I have a blog. Maybe you do too. My blog happens to have recently had a Lent-related explosion of popularity. But don't worry, I'm not going to get too big for my britches. I'm not even going to talk about my blog today. Today, I'm going to tell you the things I love about YOUR blog.
1. It Has Content
Maybe some days your blog is about your field trip to the cracker factory or a bunch of pictures of a particularly crazy bug you saw, but it's not ALWAYS about that. Your blog isn't all mashed potatoes, it's also meat. You write content. You share your opinions.
I don't have to always agree with you. Sometimes it's even better if I don't. If I always agree with you, when I comment it has to be something like "Awesome, this is so great." When I don't agree with you, I get to try to craft the perfect comment that will change your whole worldview and entertain you while doing it. So fun.
Sometimes you share reviews and giveaways with your readers, but those aren't the majority of your posts. When I click over to your blog, I know I'm going to get to read something worth reading.
2. It Doesn't Hate Comments
Speaking of comments . . . Captcha. How I do hate thee. I'll carefully two-finger type out one of those finely crafted comments mentioned above, hit publish, then -- BAM. I have to prove I'm not a robot. I already wrote a WHOLE POST proving that I'm not a robot. I don't think I should have to squint at those dumb little numbers.
So then I have to decide, do I take a stand against captcha and just navigate away? Do I teach that blog a lesson it'll never know about? But what if I really LIKE my comment?
YOU don't do that to me. YOU understand that I don't need that kind of angst. You are willing to put up with the spam comments, because you are a BLOGGER and that's what bloggers do.
Pro tip (because I like you so much): ever since I disabled anonymous comments I get almost NO spam. It's an extra step for people once, to sign up for an account, but then it's all one step commenting after that.
3. It Makes Me Feel Connected to You
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| Look! It's my friend Bonnie! |
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| Yay! It's my friend Haley! |
I really, really, really (did I mention, really?) like that you don't have cutesy nicknames for your kids. If your children are named Pete, and Susie, and Peggy, I think it's really swell if you call them Pete, and Susie, and Peggy on your blog. I'm okay with you calling them Steve, and Clara, and Katie on your blog. I'm fine with you just not mentioning them, if that's not the kind of blog you write.
I'm just so very glad that you understand how awkward it is for your readers if you insist upon calling them The Conductor, and Smarty Pants, and Miss Wigglebottom. I just. I just can't write those "names" in a comment.
I'm so glad there are no walls between us.
4. It's Nice to Look At
I like that your blog is uncluttered. It has some some open space. Your sidebars aren't crammed full of pictures of other people's blogs and buttons for blog awards that are really just chain letters. You have some ads if you must. You grab a button or two for a favorite link-up. You display an award of which you are particularly proud (I do) but overall, you have a professional, uncluttered look.
You would never randomly center your text. You know that centered text is disconcerting and hard to read. Your posts have a readable font, short paragraphs, uniform formatting, and are illustrated with something. Your own photos, memes, whatever. Reading nothing but words seems like homework.
5. It Displays a Certain
Command of the Written Word
Proofreading. You do it. You ask someone else to read it. Maybe you even sit on it for a day before you hit publish. But you don't write posts full of errors. Because that would drive people nuts.
But I know how hard you try to write well and to avoid spelling and punctuation errors. I appreciate your efforts.
By the way, I realize that typing this paragraph virtually guarantees that there are spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors in this post. It would be lovely if you would email me to point them out.
By the way, I realize that typing this paragraph virtually guarantees that there are spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors in this post. It would be lovely if you would email me to point them out.
6. It Appears to be Written by a Lady
Some folks seem to feel the need to prove to the world that they're not just one of those lame Catholic Mom Bloggers by peppering their posts with . . .
You're not like that. Your sophisticated command of the English language means you have thousands, nay, tens of thousands of words at your disposal. I love reading all of them.
Also, you almost never tell stories about poop.
Also, you almost never tell stories about poop.
7. It's Fun
This is probably what I love the most about your blog. Maybe it's laugh out loud funny, or maybe it's just sweet. But it never takes itself too seriously.
You know how to discuss important topics without weighing them down. You know that just because practicing our faith and raising our families are the most important things we'll probably ever do doesn't mean we have to be big ol' downers about it.
You know how to discuss important topics without weighing them down. You know that just because practicing our faith and raising our families are the most important things we'll probably ever do doesn't mean we have to be big ol' downers about it.
So that's it. That's why I love your blog. Keep up the good work.
For more blogging advice, check out what Bonnie and Grace have to say on the subject. And for more Quick Takes, visit Jen at Conversion Diary.