How often do you check for broken links on your blog?
Is it something bloggers should often do, or are broken links nothing to worry about?
Are you allowing broken links to damage your blog?
At the end of last year, I completed fixing over 300 broken links on my blog. It was a long job, but something I did not regret doing.
Since fixing those broken links, I’ve seen a decrease in spam hitting my blog and seen an increase in followers and visitors.
Not only will SEOs such as Google and Bing rank blogs with broken links lower, but visitors who get the dreaded ‘404 page not found’ error when clicking on too many broken links, are more likely to never return.
I’ve even seen broken links to an author’s books on their blog. How often do you check the links to your books are working?
It’s been three months since I last ran a broken links report for my blog, so I was surprised when the report returned 33 broken links. Here’s the list. Are you or your blog one of them? You may need to zoom in to view the report.
Ensure broken links are fixed quickly.
Why do links break?
There are many reasons for broken links. More important are the ones embedded in blog posts. When the name of a blog post (line 8 on the report) or a single word, such as ‘here’ (line 16 on the report), appears in the ‘Link Text’ column, a pingback to the post has broken. The link is usually broken because the post has been deleted or moved.
To fix the two broken links mentioned in the above paragraph, you can deactivate the pingback or delete it (and the sentence it appears in) from the post.
More often than not, where names appear in the ‘Link Text’ column (line 19 on the report), the link to the person’s gravatar has broken, or their blog or gravatar has been moved or deleted. Most of these errors occur in the comments sections of blog posts. Click here if you’re unsure what a Gravatar is and how to ensure your blog is linked to it.
If you know the person concerned is still blogging, you can either report the broken link to them or unapprove and delete the comment to eliminate it. It’s just as important to fix or delete broken links in the comments section of your posts as in the main body of a blog post.
Remember what I said earlier. SEOs such as Google and Bing rank blogs lower if they contain too many broken links. If you want to increase visitors and followers to your blog, ensure you regularly fix broken links.
Another reason for broken links is when a post has been reblogged, and the blogger who reblogged the post has since deleted the reblog (line 31 of the report).
Do not be surprised to also find broken links to your blog posts. If you decide to delete a blog post, I’d recommend deleting or removing any pingbacks or links before deleting the post. They then will not show up on your next broken link report.
Fact: Did you know that spambots and spammers are more likely to attack blogs with broken links than those without or with fewer broken links?
How do I run a broken link report?
I use the free version of Broken Link Check Dot Com. Click here for more details. To run a report, simply enter the URL address of your blog and the security code you see on the page. I’d recommend running the ‘Report distinct broken links only’ report.
If it’s the first time you run a report, you may be overwhelmed by the number of broken links the report returns. I recommend stopping the report when it reaches 20 broken links, fixing them, and running another report.
Do not try and fix the broken links in one go, as you’ll become overwhelmed. Give yourself time to fix them. Maybe fix a couple every day. You’ll soon catch up on them.
Don’t allow the sheer size of broken links the report shows to stop you from fixing broken links. Look after your blog by fixing any broken links rather than believing you don’t have the time to fix them. Spending a few minutes daily fixing links is better than not fixing them at all.
Once you have fixed all the broken links, run another report at least once every three months.
Let’s wrap it up.
SEOs such as Google and Bing rank blogs with broken links lower.
Fixing broken links will reduce the amount of spam your blog gets while increasing the number of followers and visitors.
If you have links to any books or products, regularly check that they work.
Fix any broken links to books, services and products quickly.
It’s just as important to fix or delete broken links in the comments section of your blog posts as it is in the main body of a post.
Before deleting any blog posts, remove any links in them first.
Your first broken link report may be overwhelming. Take your time to fix those links. Don’t rush it.
Spending a few minutes daily fixing links is better than not fixing them at all.
Run a new broken link report at least once every three months.
How often do you check for broken links on your blog? How do you check for them? Do you have any questions about broken links? Leave them in the comments section.
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How often do you use the Reader on WordPress? Do you use it for anything else besides reading the posts of the blogs you follow?
If you answered no, read on because there are some excellent WordPress Reader features you could be missing.
Have you used these impressive features on offer on the WordPress Reader?
Have you ever noticed the WordPress Reader menu?
I don’t use the WordPress Reader much. However, I use the WordPress Reader menu because it contains great features every blogger should consider.
Have you tried the WordPress Reader menu?
Let’s take a look at each feature.
Following – This is the one the majority of us know. It shows the latest blog posts from the blogs we follow, plus a list of how long ago these posts were published. You can also manage the blogs you follow by clicking the ‘Manage’ button. Click here for more details.
Conversations: Clicking on this button lets you read and reply to your conversations in one place. WordPress posts you’ve liked or commented on will appear when they have new comments. You can follow or unfollow a conversation using the ellipsis menu (the three dots to the right of a title) in the reader.
Of course, you can also view when somebody replies to your comment in the notification centre of your blog, but what I like about the Conversations button is that you can also load and view other readers’ comments.
Conversations all in one place!
You can also leave further comments on posts you’ve already commented on. The comments sections of many blogs are a wonderful source of ideas for new blog posts.
Lists: This is the place to create lists of the blogs you love reading the most. However, it’s important to note that you must be logged into WordPress to view lists.
I think this is the best feature and have created two lists (so far) – ‘Favourite Blogs’ and ‘Blogging Tips’ blogs.
To create a new list, click ‘Create new list‘ and give your list a title.
Click the Manage button (the small cog) to access the menu of the list you’ve created.
Click the cog to open up more options.
You’ll see a menu across the top – Details – Sites – Export – Delete.
Check out the tabs on the menu.
Let’s have a look at what each tab does.
Details – on this tab, you can do the following –
Name your list.
Decide who can view the list (visibility).
Describe what the list is about.
Remember to click the ‘Save‘ button when making any changes.
Sites – click this tab to add blogs to your list.
To add a blog, type the name in the search box and click the add button next to the blog you want to add.
Search for the blogs you want to add to your lists.
Click the Remove button to remove a blog from the list.
I recommend that everyone creates a ‘Favourite Blogs’ list that contains the blogs you enjoy reading the most. I agree that those blogs already appear on your WordPress Reader, but not all the blogs I follow are ones I want to read whenever a new post is published.
How do other bloggers view and follow the lists I’ve created?
First and most importantly, they must be logged into WordPress to follow and view your lists.
Ensure you have selected the ‘Everyone can view this list‘ option of the list you want to share with your readers.
Copy and paste the slug of the list to the end of your reader URL.
Share the new URL of your list with your followers. You can do this at the bottom of blog posts or your ‘about’ page (like I did at the bottom of this post).
