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One of the biggest goals for many bloggers is to write a post that hits the front page of Digg.
Unfortunately, most bloggers will never sniff the front page of Digg, and in fact, they’ll never even get
close to that level of success.

The truth is hitting the front page of Digg is pretty hard. Not only does it take quality content, but it also takes a lot of luck. Since you can’t control the luck factor, let’s talk about things you can control—the
content.

How can you make your content more Digg-able?

Here are 7 simple tips you can use.

1. Start with a good headline — A boring headline will instantly kill your chances of Digg success. Remember, the headline is the thing Diggers see when your post is submitted and listed. The headline alone is what determines if a Digg user will click on your post and up-vote it. The headline needs to be catchy, clear, clever, and compelling.

2. Make it pleasing to the eye — Sure, the post needs to be written well, but it also has to look pleasing to the eyes. Diggers tend to really favor posts that have good images and videos mixed in. Also, make sure you format your post with nice headings throughout as it helps the post look a little better.

3. Keep it easy to scan — If your post is a huge block of text, no one is going to Digg it. Online users get overwhelmed by big passages of text, because they tend to scan content rather than read it word for word. With that in mind, you need to make your copy easier to scan by using short paragraphs, bullet lists, numbered lists, and bold headings throughout.

4. Get rid of the text ads — Digg users don’t like blogs that are blatant advertisements. It’s all about content first, and your ads shouldn’t interfere with that. So, if your blog is full of those contextual AdSense ads, you’re really limiting your chances of Digg success. The ads just look unprofessional and spammy.

5. Do something different — “Me too” content doesn’t tend to hit the front page of Digg. Why should someone get excited about voting for content they’ve seen a million times before? You have to be different. Talk about things that no one else has talked about, or cover old topics with a fresh, new, or funny angle.

6. Write with a personality — You can’t bore people into Digging your content. So you have to really let your personality shine through in your writing. Don’t worry about being so formal. Write like you talk, and feel free to be funny or sarcastic.

7. Add Digg buttons to your post — Finally, you need to make your posts as easy to share as possible. By adding social media buttons to your blog, someone can Digg your post with one click on the button, helping you attract a lot more Diggs.

What are some other things you can do to make content more Digg-able?

Recently, we talked about improving website usability by giving visitors what they want. Today, we’re going to take that one step further by discussing how to improve blog usability. Most bloggers don’t give usability a second thought. They crank out their posts and assume all is well with their blog.

The truth is a successful blog is much more than just great content. The best blogs deliver exactly what readers want and make it easy for them to find the information they need. Here are 5 simple tips for improving blog usability.

1. Add Related Posts Plugin—Ideally, you want readers to stay on your blog as long as possible. You want them to continue exploring your content so they become loyal readers. One way to do this is by using a related posts plugin. At the end of each post, this plugin will display a short list of other posts on your blog that cover related topics. It decides which posts are related based on the post titles, tags, categories, and other contextual clues.

2. Link Out to Other Useful Posts—Too many bloggers are afraid to link out to other blogs. They think they’ll either lose link juice or that there readers will never come back. I call BS on both claims. Linking out turns your blog into a resource. It shows readers that you give them access to all the information they need on a given subject.

3. Don’t Use Too Many Widgets—Widgets are designed to improve the usability of your blog, but when you have too many of them stuffed onto your blog, they become distracting and overwhelming. Take a step back and see if any of the widgets on your blog can be sacrificed.

4. Have Clear Headlines—Your readers are pressed for time. Before they’ll commit to reading a post, they want to know what it’s about. That’s where the headline comes in. The headline needs to be catchy enough to grab their attention but clear enough to let them easily understand what the post is about.

5. Use Good URL Structure—Rather than having a messy URL structure like this: www.yourblog.com/post-123?%$765!, you should use a clearer structure like this: www.yourblog.com/descriptive-post-title. Good URL structure is ideal for SEO purposes, sharing, bookmarking, and overall usability.

What are some of your best tips for improving blog usability? Add your own by leaving a comment.

During my past few years as a blogger, I’ve made a number of mistakes. As an avid blog reader, I’ve also seen other bloggers make mistakes of their own.

Here are 17 blogging blunders you should try to avoid. Please add to this list by leaving a comment.

1. Not having a unique voice. With so many blogs saturating the internet, why should someone read yours? The best way to stand out from the crowd is to have a totally unique voice readers can’t find anywhere else. How can you do that? Write like you talk, and be yourself. It’s that simple.

2. Having an awful design. For the love of all things holy, don’t use the default WordPress theme. It makes you look like a total amateur, and readers won’t take you seriously. There are plenty of great free WordPress themes you can download.

3. Posting infrequently. Keeping your readers’ attention is key to building a loyal following. It’s pretty difficult to do this if you post every few weeks or just whenever you get around to it. I’m not saying you need to post every day, you don’t, but post regularly enough that you don’t slip from your audience’s awareness.

4. Giving up too soon. Building a successful blog takes time. It can be a slow process, but if you avoid the blunders in this list, you should be well on your way to achieving something great.

