When you’re trying to get new followers interested in your blog, you may be tempted to go with a gimmicky topic focus, or a flashy website theme, or try to pile on as much information about your blog on the homepage or in a FAQ area as possible. But, that actually that might deter readers, rather than attract them.
There are a few things that you should always try to put on your blog’s homepage. Or, in the case of a subscription-based content platform like ConnectPal, on your ConnectPal page. There’s also information you should avoid putting on your blog’s homepage or a very public profile, mostly for safety reasons.
For starters, your blog needs a great title or headline that sets it apart from other blogs like it. You should try to catch a reader with an interesting title from the get-go if possible. For instance, on Alex Debogorski’s ConnectPal profile, right at the top, the headline reads: Alex Debogorski The Original Ice Road Trucker. That tells people exactly who he is and makes readers want to learn more.
Bloggers should also try to make use of images or videos if possible. Visual content is incredibly important in any sort of digital marketing these days, and really, when you’re trying to get more people to read your blog, you’re ultimately marketing the content and your blog to them. Make the visuals count.
Your blog homepage should also have an accessible site menu, or other easy ways to access the other content on your blog. You don’t want to frustrate readers away by making exploration of your content complicated.
Possibly the most important piece of information you should include on your blog’s homepage is what exactly your readers can expect from your blog or ConnectPal page. What are you all about? What sort of content can they expect to read there? Tell your readers who you are, or at least what you have to offer on your blog.
There are other, more advanced guidelines about what you should include on your blog, but these tips should get you started.
Let’s go over a few things you shouldn’t include on your blog’s homepage or public profile page.
You’ll have to make a decision early on about whether you want your name and contact information featured on your blog. For some, this is important to get work or to be contacted to provide expertise on a topic. But it’s a good idea to limit the specifics of your contact info as much as you can, to avoid possible harassment.
You should also never include any information that you use as part of any security prompts, on your devices or any websites you use. You might think that cute story about your Grandma is relatable to your readers, but a determined hacker could take note of her name and use it to login to an account that you have protected with a security prompt that involves your mother’s maiden name, for instance.
Those are just a few of the tips of what you should and shouldn’t include on your blog homepage or on a locked content platform landing page. Happy blogging.