A follow button will appear on your list when they open it. They need to click the follow button to follow your list.
New blog posts on your list will also appear on their WordPress Reader.
You can also grab the URL from your browser in the list editor. However, remove the ‘/edit’ from the URL before sharing it.
There is a downside to sharing lists via the above methods in that there is no option to open lists in a new window. Therefore, lists will open on the same page, and the reader will lose the page they are reading.
To get around this. I recommend you create a pingback to your lists (like I have done in this post). Copy and paste the URL address of your list and create a pingback to it.
Click here to learn what a pingback is and how to create one.
Remember that all lists are public to all logged-in WordPress.com users. Visitors who are not logged into WordPress cannot view or follow lists.
Export – You can export the list to use on other services. The file will be in OPML format.
Delete – Click the delete button to delete the list.
Let’s go back to the last button on the WordPress Reader menu.
Tags – When you click this button, a search box opens where you can add tags to find related blog posts from other bloggers. For example, I’ve added the tags’ time travel’ and ‘blogging tips’ to my list to find posts related to those subjects.
When using tags, you don’t need to scroll through long lists of blogs to find relevant content, as all the posts in the search results are relevant to the tag word you entered.
Have you used any of the features I’ve mentioned? Which ones do you use? What are your thoughts about them? Do you have questions about them? Leave them in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
My thanks to Terri Webster Schrandt for her help in helping me with this post. Click here to view Terri’s blog.
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Why would any blogger want to unsubscribe somebody from following their blog?
After all, we all want more followers, don’t we? However, there are genuine reasons why you should unsubscribe some people from following your blog.
For example, there may be a blogger who is horrified that one of the managers from their office has subscribed. Or a family member has found your blog where you share intense feelings about family and friends.
Then there are the ungenuine followers who only follow your blog in the hope that you’ll visit their blog and buy products you don’t want or need. Are any of them following your blog?
Are there any people following your blog that you don’t want following you? Remove them now.
Why do people follow blogs?
Isn’t it because they enjoy reading the content? Not necessarily, no.
When I began blogging, I asked why some people wanted to follow my blog. For example, why were a womenswear company and a blog that sold coach holidays following my blog?
At the time, I was not writing and publishing any blogging or social media tips, so I could not understand their interest in my content.
They never ‘liked’ or left comments on my blog posts, yet I was still conscious that they were lurking in the background as if waiting for the right moment to pounce on me.
Some of them may have been playing the ‘follow you, so you’ll follow me‘ game, but I soon realised they were interested in taking my or the money of my followers.
At the time, I was delighted with watching the number of followers increase, but there may be occasions when you want to unsubscribe somebody from following your blog.
Here’s how to do it on WordPress.
Ensureyou view your blog’s dashboard in the ‘Default‘ view.
On your blog’s dashboard menu, click on ‘Users.’
Click on Users.
On the Users page, click on Subscribers.
Click the Subscribers link.
You’ll now see a list of all the subscribers to your blog, with the ones who subscribe via email first.
To remove someone from your subscribers’ list, click on the arrow next to their name.
Click the arrow next to the person you want to unsubscribe from your blog.
On the next page, click on the Remove button.
Click the remove button to unsubscribe somebody from following your blog.
They will now be unsubscribed from following your blog or receiving email notifications of new posts.
There is nothing stopping people from still viewing your blog and trying to subscribe again, but you’ll get a notification if they subscribe again.
By unsubscribing them from your blog, they will get no notifications that you have published any new blog posts. Nor will they know that you have unsubscribed them from your blog.
Is there anything else to consider?
Yes. You may also like to remove the same people from your social media accounts.
This is especially important if newly published blog posts are instantly shared on your social media platforms.
Of course, suppose you have reasons for not wanting certain people to discover your blog or social media accounts. In that case, it’s probably better to use a pseudonym and not publish photos of yourself on your blog or social media accounts.
Because I publish many blogging and social media tips, I’m no longer concerned about who follows my blog. However, I will remove or block anyone who tries spamming the comments section on my posts with uninvited links or keeps trying to sell me something I don’t want or need.
Let’s wrap it up.
There are genuine reasons why people want to unsubscribe somebody from following their blog.
Follow the steps in this post to unsubscribe people from following your blog.
Remember to do the same with your social media accounts.
Just as when you unfollow a blog, people you unsubscribe do not get notified that you have unsubscribed them.
Unsubscribing somebody does not mean they can no longer view your blog, but they will stop receiving notifications of any new blog posts you publish.
Consider using a pseudonym on your blog and social media accounts if you don’t want anyone to know your real identity.
Block users you do not want to receive any comments from.
What about you?
Are there any reasons you’d want to unsubscribe somebody from following your blog? Have you ever unsubscribed somebody from following your blog? What are the main reasons why you follow a blog?
Join the discussion by leaving a comment that I can respond to with more than just a ‘thank you.’
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
This is an updated version of a post originally published in February 2020.
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How easily can all visitors engage with you on your blog?
Is it as easy as you think it is?
Did you know that you could be preventing some visitors to your blog from leaving you comments?
After receiving an e-mail from Jean, who blogs at DelightfulRepast.com, who had seen one of my posts at the Senior Salon Pitstop weekly linky party hosted by Esme and Julie, I was somewhat concerned when she mentioned that it wasn’t easy for her to engage with me on my blog.
Jean explained that she didn’t want to leave her e-mail address, create a WordPress account or use social media to be able to leave me comments. I understand why she didn’t want to leave any of those details. After all, our information is private and shouldn’t be given out if we don’t want to give it out.
WordPress offers ‘Discussions‘ options where users can decide how easily readers can engage with them without leaving any personal details. I thought I already had this option switched off, so nobody needed to leave any personal details, and I was right, but it didn’t explain why Jean thought she had to leave her personal details if she wanted to comment on my posts.
Upon further checking my discussion settings, I saw where the confusion was coming from and want to highlight it so those who wish to engage with me without personal details can still leave comments knowing they do not need to give any personal information.
Let’s Look At The Discussion Settings On WordPress.
Ensure you’re viewing your blog’s dashboard in the Default view. To do this, click on the View button in the top right of the screen when viewing your blog’s dashboard.
Go to Settings – Discussion.
Make sure you’re viewing your blog’s dashboard in the Default view.
On the Discussions Settings page, look for the Comments box.
Look for the comments settings box.
As you will see from the above screenshot, I have turned off both the ‘Comment author must fill out name and e-mail‘ and ‘Users must be registered and logged in to comment‘ options. So why wasn’t Jean able to leave me a comment?
It seems that, for whatever reason, in their wisdom, WordPress has decided to still show visitors a login box when these options have been switched off. This is what Jean and visitors who are not logged in see.
