Build-A-Blog Workshop Day 11: Modifying Your Blog’s Header to Perfection

13 May 2009

Build-A-Blog Workshop Day 11: Modifying Your Blog’s Header to Perfection

Author: Jim | Filed under: 30-Day Blogging

Welcome back to day 11 of Jimvesting’s Build-A-Blog Workshop. My apologies for the few days of delay, final exams can be found as the culprit behind that lag. Back into customization with day 11 where we will look into our blog’s header.

Why Your Header Matters

When you look at Jimvesting, the first thing that strikes you is my header. I had this designed by a professional web designer for good reason, it has been the single biggest lead converter for my website. The one thing that is “bad” about it? It has no monetization, and practically no room for it. However, where I lack in monetization value… I believe I pick up in entertainment value. This trade-off really boils down to the purpose of my website: to educate and entertain, not to profit as much as possible. Because of my specific goals, my header looks the way it does. Consider the purpose of your new blog, and adjust everything accordingly!

People that come across your website don’t want to see any thing that is a “default.” Not only does having a personalized header add to your own reputation, boosting your ranking naturally across the blogosphere, it adds a serious reason for readers to come back again. I have found that not only do you get that “respect” as being an industry pro with a nice header to show off your stuff… but you actually increase the number of people that will subscribe to your blog and read your content dramatically. As sad as it is, people are suckers for good looks… and will usually trust content based on how legitimate it looks, rather than the quality of your work. Not to say quality won’t get you places, but starting with a great website is definitely a good start.

5 Ways to Spruce Up Your Header

Here are five of the best ways (in my opinion) to add some flare to your website’s header. Use these to your advantage as you improve upon the generic template:

1. Have a Designer Completely Redo It
Perhaps the number one suggesting I can make is to actually hire someone to design your header for you in a unique light. I gave a freelance artist on GetAFreelancer.com the dimensions of my header and a general idea of what I wanted for Jimvesting.com, and out came what you see today. Because the header that you want might be too different from the one you received with the template you are now using, don’t hesitate to spend $20-30 to have someone reformat it. Remember, this will be the first thing you see every time you reload the page!

2. Add a Place for Monetization
Please keep in mind that Jimvesting.com is, by all means, not your typical blog design. Normally, I enjoy having some ad real estate right at the top of the page. My new blog design “Transgravita” came with a nice banner (468×60) advertisement right at the top in my header, so this worked out perfectly at Jimvesting.com. The other ad size you could use is a large leaderboard (728×90), which is actually my recommended type if you can stomach the size.

3. Put in Some Social Media Icons
The one biggest trend on the internet, especially in the blogging world, is social media networking. Everyone wants to stay connected at all times in this globalized world, so we want to see what our neighbor’s Twitter, Digg, Facebook (etc. etc.) accounts are! Because of this, you should add some social media icons to your header as I have done at Jimvesting.com. Many freelance artists have actually made free icons for you to use on your blogs, you can find a few here.

4. Advertise Your Newsletter or RSS Feed
The primary purpose of your blog needs to be to maintain your reader base. We do this through RSS feeds (your blog’s content syndicated) and Newsletters (free/paid services to deliver content). Your header is a great place to advertise your content, so if you have written an eBook and want your users to subscribe to a newsletter to receive it… or if you simply want to get your readers to sign up to your feed, now is the time. Check out what JohnCow.com has done to his header to allow for this.

5. Link to Some “Money Makers”
You can see that on the far right of Jimvesting.com that I have listed a few services that I am currently promoting. These all contain your affiliate referral ID, so that when someone sees the link and signs up… you get paid! Another variation of this is by putting links right underneath the header (still considered the header until content starts), as is done on the current template of JohnChow.com. This is a great way to monetize your blog’s header, without looking like a sell-out.

Bottom Line: Customizing your header is really a person-by-person deal, and if you need help with the coding aspect I recommend going to DigitalPoint forums and asking for a hand. Essentially, we want to spruce things up… and I have laid out five of the best ways to do it. Whether you are monetizing or simple adding some color, customization is key!

-Jimvesting