What Does Sticky Mean?
The main goal in blogging is to have a site that readers click around and find themselves sticking around, especially first time visitors. There are many ways to make your site appealing to readers, and ProBlogger, one of the web’s foremost voices on blogging suggests 21 ways to make your blog or website sticky (as presented via images below). Hopefully, some of this won’t make sense and you’ll *have* to go read the whole article! It’ll make your site sticky…
original image courtesy of Sarah Parrott
original image courtesy of foundphotoslj
original image courtesy of melop
original image courtesy of Orin Optiglot
original image courtesy of Maureen Fischinger
original image courtesy of life of bryan
original image courtesy of nathan gibbs
original image courtesy of pulpolux
original image courtesy of Otto Yamamoto
original image courtesy of Theremina
original image courtesy of bensonkua
original image courtesy of pingnews.com
original image courtesy of decor8
original image courtesy of WintrHawk
original image courtesy of joe lencioni
original image courtesy of Odalaigh
original image courtesy of TwOsE
original image courtesy of Sophistichate
original image courtesy of Seema K K
original image courtesy of Dana Rocks
So head over to ProBlogger and get all the details on how to make this happen!
originally published July 18, 2008
teresa boardman
July 18, 2008 at 11:17 am
I was going for sticky but ended up with gooey. The thing seems to be everywhere and it won’t leave me alone, like bubble gum stuck in my hair, which is better than having it in my nose but still.
Lani Anglin-Rosales
July 18, 2008 at 11:20 am
Nice, T… of all these things, which would you attribute to be the most helpful tip for stickiness (obviously you’re deep in the stickiness, so help us all out!)??
teresa boardman
July 18, 2008 at 11:32 am
writing every day for a few years. Writing content that gets picked up by other blogs, and I believe I have all the items mentioned in your post. I also have calls to action on my right sidebar. Blogs need to have calls to action.
Matthew Rathbun
July 18, 2008 at 11:34 am
Sorry, there were too many words in this post for me to finish reading 🙂
I really like the graphiposts becaue they stand out and get their message across. Graphics are more memorable…
Regardless of how much I like the format, I would add that sticky blogs are sticky because their target audience finds it appealing and the target audience feels catered to. Whereas not all of the points above may be of value to every reader, if you use enough of these tools, it will touch eader in some unique way.
I like blg that are unique! Thanks for sharing!
Vicki Moore
July 18, 2008 at 11:50 am
I know! I know! I have to make changes. It’s been swimming around in my head for weeks and now you put it in B&W. Dang it!
karim kanji
July 18, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Opps! I think i need to spendsome time on my blogs! Thanks for this!
Ginger Wilcox
July 18, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I think diverse content is also important- you don’t want all of your blog posts to sound the same.
Benn Rosales
July 18, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Ginger you hit the nail on the head.
If your blog is boring you can have a million calls to action and the reaction will be- pretty much boring.
You have to do things that leap off the page and grab a consumer in a creative way- not just words, all blogs have words, all blogs have pictures (we’ll the ones that succeed), but sticky is about being sticky to the consumer until that action is exciting to them, and exciting the client means an excited action.
Boring your audience to skimming is not a strategy that will gain you more than a bored audience that has moved on….
Chuck G
July 18, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Lani,
VERY creative post — I love the graphics. One thing that you didn’t touch on (or I was just blinded by the colors!) is throwing an occasional podcast in the blog to mix things up. Podcasts don’t need to be super-scientific, nor some earth-moving content. Just take a post that you were thinking of writing, and just record it as a podcast instead. Readers love it because it’s new and different, and it’s yet another way to personalize yourself on the blog…
…which is the whole purpose of the blog after all, right?
Dj Swanepoel
July 18, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Thanks for the creative post! Its always nice to see something different and unique.
Ken B.
July 18, 2008 at 9:06 pm
Ummmmm….another one? The thing is, it’s really hard to hit two home runs in a row, or smack two holes in one, or cast two Yahtzees…know what I mean.
This style is compelling in delivery and message. I’m all ears and eyes and I appreciate both the artistry and the science.
Thank you Lani.
KenB
Ricardo Bueno
July 18, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Lani: I loved, loved, loved the compilation of images that you put together!!! ProBlogger offered some excellent suggestions. You put it all together to perfection here 🙂
Brad Andersohn
July 18, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Sticky and guey!! This is a fantastic post Lani. Drew Meyers made a comment on the GeekEstateBlog claiming, “it’s the most creative post I’ve seen in quite some time.” and I think I’d have to agree. Best imagery post I’ve seen yet! Thanks.
Paula Henry
July 19, 2008 at 7:23 am
Lani – There are those who use pictures and those who do not – you use them masterfully! Engaging, fun and unique. Thanks for the link to ProBlogger!
Glenn fm Naples
July 19, 2008 at 7:35 am
Lots of food for thought to improve the stickiness of my blog – thanks Lani. 🙂
Erion Shehaj
July 2, 2009 at 7:33 pm
Lani
If I were you, I’d actually be offended that all these commenters are actually surprised by your creative ways. Don’t they know CreatiVT is your middle name 🙂
You hit it out of the park with this one.
Matt Stigliano
July 2, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Lani – I remember this post when you first did it. I remember thinking that there was a lot to learn, but knew it was easier to learn in the simple kids’ book style fashion. Thanks for the reminders of things to think about when working on my blog. I’ve got a lot to learn, but everyday, I learn or figure out something that I hadn’t quite grasped. Keep them coming!
Steve Beam
July 3, 2009 at 7:35 am
I have the MOST boring about page. Need to make a change there. Finding your groove and sticking with it is also hard but once you find your spot in the world it usually comes easy. Learning the audience is a major key as well.
Kevin Tomlinson
July 5, 2009 at 10:49 pm
You know Bro— I don’t find myself reading many of these agent/agent sites….But @laniar I’m liking your sh*t, girl.
Good post. Lotsa effort; all-in-all a “10”!
Liz Benitez
November 15, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Nice, one of the easiest post to read I’ve seen in a long time. 🙂 Thanks for the info.
stephanie crawford
February 5, 2011 at 2:05 am
Hey. I’m sticky over here! My bounce rate is UBER-Low, like 2.5% – but what I need is MORE visitors. I just can’t figure out the “getting good rankings” thing. When I look at my analytics, most of my traffic comes from people looking for me by name, or by my blog name, or company name. My IDXpress also gets me clicks on specific addresses, but I just can’t seem to get up there with my blog posts or pages. Granted, I’m not much of a writer – more of a reporter.
Any ideas on how I can give my various Community pages more Oomph is greatly appreciated!
BTW – anybody know what happened to the AG post about the Free Downloadable Marketing Plan? It’s gome MIA and I’d love to see it! THX. It was here previously:
https://agentgenius.com/real-estate-sales-marketing/real-estate-marketing-plan-to-put-into-use-this-year-free-download/
Bryan Thompson
February 7, 2011 at 9:26 am
Lani, great tips here – And I LOVE the artwork! It’s easy to see why your blog is always a hit. 🙂 I would also add – if you have advertising and monetize, be strategic in how they’re set up. Don’t junk up your blog with ads (and REALLY don’t junk it up with Google Adsense). It can make a blog look like it sold out. Yes, ads are great and can be rewarding, but keep them in specific areas. Great post.