If you write Parts 1, 2 & 3……………
Camping out in blogs today has been very difficult because I couldn’t get to previous posts or I couldn’t get to them easily.
If you write parts 1, 2 & 3, I presume that, logically, I would want to read part 1 before part 2, and parts 1 & 2 before part 3. The posts in our blogs are in reverse chronological order, so when I come to your blog, the first post I’ll see is part 3. Since I really want to read part 1 and 2 first, I’d like a way to actually get to them.
One of the blogs I was at this morning had absolutely no way to go back in time to earlier posts — no links taking me to previous posts, no recent posts list, no calendar, nothing. I got so frustrated that I simply left. I didn’t leave a message because it would have been public and I didn’t want to be critical in public unless it’s on my own blog. Here I can be critical.
I really believe that you can get more followers, more likes, and more comments if you will make it easy for people to visit your blog. There are themes and widgets for everything, so I would suggest a theme and/or widgets that
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show a calendar and the dates on which you posted
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will easily take the reader backward and forward in your blog, usually accomplished by lniked arrows or linked words like “older/previous” and “next”
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shows your most recent posts in reverse chronological order, allowing the reader to simply click on an older post to get there.
This is my opinion, and I’m sticking with it.
Fern Canyon at the San Diego Zoo
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Posted on July 7, 2012, in Opinion, Photos and tagged blogging. Bookmark the permalink. 23 Comments.
Some blogs are absolutely impossible to leave a comment on…and some are impossible to find out how to follow. But I have so many really eanjoyable blogs to follow I don’t really have time to fool around with those that make life hard.
I understand completely, and I found myself today making the decision not to fool around with those that make life hard. I do feel bad, though, because I really do like to visit those who have visited me, and when I get there, I love to camp with a nice campfire, some hot dogs, and a few smores.
Yeah, me too. Some of the ones that are difficult are so intriguing and some so lovely I hate to let them go…but there are so many others that have been wise enough to be welcoming and so I build my campfires there. Only so many hurs in the day.
Now I have to go back and check.
I like your photo. Reminds me of the bird exhibit at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Thats funny, I actually just finished linking all the chapters to a book I’ve been writing on my blog. I’ve previously noted each chapter, but just tonight linked them, and then I read this. — But I’ve also come across blogs on which it is not easy to go from one post to another. There’s a couple on which I seem to have to go back to the “Home” page after each post to choose another. So while we’re on this subject, there’s also a number of bloggers that don’t link their blog (or anything else) from their gravatar page which always surprises me.
I’m with you on those. I so detest having to go back to the home page and then scroll through everything that I’ve already read. Aaaack!
there are some blogs i follow but more than following i like to read different blogs randomly i usually end up liking them but some make it so hard… there was a blog i read somedays ago sorry i forgot the name it had really interesting stories in “part” but it was different the first post anyone reads is part 1 then part2 and so on
Absolutely!
I hope you are not referring to my blog daaaahling! Oh and what is a smore?
Smores: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smores
Oh! Okay – interesting new word for me!
Great tips and suggestions, as always! Thank you, Russel!
Great tips. I’ll have to make sure I’m not doing more of the easy to read features.
great tips Russel, and I need to make sure to follow this advice. You’re right, we work forwards, but most times when a new reader catches a post it’s the end and they’re looking for the beginning…
As you know, I am doing a series but they stand alone and don’t need to be read in chronological order. On the first 7 or so posts in the series, I took the time to provide links to the previous posts. No one clicked on the links so I gave up taking the time to do the links. Do you think I should do it anyway?
Oh, and those widgets you talked about. Are you saying Word Press should make them, or they are there already?
WordPress already has them, either as part of the theme or widgets that are part of the theme.
At my old blogging platform I provided links to previous posts, mainly because it had no widgets and such. WordPress is so much better.
I’m with you on this one, I hate it when there isn’t a next or previous button!!
good feedback, I’m hopeless with all the widgets and thinga-majigs on wordpress so I’m constantly trying to blunder my way through!
I always try to link back to prior posts and keep them within categories, well as I say I try.
I hope you found my blog easy to navigate and that I linked back. I found one where I missed a link recently and it made me very upset with myself. I agree, if you want readers, you need to make it navigable. I know my place can be a little cluttered, but I hope that I keep it clean enough to easily walk around, and find the bathroom when needed. If you did find anything I can tidy up, please please please leave me a suggestion. I really appreciate your visiting and commenting!
I agree! When blogs are difficult to follow I typically avoid them. I don’t like to have to crack a secret code to work my way around blogs, and I hope I’ve made mine user friendly. That said, blogging takes a bit of time to learn the “best ways” to do things, what all the functions are, etc. so it’s always helpful when seasoned bloggers post tips/tricks/pointers. Thanks for doing that with this post!
I’m a seasoned blogger since I’ve been blogging since 2007. However, seasoned with WordPress I am not, which is one of the reasons why I do these types of posts when I find something that I think would be useful to others.
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