Reading “Don’t Make me Think” by Steve Krug provided me with a lot of insight into how to successfully structure and create a user-friendly, appealing website. When I first started building blogs and websites, I struggled a lot with making the page appealing to my audience. Instead, I focused heavily on the content – which I think was a hinderance to my overall success. Krug emphasizes the use of easy, relatable language and mentions that items should be easy to find so that anybody could understand the subject of your blog. However, my biggest takeaway from reading the book was applying methods that will make users want to click on your article – as opposed to everybody else – and what I can do to achieve a higher traffic rate on my site.
Strategically placing new content on your site and being direct helps viewers know exactly what you will be talking about. If I were to make somebody play the “guessing game” on what they are about to read, they more than likely will lose interest. Another take away, be clear with your writing and headlines. Being direct and listing things in a,b,c format will reduce the time a user spends on your site but will prove more effective because they would have read everything you posted. The last thing that really stood out to me: match up your writing with images or relatable content. They say this all the time in news production, especially when I’m editing my own stories – and it all makes sense! I just didn’t know I could or if I should apply the same to blogging – who would have thought! Providing your audience with something they can understand and “connect the dots” will help with being more personable, in a way, and tie things together.
This semester, I plan on using the tips I learned from this reading this book and applying them to my blog. When I first thought of what kind of blog I wanted to write, it took me a while to choose between news related content, and food. See, I’m passionate about both. However, I feel like I already spend so much time focusing on news related content in my classes and extra curricular involvement, that I wanted to take some time to focus and something that brings me joy! So, of course, ‘Whiskey Business’ was born. However, I asked myself “Do I want to review restaurants? Do I wan to provide my own recipes? Etc.” In the end, I decided to do both – and I did. Because I’m still working out the logistics, I’m glad I read this book to in a way guide me, and help me build something that was greater than what I could have ever imagined! I’m excited to go on this journey with all of you and grow each step of the way. This is something I have wanted to work on for a while now – and this class is finally motivating me to do just that.
Here’s to continued growth and of course, getting “whiskey!” 😉
Whiskey Business Food Blog 