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Make your new readers feel at home
via David Airey :: Graphic and Logo Designer by David Airey on May 04, 2008
When you’ve been publishing blog articles for a while, it can be very easy to forget that many visitors to your website are arriving for the first time. They may not be familiar with your site navigation, and how to make the most of the time spent on your blog.
That’s why it’s a good idea to offer signposts every now and again, to aid deeper navigation. It’s also a good idea to feature your best articles, and I’d recommend creating a new page for this if you have around 100 articles or more (you can see mine in the horizontal navigation bar). If you don’t feel you have enough content for a separate feature, you could always add a popular articles section (as I do in my right-hand sidebar).
When welcoming your new readers, you may also wish to provide some basic information about your blog, and here are a few sample questions you could answer (courtesy of Darren at Problogger).
- Why did you start your blog?
The story of how, when and why you started the blog can help readers connect with you. - How is it designed to be used?
An increasing number of people understand what a blog is and how it operates, but some readers may not, particularly non-tech savvy audiences. Explain concepts like comments and any features you’ve installed that might take a little describing. - How can users connect / subscribe?
Explain how to use RSS or how to subscribe via email. It’s amazing how many people don’t understand this. - How can readers get more involved?
If you have forums or a community area to get readers more involved, highlight them. - Where should readers start?
Point new readers to some starting points to read.
Here are my own answers to the above questions:
- Why did you start your blog?
I initially started to complement my graphic design portfolio. My first blog post was published back in October 2006, so my ‘blogging age’ is around 18 months. Now my blog acts as both a marketing tool, and a great way to connect with like-minded people. - How is it designed to be used?
Primarily as a means for potential clients to browse my past logo designs, and to provide me with information about their design project requirements. It’s also designed as means to document graphic design news and inspiration, with particular emphasis on logo design (which I enjoy more than other creative disciplines). I’m especially pleased when something I’ve published prompts people to communicate through the comment section at the foot of each blog post. It might seem like a small thing, but that interaction has more than kept me writing for 18 months. - How can users connect / subscribe?
I update my website once or twice per week. Sometimes more. To save you checking for new content, you can subscribe for free to receive updates as soon as they’re published. There are two ways to do this; via RSS (which over 4,000 people already do), or by email (currently more than 400 people receive updates in their inboxes). If you’re unsure what RSS is, here’s a nifty video to describe the benefits. - How can readers get more involved?
It’s been an idea of mine to include a graphic design forum alongside my website, but I’m unsure if it’d work. What do you think of the idea? It’d be somewhere you can upload your own designs to receive feedback from the community. Of course there are already plenty of excellent logo design forums and resources where you can do similarly, which is why there’s a doubt. - Where should readers start?
If you’re new here, why not have a look at my featured articles, or those popular articles shown in my sidebar? Alternatively, view my logo design portfolio, and click on each design for an insight into the logo design process.
Do you have any tips for making new readers feel at home?
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- Why did you start your blog?