Hormones regulate the way we think, do and say just about everything. When it comes to our bodies’ most basic survival ability—eating—one such hormone, known as Leptin, may cause more damage than good.

More research into this tiny little hormone has suggested that a lack of Leptin may be the main cause of obesity. Research also indicates that people who develop a resistance to Leptin become overweight because there’s no signal in the brain telling them that they are satiated.

So if Leptin resistance and depletion are the main causes of obesity, then there are a few important questions we need to ask:

What causes people to become Leptin resistant?
Are there methods to reverse the effects of Leptin deficiency and what are they?
How can we harness this knowledge about Leptin to live a healthy, balanced life?

What causes people to become Leptin resistant?

If Leptin resistance is the effect, we must analyze the cause if we want to prevent the eventual deficiency of this crucial hormone. Doing so successfully will result in maintaining a well balanced weight and lifestyle.

Strangely enough, the first cause of Leptin resistance is high levels of Leptin. Too much of a hormone can cause the brain to stop responding to it.

Another cause of Leptin resistance is elevated levels of free fatty acids. Eating too much food with free fatty acids causes a disruption in the brain and blocks off Leptin signalling. The Leptin is still there, but the brain doesn’t respond to it.

Too much fructose (fruit sugar) will also cause Leptin resistance.

The final main reason for Leptin resistance is inflammation of the hypothalamus. This is a region in the front of your brain that regulates the nervous system and most of the basic survival functions such as hunger, thirst, sleep, and body temperature. A chemical imbalance in this region of your brain can cause Leptin resistance.

Are there methods to reverse the effects of Leptin resistance and what are they?

Now that we know the cause of Leptin resistance, we can confidently work on fixing the problem. There are strategies that you can implement in your diet incrementally that will prevent and even reverse Leptin resistance.

The most important first step to take is to avoid eating carbohydrates as much as you can. There are a number of foods that contain hidden sugar, and these should be identified and removed from your diet.
Exercising will bring a measure of hormonal balance back to your body and brain allowing it to read the Leptin hormone once again.
Eating lots of soluble fibre will also bring harmony to your digestive system and reverse Leptin resistance.
Foods that contain high levels of protein actually increase the Leptin hormone in your body.
Getting enough sleep will also improve the Leptin in your body.

How can we harness this knowledge about Leptin to live a healthy, balanced life?

It’s all very well knowing about Leptin, but we must implement this knowledge if we are to benefit from it. The fact is: our western diet may have a lot of variety, but most of the foods we eat are disrupting the hormonal balance in our brains. This imbalance is showing in our society’s growing obesity problem.

The main thing about Leptin is that if the brain doesn’t have enough of it (or if the brain isn’t responding to it), then you will always feel hungry. This hunger usually translates into you eating more of the wrong foods that cause Leptin resistance, and so the cycle continues.

Fixing Leptin resistance and low levels of Leptin isn’t something that can be done overnight. It takes a well balanced strategy to undo the problem and restore the body to optimum health.

May 31, 2016 by Copley Sutton

7 commonalities between junk food and drugs

There are some glaring similarities between illegal drug use, and food addiction. Certain food are actually designed to make you crave them again and again. As a society, we have no qualms condemning drugs as dangerous and reckless. Shouldn’t we start adopting a mindset that condemns dangerous foods that contain addictive and damaging properties?

Here are seven similarities between drug addiction and food addiction that must be recognized.

Wanting more and more

One thing that’s evident about junk food and sugar is that the more you eat, the more you seem to want to eat. You can do an experiment at home and eat food that contains high sugar. Even if you don’t crave more right away, chances are your body will crave more later on. After a while you will feel sluggish—and maybe even a little guilty—resulting in the desire to eat more sugar.

The sugar in food increases serotonin in the brain (a hormone that makes us feel happiness and comfort). This same hormone is aggressively stimulated by hard drugs. The problem with over stimulation of serotonin is that at some point, your brain hits a low because of depletion. The only way to get that ‘high’ back is by eating more of the same foods that caused the stimulation in the first place.

A lack of satiation

There are two different types of enjoyment when eating.

