A Starter Guide for Bloggers

I know from personal experience when I first started blogging 1 1/2 years ago on Anticipating Dad (which is now here on Steve Online you can find all my daddy blog posts here) I always spent more time searching the ‘net for the answer to a question than I did actually blogging at times. Especially when life is at a distracting time like having a pregnant wife being focused on your blogging can really help you be more effective in the long run.

I have decided to share some of my favorite links, new and old, from my bookmark archives that I keep on my Mac in a very organized fashion. They’re from a wide spectrum of bloggers and sites and I hope they help you starting out as they have helped me.

Derek Halpern’s site Social Triggers is one of my favorite reads, and defining contrast is something I’ve been thinking about lately and what I can do here on the site to help facilitate that. Bringing more pop to my logo is on top of the list as are a few other simple ideas I’m working on. Here’s the article How Contrast Helps You Get More Subscribers and Sales it’s a great read.

Darren Rowse from ProBlogger is another household name, or at least should be, for anyone blogging on the internet the past decade. His article 21 Ways to Write Posts that Are Guaranteed to Grow Your Blog is another fantastic article you need to sit back and take the time to read and then think about how you will set this in motion for yourself.

Smashing Magazine has a great article up by Sven Lennartz the co-founder of Smashing showing 45 excellent blog designs in one long scrolling article. Great to look at to get ideas for what you want and don’t want on your blog. Some people love the one page – one post look. Others prefer the magazine style. Some go full art project with the look. It’s a careful balance for each blogger to get the content out in a way that fits their personality and blogging style / topics.

Tommi Kaikkonen is IMO a Typography Guru. Go through the Interactive Guide to Blog Typography and tell me you don’t feel the same way after going through the entire article.

The Blogging Mindset is a great article by Joel Friedlander of The Book Designer. Not everyone talks about the inner workings of blogging. Most just assume that means SEO or some kind of “optimization”. The realization of optimizing your mind is the only true optimization that will get you over the hump of randoms posts, and blogging.

I could go on and on about posts that I have enjoyed since my first blog post and continue to find new and engaging reads every week. Hopefully you enjoy these articles as I have, and find a positive use from them. Do you have a certain article that just helped push you in the right direction when you were starting out? Post it below in the comments section I’ve love to check it out.