Abaminds

Hello, world! Ooops! Err… Hi, everyone! Welcome to my brand new blog! (Hm… that wasn’t too original either.)

What’s the best way to start a blog? How are you supposed to write your introductory post?

While I hope you don’t follow my (bad) example above, I can’t really criticise you if you do, because my initial posts tend to be quite lame (sometimes even ridiculous). And I’ve owned several blogs, so by now I should have learned how to write a decent opening. But apparently I haven’t. The present post is by far my best attempt… No, you don’t want to read the worst one.

Some quick ideas for your first post

1. Use it to clearly state what your blog is going to be about. But wait… isn’t it what your “about” page is for? Yes, it is. But many blog platforms won’t even give you the option to have a “profile” or “about” page. So, if that’s your blog’s case, this first tip definitely is for you. Don’t forget to add a link to your introductory post to your blog’s sidebar, as it’s going to be your replacement for that missing “about” page.

If your blog platform does allow you to create pages (like WordPress), or if it at least offers a decent profile page (like LiveJournal), read the next item.

2. Use it as a complement to your “profile” or “about” page. In this case, you want to make sure that your introductory post’s text will *not* be the same as the one seen on the profile page. After all, what’s the use in having two identical texts in the same blog?

You may sum up your intentions in your first post and offer in-depth info on your profile. You may do the opposite instead (not exactly what I’d recommend, but it’s up to you). Or you might split all the information between the post and the page.

In all cases, you should interlink your first entry and your profile. For instance, if you choose my first suggestion, you might write at the beginning of your “about” page something like this: “Click here to read a summary of this page.” Of course that “click here” would lead your visitors to your first post. And that post would contain, at its end, a link to your profile, with an anchor text that could be like this: “For more info about this blog, click here.”

3. Write it as if it was a normal blog post. That is, don’t use it as an introduction. Instead, get things going immediately by posting the kind of article you’d write if your blog was already a month old. This is what I’m trying to do now: this blogs aims to be a source of inspiration for writers, webmasters, bloggers and other content producers, so I’ve chosen to offer some ideas right on my first post.

Many respectable bloggers would say that this is the way to go if you want to be taken seriously by your readers and peers. Of course, if you don’t want to be taken so seriously (i. e., if you own a humour blog), feel free to subvert their advice.

What if I have a website instead of a blog? Should I place a “welcome” message on my homepage?

Nowadays many people seem to think that “welcome” messages make a site look unprofessional. The more professional you want to look (and the more serious your niche), the more you’ll want to avoid it. Therefore, you should use your main page as a clear and practical guide for your visitors, highlighting your strongest content and displaying links to articles, sections and perhaps subsections.

But I know many site visitors who like being welcomed, or at least expect it. All of my websites used to have “welcome” messages, but then again, they weren’t meant to be professional and the type of visitors they attracted apparently enjoyed those friendly texts. Besides, I never added “about” sections to my sites; their respective main pages would play this role. And I never got any complaints. My visitors were happy after all, and that was what mattered to me. That is what matters to any webmaster, no?

However, regardless of the previous paragraph, I strongly advise you to create “about” and “FAQ” pages. Those are great time-savers for webmasters: you won’t have to reply emails containing questions already answered on your site.

UPDATE: I’ve noticed that FeedBurner’s homepage displays a “welcome” message. And I’ve never seen it being labeled as “amateurish.” It may be a nice example of how to create a main page that is professional and friendly at once.

What have you done? What would you do?

Feel free to use the comments section to show me links to your first blog posts and/or to your sites’ main pages. If you still don’t have a blog nor a site, tell me what you’d do if you had one. Would you apply any of my tips to it? Or do you have any better ideas? If so, please share them.

Posted on November 11th, 2007 by Karen Zara
Filed under: Ideas and Inspiration