Excellent Blog vs. Just a Blog

[Cricket]

Think about those blogs that you most enjoy reading and tend to visit over and over again...

What do you feel sets them apart from those that you never return to again? What makes a blog excellent? What makes it just a blog?

[Owen]

Three words: content, Content and CONTENT

This is the main reason I keep going to the same blogs for more. Nothing beats compelling content especially when it's well presented and offering valuable advice.

Some of the blogs I'd consider most excellent at the moment that are right at the front of my mind are:

Seth Godin's Blog: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/
Legal Andrew: http://www.legalandrew.com/
North x East: http://northxeast.com/
Computer Zen: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/
Andy Beal Unplugged: http://www.andybeal.com/

And the main reason I keep going back for more i because of the quality, variety and richness of their content.

[EBORG9]

Honestly, I won't notice the content if the design doesn't catch my attention.
There is nothing I hate more than loading a page, and the author has done nothing more than put a title up, and some text.

If someone takes the time and attention to personalize their blog, at least change the colors around a little, I am more apt to read it and see what they have to say.

Just a plain template, with some adsense in the corner, and I will not give it 2 seconds.
Also, I hate when adsense is displayed first, so it is the only thing you see when the page loads, where you would normally expect to see content, and you have to scroll past the ads to get to the content. That turns me off and I back out immediately.
JMO

[mac1205]

Originally Posted by EBORG9

Honestly, I won't notice the content if the design doesn't catch my attention.
There is nothing I hate more than loading a page, and the author has done nothing more than put a title up, and some text.

If someone takes the time and attention to personalize their blog, at least change the colors around a little, I am more apt to read it and see what they have to say.

Just a plain template, with some adsense in the corner, and I will not give it 2 seconds.
Also, I hate when adsense is displayed first, so it is the only thing you see when the page loads, where you would normally expect to see content, and you have to scroll past the ads to get to the content. That turns me off and I back out immediately.
JMO

Does my "nut" when i see the adsense before I see content, I typically just close the browser in anger!!! Even if other tabs are open... ok maybe not that far but agreeing with the above points:

A great eye candy-ish design and good content.

[guyfox]

My current blogs are pretty simple in design - but any how - I can't help but notice that having a "great" blog and having a blog that can be monetized are orthogonal goals - The moment you start writing paid-for-posts and put ads and referrals, the crowd leaves.

The only case where this is not true is for blogs that teach others how to make money by blogging.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by guyfox

My current blogs are pretty simple in design - but any how - I can't help but notice that having a "great" blog and having a blog that can be monetized are orthogonal goals - The moment you start writing paid-for-posts and put ads and referrals, the crowd leaves.

The only case where this is not true is for blogs that teach others how to make money by blogging.

You realize there are many more ways that a blog can benefit you financially than those you mentioned, right?

However that is not the topic at the moment, but rather what YOU feel sets an excellent blog apart from others. What makes YOU keep coming back to a specific blog?

[guyfox]

What makes me keep coming back to the same blogs is the person behind the blog - what I like about them personally - over a period of time, just by reading their views, I have an image, an opinion of how intelligent, kind, or good some bloggers are, and I go back to check how they are doing.

Of course it helps if they write about things I like/love.

For example, I have engadget and gizmodo and haven't visited either in a long long time - they stopped being blogs a while ago - they are more like a echo chamber - just writing a post each time some need gadget or thing comes out - more like a specialized news site - and one of them is terribly sexist, I forget which one.

[sheena]

Excellent blog is not only for the design template itself but the content and what they can give to the audience. Informative and useful information is one factor to make your site accessible. It is just a blog , if you create your blog just for personal interest or just a personal diaries and you just want to read something that is not useful.

Originally Posted by Cricket

Think about those blogs that you most enjoy reading and tend to visit over and over again...

What do you feel sets them apart from those that you never return to again? What makes a blog excellent? What makes it just a blog?

[blm03]

I have to agree with Owen. It is all about the content.

Next, layout. If your font is tiny and I have to squint to read it, bye bye.

I actually have more visitors now that I get paid to blog.

[snuzulooz]

I need decent well written content. After that I am a packaging junkie - I need a good template and layout that has a personal flair.

[factoring]

I am in a very niche market. I just started a blog a few weeks ago. I don't want to be like every other financial blog in my market.

I have come up with two ways of stepping apart from the normal everyday blog.

1) Controversy- There is tension between my market and a related market. I am hoping by causing a little controversy, it will create some back links.

2) Tips and tricks for the consumer.

As you can probably tell I am not the editor of blog due to my poor grammar skills. LOL.

These are just some suggestions, but my ears are open to yours as well.

[AnaB]

More to do with writing style for me. Ya know, you could have the best info but if you write like Shakespeare, I probably won't read it (or will actually for the humor part). I like blogs with a unique voice

Now of course the content has to be useful as well...

So voice + content =

[odysseus]

In my opinion, it's about nice layout, good content and beautiful writing style.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by factoring

I am in a very niche market. I just started a blog a few weeks ago. I don't want to be like every other financial blog in my market.

I have come up with two ways of stepping apart from the normal everyday blog.

1) Controversy- There is tension between my market and a related market. I am hoping by causing a little controversy, it will create some back links.

2) Tips and tricks for the consumer.

As you can probably tell I am not the editor of blog due to my poor grammar skills. LOL.

These are just some suggestions, but my ears are open to yours as well.

These are EXCELLENT suggestions and exactly the type of things I am looking for our members to share with each other. Those things that set a blog apart from so many others.

For me it is passion. I can tell when someone is writing about something they truly have interest in vs. just writing for the sake of writing something, or making money.

[Noon_an_Night]

I agree that content is very important in a blog, but it is more than content...a good blog will be well written and discuss a wide range of topics.

You need to capture the reader in to wanting to come back and see what you wrote the next day, and the next day and tell a few friends and so on...

Our blog is new but please review and give your opinion: [link removed]

Thanks...
Christopher Noonan

[Cricket]

Noon, if you want to link to your blog, please just add your feed to your profile in the user control panel. That will make your most recent post show under your name on the left, like you see mine.

If you are looking for a review, there is a separate review section for that here. Make sure you read the review rules there before requesting one.

Thank you for understanding!

[JasonJ]

Keep it looking clean and keep the content flowing. Having a theme which your readers can depend on is good and builds an audience.

[Julie]

I look at these factors:

1. Does it have a unique design?
2. Content
3. Voice & perspective of writer
4. Knowledge of topic
4. Consistency in posting

[aylee]

Here are the elements that I look at or notice:

1. layout - it has to be readable, neat and organized. A bad layout discourages visitors to go on and read through the content.
2. content - informative and helpful and encourages participation from its visitors.
3. focus - I may be different from others, but I like blogs that have a more specific focus, a niche blog if you prefer.

[waffles]

Regularly updated (as in at least once a week), good content, and responding to comments. I could care less about looks, I don't go to sites because they're pretty.