Tips on Designing Your Blog

Blogs have become a huge source for internet publishing. In fact Time magazine has named their person of the year for 2006, all the people who add content on the internet. With so many people publishing their own personal Blogs today, the design and layout is becoming even more important in order to attract visitors to your publication. Many internet companies have also started blogs to inform consumers on the latest product news and reviews.Because of this blogs are also being used as a form of internet marketing media. Before the blog came along and got so popular, internet marketing was done by adding banners and links on the busier websites that would direct traffic to the advertisers site. Links were also sent along with e-mails to people on mailing lists. Many more people today are reading blogs. People read their favorite authors blogs, their friends, various topics of interest, even blogs on product reviews. Some people are even relying on them to get the latest news. Although not the best source for news reporting, blogs are a great place for product reviews. Many of the reviews on products are done by someone who is being paid to write a good one. With blogs you can usally get an actual review by someone who owns and uses the product. This way it will be an honest opinion by someone who has nothing to gain by telling you their experience with that product. With the volume of people reading and publishing them, blogs are becoming a wonderful way to market products and services. As the blog traffic increases, so do the sales for these products and services. As I mentioned in previous articles on blogging (creating your own blog, getting more traffic to your blog) getting traffic to your blog is the key. Not only will more people read your post, but you'll increase the chance for clicks on the Google Adsense ads placed on your blog.

In addition to including good, informative, or amusing content in your blog and constantly updating them, a good design and layout will assist in getting that traffic. The design and layout play a big role. Most of the free blogging host sites (blogger.com etc.) have a selection of preset templates you can use for your blog. However some of these sites allow you to customize the template. When done the right way it can make a big difference in the number of views you get. It is important to make your blog stand out from the design and layout side. There are millions of blogs available on the internet. Most of them are done with a preset template. Typically these designs are very generic at best. So with that in mind, here are some ideas to help you personalize your blog.

1) Use a Custom Banner- As I said, most of the preset designs are generic looking. Use a blogging host site that allows you to customize the layout. Add a graphic with the dimensions of the banner. Also if you want, it wouldn't be a bad idea to edit the graphic so it will include the title to your blog in it. If you don't know how, or frankly don't want to take the time to create your own, pro graphics can be purchased on-line cheap. Maybe, $10 or so.

2) Add Photos- More and more blogs today have photos in them. A picture is worth a thousand words! You'll want to use mostly your own photos, the more original the better. That being said, don't be generic in the way you do this. Feel free to customize them. I'm sure most of you have seen just how different one website can look in comparison to another. Color and graphics make all the difference in the world. Your content, if good will keep them reading and coming back, but the title and the graphics will attract them in the first place. So before you post photos, maximize them, get the full benefit from them. For instance, try putting a border around the photo. This will make it stand out. Even a standard border can add a lot to the end result. Once again, feel free to customize it all you want.

3) Skins, Templates, Backrounds, Textures and Layouts - As we discussed, most blogging host sites offer generic preset templates for your blog. For the sole purpose of being different than the millions of blogs already on the net, you'll want to customize the template. Even if you don't have the know how, time, or desire to design your own, you can still use a custom layout. There are many websites out there that offer free blog templates, skins, backrounds, textures and even layouts. Even if you want to design your own, it's a good idea to check out some of these. You will be able to use these tools to create blogs that won't even slightly resemble the typical generic looking blogs on the net. Make sure you use a blogging host site that allows you to customize the templates etc..

4) Use a Favicon - You know those websites you go to that have that little icon in front of the URL on the address bar. Pretty Cool! No reason you can't put an icon in front of your blog URL. Adding a favicon will give your blog that professional look. It's easy to do. All you need is some graphic or photo editing software.

5) Add Audio to your Blog - Want to be even more unique? Put an Mp3 file or streaming audio (radio station) that loads with your blog. Talk about personalizing your blog! That will keep them coming back.

6) RSS Feeds - Add an RSS feed to your blog. People that are news readers use these. This will inform them of your new blog headlines. If your unsure how to do this, no sweat, go on-line and check out a tutorial. Won't cost you anything but a little time.

7) Google Adsense Ads - Set up a free google adsense account so you can put ads on your blog that will bring in money everytime someone clicks on them. Google will walk you through the whole process. They have one of the best video tutorials there is. They will pick ads that match your content. Make sure you pick the blend in feature on the ads. You can use different colors and sizes on the ads. I recommend having the ads blend in with the scheme of your blog so the ads don't look crappy. And what ever you do, don't put to many ads on any one blog. You'll look to much like an advertiser and risk turning people off.

Even if you only use a couple of these ideas, you'll be putting out a product that has it's own look. With all the millions of blogs on-line today, the last thing you want, is to look like everybody else. Have Fun!