The log in box tricks visitors into believing they have to leave personal details to be able to leave comments.
And this is what WordPress say –
Comment author must fill out name and e-mail: When this setting is on, anyone leaving a comment will be forced to leave a name and a valid e-mail address. If the setting is off, visitors can leave anonymous comments. While your commenters do not have to fill in the e-mail field if you’ve turned this setting off, it will still be visible to them when they comment.
So I understand why Jean thought I wasn’t making it easy for her to engage with me.
If you only want readers to engage with you who must leave their name and email address, ensure you have this option switched on.
If you only want comments from readers who are logged in and registered, ensure you have the ‘Users must be registered and logged in to comment‘ setting switched on.
If you want comments from both, ensure both settings are switched on.
However, if, like me, you’re happy to allow anyone to leave you a comment, then switch both of these settings off.
Don’t forget to click the ‘Save‘ button in the Comments settings box if you make any changes.
Are There Any Disadvantages To Switching These Discussion Settings Off?
The main disadvantage is that it could open the gates for spammers and trolls to leave you comments. However, the Akismet antispam software on WordPress catches and places the majority of spam into your blog’s spam folder, so you’ll never see it unless you check what’s in it.
Further down on the Discussion Settings page, there is more help to filter out spam and troll comments.
Look for the ‘Before A Comment Appears‘ box, and you’ll see these two options.
Comment must be manually approved: If this setting is on, all comments will go into moderation, and they will need to be approved by you before appearing on your blog.
Comment author must have a previously approved comment: If this option is on, any visitors that have had a comment approved on your blog in the past will get a free pass through approval and only comments from new visitors will go into moderation.
As you will see from the following screenshot, my blog is set for manually approving all comments before they appear on any of my posts.
Decide which level of protection you want to stop the comments of spammers and trolls from appearing on your blog posts.
This helps me stop unprofessional, rude, nasty comments from appearing on any of my posts, even if they’re from somebody who has previously left a friendly comment.
My thanks to Jean for contacting me about discussion settings on blogs. And apologies for the confusion WordPress causes in insisting a login box shows when visitors do not need to leave any personal details when wanting to engage or leave a comment.
If you see a login box or are asked to leave your name and email address when leaving a comment, try leaving a comment without filling in personal details or logging in. If the blogger you’re engaging with has switched off the ‘Comment author must fill out name and e-mail‘ and ‘Users must be registered and logged in to comment.‘ options, your comment will go through.
If either or one of those options is switched on, you’ll need to follow the instructions to be able to leave a comment.
Let’s wrap it up.
Check the discussion settings on your blog to see if you’re preventing visitors from leaving comments.
Decide whether you want only certain visitors to be able to leave comments or if you’re happy for all visitors to leave comments.
The majority of spam comments will go straight to your spam folder. Remember to empty your spam folder regularly.
To stop comments from trolls appearing on your blog posts, switch on the ‘Comment must be manually approved‘ setting.
Consider whether comments from those who have previously left you a friendly comment do not need to be manually approved by you.
If you have questions about the discussion settings on your WordPress blog, leave them in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
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How easy is it for new visitors to subscribe to or follow your blog, so they are notified of all your new blog posts or see them on their WordPress reader feed?
Are you missing out on getting new followers and readers?
WordPress has several ways to follow a blog.
The most popular is clicking the ‘follow’ button in the bottom right corner of a blog. However, the button only appears when scrolling ‘up’ on the site, so it can be missed. And if you install any plugins on your blog, it disappears completely (as does the reblog button). It’s not visible on self-hosted blogs.
Another option is for bloggers to place a subscription or link to follow on the widget bar of their blog. I have one on the widget bar of my blog.
However, some themes don’t come with widget bars. Some themes hide the widget bar behind a button, so unless you click the button, you won’t see the contents of a widget bar.
For those themes that offer a visible widget bar (like the theme I use), visibility is only available when viewing the blog on a desktop or laptop computer, not on a tablet or mobile phone (where they’re hidden behind a button).
Given that many people read blogs on a mobile phone or tablet, I realise that I could be losing hundreds of new followers because it’s not clear enough how to subscribe to or follow my blog when viewing it on a mobile phone or tablet.
WordPress.com now has newsletter capabilities.
All you need to do is add a Subscribe block to all your posts. Readers who enter their email addresses will get an email notification when you publish a newsletter. And to make those Subscribe blocks look a bit jazzier, WordPress has added some newsletter-focused patterns to their library.
You’ll also find some subscribe to/follow my blog blocks amongst the newsletter subscribe blocks.
Here’s how to access and create them.
In the draft page of a post, click the ‘add a new block button’ (the + sign) located on the top left of the page.
Click on Patterns and then on Newsletter.
Click on Patterns – Newsletter to access the subscribe/follow templates.
A list of subscribe/follow templates will open up. Scroll down the list to view all of them.
Some of the templates will be personalised with the name and tagline of your blog.
All of the templates have settings/options that you can change. For example, I enlarged text on some of them where available.
Choose the template you want to use after any changes you’ve made.
Add it to all your posts.
Now readers will be given an easier option of following your blog when reading your posts.
May I ask for your help?
Help me choose a ‘follow’ template for my blog by voting for the one you prefer. The poll is at the end of the list and will remain open until 23:59 GMT on Monday, 23rd January 2023. Any votes cast after the deadline won’t count.
Voting has now closed. Thank you to everyone that voted.
When choosing your template, remember to make it a reusable block so that you don’t need to look for it every time you create a new post. Click here to find out how to create a reusable block.
Remember to add your new subscribe/follow template to all your posts.
Once I know the poll results, I’ll add my new follow template to all the posts I’ve published in 2023 and to all new posts.
How easy was that?
If you have questions about adding a subscribe/follow block to your blog, leave them in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
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These 9 popular and easy blogging tips will help bring you and your blog success. Are you missing out on any of them?
Are you missing out on any if these popular blogging tips?
1. Add Excerpts To Your Blog Posts.
Excerpts are a great way to entice readers to click the ‘read more’ link to your post.
Did you know that WordPress offers bloggers a way to add excerpts to posts?
If you don’t add excerpts to your posts, WordPress takes the first 55 words of the post and uses them as the excerpt. This can often cause confusion to readers, especially when sentences are cut off midway.
If the opening sentence of your post does not entice readers, you could be missing out on many more new visitors reading your posts and engaging with you.
I added the following excerpt to this post.
Are you new to blogging or thinking of starting a blog? Are you already a blogger who wants more readers, followers and success for your blog?
These 9 tips will guarantee you success.
Adding experts to your posts is easy and an excellent way to promote and entice readers to want to read them. Here’s how to add an excerpt.
