Having original design on your blog is the gold standard and if you want to make your blog a part of your business brand, it is essential. But if you can’t afford a pricey design firm, just knowing some simple tips can help improve the look of your blog or Web site.
Use free stock art to illustrate your point.
Lee’s Better Communication blog gives us some tips on sprucing up our posts with free stock art. I use Flickr because the photos can be automatically uploaded to my site, but Lee includes a link to a pretty comprehensive list of other free (or nearly free) stock art resources, and also adds a link to a list of free movie downloads, the hottest of which is YouTube. I would also add that I have been lately using iStockphoto for some of my print stuff, you can get hi-resolution stock art from $1 to $5 US, very cool.
Employ a research-tested layout of your posts.
Each post can be laid out for maximum effect using the results of the Eyetrack III study, see more on this in yesterday’s post, 6 Tips to Keep Your Reader’s Attention.
Invest in your blog
If you are ready to take the next step and invest in your site, see Alan Weinkrantz’s post, also a San Antonio PR Blogger (tech), for a few good examples of branded blogs and the graphic design company he is using to redesign his site. I also have word that his site will be sporting new design before the end of the month, maybe even later today? Check it soon so you can see the “before and after” results.
