This guest post is by Bill Post of 123Print.com Business Card Design.
In real estate, first impressions are everything. Even though the color of the front door would be easy and affordable to repaint, it’s one of the first things a potential buyer notices. If your door is red and the buyer doesn’t like it, most likely she isn’t going to bother looking at the interior. Maybe she doesn’t even know why she doesn’t like the house. She’s on to the next one before yours had a chance.
Blog readers are just as finicky as house buyers—not that there’s anything wrong with that. There are simply so many choices in blogs and other online publications that it’s a reader’s market. A blog that doesn’t pass the front door test doesn’t attract readers willing to go farther inside the blog to look around. Think about these four ways to make a first impression with your blog so it becomes a hot property.
Create curb appeal
Junk in the home’s yard, or old and battered features are a quick turn-off.
On a reader’s first drive-by of a blog, they will keep moving if your blog is cluttered with an over-abundance of information or too much distracting formatting. Use a clean and open format that is easy to read and in which important information is easily identifiable. Choose your content selectively. Don’t recycle other people’s used articles. Use fresh and relevant content that is easy to see and access.
Be a good neighbor
Put some rocking chairs on the porch. Invite readers to share, comment, and interact. Ask them questions. Link to and connect with other blogs.
Realtors always advise baking fresh cookies so buyers feel like they’re at home in your house. Do the same for your blog. Make it a welcoming resource and a positive exchange of information that gives readers a sense that they belong. A blog that is all...
