PB017: Watch a First Time Reader of Your Blog [Day 17 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog] - a podcast by Darren Rowse: Blogger, Speaker, Author and Online Entrepreneur

How to Improve Your Blog by Watching a First Time Reader
Today's episode is all about how you can see your blog from a first time reader's perspective, and draw them in to keep reading.

You will need to find someone to help you today (although I suggest a service to try too) but it can be well worth the effort!Caucasian couple using laptop together on sofa by Gable Denims on 500px
In this EpisodeYou can listen to today's episode above or in iTunes or Stitcher (where we'd also LOVE to get your reviews on those platforms if you have a moment).

Also - if you have a moment we'd love to get your feedback on the ProBlogger Podcast with this short survey which will help us plan future episodes.

How to find out how a first time reader views your blogWhat questions to ask a first time reader to get practical, useful, detailed feedback to improve your blog
Tools you can use to make getting feedback easierFurther Resources on Watching a First Time Reader of Your Blog

Sign up (free) to Peek User Testing and you can get a 5 minute video of someone using your site. You can pay for more tests, choosing your audience, setting users tasks etc. and on different devices etc.CrazyEgg shows you exactly where users ‘click’ on your site when there and creates a ‘heat map’. It shows how far people scroll and where they stop. Fascinating tests!Full TranscriptExpand to view full transcript
Compress to smaller transcript viewWelcome to episode 17 of the ProBlogger Podcast and 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, where I’m issuing you a different challenge every day to help build some habits into your blogging that is going to take it to the next level. Today’s challenge is to watch someone read your blog for the first time. You’re going to need to find someone else to help you with this challenge. Preferably someone who’s never been to your blog before, but I’ll talk you through exactly how you can do that and suggest another service that you can use to get this same thing done for you. You can find today’s show notes including links to any tools mentioned at problogger.com/podcast/17. I hope you enjoy what we’ve got for you today.

Hi, this is Darren from ProBlogger. Welcome to day 17 of 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. We’re way over the halfway point now and the home stretch. Congratulations. Today, we are going to do something I always find insightful. I actually love this, but at the same time, I’ll always feel a little bit frightened when I do it. It’s to get someone who’s never seen your blog before to view it and give you their feedback.Here’s the frightening reality. Within just a few seconds of arriving on the blog that you pour hour after hour after hour of time and energy into, just after a few seconds of arriving a new reader is making snap judgments about what your blog is about and if it’s worth their time to stay on it and come back again. It’s frightening to think about it. You put so much time into it, and you see it as a complex and wonderful thing, yet these strangers are making snap judgments about it.

First impressions are so important in real life. We all know that when we meet other people, we’re making judgments about them. In the online space, it’s even more important. People make even quicker judgments about others. You just have a few seconds to draw people into your world or they’ll never return. This is a great activity to do because you’re going to get some insight into what a first-time reader thinks about your blog by conducting a little audit. First-time reader audit on your blog to try and get inside their head.To make this work, you’re going to need a couple of things. Firstly, you’re going to need a friend, a friend of a friend, a friend of a friend of a friend, a family member, a colleague, a blogger that you’ve not had much to do with, or a random stranger off the street if you can conv...

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