5. Making it difficult to subscribe. You can’t expect everyone to come back to your blog on a daily basis. You need to make it so you can deliver your new content to them. That’s why you should place RSS feed signup buttons above the fold on your blog. You can also put a reminder at the end of each post asking people to sign up for your feed.

6. Not opening things up for conversation. Blogging is about creating a conversation with readers. Your job is to get the conversation started and to get people talking. Some ways to achieve this are to have a clear opinion on topics, write about timely issues, and ask readers to share their thoughts.

7. Not responding to comments. Of course, what incentive does a reader have to leave a comment if they know the author will just ignore it? You need to respond to all comments so you can keep the conversation going and build relationships with your readers.

8. Responding angrily to negative comments. People are going to disagree with you at some point. That’s just how it goes, and that’s actually a good thing. This starts conversations, and it keeps things interesting. Just make sure you have thick skin and respond to negative comments professionally.

9. Over-moderating comments. One of the great things about blogging—and all social media—is that everyone gets a voice. Readers get to voice their opinions, and those opinions should count just as much as those of the author. By moderating your comments too heavily (deleting all negative comments), you remove this important element, causing you to lose readers.

10. Adding nothing new to exhausted topics. Let’s face it: Whatever you plan on writing about has probably already been covered by someone else. That’s fine. Just make sure you add your own unique perspective to the topic to keep it interesting.

11. Distracting advertisements. If you’re going to have ads on your blog, keep them separated from the content. Place them in a sidebar or in a banner along the top or bottom of the page. Your content should always be the main focus of your blog.

12. Not tagging and categorizing content. Your readers may have particular subjects that they’re interested in reading more about. By categorizing your content, you make it easy for them to find the info they need fast. It’s Usability 101.

13. Bad headlines. A killer headline is the foundation of hot social media content. If your headline sucks, most people won’t even bother reading the rest of your post.

14. Never linking out. Linking out is important for a couple of reasons. First, it helps you turn your blog into a resource for your readers. In other words, when you link out, readers know you’re giving them all the info they need. Second, linking out captures the attention of other bloggers with a trackback, helping you build your network.

15. Being an unproductive blogger. Blogging can take up a lot of your time, especially if you lack basic productivity skills. One of the things I recommend is to set aside a specific time for handling blog maintenance tasks like approving comments. This keeps you from getting distracted each time a new comment is posted. You can also outline your posts ahead of time, so that when you’re ready to write you only have a few details to fill in.

16. Reposting content without asking permission. Never repost someone else’s blog post unless you talk to the blogger first. The only time you can repost content without permission is if it’s a short (few sentences at most) excerpt from the post. In this case, you should still link back to the original post.
17. Not optimizing posts for the search engines. If your posts aren’t targeting specific keywords, you’re missing out on long-term search engine traffic. Stick to the SEO basics of including keywords in headlines, body content, and back links.

What are some other blogging blunders you’d add to this list?

You’ve probably heard the saying “content is king.” Sure, there’s a lot of truth in that statement, but good content alone won’t make your blog a success. A truly great blog is a combination of quality content, eye-catching design, excellent promotion, and a strong community.

Today, I want to focus in on one of those elements: blog design. Too many bloggers fail to realize the important role blog design plays in creating sticky traffic. The simple truth is your visitors do judge your blog by the way it looks, so it’s important that you have a respectable design that keeps readers coming back.
Here are 7 blog design mistakes that can scare readers away.

1. Having too many ads — I’m not saying you can’t have advertisements on your blog. By all means, put ads on there so you can generate some income. However, just make sure your ads don’t become the main focus on your blog. Ads shouldn’t be a distraction. Create a specific section on the side for your ads so they don’t interfere with your content.

2. Using too many widgets and sidebars — These are a slippery slope. Many of the widgets, sidebars, buttons, plugins, etc. serve a good purpose and enhance your blog, but there comes a time when enough is enough. You have to be careful that you don’t create a cluttered blog that’s difficult for people to use. Pare it down to the sidebar apps you truly need, and get rid of the nonessentials.

3. Picking the default WordPress theme —Do you really expect anyone to take your default-themed blog seriously? Look, there are hundreds of great WordPress themes you can download for absolutely FREE. Anything is better than the default theme. It makes you look like a total blogging noob. Find a catchy theme that gives your blog a professional appearance.

4. Not using images to spice up your posts —Images can add an extra punch to your posts, making them more appealing and more interesting. Just make sure the images load quickly, aren’t copyright protected, and fit with the theme of your post.

5. Burying your RSS button —Blogging success requires building a community of dedicated readers. One of the best ways to keep your readers engaged is to create an RSS feed they can subscribe to that alerts them each time a new post is published. And if you want people to subscribe, you should place the RSS button above the fold for everyone to see.

6. Difficult to scan text — Readers tend to scan text online rather than actually read it word for word. With that in mind, your blog posts should be scanner friendly. You can do this by using bullet points, lists, short paragraphs, and bolded phrases.

7. Not making the design your own — Just because you downloaded a free WordPress theme doesn’t mean you have to use the template as is. There are plenty of things you can do to customize the theme to better fit your brand. One of the best ways to do this is by creating your own header for the blog, replacing the generic banner that comes with it.

What are some other blog design mistakes you’d add to this list? Leave a comment with your thoughts.