A few months ago, I published 30 Things I Absolutely HATE About Your Blog — since then I have been thinking to come up with its reverse topic as well. That is, I wanted to publish a list of 30 things that I LOVE about a blog.
Once again, it's just my personal view and hence there's a good chance that you would disagree with me — with some or all of them. :D
And I also tried to cite other blogs and blog posts as examples for “things” wherever it’s possible.
Also, when I published the previous list, none of the “things” were actually technical in nature but on this list there are so many technical “things” that are not easily fixable (if it’s a problem).
However, it doesn’t really mean that I absolutely hate your blog. It’s just a perspective and I could be totally wrong.
1. Unique Brand Name
No, you don’t have to be an Apple, or Google, or Microsoft. But I just love it when I see blogs with unique brand names that are so memorable.
The best example that I can give you is The Everywhereist (everywhereist.com). It’s a travel blog and has got nothing to do with me. In fact, I never read a single blog post from it and yet I remember its name (thanks John Doherty).
And I hate domain names (or brand names) that are lengthy or boring or optimized for SEO (aka keyword rich domain names) or even a generic name that’s still all about keywords.
2. Great Logo & Tagline
Just like the brand name. I love it when a blog has a great logo and a tagline. Once again, the perfect example could be The Everywhereist.
I don’t like its logo much but I can recollect its tagline anytime “that’s right. she went there.”.
3. Fantastic Design
Who doesn’t love great designs? There are a lot of design elements on a blog that really attracts a user. However, it’s also true that it doesn’t matter when it produces high quality content.
I just love blogs that’s got fantastic design elements, and friendly navigation and widgets, and excellent color combinations.
4. Clear Writing
“Clear writing is a sign of clear thinking.” — Jason Fried
I love bloggers who writes with great clarity. There are so many of them but since I’m not closely following any of them I will just link to some of their specific blog posts:
5. Quality Images
Images makes a blog post attractive and less tiring, right? Yes, but I think only when they are relevant and are of high quality.
In other words, I love blogs that uses images that are not blurred and I hate to read blog posts that are filled with clipart or stock photos or low resolution images.
6. No Guest Posts
I love blogs that doesn’t publish any guest posts. I mean, it’s perfectly fine to publish guest posts when it makes sense. And I don’t have a better example than the first ever guest post published by ViperChill.
And it starts with a note:
This is the first post in ViperChill history that isn't written by me. That's all I need to say for now…
If you check out any other blogs that are publishing a ton of guest posts then it’s safe to assume that they are all written for the sake of more traffic and hence more money.
7. No Annoying Stuff
What are those annoying stuff? Oh, so, so many. Pop-up ads, pop-under ads, overlay ads, auto-play audio and video, exit-intent popups, push notifications, infinite scrolling, and the likes.
If your blog do not have any of those things then your readers are already liking it. Guaranteed.
8. Personalized Newsletter
You perfectly know that almost every single blogger out there wants your email address. And it’s perfectly fine. But the problem is, almost all of them wants to market you something and that’s why they need your email addresses.
Only very few of them sends personalized newsletters. In other words, only they are the guys who wants to directly communicate with you. I can’t cite any examples as of now as I’m no longer subscribed to any of those email newsletters (except The Moz Top 10).
9. Perfectly Formatted Blog Posts
I love blogs when its blog posts are standardized across the blog. But what does that mean? Well, it means all its blog posts follows the same editorial and design philosophy.
An example could be: Copyblogger.
10. Strong Editorial Philosophy
Nothing is more attractive in a blog than its strong editorial philosophy. So how do you define it? Well, I would say a blog has a strong editorial philosophy if:
- It publishes a blog post as it’s got something for its readers (and not to increase the blog post count).
- It doesn’t sell links for SEO.
- It doesn’t sell sponsored posts for SEO.
- It discloses paid links and posts.
- Its blog posts maintain the the same quality (even if it’s a multi-author blog).
- It doesn’t exist for affiliate marketing.
- It doesn’t publish blog posts only to attract more traffic.
- It doesn’t use viral titles just for the sake of getting more social shares.
- It publishes content with great clarity and transparency.
- It publishes controversial content like this or this.
- It doesn’t please brands (for $$$).
11. No Expert Roundups & Interviews
Oh, I love blogs that do not publish any expert roundups and interviews. When Google declared a war on guest blogging, SEOs moved on and started focusing on other spammy link building tactics like infographics, expert roundups, interviews, infographics, etc.
So expert roundups and interviews could be another thing on Google’s radar. You know why? Here’s the hint: 47 Experts Nobody Has Ever Heard Of Share Their Top Link Building Tip!
12. Not A Content Farm
I love blogs that are publishing extremely high quality content that can’t be found anywhere else on the web. The best example could be Buffer and Groove.
However, there are a lot of other so-called authority blogs that are publishing a ton of blog posts per month only to attract more traffic and make more money and keep the blog hyperactive. It sucks!
And…
- I don’t care if you are an award-winning blogger.
- I don’t care if your blog is getting millions of pageviews a month.
- I don’t care if you write awesome content.
- I don’t care if your domain authority is 100.
…when you are running a multi-authored blog that stinks.
13. Genuine Giveaways
I love blogs that are genuinely giving away stuff (ebooks, products, services, app, etc.) to its readers. If a blog is offering something that’s really valuable then it’s totally fine to collect emails.
Today, as as you probably know, almost every single blogger out there wants to give you free useless ebooks after collecting your email.
And then they bombard you with a ton of garbage marketing letters after promising “100% Privacy. No Spam.”.
