Took a while but I made it over here. Great post. I lived the point you raised regarding, “Make your links look the same as regular text”. I see alot of people do that when they’re trying to hide their affiliate link and play it off as though it’s a regular link. I’m one of those people that hovers over those and see what the link links to first before clicking so I’m rarely caught, but it sure is annoying when people do that.

Also, you’re right about the comment thing. Lately I’ve been slow to respond to comments mainly because I’ve been busy but if you don’t take the time to respond to ANY comments at all, then you’re just asking to be hated.

Great post here, Kevin. Have a great weekend.

– Andrew

I’m so glad I took a look at the IBA roundup, I never would have found this post! No wonder you’re so busy! Way to rule the internet, man!

Of course, you’re right on about all of these. The one that made me cringe was the load time, because I know mine’s not great. I need to upgrade my hosting… but I’m not ready to pay more! I have caching and lazy image load and all that, but it’s still not great. Any tips?

Brittany

You have some awesome tips here. #4 really resonated with me. You know what….the last couple of weeks have been incredibly hectic for me (so much so that I wrote a blog post about it!). I had to cut back on SO much for my blogging just to keep my head above water.

However the one thing that I kept up as a priority was to reply to the comments on my blog. I didn’t get around to then returning the favor and commenting on their sites, but I tried my hardest to respond to all the comments in a reasonable time frame. If someone has taken the time to leave a comment, the least I can do is take the time to reply. Besides…how do I know that they are also not having an incredibly hectic week and the only blog they had the time to comment on was mine. It would be pretty disappointing if that comment was ignored don’t you think?!

As for #2, I had to laugh at that one…and yes…out loud!! lol.

Hey Ali,

You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed the post, and that #2 made you laugh. Humor is one of the big elements in my writing (though it was pretty tame in this guest post), so it’s always nice when readers get a chuckle of out a particular line or reference. 🙂

Good luck with the mobile theme! It’s definitely needed in this day and age. For my blog Be A Better Blogger, more than half my readers read my posts on mobile devices now. It’s crazy how fast the number has grown these past 4 months.

Thanks again, Ali. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

– Kevin

Hey Marc,

Agree and agree! I’ve never been a fan of dark-colored or textured backgrounds for text. And I’m probably even less of a fan of posts with no formatting. Unless the post is VERY short, it’s just too difficult to read.

Appreciate you stopping by and commenting, buddy. Hope you have a great weekend!

– Kevin

Hey David,

Glad my post helped you!

I think sponsored posts can work well. I know many bloggers are able to use them to earn income, and without impacting the experience for their readers. Hopefully those businesses go for the idea!

Don’t be afraid of ads, though. Too many is bad, sure. But depending on how you go about it, it’s possible to include an ad (or two or three) on your site without cluttering your site and annoying your readers. It’s a balancing act, but it can be done.

Good luck! Appreciate the comment, David.

– Kevin

I also want to piggy back on what Internet Local Listings said. I hate reading a blog with spelling and grammatical errors. So I spend A LOT of time reading and re-reading which is why it takes me so long to finish one post…but it’s worth it! Always look forward to your posts. Keep them coming!! Take care of you!

I complETELY disagree. Everyone likes me. Not liking me is like not liking a puppy.

Ok,…a puppy that bites and pees on everything.

Oh alright, so people might not like me…but I don’t like them RIGHT BACK! (so there)

The best we can do is run with our passions and to stay positive and polite. That way, if people DON’T like us, for whatever reason, when (or if) they get vocal, they display their uncouth personality. When I was blogging in the financial sector, my consistent personality online prompted my followers to rally and defend me. Many times I would sit back and watch the war rage on and my phone would ring with new clients. Go figure.

Here’s one to add to the list Kevin:
Have you done a great job on your site and your posts, but made it darn near impossible for people TO follow you? Try getting an email saying, “I thought your blog was great, but you pissed me off for not having a sign up!”

Uh,….okay?

Go with the flow and document as you go, that’s my “Don’t be permanently stupid” mantra at present.

Just my buck fifty.
-Jaime Buckley

On Sunday I had a column printed in The Oregonian, Oregon’s biggest paper, and now I’m getting emails from businesses about running ads.

You confirmed my feeling that ads are money, but also clutter. Don’t want to turn them away, so I’m thinking of offering sponsorships or sponsored posts. Maybe a combination of sponsorship and a place on the blog roll?

Thanks for the heads up.

David

Hi Renard,

Wow, you’re just too kind! Appreciate that, Renard. I’m glad to have you as a regular reader on Be A Better Blogger. Thank you for reading and commenting!

– Kevin

Hey Internet LL,

Yeah, my mom is pretty funny, I have to admit. 🙂

Good addition, and very true. Will some readers overlook poor grammar and misspellings? Sure. But many will run for the hills!

Thanks for the comment!

– Kevin

Kevin’s work is amazing and I visit his site regularly!

Another thing to add (kinda goes without saying, but still, it’s enough of a problem that I feel compelled to mention it) would be to write a post full of grammatical and spelling errors. Nothing screams “unprofessional” like misspelled words and grammar issues.

Appreciate your allowing me to write another guest post for your readers. Hope everyone enjoys it!

– Kevin

IN the past i saw many “bad blog” had great PR ! You say nobody lke them, but usualy, child do! 😀