1. Good quality pictures
For me, the first thing I look in a blog is the pictures. I like big pictures that are well lit. I usually read beauty blogs, so it's important to see for example the true colour of a nailpolish or how the eyeshadow really looks on lids. Pictures with lots of light tend to make the subject prettier, also! I have a Nikon D80 with an external flash to keep my pics looking nice, and recently ordered a new lens to be able to take better close-ups.
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| A picture of my nails painted by Anniina. |
2. Quantity over quality
Well, I don't think blog posts are bad quality if they are short, but the point is that it's better to post often than write long texts. It's easier on the writer, an most readers are browsing blogs and don't stay on one site for very long, so everyone benefits.
3. Have a few posts stashed away
I lead a pretty hectic life sometimes, and I don't always have time to write every day. When I do have time, I try to write a post or two to keep as drafts in case there's a longer time I don't have time to blog. I prefer posting immediately after writing a text, but things like make-up reviews can wait if the product is an older one. I feel that posting often is being nice to my readers.
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| Bones and Lilies stamp! |
4. Layout
I read a lot of goth blogs, but I hate white text on black background. Or worse, red or another dark-ish colour! It's just really hard on my eyes even thought white on black looks really good on first glance. I especially opted for a white background with black text to make the blog easy to read. I consider myself a goth and feel like my blog deals with goth things, but I'm perfectly happy doing it with a white background ;P
5. Be positive!
My life isn't always sunshine an happiness, but my blog is a place where I like to share the nice things in life. I feel it's a much nicer reading and writing experience when the text mainly deals with positive things.
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| Me in a second-hand Lip Service dress, picture by Sari. |
Your tips and suggestions are very well written. I try to stick to most of them. But have never used no 3, but I will definitely try that. Often I take photos and stash them in my memory card and write the text in a hurry before posting so I find several spelling and grammar mistakes later, wich can be a bit embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteI need to design my own stamp like you have. Everything looks so much more professional by using your own stamp!
Thanks! I think number 3 is important, it's saves me from a lot of stress!
Deletethanks for the tips. I totally agree that white on black is very hard to read. Not to sound sappy, but there's enough negative out there, keeping it upbeat is a good thing. I enjoy your close up photos of your eye make up.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the lovely comment :)
DeleteKomppaan kaikissa :)
ReplyDeleteMonesti juurikin värinsä puolesta vaikeasti luettavat blogit tulee auttamatta sivuutettua heti sen kummemmin lukematta, samoin jos tekstin alla on jokin sekava kuva.
Ja samoin jos blogissa vaan ruikutetaan elämän ankeutta, muiden ihmisten veemäisyyttä ja mistä ikinä nyt ruikutettavaa keksiikiin, hoah! ei jaksa lukea! Myös kirjoitustyyli merkitsee paljon, selkeä kirjakielikin joskus häiritsee, mutta täysin puhekielinenkin teksti on hankalaa luettavaa.
Ulkoasu on kyllä tosi tärkeä! Vaikka olisi miten hyvää sisältöä, jos lukeminen on vaikeaa, ei sivulla kovin kauaa jaksa heilua. Samoin mä en niin nauti kitinästä, kaikilla nyt on huonoja päiviä ja sattuu ikäviä asioita, mutta mieluummin luen vähän positiivisemmista jutuista :)
DeleteCongratulations on your 1 year!
ReplyDeleteMuch of your advice is very sound; I agree about the white on black-- after a while I swapped over because I couldn't take it lol.
One thing about quantity over quality; there can be a marriage between both. My posts for example can be lengthy at times, but I try and combine more photos to even the space so it doesn't look like a long story.
The summary of what is in, say, an outfit post, should be for the people who skim through to get the information they want right away. This way people who enjoy reading entire background stories, still get a meaty post to enjoy staying for a while.
Thank you! I think you are right about the length of posts - there should be the basic info for busy people, but a longer story is nice for those who want to spend more time and are interested.
DeleteOlen itse aika samaa mieltä, blogien lukeminen ja blogin kirjoittaminen on "kevyt harrastus" ja kaikki elementit, jotka edesauttavat "harrastuksen" toimivuutta ovat avuksi :) Layouteissa myös hankalasti luettavat fontit aiheuttavat värien lisäksi päänsärkyä :/
ReplyDeleteJotkut fontit ovat kyllä tosi hankalia! Mä olen ainakin nähnyt muutaman, joista tietyillä resoluutioilla alkoi kadota poikki- tai pystyviivoja. Yleensä kun käyttää nyrkkisääntönä sitä, että perustekstissä ei ole päätteitä, homma sujuu hyvin. Tosin blogger tarjoaa otsikkofontiksi myös jotain tosi sekavaa fraktuuraa josta mä en tykkää, vaikka se onkin nätti.
DeleteI think all your tips are reasonably good ideas, but I personally like blogs with something else than pretty pics. Yes, pics are attractive, but it is always nice to read a good piece or two of text. I am fond of blogs with funny stories behind the photos. After all, if a blogger makes me smile I will come back :-)
ReplyDeleteI also tend to skip blogs with only pictures, that's why I have tumblr ;) With a blog, I expect there to be text also, and I'm not too fond on just poems or lyrics to go with pictures.
DeleteI'm the opposite on text colors- I think it's easier to see light text on a dark background. Perhaps it's because I was raised on the ooooooold-school monitors, where it was always green or amber on a black screen.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting! It might also have something to do with monitor settings, I think both my monitor at work and home are set pretty bright, making the contrast between light text on a dark background more noticeable.
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