Want feedback on your blog?

[selfhelp]

Post your blog address, and I'll give you my opinions. I'm basically doing this to try to get ideas on how I can improve my own work (so it'll be a learning experience for me, too). I'll give you the following feedback:

1) Things I like.
2) Approach to advertising.
3) Things I think could be improved.

If you have any tips for me at webpublishing.me, I'd love to hear those, too. Thanks!

[plentymorefishoutofwater]

Right, well I've only been here a few weeks so can't post links...but if you could have a look at plentymorefishoutofwater . blogspot . com that would be ace. I'll be back!
Jim

[selfhelp]

Originally Posted by plentymorefishoutofwater

Right, well I've only been here a few weeks so can't post links...but if you could have a look at plentymorefishoutofwater . blogspot . com that would be ace. I'll be back!
Jim

1) Things I like. The content. The Facebook date was particularly interesting, and I read the whole story. The girl was a bit of a loon I like the poll. It's a good way to engage people. I also like that you have several ways for people to follow/interact with your site: facebook, twitter, google friends, etc. Your live Twitter updates feed is also awesome.


2) Approach to advertising. n/a. Depending on your aims behind blogging, you might consider setting up a google adsense account, and placing some ads on the blog.


3) Things I think could be improved. The design is very standard, play with it if you have time. Google "great website design" for inspiration. If the text of a story is extremely long, too, I might consider using more than one photograph. One more thing: I didn't see a link to a profile about you. A lot of readers like seeing that sort of thing (even if it's pretty genericc). Other than that, keep it up!

[FutureConscience]

Always interested to see what people think - let me have it!

[selfhelp]

Originally Posted by FutureConscience

Always interested to see what people think - let me have it!

1) Things I like. Scope or concept behind the blog. It's a really interesting concept -- trying to understand how we can make sense of a increasingly varied world. I like the right sidebar, and the live twitter widget is awesome. The "Featured Content" box is really nice (but I have recommendations below). One question: on the technorati widget, why is that at the very top? Just wondering if it has more of an impact on your traffic than things like twitter, facebook and rss. I would imagine the latter are better for traffic, so I might flip flop the order that you have them in? I really love the excerpts at the bottom of your blog, and might look into doing that on webpublishing.me


2) Approach to advertising. I like the fact that you embedded google ads in a post. I've started doing that recently for my most popular posts. It makes sense that if one post gets read far more than others, you should try to capitalize on the traffic. I might move the ads higher up in the sidebar... maybe even to the top of the sidebar. Some people wouldn't agree with that, but I think it's wise, because the vast majority of your traffic is going to be "fly by night", meaning they're going to stop by once and never again. If someone loves your content, they'll scroll down and explore your sidebar more, thus finding other ways to stay in contact with you. Thoughts on that?


3) Things I think could be improved. Two things I guess I already mentioned, flipping the order of things in the right sidebar. I found one thing kind of confusing when I first stopped by. I thought the "featured content" box was an image that went with the story below. You might put an <hr/> tag between them, or putting a heading above "featured content". I love the box, though! One more thing that might help would be a tagline in your logo that sums up what the blog is about. I had to go to the "about" page before it clicked... Nice site!

[rebeccabythewater]

Oh, I'm interested in a review please - always looking for ways to improve!

[selfhelp]

Originally Posted by rebeccabythewater

Oh, I'm interested in a review please - always looking for ways to improve!

Hi R, Here are my thoughts:

1) Things I like. I like your blog's angle. "Free things to do" and "local small businesses." I imagine both sections will grow, and, as they do, so will their value to your readers. I also think you do a great job of posting pictures with your articles (most people are content to post just one).


2) Approach to advertising. The advertising you offer is good. The ads at the bottom of each post in particular jump out. Since you're allowed to offer Google ads in three places on every page, I'd recommend adding it into the body of some of your most popular posts.


3) Things I think could be improved. I'd try to make the home page dynamic (i.e. each post that you write shows up on the home page). Either that, or a summary of what the site's about with some links to your favorite pages would be nice on the homepage. When I first stopped by I was wondering where the content was. The only other thing I might change is the lettering on the buttons at the top of the page. It's kind of hard to read (and some of the buttons don't go anywhere yet). In any event, keep it up! I'll hit you up for advice if I ever visit SLC

[youngminii]

Sweet, thanks
I'm very new to blogging..

psychologyinlifedotwordpressdotcom

[selfhelp]

Originally Posted by youngminii

Sweet, thanks
I'm very new to blogging..

psychologyinlifedotwordpressdotcom

1) Things I like. Sounds like it's going to be a pretty interesting blog. Reminds me a lot of what Malcolm Gladwell does in his books (i.e. Blink and The Tipping Point). I also like the template you picked. It's very clean. And you've done a good job of writing in a personable fashion. Bolding for emphasis works well.


2) Approach to advertising. n/a. I think you should go for a Google Adsense account. They're pretty easy to set up, and, if nothing else, it's a good way to see how many visitors you're getting to your blog (or you could use google analytics, if you're not).


3) Things I think could be improved. I think an "About Me" page would be helpful. It's nice to know someone's background when they're talking about things like mental health Also, don't be discouraged if it takes you a long time to start getting visitors! Getting into the search engines takes forever! Thanks, and good luck!

[adnoxious]

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