It’s common that once you start reading around the blogosphere, you will find trends that others have been partaking in on their blogs and you may want to get in on it. You learn things people are doing to make their blog better, and more “error free” if you will.
On blogs just like this one, writing tips are provided to help you become a better writer. The typical tip would usually consist of big trends that are going on around every blog. Tips like “use short paragraphs when you write,” “write about multiple topics,” and of course, posts consisting of fixing common writing problems.
If you have been blogging for a while, you should probably have a rough idea of what things you should and should not do while writing a blog post. But believe it or not, whether you know it or not, there are still quite a few things you have on your blog that are hurting it that you don’t realize.
While no blogger is perfect when it comes to writing, I think some of the things I point out below will help some people tidy up their posts a little bit and really do some thinking about every aspect of their writing.
1. Putting a date on your posts
A post published in 2006 that still has relevancy today. How many would read it with that date on it still?
A few weeks ago, I decided that it would be best to remove the dates on all of the posts here at Blogussion. A few people had actually asked me why I did it, and I have been trying to answer it in a blog post for a while now. Here’s my answer.
Over time, dates make blog posts seem unappealing to others. Search engine traffic, which should be a large source of your traffic stream had a huge impact on my decision to do this. When people go on Google and search for a keyword, they hit a blog post that may have been written December 2008. They see the date on it, and just because it’s old – it looks out of date. Maybe the content was out of date, and maybe it wasn’t. The posts I try to write here are timeless, meaning they will always be relevant.
So with search engine traffic hopefully being a large source of traffic for you, is it really worth people seeing old content, but leaving just because it was posted months ago?
If you use the Thesis theme, removing the date from your byline is extremely simple. Just navigate to the Thesis Options page, and toggle off the option to display dates in your byline.
If you don’t use Thesis, look for a line similar to this one in your index.php and single.php file and remove it:
<?php the_date (‘F, j, Y’); ?>
2. Take better care of your first paragraph
Your first paragraph is your most important paragraph in your article. Besides having a great headline to peak someone’s interest, your opener needs to be just as interesting and as attention grabbing as your headline.
Developing a hook, or something you have to say that is very interesting is important. Usually a hook is one sentence, and just has something that grabs a readers attention. They’re not easy to create, but they are incredibly important.
If there are any paragraphs you want to keep short in your post, it’s the opening one. Get to the point immediately in it, and keep it short. Have fun with it, but don’t go over the top.
One thing that makes an opening paragraph look great are drop caps, or a big first letter. It makes the paragraph look a lot more appealing, and very professional. I use it on all of my blogs since I use Thesis, and I think it just makes the posts look even more beautiful. I explained how to create and use a drop cap in a past post on HTML tags you can use to enhance your post structure.
3. The More Tag
I am still debating with myself as to which is better: using the more tag, or not. Each side comes with its own benefits, and disadvantages. I will not say that using the more tag is bad, or good. Here are the arguments for both sides:
Using the More tag
- Creates less of a scrollbar on your page allowing more people to see more post excerpts.
- It gets users clicking on more pages of your blog, and hopefully learning more.
- Creates more hype around the post, and if your introduction is good enough – you will get the “Continue Reading this post” link clicked a lot more.
Excluding the More Tag
- The full content is shown on the page requiring no clicking and potentially more views.
- More links can get clicked within your post, potentially a big boost for affiliate marketers, or if you just link to old posts a lot.
- Creates a large amount of scrolling on the page which may not be ideal.
So both sides address one main issue: readability. I won’t say that the more tag harms your blog, but one or the other may be better for you. What are your thoughts?
4. Your post structure is too weak
The key to good readability is structure. You have to balance out your posts between paragraphs and headings. Know when to use an unordered list and a numbered list. Large blocks of text are very unappealing, and unless divided by headings, bullets or other styles – won’t get read much.
There is also a thing as going overboard on your different post styles. It’s easy to use too large of a headline for a small block of text when creating a large list. It’s all about balancing things out, and if it gets too crazy, your readers will find it very difficult to read your posts and will stop reading them altogether.
5. Weak Post Footer
The information you put after your post is surprisingly important for the performance of your post. If you don’t know what a post footer is, just finish reading this article, scroll down a tiny bit and you will hit some information like “post highlights” and “recent posts.” That is a post footer, and it is very important to your blog.
A good post footer should contain the following pieces of information:
- A place to subscribe to the RSS feed, follow you on Twitter or just stay connected with you in some form.
- A box that has information about the author. Who you are, what you like, etc.
- A box with posts related to the article so people can read about similar topics and learn more about something.
- Buttons to share the post on social networks or other sites. Here we use the Tweetmeme plugin, and ShareThis.
Resources for creating a nice post footer:
- In “4 Ways I customized my Thesis theme,” I went over how to create a Blogussion like post footer. It is very easily adapted to non Thesis themes as well.
