides an unprecedented level of flexibility with its security system.

Bonus: Subscribe to comments by email.

This was added in Injader 2.3.1, which was released after I wrote this post. Subscribing to comments by email is a great way to keep your readers coming back to your blog - and in Injader, you can do it without a plugin!

There's more, much more - see what's in store for the future of Injader.

What do you think?

10 tips for promoting your blog online

Ben — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:30:00 -0500

Image by FelipeArte.

This is the first in a two-part series. In part 1, I'll be looking at ways you can promote your blog online. In part 2 (which may be delayed a week or two, but it will be coming), I'll focus on ways to promote your blog offline. Don't miss the 2nd part of the series - subscribe today!

So - how can you promote your blog online?

1. Advertising.

I've read some reports that suggest the world of advertising is in big trouble due to the recession. I think it depends on the options that are available. More than ever before, anyone who wants to advertise will want value for money. But I'd argue this should always be the case.

I strongly recommend adding your blog to CMF Ads. Not just because I'm the lead developer, but because it's a great service. 30 day ads start at just 1 credit ($0.25), or you can spend hundreds of credits depending on your budget. You can pick and choose the ads you want to place, advertise across a range of sites based on their price and CPM, or combine both approaches.

2. Commenting.

Previously, I've written about how to get more comments on your blog. You should also post comments on other blogs from time to time, as this helps to get some discussions going. People may visit your blog if you write an interesting comment. But don't spam the comment section of another blog. Remember that you're visiting someone else's site.

3. Signature links.

Including a blog link in your signature is a good way to get people clicking through with having to ask them to do so. You can add a link to your email signature or your signature on forums (see #10 for more).

4. Guest posts.

Writing guest posts for other blogs can be a very rewarding experience. Back in February 2009 I wrote a guest post for ProBlogger.net, listing 7 reasons not to have empty ad spots on your blog. Darren Rowse (ProBlogger) wrote a follow-up post to give a few tips for what you can do with your empty ad spots. I couldn't have asked for a better way to promote my post!

5. Contests.

Occasionally, running a contest can be a good way to create some buzz, get some new readers and boost your subscribers. If you require people to subscribe to your blog by email, this is a good way to keep track of who's entered the contest (assuming you use FeedBurner).

But you shouldn't view this as an easy way to get new subscribers. Once you've got a few people to subscribe, ensure you keep writing great content or they will unsubscribe. There may be people who sign up just for the contest and who unsubscribe when it ends, but if you can give people a reason to stay subscribed, everyone wins!

6. Exchanging links.

I'm not keen on straightforward link exchanges, i.e. "you link to me and I'll link to you". There are better ways to get links from other blogs. Follow some of these tips and you'll be well on your way.

7. Twitter.

This is a great way to promote your blog, but you need to do more than just post links to your latest posts. Engage people in discussions and you may find they start to answer back!

If you need a beginner's guide, I have some tips for getting starting with Twitter. I also have some ways to climb to new heights with Twitter, along with 10 signs your Twitter etiquette could be improved.

Follow me on Twitter.

8. Blog directories.

These provide another way to get your blog listed. People looking for blogs can browse by category and find the blogs that interest them. I recommend Bloggeries Blog Directory, you'll get good referrals from this well-optimised site.

9. Blogging networks.

I don't really use blogging networks at the moment, but as some of my blogging friends have had good results, I think it's worth including this as a tip. BlogCatalog is by far the best blogging network out there.

10. Forums.

If you haven't joined the CMF Forums, you're missing out! You should also check out Bloggeries Blog Forum. Contrary to what some might say, forums aren't dead yet.

Can you think of any other ways to promote your blog online?

10 tips for highlighting previous blog posts

Ben — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Image by sidereal.

Highlighting previous posts is a great way to show some of your older content to readers who haven't followed you since you started blogging. Here are 10 tips that will help you to do this.

1. Feature old posts in new posts.

Whenever you write a new post, look for old posts that are relevant to the subject you're writing about, and link to them from your post. Your readers will then be able to read additional information without you having to explain the same things over and over.

You can also establish a more direct link to previous posts by writing a follow-up post that picks up where an earlier post left off.

2. Show popular posts on your home page.

As you add more content to your blog, it becomes increasingly difficult to find older content by clicking through page after page of old posts.

One way to address this is to showcase some of your best posts on your home page. You could highlight the posts with the most comments, or the posts with the most views. On the front page of Top Ten Blog Tips, you'll see I've linked to the posts with the most comments.

