JenOni

It's A Lifestyle!

Spring Your Blog Forward

Spring Your Blog Forward

It’s that time of year again… Time to purge, clean up and reorganize. I had to take a look at my blog and decide what my next steps were to clean up the clutter, correct any issues and update information. Here are a few tips that you can use to keep your blog looking clean, updated and organized. I am still in the process of working through some of these items.

1. Update your “About Me” Page. Try to be generic with the information you give so you’re not constantly updating the page. I use to list my kids ages, now I just say elementary school aged to teenagers in high school. (I have four children ages 7, 15, 17 & 18)

2. Update your links if necessary and remove any broken links from your blog. I have a broken link checker plug-in that keeps me on top of this. The more you stay on top of this, the better so you aren’t deleting or fixing hundreds of links at a time.

3. Change your tweet old posts settings (if you have this plug-in). Up until recently, I still had my holiday blog posts being promoted on Twitter. My settings are scheduled to go back 180 days and tweet those posts. It was time to stop featuring unnecessary “seasonal” content.

4. Switch out your badges in your side bar to networks you are currently working and affiliated with. Always make sure your badges are visible and linking to the correct page. In addition to my side bar, I have a page dedicated to the networks I am affiliated with.

5. Redesign if you wish. I’m not going to redesign my blog right now. I changed my blog design annually my first three years of blogging. I’ve had the same blog design for over two years now. Jael Custom Designs will be 6 in June! Maybe I’ll do it then. **wink**

6. Make sure your tags & categories match your content and branding efforts. I’m a Lifestyle Blogger and my categories fall under Life & Style!

7. Delete SPAM comments! I do this regularly. I don’t like to spend lots of time deleting LOTS of spam comments, so I delete them regularly to cut down on the quantity.

8. If you have changed and a profile picture update is in order, go ahead and update your social media network profile pics and gravatar to update your avatar. You can also take this opportunity to update your social media buttons.

9. SEO is a never ending process. Go back and make sure your posts are optimized for user search. I’m still in the process of doing this for my older posts.

10. Conclusion: Always remember content is king. I’m also a believer of KISS (keep it simple stupid) and ALWAYS… Be you! When you have great content + a good blog deign = a great blog recipe!

Bonus: Oh…Update your plug-ins regularly! Delete plug-ins you aren’t using. If you have too many plug-ins installed it may slow down your blog load time. It’s also a good idea for safety reasons, I’ve heard way too many… My plug-in broke my blog stories!

Happy Spring Your Blog Forward! Feel free to add to the list by sharing what else you would do in the comments. Ciao!

Ten Tips For Teenage Bloggers

Teen Blogging 101

My niece and daughter started blogs a few days ago and enlisted help from me since I have been blogging since 2009. I am very supportive of their new venture but, want to give them some staples to always keep in mind. We have very different personalities and I want them to be ready to deal with anything positive or negative that may come their way online. So here are my Beginning Teen Blogger #101 Tips for them.

1. Be Yourself – Your blog is an extension of you. Let your personality shine through your writing. Don’t be what you think people want you to be, you’ll come off as not being authentic and trust me it will show. There are many opportunities that you may get to meet your readers and you don’t want people to see you as one person online and completely different in person. Like night & day! You want consistency!

2. Moderate Your Comments – Thank my lucky stars I’ve never been in any online altercations on any social media platform but, I know that sometimes people can be cruel and leave nasty comments when they don’t agree with your post or they just might not like you. I have always moderated my comments and I’ll post them for the most part unless it’s totally derogatory or offensive in any way.

3. Be Consistent – If your are going to post 2-3 times a week on specific days about a specific subject matter or theme, continue to do it. Your audience will look for that on a weekly basis and may even message you about when your next post will be published. That’s a loyal reader! Your blog is your brand so whatever you are communicating let it show consistently throughout your blog, even design wise! I know I can help in that department! *wink*

4. Be Social – You’ve started a blog, now what? You need to promote yourself on all your social media platforms to get people back to your blog. Start a conversation on Facebook around your blog post and leave a link. You can also start a Twitter Chat based on your post, create a hashtag and get to it with your friends on Twitter. You can promote that too and tweet out a link to the article the chat is based on. Use Instagram and Pinterest to post pics from your blog and leave the link.

5. NO ONLINE CYBER-BULLYING – This is why comment moderation and being able to block unwanted followers is such a great tool on most social media platforms. Teenagers can sometimes be cruel and you don’t want to be on the receiving end of something like that. I don’t condone bullying in and way and would hope the way you’ve been raised, you wouldn’t participate in a horrible act like that against another person. Much like when talking… you think before you speak, well online you think before you type!

6. Online Etiquette – Be sure to give credit where credit is due! If you use someone else’s photo be sure to credit the photographer. If you use your own photos be sure to watermark it if you’d like credit if someone decides to use your photo. Same goes for blog content. If you share a quote or another bloggers post please be sure to link back to the original blog post. You don’t want any copyright or plagiarism issues. *Also let the person know that you’ve used their photo or content.

7. Have A Strategy In Place – Know why you are blogging and what you hope to gain from this venture. Is it just an online journal? Is it a business in the making? Where do you see yourself in the future with it? Go back to why you started blogging in the first place. What passion ignited your will to want to start a blog. Keep that flame burning throughout your journey. It may change but, you’ll always have some direction if you hold on to it.

8. Know who your readers are – In this case let’s say fashion forward teenagers who love style and like to keep up with the latest trends! you will need to have a blog that reflects that and speaks to your audience. So your blog would not reflect my design or content, I speak to entrepreneurs, mommy bloggers, arts and entertainment bloggers, along with fashion and style bloggers that are more in my age appropriate range.

9. Don’t Get Sucked In – This goes back to having a strategy in place. Use a editorial calendar and plan posts. Choose a day to do your writing and schedule your posts. You can also schedule your social media posts. Spend a few minutes when you have a chance interacting with your online audience but, know when to unplug! As I type this I need to take this advice myself but, this isn’t about me right now! Ha!

10. Be Open to Suggestions and Advice – Be open to creative criticism and don’t take it personal! Know that people will always have an opinion that they are entitled to and you may not always feel the same way, but that’s why we are all beautifully unique. Seek advice from peers and listen to what they have to say and always continuously educate yourself on blog and social media trends. I’ll take you to your first blog conference and I can’t wait! I’ll always be here for you and GOOD LUCK!

So, how did I do? These are just a few things I came up with to tell my niece and daughter and I’m sure as things come up I will share them but, can you think of anything I should add to this list for these budding teenage bloggers?

error: Ask And You Shall Receive!!