- Matt Langford described how he made his social media box on his theme in his latest blog post.
Did you know?
Did you have any idea about these possible mistakes you were making on your blog? If not, I hope you take them into consideration as you may see some great little improvements on your blog.
I hope you enjoyed the post, see you next time!
Photo by i like
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I will have to disagree with you on removing dates from posts. Your argument might be relevant considering the type of your audience and the traffic you get. But for other magazine “news-like” sites, dates on posts are crucial, as no body wants to read out-dated content. Again it all depends on what type of audience you have.
Akmal Wardak´s last blog ..Thank God. My Eyes Don’t Hurt Anymore When Looking At Google Calendar
I think audience is important. If I am CNN or FoxNews or NYTimes I would want dates on all of my posts. But if I am writing about concepts, strategies, or timeless ideas then the date being removed is a great way to increase pageviews and encourage readers to keep looking at content.
Seth´s last blog ..5 Ways you are Unknowingly Harming Your Posts
Great post Alex. I def like the idea about removing the date, I’m going to possibly do that. I bet another way people unknowingly harm their blog is with a bad theme.
Great post Alex and keep up the great work
Bilal´s last blog ..Interview with Jean, founder of Wprecipes.com
Thanks Bilal, it’s something I am glad I did. Results may vary of course, but it usually doesn’t go that noticed.
Hey, great article Alex. Just wondering…so, after u disable the ‘date’ information on your posts, do you see an increase on people reading your older posts? Or maybe you see more people staying in your site for much longer (in Google Analytics)?
I prefer using the More tag. If you reader or visitor is interested in your article, believe me, they would click “Read More”. There’s no point of providing the whole post (especially if it’s long) on your blog’s home page, because your readers already make up their mind from the first paragraph anyway, whether or not they would enjoy that particular post.
I believe you could use images to break up your post as well. Especially if your article is super long, like Dosh Dosh’s.
Andi | Web Marketer Depot´s last blog ..5 Reasons to Wake Up Early and Start Blogging
I agree with Andi and the “More tag” readers will determine whether they want to continue the post or not within the first 1-2 paragraphs.
Bilal´s last blog ..Interview with Jean, founder of Wprecipes.com
That’s actually a good question, I may need to look into it. I doubt much of a change would occur since what was changed is so little.
Great post, Alex. I especially agree with your pointers about the first paragraph. If I start reading an article and the first few sentences bore me, I’m not likely to finish the article! Also, thanks for the shoutout!
Matt Langford´s last blog ..How to Make a Cool Social Media Box for Thesis
And that is exactly why you need to take care of the first paragraph!
And no problem man, it’s a great tutorial.
Great post! I’d make the argument that removing the date really depends on your blog’s niche. If you’re in a niche with timeless concepts (like productivity blogs, photography blogs, etc.) then removing the date is definitely a good idea, but in niches where things change quickly (tech blogs, social media blogs, etc.) I think you’re doing your readers a disservice because most of your posts that are more than a year old will be outdated, and the information will mislead your readers. Just my two cents.
Adam Baird´s last blog ..7 Reasons Your Blog Needs A Twitter Presence
You’re dead on Adam, total chaos would start if a blog like TechCrunch removed dates on posts. It all depends on your niche, as you said.
Alex´s last blog ..Young Blogger Interviews #2: Liane from Better Blogging for Bloggers
Seriously, removing the date on your posts is only useful if your posting information that isn’t, well, date related. But a lot of things are: technical information, news, reviews and so on. I don’t want to read an out of date post about a piece of software that no longer works or isn’t supported, for example – having a date gives me an indication as to whether it’s likely to be a timely piece of information.
Some good tips though that I should probably implement myself
David Coveney´s last blog ..A Common-Sense WordPress Security Primer
So basically you’re saying that if you want to remove the date, be in a niche where your content won’t lose its relevancy. It would get hectic to read some blogs and not have a date on them, I agree. Imagine reading CNN without dates, it just wouldn’t work!
Alex´s last blog ..Young Blogger Interviews #2: Liane from Better Blogging for Bloggers
You have a point in showing the date in each post will give kind of old or archive feeling to the reader. Date is good as if you are keeping it as a log (Blog) I guess. However, now blogs are pretty much consider as a normal website.
What do you thing the Blog Archive in the side bar? I know this is not related to blog post.
sjay´s last blog ..Play Google Voice messages in Gmail
Can you reword your question?
Alex´s last blog ..Young Blogger Interviews #2: Liane from Better Blogging for Bloggers
I would always go with more tag as to offer reader less scrolling.. and you say first paragraph must be appealing so if you are making ur first para apealing you can always go with ‘more tag’.
