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Better Blog Pages: Pages to Help You Make More Money (Day Five)

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This post is part of a five-part series about creating better blog pages. You can see all the posts in this series here.

If your blog is monetized, you’re probably always on the lookout for ways to make more money while still keeping content quality high. Creating a few pages with monetization in mind is one of the best uses for your time. On my own blogs, I’ve made thousands of dollars over the course of the last few years with the creation of the following pages:

An Advertising Page

Sometimes, advertisers will simply look at your about page or contact page, but my advertising inquires increased by tenfold when I put an advertising page on my site. This page simply covers some of the most common questions advertisers have, like demographics and pricing.

I really encourage you to list some baseline prices on your advertising page. This helps cut out people who email you and want free link trading or have a very low advertising budget. You don’t have to give specifics, but you can list ranges or your starting prices to give potential advertisers an idea of what they’ll need to spend to work with you.

Even if you have a contact page (which you absolutely should), include your email address on your advertising page as well. You don’t want people to have to work to figure out how to email you about buying advertising!

A Sponsored Post Page

One of the forms of advertising I offer on some of my blogs is a sponsored post. So, I have a separate page just for this, which answers the most common questions and gives pricing information. You might want to simply include this as part of your advertising page; it depends on your niche and how many sponsored posts you want to include on your blog. Before adding a sponsored post page, I would get requests three or four times a year. Now, I get about two every month.

The biggest benefit to having a sponsorship page is that you can talk about the quality you want in a sponsored post. Before, of the few posts I was offered every year, at least half of them were very poor quality—nothing I would publish. Now, most of what I get is on point.

A Resource List

If you make money with affiliate sales, I recommend creating a page with your top resources using your affiliate links. (Of course, include a disclosure that they are affiliate links.)

This isn’t just a way to make money. It’s also a quality resource for your readers. Customize the list for your niche (for example on one of my sites, The PinterTest Kitchen, we have a list of kitchen supplies we like since it’s a food blog). Don’t forget to keep your list updated so it’s always relevant for readers.

I also recommend creating some posts on your blog that are really specific about certain resources. For example, if you have a fashion blog, you could have a page for general resources, but at some point you might create posts like “The Top Ten Shoes Every Girl Needs to Own” or “My Favorite Hair Tools of All Time.” Link to these posts on your general resource page.

A final page that I really recommend every blogger has (if your blog is monetized) is a disclaimer/disclosure page. The FTC requires you to disclose when you have relationships with certain companies you blog about or when links are affiliate links. Having a blanket disclose page helps you comply with these rules. This page can also include other notices and policies, like your comment policy.

Better Blog Pages: Pages to Increase Your Pageviews (Day Four)

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This post is part of a five-part series about creating better blog pages. You can see all the posts in this series here.

When someone looks at multiple pages/posts on your blog, they’re more likely to become a regular reader, subscriber, or customer. Google also cares about bounce rate and time on site, so its a no-brainer to include pages on your site that help keep people sticking around. There are three main types of pages that can do this that we’re going to cover today.

Archive/Sitemap

In order to make your blog as easy to navigate as possible (for both humans and search engines), consider including a sitemap or archives page on your blog. People love to find posts that interest them, and when they’re new to your site, an archives page can help.

I recommend doing some testing to find the right format. For example, Glen from ViperChill has an archive of posts via category. You can also auto-create pages with posts listed by date. These are definitely not your only options; how you set up your archives page depends on your niche and your specific content. The point is simply to make everything as easy to find as possible.

“Start Here” Page

When I visit a blog for the first time, I absolutely love when I see a “Start Here” page for newbies. I find this page invaluable because I know it’s going to point me to all the posts I need to read first.

On your “Start Here” page, you want to link to your backstory (whether that’s on your About page or is its own post on your blog). I also like to see a section for beginners in the niche, linking to blog posts that fall into this category, as well as more resources from both your own blog and from others. This page can also include product recommendations, testimonials, or even a video intro.

What would you want to see if you were a new reader coming to your site? Be as helpful as possible on this page.

“Best Of” Page

Even more important than a “Start Here” page, at least to me when I’m visiting a blog for the first time, is a “Best Of” page. As the name implies, on this page, you want to include all of the very best blog posts you’ve written. A good option is to split them into categories and list about five for each.

The reason I like this page is that I know, as a new reader, I can check out the posts listed and determine immediately whether the blog is my cup of tea or not. If I don’t really like the posts the blogger him/herself believe to be the cream of the crop, I’m probably not going to like other posts on the blog either.

Your best of page should be updated regularly. You can still include old posts, but having newer posts on this list is important as well. So, every few months, go through and add new posts, taking away some of the older ones if your lists become too long.

