Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Blogging: Writing and design mistakes you don't want to make

Tips on attracting and maintaining your readers

Whether you're blogging for fun or business, you want to make a good impression. After all, your web log is an extension of you. It represents you. And first impressions are important.

Jakob Nielsen writes a comprehensive piece on the pitfalls to avoid when designing your blog. He begins with a summary that got my attention immediately:

Weblogs are often too internally focused and ignore key usability issues, making it hard for new readers to understand the site and trust the author.

For those writers who publish professional blogs, one piece of advice cannot be stressed enough. Make sure your content is Internet-friendly! Traditional print media and marketing techniques often don't work on the web. Just ask George Popescu, an expert in online journalism and teacher at the university level, or talk to web designer Adrian Miu. George and Adrian hone their respective skills in Bucharest, Romania. I'll let George's blog, Strangers on the Net, kick off this discussion.

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10 comments:

Rose said...

This is a good post for bloggers to read. I think your blogs are definitely an extention of you.

Deb Sistrunk Nelson said...

Thank you, Rose, Your blog is definitely an extension of you.

AsianSmiles said...

Very informative. It helps a lot.

Thanks Sis!

S A J Shirazi said...

I needed this. I needed this badly.

Deb Sistrunk Nelson said...

Asiansmiles and Shirazi, you are my blogging gurus, as is Rose. Thank you.

Deb Sistrunk Nelson said...

Let me also thank the other gurus, the ones with the great advice - George and Adrian. Romania is definitely in the house. :-)

Unknown said...

This is a very informative article

Dr. Deb said...

These are excellent points...especially the internet friendly suggestion.

~Deb

Deb Sistrunk Nelson said...

Deb, your site gets high marks for Internet-friendliness. :-)

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