Every time I go stumbling around the blogosphere I always come home scratching my head. I guess that's better than coming home black and blue, toothless or pregnant! Today, I discovered the 7 Deadly Sins To Ensure People Won't Follow Your Blog. After leaving a brief comment for Carol Graham, blog author of Battered Hope, I immediately came rushing home to see how guilty I am of these 7 deadly sins. According to Carol, the following are 7 common blogging mistakes many of us make:
Sin #7 -- Make sure your blog is very busy. Put as many 'cool' things on your side bar as you can fit. Put all your awards and badges there as well. Lots of ads work too. The busier it is, the less people will see the 'meat' of your post.
[My meat is always easy to spot. Some days it may just be a hotdog with meat by-product and as for cool stuff like badges...everyone must hate me because no one has ever sent me a badge. Maybe I need a booby prize badge for my blog! lol Personally, I'd rather have chocolates and roses from all my admirers, well wishers and readers. Wait! I asked for roses from a secret admirer once and it got me in a world of shit so scratch that idea...just send me a truckload of chocolates instead!]Sin #6 -- Don't put your name anywhere on the blog. Make people search for it. Sometimes, I will go to Facebook or Twitter or an About Me page and still not find an actual NAME.
[I've been called many names in my life, but the one my mother bestowed upon me is Karen (no middle name really and truly and I actually wrote a blog post about it). Mildred Ratched is the horrible nurse from One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. Mildred and the wicked witch from The Wizard of Oz are my all-time favorite female villians.]
Sin #5 -- Use small fonts. This will help eliminate anyone past the age of accountability to read it without having to squint.
Sin #5 -- Use small fonts. This will help eliminate anyone past the age of accountability to read it without having to squint.
[REALLY??? I'd only use small fonts if I was whispering behind someone's back or writing out a contract to sell someone shares in my blog. Does anyone want to buy a few? I can make you a deal you can't refuse!]
Sin #4 -- Center your entire blog post. This makes it almost impossible to read consistently. Your eyes are always trying to find where the next line begins and the last one ended.
Sin #3 -- Use stark white lettering on black (or any very dark) background. This may look great but very difficult to read without getting a headache.
[I've done this in the past, but it did give me a headache so I switched to a white background. Call me a conformist!]
Sin #2 -- Make your paragraphs as long as possible. Or write a multitude of paragraphs without any captions or photos to break up a long post.
[Okay, I know I get a little long-winded at times, but I do post cute pictures or memes amongst my ramblings, don't I?]
Sin #1 -- Don't respond to comments left. Ignore the people that actually took the time to read your post and comment on it.And the best for last .................
[uh oh! I guess I need to be more attentive! No really, I think I do interact with my readers who leave comments, but I'm guilty of not visiting other people's blogs as much as I'd like. Time seems to be the culprit that gets in my way. I truly am sorry for that.]
So after close scrutiny, I think I should get maybe a D or possibly a C for an overall grade based on these 7 deadly sins and I promise to strive to do better in the future. I'll aim for that elusive "A" and all of you can let me know when I get there, okay?
So after close scrutiny, I think I should get maybe a D or possibly a C for an overall grade based on these 7 deadly sins and I promise to strive to do better in the future. I'll aim for that elusive "A" and all of you can let me know when I get there, okay? And I promise to keep my Maine sarcasm from oozing out all over your computer screen in the future! I know how messy it is and how hard it is to wipe clean. All joking aside, our blogs are a reflection of who we are. Yes, we have complete control over their content, but I think most serious bloggers/writers/authors are mindful of the first impression they give their readers and potential readers. After all, isn't it the goal of any writer to have other people read what they write? That is, unless your name is Mildred and then your goal is seeking out people to send you chocolates, but never roses!🤣
*Repost from July 24, 2014
UPDATE: I just visited the link to the 7 Deadly Sins only to find that the comment I had left years ago is gone and that you now have to be a member of her blog to leave a comment. Oh well...