Top 10 Blogging Mistakes

Squarespace Insider posted this to offer bloggers tips on things to avoid. I am hosted by Sqaurespace (yeah!). I read it and now I am sharing it with you.

Let's see, I don't animate or have sound effects, I have an about page, don't use the default template, organize posts by topic and not just by month. Looking good so far. What else should I avoid?

Squarespace Insider says I should avoid posting sporadically. "Having a schedule means that readers know when to find new information. It doesn’t have to be very often but it should be consistent. Leaving a blog unattended can lose precious momentum and readership." What didn't they say? They didn't say that posting sporadically can also cause you (me) to crash and burn on the HR Power Rankings. I dropped from 4 to 15 (ouch!) in just a few short weeks.

My declining rank aside, it was tip #8 that caught my attention,  Including links that open in a new browser. Squarespace Insider says "Bloggers don’t want readers to leave, hence opening new windows for links. But blog readers can be annoyed at new windows they didn’t ask for. This could go either way, but the readers will usually know how to get back if they want, so new windows aren’t necessary."

Really? I have consistently purposely checked the box "open in a new browser" when I created my links. Why? Because I thought it would be helpful to readers if I presented the information right to them (you) instead of you having to link through. Hmmm, I may need to reconsider. Honestly, I sometimes do not ever get back to where I started from.

Notice, I did not have my links open in a new browser this time. So, do you have a prefer links that open in a new browser?