5 things you must put “above the fold” in your blog.

When you take a folded newspaper, what do you see first, even before unfolding? Everything that is visible even before the newspaper is unfolded is called “above the fold”. As for the whole purpose of it, something above the fold in the newspaper is to persuade the frequent browser to buy the paper. How many times have you bought the newspaper just looking at the headline? I have to admit. Above the fold marketing, if exploited right, can be really powerful for newspapers and blogs alike. Newspapers, virtually run on above the fold advertising.

So how can we apply the same thing to a blog? Surely, blog doesn’t have a fold. But, like unfolding a newspaper, your visitors must scroll down. Like browsing in a newspaper stand for a good newspaper, your visitors browse through blogs. Like someone buying a newspaper because what’s above the fold is good, some will subscribe to your blog because your above the fold is good.

So today, we will see how you can improve your blog, by prioritizing the 5 things every blogger should put on their blogs, above the fold.

Header - D’oh!

Your header should be customized. Or at least, not the same thing as the free theme. If you are willing to customize your header a bit, please take these into consideration.
Your header should promote your blog brand effectively. Your unique name that sets you apart from others. Also, try embedding something into the header that tells ‘em your blog is, well.. your blog! Something that will portray your blog’s personality.
And also, if you have enough room, just try to have a few words describing what sets you apart from the other blogs, and why the visitor must subscribe to your blog.
If you’ve got it all sorted out, good for you. And if you haven’t, again, good for you. Ha? Mindblogger is launching a blog competition tomorrow. And one of the prizes include a FREE customized blog header. So, keep tuned in for that.

Something to feed on

Yeap, this is a bit obvious too:) Make sure that your RSS Feed Chicklet or the link is there possibly with e-mail subscription options. Some people prefer to have the e-mail subscription link rather than the actual form. That might be alright if you’re out of room. But if you can find some room for that, that’d be room well occupied.

A glimpse of your best

Now here’s something that you haven’t heard before. Convincing someone to subscribe to your blog is like asking that person to buy something. Why should he or she, out of all the blogs in this world, subscribe to yours? or ‘buy’ your content?
If you’re stuck without an answer for this question, and if you’re a good blogger, your “Most Popular Posts” will save you! When someone sees the best that you have to offer and choose not to subscribe, there’s little that you can do to convince him or her otherwise.
And having this above the fold, will instantly catch the “eye of the tiger”, and will do the convincing for you. So if you can do that, I can guarantee you’re going to see some good coming out of that.

All your pretty squares

Mind you, people will not scroll down to see your 125×125 ads. Probably the only place to put your ads if you want to make some money would be the top of the sidebar. However, I wouldn’t recommend this to bloggers starting up. In fact, I wouldn’t advise them to monetize their blogs until they have hot significant figures in blog stats. 125×125 is something that every blogger puts in his or her blog. But not many bloggers get something out of.

Something niche-specific

Except for the above 4 things, there’s something else that I can’t be specific about, that should be decided by you, for you. Something niche-specific that will help convey your message to the visitor. Something that says “I’m at top of my game!”. If you’re running a personal blog, probably an “About me” widget. If you’re blogging about business, then probably an “About this blog” widget. Photography blog - thumbnails of “My best photos of all time” widget. You get the idea. It’s your call. Portray your confidence through your blog. Success will inevitably follow.

So, just try to develop your own code of conduct and see whether your blog stats do any good. Experimenting is the key. Something that will work for another blog, might be completely useless for you. That’s why I always say “You cannot replicate another blogger’s success”. If you got your own “Above the fold” ideas, let me know. Might do a follow-up on this post in near-future, and I just might publish your ideas as well, with some link love and credits of course… So, comment away!