My blogging tips part 4 – How to make your posts stand out

15 July, 2013
Language: Greek

Welcome to the 4th part of our blogging tips. Today, we’ll discuss more specific subjects like how to make your posts stand out and what you should keep in mind when writing a post. Read these tips really carefully, and I’m sure you’ll see results really soon.

How to make your posts stand out

 

1.      Always have a title for your posts.

First of all, having titles for every post is a no-brainer. I shouldn’t have to point it out but my goal here is to help you, because sometimes we forget the basic stuff. I see many people write the title of their posts on their images, but not as an actual title. If you want to put the title of your post on an image, at least do both. And the next step pretty much explains why.

2.      Use keywords (both on title and on photos).

Titles are the best place for keywords. Their place is what makes them so strong. Use them in your favour, by putting the right keywords, and you’ll get more traffic for your blog. And the same goes for labelling your photos. You should never leave your photos without a name. For example: don’t let your photos with a name like this: IMG 8765. Instead, use their label in your favour so you’ll get traffic from search engines as well. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is really important for blogs, but we’ll discuss this on future parts.

3.      Use an intriguing title.

Using an intriguing title for your posts, determines whether or not your post will be clicked by your followers to get read. Sometimes, we don’t have much time so we skip some posts on our news feed, which we may not find really important at that time. So make sure that your title is intriguing enough to make others want to click on it.

4.      Use at least one image in every post.

You should always have at least one photo in every post. This way, your text is easier to read, and doesn’t seem long and boring for your readers. Plus, it gives them a sneak peek of your post, before even clicking on it.

5.      Pick a great image to be the first one on your post.

This is completely connected to the previous tip. Your first image is what a cover is to a book. It’s the one that will get picked by most blog readers (like Bloglovin’), so make sure that it’s a great one, because it’s the cover of your post. If your photo isn’t really good, your readers may not choose to read that specific post. Pick a great first image, and your post will be read by more people, for sure.

6.      Make sure that your images show on your RSS feed.

Again connected to the previous one…If your images don’t show on your RSS feed, your readers won’t know what the post is about, and may not choose to click on it.

7.      Try to have high-quality photos.

Having a professional camera to take photos for your blog is not always necessary, especially if you are a new blogger. But high-quality photos are. Whether you’re taking photos with a DSLR, a point and shoot, or even your mobile phone, try to choose the best pics you took to use on your blog. If your photos are grainy, with poor lighting, high contrast and saturation, they lack the necessary quality to be used on your blog. Your photos can determine whether or not a visitor will stay on your blog to read more of your posts. So make sure to show your best photos on it. But remember: high-quality doesn’t mean a large file size. Keep your photos’ size low enough for your blog to load faster.

8.      Keep the same width for all your images.

Something that many bloggers do wrong is not having the same width for all their photos. Having the same width for all photos, vertical and horizontal, is really important. First of all it’s easier for the eye, and secondly it looks better and more professional. The best thing to do is to resize all your photos in the same width, which will be the same as your text’s width, and it must take the whole main bar.

Moving on to another really important matter…A few things that you should:

Keep in mind when writing a post:

 

1.      Keep a small size for your images.

As I pointed out above, you should save your images in a small file size. This way your blog will load faster and you know how important this is.

2.      Use spell-check.

This is really important to all bloggers, new and old ones. ALWAYS use spell check before uploading your posts. I suggest using a text editor program like Microsoft Word, or something similar, which already has spell-check enabled, so you can be sure that your spelling is right. If you don’t have such program or you don’t have the time to write it somewhere else before uploading it to your blog’s editor, make sure to download a plug-in/add-on for your browser. Firefox for example has many useful add-ons you can use, and has spell-check add-ons for most languages. It’s really easy, and it’s really important to spell-check your posts.

3.      Always proofread your posts before publishing them.

Even if you have a spell-checker, ALWAYS proofread your blog posts before publishing them, or have someone else proofread them for you, if you’re new at blogging.

I used to do this when I first started blogging…All my posts were proofread by T. to be sure that I didn’t miss anything. When I felt confident enough, I started proofreading them myself. I tend to overdo it sometimes with proofreading, reading my text again and again to be sure I didn’t make any mistakes, but I want it to be as perfect as possible. English is not my native language, I don’t speak it fluently, and I’m sure I still make many mistakes, but I always do my best. If your English skills are not good, better give your posts to someone else to proofread them for you, or consider stop writing in English altogether. Sometimes I read posts that could be better written by using an online translator. If your English is not good enough, that’s ok, write only in your native language.

