A question for experienced blogger

[Michael Caleigh]

A lovely sunday to all my fellow pilgrims and bloggers.

I started a new blog which helps me keep the post camino blues away.
As I am not very familiar with writing a blog I would like to ask for your input on what I can improve and any constructive feedback is welcome.

The blog in question is: https://michaelscaminodesantiago.wordpress.com/

Thank you all so much in advance.

Buen Camino.

Michael

 

[beiramar]

Nice layout for your blog - I have the same

 

[Michael Caleigh]

Oh thank you so much

 

[clearskiescamino]

Hi Michael.
I love the blog. Great design so there is nothing to improve on that front.
It's all about content and keeping it updated. Maybe, look for people to contribute to your site?
I have a blog myself and update it while I'm not on the Camino.

Take a look at www.magwood.me, it's one of the better blogs out there with so much information.

David

 

[Michael Caleigh]

I followed you back and thanks for the advise.

 

[Kitsambler]

I've blogged my Camino walks for several years. Based on comments I've received, several different angles seem to have the most resonance with my readers. My specific focus (because there were so few English-language resources on the sections I walk) was on travel information for pilgrims following in my wake. And I'm very interested in food, so I pay a lot of attention to local and regional dishes. Having a clear focus that is of interest to some audience - and writing for them, rather than for yourself - will help you. Your focus might be history, or quirky personalities of fellow-travelers, or language attempts gone awry. So: don't just blog to blog; instead, blog as a way to communicate your voice.

 

[Felipe]

Good and nice project. I have a few comments (that you can ignore if you write for your own satisfaction, or for your friends are relatives). Blogging is a very personal thing; I write this only because you asked for comments.
* There are hundreds of webpages, blogs, twitter and facebook accounts about the Camino. Try that your blog be original, unique and personal.
* Title. It is important, because many times it is the reason why readers click it (or not) when they are looking for Camino stuff. Yours is right, but descriptive. Would you be really interested in a blog with a title as "Felipe's trekkings"?
Try to be imaginative, as in "A million steps"; oriented to a particular audience ("My spiritual journey") or cool ("Been there, done that: My Camino"). Just some and probably silly examples...
* Authorship. Readers like to know who is the person behind the writing. I am not saying that you disclose your full name or personal address, but something as "I am a...I worked all my life in...always dreamed about...finally..." would be good.
Include in your profile a photo, if not of yourself, about something or some place or moment that represents you.
* Contents: You reproduced the text about the Botafumeiro from the cathedral webpage, including correctly the source. Try to put it in your own words (besides being more interesting this way, it happens that when Google detects your content is not original, it sends your blog down in the list of thematic searches). Even better, write about your personal experience ("I went to the cathedral...it was...I felt...).
* Upon your photos I suppose that you have already done the Frances (this is an info that could be added in "About") and probably the Primitivo. Well, write about your experiences in every stage, people you met, problems you had, albergues you liked, food, feelings, etc.
* I recommend that you put a lateral icon (a "widget") with a "Creative commons" kind of license, to protect your contents (they are free to use). Also, put an inconspicuous digital watermark in your photos...unless you don't mind if they start appearing in other webpages, without credit.
A caveat: blogging could be quite addictive. You can start your blog just as a vacation project, but after a while it can become an important (and time consuming) part of your life. But it gives some satisfactions, too...
Buen camino!
and good blogging!
Felipe (an addicted to blogging since 2008)

 

[Michael Caleigh]

Oh thank you so much for this. I will work on it but I have one question. I can´t find a widget as mentioned by yourself. Would you know where to find this?

 

[SYates]

Write about what people want to read, not what you want to write about ;-)

When starting a website/blog try to think from the readers experience:

What kind of info needsWants a reader that is interested in this topic?
What are the FAQ a potential reader has?

Also:

Is it easy to find the information one is looking for?
Is the blog/site navigation easy and logical?

And last, but should be first:

What makes the blog/web site different from the thousand others out there?
What is the unique POV of the blog?

