You're stumbling on a new blog for the first time. You land on the homepage, but is this blog worth checking out? Does it talk about the topics that interest you?
Maybe you came there for a beauty tutorial you found through a search engine. Was that a one-off post or does this blogger churn out lots of amazing tutorials?
The answers aren't immediately clear, so you click the Back button and mosey along to the next blog on the list.
This happens every single day because so many blogs don't make it crystal clear what they blog about. Can you fix that? You bet.
Challenge: Take 3-5 seconds to look at your homepage with this question in the back of your mind: is it clear – TO SOMEONE NEW – what I blog about?
Why: You only have a few seconds to make a first impression. It's especially hard when your blog name may not give any hints as to what you blog about. But often even a super-obvious blog name needs visual support to make it stick in the visitor's mind.
Lifestyle blogs are often the hardest because they cover so many topics. But you can still highlight your key areas of awesome within those few seconds of a new visitor scanning your site.
The area of your blog before you have to scroll down, aka “above the fold”, is your place to turn haze into clarity. No matter what you blog about, by taking charge of your own “above the fold” atmosphere, what you blog about will be as clear as an ice cube. Yes, ice cube (you know, those fancy clear ones, not the foggy-but-still-useful ones that pop of out your ice machine).
How to Do It
Give your blog a once-over… from the mind of a fresh new reader. One who's never heard of you.
Would YOU know what your blog was about if you were new? Yes? Then well done, friend.
But if your blog's point-of-view is a little lacking, here are a few ways to make what you blog about more obvious (pick 1, 2, 3 or ALL THE THINGS!):
1. Add a tagline.
A tagline gives the reader a little more info about what they’ll get out of your blog. Taglines usually go right beside your blog name or somewhere else within your header.
Depending on other elements in your design and layout, you may or may not even want one. This post can help you decide whether or not to write a tagline.
2. Add top blog categories to your navigation menu.
A quick scan of someone's navigation menu instantly tells me what topics they find most important. What about your navigation bar? Do you have at least a couple of tabs that link to blog posts or pages about certain topics?
If your navigation menu is pretty full, you can either create a secondary menu (like I have on this blog) OR do this little exercise to see which tabs aren't getting clicks.
3. Add an About blurb on your sidebar.
This is hands-down the best way to greet a new visitor to your blog. This typically includes a headshot of you and a short bit of text about you and/or your blog. People love seeing a face behind the “curtain” and it gives you a chance to tell a new reader EXACTLY what your blog is about.
No guessing or assumptions needed.
4. Add a supporting image or graphic element above the fold.
This could either be a part of your blog header OR a design element as part of your sidebar. We process images way quicker than words. So images can instantly provide context or reinforce your blog name. Plus who doesn't want some color on their page?
5. Add a Call-to-Action.
A call-to-action is a word or phrase used to prompt someone to take an action: to subscribe to a newsletter, to follow you on Pinterest, to buy a product, to download a printable. Your call-to-action may be any number of things: a Hello bar, pop-up window, email sign-up field, etc. This can help visitors figure out what your blog is about even if your call-to-action is seemingly unrelated.
For example, my pink Hello Bar at the top of the page encourages visitors to follow me on Pinterest, but reading it gives you a good idea what I blog about (even if you saw nothing else on my page).
Your Turn
Can you figure out what your blog is about at first glance of your site? What changes do you plan on making?
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Hey- I'm Melissa! I'm a mom, side hustler, online course instructor, and brand marketer. I run a 6-figure blog helping online biz owners find their a-ha moments with can-do tips, tutorials, and online courses. I also work at Burt's Bees as the Social Media Strategist (yep, it's as cool as it sounds). Jump start your biz productivity with my free worksheet!
Great article! I have questioned myself on this before. I tend to write about more foodie & fitness topics but I think I need to write more tech/social media topics, which is my love & reflected in my name. Feel free to take a look at my blog & provide feedback. Any tips are greatly appreciated!
Olá Melissa gostei muito do seu post, e concordo quantas vezes eu olho para o meu blog e não gosto da parte estética, principalmente o banner, gostava de ter uma subscrição no topo do blog, não sei, e ter as redes sociais, na horizontal, também no banner, outra que não consigo fazer, uma coisa que nunca consigui fazer foi tags, no blog, e é tão importante.
Não tenho publicado muito, porque este nicho é novo para mim, e ainda ando a aprender, gostava de ganhar dinheiro com o blog, mas até hoje nada, 0, vou passando por aqui, para ver os post, são sempre bons, parabéns.
Beijinhos
Sofia
Figueiredo
this is a good little exercise -thanks for sharing!
If anyone wants to check out mine to see if its obvious to a fresh pair of eyes that would be awesome!
I’m still sort of figuring out what I blog about, but after glancing quickly at mine I think it’s SUPER vague. No wonder no one reads my blog. 🙂 Thanks for the tips, I am going to try them out!
I have a ‘healthy living with Alysia Ehle, PhD’, so I think it’s pretty clear. My nav menu is also very representative! Had me thinking for a minute, though!
Hi Melissa,
I have just had the privilege (well, over an hour ago actually) of meeting you through your informative and witty website. Thank you very much. I must be honest because of course you have just taught me within your own writing skills that honesty can be very refreshing. I hooked up to your sight, I don’t even remember how, now that I’ve gotten so involved, and I almost left it quickly because (get ready, this is the have to be honest part) I’m not the biggest fan of your colors, their just not me. HOWEVER, I quickly realized who cares! I started to see how well your site was layed out, I love your website layout and I went through almost every page seeing how you set stuff up…and somewhere along the way I couldn’t help but start to read many of your posts – really good stuff. Talk about newbie…I have just…no really, just installed prosperandgive.com with Bluehost and can not decide whether to design myself or pay someone to do it? Truth be told, I’m scared. On recommendation I chose the Flatsome theme and have been playing around with it – learning drop and drag – tonights lesson, the UX Builder. Anyway, better later than never… my 57th birthday is Tuesday…and I kept my husband working hard with Boeing :} so I could quit my accounting job and do something fun like blogging. Don’t want to keep you, but wanted to say thanks – and to thank you, really…I bought your book! God bless – I’ll be keeping a learning eye and ear on you. All the best, Christine