Remember, the stickier your blog is, the better. People can’t become fans of your site if they spend ten seconds on a page and then leave! You have to have good content, but to truly optimize this content, create the above three pages so you’re encouraging people to stick around.

Join us tomorrow for Day Five of our Better Blog Pages series!

Better Blog Pages: Optimizing Your About Page (Day Three)

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This post is part of a five-part series about creating better blog pages. You can see all the posts in this series here.

One of the most important pages for your blog is your “about” page. Actually, you probably want at least two about pages – one for your blog and one for yourself. On the blog’s about page, you want to cover what your blog is about while on your own blog page, you want to talk about yourself.

Today, we’re talking about the page for you. Let’s look at how you can optimize this page for maximum benefits.

Telling Your Story

The best blog pages are usually extremely personal, telling the story of how you got to where you are in life today. The problem with this? Personal stories can be rather long. Most people won’t read past the first paragraph or two.

So, start your about page with a short version of your story. Cover the basics – who you are and why people should care. Be personable so readers can quickly connect with you.

If you feel compelled to write more, create a long version of your story to put after the short version. This is something I’ve done on Blog Zombies. That way, readers who want to learn more about you can, but you also don’t bore readers who just want a brief overview.

Contact Information

Every about page needs to include contact information. Yes, even if you have a special “contact” page (which I definitely recommend). Yes, even if your contact information is on your sidebar. When someone wants to contact you, it’s important to make this extremely easy. Otherwise, you could miss out on some really great partnerships with other bloggers and sponsorship deals.

It seems like a no-brainer that you should make your contact information readily available, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked for a blogger’s information and haven’t been able to find it–and I’m more patient that most. Most people will get frustrated after only a few seconds and move on to the next blogger.

In addition to listing your email address, you should also list any social network where you’re regularly active. For example, on my about pages, I always list my Twitter account, since that’s an easy way to contact me. You don’t have to list all of your social profiles here if you don’t want people to contact you that way, but if you don’t, make sure the buttons are easy to see on your sidebar or contact page (preferably both).

Your Picture

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make is failing to include a picture on their about page. People go to your about page to connect with you on a deeper level. It’s hard to do that when you can’t even picture the other people. You might not be able to look your readers in the eye face-to-face, but you can include a nice headshot so they can picture you when reading something you’ve written.

Even better, consider uploading a brief video about yourself. This is a great way to connect with your readers on a more personal level. Keep it under the two minute mark if possible; people have short attention spans!

Taking Your About Page to the Next Level

But how do you really make your about page stand out? What can you do to take your about page to the next level? That depends on your niche and your personality, as well as the tone of your blog. Here are a few suggestions that you might be able to use:

  • Promote your mailing list on your about page. If people care enough about you to want to read about your life, they probably want to sign up to get emails from you.
  • Be funny, clever, or interesting by doing something unexpected on your about page. Make it memorable.
  • Make some lists about yourself. You can do this on your about page or on other pages and just link to them on your about page. For example, I’ve seen some bloggers do “101 Random Things About Me” lists.
  • Get even more personal. consider adding pictures of your family, sharing a personal story of a struggle that you usually don’t share, or otherwise letting readers into your life in a very intimate way. This technique isn’t for everyone, but if your life is an open book, it might be a good option to help you connect with readers.
  • Include links to places you’ve been featured or other places where you write. Once this list starts to grow, you can consider a separate page just for press, but if you only have a few links for now, just include them on your about page. You can also list places you’ve guest posted.
  • Link to any books or ebooks you’ve written. Even if you have these products listed on their own pages, it makes sense to include them on your about page as well.
  • Add testimonials from people who enjoy your work.

Examples of Great About Pages

No two about pages look the same–and that’s a good thing. You want yours to be completely unique, so it totally represents you and your blog. You can definitely borrow ideas from others, though! Here are some great about pages from across the web:

As you can see, these pages are all extremely different! But hopefully you’ve come away with a few ideas of your own so you can totally revamp your own about page.

Join us tomorrow for Day Four of our Better Blog Pages series!

 

Better Blog Pages: Page Navigation (Day Two)

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This post is part of a five-part series about creating better blog pages. You can see all the posts in this series here.

In this series, we already talked about the most important page on your blog, the contact page. However, before we go even farther in talking about specific pages you need on your blog, let’s take a moment to talk about navigation to these pages.

After all, pages do not matter if no one can find them!

Top Bar Navigation

The most common place people will look for pages (like your contact page) is on a top navigation bar. You can put this bar above or below your header, depending on the other navigation needs you have on your blog, but I highly suggest having one, even if you like to your pages other places, like on your sidebar.

