Skip to main content

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!

Comments

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

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

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Don't even try to leave a link in your comment... it will be deleted without warning.

Popular posts from this blog

DIY Art Journal

Hi, my name is Linda and I am a 25 year old law student living in Manhattan. I blog over at My Passion Is... about my life, scrapbooking, DIY crafts, photography, exploring NYC & more. I am honored to be sharing a post with you today on Jen's blog, so thanks for having me! I recently completed a mini album that I made out of a pasta box so I wanted to share a tutorial with you so you could make your own! What you need: empty pasta box [I used a whole foods penne pasta] scrapbook papers & embellishments a single hole punch sturdy tape [like packaging tape] a paper cutter and/or scissors some sort of binding, either binding rings or ribbon First, you are going to flatten out your pasta box. Then you are going to cut it down to two 6x6 squares [or whatever size album you want to make]. If the box doesn’t fit perfectly in those shapes that’s alright, just piece them together using packaging tape to hold the squares together. Once you cover them i

Etsy Giveaway: Desert Rose Knit Shop

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!! 39 comments are entered - if there are any more at a later time added, they will NOT count. ********** Today I'm christening my new(ish) blog with an Etsy giveaway! I'm offering one lucky winner a cabled beanie of their choice ( pick your favorite color !). This giveaway will run for a week - so you have until next Monday, January 23rd, to put your name in the hat. 6 ways to enter: Comment below about which color beanie is your favorite. Subscribe to my blog on Google Friend Connect . Blog about this giveaway on your own blog. " Like " my Facebook fan page . Follow me on Twitter . Tweet about this giveaway. Please leave a separate comment below for each entry. At the end of the contest, I'll use a random number generator to pick the winner!! Here's a look at some of the color options available. Browse other color options over at  my Etsy shop ! ***** Thank you for enteri

Meet a Designer: Stephanie Kubo

I stumbled across a completely fascinating artist today, Stephanie Kubo . Her portfolio doesn't state if she's a working designer, illustrator, etc, but her work is exquisite so I think she fits the bill for including in my Meet a Designer series. Enjoy! (Linking up with Kristen Victoria ).