Blog Beautiful: 50 Tips + Fixes to Make Your Blog Glow (sample)

WelcomeLovely!
First of all, thank you so much for downloading my book! I am
so happy you’ve chosen me to guide you in beautifying your
blog.
Here’s a few things you should know before we get started.
#1 THE STEPS ARE LOOSELY IN ORDER which means you can
follow each step from 1 to 50 or you can skip around if you’d
like. This is where the checklist comes in handy!
#2 ALL TUTORIALS ARE SPECIFICALLY WRITTEN FOR BLOGS ON
BOTH BLOGGER AND SELF-HOSTED WORDPRESS PLATFORMS,
however you should be able to translate the instructions to
your own platform should you be using something else.
#3 SOME OF THE TIPS INVOLVE EDITING YOUR CSS (cascading
style sheet). You can learn how to do that very easily here.
Areyou
readytomake
thatblogof
yoursglow?

© Copyright 2014 - DesignYourOwnBlog.com - All Rights Reserved.
3
#4 ALL EXAMPLE + STOCK IMAGES ARE LINKED TO
THEIR SOURCE. Just click on them.
#5 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BACKUP YOUR BLOG
BEFORE MAKING CHANGES!
I can’t wait to see your beautiful blog after you’ve
gone through the checklist! In fact, I’d love it if you
shared your progress with me! Here’s how you can
do that:
Send me a tweet that says something like this:
I just finished fix #1 from #BlogBeautiful! Come check
out my progress: http://your-blog-url-here.com
@marianney!
Or if you’re not on Twitter, leave me a similar
message on the Facebook page.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
WhoisMarianneManthey?
I have a degree in multimedia and web design from the
University of Colorado at Denver and I've worked with
companies large and small for over 12 years on both
their brand design and online presence. I'm a design
geek, color palette aficionado and feminine-design
obsessive.
I now help women entrepreneurs on start-up budgets to
beautify their own blogs DIY-style on
DesignYourOwnBlog.com.

4
The #BlogBeautiful Checklist
YOUR GOALS
01 Be Clear on Who, Why and What
02 Consistency + Focus
03 Is Your Navigation Intuitive?
04 Your Opt-in!
OVERALL LOOK + FEEL
05 Use Visual Hierarchy + Contrast
06 Less is More
07 Use the Grid
08 Selecting the Right Colors
09 Pairing Fonts
10 Is Your Background Obnoxious?
11 Is Your Pages Too Wide?
HEADER
12 How’s Your Header?
13 A Memorable Tagline
SIDEBAR
14 Sidebar Left or Right?
15 Clean Up That Sidebar
16 The All-Important Sidebar Profile/About Me
17 Visually Separate Widgets + Gadgets
18 Showcase Your Highlights
19 Avoid Too Narrow Sidebars
POSTS
20 Show Post Excerpts on Blog Page?
21 Headlines that Capture Attention
22 Use Introductory Text
23 Make Your Blog Posts Scannable
24 Add Tweetable Quotes
25 Make Blog Posts Easy to Read
26 Make Your Links Easily Recognizable
27 Use Thinner Fonts for Your Body Copy
28 Preview Your Posts Before Publishing

5
The #BlogBeautiful Checklist
POST FOOTER
29 Include a Cute Post Signature
30 Ask Readers to Share Your Content
31 Add a Newsletter Sign Up
32 Show Related Content
COMMENTS
33 Encourage Comments by Making it Easy
34 Do Not Auto-Moderate Your Comments
35 Ask for Comments and Then REPLY to Comments!
IMAGES
36 Do Use Images
37 Take the Time to Search for Beautiful Stock Photos
38 Don't Limit Your Images to Just Photos
39 Make Your Images Pinnable and Easy to Pin
40 Size Post Photos Consistently
41 Use Image Captions
DETAILS
42 Create a Favicon
43 Try Thin Borders
44 Get Rid of Things That Scream Amateur
45 Ditch the Slider/Carousel
46 Include Social Media Icons
47 Include a Search Bar
OTHER
48 Don't Forget About Your Footer
49 Nurture Your About Page
50 Make Sure Your Blog is Mobile-Friendly

Chapter1Your Goals
Key Tips
1. Be Clear on Who, Why and What
2. Consistency + Focus
3. Is Your Navigation Intuitive?
4. Your Opt-In!

