Here they are, ten things that I've found you can do to improve your blog, help get more traffic and build your following. This is just my experience, if you've got something else you know works well, please let me know and I'll add it.
These are in no particular order, they're all important.
1. Good pictures.
If they're blurry, out of focus, too dark or the wrong color, why post them? If you're willing to take the time to snap the pic and then upload it, make sure it's worth looking at.
Nothing kills an article quicker than a bad picture. Pictures also show up in blogrolls where the Blogger has chosen that option (and most everyone does because we are visual people).
2. Write appropriate headlines.
When you sit down to write your headline, you don't get any bonus points for being obscure or funny if nobody gets the joke. Think about your audience... how am I supposed to know you're posting about your new Nurgle Daemon Prince when your headline reads, "This rulz!"
If you make your headlines short and descriptive, you stand a better chance of getting more readers swinging by to check out what you've posted. Sure, it wont be as cool, but by giving a potential reader the information they need when they're making that split second decision on whether or not they should visit, they may just stop in for a second.
3. Clean up your text.
Nobody likes to look at a wall of text. Try and add line breaks and space between paragraphs to give the reader a visual break and add some white space.
In this day and age, a wall of text is almost an instant turn off. Pictures spread throughout your post help and if you've got something like a story, think about making it into a multiple post thing where each one is smaller.
If I look at your post and it's all text that I have to scroll through for 40 minutes to get to the end, I'll say to myself "I'll come back later."
And I never do.
4. Proper spllling and grmmer.
Proofread you're stuff. it's understandeble to miss something her or there, but when every sentence has got an issu, most reeders wont make it past the opening paragraf if i have to work to figure out what it is you're trying to say in your post i'll just go someplace else and look at something i can read without needing a decoder ring.
Same thing goes for chat speek, texting, smilieys and all that kind of junk. Keep in mind, people come to 40k blogs looking for something more that what they can find everywhere else on the internet.
5. Links.
Clean them up. It's simple formatting to add that little bit of text that better describes the link instead of just posting the link itself. Nothing says you're lazy more than that.
Like pictures, if you're going to take the time to copy it and include it, let me know what it's to. Just don't throw it at me and hope I figure it out.
The moment I need to start working to figure out what it is you're writing about is the moment I go someplace else.
6. Give credit where credit is due.
If you use something that's not yours, give the Author credit. If you get an idea from someone else, give them credit. Nobody works in a bubble. In this day and age, we are all connected.
7. Respond to comments.
When I post a comment on someone's blog, I make it a point to subscribe to all comments on that post by email. This way I can see if the Author responds to my comment if I asked a question. If you want comments on your blog, you have to be willing to interact with the readers who comment on your blog.
8. Contact Me.
If you have no way for your readers to get ahold of you, then don't be suprised when nobody contacts you. You may not want the communication, who knows.
But that guy who found your blog for the first time, who loves your army and has a couple of questions and wants to email you about it... and can't... probably wont come back. It amazes me how hard it is to get ahold of people who want you to talk to them.
9. Navigate.
If you've got something on your blog that you want to share with readers, make it easy to find. Things like your tutorials, downloads, etc.
If you hide them, don't expect readers to go digging through your site in search of them when they can go someplace else where all that stuff is easy to find.
10. Work at it, regularly.
If your blog looks dead because you don't keep things updated or fixed, there's a good chance I won't be back. If you want me to invest time in your site, I want to know that you are too.
You don't need to have the latest template or features, just make sure things are working and kept up to date.
It doesn't take long once you look at blog to see just how much the Author is invested in it, and that's usually the amount the readers will be too.
Hope some of these help, I've learned most of these hard way and I figured I'd save some of you guys the headaches.