On the draft page of a post, scroll down to the except box in the setting section of the post.
Add an excerpt to your blog post before publishing it.
After adding the excerpt, publish or schedule your post.
The excerpt will be displayed on WordPress notification emails.
Tip: When drafting excerpts, ask yourself what excerpt would make you want to read the post.
2. Change This Setting And Watch Your Blog Stats Boom.
Ensure you view your blog’s dashboard in Default View (not Classic). To do this, click the View button in the top right corner of your blog’s dashboard.
Go to Settings – Writing on your blog’s dashboard and look for the Feed Settings box.
Turn on the Limit Feed To Excerpt button. Users will then need to visit your site to view the full content of every post.
Click the Save Settings button.
Ensure you slide the Limit Feed to excerpt only’ button to the ‘on’ position
3. Engage With Your Audience And On The Posts Of Other Bloggers.
I recently came across a blogger who complained that everyone ignored her. She claimed that nobody left comments on her posts. However, I’d left comments along with other bloggers. The problem was that she only replied to comments with a ‘thanks.’ No wonder other bloggers and I got fed up with leaving comments.
Engagement is a two-way thing.
If you don’t engage with more than a ‘thank you’ to every comment, then visitors will soon get fed up with trying to engage with you.
Make your comments and replies to comments count. Instead of telling a blogger their post was great or that you loved it, expand on why you thought it was great. Most bloggers want to engage, especially when leaving comments that offer feedback and discussion.
By fully engaging with your readers, you’re likely to get them and more visitors wanting to engage with you. They’ll likely follow your blog if they want to engage and see that you engage with others who leave comments.
However, don’t leave dead-end comments where the only response can be a ‘thank you.’ If you’ve nothing of value to add, click the ‘like’ button and move on. Never feel guilty for not leaving dead-end, pointless comments.
The more you engage with your audience and other bloggers, the more you’ll reap the rewards of your blog becoming successful and a place other bloggers will want to visit and engage.
If English is not your first language, then don’t be afraid to leave a comment in your native dialogue. Free online translation tools, such as one from Systran.Com, are available, so bloggers can translate your comment. My thanks to Renard Moreau for recommending Systran.Com.
4. Reduce The Size Of Your Images Before Publishing Posts.
If a blog post takes too long to download, most visitors will likely get fed up and move on.
One of the biggest causes of a blog post taking too long to download is that the images and photos within the post are too big. They also take up lots of space in the media library.
Before placing an image or photo in a post, reduce its size.
The majority of the photos and images in my posts are no more than 900 x 675 pixels. I’ve found that the quality of images and pictures this size are still excellent, plus they take up much less space in my media library.
Many apps and software allow you to reduce the size of images and photos, but many are not free to use. So be careful when choosing.
To reduce the size of images and photos on an iMac, open the image, click on Tools and then on Adjust Size (both found in the toolbar).
Click here to find out how to reduce the size of images and photos in Windows 10 and 11.
How do you reduce the size of images and photos on your blog? Tell us in the comments section.
5. Categorise Your Blog Posts.
Categorising your blog posts is essential when helping visitors find information.
Never categorise any of your blog posts as Uncategorised. It’s not helpful and only makes the blog’s owner look lazy and not care about their followers or visitors.
However, don’t use too many categories. A long list of categories can confuse readers. Cut categories down by adding sub-categories. Click here to find out more about categories and tags.
Important information: You may have already heard the cardinal tagging rule on WordPress.com, but it’s worth repeating: you should never add more than 15 tags and categories (combined) to your post; otherwise, it won’t show up in the WordPress Reader. This cap is used to keep out spam blogs — you need to ensure that your tags are only those most relevant to your post.
6. Blog Post Titles
I’m always shocked by the many boring and dull titles I see bloggers using for their blog posts. They don’t give me any incentive to want to read the post. Other than those who read every blog post some of these bloggers publish, nobody will be enticed to read posts that don’t draw you to click the ‘read more’ button.
Given that the first thing the majority of readers see is your blog post titles, make the titles count. If the titles of your posts are bland, dull, and uninviting, they won’t entice readers to want to read the post. You could be losing out not only on lots of new followers but lots of engagement.
When thinking of a title for your blog post, ask yourself what would make you want to click the ‘read more‘ button.
If you struggle with thinking of good titles for your blog posts, use a Headline analyzer such as Coschedule.com. It’s free to use and challenges you to come up with the best titles for your blog posts.
The title of this blog post scored 92 out of 100. That’s the highest score I’ve achieved when creating a blog post title.
Important Tip: Never duplicate your blog post titles or use the same titles as other bloggers. Why? Because SEO, such as Google and Bing, rank blogs lower that contain duplicated blog post titles.
7. Ensure Links In Your Posts Do Not Close Your Blog Down.
Do you find it frustrating when you click on a link in a blog post and a new window opens on the same page you are reading? When this happens, most readers won’t return to the page they were reading, thus losing the possibility of leaving a comment.
When creating pingbacks or links in posts, ensure you turn on the ‘open in a new tab’ button by sliding it to the on position.
Ensure your readers don’t lose the page they’re reading when clicking on links.
Visitors won’t lose the page they’re reading when you switch on this button when creating pingbacks and links.
Not sure how to create a pingback? Click here for details.
8. Don’t Become A Blogging Spammer.
What do I mean by a blogging spammer? Somebody who leaves uninvited links to their blogs, blog posts or products in the comments section. This also includes bloggers who leave a link to their blog in all their comments.
Fortunately, the antispam system on WordPress sends the majority of these types of comments to my spam folder.
Only leave links in comments when invited to do so by the blogger you’re leaving a comment for. If you need more clarification, ask first before including any links.
I get comments every day that include uninvited links. Most go straight to my spam folder, and I mark as spam the ones that don’t. You’ll never find comments that include uninvited links in the comments section of any of my blog posts.
9. Slow Down
I’ve witnessed many bloggers become overwhelmed with blogging because they try to do too much in the time they have available to blog. It often results in what is known as Blogging Burnout.
Blog at a leisurely pace. You don’t need to participate in all those blogging challenges. You don’t need to read and leave comments on all the posts of the blogs you follow. You don’t need to follow the blog of every blogger who follows you. Only read and comment and follow the blogs that interest you.
Never feel obliged to read, comment and follow because they read and comment on your blog posts.
Slow down. Enjoy blogging. Never allow it to overwhelm you or make you feel guilty or stressed.
Let’s wrap it up.
Rather than allow WordPress to choose what words to introduce your posts, use your own excerpts.
If you want people to visit your blog, don’t display your whole posts in the WordPress email notifications. To get more visitors to your blog, switch on the ‘Limit feed to excerpt only’ button. Users will then need to visit your site to view the full content of every post.