7
01 // Be Clear on Who, Why and What
WHO
Who is your blog for? Who do you write for? Who is your target audience?
Hint: the wrong answer is "everyone." ;) No blog can serve
everyone, and without a clear answer to these questions, your blog will
most likely never go very far.
Are you writing for women or men? Adults or teens?
Parents or non-parents? Moms who work or moms who stay at home?
Here is what I wrote as an example:
I write for moms who blog and want to take their blogs to the next level by
creating an income for their families while having the luxury of staying at
home.
Now of course I have lots of readers who fall outside of that niche, but
that's ok. It's actually more than ok, but when I write, that's who I picture in
my mind and who I tailor my language to.
Before we do anything to your blog, it's important that you first identify your who, what and why.

8
Why
Why do you write what you write?
Is it to solve a problem? To help someone? To make someone
laugh?
Get clear on why you make the effort to blog.
After you've answered this question, ask yourself why again.
Then ask again and again until you've distilled it down to the
core reason of why you blog.
Here are my answers:
Why do you blog? To help women beautify their blogs.
Why? Because I know some women are embarrassed by their
blogs.
Why? Because they want to make a good impression.
Why? Because they want to show that they are smart and
capable of creating a business from their blogs.
See how that works?

9
WHAT
What is your blog about? What kind of problem(s) are you
solving for your readers? What makes you different or better
than others who are offering the same thing?
You may have heard before that you shouldn’t blog for other
people, you should blog for yourself.
You know, that’s all well and good if you’re just blogging for
your own pleasure. But if you want your blog to excel, it’s
important that your blog solve a real problem that your
readers have.
Think about what you can do to help them in a way that’s
different or better than anyone else.
Fix It
Fill in the worksheet on the next 3
pages. You may also wish to
download this fabulous work sheet
on knowing who you are and what
you stand for by Julie Harris Designs.
It’s beautiful too!

10
Worksheet
WHO
Who is your blog for? Who do you write for?
Who is your target audience? Brainstorm
here:
Fill in the blanks:
I write for
who

11
WHY
Why do you write what you write?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?

12
What
What is your blog about?
What kind(s) of problems are you solving for
your readers?
What makes you better or different than others
offering similar solutions?

Chapter2Design 101:
Overall Look + feel
Key Tips
5. Use Visual Hierarchy + Contrast
6. Less Is More
7. Use the Grid
8. Selecting the Right Colors
9. Pairing Fonts
10. Is Your Background Obnoxious?
11. Is Your Page Too Wide?
13

05 // Use Visual Hierarchy + Contrast
In Tip 1 we asked ourselves:
What is it that you want people to do when they land on
your blog?
Do you want them to leave a comment? Subscribe to your
newsletter? Buy a product? Or maybe you just want them to
keep reading the article.
Whatever it is, make it clear what action you want your
visitors to take. Don’t confuse them with too many
options. This goes with everything on your blog.
Too many options confuses people.
People are lazy by nature. They actually like being told
what to do first. Make it easy for them!
Make it easy for readers to distinguish elements on the page by creating visual hierarchy.
14

15
Guide your readers through each page by helping them
clearly understand what your goal is for that page.
Is your goal to get them to subscribe?
Great! Then make sure your opt-in forms stand out.
Is it to get them to keep reading?
Then be sure your subheadings stand out and invite them
to keep reading down the page.
Is it to buy a product?
Then there should be some calls-to-action spread around
the page with sidebar ads and mentions of the product
with a link to its landing page.
“Guideyourreaders
througheachpageby
helpingthem
understandyourgoal
forthatpage.”

16
Establish what’s important by making the most
important element stand out.
This element should be brighter, bolder or bigger than
anything else on the page.
After people see this element, their eyes will move
around to look for the next thing to rest their eyes on.
Make it obvious for them by making the next important
element slightly smaller or less bold.
Don't forget about the other end of the spectrum.
Less important items, like disclaimers, copyrights, etc.
should be the smallest items on the page.
Everything else should fall in between.

