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I recently hired blogging extraordinaire Sarah Lewis to help me overhaul my blog. I’m quite clueless when it comes to CSS - and Sarah is both talented, fun to work with, and a dang cool lady. I should have my new template up and running by the end of February.

Because of this, I’ve been doing a little housekeeping around here.

Although the work I’ve been doing is minor in the big picture of things, even small tweaks are making a big difference, so I wanted to share them with you.

I was surprised at the time I put in (less than 2 hours on all of these combined) vs. the results, which were way more than I expected.

  1. I swapped out my old small RSS icon :::: for a spiffy new one in my right sidebar. Within 24 hours, my subscribers increased to my highest number of all time.

    Lesson Learned :: In this case, Bigger is indeed Better!

    ;)
    ~
  2. I moved my “Add this Blog to my Technorati Faves” Add eMoms at Home to your Technorati Faves!button higher, above the fold - no impact yet, but I’m counting on it happening. [Especially since as I was moving it, I found I had the link wrong!]

    And if you haven’t already, adding this blog to your Technorati Favorites would be a great thing to do right now, wouldn’t it? Did you know I’m only 80 ‘votes’ away from getting into Technorati’s Top 100?! Nudge. Wink. Smile.

    Lesson Learned :: We all need a little shameless promotion!
    ~

  3. Back onto the RSS subscribers topic, I noticed that Ben Yoskovitz has a nifty link next to his RSS icon helping his readers with a “Learn How to Subscribe” page. I copied the idea and created a RSS for Newbies page that in 48 hours has already seen 20 hits. I was surprised at that number - so I think this has also helped to increase my subscriber base.

    Lesson Learned :: Make subscribing EASY for

    everyone!
    ~
  4. I have been working to clean up my categories and archives, which have gotten a little out of hand over the months.

    Here is where I am seeking your input: Do you prefer to have both monthly archives and categories in the sidebar (like they are now)? -OR- would you prefer to have an archives link added to the main navigation and simply move around from this page?

    Lesson Learned :: Site navigation changes are serious business - make these decisions very carefully!
    ~

  5. Interestingly, the longer I blogged, the less I wanted to write about blogging. But even when I hadn’t written about it in any depth in over a month, I was finding in my page hits that it was still the most popular category on this blog. So I carefully stepped back into blogging about blogging - and you wonderful readers definitely responded.

    Not-so-surprisingly, I have found a renewed interest in this topic - especially knowing how important it is to you. I’ve also been giving some thought to ways I can offer more blogging content - and I’m dedicating a whole section to it on the new site.

    Lesson Learned :: Web stats allow you to peek into your reader’s minds - so LISTEN to them!!
    ~

  6. Lastly, my patience was wearing a little thin with Text Link Ads - I couldn’t find my own links on their site even when I did a keyword search with “eMoms”!! Yikes! But time has been on my side, and my TLA ads are finally selling. I’m finding I rather like their system, and can happily recommend it - if you haven’t already signed up for an account - it’s totally worth it.

    Lesson Learned :: First impressions are indeed not always what they seem to be!

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    Discussion

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    Comments

    1.
    On February 1st, 2007 at 6:49 pm, Thomas said:

    Thanks for the excellent tips, I will definitely be re-evaluating some aspects of my site to try and improve my reader base.

    2.
    On February 1st, 2007 at 7:41 pm, Armen said:

    Hmmm…I’m liking the lesson you’ve learned with your RSS feed. I might try that one too.

    Thanks!

    3.
    On February 2nd, 2007 at 2:46 am, Rene Kriest said:

    “Lesson Learned :: Make subscribing EASY for everyone!”

    I recently experienced this effect, too.

    Most people aren´t tech/internet savvy and also do not new the term “blog”. How could they know about more demanding things like “RSS feed”?

    I then did a FAQ about my website considering and regarding “Using this website to your best advantage”. The success and the results were outstanding!

    Regards,

    René

    4.
    On February 2nd, 2007 at 9:36 am, Cucirca said:

    I will definitely use the tip about rss help.
    Thanks ;)

    5.
    On February 2nd, 2007 at 11:26 pm, Sarah Lewis said:

    Thanks for the super-kind words, Wendy. I’m really looking forward to working with your new design.

    I love your tips and am amazed (though not completely surprised) at the results you’ve mentioned. This post is going in my files to show clients the “real life” value of small improvements!

    6.
    On February 5th, 2007 at 11:28 am, Stacy said:

    I recently found your bog, and although I don’t have a home based business, there is a lot of information that I find useful on emoms. Thank you, and count another person who has favorited you!

    7.
    On February 13th, 2007 at 12:22 am, xion said:

    A very good idea indeed.

    8.
    On March 21st, 2007 at 12:46 am, Easton Ellsworth said:

    Awesome tips - I know, I’m late to the party. Thanks Wendy!

    Yes, things are not always as they initially seem. TLA has performed very well for Know More Media thus far - we’ve been using it only for a couple months.

    I hope you enjoy(ed) the Elite Retreat!

    Mentions on other sites...

    1. eMoms at Home » Blog Archive » Increase Your Blog Revenue with Analytics :: Part I on February 21st, 2007 at 1:38 pm

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