3. Do a weekly round-up.

Publishing a weekly round-up is a great way to highlight the posts you've written over the last week. There are many reasons for doing a weekly round-up.

4. Include links in blogging forums.

If you're a member of any blogging forums, you may be able to link to your posts from time to time. Be careful not to come across as a spammer, though. Ensure you only post links when the link you're posting adds to the discussion. Don't link to a short post if you can say how you feel by writing it in a reply. Above all, do it sparingly. If every one of your posts contains a link, many members will ignore your posts.

5. Post links on Twitter.

Twitter is a great way to share your latest blog posts. Ensure that you keep things balanced, though - if you post a lot of links, it can be overwhelming. Mix things up so you aren't only posting links to your blog.

6. Link to specific posts when commenting.

When commenting on other people's blogs, there is usually a URL field where you include a link to your site. Why link to your home page when you can link to a post instead? Better still, link to a post that's relevant to the post you're commenting on.

Make sure you put the link in the URL field though, rather than including it in the comment text - otherwise, your comment may hit the spam queue.

7. Encourage readers to browse by category.

Sometimes it's good to remind your readers that there are other ways to browse your blog than just looking at the latest posts. Linking to a category page can help with this. You should also make sure that your categories are easily accessible and not buried at the bottom of your sidebar. Also, try to keep the list of categories as short as possible. It's silly to have 100 categories with only one post in each. (Yes, I have a few of these, but I'm slowly filling in the gaps!)

8. Use tags to display related content.

If you use tags (keywords) on your posts, this can provide additional ways for your readers to locate posts. If you're using Injader, a list of related content is built into the default theme. There's also the Tag Map. For users of WordPress, I believe there's a plugin that will help you out here. Or, you could use a tag cloud.

9. Encourage another blogger to write a follow-up post.

Why not ask one of your blogging friends to look at one of your posts and write their own follow-up? To keep it fair, you could do the same for them.

10. Put them in an e-book.

If you've got a lot of posts that you'd like to wrap up and provide to existing and future readers in a handy guide, why not create an e-book?

An e-book gives you the opportunity to take one subject from your blog and look at it in greater depth. This can really help you to attract new readers who want all of the information in one place.

You could rewrite a few of the older posts to bring them up to date, and include new material that won't be found on your blog. Make sure you include a very clear link to your blog as a great e-book has the potential to travel far and wide.

Do you highlight previous posts? Are you going to start doing it?

10 tips to improve navigation on your blog

Ben — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Image by Storm Crypt.

Navigation is something your readers shouldn't have to think about. If they do, they won't be able to find their way around. Do your readers a favour - improve the navigation on your blog with these 10 top tips.

1. Use breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs look like this:

Home Page > Category > Post Title

They show the path through the site from the top down to the page you're currently visiting. This can help your readers to find a post in future, as they can just follow the links. It can also get people to move between the different areas of your site, especially if your site goes a few levels deep. Like this:

Home > Music > Rock & Pop > The Beatles > Reviews > Abbey Road

So if you're reading the review of Abbey Road, you can click the links in the breadcrumbs to find other reviews, more content about The Beatles, more music in Rock & Pop, more music-related content, or everything (the home page). This is a very useful way to find similar content.

If you use WordPress, there is a handy post at Nice2All about Breadcrumb Navigation. If you use Injader, breadcrumbs are built-in.

2. Provide page numbers for category navigation.

Imagine you're reading a blog with lots of posts on search engine optimisation (SEO). All of the posts are stored in an "SEO" category. However, there are a lot of posts (you don't know how many), and only 5 are displayed per page, with the full content displayed on the category page. You want to read the oldest post first. How do you get to it?

On a standard WordPress blog, the previous/next links are a really painful way to navigate through pages and pages of content. You could use the date-based navigation if you knew the date of the first post in that category, or if you just wanted to find the first post on the site. But in this situation, wouldn't it be easier to jump straight to the last page of content in this category?

If you use WordPress, read the post at Nice2All on WordPress Pagination. If you use Injader, page numbers are standard.

3. Include previous/next links for post navigation.

Although I'm keen on page numbers for navigating through a category, previous and next links do have their uses. One thing you can use them for is to aid readers in finding the next post in a series or category. If a reader finds your site by clicking on a link to one of your posts, they might want to read the next (or previous) post on your site to see if they're all as interesting as that one.

For WordPress, check out the Next and Previous Links guide. It's quite possible this is already in your theme. In Injader, it's built-in.

