The following headline on Preston Lee’s Two Minute Marketer grabbed my attention today:
The best lesson I ever learned from a six-figure blogger
The six-figure problogger is Darren Rowse, of Problogger and his advice?
“Stop worrying about your blog’s design and start generating content.”
Preston goes on to say that doesn’t mean you can forget about design entirely, but the point he makes is an important one – it doesn’t matter how fabulous your design ” if you’re not generating quality content on a regular basis, it won’t matter in the slightest”.
I remember when I started my first blog, I was more concerned about what to write, than how it would look and because it wasn’t a professional blog, I knew that how it looked was less important than what I had to say. Two and half years later, I too am a six figure blogger, with over 395,000 hits and a community of loyal supporters. This is certainly not down to design, as I’ve stuck with a generic wordpress template, without any bells or whistles. But my readers don’t seem to mind, so long as I keep writing the content they want to read, they will keep coming back.
Now let’s go back to Preston Lee’s advice:
I have since learned why it’s so important to stop worrying about design and focus on content when you’re first starting out as a blogger:
- You’re going to change your mind anyway. The more you learn about web design, SEO, and the way your readers interact with your content, the more likely you’ll be to change your design anyway. So when you’re first starting out, don’t stress so much about design.
- Google doesn’t see design. Although it’s important to make your site look nice for your readers, you must also keep in mind that Google (and other search engines) play a huge role in the success of your blog. Spiders care more about content than design.
- Your audience doesn’t care as much as you think. Your audience cares more about the content you publish on your blog than the way it looks. Again, I’m not saying design isn’t important. But your readers come to read, not to stare at your web design skills.
If you feel you could benefit from our expertise on setting up a blog and generating content, then contact us for a free consultation.
Marie Ennis-O’Connor BA, MIAPR, holds an Honours degree in History from University College Dublin. She is a graduate of the Irish Academy of Public Relations and has worked in a variety of PR roles over the past 12 years. Marie is editor of several award-winning blogs ranging from life sciences to health to business. She is a panel member of the newly established Bloggers International and is a regular contributor to Health Works Collective, an online community for thought leaders in international healthcare. She is a featured blogger on Webicina, an online service that provides curated medical social media resources in over 80 medical topics and over 17 languages, and has been awarded a top blogger accolade by Empowered Doctor.com and most inspiring writer by WegoHealth. Marie is also in demand as a trainer in social media marketing and travels the country teaching small business owners how to get online and maximise their online presence.
