So, you've started your Bravenet Journal, and you've got it all set up the way you want it.  Congratulations!    Now, all you need to do is make that first post, and then sit back and watch the visitors pour in.  Right?  Wrong.

One of the biggest misconceptions people new to blogging seem to have is that people will just start showing up from out of the woodwork, ready to talk, link, and generally interact with them once they announce themselves.  I know that when I started my very first blog, I had those beliefs, too - and I was devastated when they didn't bear fruit.  It took me awhile to learn that being noticed was one thing, but keeping people's attention and having them come back was something else entirely.

If you want to build a good reader-base, here are five tips to help you facilitate that process. They were offered to me when I started blogging, and now I'm passing them on to you:

1.  Visit the Journal Community page often and check out all the blogs listed there.  Leave a tag and/or a comment on posts, and, when the situation allows it, link back to them when you're writing your own blogs.  Some very interesting and ongoing discussions have occurred in this community because people were linking to each other's blogs.

2.  Don't make really long posts.  People are busy and tired.  They don't have time to sit and read super-long posts before going to work; at the end of the day, they're just too tired to sit and read.  So, try to keep your blog posts short.

3.  Be creative with your posts.  For example, people love a good chuckle to help them kick-start their day.  Bravenet has a Daily Cartoon widget you can get for free, and there are always lots of humorous jokes and cartoons all over the internet that you can use to appeal to people.  A great example of how humor can be encouraging can be found at Hazel Quinn's Scrumptious Blog.

4. Make your text easy to read, and don't use busy or blindingly bright background images.  Try to keep in mind that there are people who have vision issues; blinding or busy backgrounds make seeing the text very difficult.

5.  Avoid clutter on your page.  Having graphics is fine, but too many graphics not only detracts from your posts, it also slows down page-load time. If a page takes too long to load, people either won't stay and wait for it to finish loading, or, if they do wait, they won't be back a second time.  A wonderful example of how "less is more" can be found at Casualdiningout.com.

Building a solid reader-base takes time, patience, and work. But, if you're willing to do the work and put in the time, you'll soon find that you have a steady following of blog friends and fans. 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!