4. Comment jump links.

If you're reading the full content of a post on the home page or one of the category pages on a blog, but you're not viewing the post itself, it can be very useful to have a "Comments" link. It will usually show how many comments have already been posted, if any, but it should also jump directly to the comment form instead of going to the top of the post.

I've seen a few blogs where they have a "Comments" link, but it doesn't jump down. If I really want to leave a comment, I'll scroll down, but it is annoying to have to do that. Some readers won't bother to scroll and may be confused if the link doesn't go straight to the comment form.

For WordPress, the following may help: Jump to Comments. In Injader, guess what? It's built-in! To be fair, it is possible to remove this code from Injader, in fact this applies to the previous points too - it all depends on your theme. Some WordPress themes have the code built-in, too.

5. Be consistent with your navigation links.

Some sites use one layout for their home page, and a different layout for their posts. That's fine, and it's something I do at Top Ten Blog Tips.

What doesn't work so well, though, is when you have multiple layouts and the navigation links are not always in the same place. On the home page, you might have some links across the top and some more links across the bottom. But when you view a post, the links across the bottom are now down the side. All this does is confuse your readers as they have to learn two different link placements for your site.

6. Use styles to distinguish the navigation from the content.

If your navigation links look like your blogroll links, or they blend in with your content, they will be harder to find. Use a different background colour for navigation links, including a horizontal navigation bar or your sidebar. This will help readers to see where the content ends and the navigation begins.

7. Don't have too many sets of links.

I've seen blogs with a navigation bar at the top of the page, then a banner, and one or two navigation bars that sit underneath. Then they have more links down the side, and still more links in a large box at the bottom. This seems like overkill to me.

How many navigation bars do you need? How many of them contain some of the same links? I don't think it's wise to repeat links, as your readers may wonder if each link serves a different purpose. Why have an About link at the top as well as the bottom? Is it just to ensure people don't miss out? If you must do that, use different text for each of the links. Perhaps one could be "About" and the other could be "About the author". I'm still not sold on repeating any links, but this is more about keeping the number of links to a minimum.

8. Don't hide your main navigation links.

Some ad networks, or even individual advertisers, may require you to put their ads very high up on your page. All very well, but don't lose sight of what's important: your content, and helping your readers to find it.

It's not just whether certain sites want their ads up the top - it seems a lot of blogs fill their sidebars with every widget under the sun while the navigational links get pushed all the way to the bottom. What's the point in that?

9. Remove the default links.

WordPress blogs start out with a few "Meta" links that should really be removed. Bookmark the Admin link, but unless you're running a group blog, nobody else will need it other than you. If a link is of no use to your readers, there's not much point displaying it on the blog.

10. Tidy up your categories and tags.

Categories and tags are a very handy way to navigate a blog, but they are much more useful if you organise them carefully. Depending on whether or not you display them, tags are less of a problem, but you should keep your categories organised. Don't create a new category for one post and then never post in it again.

It's a slippery slope - you can quickly end up with dozens of categories, maybe even 100 or more. This just makes your blog a nightmare to navigate and it looks really messy because you have too many links in the sidebar.

What do you think? Can you think of any other ways to improve the navigation on your blog?

10 tips to follow before taking a blogging break

Ben — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 23:00:00 -0500

Image by youngrobv (Rob & Ale).

A couple of weeks back, I posted 10 tips to hit the ground running after a blogging break. This is a follow-up, but it's a bit odd, because now I've got 10 tips for you to follow before you take a blogging break! So if you're going to take a break from your blog - read this first, then read the other post next!

Thanks to libdrone for suggesting this topic.

1. Treat it as the end of a phase.

If you want to hit the ground running when you come back, your readers need to know that this is NOT the end of your blog. Don't let them think for a moment that you won't be coming back. Remind them that we all need a break from time to time. Look at what happens when a TV show goes off the air. Sure, it may be several months before it comes back, but the end of a season is not always the end of the show.

2. Make a final post.

Tell people that you'll be away, and WHY you're taking a break. Be honest, and your readers will appreciate it.

3. Set a return date, and announce it.

Ideally, you should set a date when your next blog post will be published. If you can't do that right away, at least give a rough idea of when you'll be back - are we talking days, weeks or months?

4. Set a date for planning your return.

The very worst thing you can do is get too relaxed when you take your break. Remember that you're coming back. Don't lose sight of your goals for the blog and don't get too comfortable with being absent from it. Of course, if you feel like a weight has been lifted and you start dreading the day when you announce your return, it may be a sign you need to shake things up a bit.

