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10 things I've learned after subscribing to way too many blogs:



#1: It's really annoying when blog owners keep comments hidden until approval. I want the instant gratification of seeing what I've written! Besides... when was the last time you actually had a spam comment?

#2: I appreciate bloggers who use Disqus, ComLuv, or other such features for their blog comments so I don't have to log in and type my website address EVERY SINGLE TIME want to comment. When the site just knows me, it's like coming home!

#3: Captchas are irritating and cumbersome... especially when reading on an iPhone that auto-corrects your spelling. Please disable this "feature".

#4: Hiding the "Subscribe" button is not helpful. Please make it extremely obvious how to subscribe or I probably won't be back.

#5: I love, love, love when blog owners comment back to their readers! It let's me know that you're a real person when you take the time to talk to me, especially if you're super cool and popular. ;)

#6: I appreciate it when bloggers use sponsor ads of fellow bloggers. It gives me good ideas of other things to read, and it lets me know that that blogger is a smart, savvy chica who knows the value of a dollar!

#7: Abbreviated RSS feeds are down-right offensive to me. If I see these in my feed reader, I WILL unsubscribe immediately just on principle. Don't make me have to click through to read your content. Instead make me WANT to click through by writing something worth commenting on.

#8: Music upon entry to your blog is not appreciated. Please turn it off or make it optional. Even if it's my favorite song, it will get old fast and dissuade me from wanting to visit your site very regularly.

#9: Well-planned layouts are awesome! I like knowing what a blog is about at a quick glance. Widgets strewn about haphazardly send me screaming into the hills.

#10: Personality-infused blogs are the best. :) Standard layouts are fine, but I love it when bloggers take the time to add personal details. I like feeling like I know you, just by spending time on your site. It doesn't have to be fancy, just make sure it's YOU!
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Comments

  1. AdaMarch 25, 2011 at 1:17 PM

    Hey there. This post was actually super helpful. I've been trying to improve my blog's design and its accessibility. This post gave me some ideas on problem areas I should be addressing!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JenniferMarch 25, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    Hey thanks! Yeah a lot of times the content on blogs is awesome but it's super hard to get to it! Lol. Glad I could get your creative juices flowing. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. BevyMarch 25, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    I'm so glad you STAYED at my blog even though the subscribe button was WAY the heck down the page - WHICH by point of fact I have CHANGED just b'c my sweet Jen asked me. :) I don't know if I answered thru the comment you left - BUT I will.
    RSS feed - I've never understood that - I guess you can read the blog without the layout? Humm - just don't know why anyone would want to do that as my blog pix are sooooo fascinating - esp. my sticky notes. :) LOL!
    I get spam ALL the time b'c I'm a top result to ALOT of google questions and googlebots are ALWAYS hitting my blog - so I have used capcha to STOP the spammers. Google DOES catch most spammers though and stuffs it into a spam folder where it awaits DELETION ... :)
    Oh and I find that capcha words are random and pretty cool sometimes b'c they sometimes have interesting words that ALMOST have to do with the post or the comment made. ha ha!
    Great post - I like how you rant. Did visiting my blog have anything to do with this post???? :) You're welcome if it did. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. JenniferMarch 25, 2011 at 1:26 PM

    Hey Bevy! Yes I love your blog. :) It took me 10 minutes to find the subscribe button on my iPhone, but I found it!! Lol.
    That's interesting that you get a lot of spam. I never have, but then again I'm not very popular (yet!). Good to know. I guess the captcha is only annoying on an iPhone that corrects spelling. Lol. On a computer it's not bad.
    Maybe I should write a post explaining RSS. It basically grabs all the new updates from all the blogs you read and puts them all in one place so you don't have to check each site every day to see if they've got a new post. You still have to go to the person's blog to make comments though.

    ReplyDelete
  5. pamMarch 26, 2011 at 8:13 AM

    I agree with all of the above...the thing I hate the most is not being able to find the follow button....
    I also love the comments..it tells me more about who people are writing for...
    good post

    ReplyDelete
  6. JenniferMarch 26, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    Oh yeah! Comments! I forgot about those. I do find new blogs that way, too. Good observation. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. elleMarch 28, 2011 at 12:28 AM

    hehe,this actually gave me lots to think about, as a new blogger I need all the help I can get ;)

    ReplyDelete

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