Nothing wrong with writing a personal blog as a diary for family and friends, but if you want to attract a wider readership you should keep those points in mind.

Buen Camino, SY *Who did website/SEO consultancy for a living in a not so distant past*

 

[Michael Caleigh]

Write about what people want to read, not what you want to write about ;-)

When starting a website/blog try to think from the readers experience:

What kind of info needsWants a reader that is interested in this topic?
What are the FAQ a potential reader has?

Also:

Is it easy to find the information one is looking for?
Is the blog/site navigation easy and logical?

And last, but should be first:

What makes the blog/web site different from the thousand others out there?
What is the unique POV of the blog?

Nothing wrong with writing a personal blog as a diary for family and friends, but if you want to attract a wider readership you should keep those points in mind.

Buen Camino, SY *Who did website/SEO consultancy for a living in a not so distant past*

Very good points and I try to collect and write down the info I was struggling to find.
I started with the free package and am not sure if things are easy to find but will do my best to keep things easy. Might even change the template.
Your posts are all so helpful and I will take this all on board.

Thanks again and buen camino.

Michael

 

[SYates]

By all means stay with a free Wordpress blog! If and when your audience increases, you still can upgrade to own domain/hosting. Happy Blogging, SY

 

[Michael Caleigh]

That was exactly what I thought to start off with....One never knows what will happen.

 

[clearskiescamino]

I agree with SY. I only bought a domain name a year ago. I had a free package for 4 years prior to that.
But it's all down to feedback from your readers!
Most of my posts nowadays are aimed at those in the planning stages or those who have never been but would like to.

 

[KinkyOne]

Wow, good tips!
I've been thinking of blogging from the time of my first complete Camino in 2011 but am kind of afraid of this:

A caveat: blogging could be quite addictive. You can start your blog just as a vacation project, but after a while it can become an important (and time consuming) part of your life. But it gives some satisfactions, too...

I'm already addicted to Camino, this forum and some other stuff

 

[Jeff Crawley]

A lovely sunday to all my fellow pilgrims and bloggers.

I started a new blog which helps me keep the post camino blues away.
As I am not very familiar with writing a blog I would like to ask for your input on what I can improve and any constructive feedback is welcome.

The blog in question is: https://michaelscaminodesantiago.wordpress.com/

Thank you all so much in advance.

Buen Camino.

Michael

Agree - well laid out. Especially liked the slide show of photos rather than static - how DID you do that? I had enough problems loading media on the way.
Perhaps dating your photo journal rather than the automatic "published on . . . . " would give readers a sense of time as well as place?
Keep it up.

 

[Walking by faith]

With the blog, it always depends on your goals.
Considering how over-saturated the niche of Camino the Santiago is, the quality of some blogs in the niche, and the latest Google updates, and kind of websites they prioritize now, it will be extremely tough for you to get at least decent number of visitors (decent means 1,000 visitors/month or more).

So, if you write only for pleasure (or journal), and don't care whether you have any audience, you'll good to go. But if you have some goals, e.g. becoming popular, or an authority author on the topic of Camino, possibly monetizing the blog in the future, or get an audience for a book you plan to publish... then free Wordpress blog is not a way to go.

You'll need a normal domain (where you can install wordpress CMS for free), definitely a different design than the one you use (it's the default WP design, used by millions of blogers all around the world, so hard to diferentiate with it), you need visitor Anlytics, and you need to invest more time in writing your content, and do it much better. But it depends on your goals .

Source: I own more than 30 websites, two of them are blogs (not on the topic of Camino)

 

[Felipe]

I visited again your blog and looks much better! Your pic slide is very cute.
I'd add a comment...if your plan is just to share your experiences, don't start looking at the tempting stats provided by wordpress. If you do, you will notice that when you don't post, they naturally tend to go down. So, after a while you will feel bound to post new notes every week...it starts to feel more as chore than a hobby, especially when you have already published your easier and more obvious content. It is not exactly that the blog becomes a kind of little hungry monster, but sometimes it feels this way.
Well, maybe it happens only with us, the members of OBC (obsessive bloggers club)