Engage with your audience when replying to comments and when leaving comments on other blogs. Avoid leaving short, pointless comments that add no value. Always say more than a ‘thank you’ when replying to comments.
Reduce the size of images and photos before placing them on blog posts; otherwise, your blog may download slowly and force visitors away.
Categorise all your blog posts. Never categorise them as ‘Uncategorised,’
Make all your blog post titles count by giving them titles that will entice readers to want to read the whole post. Consider using a Headline analyser for them.
When adding pingbacks and links to your blog, always switch on the ‘open in new tab’ button so that readers do not lose the page they are reading when clicking on links.
Don’t become a blog spammer by leaving uninvited links in the comments section of other blogs.
Take blogging slowly. Don’t try doing too much in a short space of time. You’ll only end up feeling overwhelmed, stressed or guilty if you try to fit everything in when you don’t have the time.
Keep blogging a fun and enjoyable experience. If it becomes a chore, step back and take a good look at how you are blogging. Make changes. Only consider quitting blogging if you lose interest.
Are You New To Blogging Or Thinking Of Starting A Blog?
Click here to read an excellent blog post by James Lane that is full of essential information for new bloggers and acts as a gentle reminder for those who already blog.
What’s the best blogging tip you have? Do you have any questions about the 9 tips in this post? Leave them in the comments section.
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Sharing the blog posts of other bloggers is something the majority of bloggers like to do. But is there a safe way to do it without facing the possibility of copyright infringement?
Have you tried ‘Press This’ on WordPress?
In January 2022, I published a guest post by author and writer Deborah Jay where she shared a story of how she faced a copyright infringement fine simply for reblogging the blog post of another blogger. You can read Deborah’s post here.
The ‘Press This’ feature on WordPress is simple to use and (when used correctly) removes all the possibilities of being fined for copyright infringement. It also comes with other benefits that reblogging a post does not have.
How To Use Press This.
Ensure you are in the Default view of your blog’s dashboard, not the Classic view mode.
Ensure your blog’s dashboard in ‘Default View’ mode.
Click on Settings – Writing.
Click on Settings and Writing
On the Writing Settings page, scroll down to Publishing Tools (at the bottom) and look for the Press This button.
Drag the Press This button to the favourites bar on your device.
Drag and drop the Press This button to somewhere you can access it quickly when reading blog posts. I dragged it from the bottom of the Writing Settings page and placed it on the ‘favouites bar’ of my desktop computer, where it’s visible while I am on the internet.
When you find a blog post, you want to share, click the Press This button.
A new window will open, but you can close it down as a draft copy of the post you wish to share will be in your draft folder.
Open the draft you have just created. In the images below, you’ll see one of my blog posts which I have made via the Press This button.
Find the draft post that has been created by the Press This button
Before publishing the post, you need to add tags and categories. To do this, click on the meatball/kebab menu next to the post (the three dots) and click on Edit.
Click the meatball menu to edit the post.
Not only can you add tags and categories, but you can also edit the post, add an excerpt, and add your own images and photos.
Edit the post before publishing it
Don’t worry about the left alignment of the link created by ‘Press This’, as in most cases, it will be centred when the post is published. However, I recommend you preview the post before publishing it, as the theme you use may not automatically centre it.
Save the draft.
As soon as you’re happy, either click the publish button or schedule it to publish on a date and time that suits you.
What are the most significant benefits of Press This over Reblogging?
No images from the post get downloaded into your media library, so there is no risk of copyright infringement.
You do not use up any valuable space in your media library.
You can edit and add tags and categories before publishing the post— no need to go back to it after publication to add details or leave it as an uncategorised post.
Sub note: Unfortunately, the ‘Press There’ sharing button at the bottom of blog posts is not working correctly. Therefore, the above method for sharing via ‘Press This’ is recommended.
Do you have any questions about Press This? Please leave them in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
Looking for more blogging tips? Click on the ‘Blogging Tips’ and ‘Block Editor – How To’ buttons on the menubar of my blog.
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What makes you put your head in your hands or shake your head regarding blogging?
Recently, I’ve been shaking my head a lot when visiting the blogging world.
Some of my fellow bloggers worry me, and I’m concerned about their mental health.
I’m witnessing bloggers panicking, stressed, feeling guilty, or apologising because of how they blog.
Are you showing signs of stress because of blogging?
Here are some of the bloggers I am referring to. Are you one of them?
The Sprinters
Have you heard this quote?
Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint!
It’s a quote many bloggers acknowledge.
Sprinters rush around the blogging world every day as if they’re on a time challenge where they must read and leave comments on as many blog posts as possible within a certain amount of time.
The comments they leave are seldom engaging and are often empty. Instead of leaving a comment saying why they thought a post was great or why they liked a photo or reading a piece of fiction, they’ll leave a comment like, ‘Great story’ or ‘I enjoyed this.’
They don’t have time to leave engaging comments, so leave comments that’ll not make you want to engage with them other than maybe to say ‘Thanks.’
If they fail to leave comments on all the blogs they’re following, they believe they may upset someone. They need to prove they’ve visited your post, often by leaving an empty comment.
They often show signs of stress or pressure in the content they publish and the comments they leave.
They won’t read long-engaging posts because that wastes time and worsens their stress. They’re on a mission to read as many posts as possible in the time they have so they don’t upset anyone.
Why read a couple of interesting, engaging, long posts when you can read lots of short blog posts in the time it takes to read one fascinating post over 1,000 words that gets you and lots of other readers wanting to get into a discussion?
Tip for new bloggers –
Slow it down.
One post, and engaging with six blogs a week will get you further than trying to do it all.
When I saw the above tweet from James, I punched the air with my fist. He makes a valid point. And it doesn’t only apply to new bloggers.
Blogging should never be about sprinting under pressure around the blogging world to see how many blog posts you can read and comment on in 20 minutes!
Those posts will still be there next week.
There is no such thing as being behind in blogging. Read, respond and leave comments when you have the time to do so.
Hugh W. Roberts
Ask yourself why you started blogging. Was it for enjoyment and fun? Or did you come to the blogging world on a mission to try and break the world record every day for the number of blog posts you can read and comment on so you don’t feel guilty or upset anyone?
Is rushing around the blogging world, feeling stressed out while leaving the same non-engaging short comments, fun?
Slow down, and engage with bloggers rather than trying to prove the point that you have visited their posts.
If you don’t have the time to read and leave comments, make time by reading less blogs.
Hugh W. Roberts
This brings me to…
The obliging blogger
In the next paragraph, I’ll ask you a question. Leave your answer in the comments section before reading the rest of this post.