17
Fix it:
Creating visual hierarchy can best be done through contrast: Contrast in size, color, light
vs. dark, etc. Create contrast with CSS too.
Another way to create hierarchy is to give breathing room to elements you want to stand
out. Surrounding a bright button with a lot of white space makes it stand out quite clearly:
See What I Mean?

Chapter4Your Sidebar
Key Tips
14 Sidebar Left or Right?
15 Clean Up That Sidebar
16 The All-Important Sidebar Profile/About Me
17 Visually Separate Widgets + Gadgets
18 Showcase Your Highlights
19 Avoid Sidebar Horizontal Scroll Bars
18

19
17 // Visually Separate Widgets + Gadgets
Another newbie mistake make is to not use sidebar headings at all or
to have sidebar headings that don’t stand out.
I want to know where your bio ends and your where favorite books
begin. Where your category links end and where your blog roll begins.
Take a step back and look at your sidebar objectively. Is there clear
delineation between elements? Is it obvious what each item is and
what it’s there for? Will a brand new visitor to your blog know what
each item is there to do?
Fix It:
There are several ways you can visually separate your sidebar
widgets:
If you’re jamming as many widgets/gadgets into your sidebar without clear visual separation,
people will miss most of what you have in there.
Don’tmakeme
think!Iwantto
knowwhereone
widgetendsandthe
nextonebegins.

20
1. Use clear headings above widgets
to identify them. Remember,
people don’t want to have to think.
Make things painfully obvious for
them!
The headings should be designed
so that they stand out from the
content below it. Use larger fonts
or your accent font. Try a different
color. Use a ribbon or banner
background. Experiment!
Look here for some
downloadable images.

21
2. Use a single border (solid,
dotted or dashed) or divider
image between each widget.
Search for “borders” on Creative
Market:

22
3. Use borders and/or backgrounds.
4. Don’t forget about white space.
Try not to crowd your widgets
together. Leave a little breathing
room between each one.

Chapter5Your Posts
Key Tips
20 Show Post Excerpts on Blog Page
21 Headlines that Capture Attention
22 Use Introductory Text
23 Make Your Blog Posts Scannable
24 Add Tweetable Quotes
25 Make Blog Posts Easy to Read
26 Make Your Links Easily Recognizable
27 Use Thinner Fonts for Your Body Copy
28 Preview Your Posts Before Publishing
23

24
23 // Make Your Blog Posts Scannable
Fix it:
• Add plenty of spacing between your paragraphs.
There should be a margin of at least one row of text below each paragraph.
Looking at a blog post with nothing but giant blocks of text can look intimidating or feel
tedious to read. That's why it's important to make your posts scannable.
Jelly beans toffee ice cream. Donut gingerbread donut
I love chupa chups gummi bears.
Chocolate bar lemon drops marzipan. Carrot cake
brownie tart applicake oat cake muffin. Carrot cake
candy canes muffin icing cake I love oat cake.
I love jelly beans macaroon. Gummi bears jelly-o candy
canes sweet roll bear claw. Jelly beans toffee ice cream.
Donut gingerbread donut I love chupa chups gummi
bears.
Jelly beans toffee ice cream. Donut gingerbread donut
I love chupa chups gummi bears.
Chocolate bar lemon drops marzipan. Carrot cake
brownie tart applicake oat cake muffin. Carrot cake
candy canes muffin icing cake I love oat cake.
canes sweet roll bear claw. Jelly beans toffee ice cream.
Donut gingerbread donut I love chupa chups gummi
bears.

25
• Your line heights should be about 1.5.
That means each line of text gets a row equal to 1 and a half the size of the font.
p {
line-height: 1.5;
font-size: 16px;
margin-bottom: 16px;
}
I love jelly beans macaroon. Gummi bears jelly-o
candy canes sweet roll bear claw. Jelly beans toffee ice
cream. Donut gingerbread donut I love chupa chups
gummi bears.
I love jelly beans macaroon. Gummi bears jelly-o
candy canes sweet roll bear claw. Jelly beans toffee ice
cream. Donut gingerbread donut I love chupa chups
gummi bears.
Here’s an example style sheet for the last two points defining the <p> or paragraph tag.