5. Explain what you'll do during your break.

Are you focusing on other projects? Is it possible for your readers to find you elsewhere, maybe at another blog or on a forum? It's like meeting a work colleague in a social environment - you can be appreciated on a whole new level. Don't pass up the opportunity to discuss things with your readers outside your "normal" environment!

6. Encourage your readers to subscribe.

Who knows whether you'll keep the same posting schedule when you return? Even if you keep your existing schedule and give a clear date as to when you'll be blogging again, readers may forget to check your blog once you're back.

I read a lot of blogs that suggest you need to keep to a regular posting schedule, and while I agree in principle (and I do follow this advice), isn't the whole point of subscribing so you know when a new post goes up? Why does the frequency matter if you're subscribed?

If you're not subscribed, will you really go to the same blogs at the same time every single week? I might remember to go to one or two of them, but unless they post every single day, I'd have a hard time remembering the posting frequency for more than a very small number of blogs. Then again, this is probably a topic for another post...

7. Drop hints about upcoming changes.

Don't promise things you can't deliver - but do get people interested in what might happen when you return. If possible, go for a new and improved blog that will be worth checking out!

8. Link to some other blogs in your niche.

Why not look for similar blogs and give the links to your readers? If you're worried that all your readers will go somewhere else, remember that it was your choice to take a break, and it's down to you to give them a reason to come back. If you can show them some other sites that they enjoy, you may find they are more willing to tell people about YOUR blog when you come back.

9. Promote your archives.

How many of your readers have read every single one of your posts? If you've been blogging for a while, there may will be some posts they've missed. So why not link to some of your old posts?

10. Engage your reader community.

Before you go away, ask if anyone wants to bridge the gap between the current phase and the next phase of your blog - invite guest writers to help out. Also, ask for topic suggestions that you could use for new posts when you come back. Maybe even ask how everyone feels about your posting frequency - could they live without quite as many posts to read from you in future?

Bonus Tip: Stay positive.

This tip is so good, I had to mention it in both posts - but it's "bonus tip" so you don't feel cheated! Don't leave your blog in a bad mood, where you say how sick of blogging you are, and you're sure if you want to come back, but you feel you should anyway. The negativity will wash over all your readers like muddy water. They won't thank you for it. Who likes muddy water? (OK, you might get away with this if you write for ducks.)

What do you think? Is there anything else you'd do before taking a blogging break? Have you ever taken a break? Do you feel it might be worth doing someday?

10 tips for writing a blog post

Ben — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 21:08:49 -0500

Image by soartsyithurts.

This week at Top Ten Blog Tips, I'm going back to basics and looking at how to write a blog post. Whether you're just starting out or you need a refresher, this is a great starting point to understand how the writing process works. It's also a good guide if you'd like to use a more structured approach to the one you're using at the moment.

1. Pick a subject.

What are you going to write about? Be sure to think this through before you start, otherwise you may start writing about one thing and finish writing about something else entirely. That might be how you write, but it can confuse and frustrate your readers.

2. List your bulletpoints.

This is easiest with a list post, but it's still possible with a regular post. Basically, list your main points without going into any detail. This means you should be able to get most of your ideas written down before you forget about them.

3. Ask on Twitter for additional points.

Short on ideas? Why not ask on Twitter for some additional thoughts? Make sure you credit anyone who contributes to the discussion by linking to their Twitter profile or blog. This is a good way to complete a post where you just can't think of everything.

4. Reorganise the headings.

Your bulletpoints should now become headings. I use Todoist to list my ideas, then I write directly in Injader once I'm ready to put the headings in sequence. In terms of how to order the list, I aim to start out strong, hide my stride in the middle, establish some continuity from one item to the next (if it's possible to do so), then go out with a bang and leave my readers wanting more. Sequence is very important!

5. Write the detail.

Once you've got the headings down, you can now start filling in the gaps. That's where the meat of your post comes from - but don't be fooled into thinking it's as easy as sitting down to write a great post with no prior planning. Without a solid structure, the detail will lack context. Of course, you CAN write great posts like this, but I've always found it's a huge risk to write in this way. Perhaps if you do write posts in this way, you could set them to one side and at least go through the remaining points on this list rather than publishing the post immediately.

6. Sleep on it.

It's SO tempting to hit the Publish button as soon as you've written a great post. If you're writing for a news site or you're writing another type of post that has a deadline, you may not be able to sit on the post for a day before putting it online. However, if you can, make sure that you do. You'll see why in a moment. The last few steps give you more and more of a chance to help your posts go from being a good idea to a well-executed, memorable symphony of components, each contributing towards a great blog post.

