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One part of the “Right Foundation to Build Upon” includes critical components your blog must have to ensure it performs at its maximum potential. And some of those critical components are essential Pages your blog should have. At least you need to consider them in your design thoughts. Even though we have not talked about actually building your blog yet, I want you to get started on putting together the text for these very important Pages for your blog now. If you do that now, you will be well ahead of the curve in building a blog which will start off with a bang.
There are other “Critical Components” we will discuss in future post in Building A Successful Blog. However for now, I want to focus on Pages.
When you are working inside your WordPress blog, you are given the option of drafting a post and/or a page. And this is one of the great features of WordPress and other blogging platforms.
Pages are not part of that same ongoing document but they complement it, add to it, provide additional information. They are not categorised. They may not be related to time. A Page is something on its own.
Features like “Pages” are what is the driving force behind the blur we are seeing between a static Web site and a blog. With these type of features and tools built into a good blogging platform, a blogger can make a number of these pages static and keep the information in front of their readers.
The list below is just the beginning of the different “Pages” you could or should have on your blog. It is certainly not exhaustive and I am sure I will miss some. These are the pages I either have or will soon be adding to this blog.
1. About Page — This might be the hardest page you will ever write. However, it also might be the most important page you will ever write on your blog. People want to know about you and they use this page to do that. A well written About page can be the tool you use to start to build a relationship with your readers. Don’t overlook its importance. Like many “old timer” bloggers, the About page is sometimes the first place I go to decide if I am going to subscribe to a blog or not. If you don’t have an About Page, the chances of me subscribing decreases.
2. Contact Page — Another one of those Pages often overlooked by a lot of bloggers. If you are serious about blogging and using your blog to either make money with it or for promoting a business, there is really no good reason to not have a Contact Page. On my own Contact Page, I included my mailing address and links to all of the social media tools I am using. We also included a contact form so our visitors or readers could reach us no matter what means they want to use. And don’t forget to include a link so they can email you too. You just never know when that one visitor or reader may have a good reason to contact you. I also don’t worry about spam as we use spam filters to the max.
3. Press Page — While I was very reluctant to do this Page at first, it has become a valuable part of this blog. And quite frankly, why shouldn’t you blow your own horn. I do mention some of this in my About Page and I do link to our Press Page there too. This Page is important in the fact you can direct people or even the media to this page when they ask you whether you have been involved in any of those items you mention. You can put just about anything in your Press Page. From speaking engagements you have done to publications you have been featured in. You should also include any articles or books you have written too. Even if you don’t think you have anything to put here, give it some thought. I will almost bet you there is something.
4. Twitter Page — I use twitter daily, almost hourly. It has become a must have tool I use to build my community and where I get involved in other communities. Twitter gives you the option to include a URL in your profile page where you can send people to see your site. It wasn’t long after I started to use twitter that I decided to make a special twitter landing page for my twitter followers to go to. I also wanted to give those individuals who were checking me out the opportunity to get to know me better. And as a way for them to see how I use twitter and some of my thoughts on it too. On my twitter landing page I have links to other items and also to some post I have written on twitter. You can only get to my twitter page from my twitter profile page. My twitter page is a Page inside this blog so once they have read the twitter Page, they can navigate to other parts of Blog For Profit if they want. If you are using twitter, this is a page you really should have.
5. Comment Policy — Because we encourage comments on this blog and because we do get many, I thought it might be a good idea to include a Comment Policy page. This page does not have to be long or written in fine print. However, you should point out to those who take the time to read it what your comment policy is. How do you handle spam comments. Do you allow links in comments. And how do you handle irrelevant comments or links in those comments. I also include a few words at the end encouraging even those who are new to blogging to comment. Commenting on a blog is a great way for a new blogger to build relationships with more seasoned bloggers.
6. Privacy Policy — This is one of those CYA type of Pages you should consider. I outline in it what information we may ask them to provide from time to time. I also tell them in this Page that we don’t share their information. You will need to weigh whether you want this type of Page or not. And I give you full permission to use mine as your guide if you would like.
7. Newsletter Page — Since we started a Newsletter when we redesigned Blog For Profit, I wanted to do more then just provide a button or fill in the blank on the front of the blog or home page. I decided to do a page devoted to the Newsletter and a place there to subscribe. I looked around on other blogs I was reading who also had newsletters and took their ideas and put them to use in mine. So far it has worked well. I know it works because the service I use, AWeber, gives me a break down of where on my blog our subscribers sign up from. If you don’t have a newsletter, I would encourage you to think seriously about incorporating one into your blog. And if you already have one, think about a page devoted to just the newsletter. It does not have to be long or full of information as you can see from mine.
8. Service Page — While we don’t have a service page here on Blog For Profit. We do have one over at our company site, G2WebMedia. If you offer services either in a professional service firm or a business, you should have a Page devoted to telling your readers about those services. A Service Page gives you a chance to sell yourself and your services. While I also recommend you mention what you do in a blog post from time to time, it is also important to have a place where you can give more details to what you do. I may in the very near future do a Service Page here on Blog For Profit.
9. Advertise Here Page — We don’t have one of these right now on Blog For Profit, but be watching for it. However, we do have one of them over at Home office Warrior. This is where we breakdown what the different ads we have available and how much they are. And, on HOW, we included a lightbox type of pop-over that shows you an actually image of where the ads would be and what size they are.
10. Series Page — This is another one of those Pages we don’t have here yet. However, we will be making one for this series. The “series page” is where you can put all the links to the series and any other links you may want that relate to the series you are doing or just finished. This is also a great way to keep your readers on your blog, reading your stuff. The longer you can keep them there the better.
Take the list just provided and decide which of the Pages you would like to have in your blog. And even if you are just in the early stages of putting your blog together, now is the time to start on writing the content for these Pages. I would suggest you take a look at the suggestions from some of my twitter followers and do the ones mentioned the most.
I am Grant Griffiths and I blog and co-own a blog consulting and design firm.
I started my first blog February of 2005. My first blog was a blog I used to market and promote my family law practice. And blogging soon became my only form of written advertising. What I also discovered was that blogging is one of the most effective marketing tools available for the small business, home business and professional service firm. In fact, I was am so sold on the effectiveness of blogging, that I am co-founder of G²WebMedia.
Thanks Grant! I’m right now doing a little re-working of my blog and I think I better incorporate some of these suggestions. My blog is linked directly to my site, and so I tended to think since I do have most of those pages on the site, it wasn’t necessary to repeat on the blog. But I think I need to make some kind of changes. Take care!
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Dear Grant:
This is really a great series of posts. I’m going to be recommending it to my clients and others. It’s great to have this information all in one place.
It amazes me that more blogs don’t take advantage of the ability to add “pages” to their blog.
Best wishes
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