The 15 Day Book Bloggers Challenge hosted by April @ Good Books and Good Wine. Day 8 in the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge is about blog appeal. Here's a quick list of what appeals to me when checking out other blogs...
- 1) Easy to read - I don't hate the black backgrounds with white writing like many people out there, but add to that a hard-to-read font and it really can hurt your eyes. A page that's easy on the eyes is good for all--granted my page isn't everything I want it to be either.
- 2) Tips and Tricks post(s) - I don't personally feel qualified to give out in-depth tips and tricks, but I sure do love when other bloggers do. Share the information love.
- 3) I like participating in memes and I enjoy cover reveals, but if that's all I see a blog doing I typically skip it. So I guess the point here is original content, even if it's just reviews.
- 4) Cool graphics. I've got to say that I'm totally not good at this. Any original graphic on my blog has been created by my husband, and while I totally love him and appreciate him for doing this for me, it takes time and it'd be so much easier if I could do them myself. So I totally respect anyone who can put together some awesome graphics.
- 5) A rating system. I know there's a lot of debate about this. And I truly understand how hard it can be to assign a 1 to 5 rating for each book, but I don't typically read reviews of books that I want to read before reading said book--I don't want your opinion to influence my own. So if I can scroll to your rating that gives me a quick and easy idea of whether you enjoyed it or not.
- 6) NO CAPTCHA!!!!! I cannot stress this enough. I hate CAPTCHA. Especially if I'm trying to participate in a meme and am visiting and commenting on other people's blogs several in a row. It's so frustrating to come across word verification tests on blog after blog. Do yourself and your commenters a favor and remove captcha from your blog. If you need help, message me I'll be happy to assist.
- 7) Sites with their mobile versions turned on. I work, people. And while I do have internet access at work, that stuff is monitored. I'm not about to go blog browsing on the company's computer. I will, however, browse occasionally and briefly using my cellphone.
- 8) Positivity. So I know that's not exactly a word, and while I do appreciate negative reviews, I write negative reviews when necessary, and they definitely serve a purpose...just as much as rating every book 5 stars is not constructive neither is rating every book 1 and 2 stars. If I feel negativity exuding from your blog, I'm not bound to stick around. It's hard to quantify this, but I know it when I see it. If you blog to complain, then well...I've got my own problems.
- 9) Easy to find and multiple ways to follow. Each reader has their own preferences for how they want to keep up with you. My top favorite blogs I follow by email, but I can't follow EVERY blog by email because there are just too many. But I usually follow using a variety of methods so I can keep up without being overwhelmed. If I can't find how to follow you...well I'm not going to try that hard, and I don't like to be pigeon-holed into one or two options either.
- 10) Short to medium length post. I know I'm probably contradictory to this because my SNL tells me that my reviews can be rather lengthy. So I get how it can be hard to cull the information, but if a post or a review is too long, chances are, I'm not going to read the whole thing.
- 11) Commenting systems like CommentLuv or Disqus. This isn't a requirement, but I really do like how these systems alert me when someone has replied to a comment I left on their blog, and it's the reason why I added Disqus to my blog--I wanted my commenters to know when I've replied to them. Let's have a conversation.
- 12) Proper grammar. I know I struggle with this, and everyone has typos every now and then. But if your site runs rampant with grammatical mistakes, chances aren't good that your site will become a favorite of mine.
- 13) Opinions remain opinions. Obviously, we all have opinions, and that's exactly what we share on our blogs. Our opinions about all things bookish. But I'm immediately turned off when bloggers present their opinions as FACT or the ONLY opinion. When there is no room for someone else's opinion, I'm probably not going to comment for fear of having my opinion bashed.
- 14) A little bit personal. I like to feel like I'm getting to know the blogger behind a site. I love little life tidbits thrown into the blogs I follow. It's not my favorite when there's more personal posts and content than there is about books. Which leads me to my final point...
- 15) Focus. I prefer blogs that have a specific purpose. I follow multiple types of blogs. I follow home organization and cleaning blogs. I follow beauty/fashion blogs. I mostly follow book blogs. But I don't really like blogs that try to cover it all.
These are by no means "rules." These 15 things are truly only my preferences...things that appeal to me when I'm visiting other blogs. You should always feel free to have your blog be whatever you want it to be. It is afterall, your blog. Truth be told, I had a really hard time coming up with 15 bullet points.
What appeals to you when you visit another site? Let me know!
Great points. I love that Disqus notifies commenters when I reply or when they reply to me, but I just uninstalled it for the last time from my blog because of how many people said they had some difficulty commenting. I'm not familiar with commentluv, maybe I'll check it out instead.
