Within the last few weeks, I’ve really tried to reinvest in my business and feed my professional soul. A new habit I have is plugging ye olde ear buds into my MacBook and listen to pro bloggers wax poetic about the finer points of blogging. Fascinating! Well, it is for me.

I *just* finished listening to the above video post from Darren at ProBlogger: don’t let your blog be like my sock drawer. Well, I love an edifying analogy and this was a good one! Darren wants you to inspect your blog – specifically the sidebar – and check for holey, mismatched, and ugly socks. Then throw them out!

Does your blog’s sidebar support your creative business?

I was discussing sidebars with a client this week. She had been blogging for quite a while and she was experiencing what I refer to as “sidebar creep” – the sidebar was full of what was probably useful information at one time but was now mostly noise. Your sidebar (the skinny column that stays generally static throughout your blog) is a key place to display secondary information. Links to your store, contact information, further reading, newsletter subscriptions, etc… are key things that need to be displayed in this area.

Here’s a list of things that should be in your sidebar:

• short “about” blurb that links to your “about” page
• contact information
• prominent link to your store, shop, or services
• search
• list of your columns, categories, labels, or tags
• subscription form (rss or newsletter)
• links to connect with you elsewhere (social media)
• blog archives
• friends

Things to avoid in your sidebar:

• links that don’t enhance the content of your own blog
• “sunshine” or “nicest little blogger” award badges
• ads for other people’s stuff
• mis-matched styling – your sidebar should “match” the rest of the blog
• anything that completes with the content of your blog

How’s your sidebar?

Your task tonight is to approach your sidebar ruthlessly! Ask yourself if each gadget, widget, or whose-a-whatsit is supporting, promoting, and enhancing your business. Get rid of, edit, or makeover each one that’s not.

While you should never obsess over the design of your blog to the point of distraction, you’ll want to regularly inspect this area of your site to see how you can enhance or edit it.

What’s in your sidebar?

she may not know it, but i am so jealous of victoria klein! victoria writes for all sorts of great print publications, including boho, yogo journal, and craft. her blog is a clean, happy place where she leaves small snippets of information & beauty.

i like

as i just said, i love the clean layout of victoria’s blog. lots of white space puts a major emphasis on content. and content is what will sell your service or product or, well, you!

when you’re first getting started with wordpress or blogger or [other blog platform], it’s so easy to choose a busy theme that makes it look like you’re a web designer. trust me, the less noise around the edges, the more it will look like you know what you’re doing. clean white layout, minimal banner image, readable colors.

speaking of layout, i think victoria’s site is a good example of a 2-column layout too. with room for a few notable exceptions, unless you’re selling something and selling something for someone else (i.e. affiliate marketing or advertising), a two column format is my preference. if you find 2 columns makes your sidebar too long, consider what is really necessary. what can you edit to get more bang for your link buck?

earlier, i discussed how i like to see a small “about” section at the top of your sidebar. in victoria’s case, this isn’t necessary because her blog is incorporated into her website, all that information and much more is available just a click away. victoria instead leads with her feed information – perfect! – and then a number of ways to connect with her further: twitter, linkedin, and formspring. are links that allow your readers to connect with you more casually or quickly prominently display on your blog?

things to improve

i love victoria’s content. vivid images, short but descriptive writing. it’s the kind of blog you can stop by daily and get a piece of inspiration.

but victoria doesn’t have many comments. and i know comments are all something we like to get. my suggestion: ask for them! ask a question, and let your readers know you’d love to read their answers in your comments.

right now, victoria is working her way through the 365 project – taking an image every day for a year. as you can imagine, many of these images are intimate little windows into her life. my advice to would be to use these to connect with readers through asking them to reveal a tiny window into their life.

for example, victoria recently wrote a post featuring the above image. it’s a toy from her childhood. i had the same toy! so i left a comment. but what if victoria had simply asked: what’s a toy from your childhood that meant something to you?

getting comments doesn’t just help your self-esteem. engaging readers and asking questions help your readers to feel involved in your blog, to feel invested in you and your work. when others feel invested in you, they are much more likely to help you to promote yourself and return more often to make purchases.

overall, i adore victoria’s blog, her photography, and her writing. if you’re looking for a personal spot to get a bit of inspiration to start your day, i highly recommend get to know her through her blog!

first up in this series is sarah erdmann from wifemomdesigner & lucky star press. sarah is – get this – a wife, mom, and graphic designer. ya know, most of the time in blogging saying precisely what you mean is *very* important – 10 points for the simple & effective title, i know what i’m going to get.

like it

unless you’re the sartorialist, you’re probably not going to get by with the stock blogspot header. a beautiful or unique or eye-catching – and at the least professional-looking – header is a must. luckily, sarah is a designer and created a beautiful banner that serves as a jumping off point for the rest of her blog design: simple, colorful, and pretty. 20 points for a great header!

the most recent post while writing this is a “meme” post. sure, write too many of these and you’re going to annoy somebody. but memes & projects (something i talk about in 52 Weeks) are a great way to guide your writing, give your readers insights in to your business, and generally make things fun! 10 points for fun.

things to improve

who are you, sarah? i’m totally sad that sarah hasn’t included a small “about” section in her sidebar – at the top. while blogger isn’t my platform of choice, i know there’s a gadget – or whatever you crazy blogger users call your widgets – for adding in an easy peasy about section that pulls from your blogger profile. -10 points for confusion & missed marketing opportunity.

similarly, sarah has a lovely graphic for her design shop (+15 points!). but you have to get through her blogroll to see it… i would put that puppy right under that lovely “about” section sarah’s going to add tomorrow morning! -10 points for missing out on sales.

which leads me to a couple of little pointers about sidebar organization.

• consider the length of your average post. any information & links you want everyone to see should be contained in that average length on your sidebar. many people will only view your blog via single posts, if all your good info is down at the bottom of your sidebar, it’s not going to get seen!
• make it easy to connect with you. social media links – facebook, twitter, linkedin – and your email address or other contact info should be displayed prominently. the more you use it, the higher it should be on your sidebar.

finally, sarah needs to blog more about her own work! don’t get me wrong, i’m all for blogging your inspiration – whether that be other artists, your family, or daily life – fill in the gaps. but don’t be afraid to post your work. of the 6 blog posts on her first page, sarah only shows a picture of her work once.

do you spend 1/6th of your time working?

i didn’t think so. honestly, i read artist’s blogs to find out what they’re working on. show it to me!

oh – one more thing! – sarah let me know that her business is mostly wholesale. she works for new accounts not necessarily for retail sales, although i’m sure she’d be thrilled if you popped over to her etsy shop. so how can she increase awareness of her desire to whole her product? my suggestion is always to post about the stores & boutiques that are already carrying your work. “interview” the owner, do a special “thanks” series – and always include your wholesale contact information at the bottom of those posts.

thanks so much for volunteering for the first blog critique, sarah. i hope you find some of these suggestions useful!