7. Write a killer title.

You might find it easier to write this earlier in the process, but no matter how you do it, take the time to write a strong title for every single one of your posts. Your title should be intriguing, informative and descriptive. It should also contain a couple of keywords that you'd like to target on search engines. Don't spend more time tailoring your blog to the search engines than you spend on writing great content, but do try to consistently hit the same keywords again and again. Be sensible - don't write things like "What I did today - oh by the way, have some free money". Work your desired keywords in the title of the post in such a way that it isn't a blatant attempt to boost your search engine ranking. Even though a blatant attempt may work in the technical sense, a site that a visitor can see is heavily "keyword-laden" is off-putting at best, and spammy at worst.

8. Find a great image.

A post without an image is like cheesecake without the base. It's still OK, but it's not the same. It's a lot better to grab a decent image to bring your post alive, than simply dump your text on the page and hope for the best.

9. Proof-read.

Read, re-read, re-re-read... um anyway, proof-read your posts for errors! Also, watch out for recurring errors that you might not be aware of. I can think of one very well-known blogger who should stop writing "alot" and start writing "a lot"...

10. Promote it!

Twitter is a good place to share your posts, so long as your Twitter usage involves more than just posting links to your blog. Share your post on forums and with your blogging friends, but don't spam!

What process do you follow when writing blog posts?

10 tips to hit the ground running after a blogging break

Ben — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:33:10 -0500

Image by Nick Chill.

So, I'm back. Well and truly ready to roll with a shiny new design, Injader instead of WordPress, and one post a week instead of three.

It would be silly if I acted as if I'd never been away, or wrote a few below par posts just to maintain a presence. Returning from a break is an excellent opportunity to show that you're back and you mean business. Here are some tips so you too can hit the ground running when returning from a blogging break.

1. Make your first post AWESOME.

You really, really need to make a big impact on your return. So, find a topic that you haven't written about before, or revisit an earlier post with a new angle. And make it GOOD. Anything that will help your readers tune into the joy that is your blog. And if your blog sucks, maybe it's time to change that!

2. Treat it as a relaunch.

OK, so the more things you change, the more can go wrong - but don't let that stop you. Sometimes, you've got to take risks and not play it safe. It's a good time to revisit your layout, the stuff in your sidebar, and consider making some larger changes to improve the site. Top Ten Blog Tips was due for a change - and boy did it get one!

3. Set a date, and announce it.

Strictly speaking, I didn't set a specific date, but I did hype up the relaunch with a few comments on Twitter. I said I'd be back sometime this week, and I stuck to it. Don't set a date you can't keep - be realistic, and stick to your date. Why not make an event of it?

4. Plan plenty of content well in advance.

Just before I went on my break, I had a lot of ideas with 3 or 4 tips and I just couldn't get them finished. I've reallocated some of those posts to my other blogs, so they won't be lost forever, and I've been planning several new posts that I'll publish in the next few weeks. Next week, I'll be looking at some of the reasons why I moved to Injader and why I'd like to see some other bloggers doing the same.

5. Look at why you took a break.

Writing 60+ blog posts is no small task. It was the right time for me to stop, catch my breath, work on some other things, then come back with a new lease of (blogging) life. If I had kept going, I might have published some really bad posts, and I might have stopped blogging altogether. Don't let it get to that stage!

6. Review your posting frequency.

Blogging every day is hard - I used to do it at benbarden.com. At Top Ten Blog Tips, I chose to blog three times a week. However, even this posting frequency was hard to sustain after 6 months of solid posting. So, I've dropped to one post a week to avoid taking a longer break from blogging - it frees me up to work on other things, such as Injader and CMF Ads. And a few other projects...

7. Release a new design.

I already mentioned changing your layout, but you can use a relaunch to completely rebrand your site. This is a great idea if there are elements of your existing design that you'd like to work on. Make your design recognisable, memorable, and striking. Make it slick. Make it great!

8. Get other bloggers to help create some buzz.

No blogger should stand alone. If we're going to build our blogs into larger communities, we need to network with other bloggers. So if you really want to hit the ground running when you relaunch - get other bloggers to help by sharing the link. You can help me by passing the link around on Twitter.

9. Stay positive.

Getting back into blogging should not be like returning to work after a break. Be glad you're returning to your blog! Be happy to see your readers. Be excited to publish new content and get people talking about what you have to say.

10. Engage your reader community.

A blog is much more interesting if the posts receive a healthy number of comments. Ask questions and get people adding their views!

