Food Blogging For Dummies by Kelly Senyei

Author:Kelly Senyei
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2012-03-01T16:00:00+00:00

Figure 8-4: The introductory paragraphs on Just a Taste’s About page.

Readers will have a hard time missing the centrally located image, which not only gives them a better sense of who I am, but also personalizes the tone and feel of my blog. You can match a face to the writing and food photography on the site, which will hopefully prompt an even stronger connection between reader and author.

Aside from the essential elements of identifying yourself and your inspirations, the About page can also optionally include details about your related areas of expertise, your current city, or your hobbies outside the realm of food blogging. Although all these details personalize the page, keep in mind that short and sweet attracts readers, whereas long and sour leaves them drifting. I provide a more detailed bio below the image so that interested readers can get the full details but not everyone is forced to face the additional text at first glance.

Most importantly, never let your About page get outdated! Consider it a living and breathing résumé viewable by the entire online public, which includes your mom, fellow food lovers, casual browsers, interested advertisers, and maybe even potential employers. You never know who may grace your About page, and you don’t want to come across as indifferent or careless when it comes to the details (and that includes proper spelling and grammar). Update your About page with any major new developments so that it constantly reflects your latest interests and current career status.

Creating a Contact page

Inviting your readers to contact you is a great way to build community and give them a place to engage in a dialogue with you outside the public comments realm. That’s not to say you need to post your cellphone number and home address. Remember your Contact page is viewable by the entire online public, so share only the same amount of contact information you’d feel comfortable handing out to a stranger on the street. Here are the two simple ways to implement a method of contact via your blog:

Set up an e-mail address separate from your personal e-mail account.

Add a contact form that requires readers to include their name and e-mail address when contacting you.

A contact form can be added to any post or page on a WordPress.com blog via the Contact Form icon in the top portion of the Text editor. Clicking the icon causes a pop-up window to appear (see Figure 8-5), which you can customize. A contact form also exists as a plug-in on WordPress.org blogs, and I discuss installing and activating a variety of plug-ins in Chapter 9. Specialized code is required to install a contact form on a Blogger blog because a basic contact form button or gadget does not yet exist.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.