4.      Keep an eye for common spelling mistakes, almost everyone does.

Even after proofreading your posts, there might be some common mistakes that may have evaded your check. Some words have almost the same sound, and somewhere between thinking them and writing them, we change their spelling by mistake…That’s natural! And we usually catch these mistakes soon enough and correct them. But even native English speakers tend to make some big spelling mistakes. I really dislike reading some of these, and I feel bad if I made one too by mistake. Check out this article by the Oatmeal, to find 10 words you should stop misspelling, and a funny way to remember them (ex. They’re, their, there…it’s-its, you’re-your).

So this is the end of the 4th part of our blogging tips. Thank you for reading it and keep an eye for a new one next month. Check here for the 1st part (beginner’s guide to blogging), 2nd part (how to choose your blog’s design), and 3rd part (how to drive traffic to your blog).

Check out below for related articles.

Interesting reads for you:

 

–         10 Quick Tips to Write Post Titles That Boost Your Traffic

–          Style With Staying Power: 5 Ways to Make Outfit Posts Sticky

–          Write a Juicy Post Title & Get Feedback

–          How to Write Magnetic Headlines

–          How to Craft Post Titles that Draw Readers Into Your Blog

–          Are Your Titles Irresistibly Click Worthy & Viral?!

–          10 Surprising Phrases You Might Be Getting Wrong

–          SEO Made Easy: 5 Ways to Use SEO & Boost Traffic

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18 comments on “My blogging tips part 4 – How to make your posts stand out

  1. I always love your blog tips – your blog anyway! I loved these ones too! And I clicked on a topic – and it took me there, but by leaving your blog, so I came back to write a comment 🙂 I am lazy sometimes, hahaha, but yes, we should write a title for pictures too. I used to do that before 🙂 My sweet friend, I am a little drained, but will write when I get better. Guess what, family issues. I do feel sad, but will be better! Hope “Satuyrday’s event” (not to show it before you post 🙂 was great! Makia!
    Bee-zee recently posted..Words of wisdom plus “facts”My Profile

    • Ah you’re right. I always forget to make the external links open in a new tab, because I always open them in a new tab manually. And I know some people get annoyed if a new tab/window pops up by clicking on a link. I hope you went there again, after your comment to read that post too. They’re really useful, and I hope that mine was useful too.
      I always put titles on my posts and images…It really helps with search engines.
      I’m the same today! We went to the beach, and took my first seem in the sea, and I feel so tired. I hope you feel better soon, because I know your issues are more important. I’m here if you need me.
      As for Saturday’s event, it went well, and I’ll post some pics, together with the outfit ones, tomorrow.

  2. nice tips…although i’ve been guilty of bad pics and typos when i’m in a pinch, i do think it’s important. it takes me a long time to publish posts because i’m re-reading my text over and over.
    oomph. recently posted..dress as skirt.My Profile

    • Oh we’ve all been guilty of some of these mistakes, but we must learn from them, and get better.
      I, too, keep re-reading my posts before publishing them. I’m glad I’m not the only one! 🙂

  3. Πάλι υπήρξες ιδιαίτερα βοηθητική!! 🙂
    Μου άρεσαν πολύ αυτά που αναφέρεις στο τέλος του ποστ σχετικά με τη γραμματική! χαχα
    Ενοχλούμαι κι η ίδια πολύ όταν διαβάζω ανορθόγραφα κι ασύντακτα posts!! Απλά οκ, έχω και τον κάλο στο κεφάλι, λόγω φιλολογίας, οπότε ίσως γίνομαι και λίγο αυστηρή καμια φορά! χαχαχαχα
    Φιλάκια πολλά και keep going!!

    P.S αν δεις κάποια στιγμή κανένα “στραβό” σε κάποιο post μου, θα ήθελα να μου το επισημάνεις!!! 😀
    Elena recently posted..Handmade clothes by ChrisEmMy Profile

  4. Γεια σου Μαρκέλλα,

    παρασκευη βράδυ διαβάζω το μπλογκ σου και σ’ευχαρίστω για τις χρησιμες συμβουλες.
    Μια ερωτηση εχω για σενα, στο bloglovin δεν μου εμφανίζονται φωτογραφιες σε κάθε ποστ…εδώ είναι το account μου https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11461771
    Μήπως εχεις καμια ιδεα τι μπορω να κανω?