Question: If a blogger reads and leaves comments on all your blog posts, should you feel obliged to read and leave comments on all their posts?
You won’t be surprised that my answer to that question is ‘No.’
But if you answered ‘Yes’, share your reasons in the comments section.
Nobody should feel obliged to read and comment on another blogger’s posts because they read and leave comments on all their blog posts.
Your time is precious, and wasting it by forcing yourself to read and comment on content that does not interest you is a waste of your time.
“But won’t the blogger who reads and comments on all my posts stop reading and commenting on my blog posts if I don’t return the favour?’
Yes, they may, but does it matter? And if they do, ask yourself this question.
‘Why am I following that blogger?’
If it’s because you genuinely enjoy reading their content, then, by all means, continue to follow them, but don’t feel obliged to read and leave comments on all their posts.
If a blogger gets upset with you for not reading and leaving comments on all their posts, consider unfollowing them.
Allocate the time you spent reading their blogs to the blogs you enjoy reading, and leave valuable, engaging comments on those posts rather than short, empty, non-engaging comments.
Tip: Make the first comment count and show that you genuinely want to engage.
Don’t get too upset if the blogger you’re trying to engage with doesn’t want to engage with you when they respond to your comment with nothing but a ‘Thank you.’
That’s your cue to think twice before engaging with them again.
If you don’t want to engage with a blogger after reading a post, press the like button and move on. After all, that’s why it’s there.
There is nothing wrong with not leaving a comment after reading a blog post if you’ve nothing of value to add. Stop acting like it’s a crime not to leave one.
Hugh W. Roberts
Don’t be tricked into feeling guilty if you don’t always leave a comment. I read many blog posts where I do not click the ‘like’ button or leave comments. Why? Because I have nothing of value to add.
Likewise, never feel obliged to follow a blogger who has followed your blog. There’s no harm in visiting their blog to check out their content. If you like it, by all means, follow back, but don’t follow them simply because they followed you.
The desperate blogger
This blogger comes in two forms.
The first are bloggers you’ve never received comments from, and suddenly they’ll leave a comment and link on one of your posts that begs you (and your readers) to check out their blog, read their posts and leave comments.
I’ve received lots of these types of comments recently.
Their comment won’t mention anything about the contents of the posts they’ve left their comment on, just a few words of desperation and a link to their blog.
You’ll see them leaving the same comment on other blogs. I never approve these comments, so you’ll never see them in the comments section of any of my blog posts.
These types of comments are often left by new bloggers looking for new followers and readers.
If you’re new to blogging, there are much better ways to gain followers and new readers than to leave uninvited links on other blogs. These posts list some tips that will help you gain new followers and readers.
The other type of desperate blogger is someone who has previously left some engaging comments but unexpectedly starts dropping links to their posts that have nothing to do with the content of your post, asking you to read and comment.
I’ve said this many times before. Other blogs are not places for you to leave links unless the host has invited you to leave them. For example, in my Wordless Wednesday posts, I invite bloggers to leave links to their Wordless Wednesday posts.
If you have a post you’d like to share with a blogger in the comments section because it’s connected to their post, ask for permission to leave the link first.
Many bloggers class uninvited links as spam and move comments that include them to the spam folder or bin.
How do you deal with uninvited links left in the comments section of your blog?
I edit them out before approving the comment by pressing the edit button.
Click edit to edit out uninvited links from bloggers
Remember to save the changes and then approve the comment. Most bloggers leaving uninvited links soon get the message.
Let’s wrap it up
Never feel pressured to read and comment on too many blog posts when you don’t have the time.
Read and leave engaging comments on a few blog posts a day/week rather than try and read and leave empty, non-engaging comments on all the blog posts of those you follow.
Never feel obliged to follow a blog simply because they followed you.
Don’t force yourself or waste time reading blog posts that do not interest you. Instead, invest your time reading and engaging with bloggers who publish content that interests you.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t read a blog post today. It’ll still be there to read in a week or when you have more time.
Don’t feel guilty if you do not get around to reading all the blog posts you want to read and comment on.
If you have nothing of value to add in a comment, rather than leaving short, empty, non-engaging comments, click the ‘like’ button and move on.
Other blogs are not the place to leave uninvited links promoting your blog.
Edit out uninvited links before approving comments.
Remove any thoughts of thinking you’re behind with blogging and have to catch up. Read and comment on posts when you have the time to do so.
Are there any examples of blogging that have you holding your head in your hands, shaking your head or concerned for other bloggers? Please share them in the comments section.
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Sometimes, the world of blogging can seem like a terrifying place.
With copyright pitfalls, slippery slopes to guilt, stress and bloggers’ burnout to avoid, it can make any blogger want a hasty retreat.
But fear not! I am here to help you avoid these 7 scary things I’ve seen bloggers confess they are terrified of.
Are you scared of anything in the blogging world?
1. Trolls
I’ve had my fair share of visits from internet trolls. They get a lot of enjoyment from spreading their nastiness around the world of blogging.
Not only have the trolls aimed their nasty comments at me, but they also try to trick other commentators into getting into a battle with them.
After an incident which involved a troll attacking another blogger within the comments section on one of my posts, I switched to moderating all comments.
It’s a simple process to set up on WordPress.
Here’s how to do it
In the menu of your blog’s dashboard admin centre, click on Discussion (under Settings).
Click on Discussion
On the Discussion page, look for the ‘Before a comment appears‘ section and turn on ‘Comment must be manually approved.’
Click the Save Settings button.
Turn on ‘Comment must be manually approved.’
If you’re happy to allow comments from those who have commented before to appear without any moderation from yourself, turn on ‘Comment author must have a previously approved comment‘ (just under Comment must be manually approved).
However, be aware that there’s always a chance that a friendly blogger can suddenly turn into a troll. I’m talking from experience. It happened on my blog when somebody who had left lots of seemingly lovely comments suddenly turned into a troll and personally attacked another blogger.
The best way to deal with trolls is to never respond to their comments. Ignore them.
Mark the offending comment as spam, and mark any further comments from them the same way. Once you do so, WordPress will soon get used to sending all comments from the troll to your WordPress spam folder.
2. Tags and Categories
Many bloggers are terrified when using tags and categories on their blog posts. Some are so terrified of them that they don’t use them.
They panic when deciding what keywords to use as tags and whether to categorise their blog posts.
Some even go as far as using keywords that have nothing to do with their post, thus fooling readers to their posts.
The best tags to use are one or two words long. For example, if you’re tagging a blog post for a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, use tags such as baking, bake, cookery, food, ingredients, cookies, chocolate biscuits, etc.
When somebody searches on WordPress for keywords you have as tags, your blog post will appear in the search results.