The on is the satisfaction of hunger. Your body gets hungry for certain nutrients that it needs, and you satisfy the hunger with nutritious food. This in turn helps you to enjoy your food and feel good about eating.
The other is eating because of the way the food makes you feel. It tastes good, and therefore makes you think you are satisfying your hunger.

The problem with the second type of enjoyment is that it can easily override the natural feeling of hunger. Basically, you are feeding yourself with food that is satisfying a craving, but not the actual hunger. This results in a nutrition deficiency and if unchecked, full blown food addiction.

Drugs work in very much the same way as the second form of eating. Your brain tells you that it needs the chemical, but in actual fact your body is being damaged by it. When you crave sugar or junk food, your body doesn’t need it at all. The chemical is fooling your brain into thinking you do.

Damage to the body

That brings us to the third similarity. The very food that is triggering your brain’s serotonin is actually causing very real damage to your body. Like drugs, if you continue to eat unhealthy food, you will incrementally damage your health and cause irreversible side effects.

In addition to the dangerous chemicals entering your body, you are also depriving your body of the nutrition it does need. This of course causes further damage.

Conditioning of the brain

If a habit is formed where eating in a certain way becomes the norm, then breaking out of that habit is extremely difficult. Because of the chemicals involved, the brain will continue to signal for more of the substance.

Now to be fair, for some, breaking off a food addiction is relatively easier than breaking off a drug addiction; but the science remains the same. There has to be a cold turkey effect—a breaking off of the substance in order to replenish balance.

Replacing the ambitions

A scary part about food addiction is that is can consume you as much as any other substance abuse problem. In a sense, the food addict lives for his or her next ‘fix’. The only thing some people look forward to is their next meal or snack.

This can lead to a serious lack of drive and ambition. Instead of working on their careers or achieving their goals, they develop an obsession with eating. This of course is not due to the eating itself; it stems from the chemical reaction certain foods have on the brain.

Secrets and lack of self confidence

There is a strong emotional attachment to junk food binging as well as drug use. Many people who struggle with their weight are ashamed to eat in public. Why? Because actively partaking in the action that is causing the problem creates a sense of guilt.

Drug use is also done in secret. The association we have with a drug user is someone who locks themselves in a dark room and partakes of their guilty pleasure. Food binging is no different.

The need for rehabilitation

There is a series of symptoms that officially determine whether or not a person is addicted or not. These symptoms are not physical, but behavioural. They include:

Wanting to quit but not being able to
Not quitting despite negative physical symptoms
An addictive mindset that uses the substance as an escape

As many therapists will tell you, the best way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a new one. When it comes to food addiction, good habits like exercise, healthy eating, self confidence, etc. can become strong motivators in curbing destructive behaviour.

These similarities are actually quite frightening. It shows that we have come to a point where we must unapologetically view sugar as a drug. If you have recognized these symptoms in yourself or anyone you know, it may be time to confront binge eating for what it really is: An addiction.

May 19, 2016 by Copley Sutton

16 ways to enhance performance in preschool children through gross motor skills

Blogging Articles

Gross motor skill development is creating exercises for children that help develop activity areas in the brain. The skills your child will learn include balance, hand-eye coordination, rhythm, reflexes and basic exercise.

It’s a lot of fun, so be sure to take part in these activities with your child. Chances are; if they see you doing it, they will better understand how to do it themselves. Therefore, make sure you demonstrate these actions before asking your child to perform them.

Throwing a ball through an open door or goal post

Let your child stand sideways and toss a ball towards a target or goal post. This is surprisingly challenging for younger children so be patient as they figure it out. Once they succeed, move them slightly back and enhance the challenge.

Bounce a ball off a wall and through a goal post

Teach your child a basic understanding of angles by doing the same exercise as above but by bouncing the ball off a wall first. The ball should bounce off a nearby wall and into the goal post. Reposition your child once they have successfully made the target and let them try again from a different angle.

Soccer ball challenge

Rhythm and balance play a huge part in gross motor skills development. A great exercise is to have one foot on the ball and the other flat on the ground. Alternate between the two and then speed up the alternation. This is done best with some music playing so that your child can perform the exercise to a beat in a song.

Tennis racket challenge

Grab a tennis ball and a racket and get your child to walk while balancing the ball on the racket without touching it. After a while, tell them to only use one hand to hold the racket. As they get better at this, extend the walking distance.

