How Readable is Your Blog?

Happy holidays everyone!

I've been on a holiday break since yesterday. I've opted to not accept any writing or editing jobs until after tomorrow (Christmas). This has given me the time to rest and, now, blog a bit.

How readable is your blog?

I believe that this is a very valid question. Surfing through different blogs and posts has got me thinking about this.

Sometimes when reading through posts, I'll skip through one that is too text strong. The paragraphs are too long and they just make my eyes tear up. Does this sound like your blog?

For a new blogger, you may want to start thinking about making your posts more readable. Do it for your reader. They will appreciate it.

How can you tell if it is readable?

There are several ways you can do this. A simple way is to read it on your own. If your own post makes you want to kill yourself or requires a drop of Eye-mo after each paragraph, then it might be about time to make a few changes in your writing style.

A less subjective way would be to check a readability index. After looking through Freelance Writing Jobs, I came across a post recently about "Foggy Writing". It was actually the inspiration for this most recent post. It suggested readability.info for all your needs. It uses several different formulas and score indexes to check readability.

I used this site and found out my Fog Index (an index used to check readability) is at an ideal level. You should try it out just to have an idea.

What can you do?

There are several things you can do. Rather than re-writing what has already been said, I can give you links to helpful posts on the subject.

The article I read, "On Foggy Writing", actually gives several helpful tips.

I also came across a post on avoiding "text deserts"by Ryan Caldwell. Check it out. It gives five helpful tips.

Hope this helps!

Again, happy holidays to all of you!

You can now receive e-mails about the blog! (Powered by Feedblitz)

I noticed recently that the feeding option can sometimes be limiting. Not everyone uses My Yahoo or My Google.

After browsing through Filipino Writer, I noticed that they had a small icon on their page. It was a small feed reader that allows you to subscribe to e-mails. This is powered by Feedblitz.

I think this option is great. If I like a blog, then I can receive e-mails. It's as simple as signing up.

If you like this blog, please do become a subscriber. The link is on the upper right hand corner of the page.

You can also click here.


Hope this helps the other bloggers out there! Another great way to optimize your blog. You can even use it for website newsletters!

Optimizing my Blog

If you've visited my blog several times in the past 48 hours you'll notice a few changes.

I have used several new widgets to maximize my blog and increase traffic. Here is what I did, so maybe you can do the same.

What did I do?

1. As I already mentioned, I have added MyBlogLog.

What this widget does is that it records who visits your blog and gives them the option to join your community. If you visit another MyBlogLog member, your headshot shows up on the same little bar you have. This program is nice because it lets you connect with bloggers with the same interests. By visiting another persons blog, you have the opportunity to increase the traffic of yours.

2. I added an RSS feed from Feedburner.

Look at my fancy new button on the upper right hand corner. You can now subscribe to my blog!

I had an RSS feed before. Blogspot gives you the automatic option to do so. The difference here is that, now, I have more control over the feed. I can make it cleaner and more appealing.

Feedburner also allows you to publicize and control other features that optimize your feed. Just look at the fancy new button.

3. I added BlogRush.

BlogRush is a very nice tool. It is like a google ad bar but for blogs.

What it does is retrieve similar blog posts and posts them on the small widget. So when you post, the link shows up on another BlogRush members widget. This, of course, is a great way to boost traffic.

The referral program also allows you to increase traffic more. The more people who find BlogRush through you, the more times your posts will show up on other BlogRush widgets. Very nice.

So if you plan to add it. Please use my links or click on the widget on my sidebar :D

4. I added an RSS feed reader on Facebook.

I've been a Facebook user for a while now. Looking at all my programs, I realized that there had to be some sort of blogging application on the site.

And I was correct. There are several types of applications there. The one I chose was an RSS feed reader.

This application allows you to show your blog updates on your Facebook profile. Check out mine. This a great way for a Facebook user to maximize their profile.

5. My last addition was a ZoomCloud.

ZoomCloud allows you to add a tag cloud to your blog using a simple script. A tag cloud allows users to browse through labels/tags in a easier manner. It shows the keywords and allows a reader to click on a text link that leads them to posts with that tag. This is especially useful for a blog like mine that has so many different topics.

What's nice about ZoomCloud, aside from the fact that it's free, is that it uses an RSS feed to obtain your tags. This makes the script a lot esasier to use than the other ones out on the market.

Though I did have trouble first setting it up (some technical difficulties on the main site), the whole thing is very promising.

Well, that's it. I'm still on the look out for more ways to optimize my blog.

I hope this post helped all the other bloggers out there.