Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Blog Critique: Matthew MacNish

No, it isn't Monday (the day these posts usually go up). I have had a great response to people desiring blog critiques, however, that I decided to include some on Wednesdays as well.  Don' let it confuse you to much. Again I employed the design eye of graphic designers Joe LaRue and Tom Barnes. So if I say "we", that's who I mean.

Today's critique is on Matthew MacNish's blog, The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment. Go ahead and check it out. As always, I'll wait.

Overall, Matthew's blog has very little I would change. He does many things right, and you can tell because he has a large following of readers that actually read his blog. How do I know? Look at any post and he has loads of great comments. One clue for any of you that your blog is working is not necessarily how many followers you have but how many page views and comments. I don't have a magic number to give you because there isn't one, but know that if your page views are going down and you aren't getting many comments, then you probably aren't giving readers what they want. And don't be obsessed with watching your stats. Just be aware.

Anyway, back to Matt. Remember you can find a full list of all the things I look at on my critiques here. In this post I will just touch on a few components:

  • Title: We love your title; it speaks to what your blog is about. But...I would like to see your name in the subtitle because...
  • Where's your name?: I had to hunt for it. A reader should never have to search for the name of he blog writer. I would like to see your profile where you have your followers listed. Also a page link that is "About Me" could solve this (I would both add a page and move your profile.)
  • Profile picture: Ok, Yoda's cool and all, and so is the pic of you with your daughter. But I'd like to see a real headshot of you somewhere. If you had an About Me page, that would be a good place to add it.
  • Background: Your background for your blog and posts are great. It's easy to read, not too colorful to distract, easy on the eyes. The one thing the designers and I are wondering, though, is why that background image? It doesn't seem to fit your blog. Joe thinks your blog needs something clever to go with your clever title. And I agree.
  • Message: Your message/topic is clear. You tell me what and why and I like that.
  • Consistency: You blog consistently and always on topic. This is a major plus. When I come to your blog I know exactly what I'm going to get and that is a good step to obtaining readers. 
  • Schedule: I would like to know when you're going to blog. I can see by going through your blogs that you are a M-F type of guy, and when you don't blog you are awesome about telling us you are going to be away. But a little "I blog M-F" in your profile would be helpful.
  • Cluttered?: Nope. Your blog is nice and clean. But your side panel could be cleaner. All the sections of lists with the same blog color becomes a little muddy. I suggest you put your query-helpful blog list as a page. This should be easy to find since this is what your blog is about, after all. Then I'd lose your top commentator cloud, or, if you really want to keep it, move it below your networked blogs section because that will break up the muddled lists.
  • Query Critiques: Do you accept people's queries for critique on your blog? That isn't clear to me. If you do, make that prominent. Give it its own page to tell people exactly how to submit.
  • Contact Info: I like to see contact info prominently displayed. You have writing samples - what if an agent or editor or anyone wants to contact you about your wonderful writing to give you an opportunity but gives up because its too hard to find? 
  • Comment Response: I only mention this for my other readers, I have said in the past that you should respond to as many of your comments as possible to create a good conversation. The exception is when your readers are conducting a conversation without you. If they don't need you, there's no need to butt in (unless you actually have something you want to say). Matt handles his comments exactly in this way. Great job!
  • Search: I like search functions. I like it when it's easy for readers to find what they are looking for. 
One last thing I'd like to say about Matt: He knows how to network and build readers. He might not always do it, as he says, but he can. If you notice, he just threw a blogfest where he built up like 170 readers. Look to him as an example for building a following.

And you folks? What do you think about Matt's blog? What do you like? What should he do differently? And if you'd like to have your blog critiqued, click here for instructions on how to submit.



59 comments:

Sarah Fine said...

I am learning so much here. I love Matt's blog and am a huge fan of his, so it's neat to see your suggestions on how to refine and tweak what's already excellent.

Alex J Cavanaugh said...

