31 Days to a Better Blog - Days 15 - 22
31 August, 2007 — fmclean
Running really late now!
One thing is for sure I will not be getting all the tasks done by the end of August. I will still keep plugging away at the tasks that are relevant to my blog but have really got behind mainly due to work and coming down with the flu.
Back on board now and back into it so away we go. Looking at the list of tasks for Days 15 to 22 seems kind of ironic that they have titles like Make Your Most Popular Posts Sticky , Create a Heatmap, Run a StumbleUpon Campaign, and last but not least Create a Sneeze Page and Propel Readers Deep Within Your Blog. Here I am feeling about 90% after a bout of the flu and all the tasks seems to point to stumbling around making things sticky and spreading germs. 
Not really but I thought it was funny to have that collection of tasks all together. The Heatmap task would be cool to try but not an option with edublogs. So can’t do that one. StumbleUpon I have a plugin for Firefox for StumbleUpon but don’t intend to run a StumbleUpon Campaign in relation to my blog. That wasn’t too hard two down six to go.
Make Your Most Popular Posts Sticky and Create a Sneeze Page and Propel Readers Deep Within Your Blog will both have to be works in progress I think. I want to find a theme for my Sneeze page and need to investigate which post as popular. I could even add another page and have a changing list of popular posts there, what do you think?
Respond to Comments on Your Blog I have been doing this with almost all the comments that have been added to my blog - (maybe a little behind over past week) especially since starting the 31 Day Challenge. I have found that it has created a continuing conversation with the comments rather than static comments. It makes the reader feel more “real” to me and I have found that most commenter’s are then coming back to read and comment again. Its always a thrill when a comment is added, the fact that someone has taken the time to visit and then leave a comment is really appreciated. Thanks to you all .
Catch New Readers Up on the Basics of your Blog I added a new page What is that? a while ago that hopefully will help new visitors to the blog and visitors who are new to the blog concept. I also changed some of the terms used on the side links after Day 2 task of Run a First Time Reader Audit. I found that just because I knew what a Blogroll was this did not mean that one of my readers did.
This then leads into the next task to Run a Reader Survey. I am going to take the simple option here and not so much as run a survey but ask for feedback or comments. I have changed the theme and layout of the blog since starting the 31 Days to a Better Blog Chocolate Challenge and have added pages to help visitors. I have tried to name links with out using “geek speak” . I have added information to my A little about me page, and removed many of the links “widgets” from the blog. So my survey question is do you find it easy to move around the current design of the blog. Is it easy to read and leave comments? Please leave comments to answer these questions then I will have completed another task.
Last one for today Make a Reader Famous I would like to make all littlest readers famous and encourage everyone to go and visit their blogs. So Minilegends you are my readers that I wish to make famous. the Minilegends are a class of year 3 - 8 and 9 year olds from Glenelg School in South Australia who have a class blog as well as individual blogs.
So that’s a load of tasks done but not necessarily finished and all out of order. I hope to go and visit all the members of the Chocolate Challenge blogs and leave a comment over the next few days and see how they have all gone with the tasks. We have all struggled to keep on top of the 31 tasks but have learnt so much about the who why and how we blog, it has been an exhausting but very rewarding exercise that has also created a new online community of friends. And its not finished yet…..
More information about our Chocolate Challenge
Go and visit the Chocolate Challenge members:
Kate Foy Sue Hickton Christine Martell
Michelle Martin Alex Miller Kate Quinn
The Famous MiniLegends
31 August, 2007 at 5:10 am
Frances,
I do hope you continue to feel better. What a trooper, you are managing to do the challenge despite the extra challenge of illness.
As a new reader to a blog, I do like the popular posts lists. They give me an idea of what the blog has the potential to deliver over time.
I love the new theme, especially because you added the image from your area. It’s quite elegant. The link titles are very approachable and clear. The only one that is a bit confusing to me is the one below this box. Does the checkbox mean I will be notified of a new comment?
Great work. The blog is getting better and better.
31 August, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Frances
You can do the popular posts section two ways, via hits on posts or comments on posts, with the most commented posts rising to the top of the list. This can work very well I find.
1 September, 2007 at 9:25 pm
Here I am busy reading away on your post when I look up and realise that you have changed your blog template, again! Actually I like the ocean scene very calming.
Wish I had thought of the minilegends - they rock!
Sue
3 September, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Well done for catching up! I’m just back from a lovely break and am beginning to realise there’s alot of catching up to be done.
Really like the calming and uplifting new theme!
Laura