Okay, you know, everyone likes to have their own style on their blog. We strive to stand out from the crowd not only with our writing but with our the look and feel of the blog. So why do so many bloggers practically drive their visitors away with bad font choices?

It is frustrating enough when I visit a blog and find the font small. At least when that is the only problem in Firefox I can press the CTRL key and the ‘+’ key to enlarge the type to a size that is easier on the eyes.

When the font owner decides to use colours either on their fonts, or their backgrounds, which don’t contrast well, that I can’t overcome. I have to either choose between straining to read the post or moving on. Often I choose to move on.

You know, as much as we might like and want to use colours to present our text, the easiest to read contrast is black text and white background. In fact, while writing this post I went and had a good look at the text on this blog. In particular I had a hard look at the text at the top of the post where there is a very light blue background before it graduates to white. The text was a very dark grey. I changed it to black, and immediate improvement in the contrast at the top of the post.

On my own blogs I tend to stay away from serif fonts (those are fonts with the little ‘legs’) except for titles, if at all. I notice a lot of bloggers tend to stick to Times Roman (a serif font), I don’t find that the easiest on the eyes for reading but if it is a decent size and well contrasted, it is not a struggle to read. I think that is more a personal preference on my part more than anything else.

So, the bottom line is, if you are going to spend the time and effort to write a post — don’t you want your visitors to be able to enjoy reading it?

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Bloggers!! Think About Your Readers

Found this article over at Build A Better Blog, — Denise met up with Willie Crawford at an affiliate marketing event where he was doing a presentation on driving traffic. While she was listening she jotted down a checklist of traffic generation tips. It is a checklist and one well worth taking note of. You should also take the time to prowl through the comments and find some more tips to add to the list.

Don’t forget to check out the link to Willie Crawford’s blog either. He’s top notch at teaching others how to do Internet Marketing.

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21 Traffic Driving Tips

I’m not a fan of video products. They can have their value if they are really well done and used to illustrate confusing concepts in a simple, easily understood manner. Videos for the sake of video instead of writing really well presented content is just an irritation.

In the last few years many of the biggest online marketers have trumpeted video as the one true way to effectively market to your customers. Those who weren’t into producing videos and video products were allegedly doomed to fail. I seriously doubted that assertion but occasionally wavered and wondered if I was being a bit too stubborn.

Today I came across this:

What might surprise you is that in our experience, most people simply prefer text and images over video content.

A few weeks ago we sent out a survey to about 36,000 people. We asked a bunch of questions, including whether or not they would prefer their content in text or video format.

The surprising result was that nearly 3 times as many people said they preferred text and screenshots over video. In the “other thoughts” group, most people made the comment that it depended upon the subject matter. They said that video should be used where appropriate only.

This was in an article, If You Don’t Do Video, Will You Fail?, by Jay Stockwell at Associate Programs. The Associate Programs is a well established and respected site. I’m glad to see someone speaking up that video is not the be all and end all of online marketing.

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Hope for Non-Video Marketing Fans

Today I finally got around to reading some articles I’d tucked away for a future time. Mostly because I’ve been too busy for my own good. One of those articles was on the Associate Program site, hosted by Allan Gardyne. Sally Evans has written an excellen article on improving your productivity and writing your blog posts. Her hints could be applied to any writing really.

Her twenty-three points include:

1. Work when you are at your best.
2. Walk or do something similar before you get going
3. Get distractions out of the way
4. Stay hydrated
5. Set a timer
6. Schedule breaks
7. Glue your butt to that chair
8. Avoid the internet trap
9. Get unplugged
10. Get better with search
11. Be prepared
12. Start wherever you want to
13. Use your unscheduled breaks
14. Rewards yourself
15. Start writing — any writing
16. Resist the temptation to format copy too early.
17. Stay free
18. Choose a specific subtopic
19. Start small and build
20. Keep your “copy orphans”
21. Think about your next post as your finish the current one.
22. Print your post and read it aloud.
23. Get someone else to read it for you

If you want to see details on the above points, you’ll need to go read the article here. While you are there, take the time to read the comments. There are some more gems hidden there.

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Maximize Productivity With Blog Post Writing

I’ve added new items to the Resources page today. Among them are links to articles that I believe are worth reading and maybe more than once. They are:

• 13 Great WordPress Speed Tips & Tricks for MAX Performance — Noupe
• How To Use Twitter To Leverage Your Blog — Twittercism
• The Art of Writing Great Twitter Headlines — Copyblogger
• Writing Headlines That Get Results — Copyblogger

Remember, if you have a resource you think should be on the list, leave me a comment on the Resources page.

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New Resources Added

Most people start blogging as a hobbies and a way to share their interest with friends and others on the web. Still others start their blogs as a source of income tight from the get go.

In order to generate income from your blog or website, you need to generate traffic. The greater the traffic, the greater effect your monetizing will have. You also need to approach monetizing with care. You want visitors drawn into the site for what you offer, not turned off by your monetizing.
When to Start Monetizing

Many are the debates online as to when to start monetizing your blog. Some feel you need to carry some authority as a blogger before you do so, others feel you should begin as you mean to go on.

Some believe if you start right off monetizing then your visitors wont stick around because they will think you are just an advertising blog. Others argue that providing good quality content will not only keep your visitors but will attract others.

Some argue that if you wait until later to monetize that your visitors will not be happy when you do introduce it and will leave you. If you are providing quality content, that shouldn’t make a difference. Others suggest waiting until you have developed a following gives you greater leverage in dealing with advertizing networks.

The bottom line is, the choice is yours.

Your Primary Focus Needs to Be Visitors

Regardless of the approach you take to monetizing your blog, you still need to focus on creating a good flow of visitors to your blog. You’ll want to be sure you have effectively engaged search engine optimization (SEO). Ideally, you should be shooting for a minimum of 500+ unique visitors per day.

As your traffic flow increases, the dollars will follow. Avoid purchasing traffic, it is usually short lived. You’ll be able to convert a few of those you’ve paid money for into regular visitors but the return on investment is usually pretty low.

Shoot for developing responsive traffic. Traffic that shows up when you post, engages in communication and responds to your message.

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When to Monetize Your Blog?