Nowadays, everyone and almost every company has a blog. And blogs like this one are a great way to reach out to others and make contacts with people whose interests are the same as ours. Because you don’t have to know HTML and other codes to create a blog, anyone is capable of having a blog. But, just because there’s no coding doesn’t mean you can’t have a beautifully designed blog. Take a look at the following tips and use whichever ones will enhance your blog. The nice thing with blog design is that you can test out your changes and make more changes later without much work. There’s no reason to not try to design your best blog.
1. Easy navigation for reader usability. The best designed blogs are those that are easy to get around. The headings are in the same font each time, the menus are in the same spot on each page and it’s easy to get from one page to another.
Think about what a reader would like to do at your blog. Check out photos, check for your latest posts, check for related posts to the one they’ve just read? Give users whatever they want at their fingertips – make navigation easy. If people get confused trying to get to a post, more likely than not they’ll just leave your blog altogether.
2. Use lots of white space. A crowded page is just confusing. No one wants to read a post with tons of other text surrounding it. They also don’t want to be distracted by photos that have nothing to do with the post. Photos are a great, and I would say, necessary addition to blogs, but the photos should be in the same position(s) in each post for uniformity and design aesthetics. White space helps your blog look clean and polished as well.
3. Don’t use too much advertising within the posts. Yes, you want to make money, but you won’t make much money if readers leave because of annoying ads in the middle of your posts. Put ads down the sides of the blog and leave the center for your most important content – your thoughts!
4. Use colors judiciously. I was going to say “sparingly,” but decided against it because colors can make a boring blog look fun. I don’t think you should only use a white background with one or two spot colors, but limiting your color palette to between two and four colors will help with the uniformity of the design. It’s fine to have a purple background with white boxes of black text, if that’s the feeling you’re going for. Don’t forget that colors affect people’s psyches – red can make people feel more aggressive and black can make people feel melancholy. Pick colors that give off the feeling you wants visitors to experience when visiting your blog.
It’s easy when your business is busy making money with current clients to put marketing on the backburner. You have tons of money rolling in at the moment, who needs marketing? You do. By the time your current wave of clients dies down, it’ll be too late to start marketing to drum up new business. Your slow time will remain slow if that’s when you choose to market your business.
Marketing must be a constant. It’s not something you can just do when you feel like it. Don’t be lazy! Market all year round for a constant cash and client flow. If you are too busy to do it, then hire someone to do it for you. Whether that’s a full-time marketing pro or a marketing agency, marketing needs to be done through the year.
Wouldn’t it be nice to always have a steady stream of clients rather than a cyclical dry period every few months where you’re begging, hoping and praying for a client to walk through your door? All you have to do is use “drip marketing.” Drip marketing refers to planned and sequenced marketing messages that are sent out at intervals over a period of time. Like a slowly dripping faucet, you need to drip your message to prospects regularly. Here are some ways you can use drip marketing in your campaign to keep the clients lined up.
1. Give clients info they need in an attractive package. This does not mean getting a beautiful woman or a buff man to read important info to your clients at their place of business!
An attractive package means something that is generally free and packed with need-to-know info. You can offer your clients an eBook, a special report or some kind of video that shows them info they would be interested in. It’s best if the info is somehow related to your industry or product, but giving current event updates and advice (like on how to save gas money) works as well. Give your clients info in an easily digestible form that won’t take up too much of their time. You can change the medium you use every time you drip info to them, like using a video one time and a short eBook the next.
2. Send out a monthly newsletter. This can be a hard copy newsletter that people get through the mail or an electronic copy sent through email. The point is to give people valuable info at timed intervals so that you “stay in touch” with customers. Let them know you haven’t tanked. You’re still around to do business with them. You’ll also up your expert status by providing valuable info, which will make your relationship with customers so much better. One nice feature you could use is spotlighting one of your customers in each newsletter so people look forward to getting in that spotlight section.
3. Keep a blog. Blogging is more popular than sliced bread (now that’s popular!). Blogs are a great way for you to keep an informal connection with customers while keeping them updated on the latest happenings with your business or in your industry. Blogs give customers a way to communicate back to you so you can establish a dialog – another great relationship-builder. (And what is a relationship without communication, anyway?) Make sure you blog at least twice a week to keep readers coming back for more.
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