All of us takes a big step when we go from being just an average person to blogging. It used to be that blogging was a very simple thing, but competition decides to beat us to it. Because of such competition, bloggers really need to focus on what stands out. For example if you blog uses a plain theme or a theme that can almost be found everywhere, you’re actually putting down your readers. Of course you don’t think that way because some you might think your theme is amazing or your content is too, but that is not the point. Readers are the ones that decide whether you pass or fail. What steps will you take to ensure constant readership?
Finding the perfect content and theme for your blog is more difficult than many of you may think. When I purchased this domain back in September, I didn’t realize how much work I had to put into this blog. Even though I started school in September, I was spending countless hours after class or on the weekend trying to figure out all the nicks and nacks for my blog. The day finally came for me to open this blog when the infamous John “COW” plugged me in a post, which resulted in the opening of this blog a couple days early on November 9, 2007.
Upon opening this blog, I started with a free theme and I received comments about it. The comments were that my theme actually worked well with my content, which of course made me very happy and feel whoozy inside :).
See No Evil
As time went on, I realized that I needed a new theme and some sort of logo. Luckily for me, Claire from SharpWitDesigns and Bruno from LogoSamurai were there to get me going. If you’re new here to my blog, please take a look at the BEFORE and AFTER below:
I actually took a huge step when I plunged towards a new theme to replace my old free one:
Here’s where I’m going to get to the meaning of “See No Evil”. If you’re a blog owner, there are many things that you do not see. These things are what hurts you and your blog because you don’t realize it until someone brings it up. I’m going to use myself as an example so you guys will get the picture. When I received this new theme and put it live on Bloggin-Ads, I had no idea that there were small glitches and errors for certain browsers. Two of my readers, Steve and Jean Costa mentioned that some ad blocking softwares were shifting my header alignments around. Of course I didn’t really care much about it even when there were a few more complaints about it because I see everything perfectly fine.
I later talked to a buddy of mine, Nate Whitehill from Unique Blog Designs, and he recommended me to try BrowserShots.org. What the site does is take screenshots of your blog in various browsers and operating systems. I was then able to pinpoint the problem and realize it with my own eyes.
Remember that you might not be able to see the mistake, but the readers see all. Make sure you ask your viewers (post/e-mail) if there are any problems because I’m sure they’ll be grateful to help you out. Also make sure that when you use a theme, you check for problems first because some viewers might not contact you about it if you don’t ask.
Well that’s it for part 1 of my “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil” series, so stay tuned for part 2 because I’m going to discuss how we should not assume things after hearing about it.
It’s neat to read about the evolution of a blog — I can completely sympathize because I’ve done nothing but work on tweaking layout and design… trying to find the best widgets and plugins. I just made the jump to my own domain and that calls for more work yet again!
It does take an incredible amount of time, but you’ve really created a blog that looks and feels all your own. I just hope I can do the same in time.
And thank you so much for the link to Browser Shots! That is SUCH a big help to me!!
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Hey, Mike!
I’ve been in this industry for a very long time. I am always willing to _offer_ information, yet, it is always up to the developer or corporate marketing folks to decide what is an acceptable amount of, error/misconception. Sometimes, the user is wrong - it depends greatly on _what_ is planned for a brand.
If you are doing something new, prepare to _look_, “wrong” …
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Steve » You’re absolutely right on this point
Aywren » Don’t worry, things do take time, but it all pays off…TRUST me
Thanks for the tip on the browsershots.org
I think your new blog look is definitely much better for your branding, but to be honest I like the look of the earlier on because I like simple looking blogs
But that’s just me … you’re on your way to becoming an A-list blogger so you need the recognition.
Great points Mike. The theme you have now stands out way more than the one you had before.
I would like a new theme, but I can’t visualise how I want it to be, so I think I will do what you did and call upon the expertise of others.
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Traveller » You’re welcome, I’m glad someone took this post useful
CatherineL » Good luck and I’m sure you will have a great new theme
My only complaint about your new look is that it takes forever to load now. Your megahuge picture on top especially … otherwise, all is great
Well,John Cow seems to be a better person than Chow….as he’s helping you to milk money!.That’s cool!!.
Yes,when you give value to your readers,they will always be on the front to help you out with the issues.Very good to hear and it should please you a lot that you had readers’ help from the beginning!!.
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I know for a fact mine is a little messed up so thanks for sharing and I will check out that tip you gve about browsershot.org and see if it can be of help. I like your theme i tink its real nice and neat looking. I especially like the picture.
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