I have a few ideas. First, include a link to your blog in your signature. Make it easy for people to find you. Sure, they can click on your username if they happen to know it's available there but what if they don't? This isn't true in your case but I have to wonder about some people. They make it so difficult that their approach is closer to hosting an IQ test than marketing their site. I encourage everyone to read Steve Krug's book, Don't Make Me Think.
Mention the topic of your blog in your content. I went out of curiousity but would have gone more quickly if I'd known it was about sewing. I sew and fancy myself quite the authority so I have to -naturally- go see everyone else's sewing blogs
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Reconsider a site redesign. The text in the sidebars are lost in the leaf print. Again, do you want people to explore your content or are you testing visitor's pattern recognition abilities? This is particularly important on sites with project photography. The prints of fabrics are forced to compete for eyeball bandwidth and the comparison of the varying color schemes can be jarring. Your background should compliment anything you post, not compete with it. Less is more.
Outreach: connect with others in your niche. Like attracts like.
If you're going to do reviews, consider comparison reviews. Be careful to select worthy items, it's disingenous to select an inexpensive cheap machine of a different price category to compare with Janome in an attempt to make it look better by comparison. I'm not suggesting you do that, I didn't read enough to know but the point is, qualify your opinions. In asserting "that everyone knows Janome is the best quality machine on the market", what are your points of comparison? There are lots of excellent machines on the market made by varying brands. It's a matter of broadening your perspective. My favorite brands are not commonly known even among sewists. Fwiw, Adler is considered to be the best by professionals, then Juki/Brother, Merrow is great too and Reliable is quickly catching up. Siruba is an up and coming brand, my next purchase will be one of theirs. It's an exciting world out there. Find out about it and tell others on your site who don't have acccess to this information.
Your site is written conversationally, it's friendly, generous and companionable. You cite your sources (good show!) and link to them. Yours is the perfect grounding for building a growing site. And that is what matters most.
Mention the topic of your blog in your content. I went out of curiousity but would have gone more quickly if I'd known it was about sewing. I sew and fancy myself quite the authority so I have to -naturally- go see everyone else's sewing blogs
.Reconsider a site redesign. The text in the sidebars are lost in the leaf print. Again, do you want people to explore your content or are you testing visitor's pattern recognition abilities? This is particularly important on sites with project photography. The prints of fabrics are forced to compete for eyeball bandwidth and the comparison of the varying color schemes can be jarring. Your background should compliment anything you post, not compete with it. Less is more.
Outreach: connect with others in your niche. Like attracts like.
If you're going to do reviews, consider comparison reviews. Be careful to select worthy items, it's disingenous to select an inexpensive cheap machine of a different price category to compare with Janome in an attempt to make it look better by comparison. I'm not suggesting you do that, I didn't read enough to know but the point is, qualify your opinions. In asserting "that everyone knows Janome is the best quality machine on the market", what are your points of comparison? There are lots of excellent machines on the market made by varying brands. It's a matter of broadening your perspective. My favorite brands are not commonly known even among sewists. Fwiw, Adler is considered to be the best by professionals, then Juki/Brother, Merrow is great too and Reliable is quickly catching up. Siruba is an up and coming brand, my next purchase will be one of theirs. It's an exciting world out there. Find out about it and tell others on your site who don't have acccess to this information.
Your site is written conversationally, it's friendly, generous and companionable. You cite your sources (good show!) and link to them. Yours is the perfect grounding for building a growing site. And that is what matters most.
I am on a strict spending freeze right now, or I would have ordered it immediately; I am certain I will be reading it later, though.