When adding tags or categories, ask yourself what tags and categories you’d add to a search bar when searching for the information in the post you’re about to publish.
Here are some recent results my blog has had from user searches on WordPress.
What are your most popular tags and categories?
Pitfall alert – never use more than 15 tags and categories on a blog post. Why? Because blog posts containing more than 15 tags and categories (combined) can be classed as spam by WordPress and will not appear on the WordPress Reader. Click here for more details about tags.
Always categorise your blog posts. Not categorising is like throwing your post onto the top of a colossal mishmash pile that nobody will want to try and wade through.
Not sure how to categorise your blog posts? Click here to find out.
Question: What’s the most terrifying category any blogger can use?
‘Uncategorised.’
3. Nobody will read my blog and engage with me
When I started to blog, I was terrified that nobody would read any of my blog posts. I visioned myself on a stage in front of a large theatre full of empty seats.
That’s how it begins for many bloggers, but there are ways to start filling up your blogging theatre.
Read and leave beneficial, meaningful, helpful comments that add value to the blog posts of other bloggers.
Participate in a blog party or link-up where you can meet other bloggers.
Look for opportunities to write guest posts for other bloggers.
Open up the opportunity for other bloggers to write guest posts for your blog.
Ensure you promote your blog and blog posts on all your social media accounts.
Once you start to become part of blogging communities, people will come and visit your blog. Not all will follow you back, but interaction with other bloggers is a great way to build a readership.
Before you know it, the seats in your blogging theatre will start filling up.
Warning – do not leave uninvited links on other bloggers’ posts begging people to visit your blog. Many bloggers classify uninvited links as spam that belong in the trash bin.
4. Social Media
I was lucky that I had already encountered the frightening world of social media when I started blogging. However, I still hear many bloggers say how terrified they are of it.
Yes, social media can seem like an evil monster, but the trick is not to spread yourself too thin by thinking you must have an account on all social media platforms.
If you allow it, social media will take up much of your time. It does need some hard work and dedication to work correctly but limit yourself to two or three social media accounts at the most.
Begin by trying some of them out. You’ll soon discover which ones work best for you.
Once you know which ones you like, be strict with how much time you spend on them. Don’t allow social media to suck your time away.
After using most of today’s social media platforms, I discovered I enjoyed using Twitter the most. It now brings in a lot of traffic to my blog.
Twitter brings in the most traffic to my blog.
Which social media platform brings your blog the most traffic?
Once you know which social media platforms you enjoy using and which work best for you, remember to ensure you have sharing buttons on all your blog posts so readers can share them on their social media platforms.
Click here to find out more about sharing buttons.
5. Following Too Many Blogs
Not only do I occasionally get shocked by how many blogs I am following, but it can become a frightening prospect knowing that there is no way I’m ever going to be able to read all the blog posts of all those blogs I follow.
Following too many blogs can become overwhelming, especially if you receive notifications of new posts via email.
Bloggers who follow too many blogs only leave short worthless comments because they don’t have the time to leave thoughtful, helpful comments. They’re in too much of a hurry to get around to reading all the new blog posts of all the blogs they follow in fear that if they fail, they’ll offend someone or lose followers.
Remember that Blogging is a marathon, not a sprint!
I cut back on the number of blogs I follow every few months.
My reasons for unfollowing a blog can be –
I no longer find the content interesting.
No new content published for a long time.
Unfollowing because a blogger does not reply to comments.
Too much poor-quality content.
Publishing too many blog posts in a short space of time.
It’s easy to manage the number of blogs you follow.
Here’s how to do it.
On the My Home page of your blog, click on the ‘Reader‘ button (next to My Site).
Click the Reader button.
On the Reader page, click on the “Manage‘ button on the screen.
Click on the Manage button.
You’ll then see a list of the blogs you are following.
You can sort the list by ‘date followed‘ or ‘site name.’
Sorting out the blogs you follow
Go through the list and decide which blogs to unfollow.
To unfollow a blog, click on the word Following next to the blog you want to unfollow.
Once you’ve unfollowed a blog, the word Follow will show next to it.
To refollow the blog, click on Follow.
Ensure you review which blogs you follow at least once every six months.
6. The Spam Monster
Many bloggers become a victim of the scary spam monster.
They get stressed out by the huge amounts of spam they get and become so overwhelmed with it that they do drastic things, such as closing the door in their readers’ faces by turning off comments on their blog posts.
I’ve also witnessed bloggers turn off comments on all their blog posts and request that readers leave comments on social media or via email. That’s not how blogging is supposed to work.
Although it’s been on WordPress since the end of 2018, the block editor still terrifies some bloggers.
Some stopped blogging even without reading and watching WordPress and other bloggers’ free tutorials on how to use it.
I was soon transformed into a monster when I first tried using the block editor.
I only tried the block editor for five minutes (without reading and watching tutorials) and soon became the ‘hate change’ monster.
Nothing was going to make me start using something that promised to change and improve the way I blogged or that promised to save me time when drafting new blog posts.
Then, during a particularly dark, dull day, I pulled up my big boy trousers, read some tutorials and watched videos on how the block editor works.
Click here to watch the latest video on how to use the block editor.
I gave it another try, but I gave it more time.
My blog posts suddenly took on a new look that made them more appealing, impressive and unique. The block editor was changing the way I blogged.
I soon started to save myself lots of time drafting blog posts as the benefits of using the block editor began to pay off.
Now, not only do I consider the switch from the classic editor to the block editor the best change I’ve ever made on my blogging journey, but I’m delighted that I never gave in to the ‘hate change’ monster.
Set up a draft post on your blog where you can try the block editor.
And if you’re still not convinced, the classic editor is available via the Classic block. Sadly some bloggers refuse to use the Classic block because it means using the block editor. Don’t become one of them.
Where to find the Classic block
Let’s wrap it up
Don’t be afraid of anything in the blogging world.
Do not engage with trolls. Mark their comments as spam and consider moderating all comments on your blog posts.
Always add tags to your blog posts and categorise them. However, never use more than 15 tags and categories (combined) on any blog post.
Engage with other bloggers by leaving thoughtful, helpful comments that show you have read their posts.
Participate in blogging challenges and ask other bloggers if they’d like to write a guest post on your blog.
Promote your blog posts on all your social media channels. However, stick to one or two social media platforms and set a strict time limit using them.
Don’t be frightened of unfollowing blogs you are no longer interested in. Remember that blogging is a marathon, not a sprint.
Don’t become a victim of the spam monster. Check your blogging spam folder often and empty it.
Watch and read free tutorials on using the block editor before attempting to use it. If you still do not like it, use the classic editor via the Classic block.
