Like most, I would rather purchase an iPad 2 at the Apple Store than at Best Buy.
Why?
Think about it. If the purchase is just about the product, then any old store will do. Hell, I could pick my iPad up at the check out window at McDonalds and still be happy. Right?
Nope.
The retail gurus at Apple know that the Apple Store offers the experience needed to fully appreciate Apple products. Presentation, service, and ambiance are essential to making the product shine.
Guess what?
The same goes for your blog.
Are You Too Content Focused?
People like me have been exhorting you to focus on content. We’ve sung the praises of content marketing and pounded the podium shouting “Content is King!”
The problem, though, is that the blogosphere is clogged with good content served up in generic, nondescript, fast-food trays.
Readers show up and immediately bounce away without ever reading the content.
If you asked them why they left, they would say:
“The blog didn’t seem right for me.” That’s the reader’s way of saying that your blog’s design, presentation, and ambiance sucks.
Fix the presentation and the product will matter. That’s why I think you should take the next 30 days to make sure you have a blog that looks as good as the content it houses.
Let’s look at Apple Stores for a few pointers:
Apple Stores (Much More than the Product)
First Impressions Count:
The 5th Avenue Apple Store is absolutely breathtaking.
The wild part is that there isn’t a product in sight, just a logo and a crystal-clear promise – “Your shopping experience will be as magical as the product”.
The first impression is a statement that hypnotically pulls the visitor into the store promising more to come.
Apple puts this level of thought into every single retail location. Every store is designed to make a statement. Even the store in the mall looks radically different than every other store front.
Your blog needs to do the same. I’ll give you some suggestions in a moment…
Package Your Product
In an Apple Store, you “approach” their products. This is subtle nuance. You see, in most stores, you stumble into products. You search through shelves. You rearrange and dig for inventory.
This is not the case at Apple.
You enter the store, spot your product, and walk up to an open table where your desired product is ready and waiting. You pick it up and begin selling yourself on why you want it.
Every iPod has headphones. iPads are opened to GarageBand. MacBooks are showing off resolution-popping HD graphics.
Think about your blog.
- How much time do you spend on headlines?
- How about photos that amplify your post’s main idea?
- What about those subheadlines? Are they an afterthought?
Your blog should make your posts shine. Fail here and it won’t matter how good your content is.
Hustle and Bustle
I suspect that every Apple Store is wrapped in glass to make sure that everyone can see people in the stores.
There’s something irresistible about a packed store. You are drawn in to see what all the excitement is about. You get the same feeling when you see a packed restaurant or a line outside a hot new club.
This is why top blogs focus attention on the hustle and bustle around their blog. Mashable prominently shows how many people are following certain topics. The Huffington Post makes it easy for you to fan specific authors and commenters.
By the way, these blogs grew their gargantuan reader base because they used these “social proof” strategies from the beginning.
New blogs can show hustle and bustle by maintaining an active Twitter feed and displaying it on their blog. You can thank retweeters, engage with Facebook fans (and show your activity via the Facebook widget), and reply to as many comments as you can.
Stellar and Visible Customer Service
The Genius Bar and happy knowledgeable Apple employees are prominent reminders that Apple is ready to serve you. Customer service seems like an obvious prerequisite for any retail establishment, but after waiting 5 minutes for an order of fries at McDonalds, I’m reminded that great customer service isn’t all that common.
Apple has made customer service an integral part of its experience. If you look closely, you can see how your blog has the same responsibility.
For example:
Do you follow-up with people who use your Contact Form?
A recent reader reminded me that I shouldn’t have a contact form if I wasn’t going to answer the emails – Ouch! I will do better. Maybe you should too.
Answering Comments
I believe in answering comments whenever my answer adds to the conversation.
Although I’m not in the “answer every single comment” camp, I believe that you should hang out in your comments section as much as possible. Your readers will enjoy and appreciate your follow-up comments on your posts and answers to questions.
Twitter @ mentions:
Don’t hesitate to answer comments on Twitter or Facebook. This allows your extended audience to benefit from your feedback. Commenting systems like LiveFyre make this simple for you and your readers.
The Easiest Way to Get Started
Warning – I’m about to deliver a little tough love.
Here it is:
There’s absolutely no excuse for having a busted and broken blog. So if your blog looks like it’s an exile from the clipart refugee camp, then you only have yourself to blame.