Don’t rely on drop-down menus here, at least for your most important pages. The five to ten most important pages on your blog should be spelled out in your navigation bar. It’s about making your blog idiot-proof. You don’t want people to have to spend time trying to figure out your contact information or other information you might need.

Interlinking Your Pages

We often link to our own posts, but most bloggers don’t remember to link to their own pages. Where appropriate, you should definitely do this to allow for easier navigation. I often see people say something like “contact me for me details” within blog posts, but then leaving it up to their readers to figure outhow to contact.

You pages shouldn’t just be linked within blog posts. They can also be linked to one another. It might make sense to link to your About page on your Contact page, for example. Google cares about how long people are on your site and how many pages they visit when there, so definitely take the time to link as much as possible.

Other Navigational Considerations

It might also many sense for you to include navigation to pages at other places on your blog. For example, some people will look for this information in your footer. Others will browse your sidebar. It’s important to have a well-designed site, and you don’t want to compromise the look of the blog, but wherever you can put more page navigation, do it. When in doubt, it’s always better to link to your pages as often as possible than to make readers search for the information they need.

Join us tomorrow for Day Three of our Better Blog Pages series!

Better Blog Pages: The Most Important Page On Your Blog (Day One)

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This post is part of a five-part series about creating better blog pages. You can see all the post in the series here.

Hands down, the most common mistake I see bloggers make is this: making it difficult to be contacted.

People might want to contact you regarding several things. I most commonly contact people because I want to interview them or because I’ve featured one of their links on Brilliant Bloggers. As a reader, I sometimes contact a blogger when I have a question. You might also be contacted by people who want to work with you on a project, buy advertising on your site, send you to their event to speak, or otherwise work out a deal together.

If I’m trying to contact someone, the very first thing I do is go to their navigation bar and look for a contact page. If there isn’t one listed and I really want to contact the person, I might check the sidebar as well, but after that, I usually lose interest. It’s unlikely that I’m going to search through your pages to find wherever you’ve hidden your email address.

Assume that the person trying to contact you is stupid and impatient. Create a page that stands out so it can be easily found within five second. If it can’t be, you need a better contact page.

Including Your Email Address

I see lots of bloggers with just a form on their contact page. While this is certainly better than nothing, and I understand the need to keep spam at bay, I don’t like it for a few reasons:

  • I can’t save your email address for later. I have to use the form immediately or bookmark the page.
  • Sometimes, I email more than one person at the same time. I know that forms keep spammers from doing this, but legitimate people sometimes do group emails too!
  • I like to have a record of what I’ve said to you and when I said it. Occasionally, I see forms that allow you to send a copy of the message to yourself, but this is a rarity.
  • Often I’ll hit the send button and the form page just reloads as blank. So…did it send? I have no way of knowing.
  • I can’t save my message as a draft, which means I have to complete it in one sitting (not always an easy thing to do if you’re on the go like me or get interrupted with other tasks often).
  • If my computer crashes or there’s another problem in the middle of typing the message, there’s no draft saved.

If you love your form, you don’t have to get rid of it. Just consider including your actual email address as well for us anti-form people. You can include it as a picture if you’re afraid of spam.

Including Your Social Profiles

In addition to including your email address, I also like it when bloggers include their social media profiles on their contact page. When I link to someone within a post, I often don’t want to fill their inbox with an email message. Instead, I just mention them in a tweet. If you follow me on Twitter, you probably see me doing this all the time. I find it more effective than email.

You don’t have to include all of your social profiles. If you don’t use a platform often, I actually recommend not listing it, since you don’t want important messages to go there. But if you’re on Twitter or Facebook or another network all day anyway, it makes sense to include this information on your contact page.

Links on You Contact Page

You can get some extra mileage out of your contact page by including a few links as well. Linking to your about page makes sense of course, but including other links can save you time too.

For example, are you asked a question over and over again via email? Write a post about it and then link to it on your contact page to reduce your emails. You can also create a FAQ section on your page with short answers to the questions you get the most. And if you have a media kit, link to it so people don’t have to ask for it.

Other Contact Information

Email is absolutely necessary if you’re a blogger, but other contact information can be included on your page as well. We already talked about social media accounts, but consider a phone number or Skype username. If you have a P.O. box or office, you can also include a mailing address, though I would avoid listing your home address. List contact information for every way you are okay with people getting in touch with you. Some people like tweets while others like phone calls, so try to accommodate as many people as possible.

The bottom line is this: if you don’t currently have a contact page, you need one immediately. You might have your email address at the bottom of each post or on your sidebar, but without a clearly defined page in your navigation bar, you’re going to miss out on cool opportunities. Don’t let them pass you by, especially when the solution is so easy!

Join us tomorrow for Day Two of our Better Blog Pages series!

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