There's not much to report writing-wise. My aunt-in-law passed (as expected, cancer), and my spouse and I have been dealing with her estate. (Draaaaama.) Hope to be back to a normal routine again soon.
Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Janet Alcorn, SE White, Victoria Marie Lees, and Cathrina Constantine
Feb 7 question -
What turns you off when visiting an author's website/blog?
- When there is a logo or link thing to social media (Facebook, etc), but clicking it goes to Facebook or whatever main site. Instead of to the author's social media site. Or it's a broken link. I know stuff happens, but especially if you're in a hop and expecting an influx of guests, check your stuff. Ask a friend to check your site. Heck, ask me beforehand. Goodreads is a big one where authors put a link to the main site but not to their own author page. Why? Unless you are getting paid, that is a waste of your time and mine. Link to places where there is more YOU. Your books, your social, you, you, you.
- A dead blog. No posts for half a year. Why am I on the site?
- If I have to log in and/or sign up to leave you a comment-- BYE. ✋
- The WordPress or Blogger dashboard. I can't get to your blog from that. You need to know your own website URL. We have discussed this at A to Z, so I know there are resources to teach noobs how to figure this out.
- Difficult navigation. If I can't find what I came for in 45 seconds, I'm gone and won't be back.
- Mocking reviewers, readers, etc. I don't want any part of it.
- If I can't see it. Black text on a black background. I'm not highlighting everything. I don't have all day. Yellow text on white. What? Is this an eye test or a blog?
I know links break, sites go down, servers time-out, THINGS HAPPEN. But on a regular day, your site should be easy to access, navigate, and use. I consider myself an expert in this area, having been to thousands of blogs and author sites. I know I am not alone on this list. I am the #AtoZChallenge captain, and in April, people message me with complaints about blogs that make those errors. PLEASE avoid the easy mistakes.
Happening at the A to Z ChallengeFebruary- Jayden's post-- Fall in love with your blog and blog hops again
March- J -Post to Announce the April challenge is coming (post during the first week of March)
I didn't even think about those things when composing my answer, but yeah, those are good. I definitely don't want to have to sign up for a new site. I have a couple blogger friends who use Squarespace for their blog and it's a bother to have to put in my full information every single time.
ReplyDeleteGood luck dealing with your aunt's estate. I used to help clients probate estates and didn't enjoy the drama and fighting sometimes. Your list of annoying things are ones I hadn't thought of, but they're really good ones.
ReplyDeleteHard AGREE on all seven of your points, though having to sign in to post a comment is useful for weeding our spam bots. HOWEVER! A potential commenter should only need to log in once, not multiple times.
ReplyDeleteYou've brought up a great point. We should check those links every once in a while. I'm guilty of not doing that, but then I'm guilty of a lot worse. :-)
ReplyDeleteAgreed on all points in general, but for the dead blog, which can happen for various reasons and different lengths of time. As for my blogging efforts, it seems to be a long time in between posts. More often this has been because of technology and internet issues, or a lack of, and chronic health issues... Of course, over the last 3+ years, there have also been considerable losses that included homelessness. These losses started just prior to COVID pandemic lock downs (2019) and didn't really stop until early November 2023. I am planning for many things, including A-Z 2024, but it's difficult to completely commit at the moment, without knowing how or if things will work out to support any of it. So much is still either not certain or entirely missing that would support it, at least where my blog/brand theme and life goals are concerned. Should things work out, then of course I look forward to getting back to all of the creativity and the sharing that is possible. On a separate note, I don't always have commenting turned on, on the blog. When I do, I use Discus for comments because of all of the spam that happened in the past. It should only require a one time sign in, if it requires at all. Commenting might be more available through the social media accounts which get more activity than the blog, and get blog posts added to them when they do happen. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's fantastic to read about your WEP get-together and IWSG author interview. Connecting with other writers and sharing experiences can be so enriching for our creative journey.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, have you ever explored the the chop house coupons. From office supplies to self-care items, there might be some great deals waiting to be discovered.
It's a great way to save money on various products and services, which can be particularly helpful for writers managing their budgets. Thank you for sharing your insights and experiences, and I'm looking forward to more inspiring posts from your blog!
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Hope the drama is dwindling! I do not like when I go to a blog and there are a million ads popping up. I usually end up leaving. :) ~Jess
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