Matthew's blog is excellent! And he does respond to all comments through email.

Matthew MacNish said...

Wow Laura (and Joe and Tom)! You guys have such great advice here. Thanks so much for taking a look at my blog. As Alex pointed out, I do respond to comments by email, and I'm wondering what you think of that. I don't like to comment on my own blog because it confuses how much response there is to a certain post (I see some blogs with 100 comments, where half of them are replies from the blog operator). What do you think about responses via email, from a marketing standpoint, considering that the reply is only seen by one person?

Thanks again! I'm going to work on implementing your suggestions.

Shannon said...

What a cool idea! I love Matt's blog, so reading this critique was extremely helpful. Thanks!

Pat Hatt said...

Wow wonderful critque, couldn't agree more with all the points you suggested, to any blog. I don't know the marketability of mine, but I sure got the comments down..haha and then some.

Stina Lindenblatt said...

Matt's blog is awesome, and that's why people flock to it.

I'm guilty of not commenting on my blog. But that's because it bugs me when bloggers do that and I have to scroll through tons of comments, which are mostly the owner of the blog, in order to leave a committ. I don't always read the comments of others. Not enough time. As it is, I'm busy commenting back on blogs that have left a comment on mine, and reading other great posts.

I'm loving these blog crits. And thanks for the advice about blogging schedule. I have to add that to my blog. :D

Robyn Lucas said...

Thanks Laura! Matt's blog is pretty awesome, but I think a lot of that attributes to how interactive he is within his social network.

Stephanie D said...

Great blog! And great advice! I'm new to Matt's blog but have enjoyed it so far.

Christina Lee said...

Hi there (and YAY, Matt)!! Very very interesting!

The only thing I don't agree with is the comment response. That means you expect people to return to your blog to read the response (people just don't have time). I think blog responses are really for the other people commenting. I respond to questions by email (and sometimes in the comments too), but would rather spend my time visiting that other person's blog to see what they have shaking!

Have a good day!

Slam Dunks said...

I like your approach here Laura. I have enjoyed Matthew's blog for awhile now--he diversifies topics well.

Old Kitty said...

I have to admit that I first baulked at Matthew's blog title : so many q's and a gazillion syllables!! LOL!! But then I'm so used to it now I'll cry if he ever changed his blog title!

Yay for Matthew! Take care
x

Jessica Lawson said...

I love Matt's blog and know that he does a great job of naturally marketing his site~ it's nice to see you breaking down what he's doing right and giving some advice too! Great job :)

Michael G-G said...

Matt is my blogging hero. The thing that amazed me most when I first encountered him was that he responded speedily to my comment via e-mail. That made a HUGE favorable impression on me, and I try to emulate him.

Great critique. I think we all learned something here today!

Angela said...

Great job on this. I love Matt, and his blog is a great place. I really like the criteria you look for..it gets me thinking about my own blog and what I can do to improve.

Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

Janet Johnson said...

As always, a great learning session. I'm thinking I need to make changes before you come to my blog! :)

Kristen said...

I was just wondering that about the query critiques!

Matthew MacNish said...

Another thing that just came to mind: I do pretty much accept any request for query critiques that comes to me, but I don't want to announce it as being fully open to the public on my blog, because I worry that I would get swamped with requests.

If anyone, like Kristen, wants my help, she can email me!

LauraBarnes said...

Yes, Matt, I think email is great. And that's exactly what I was trying to say - if there is already a conversation going or lots of comments, I don't think you need to respond to them. It's only if there are only a few.

Laura

LauraBarnes said...

Stina, I agree with the scrolling through tons of comments point. That's actually the point I meant to make - if there are only a few comments (less than ten) I think the blogger should comment. Otherwise, let them talk on their own.

LauraBarnes said...