Those are my tips - how else would you hit the ground running after a blogging break?

Welcome back

Ben — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:14:45 -0500

Image by timparkinson.

Well, after a couple of weeks away, I will be publishing a new Top Ten list on Wednesday. This post is to let you know of a few changes:

New design! If you're reading this in your feed reader or in an email, come and visit Top Ten Blog Tips to see the brand new look.
I've migrated from WordPress to Injader. I'll explain some of the reasons for doing this in a future post.
I will now be writing one post per week rather than three. I may add an extra post if a guest post comes up. And it's possible I may increase the frequency at some point in the future. For the time being though, it's better to go with a less frequent posting cycle (mainly because we'll be moving back to the UK at some point, and we're not sure exactly when).

What do you think of the new look? Do you have any suggestions for future posts?

About the author

Ben — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:04:35 -0500

I'm Ben Barden, a coder who dislikes jargon. I'm a blogger, a composer, a music lover, and I'm always working on something.

I'm married to Lauren, an Australian who I met online (I'm British). Lauren moved to the UK in 2004 and we got married in Las Vegas in January 2005. We lived in Australia from October 2006 to May 2009.

I'm the lead developer at CMF Ads, a low cost, no-nonsense advertising network. I'm also the creator of Injader, an open-source content management system.

A well-deserved break

Ben — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:23:51 -0500

Image by skyseeker.

I've decided to take a short break from blogging at Top Ten Blog Tips.

I thought I'd take the opportunity to give you a few stats and links, something I've not done before on this blog.

Trivia and stats

Top Ten Blog Tips currently has 62 posts (not counting this one).
There are 780 comments. That's an average of 12.58 comments per post.
Since I started posting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I haven't missed a day.
Every single post relates back to the "Top Ten" aspect of the title (again, not counting this one).

Round-up links

Over at benbarden.com, I've just published the second of my weekly round-up posts. Here are the links:

Why the break?

Honestly, I'm in need of a breather. As you can see from the weekly round-ups, I have a lot of projects on the go at the moment. For this blog, I need to step away for a bit, refocus, then start planning my next batch of posts. For my development projects, I need to work on a few things that will help to move them forward.

Follow me on Twitter and you'll know as soon as anything interesting happens. Either that, or you'll just know as soon as I post something on Twitter!

And as a now-governor once said... I'll be back. (Really. I will!)

10 quick tips for your blog

Ben — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:41:25 -0500

Image by lightsight.

Long ago, I published a series of quick tips for your blog over at benbarden.com. However, these were lost in the move to Top Ten Blog Tips, as I couldn't find a way to get each tip into a list of related tips. Then it dawned on me. Why not publish a collection of 10 quick tips that aren't necessarily on the same subject? So here you go!

1. Give every post a decent title

The title you use for your posts is really important. It should give the reader a good idea of what your post is about. It should make them want to read the post.

It can take some time to master how to write good titles. Try to avoid titles that are vague, very long, very short, or that do not relate to the subject of your post.

It may seem like a big joke to write "FREE MONEY" as your post title and follow it up with "Now I've got your attention..." but all this does is mislead, confuse and frustrate your target audience.

You should also try to include some keywords to help people find your blog when using a search engine. What are the keywords you're hoping to target?

2. Write a strong opening paragraph

Every post needs a strong opening paragraph - something that makes the reader want to keep reading.

If you're someone who writes good content every day but you try to write your very best posts every Monday (just to give an example), that doesn't mean you shouldn't write good opening paragraphs for the rest of the week. Remember that the newest post appears at the top of your home page.

It's not just about keeping your existing readers interested - you also want to stop potential readers in their tracks, make them read, and convert them to regular readers. A good opening paragraph in every post will help you do this.

3. Write an even stronger closing paragraph

Sometimes it's good to leave a few points open for comment, either by your readers or in future blog entries. Don't explain every little detail to the point where you get so bogged down, you've forgotten what your point was.

A good closing paragraph might provide an apt conclusion to your post, or it might raise several questions for your readers to ponder. Without a solid closing paragraph, your post is missing that final bit of polish.

4. Use a harmonious colour scheme

When you're trying to decide on a colour scheme for your site, you need to think about which colours go well together. You can't just pick any old colours or your site won't look that great.

Take extra care with the contrast between the text colour and the background colour. A white background with black text may seem boring, but it's widely used because it's easy on the eyes. Tinkering with colours just because you can does not mean your readers will find your content easy to read.