Basic body balance

Standing on one foot at a time teaches your child balance. Alternate between both feet and be sure that equal time is spent both ways. Make it interesting by adding something to pick up with his or her mouth—like a packet or a basket with a large handle. You can also get your child to hop on the leg he or she is standing on.

Hula hoop stepping

Place about seven hula hoops side by side flat on the ground. Demonstrate the exercise to your child by stepping three times in each hoop and then skipping to the next. Count, “One-two-three” as you do this. Now watch as your child does the same and correct them if they step less or more than three steps within each hoop.

Bounce and catch

Throwing a ball up and catching it is a great exercise. But if your child needs a challenge, let them bounce it and catch it as it comes up. This teaches them both hand-eye coordination and reflex training.

Stair hopping

If your child has loads of energy, this one will tire them out. Get your child to hop up a flight of stairs with both feet at the same time. Make sure to supervise your child to make sure they don’t get hurt. Do it with them for a great workout!

Catch the handkerchief

Find a light handkerchief or scarf and hold it fairly high above your child’s head. As you drop it, let them grapple to catch it. Once they get the hang of it, let them throw it up themselves, twist completely around, and catch it as they stop.

Sevens

A great game for five-six year olds is Sevens. This game seems simple at first, but it takes a lot of concentration to get it right. Perform any task with a tennis ball such as bouncing it against the wall and catching it or simply throwing it in the air. Whatever you do, your child must do the same seven times in a row without deviation. If they get it right, they pose the next challenge—and so the game continues. (Best played in groups of four or five kids.)

Throw – Look – Catch

This is a hard one, but it’s worth teaching your child hand-eye coordination. Get them to throw a medium or small sized ball up into the air, then to look ahead of them, and then to look up again to catch it. After a while, your child should be able to throw the ball up without looking, and then catch it while looking straight ahead.

Fun with Frisbees

Frisbees are great for gross motor skill enhancement. Place a goal post or target somewhere on your lawn and get your child to throw the Frisbee to the target. If they hit the target, move them further back to enhance the challenge.

Kicking angles

Place a soccer ball on the ground and place a goal post either straight ahead, left of, or right of your child. Show them that if they kick the ball in the centre, the ball will travel straight. If they kick the left side of the ball, it will travel right; and if they kick the right, it will travel left. Alter the goal post to make them figure out how to kick the ball to make their target.

Rhythm exercises

You can use your initiative with this one. Create clapping and stomping sounds in a circle with your child and his or her friends. Be sure to create a systematic beat, like “clap clap (pause) stomp stomp clap clap clap”. Remembering the beat is great for developing their musical abilities.

Catch the balloon

An activity that stimulates the reflexes of your child is ‘catch the balloon’. Begin by holding two large balloons in your hands. Stand opposite your child and tell them to catch one of the balloons before it drops to the ground. Release one of them and watch your five year old grapple for the balloon before it touches the floor. If they start getting the knack for it, let some air out of the balloon to heighten the challenge.

Thrust a ball up with feet and legs

This is one of the hardest exercises, so leave it for after your child has developed the other skills. Demonstrate this activity by grabbing hold of a soccer ball between your ankles and throwing it up—then catching it with your hands. This exercise will leave you both out of breath, so leave it for a Friday afternoon.

Remember…

When doing these exercises, encouragement is of utmost importance. If your child struggles with any of the challenges, let them see it as a game and not as a task. Each activity must be fun and engaging. Failure to perform well in any of these ten activities simply means that some more time should be spent on them. Enjoy!

May 12, 2016 by Copley Sutton

My three internet heroes – by Copley Sutton

Copley's Personal Blog

Yes, you can make a living doing what you love. If you think it’s a pipe-dream, you’re clearly not paying attention. There are people all around us who have taken their passion and turned it into a thriving income. The following list contains three of my favourite internet personalities. Not because they’re rich, but because they followed their passion and dared to live the dream!

EvanTubeHD

Evan is a little boy who loves toys. He started out by making videos about some of the toys his parents bought for him. These videos resembled a detailed toy review. It gave other kids—and their parents—an idea of whether or not the toy was worth buying.