Are there any scary things in the blogging world that have you closing your eyes in the hope that they are not really there? How did/do you deal with them? Share the details in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
Looking for more blogging tips? Click on the ‘Blogging Tips’ and ‘Block Editor – How To’ buttons on the menubar of my blog.
Follow Hugh on social media. Click on the buttons below.
Do you struggle to find the blocks you use the most on the Block editor? With over 160 (and rising) blocks, it can be a daunting task.
Do you want an easy way to see the blocks you use the most, so you don’t have to find them?
Of course, you can use the search bar, but there is an easy way to show the blocks you use the most on WordPress.
Always have easy access to the blocks you use the most
Here’s how to do it.
On the draft page of a blog post, click on the kebab menu (located in the top right-hand corner), and on the new menu that opens, click on Preferences.
Click on the kebab menu and then on Preferences
In the new window that opens, click on Blocks.
Click on Blocks
Slide the ‘Show most used blocks’ button to the on position.
Slide the ‘Show most used blocks’ button
When you click on the add a new block button (‘+’), the blocks you use the most will now be displayed at the top of the blocks library list.
Most Used Blocks On the blog Hugh’s Views And News
Job completed.
My thanks to Jen, who blogs at WPcomMaven, for passing this information on to me.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
If you have questions about how to easily access the blocks you use the most on WordPress, leave them in the comments section.
Looking for more blogging tips? Click on the ‘Blogging Tips’ and ‘Block Editor – How To’ buttons on the menubar of my blog.
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Getting readers to engage with you by leaving comments on your blog posts is something many bloggers crave.
And when those comments clearly show that your post has been read, it’s one of the best feelings in the world.
However, once you get visitors reading your posts and leaving comments, you need to do all you can to ensure they keep coming back.
Writing good quality posts that make your readers want to engage with you and each other is one way to keep your readers returning, but you also need to ensure they can easily find your other similarly themed posts, which are often buried deep in your blog archives.
Need more readers and followers? These 5 blogging tools will help
Here are five blogging tools that work for me. Not only do they give my readers a way of finding more similarly-themed content, but these tools have also helped bring me many new readers and followers.
1. The Search Bar
The other day, I was writing a new blog post and wanted to include links to some posts I had read on other blogs.
However, try as I might, I couldn’t find one of the posts I wanted to link to. Even worse, there was no search bar on the blog concerned.
It wasn’t long before I gave up looking for that blog post. I didn’t have the time to find it.
You can make it easy for readers to find what they are looking for by including a search bar on your blog.
Does your blog have a search bar? If not, WordPress has a ‘search’ widget. Click here to find out how to install one.
Once you’ve installed a search bar, open up one of your blog posts and check you are happy with its position. Ensure it’s visible and easy for visitors to find. The search bar on my blog is the first widget on my widget bar to the right of all my blog posts.
Remember, too, that you can use the search bar when looking for your own posts. You can save yourself a lot of time by doing this instead of scrolling through all your blog posts on your blog’s dashboard.
2. The Menu Bar
Navigation is of prime importance on any blog. Make it difficult for visitors to navigate or find more content, and they’ll probably give up and never return.
That’s why it’s essential to have a menu bar on your blog.
A menu bar allows your readers to check out what is on your blog and helps direct them to other parts of your blog they’d like to explore.
Many bloggers can be frightened by including a menu bar on their blog or adding items. However, it’s an easy and straightforward process.
Click here for details on how to set up a custom menu bar on your WordPress blog.
However, don’t overload the menu bar on your blog, as it can look overwhelming. And ensure you keep it updated and check that everything works on it.
3. The ‘Contact Me Page
Just imagine another blogger, a magazine editor, or somebody from your local radio station wanting to contact you to invite you to write an article or appear on a show. How exciting would that be? But they can’t find a way of reaching you privately!
Not everyone wants to leave a comment when they want to invite you to write a guest post, be interviewed, or ask you to appear on a show. If you don’t have a ‘contact me’ page, and nobody can contact you privately, then they’ll probably move on and give that opportunity to somebody else.
On the menu bar of my blog, you’ll see a ‘Contact Hugh’ button. That’s how people can contact me privately.
I get lots of people contacting me every week. As a result, I’ve written guest articles, appeared on radio shows and recorded podcasts, all of which have allowed me to promote myself and my blog. In return, I’ve got hundreds of new readers and followers to my blog.
Make sure you’re contactable. Click here to find out how to set up a ‘contact me’ page.
4. The ‘About Me’ Page
Ever since my early days of blogging, I’ve been told that many new blog visitors will want to learn a little about the blogger behind the blog before deciding whether to follow.
When I visit a new blog, I first look for an ‘about me’ page to learn more about the blogger.
If the blogger doesn’t have an ‘about me’ page or it’s difficult to find, I’m more likely to move on than check out the rest of their blog.
If you do have an ‘about me’ page, ensure you allow new visitors to introduce themselves by allowing them to leave a comment on it. And don’t forget, a friendly reply is more likely to keep that visitor returning to read your posts.
Click here for details on setting up an ‘About Me’ page and what to include.
5. The Gravatar
The image that appears next to all comments is known as a Gravatar. A gravatar is created for you as soon as you leave your first review or comment on the internet.
How many times have you clicked on the gravatar image of somebody who has left an excellent comment on a post and not been able to find their blog details? Frustrating, isn’t it, especially when you think it may be a blog you’d like to follow.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest mistakes many bloggers make, as soon as their gravatar is created, is they forget about it. Many don’t realise they can add images and leave links to their blog and social media accounts on their gravatar.
If a reader then clicks on your gravatar, they’ll see the links to your blog and social media accounts and be able to visit them. That means more visitors to your blog and social media accounts which could result in more followers.
Click here to find out how to add links to your blog and social media accounts to your gravatar.
Let’s wrap it up
Many blogging tools can help readers notice your blog and keep them returning.
Make sure you have a Search Bar on your blog to help visitors find other content.
Ensure your blog includes a menu bar, but don’t overload it with too many items.
Ensure the links on your blog’s menu bar all work. Check for broken links at least once a month and fix any that have become broken.
Ensure your blog has a page where readers and visitors can contact you privately. Not everyone will want to leave a comment inviting you to write a guest post or to appear on a radio show or podcast.
Many new visitors want to know a little about the person behind the blog before deciding whether to follow. Tell visitors a little about yourself on an ‘about me’ page.
Ensure your Gravatar has links to your blog and social media accounts.
This is an updated version of a post originally published on Hugh’s Views And News in September 2018
What powerful blogging tools do you use on your blog, and why do you use them? Share them with us by leaving a comment.
Hugh's Views & News 