Christina, you have a great point. I don't really expect people to always return BUT some people do subscribe to comments. And if people are having a conversation on their own it doesn't seem they need to have the blogger butt in. Here's one of my pet peeves, though: I hate it when a comment on a blog asks a question I have myself, especially if it's an older blog post, and then I don't get to see the answer. That is the one problem with Matt emailing responses. Other times I have left my own question and I have repeatedly returned for a response and that infuriates me that I don't get one. Hmm, I guess I need to amend my opinion on responding to comments - respond when people ask a question. Respond publicly!

Leigh Moore said...

Yay! My boi Matt's doing a great job, I think. He's a rock star. I'd kindly disagree w/y'all about the profile image. I think the one he's got w/his daughter is great and shows his personality. I *would* agree w/a separate page about how to submit and get a query critique--didn't you have one of those, Matt? And getting his contact info or profile higher--above the followers block.

I also email my commenters back, except when I can't (they haven't set it up that way), in which case I leave a comment in my comments section. (Wow--3x in one sent.) I'm thinking that's not necessarily bad...?

What a fun blog you've got here, Laura! Great work~

LauraBarnes said...

I didn't know Matt did that, but it is awesome that he does. He has obviously built a lot of great relationships via this tactic and it leaves a great impression for me as well. In fact, I am considering posting a whole new post about responding to comments...

LauraBarnes said...

I do understand that overwhelmed thing. I think the thing to remember is only you can decide what works best for you and your blog. If you are afraid of being swamped and are getting enough requests for queries, leave it the way it is. That's gotta be your call!

Christina Lee said...

Okay came back here to put out email convo in here too (in case people wondered). :D

Hi there!! Yeah, you’re right! And I DO respond in both places (email and in the comments) when there is a question, so other people can see! Glad you brought that up! And I forgot that people subscribe to comments! The funny thing is I talk about blogging etiquette on my blog today (Matt pointed that out), and I didn’t consider that option!!

Matthew MacNish said...

Good point. Thanks, Laura!

Matthew MacNish said...

I'd read that.

Donna K. Weaver said...

How fascinating! I love Matt's blog, btw.

I'm going to have to think about all these things you note. After NaNo, though. lol

Marta Szemik said...

Those are some great tips and good advice. I think I need to make a few changes before my blog is critiqued :) BTW, I also think Matt is a networking genius!

Matthew MacNish said...

I keep the follower widget right at the top for several reasons. One, I hate having to dig through other people's sidebar to find theirs, I want to keep it easy to follow. And with GFC crashing a lot lately, and requiring the page to be refreshed, I want mine right up top.

I am considering adding an about me page, because the built in blogger widget one is kind of lame, and that might be where I would put an author type photo, once I get to that point.

I have already made some of the changes suggested - search bar, remove the top commentor cloud, add my name to the subtitle.

This whole experience has been very cool!

J.L. Campbell said...

Hi, Laura, I was amazed at the stuff that makes for a better organized blog. We don't always think about these things, but the tips I've learned along the way have been quite helpful for achieving a more seamless look.

LauraBarnes said...

Matt, I like your reasoning about keeping your followers up top. I agree that it should be easy to find. It also seems to suit your personality now that I've learned more about you, to give your followers a shout out by placing them in that top position.

Christa said...

Wow, this is a great critique. What an interesting service to provide and really important. :)

Susanna said...

Thanks for the introduction to this great blog!

Stacy S. Jensen said...

Someone mentioned the comments issue on my blog today. I seem to be getting more email responses to comments lately. I'm interested in hearing about the trends.

Writing Nut said...

Great critique.. I'm a huge fan of Matt's blog :)

Carolyn Abiad said...

Matt's blog needs improving? I guess the query form is a good idea, but he might get inundated with requests that way. The way he does it now, you have to comment and get comfortable with him first.

Tara Tyler said...

great blogging advice!
Matt, i would like to see what changes you make, especially the background =)

Rain Laaman said...

I love Matthew's blog. It's amazing how you've broken stuff down. Now I know what to work on with my blog too! It's already under some construction.