This little hobby soon turned into a very popular YouTube channel. Evan’s cute personality and honest opinion has made him one of the most popular personalities on the internet. Kids listen to what he says and respect his opinion when it comes to their toy purchasing trends.

To date, little Evan has over 2.8 million YouTube subscribers and a bunch of advertising deals with toy companies. He’s on his way to becoming a very wealthy young man and hasn’t even reached his teens yet. Go Evan!

Strength Camp

If you’ve never seen a video by Elliott Hulse, WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN? This dude does not beat around the bush when it comes to strength training advice. Elliott has a great approach to speaking to his audience. His ‘No BS’ approach has won the respect of over 1.5 million YouTube subscribers!

People are listening to Elliott with very open minds. His advice has since stretched beyond strength training and covered other topics such as male confidence, nutrition, and mental stability.

By defeating his own demons and helping others do the same, I have mad respect for this guy. Hey Elliott… here’s to you, man!

James Altucher

If you think your life’s been rough, I’d like to introduce you to James Altucher. He’s my own personal writing mentor and internet hero. Overcoming all odds, James has gone from being broke multiple times to becoming one of the most influential writers in the world.

He is famous for his motivational writing tips which he gives out for free to those who are willing to listen. But people gain MEGA inspiration from his 10-ideas-a-day philosophy which has changed thousands of lives across the world. He recommends writing 10 ideas down in a note book every single day. It sounds crazy, but those who have tried it—including myself—have had major breakthroughs in their lives and careers.

“The way to have good ideas is to get close to killing yourself. It’s like weightlifting. When you lift slightly more than you can handle, you get stronger. In life, when the gun is to your head, you either figure it out, or you die. When you cut yourself open, you bleed ideas. If you’re broke and close to death, you have to start coming up with ideas.”

James is an internet sensation! You can follow his blog on Quora, or watch some of his motivational speeches on YouTube.

These three individuals prove that following your passion pays off. This is my shout out to them. Thanks for the inspiration, guys!

April 5, 2016 by Copley Sutton

5 steps to follow before you become a writer

There are thousands of people around the world who think they’d do well in a writing career. For many existing writers, this career choice has become a copout because it’s seen as an easy profession. After all, it’s all about good spelling, fancy words and a dash of creativity—right? WRONG! The fact is that if you want to be a good writer, you need to think this through. If you don’t you aren’t likely to get far.

Identify your field

The first action you should take is to identify which type of writing you want to do. Fictional writing is probably the dream of every writer, but most of us don’t have the luxury (or courage) to start there.

Non-fictional writing has lots of categories. Consider how different many of these are:

Formal writing
Legal writing
Sales writing (copywriting)
Internet writing
Finance writing
Academic writing
Translation

…and the list goes on

Make a solid choice to focus on one writing field. This is an important part of success—focusing on your core strengths.

Take a relevant course

If you thought you could become a writer without studying first, think again. Talent will only get you so far in this industry. Experience will also hit a dead end if you don’t have some qualification behind your name.

The most talented writers have admitted to learning invaluable information by attending a course or a writing college. Learn from the experts. You can’t expect to reinvent the wheel. Get the basics down before you try to make it big as a writer.

Check the market

Now that you know which direction you want to take as a writer, check out how much of a demand there is for your field. A good way to do this is through freelancing websites. Jobs from all over the world will pop up every few minutes. Write down which of these fits your field and work out a percentage.

If you’re entering a field for which there is little or no demand, you’ll be out of work most of the time. This does not mean that you’re not good enough to make it. It simply means that you will have to fight harder to get to the top. Ask yourself if you’re willing to do this.

Work for free

The golden rule for every beginner writer is to work for free. This is invaluable for multiple reasons:

You will get experience to display on your portfolio
It will teach you how to work with a client
You will learn from your mistakes and grow from constructive criticism
Your confidence will grow—especially if you see your work published

Find a writing mentor

Many writers are looking for fresh talent to share their workload with. If you can find a writer who is good at teaching you the ropes, stick to them like glue. These individuals may ask you to write for very little money, but you’re still getting paid to learn—which is invaluable.

So if you’ve been considering a writing career, use this as your checklist. These five actions will effectively prepare you for the industry. Good luck!

