Tip - If you're looking to trial stuff for free - Add Categories !
I have recently been speaking to a couple of people who work in the promotions departments of companies that send out free products to bloggers to review and they have given me some tips on what they look for in a blog when making their decisions.
Apart from the basic theme of the blog and client avatar fitting their brand and product there are a couple of things that they look for that makes the blog easily readable, searchable and researchable.
1. Spellings, grammar and paragraph layout - these are all important as they make the reader experience so much easier and more pleasant. Poor spelling, grammar and layout can be off putting to a reader as it just makes it hard work and they give up and move on to the next shiny object. When giving a product review make it easy for a reader to follow and go with the flow.
2. Search box - now this may sound simple but how many of you actually have a search box on your site? This saves the reader time in scrolling through lists and menus and from a company point of view much easier to find their product that you have written the review about.
3. Categories - Again a simple element that many people dismiss but when you write about lifestyle, health and wellness, for example, then many of your posts can hold content that overlaps these categories and would look stupid in three menus! Use categories as another multi level sorter to give your reader a better searching experience.
4. Consistent posts - Posting consistently to a blog will help to draw your readers in on a regular basis. Think of a popular tv soap (UK Emmerdale for instance) If the tv producers just randomly decided to show an episode when they felt like it then the show would not build up an audience that would be there waiting for them at the same time slot each week. So show a consistency with your posts. Weekly, fortnightly or even monthly, the time span is immaterial , just be consistent with it.
I hope that these tips will help you when creating your blogs and may make you think and go back and check a few things to make sure that you really are putting your best impressions out there and giving your readers the best experience that you can.
ttfn
Cath :-)
I just became a Glama-Ma
Recent Comments
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Thanks for the analogy of a TV show. I'm guilty as charged.
I knew the use of categories is important and do use it but you've shed another light to its use.
I think we all often slip a bit, but time to get organised. I have got free time at the moment and then in October am very busy so am going to write a few posts and then schedule tome to appear at their alloted time. Should free me up to get on with what I have to do :-)
A great view Cath. Proper use of categories extends your theme and your message! Great going!
thanks Mike, I know a few people who thought that adding categories was too much trouble in the beginning and now they are going back over to add and sort on quite substantial blogs so not their best decision ;-)
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well done and thanks for the great training
its so important when we are representing someone else and their products...that we get it right
that's so true Phil, plus the more options we give people to search on our blogs the easier it is for them to find things and hopefully click the links ;-)