Aesthetics & Best Practices for Blogging

The universal reality that appearance is important remains just as prevalent in blogging as it does in other sectors. Here are some tips on how to not drive readers away by utilizing the best practices for blogging: 1) Use minimalist styling - Don’t overcrowd your pages with messy backgrounds or overly dramatic fonts and styling. Make sure your blog is soothing to the eyes by maintaining clean lines, simple formatting and neutral background colors. 2) Organize it - People should be able to do a quick scan and get an accurate feel for the information you are providing. Employ bullets, numbered lists, bolded titles, subtitles and indentation to organize the information. 3) Use pictures and visuals - Take it back to 3rd grade when picture books were your favorite. However, be aware that there is a fine line between visually appealing and visually overwhelming. This is not your Myspace page so it shouldn’t take a long time for visitors to load the page. In addition, the visuals should not compete with the data on your page, but rather should be relevant complements. 4) Use variety - Using the same format over and over can eventually bore your devoted readers. So mix it up in terms of both content and style. Don’t be afraid to take risks in your blogging and write about peripheral topics that will get your readers thinking. If you fail, your readers will let you know and you can adjust accordingly. If you succeed, you might tap into a new and rejuvenated audience. 5) Make it accessible - Most importantly, make sure you know your readers and try to become their go-to resource. Help them get the information they are seeking quickly and easily. Don’t bombard them with blinking or pop-up ads. Don’t mislead or confuse them. Be an ethical blogger and keep your overall positioning strategy in mind when writing.