14. Usefulness
I love you when you are publishing blog posts that are worth buying. Seriously. :D
15. Original Topics
If you are publishing original topics then I’m already in love with you and your blog posts. Nothing beats original thinking when it comes to writing blogging.
And Now It’s All About You…
That was all about your blog and blogging strategies. As you probably know, a blog is not just about the above aspects.
It’s got everything to do with its author (or blogger) as a blog reflects the personality of its author and it’s that personality that attracts us to a blog and making us visit that blog over and over.
So now let me now highlight few traits that I find attractive in a blogger.
16. You’re Passionate
If your blog is all about the things that you love and the things that interest you then your passion will be reflected in your blog posts. And I love it.
It also means that your readers will learn a thing or two from every single blog post of yours.
17. Your Social Media Presence
You know we live in the age of social media. And I love it when the blogger is active on few social media channels as well. But no, I didn’t mean bloggers whose sole purpose on social media is to share their latest blog posts and get more traffic.
For me, social media is much more than that. You know why? Because it’s the easiest way to reach a person on the web. For instance, you can reach a lot of people on Twitter that’s otherwise not possible.
18. Your About Page
If you have told your life story on your About page then I like you. And it makes it even better, if you also posts pictures from your real life in your blog posts.
I can recollect two of them right now: About Rae Hoffman and About Neil Patel.
19. You Link Out Generously
I love blogs that are generous when it comes to external links. Back in 2000s, bloggers used to link each other freely. But today, a good percentage of the bloggers refuse to link out to other websites.
In fact, they don’t even give the credits when they are supposed to.
20. You Blog Your Flaws
You know it makes you even better blogger, when you are not afraid to blog about your flaws and insecurities. I have read a ton of them and can say that, they are the ones that creates an impact and an instant connection with the reader.
21. You’re Not Blogging. You Are Helping.
What else do you want from a blog when it’s genuinely helping people?
22. You Write About Your Personal Life
I admire bloggers who write about things from their personal life and/or write blog posts out of their real life experience. Because it takes real effort to blog your own life.
It’s something that I’d love to do but as of now I find it very difficult. Perhaps it’s because I find it extremely difficult to blog/write my mind.
23. Your Blog Posts Are Scannable
I love micro-blogging. And hey, people do not read your blog posts, they scan it. So, if you know how to express yourself in limited words then I’m already in love with your blog.
24. Your Personal Brand
I love it when your personal brand shines in your blog posts. Because that becomes your signature too.
25. You’re A Solo-blogger
Oh yeah, I love single-authored blogs. When your blog posts are full of passion and enthusiasm and you’re writing with great clarity then it’s worth to reach every single blog post of yours.
26. You’re Humble
"Humility, gentleness, and helpfulness go so much further and open doors you cannot imagine.” — @AnnTran
I love you (and your blog) if you are humble. And I love you more, when you stay humble.
27. You’re Original
I love bloggers who are original. It means, they’re not copying other bloggers. Instead, other bloggers are copying them.
And I won’t even count Neil Patel as an original blogger as his blog posts are more or less written for SEO and traffic. Sure, they’re useful but far away from original.
28. Your Writing Skills
I love bloggers who’s got excellent writing/English skills. Because I like to see how other bloggers are playing with words and how they are expressing themselves and how they are blogging their mind.
But hey, I didn’t mean in any way that those who don’t possess good English skills are not a good blogger. In fact, the only three credentials in a blogger are: curiosity, courage, and hunger.
That said, I won’t read your blog if your English skills are not better than mine. You know why? Simply because it would not help me.
I’m already struggling to express myself and is already spending a lot of time to translate my thoughts and ideas into words.
So if I’m following blogs that has more errors than on mine (you can easily find hundreds) then it means that my writing is going to get worse.
On the flip side, if I’m following bloggers who’s got excellent writing skills then it only means that I’m going to get better.
All in all, never follow a blog when you think its quality is not as ‘great’ as yours.
29. You’re Not Just Another Blogger
You know what makes you a real blogger? When you’re yourself. That is, you’re not like any other blogger and you want to make a dent in the blogoverse by yourself.
30. You’re Authentic
Everybody wants to follow authentic bloggers. Me too! But who are they? Well, I would treat a blogger as authentic if there’s transparency and openness in his blog posts.
For instance, you might think that Neil Patel writes with great transparency, right? Well, I disagree. Sure, he knows what works and he publishes super-useful content.
But the problem is, his blog posts lacks transparency. And luckily I’m not the only one who thinks so. Go here, or here, or here.
I used to read every single blog post by Neil Patel on Quick Sprout until few months back. And then he became increasingly annoying. That is, he started publishing a ton of blog posts per week (on his own blogs plus other blogs as a guest blogger).
And was still claiming that he is writing all of them by himself — again by writing a bunch of “How To Write A Blog Post In Less Than X Hours”, “How I Write X Blog Posts Per Week”, etc. kind of blog posts every few weeks.
Don’t trust me? Try:
That’s not all. He launched another blog neilpatel.com and again started publishing 4,000 words+ blog posts every 2-3 days. Unless he is a superman I don’t trust him.
Don’t Miss: 30 Things I Absolutely Hate About Your Blog
Closing Thoughts
Let me repeat. It’s very much possible that none of the above “things” makes you a better blogger or gets you a perfect blog.
It’s just my point of view and there’s a very good chance that I’m wrong. I just couldn’t stop myself from writing this and that’s it. So don’t make it personal. ;)
Happy Blogging! :)
30 Things I Absolutely Love About Your Blog is a post by Minterest
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