Hami´s last blog ..Listen to Free Bollywood Music On iPhone and iPod Touch
Scrolling has a larger impact on traffic than many people think. It’s not just about what’s above the fold, but how thin the scrollbar is. The tinier the scrollbar, the less appealing the blog looks to me.
Alex´s last blog ..Young Blogger Interviews #2: Liane from Better Blogging for Bloggers
Nice post! I never thought that putting date to your articles was bad for them, thanks for the advice
And the ShareThis button is a nice way to get social media exposure, without the risk of plugins (in Word Press for example).
No problem Arisu, glad you learned something!
Now that’s a really really cool Post..
I guess not many bloggers know things like using the first paragraph the correct way, the correct usage of more-tag !
Enk. | WPPanda´s last blog ..How to Change the Default Gravatar in Wordpress
Really, if you do any kind of writing you should have figured out that the first paragraph should be pretty cunning! But I do see a lot of the more tag being used, and I always find it weird seeing blogs that don’t use the more tag now.
Alex, as a copywriter I particularly appreciate #2, the opening paragraph. It’s the second most important element, after the headline, in determining whether the article gets read or not.
Based on these tips, my blog could definitely do with some improvements. Thanks for sharing.
Paul Hancox, copySnips´s last blog ..How To Earn $0.10 A Word For Your Freelance Writing
Thanks for dropping by Paul! The first paragraph is just so important for any kind of writing you do, so I know I appreciate it as much as you do!
I still confused about the removing of the dates, I think you were right, dates is not imoprtant.
Reza Winandar´s last blog ..5 Tips to Increase the Number of Subscribers for Beginner
Really, if you look over your content, you can determine if what you have been writing still has relevancy today. If the majority of it isn’t, don’t remove the date. It can be tricky, but it’s all up to you!
I really like your point on the weak structure. I used to “free write”. Write, write and don’t stop. However, I found myself getting ‘bloggers block’ often and my articles weren’t of the best quality. Now, I find very useful writing an outline. Writing down the main points and then, sub-points, makes for a nicely structured article that makes a statement and explains it well. Thanks for the great read!
I like to mix the two. I always outline my post, like place the headings, maybe jot down some notes then I go at it. When I write the content, I do like to free write and just dump everything out of my head. Another name I have heard it been called is “speed writing,” and it’s something like you write and write and write without hesitation, then go back later and fix errors and all of that. It works, but when you’re not motivated – it’s extremely difficult.
Absolutely excellent post. I often find myself rambling on for far too long in a lot of my blog posts. I need to remember that people in general don’t have a long attention span. All of your tips are great and I am going to apply them in posts from here on in. Thanks again.
Chris Mollo´s last blog ..My Blog Popularity Is Gaining
I’m really glad you figured something out here Chris! Good luck fixing up your content.
Alex´s last blog ..Young Blogger Interviews #2: Liane from Better Blogging for Bloggers
I say use the More tag. Have confidence in yourself that you can come up with great headlines and opening paragraphs that makes the reader click through to continue reading. The added benefit is that it will help bring your bounce rate down a bit. Cheers.
Lifestyle Design´s last blog ..Be A Lifestyle Design Super Freak: Part 4- Create Vision Boards.
Hmm, I never took the bounce rate into account, but I see what you are trying to say. Thanks for your comment!
Nice post with great tips, however, about putting dates on post, i don’t also put date on my posts but the comment section still carry the date on!
The first paragraph matters alot, many bloggers don’t get much response to their article because many people dropped out of reading their article because the first paragraph was not too convincing for them
Online shop hosting´s last blog ..F.A.Q
True, but I am almost positive the majority of people who read will not go down and read the comments before the article. But, for those who do – there is also an unlikely chance of them noticing the date. Talking about search engine traffic, usually when you are looking for something on Google you stay focused on that and don’t always take dates into consideration, unless you spot something that doesn’t quite fit.
Just a little rambling up there, but I think there is some value in it.
I’m sure you’re right that removing dates will increase click-through, but I personally hate that practice. If a topic is timeless, a date shouldn’t matter. Anyway, my habit is to ignore search results without a date. In fact, I type at least the year into search queries if I’m looking for current information.
Thanks for all your great articles at Blogussion – I’m a fond fan.
You’re right, but not everyone will be aware of the fact that it is a timeless article. The date in some senses is like a headline; if it’s unappealing (i.e: old) then it can immediately kill a readers interest and make them hit the back button in their browser.
Thanks for stopping by! I’m glad you like the blog, and I hope to see you come back and comment some more.
I *hate* reading posts without a date cause you have no idea how old it is and if what it teaches, still applies. I know that you want to write timeless posts, but what if the advice you give here will no longer apply in 2 years because time does change
It also limits you from being able to write anything news-related at all.
