1. About Me page.
I love a gorgeously put together About page on a blog. If I come across a new blog, one of the first things I’m likely to look at beyond the initial blog post is the About page. This is a shameful “do as I say and not as I do” kinda thing, seeing as mine hasn’t been touched in about a year. I say shameful because as a blog designer I know I could do better. (Doesn’t it kinda make you cringe talking about yourself? I know it does for me).
Some about pages that I just love happen to be on Living in Another Language, Postcards from Rachel, Diaries of an Essex Girl, Back East Blonde, and Simply Clarke. They have nice pictures, they’re not too long to read, and most of them have links leading me to other posts that paint a better picture of who they are. And clicks are always a good thing! Which leads to my next point.
2. Popular Posts
I love seeing a category of popular posts, whether its on the sidebar or in the navigation bar. Chances are, if these posts have been a hit with your readers, they’ll be a hit with me, too!
Place them in one of those high-traffic areas and you’re sure to get a few more clicks out of them (and reduce your bounce rate).
3. Pin it Widgets
What should I pin from your blog? Help me! The Blog Maven has an excellent tutorial on how to create these widgets for your blog!
P.S. Since I created Pinterest widgets in my sidebar, I’ve noticed a HUGE increase on those posts being pinned, and it’s one of the reasons behind my surge in pageviews. Seriously, help one-time visitors pin a few more posts while they’re visiting. Chances are they’ll like another post featured in these widgets, right?
P.P.S. If you’re ever interested in changing what’s in the sidebar based on the category of the current post, moving to WordPress will allow you to do that. Wanna move to WordPress? Let’s chat!
4. Engaged conversations in the comments section
Believe it or not, I do read comments on other blogs. I read the whole post and most of the comments before I comment (to make sure I’m not repeating what someone else already said). Maybe it’s why I don’t comment as much as I’d like on other blogs, but you can be sure that when I do leave a comment, it has been done with a little bit of planning.
Also, if you have an engaged comments section, it means you’re doing it right. Don’t be discouraged if not every post has a highly engaged comments section on your blog. The easiest way to get your comments section engaged is to take a stance on a highly controversial topic and blog about it.
5. Pictures of Dogs
Okay, I just meant pictures in general (but bonus points if they’re of dogs or babies!). I will read a blog post even if it has nothing else but dog pictures on it. Promise. Nadine has an excellent post on how to find pictures for your blog that are free to use (i.e. you won’t get sued for using them).
Let’s face it, not all of us have a wonderful person nearby willing to take pictures of us (cough, Nadine, cough). You will rarely find a picture of me on the blog for several reasons: 1) my husband hates picture-taking 2) I rarely am out of yoga pants (and duh) and 3) it feels a little vain for me.
Don’t get me wrong…I LOVE seeing pictures of bloggers on their blogs. But, I’m such a naturally awkward person that it’s only magnified in front of the camera. Enough said.
Melanie says
For what it’s worth, I can’t ever picture you naturally awkard… ever. ;)
Lisette says
Thanks, Melanie. You’re too sweet. Performing on stage is one thing. Performing for the camera is another haha!
Amanda Elizabeth says
I like easy on the eye layouts and I’m usually more likely to revisit if the blogger makes me laugh :)
Lisette says
I like simple designs as well! Humor is always good. Brownie points if it’s unintentional :)
Heather says
Thanks for sharing this! I think I will be adding the Pin It Widget from Blog Maven, looks easy and totally helpful.
Heather :)
Lisette says
You’re very welcome! She even has a video so it’s practically fool proof!
Jana says
I’m so glad you shared this! I’ve been meaning to update my about me page for a while, but I keep forgetting! Thanks for reminding me to write it down on my to-do list!
Also, I’ve been trying to figure out how to add those pin widgets to my sidebar, so thanks for that too. :)
Lisette says
No problem, Jana! I need to update my About page, but since I have the basics up there, it will do for now.
Lindsay says
AWESOME post! These are some great ideas – thank you so much for sharing! I had actually planned to finally get my butt in gear and spruce up my about me page this week, but some of these other ideas I had never thought of! I’m excited to try incorporating/fixing some of these this week!
Lisette says
I’m glad I helped whip your butt into shape haha. Good luck with the other items. I highly recommend the Pinterest widgets!
Jo-Anne says
I like lots of things about blogs
Marquis says
Thanks for the shout out!!
Kate says
Aw thanks Lisette :) I always edit my about page as I felt sure it was lame, haha, so reading this was nice!
I’m with you on pictures of dogs, if someone has a dog then the more pictures the better!
Phuong says
I liked this post of yours. Your number 5 made me smile because I LOVE dogs, too, I’ve had dogs all my life, since I was still in my mother’s tummy. Oh, I don’t have a person around to take my pictures either :’)
Love.
Ashlee Michelle says
I love these things too…although, since I’m not too “tech” savy when it comes to setting up my blog..I’m missing probably every thing on this list. (although I do try to engage with whatever comments I receive..which aren’t many but I’m thankful for when I do have them)…
On my old blog I had for 6 years, I liked the design..but I didn’t love it. I threw a lot of myself into that blog, but I wasn’t getting the results that I wanted. So I deleted my blog and started a new direction with the one I have now. And i guess I am getting to the place I want in a blog…one day.
-Ashlee Michelle
Hata Trbonja says
I just found your blog on Bloglovin and I love it!
This was a great post idea.
I love getting to know the person and laughing with them. Tell me that you can’t wait to eat those Oreo’s or you can’t stand the sight of your spouse. I want to hear it .A nice clean layout helps a lot with minimal advertising. I love hearing back from bloggers.
Visiting from France,
Hata
Barb says
Lisette, I have to agree, I get that same cringe when talking about myself. But, you gotta do it, so folks can get to know you. I appreciate your 5 tips shared here. I thought they were so good I just ‘tweeted’ them. Now, off, to add the pin widget….. Have a lovely day, filled with pictures of doggies and babies :)
Lisette says
Thanks for the tweet! Let me know if you have questions with the Pinterest widget. Make sure you don’t add that Pinterest JavaScript more than once, or else you’ll have issues with the pin-count.
Niki says
Haha I love dog photos! And I haven’t updated my About Me in soooo long! Eeek! I’ve been thinking about it… I just need to do it already!
Lisette says
Dog photos, kitty photos, baby photos…as long as they’re cute little things I’m game!
Reni says
Thank you so much for writing this post. As a fairly new blogger I’m still learning what works and what falls flat. But you’ve really inspired me to revamp my about page. I think it definitely needs some work.
Thanks for the great advice!
thelittleliongirl.com
Kelly says
Eek, I do not want know what you think about my “about me” page. One of the big wholes of my blog!
Trish says
I love this, and couldn’t agree more about the pictures of dogs, cats or kids. I’m a sucker for golden retrievers so I love pictures of Nadine’s dog!
Martie says
Just found your blog! I agree – though I am still working on a About page that fits me! If you love dogs, you should definitely check out my “Puppy Friday” feature :)
Have a lovely day!
Kristine says
Great article! I need to freshen up my About Page. It’s hard to write about yourself in a condensed sense.
And I always talk about my dog… so much that I named my blog after him. He’s my world and is too cute not to share with the world.
I think I need to move my blog to wordpress.org so I can enable the Pin It buttons amongst other things!