LydiaKang said...

This is so fascinating! It'll help me streamline my blog too. Thanks!

Matthew MacNish said...

The background is an interesting topic. I won't be changing it, but Laura makes a great point about it not being obviously related to anything on the blog. I promise it is related to something, but it's something in my book, which could be a long time coming.

We'll see.

LauraBarnes said...

So matt, I have a couple of suggestions: 1st you could add a another background behind the trees...wait...as I'm typing this I realize I can't explain. Ill send you a pictorial example later. Another suggestion: keep the background but add a block on your sidebar with a WIP... wait, I need to send an example of that too. Ha ha. Well, ithe point is I think you can accomplish a hint of your book in a way that doesn't make it look out of place now.

Matthew MacNish said...

I'm interested to hear more about that, because I can't explain the significance of the bamboo without giving too much away.

Matthew MacNish said...

Just want to point out that Lydia runs a genius blog, but like every MS, and every blog, there is probably always room for improvement. Laura rocks when it comes to improving your blog. 'Nuff said.

Mainer122 said...

Matt replying to comments by e-mail is definitely one of the things I've enjoyed about his blog - like a Pavlovian dog, I know each time I comment, he's going to send something back, and it's led to some great conversations and was a very quick way to get to know him.

Mainer122 said...

Excellent overview, and thanks for helping out Matt with your pointers.

I once started doing a similar rating of author's blogs, and the one thing that made it or not for me was a way to contact the author. One had a typo on his front page, in an important part, and I couldn't tell him. It also makes you feel the author doesn't think you have anything to offer. So yeah, contact info up front.

DG Hudson said...

I joined Matt's blog after seeing him on several other blogs that I follow. Then he helped host the Blogfest! That's going above and beyond to help other bloggers. He's a great host of his blog, doesn't ignore his readers, and is always respectful.

I also like the photo of Matt & daughter.

You had some good suggestions, Laura. Following now.

LauraBarnes said...

Me too! Contact info is a BIGGIE!

LauraBarnes said...

Thanks! Good to meet you!

LauraBarnes said...

Yes, Lydia does have a super ultra awesome blog. I totally agree. And thanks for putting me in the same paragraph with her. I totally feel cool and stuff.

Natalie Aguirre said...

I really enjoy Matt's blog. You had some interesting suggestions. I do agree that he knows how to network a lot with other bloggers.

Jemi Fraser said...

I've been a follower and fan of Matt's blog for a while now. He's a great guy! :)

Robyn said...

Yay MacNish! I do agree about that lovely name being posted up there. You want peeps to find it. Especially lovely agent peeps! Great critique, Laura!

Bryan Russell said...

Interesting. Definitely made me start thinking about a few things...

Carrie said...

These tips are really helpful.

Matthew MacNish said...

If this is Steve-o we do have some great conversations. If it's someone else, I'm stumped.

Mainer122 said...

Consider yourself unstumped.

Melissa Sugar said...

Very useful & informative tips. As a new blogger, I found each one helpful and as soon as I finish reading more post on your awesome blog I am off to make changes to my own based on your advice. I became a follower of Matthew's blog via the PIF blogfest. I agree that it was difficult (not too difficult) to locate his name & contact info. When I posted about the PIF blogfest I had to search for his name to include it. I didn't really mind. When I find a blog that I enjoy as much as QQQE, I am more than willing to forgive issues like this. I might not, however be as willing to search through a newer blogger's content to locate such info.

Thanks for the advice. I could spend all day reading your helpful blog. Thank you for visiting my blog.

Melissa

LauraBarnes said...

Thanks, Melissa, for such kind words! I'm glad it's helpful :)

Matthew MacNish said...

Thanks for reading, Melissa. Laura's point about my name and contact info was well taken. I've already made a few minor changes, but I'm considering how best to implement some other, more major ones.

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