    Ευχομαι να εισαι καλα, φιλια πολλα από Βιεννη,

    • Geia sou Silia! Ti kaneis? Poli xairomai pou vriskeis xrisimes tis simvoules mou!
      Gia na emfanizontai oi fwtografies sou sto Bloglovin’ prepei na einai emfaneis sto RSS feed sou, giati to bloglovin’ ta travaei apo ekei…
      Auto lene oi ipeuthinoi tou site: “In order to get your images on Bloglovin, your RSS-feed needs to contain images. The image displayed on Bloglovin will be the first image displayed in your RSS-feed, hence not necessarily not the first image in the post. The images needs to be .jpeg and no other file should be placed above the image in the RSS-feed.”
      Perissoteres plirofories, tha vreis edw: http://help.bloglovin.com/knowledgebase/articles/214435-why-don-t-images-from-my-blog-show-up-in-posts-on kai genikotera sto help section tou Bloglovin’.
      Filakia! 🙂

  5. geia sou ti kaneis??:) katarxin thelo na sou po oti kaneis katapliktiki douleia! bravo sou..thoro oti eisai i proti ellinida pou exei toso kala organomeno blog,pada stin ora tou ananeomeno,kai fusika oti anevazeis einai toso xrisimo..na fadasteis otan den ksero pos na sundiaso ta rouxa pou tha valo perno idees apo ta arthra sou..suxaritiria!!polu kali douleia…
    ithela na se rotiso kati kai elpizo na min sou einai kopos na mou apadiseis…ithela na se rotiso pos mporeis kai kaneis kathe post se duo glosses..ennoo ta vimata.eimai kainouria blogger kai pragmatika tha me voithouses polu an mou peis.

    keep going! ^_^, makia!

    • Se euxaristw para poli gia ta kala sou logia! Xairomai poli pou sou aresei i douleia mou! 🙂 Prospathw panta na to krataw organwmeno kai na to ananewnw sixna me nea posts…
      Fisika kai den mou einai kopos na sou apantisw. EInai xara mou na voithaw opou mporw! 🙂 Apla tha ithela na mou peis an to neo sou blog einai blogspot, ‘i wordpress, giati to diko mou einai wordpress, kai kata pasa pithanotita den isixioun ta idia…Proswpika prosthetw tin nea selida me kwdika…. Alla auto to kanw mono se osa post exoun poli megalo keimeno opws auto. Ola ta alla ta exw mesa stin idia selida.
      Fisika an eisai panw se wordpress kai theleis na einai genika diglwsso to site sou, iparxoun eidika plug in gia na to kaneis… Alla gia blogger/blogspot, den gnwrizw distixws, giati den exw doulepsei panw se auto…

      • koitakse to blog pou eixa to diegrapsa giati den to ananeona katholou kai anevaza opote nane..se blogspot exo doulepsei mono..alla skeftomai to kainourio pou tha kano na einai se wordpress gt se blogspot den vrisko pos na to kano diglosso.kai an katalavo se wordpress pos ginete me auto tha epilekso na doulepso.an mporeis pes mou ligaki ta vimata i an exeis kapoio arxeio etimo me ta vimata tha ektimousa polu an mou to estelnes 🙂 euxaristo polu!!!

        • Apo blogspot den exw idea giati den exw doulepsei pote panw s’autin tin platforma. Apo tote pou ksekinisa douleuw se olodiko mou site, panw sto wordpress.org.
          Den exei kapoia sigekrimena vimata na kaneis gia na kaneis to site sou diglwsso. Apla egathistas kapoio plug in opws einai to polylang, pou einai poli dimofiles gia tetoia douleia: https://wordpress.org/plugins/polylang/ Alla mporeis na psaxeis kai na vreis kai alla tetoia plug in…
          Vevaia den kserw an mporeis na to xrisimopoiiseis se blog pou einai hosted sto wordpress.com, pou einai i antistoixi dwrean platforma, kai leitourgei panw katw san ton blogger.

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