#31WBGB: Analyze a Top Genealogy Blog ~ Week 4

   

Welcome to Week 4 of 31 Weeks to a Better Genealogy Blog!  If you are just joining, you can read the kickoff post at the host's site for this series, Tonia's Roots! 
Week 4’s topic is analyzing a top genealogy blog.  The purpose Welcome to Week 4 of 31 Weeks to a Better Genealogy Blog, kindly hosted by Tonia at here is simply to observe and learn from others.  You probably already read a lot of genealogy blogs (we are a pretty close community), so pick one that you admire, dig in, and think about some of the following:
Content
§                     What topics are they covering?
§                     What topics are they ignoring?
§                     How often do they post?
Reader Engagement
§                     What topics generate the most comments?
§                     What styles of posts seem to connect with readers the best?
§                     Are they using any tools to connect with their readers (i.e. forums, Twitter, newsletters, activities, etc.)
Design
§                     What’s your first impression of their design?
§                     What have they done well?
§                     Is there anything that could be improved?
Monetization
§                     Are they doing anything to make money from the blog?  Affiliate programs?  Google ads? Do they have sponsors?
§                     If yes, what kinds of advertisers are targeting this blog?
§                     How do they implement monetization efforts on their site?  Sidebar?  Footer?  Within the content?

Cautions

1.                   Don’t spend so much time analyzing other blogs that you lose focus of your own.  This analysis is something to do from time to time.
2.                  Be unique.  Learn from others and be inspired by them, but don’t copy them.

It was more than difficult to pick one single blog to observe, it really was. I finally chose to observe DearMYRTLE'S Blog ~ hers is one of the first blogs I began to follow. Before I ever had a blog, she posted one of my pictures on her blog!

Content- One of my favorite things covered on this blog is her organization series! The blog also covers apps, education, announcements, podcasts, webinars, and even DearMYRTLE'S appearances. Any and everything genealogical is in this blog. She posts almost daily and many times more than once a day. This blog covers a lot of territory!

Reader Engagement- I don't know how anyone can not follow this blog. There may be posts that won't interest everyone, but I am sure in a day or two there is a post that will keep you coming back for more. With the wide variety of content, this blog is bound to catch the attention of many readers, as is shown by all of the blogs followers.

Design- I love the categories and organization of this blog. I am in the midst of several things, but eventually I would like to get my tabs at the top of my blog complete. I like that she has the "Subscribe," "Listen Now," "Search This Blog"  and the "Subscribe to Blog Podcast" buttons all in plain site and easy to get to. In the beginning I wasn't wild about the background of her blog, but over time it has grown on me and I truly recognize that this is in fact "DearMYRTLE'S Blog!"

Monetization- The couple of areas this blog features are Amazon.com links where she shares a few books. These are added at the very bottom of the blog, which in all honesty I wasn't even aware of! I am not sure how productive that is for her. I liked that they were not "in my face" but then I didn't even realize she had these options, maybe there could be a happy medium somewhere.

I enjoyed this exercise once I finally picked a single blog to observe. Most of the time we are all in such a hurry, trying to do to much, that we don't "stop to smell the roses" as they say. I learned a lot observing one blog, can you imagine if I took more time and observed even some of the hundreds of blogs I follow? How about you? How many blogs have you really observed lately?


Thanks for stopping by!

Wishing you success in all of your genealogical treasure hunts!





 Copyright © 2011 By Cheryl Palmer All Rights Reserved

Comments

  1. I love DearMyrtle's organization series, too! I can't work all her ideas into my schedule, but I'm trying to pick one thing each month and do that. I figure every little bit helps.

    And I agree, she is on my "must-read" list. Everyone interested in genealogy should subscribe to her blog.

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  2. You have been VERY busy Tonia! You are lucky to work in that much! ;-) Thank you for commenting and have a great day!

    ReplyDelete

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