Remember that colour blind users will have severe difficulties reading your site if you use a red/green colour combination. It doesn't look pretty, either!

Fortunately, there is a handy tool that will assist you in finding colours that go well together. Check it out: ColorSchemer - Online Color Scheme Generator.Â There are others too, but this is my favourite.

Basically, click on a colour you like, and you'll be given a palette of colours that should work well together. Want to make the palette lighter or darker?Â Simple - just use the "Lighten Scheme" and "Darken Scheme" buttons on the left.

If you want to save the current palette, make a note of the six characters beneath the top left colour - when you first go to the site, you'll see this is #3366FF. Next time you visit the site, enter these six characters into the box on the left-hand side, and click Set Hex.

Ah, but how do you use the colours? That's something for a proper tutorial - if you're interested, leave me a comment and I'll see what I can do.

5. Don't go font crazy

When you're choosing fonts for your site, be careful not to use anything too fancy. The fonts on your computer may not exist on the computers of your visitors. This is rather frustrating as it limits you to a small number of fonts. (I've looked at fonts before - here's a list of 10 fonts and what they say about your blog.)

Here are some of the ones you can use:

Arial
Arial Narrow
Courier
Courier New
Georgia
Tahoma
Times New Roman
Trebuchet MS
Verdana

However, the choices are different depending on your operating system - visitors who use a Mac rather than a PC with Windows will probably see things quite differently.

Perhaps the best idea is to keep it simple. If you wish, choose one font for your headers and one for your content, and possibly a different one in your logo or banner. But you shouldn't use more than three different fonts on your site. Two is probably best. Anything else just looks messy.

6. Use your own banner

Your blogging software may have a wide range of themes to choose from, or it may have a limited set. The problem is that any generic theme has almost certainly been used by hundreds of other sites already. Using generic themes will not help your site to stand out.

At the very least, use your own banner at the top to show that the site is yours and not just another site with a blue background at the top.

If you need help, you could always try asking in the CMF Forums.

7. Use heading styles - don't just make the text bigger

Quite often I see blogs that break up paragraphs with bold text. Sometimes the text is made to look like a header, but it isn't one. Search engines will pay more attention to headers than bold text, and headers will look better than bold text if a visitor has styles disabled, or if they're using a device that doesn't support stylesheets.

When writing a post, look for a drop down list that has a paragraph style and heading styles. I use Heading 2 for subheadings within a post, and Heading 1 for the title at the top of the page (usually the title of your blog).

8. Don't rely too heavily on scripts

Some sites have all sorts of fancy things on their sites. Some people think they look "cool". But the more things you put on your site, the longer it takes to load.

A big mistake here is to forget that not all browsers support every possible thing you could add to your site.Â Worse still, different browsers often handle things in different ways, especially with scripts - so what works for you in Internet Explorer might not work for me in Firefox.

Ask yourself if your blog is for you or for other people. Do you want people to come and read your site, post comments, and link to it? If you do, reduce your clutter. Seriously, you don't need all those bits and pieces in your sidebar. They just slow down the site and make it painful to use.

9. Use a full feed

If a reader wants to subscribe to your site, don't screw them with a partial feed. Show the entire contents of your post in the feed. Otherwise, why bother subscribing?

10. Resize images offline

Digital cameras are great. However, most cameras store very large images when they capture a photo. This can be changed, but I'd actually suggest using a large photo size on the camera itself. If you take an excellent photo at a small size, you won't be able to increase the size. You can only decrease it. So make the photos as big as you can when you're taking them.

It's a different story when you get to your computer, though. Some photos may be very wide, very tall, and have a very large file size. You need to resize the image and save it under a different name so you don't overwrite the original.

Some sites will nicely resize images for you, but some won't, and that's where the problems occur. I've seen so many images on the web that are ridiculously oversized. It's painful to try and browse through someone's photo gallery when they're all such huge files.

A common misconception is that you can use HTML to resize an image.Â Let's say you have an image that is 1500 pixels square and 2MB in file size.Â Many people would upload this huge image to the web and try to resize it using the following code:

<img src="image.jpg" height="200" width="200" alt="description of image" />

Although this will display a 200x200 version of the image, your browser still has to load the original 2MB file. Don't do this! Resize it in a graphics package or upload it to a site that automatically resizes it for you. Then display it on your blog. And if you're using images from Flickr, save the image locally as the file size could probably be reduced. Upload it to your blog instead of linking directly to the Flickr image. If Flickr goes down but you've got the image on your blog, it'll still show up in your post.

