This is probably a repeat in terms of blogging advice, but it bears repeating.  Keep your blog design simple. Make sure people can find your content as well as your archives.  If you look at this blog, you’ll notice that everything is pretty clearly labeled.  You know where my content is as well as any advertisements or recent posts.  I’ve gone to quite a few blogs recently and not only is the content hard to find, there are Google ads right in the middle of the post. For me, that is distracting and takes away from the aesthetic of the blog layout.  Let people do their own Google search for computer service orange county, don’t force them read your post like it has a commercial break.

If you’re looking to get a blog going and have no clue where to start, check out Paul Bradshaw’s article. One thing that Paul suggests that I really like is to have a guest blogger write an article on some area of expertise. I like this idea because it helps others get their voice out as well as provide you with a momentary break from creating content. Coming up with content is not that hard, but coming up with good content that keeps people coming back take a little more time and practice.

Philip over at ihelpyoublog.com has created the ultimate topic list for a blog. He has listed 101 different types of blog posts you can add to increase your readership. Basically, you can take each type of blog post, and do it once, and if you want to blog every day, you’ve got almost 1/3 of the year covered.

There’s an article over on dailyblogtips.com that advocates specializing in one aspect, becoming a master at it and not spreading yourself too thin. I have to say I disagree with this one. Here’s why. Let’s say for example, you specialize in one skill. Let’s say you manufacture parts for cars. You study your field, you examine new production techniques, you refine your process to ultimate efficiency. Then, the company you work for discontinues the car model that uses your part. You no longer have a job, and since this is your only skill, you have no value to bring to the job market. This happens all the time, especially with people who work at mills for many years. The mill closes, people get into a lull doing the same job, honing that one skill, and when the job is gone, they struggle to find more work.

Now, what does this have to do with blogging? If you’re looking to make money by doing this, you aren’t going to make enough at the beginning to sustain yourself financially. If you’re new to this, this is a new skill you are developing, so you will need to continue exercising your other skills while developing this new one. Now, where the author from the above article gets it right is in the number of skills you try to develop. If you try to develop skills in 6-7 areas, you will not be as efficient as someone developing 2-3. And if you develop a new skill set, work diligently, research, and come close to mastery before adding other skills.

If something works, stick with it. Facebook is starting to become notorious for making layout changes that make the experience a frustrating endeavor. Here’s what I mean, The previous layout had certain things in certain areas of the page. That layout lasted long enough that I and a number of FB friends got really comfortable with it. I could login, check the things I always check, and move on to my next activity. With this new layout, I spent 5-10 minutes more just trying to figure out where everything is. And a number of my friends have already posted status updates about how they hate the new look.

What’s the point of this rant? Usually, blogs don’t change format to much. You might change a graphic every once in a great while but it doesn’t change format. If you have a full blown website, here’s the lesson: if you’re going to change your site layout, don’t completely reinvent the wheel. People like consistency with a little bit of change. When you make your site almost brand new in design and layout, you’re going to make people mad. Mad people usually don’t come back to visit.

If you want to find out what people are blogging about, and consequently what people are looking to read about, head over to blogpulse. You’ll find the top topics for bloggers as well as get ideas of things you may want to include in your blog.

Just read a great article from Yaro Starak about getting exposure for readers. He lists some simple things for getting your name and blog out there. For instance, he advocates writing pillar articles. These are posts that are designed to be a somewhat comprehensive lesson in a topic. If you want to write an article about commercial lighting, discuss the advantages of certain fixtures, explain how to wire them properly and provide some benefits to doing so. Once you get a few articles written, Starak then says to get yourself out and comment on other blogs. This will alert people to your presence, and if your comments are insightful, people might come over to take a look at what you’re writing. There are some other great ideas that he lists in the rest of his blog, so check it out.

I’m watching the JG Wentworth opera commercial, where people are on a stage singing about how they need cash and to call JG Wentworth now.  While I don’t need money now and have no need to call, the commercial leaves an impression for its uniqueness.  I can honestly tell you that I won’t forget the name any time soon.  My point is that making a name for yourself in a unique fashion will help people remember your name in the future.

photo from NIOSH at flickr.com

I was reading an article today by Matthew Stibbe from a while ago. The post is dated from November, 2006, but the ideas he presents are great for anyone looking to start a blog and gather a readership. Some of them are ideas I’ve even touched on which makes me feel good, since it tells me I’m getting some of these things right. One of the things he writes that I really like is to have a scratch pad available. Since you want to try and establish a readership with continuous content, adding an entry every day can sometimes be challenging to find topics and material. Keep a notepad on hand so when you get an idea, jot a quick note down so you’ll remember it when you go to blog. You can read the rest of Matthew’s post here.

I don’t post this to lessen the seriousness of computer viruses or the need for good protection.  But, I know a few people who go overboard in terms of sending warnings.  So, I think this parody from “Weird Al” Yankovic is quite humorous.