I’ll go one step further and say that if you are struggling to gather an audience after 6 months of blogging, then you should change your blog design. It’s that important.
The quickest way to fix a coyote ugly blog is to get a professional theme.
Yes. It will cost you money about $80 for a theme that looks stunning. If you can’t scrape together $80 to make sure the time you’ve invested in your blog isn’t wasted, then blogging may not be your best strategy.
Ok, enough for the tough stuff. 
I’m a big fan of StudioPress because the people who run the company are bloggers themselves (@copyblogger) and understand what it takes to publish a fantastic blog platform.
The folks at Headway, Woo Themes, and Thesis have some good options too.
So take a critical look at your blog and decide your next step.
Tell Me
What’s your next move? What area needs improvement on your blog? Talk to me, and I’ll talk right back ☺
About Stanford
Great article! In the Content is King rallies, the protestors forgot all about presentation. If content was everything (or even just royalty), it wouldn’t matter if there were headings, subheadings, paragraphs or even good spelling. Good design gets people to the point so that they get a chance to read your great content.
Great article! I hate ending up on boring looking blogs. Although, I kind of disagree about having to invest money in a theme for your blog – If you can learn a bit of simple HTML then you can make enough changes to a free theme to make it more interesting and unique.
WOW – excellent post! Thanks for making your case so convincingly, too. Using the Apple store to illustrate the experiential element was genius and now, I need to get busy fixing a few things. Many thanks!
Excellent tips! “Your blog should make your posts shine. Fail here and it won’t matter how good your content is.” Very important tip!
Thanks!
Awesome tips, Stanford, I think what really stood out for me is the fact that with apple products, “You pick it up and begin selling yourself on why you want it.” That’s a powerful anecdote for how readers should sell themselves when they visit our blogs. Sure, the content or a social link might get them there, but once they get done reading, they should be ready to “buy” or give up an email address or share an article.
What a great article! I think this is something that we blogger are forgetting. We are living in a time where people want a total experience not just some quick impersonal pitch. Blogger should take lessons from Trump on Showmanship. Wow them.
@Eshaaddy I agree that people want a total experience, but I don’t think it should be based on “Trump’s showmanship” (you know he went broke more than a couple times right?) I think, as a blogger, you should exercise “consistent quality and experience” across your entire site. One page shouldn’t “out do” another, and one post shouldn’t be better than all the rest – strive to create a consistent package of “awesome-sauce” throughout the entire site. From your header, to your sidebar, archives page, even 404 error page . . .
You got it!
The next experiment I might test on my site is this livefyre action.
I love the way it shows up in your inbox when you comment and your ability to tag people and post to Twitter and “Like” and I imagine there’s all kinds of other cool stuff you do. I’m only referencing from the point of view of a fan commenting so I’m not even aware of all the administrative awesomeness to be had.
I trust there is though or else so many blogging super stars like you wouldn’t be using it.
Loved your post Stanford and how you used the Apple Store experience to illustrate your point. Very cool.
@Lewis LaLanne aka Nerd #2 This is actually my first time using Livefyre too and I’m impressed. I currently use Disqus and have been happy with it, but I might consider switching for the right system.
@rodricus.kirby@Lewis LaLanne aka Nerd #2 Let me know if you have any questions Rodricus, we’re happy to help in any way we can!
Yep, LiveFyre seems to be the top-dog right now. It has a few bugs still but the folks at LiveFyre do a great job addressing them. Give it a try.
What a great example! it’s so true that content is only nice to read when it’s properly represented with design and personality. I have a hard time reading content on a website that is extremely outdated or not reader-friendly. So when people say content is king, I say pish-ah! I didn’t even read it because you have white text on a black background!
God, I can’t tell you how much I hate reverse-type blogs!
You’ve made an important point. A blog’s great content can get lost amidst poor design or a difficult to read layout. There are lots of moving parts when it comes to creating a great experience: design, content, community, that it can be difficult keep all the moving parts moving in the right direction. Thanks for the reminder!
@Collectual It may be difficult to “keep all the moving parts moving in the right direction” but not impossible. What I do, to keep my blog in “good condition”, is to revisit my design (which I’ve had for 2 years, but continue to update) and I make adjustments every 3-6 months. I try new widgets or plugins and test out different content strategies and design tweaks. You’re never truly done updating your blog (if you’re serious about the results).