Comments on: Blink Your Blog to See What a First Time Visitor Does

By: Jasko

Jasko — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:20:17 +0000

A lots of useful stuff here, thanks for shearing, I am a newbie in all this but this blog is an excellent reference

By: Troy Shanahan

Troy Shanahan — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:49:02 +0000

You just blew my mind Ahmed.

By: Ahmed Bilal

Ahmed Bilal — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 11:43:02 +0000

Troy – if that’s bad, it can only be improved, right?

By: Liz Strauss

Liz Strauss — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 08:28:38 +0000

Hi Troy,
It seems to me like a good thing that folks would first look at the title to your blog. That sticks it in their memory and they know exactly where they are. The post titles grabbing attention is great too, because that pulls readers to your content. YEA!

Email me.
Liz

By: Troy Shanahan

Troy Shanahan — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 08:06:55 +0000

Okay, the first thing I was drawn to was the header…. and hence the title and description of my blog. Dunno if this is a good thing or not. (I’m using WP with the ‘Kubrick’ theme, I commend anyone who can not get that huge blue blob to consume their attention.)

I dunno, the titles (of each post) also seemed to catch my eye, they simply seem to pop out of the page, once you’re over the header thing. WP’s RSS links are small and at the very bottom, which I don’t have an issue with.

I wouldn’t mind you having a skim over my blog… but it’s so badly laid out that I really don’t expect too much improvement.

By: Liz Strauss

Liz Strauss — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 04:11:42 +0000

Hi Ahmed!
Write me with your url, your location/timezone, and your skype id.
We’ll have a conversation.

By: Ahmed Bilal

Ahmed Bilal — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 23:16:07 +0000

Liz – you can work on my blogs if you want

Blaine – if there are any specific topics that you’d like to read more about, do let us know.

By: Liz Strauss

Liz Strauss — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:37:35 +0000

Hi Blaine!
I care about how readers interact with text and visuals. I’ve working with that for a couple of decades and it fascinates me how moving something a few pisels can make difference in how well a page holds togethr as a whole unit, making it easier for reader to see and focus on the content with out distraction.

Next week, I’ll start using some sisuals to show some before and after shots of the difference small tweaks can make. If you’re interested in being a part, email me.

Thanks for the words of support.
Liz

By: blainecollins

blainecollins — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:26:12 +0000

Hi Liz,

Thanks for this practical test. I have been thinking through several aspects of my blog and this is useful.

Additionally, please share with your colleagues that this reader has found increased value from the recent posts. I love PFF, and recently, I appreciate reading this blog for the thoughtful advice on blogging.

By: Liz Strauss

Liz Strauss — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:26:42 +0000

Ah yes, Ahmed, page navigation is critical, and there are so many bit that go into well-built blog for it to happen seamlessly for the reader. Every piece needs to have it’s purpose just as you describe — a goal to take the reader intuitively where the next place is.

In my mind the old saying “Form follows function” is really “form and function flow together.” Both form and fuction support the reader. I’ll be talking lots about how to use typography to do that. I hope help with the monetization — I’m clueless when it comes to hot spots.

By: Ahmed Bilal

Ahmed Bilal — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 10:22:42 +0000

Liz,

excellent advice as usual.

maybe something on setting blog goals as well? I’d recommend that you have at most one primary goal for your blog (with 1-2 secondary goals if necessary), and also that each page (or in the case of WP, the main page, the post pages, the archive pages, etc) should have a specific function / purpose as well.

For post pages, you’ve got a series of steps you want the reader to take. From reading the title to reading the first paragraph to reading till the end, and then commenting.

If you want AdSense clicks, then you want them to click on the AdSense and should make that as natural an action as possible.

If you want affiliate sales, you’re looking at working hard on your copy to ‘sell’ the product you are pimping.

And if all this is too much to do at once, take it one step at a time. Setup your goals, then think about specific sections of your site, and then, when writing each post, think of what you want that post to do the most, and keep that in mind while you write it.