Well, I hope you will have great success with removing the date though
Klaus @ TechPatio´s last blog ..Caroline Wozniacki Breasts
You put up a good point, but be honest here – when you are searching for information on a topic like blogging on Google, do you actually read the date before you read the post?
Usually when you search on a search engine, you get fixed into looking for information that you often don’t take things like dates into consideration, of course unless it’s a tech related search, or international news for example.
Excellent point about date. If you write articles that are “timeless” like you said, then date won’t matter. I think that people will look down on a post after some time if it is dated.
Jacob Stoops´s last blog ..Do Executives Really Understand Social Media?
I agree timeless content is really important. No matter the blog, most of your posts need content that is resourceful and therefore timeless.
Seth´s last blog ..5 Ways you are Unknowingly Harming Your Posts
same to me seth
The Pda Blog´s last blog ..WATCH TV ( iida G9 ) : Japanese mobile displays TV and dual time zone
The one thing I took away from this post is to remove the date from the headline. It makes logical sense and has a huge psychological effect on readers searching for your blog. Thank you!
Pete | The Tango Notebook´s last blog ..Tango Shoes Contest – 3 Days Only!
No problem Pete, just make sure your content is timeless and your next post will be relevant in your upcoming posts!
I came back to see what others were saying about removing dates from posts.
I’m not sure that any article about blogging could be considered “timeless” because the Internet, technology, and the way technologies are used, evolve quickly. Even in fields like philosophy and history, which people study from the beginning to the present, it is important to know when a thinker or historical recorder lived – because all thought, bodies of knowledge, and events build on what came before.
Even individuals grow and evolve in their thinking. If I respect your expertise, I want to know what you are saying currently. That doesn’t exclude a possible interest in what you’ve said in the past, but posting without dates comes across as coy manipulation.
alaJoAnn´s last blog ..Ongoing Tour of BWD09 – Found the Best-Designed Site!
When you break it down, maybe every niche has its timeless parts, and the other sections are timeless. Like, I would consider a topic like blog marketing in the “blog about blogging” niche timeless, where something like a list of plugins to maybe not be so relevant in the next months as they can get outdated or replaced.
But, you never really know if content can be timeless to be honest. I mean sure, you can predict it’s relevancy in a month, or even a couple of months – but it’s harder to do in months. I’m sure if you ask people who have been blogging for years about their thoughts on keeping their content relevant over the years, you would be surprised at what they would say.
Mmm..you have point Alex. My blogposts are timeless too. I don’t know what will happen to my blog if I remove the date. What happen to the archive’s url structure? Anyway, I may do this, it makes sense to me now. Thanks for the post, thumbs up btw =)
Blaberize´s last blog ..The Wonderful Wallpapers of World of Warcraft
Thanks for stopping by. Generally your page templates are separated on your blog and shouldn’t have any effect on the dates in the archives page if you remove it from the index.php or single.php file.
Alex´s last blog ..Young Blogger Interviews #2: Liane from Better Blogging for Bloggers
I’ve found that my blog has been doingg better if I keep my posts to 250-300 words. I’ve learned that people don’t want to read longwinded posts. Great post guys!
Chris Mollo´s last blog ..Blog Trashes Iraqi Freedom Veteran On 9/11
Hey, I also remove away my dates too, well… at first it looks kind the strange but when I look back at old post, it seems to me it’s quite fresh and new without the dates. Anyway I wonder how you make the tabs on your post footer for the highlights? That’s a great way to point out stuff to readers.
The Bad Blogger´s last blog ..The Bad Blogger Sunday Sexy Surprises # 4
These are excellent points that you make. I took the dates out also since what I’m writing is never out of date. I believe the only blogs that are truly date sensitive are news blogs or promotional material.
I need to go back and make a “hook” for the first paragraph. Thanks for reminding me.
All the best,
Eren Mckay
Eren Mckay´s last blog ..Noah’s ark birthday party supplies, toys & ideas
I think you have a point by removing dates. I for one sometimes makes my search on Google limited to “past year” so that means I’m date conscious too like everyone else.
ZXT´s last blog ..8 Ways to Improve your Alexa Ranking
Ha! We removed the date from our posts, then put them back again! Maybe time to get rid of them once and for all:)
One thing I do think more people(including me) need to work on is the footer. Often times I find myself speechless when it comes to finishing a post.. Great article!
Igor
Igor Kheifets-IgorHelpsYouSucceed´s last blog ..Free Internet Marketing Sales Training… No Catch?!
I really like the idea of removing article creation date. Will it affect search engine ranking in any ways?
Kardeno´s last blog ..How to install joomla 1.5 patch?
I like the dates, it tells your readers that you are actively posting to your blog, and it forces you in keeping your blog updated with fresh content.
Joseph Mancia´s last blog ..Acme-People-Search Endorses Wealthy Affiliate University