March 4, 2016March 4, 2016 by Copley Sutton

5 Mistakes I see in South African advertising

All Copywriters will tell you a similar story. From when they were young, they noticed silly little mistakes in ads. Whether they’re TV ads, radio ads, or billboards (okay, ESPECIALLY billboard ads!) For me, nothing has changed. In fact, it’s gotten worse. While I appreciate a good advert, the bad ones irk me. And it’s not only adverts themselves. It’s the WAY companies market themselves.

Still handing out pamphlets? Seriously?

This probably happens everywhere, but in South Africa it is falsely believed to be the main way of advertising. Handing out flyers, pamphlets and catalogues is one of the most ineffective ways to market your company. If you’re still doing this, YOU MUST STOP NOW!

New businesses fall into this trap so easily. They see it as cheap, easy and effective. The truth is you are giving your marketing efforts less than a 1% success rate. You are annoying potential customers, wasting paper and making yourself look desperate. Again: STOP NOW!

The ‘WE-OUR-US’ mistake

Another big mistake I often see (and notice straight way) is the use of “We” or “Our” at the beginning of a sentence. Do you really think the customer cares about you or your team? No! An advert is not an interview. It’s a message telling people that they can benefit; they are missing out; they will enjoy something…

A good ad always starts with the words, “You” and “Your”. If it’s not possible to start with these words, at least use words that won’t make the reader instantly lose interest.

Failure to adequately grab attention

These are the factors that can win or lose your customer in the first few seconds. An unfriendly face handing you a pamphlet. And the pamphlet is all about YOU—instead of the customer. No way, you haven’t got a chance…

Grab that customer’s attention. Speak to him/her. Ask them questions. Bombard them with benefits. Be relevant. Be exciting. This is what real copywriting can bring to your adverts!

Colour confusion

Colours can often speak louder than words. Companies are using colours they think are either nice or relevant to their business. Again, it’s not about you. It’s about the customer. The colour you use is subconsciously telling your customer something about what they are getting if they bite. An insurance company that uses orange or purple? Facepalm!

Too much emphasis on the name

Companies in South Africa have a tendency to place their name right above the advert. We see this on billboards, street pole ads and trailer posters all the time. The customers are actually surprisingly disinterested in your name. All they really want to know is what you can offer them.

While branding is important, always place your company name at the bottom of the advert. If you catch their attention and entice them, they’ll look for it eventually.

I’ll leave you with the words of Seth Godin. Feel free to contact me if you’d like any more info on how to make your ads stand out from the rest.

February 18, 2016November 9, 2016 by Copley Sutton

Make your own emoticons

Copley's Personal Blog

Seriously?

Today I got a surprise phone call from a client asking me to write an urgent landing page for him. What was the landing page about? Bottled water. How in the world am I supposed to make bottled water sound interesting?

Inspiration simply wasn’t hitting my brain so I went and lay on my couch, waiting for something to click. Lying there was pretty boring. I grabbed my phone and started doing something I’ve been doing a lot lately—I started taking selfies.

Oh wow it was SO MUCH FUN! I couldn’t stop laughing at some of them. (Some of them I had to delete because the lighting made me look like that weirdo from soul taker). Before I knew it, I was making all kinds of funny (albeit emotion-charged) faces.

Soul Taker – Angel of Death

Now I know it makes us look vain and full of ourselves (excuse the redundancy), but seriously; taking selfies is a lot of fun. So I decided to put it to good use. I’m going to use my selfies as personalised emoticons.

Oh I hear what you’re saying: “What a silly idea!” And I agree with you. It is a little crazy. But I was on Facebook today and I’m pretty sure I distinctly heard Richard Gere tell me that I’m supposed to be silly to enjoy life. So personalised emoticons it is then! Thanks Rich!

Oh, and by the way… taking selfies really cleared my head. I wrote an awesome landing page and my client said he loved it. So I highly recommend some ‘selfies therapy’ if you’re feeling a little… mentally constipated. Us copywriters are a little crazy, I know…

The Smoulder

February 15, 2016November 7, 2016 by Copley Sutton

Common questions: What the heck is copywriting? – by Copley Sutton

“So what do you do for a living?” It’s a question we’ve all heard asked. And if you know anything about wordplay, you know that the word ‘copywriting’ is a tricky one?