Just make sure the photos you download have a licence that allows this kind of usage. Try Flickr Creative Commons if you need some images.

So, that's 10 quick tips for your blog! Did you find this post useful? Would you like to see a follow-up?

10 blogging tools I can't live without

Ben — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 22:04:15 -0500

A quick post for today - here are 10 tools and services that help me with my blogging:

Todoist - this is to keep track of your to-do list, but it's also great for planning posts. I write the title of a post, then I put down as many points as I can think of. If I can't get to 10 items, I'll save the list for later. Todoist is also what I use for keeping track of upcoming changes for Injader, and it's a good way to manage incomplete posts across multiple blogs. I find it much easier to work on my drafts in one place, rather than having to hop between each of my blogs, find the post I want to work on, then get distracted by some comments...
Google Reader - this isn't just good for keeping up with the latest posts on other blogs, it's a good way to set aside your favourite posts for a weekly round-up. Did you see my post from last November - 10 reasons for using Google Reader?
FeedBurner - while I'm not ecstatic about this one, it serves a purpose. Feed subscribers are very valuable, and FeedBurner gives us some idea of how many we've got.
Google Analytics - we all need a stats package. Analytics is a great choice. That reminds me - I need to get my four part tutorial for Google Analytics back online.
Flickr: Creative Commons - an essential resource for any blogger looking to add an image to their posts. Make sure you read the usage conditions before using an image from here. It helps to know what to look for - some searches produce very little, whereas others will uncover some real gems.
TweetDeck - while I've had some great conversations and met some awesome people on Twitter, I didn't get into it fully until I used TweetDeck. Without TweetDeck, I'd still be using Plurk. But as a lot of people seem to have moved from Plurk to Twitter (and here's why), it's probably pretty quiet over there now. For me, TweetDeck is the way to use Twitter.
Paint.NET - I tried to like GIMP, but just didn't get along with it. The interface seemed to make even the simplest things really complicated to do, even when I'd done them a few dozen times. When I tried Paint.NET, I immediately realised this was the image editor I'd been looking for. Photoshop is overkill for someone who is not a photographer and doesn't do anything advanced with an image editor. I do very little except for cropping and resizing images. Even doing this in GIMP was, frankly, a bit of a nightmare. I'm sure others disagree with me, but I know this is the right package for me.
Thunderbird - when I first used the Internet in 1998, Outlook Express was my email package. Later, I went to Mozilla Mail, and then to Thunderbird. In 2007 I moved to Gmail, but after a couple of years I found the interface had become horribly cumbersome. Things seemed to take a nosedive when they released the "new" interface, which looked pretty much the same but had loads of extra AJAX stuff. Suddenly, a service that had served me very well for 2 years became an exercise in patience. Some people argue that you can't really complain about a free service, but I think this is complete nonsense - a free service that prevents me from using it is no use to me whatsoever. Needless to say, I gave up on Gmail and went back to Thunderbird. Now, managing my email is a joy, not a headache. Here's a longer version of why I ditched Gmail for Thunderbird.
The CMF Forums - the friendliest, most welcoming, helpful, useful and interesting blogging community on the web. The CMF Forums are the central meeting point for bloggers and members of CMF Ads. You don't have to use CMF Ads to use the forums, but there are so many reasons for using CMF Ads, why wouldn't you?
Injader - when I launched Top Ten Blog Tips last November, several readers asked why I was using WordPress. The honest answer is I wanted to run a blog where I wasn't constantly thinking of things I'd like to change within the software - my to-do list is long enough as it is! This gave me the opportunity to use my existing sites as a way of furthering Injader, while gaining a much better understanding of the pros and cons associated with WordPress. Prior to installing WordPress, I had several reservations that turned out to be incorrect. I do think it's a good system, but I don't believe it should be the only option to consider when starting a new blog or website. Over the last few months, Injader has progressed in leaps and bounds, with a new theme system, ways to combat comment spam, making the CAPTCHA optional (so many people complained about this at benbarden.com, I had to do something), proper SEO links, and numerous other improvements. In the near future, I am planning to migrate Top Ten Blog Tips to Injader so I can prove to you all that it's up to the job of running a semi-popular blog, while removing the need to rely on multiple plugins for functionality that I believe should be in the core system. This migration will also mean a new look for Top Ten Blog Tips. Unlike some people, I'm not going to set a date for this migration - it'll happen when I'm ready. So, stay tuned and prepare for TTBT - The second coming!! (I'll continue to write new posts in the meantime, obviously.)

What are your favourite blogging tools?