26
• Use compelling subheadings to break the post into sections and draw the reader down your article.
• Make your paragraphs smaller. Cut them down to 2-4 sentences each.
Jelly beans toffee ice cream. Donut gingerbread donut I
love chupa chups gummi bears unerdwear.com dragée.
Tiramisu I love cupcake I love sugar plum unerdwear.com
canes sweet roll bear claw. Lollipop topping applicake
powder. Chocolate bar lemon drops marzipan. Carrot
cake brownie tart applicake oat cake muffin. Carrot cake
candy canes muffin icing cake I love oat cake wafer
applicake.
Cheesecake oat cake toffee jelly-o I love icing. Danish
gingerbread powder. Tart soufflé marshmallow I love
caramels chocolate bar ice cream oat cake. Carrot cake
pie gingerbread I love. Sweet jelly-o candy wafer
chocolate gingerbread candy halvah icing. Sweet
croissant danish dragée danish pie croissant sweet.
Jelly beans toffee ice cream. Donut gingerbread donut I
love chupa chups gummi bears unerdwear.com dragée.
Tiramisu I love cupcake I love sugar plum unerdwear.com
I love jelly beans macaroon.
Gummi bears jelly-o candy canes sweet roll bear claw.
Lollipop topping applicake powder. Chocolate bar lemon
drops marzipan.
Carrot cake brownie tart applicake oat cake. Carrot cake
candy canes muffin icing cake I love oat cake wafer
applicake. Cheesecake oat cake toffee jelly-o I love icing.
Danish gingerbread powder.
Tart soufflé marshmallow I love caramels chocolate bar ice
cream oat cake.

27
• Use bullets or numbered lists. Numbered lists in particular are very
powerful for drawing attention.
• Use bold and/or italics in most paragraphs to help skimmers catch the
important bits. DO NOT highlight text by making it a different color! People
automatically think these are links. Just keep the same color and make it
bold or italics. I try to highlight about one phrase per paragraph that is 2-3
sentences or more.
• Use block quotes or pull quotes. Semantics: Block quotes are quotes that
support the article, while pull quotes are lines pulled directly from the
article itself, but made to stand out. Magazine articles use pull quotes a lot.
Here is a showcase of cool looking block- and pull quotes.
Magazine articles use pull
quotes a lot.
“

28
• Use content boxes. A content box is a box used to visually offset text or
content within a section of text.* http://blogambitions.com/blockquotes-
content-boxes
* From How to makeyour blog content pop! on Blog Ambitions, where
you can learn more about content boxes and block quotes.
Here is a content block used to draw some
additional attention to the text.

Chapter8Images
Key Tips
36 Do Use Images
37 Take the Time to Search for Beautiful Stock
Photos
38 Don't Limit Your Images to Just Photos
39 Make Your Images Pinnable + Easy to Pin
40 Size Post Photos Consistently
41 Use Image Captions
29

30
41 // Use Image Captions
Yep! According to Drew Eric Whitman of Ca$hvertising, studies show
that up to twice as many people read captions as body copy.
If you think about it when you read an article on a blog or in a
magazine, don't you always read the image captions? It's like you just
can't NOT read them, right? So take advantage of these little things and
draw your readers' eyes down the page.
I just learned the concept of "deep captions" which is the use of 2-3
sentences in a caption. This apparently is long enough to intrigue
readers into reading more. Make sure that your captions contain
useful and intriguing descriptions.
Want to know a secret to getting people to read more of your content?
Add captions to your images.
Macarons are so pretty. You can’t help
but read this caption can you?

31
FIX IT:
WordPress users:
Click on the image in Visual mode and click the
little pencil icon. There you will see the display
settings where you can enter in a Caption.
Blogger users:
Click an image in your post in edit mode. Then
click Add Caption underneath your photo.

32
Thank You For Reading This Preview!
Blog Beautiful: 50 Tips + Fixes to Make Your Blog Glow will be available for full download on December 30,
2014 for $29! You can pre-order it before the 30th for as low as $14 so hurry! Click below to learn more:

Blog Beautiful: 50 Tips + Fixes to Make Your Blog Glow (sample)

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (8)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Blog Beautiful: 50 Tips + Fixes to Make Your Blog Glow (sample)