5 Tips on Running a Good Blog

These days a good blog is essential for any small business, but if you dive in head first without a plan of attack you’ll simply be wasting time. Don’t write for writing’s sake, but put some thought into each post and you’ll increase both traffic and conversion rates thanks to the personal touch a blog provides. Here are five tips to think about while running your personal or business blog:

Update regularly

It’s important to ensure you update your blog on a regular basis – once a week is a good minimum. Don’t post anything just to keep it ticking over, but find something interesting about your industry, or something in the world of current affairs that you can comment on, and you’ll be on the right track. A neglected blog makes it look like you don’t care about your website, and therefore that you don’t care about your website visitors.

Break up the text into chunks

This one is a simple writing recommendation but one that is often ignored. Blog posts should always be a minimum of 300 words, and ideally they should be longer. But write all of that interesting content in one large paragraph and nobody will read it, which can increase your bounce rate and have a negative SEO impact on your website. Short paragraphs with subheadings are much more pleasing to the eye, and much easier for readers to process, giving your post more impact.

Use strong imagery

In a similar vein to the point above, images help to break up your blog post and can support your writing. If you’re looking to have your post shared amongst your social networks and industry peers, you’ll certainly need to make sure you have good quality images to help make it more appealing to readers. If you can, use your own images of your business where appropriate, but free image libraries are available online if you need them.

Use URL slugs

A URL slug is the part of your web address that directs people to the blog post. Use them correctly with the keywords of your blog and you’ll see a marked improvement in SEO performance, as it is easier for visitors and search engines to understand what the page is about. Are you more likely to click on www.blog.com/post/5-tips-for-a-good-blog, or www.blog.com/post/1232981?

Anti-virus software

You should protect yourself and start using the best anti-virus software you can find, both on your PC and, if required, as part of your blog hosting software. Hackers are always looking to exploit weaknesses in websites, regardless of the size or scale of your business, so install and use anti-virus software to ensure your computer and website are protected and your work is safe.

What is your best tip for running a good blog?

12 Days of Giveaways Day 10: I Love You Forever Necklace

Today for day 10 of the 12 Days of Giveaways, we have a lovely sponsor who is anonymous, but her shop, FMJ Creation, is not!  She has such lovely things in her shop, and they're all so simply beautiful that there is something for everyone.  She did answer our Holiday questions though, have a read:

How do you usually celebrate the holidays?

I go to see these xmas lights with my family.

Are you a Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopper?

 If so, what are you planning to shop for those days this year?

I am from Hong Kong, we have no Black Friday / Cyber Monday discount among our shops but I do shopping online when these holidays come.

What is your favorite holiday food?

蘿蔔糕 (Turnip cake) is my favorite holiday food during our traditional chinese new year.

What's at the top of your holiday wishlist this year?

To balance my life between work, family and creation.

What inspires your creations at FMJ Creations?

I like flowers, natural, store, every things around me during the day can inspire me on creation.

Just look at these pretty things-click on the image to see the listing:

   

One lucky winner will win an I Love You Forever Necklace from FMJ Creation! 

Giveaway is open worldwide and ends 12/4/14 at 12AM.  

Entering below agrees to all Terms and Conditions in the Rafflecopter.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to visit tomorrow to enter day 11 of the 12 Days of Giveaways!

Musical Mondays: The Fade Away

No matter whether you're the one making the call, or you're the one living with another's decision on the matter, ending a relationship is never easy.  If it's not working out for one person, or both, someone has to be the one to call it quits-whether they want to or not.  Most of us have been on both ends of the experience, and neither one of them is particularly enjoyable.

When I think about it, I can't honestly say whether I have more experience dumping or being dumped, but I can say with certainty that the majority of what I remember is the latter.  The memories I can call to mind quickly make me think I've been on the receiving end of bad news more often than the giving, but if I really stop and think about it in terms of "the fade away" I can't honestly say one way or another.  

What's the fade away?  Well it's basically ending it like a coward... You just kind of let the relationship fizzle out and, as it states, fade away.  Usually one person is more into it than the other, and the one that's not just kind of keeps blowing them off until they get the hint.  It's not usually something that happens when two people have been in a serious relationship, but more so when it's just been a couple of dates and one or the other just isn't feeling it.

Remembering those times when I've been interested and then just never heard back from the person I was trying to date, it sucks.  I remember calling them jerks and wondering why they couldn't just "man up" (that's a sexist term-but fitting in this description) and tell me it was over.  Then I'd go on with my life, whether grieving the lost opportunity or laughing it off, and move on.

I never really considered the fact that I'd been that jerk a few times myself until recently when it was pointed out to me.  In October I went on a date with a guy who was nice, but also kind of weird... He was jittery, and he made paying this whole ordeal.  I didn't mind paying for myself, but when they accidentally put both our coffees on one check he acted like he'd have to go out to his car to dig pennies out of the cup holders if I couldn't convince them to split it.  Then he wanted to go on a second date to which he invited me, and when he picked an expensive type of food to go out for, he decided he wanted to go dutch instead of taking me as he'd orginally offered.  Really, not a big deal, but it was enough of a hassle and I hadn't really been that into him to begin with, that I just kind of stopped responding.  I did the fade away.  Which is when Kristina pointed this song out to me: 

This week's song: 

The Fade Away

by Garfunkel and Oates

Note: There are some adult lyrics so listen/read on at your own discretion.