I would love a lot of honest feedback about my blog!

[Idaka]

As it seems with many of the posts on these forums, I have created a new blog. I have experience blogging for about a year and a half, but I really wanted to create a new content driven blog for my business. I also want to take this blog to the next level and really hit more than the 4,000 unique visitors a month on my other blog.

I would love any honest feedback about my posts, here are a few links to choose from to make it easier:

How to Create Good Habits
Career Transition: Tips for Choosing Your New Career Path
Why write in a journal?
Why You Should Stop Multitasking

What do you think about the site's content?
What do you think about my writing style?
Would it be a blog that you would visit again? Why or why not?

Any other ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all so much!

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Idaka LLC

[MyEyeIsOpen]

Ok, well I have good news and bad news. The good news you're over the threshold -- I haven't come up with a clever name for the threshold, but I mean you don't suck. The suck threshold, maybe.

The bad news is that you're not that far over it yet -- which puts you in a weird situation where your viewer is now expecting professional quality from you, but you're not living up. Other people who are doing worse than you may leaving a better impression because they didn't set up the same quality expectation as you have.

First nitpick: you do not need flash at all. You should have a plain header... nothing you're doing in that header requires anything but basic javascript.

Second, you need to pay closer attention to the contrast in your layout, especially in the side bar on the right, it's hard to read.

For the content:

I read the first two articles. Let me ask you something... did the information you're sharing totally blow your mind or change your life when you first grokked it?

What I'm saying is that what you wrote was self-evident. You didn't do enough research to justify those posts. For example, in the habits post, you say 2:1 ratio for good habits and bad habits. Why? Where did you get that information from? Why do you believe it?

My other issue is that you don't have any hooks in your writing -- people don't want to read manuals. They want to be entertained, they want stories. Tell a story with your posts. I don't want to know that hypothetical person X could try dating different careers he put on a list. I want to read about the whacky shenanigans of Silly Susan, as she bumbles from one awkward class or internship to the next. One paragraph about a person I can relate to will change the whole piece.

Last, your introductions are lack luster. I know what a habit is, and so does every one else. How many of your readers honestly clicked your article thinking: How to create good habits? What is a habit?

Skip that crap about what a habit is and the fact that finding your passion in life is hard. That's the self-evident fluff I'm talking about.

Try this: take one of those articles and delete every sentence that doesn't say something crucial. Something I, as your reader, can't live without reading. Don't worry about it still making sense, just delete the sentences that don't belong. What's left are the actual bits of knowledge you want to convey. Not very long, is it?

[Idaka]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the feedback. My other blog (which gets a lot more traffic!) is all about the stories and apparently is doing a lot better than this one. I completely agree that parts are manual like (I'm a computer geek and love reading programming books, so maybe that is showing!)

I agree with you about the link colors too, I'm still trying to figure Nucleus out(my blogging software) so that's something I'm working on.

I am thinking about taking a writing workshop too. It's never been something I've practiced often and I don't have a lot of education in it. I really liked how you said to get rid of every sentence that isn't critical.

I think I had assumed my audience was looking for the lower level personal development information, like changing habits etc (unlike Steve who to me is quite high level). Though I think you are right, the look of the site does seem to be a higher level. I coach a lot of people that are not to that point yet, but if someone is seeking out a personal development blog online they must be looking for high quality content. Thanks for helping me see that my content can improve a lot!

Again, thanks for taking the time. I really appreciate it!

[JaredR]

I won't repeat the good points brought up already, but one thing that people (especially people like me ) will notice is grammar, so as your blog evolves so should your editing process.

I only had time to read the "habits" article before I log off here, but I noticed a few things:

1) "Wikipedia says that habits are, 'automatic routines of behavior that are repeated regularly, without thinking'." The comma in front of the quote shouldn't be there and the period should be inside the quotation marks.

2) "Whether they are good habits or bad habits are really up to us." The form of "be" here should be "is" instead of "are."

3) "It's hard enough trying to get yourself to do things you enjoy doing each day, it is miserable to try to make yourself do something you only think you should." To show contrast, use a semi-colon instead of a comma. So your sentence should read: "It's hard enough trying to get yourself to do things you enjoy doing each day; it is miserable to try to make yourself do something you only think you should."

There was also the issue of "to" versus "too." Anyway, I've probably established myself as a nitpick at this point, but I can't stress enough how important these tiny details are to many readers out there. They might seem insignificant to you (and to perhaps most people), but I know that proper grammar makes your blog look professional and attractive. Good luck!

[Idaka]

Wow thanks Jared. I will be the first to admit that spelling and grammar checks are my friend. That writing course is looking better and better. I am so used to writing informal emails!
Thanks for your help!
-Jaime

[Gaz]

Very nice site, professional, easy to navigate, and the colour scheme fits nicely.

I have one comment about the navigation on the blog though. it may make more sense to rearrange your blocks on the left slightly. I would move the categories section up to the top so it sits just below the RSS feeds. I would consider taking away the login, and moving the free downloads to the resources section.

The sidebar feels a little cluttered, which is a shame compared to the nice simple layout throughout the rest of the site.

One more thing, I particularly like the use of pictures in each post. Really makes them pop.

[Idaka]

Thanks Gaz! I thought I had already changed the sidebar and I guess I hadn't. It should be updated now! I agree with you, so I hope the changes help.

Thanks for your input!

[Call me Boges]

Focus on content

[Vinny]

I just started a blog my self. I will putting videos for viewers soon. This whole process of blogging or vlogging seems to be pretty simple when you found your niche.

I hope you guys find that niche and profit from it

[Idaka]

Thanks Vinny! Good luck with your venture too!

[Gazzali]

Originally Posted by Idaka

As it seems with many of the posts on these forums, I have created a new blog. I have experience blogging for about a year and a half, but I really wanted to create a new content driven blog for my business. I also want to take this blog to the next level and really hit more than the 4,000 unique visitors a month on my other blog.

I would love any honest feedback about my posts, here are a few links to choose from to make it easier:

How to Create Good Habits
Career Transition: Tips for Choosing Your New Career Path
Why write in a journal?
Why You Should Stop Multitasking

What do you think about the site's content?
What do you think about my writing style?
Would it be a blog that you would visit again? Why or why not?

Any other ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you all so much!

------------------------------
Idaka LLC

Greetings

In my opinion you have a decent looking blog or website. Basically it looks very mediocre in design. Quality is also looking acceptably beautiful.