ReplyDeleteI agree about sharing differing opinions! I love when someone comments with a different way of looking at things. I definitely don't need people to agree with me all the time. Actually, I think my closest friends are the ones most likely to be the most brutally. I enjoy a bit of a debate and know the difference between a differing of opinions and an argument.
Donna @ The Happy Booker
I am working on my typos. I have some issues with them. They drive me bonkers when I see them in the finished product.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on Focus. I did see a blog that was about Music/Books but I thought it wasn't so bad because the blogger was really passionate about it and had an easy navigation. Great list!
ReplyDeletehttp://spicedlatte.blogspot.com/2013/07/15-days-challenge-day-8-what-appeals.html
I adore disqus and I don't think I will be moving away anytime soon!
ReplyDeleteYou it jackpot with the close minded opinions, they just drag you down specially if they come from a fellow blogger you really like to read.
Focus is a really important issue I think most of the time people confuse it with standing out but it's more of the dog with two bones kind of scenario.
#7 - It makes checking out blogs so much easier when they do have mobile versions turned on. And do you know how difficult it is to click the x in a popup window on my phone? The x is the size of a pinhead!
ReplyDelete#15 - Agree. Pick something and stick with it. I like to know what I'm getting into.
Oh no! I haven't had anyone contact me about not being able to comment. But that would definitely be something I'd have to consider if they did. Definitely check out CommentLuv. Maybe it'll be the perfect solution for you.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, there's a huge difference between debate and trying to force an opinion on someone else. It's so crucial to know the difference.
Hehe...we all have them. My struggle is spelling. I've never been the best speller. Just spell it how it sounds, you know. But I completely agree, I can't tell you how many times I've read a post that has gone live on my blog and found errors. I almost go into panic mode to get them corrected. And goodness help me if I'm at work when I see it and have to wait all day until I can get home and get on my computer.
ReplyDeleteSome blogs are able to incorporate two things that are similar, but I still prefer ones with a more narrow focus. Just a personal preference of mine.
ReplyDeleteMe too. Disqus has really taken my comments and the way I respond to them to a whole new level.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, there's nothing worse than seeing one of the bloggers you regularly follow do something like that.
A dog with two bones...that's the perfect analogy!
AMEN! Or trying to view their whole blog and constantly having to sweep back and forth--I just give up at that point. If the mobile version isn't turned on, I'm not checking it from my phone. Great point.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
I've been thinking of adding Disqus but was worried that some people might not want to sign up for it. I personally love it for commenting. I have loved reading all the posts from this challenge. Wish I would have caught it at the beginning, maybe next time.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had anyone contact me about having trouble commenting because of Disqus, and I truly love how it fosters conversation unlike Bloggers default commenting system. I recommend it for sure.
ReplyDeleteHey...I say jump on in and participate from here on out. But I totally understand not really having the time to do that at this point. It has been fun though!
I agree with most of your preferences. I definitely like a blog to have a focus, with the occasional branching-out post. Focus means "books," by the way, or "crafts"; I'm perfectly fine with a blog that covers, say, mysteries, fantasy, romance, and YA. (Hey, I write one!) I hate white-on-black; it makes me see stripes when I look away. I like lots of options for following. I'll put up with CAPTCHA, but if spam is a problem I prefer moderated comments. I love the way Discus and CommentLuv encourage conversation, and I'm thinking of adding Discus to my blog. (Or CommentLuv, if I ever get the thing moved onto my own domain.) Postitivity? Definitely. I won't keep going; we're pretty much on the same page!
ReplyDeleteYes that's what I mean by focus as well. The occasional post that's a bit different is okay. And definitely not genre specific blogs too much. I still get SPAM comments using Disqus, but I always have the option to mark them as such without them posting to the blog. Spam comments are annoying, but I'd rather deal with them than have my readers have to enter these stupid word tests every time they try to comment. Plus my eyes aren't really the best and some of those a friggin hard to read.
ReplyDeleteI'd definitely recommend Disqus if you're looking to add a commenting system. I've never used CommentLuv on my site, but I've gotten replies via email from bloggers that use it where I've visited and left comments. It works kind of the same way it seems, but I like the look of Disqus better.
Thanks for stopping by as always!
I've been thinking of adding Disqus but was worried that some people might not want to sign up for it. I personally love it for commenting. I have loved reading all the posts from this challenge. Wish I would have caught it at the beginning, maybe next time.
ReplyDeleteI haven't had anyone contact me about having trouble commenting because of Disqus, and I truly love how it fosters conversation unlike Bloggers default commenting system. I recommend it for sure.
ReplyDeleteHey...I say jump on in and participate from here on out. But I totally understand not really having the time to do that at this point. It has been fun though!