When you launch a blog for your brand, there are many variables to keep in mind. One of the top priorities should be to create visually pleasing content and design. Because of the heavy saturation of blogs online, you need to make sure that your visual presentation is as pleasing as the value of your content!

–Optimize your photos for the blog, by choosing appropriate sizes and resolutions for the post. Nothing ruins a great post faster than a blurry photo! Although sites like WordPress size photos into categories like “thumbnail”, sometimes the image you choose needs to be adjusted. Choosing photos that are too large cause your site to load more slowly. An optimal resolution size for a photo on a blog post would be approximately 72 dpi to 96 dpi, or a size of 500 x 500 pixels. It is ALWAYS better to size your image to the size you need rather than shrinking it to fit automatically or in the code itself.   There are many programs that you can use to resize photos, one great tutorial can be found here. There is also a way to do this right in your browser through a plug in; you can find that here.

-Create an inviting space that readers will want to share: One of the best perks of having a visually pleasing blog is that your readers will be eager to share your posts = free response marketing!  Create a branded Pinterest account that you can pin blog content onto, and invite your readers to re-pin your images. Pinterest pulls images straight from your blog post which means you need to be conscious of the key images you use. Utilize all the plug-ins on your blog to be able to share quickly. If you’re unsure how to add social media plug-ins to your blog, here is a tutorial for using AddThis to accomplish it.

-Readers love infographics! Research shows that posts featuring images are more likely to be shared. Infographics are a great way to get a ton of information out with a creative spin. If you’ve already created content in an infographic, but are unsure how to create an embed code, here is a link to a tutorial.  A recent study by Newswire showed that press releases or blog posts that featured an image were 14% more likely to be read and shared. They also found that blogs that featured an image placed “above the fold” (meaning it is able to be seen when a reader opens the post) increase clicks and visibility by 20%.

Still unsure how to boost your blog readership or stats? You can contact an Engagement Specialist today to find out how FrontGate can help you connect to the Christian Audience!