“Oh, so like copyright music?” someone might ask.

“Errr… no. That’s spelt very differently.” And so the conversation goes.

If you are a copywriter, you’ve DEFINITELY had this discussion with someone before. And if you’ve ever spoken to a copywriter, you’ve been on the other end of a very confusing conversation.

So what’s the best way to define copywriting?

Two vague words

The best way to logically explain what copywriting is, is to analyse both words this term is made up of.

‘Copy’ refers to content. These are the actual words that get displayed on… well, anything. Flyers, catalogues, websites, billboards, TV ads, and even the content you hear on radio ads.

‘Writing’ is exactly that. Not to be confused with ‘righting’ (a legal term), we’re talking about someone who very simply writes copy. A copywriter! Get it?

So what do copywriters do?

The term ‘copywriter’ is mostly associated with advertising. Before the internet, copywriters would write the scripts, slogans and dialogues for adverts.

But today, copywriting has exploded into so much more. Why? Because the internet is ALL about marketing. Blogs, websites, social media… you name it! It’s all geared at getting exposure for companies. People love being on the internet, and since so much on the internet is free, it’s the perfect place to advertise.

What are freelance copywriters and how much do they earn?

There are some really great international platforms for freelance copywriters. These platforms connect clients and freelancers and offer safe payment gateways for both parties. Freelance copywriters are lucky enough to work from anywhere in the world and will usually get paid in US dollars—the reserve currency.

So how much do freelance copywriters generally earn? There’s no definite answer to this question. An entry level freelance writer will often start off with basic blogging. If you were blogging for a client, you would typically charge per 100 words—and $1 per 100 words is pretty much an entry level rate.

But as your experience grows—and you start taking on different types of projects—your rate will go up. And when it comes to the ‘salesy’, marketing side of copywriting, you can charge very hefty rates for all the brain work and creativity that goes into persuasive copy.

So there you have it. Copywriters love talking about their jobs. The next time someone tells you they’re a copywriter, you’ll know what they mean and you can ask them more about it. You’re welcome!

February 8, 2016February 7, 2018 by Copley Sutton

The 6 most important SEO tips for 2016 – Copley Sutton

Anyone can make their business EXPLODE on the internet. Google search holds the key to website traffic and if you know Google’s secrets, YOU’RE IN! Fortunately for all of us internet marketers, a team of SEO experts have done a super important study and found out 170 factors that influence your website’s rank.

I’m not going to give you all of them—because that would be crazy! But I am going to give you the top six that you simply must do RIGHT NOW.

Write longer blogs

The study showed that blogs reaching an average of 1890 words ranked higher than shorter blogs. Gone are the days where 400 or 600 words was enough. It seems that blogging will explode over the next year because now the 2000 word blog is the only way to cover everything that needs to be said about a particular topic.

Cover all aspects of your topic

And that’s exactly what your blogs should aim to do. When a blog covers various aspects of your topic, people are more likely to click on it via Google. Why? Because the more questions you cover, the more likely it is that someone will find the answer by reading your blog. It just makes sense, right?

Get website security

One aspect Google has never been shy to mention is that an “https” prefix in your URL ranks you higher. It’s that simple! Get website security and make sure you’re generating trust for your customers. It’s a small step that clearly makes a big difference.

Editor’s note: I personally did all the content for https://www.trustthesite.com/ and believe them to be the best vendor for website security.

Increase your anchor text

Anchor text DOES make a difference to your rankings. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Add at least two anchor text links to each of your blogs which link back to your own website. Then, add at least one exact match anchor text link to that same blog so that you get a double score for mentioning your primary keywords. There’s a lot of stuff out there about this being bad—but that advice is grossly outdated.

If you’re reading this blog after 2016, these anchor text rules are still valid today. If you’re looking for a more updated article on anchor text, this great post by Outreach Mama is super comprehensive!

Link to established websites

Linking your content to websites that are authoritative, popular or well established will also put you in Google’s good books. But don’t settle for the YouTubes and the Facebooks alone. Find out what the authoritative websites are in YOUR industry and link to them as well.

Add images to your blogs

Blogs with at least one image were shown to rank higher that other posts. People want to see images on your website. Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook prove that images speak louder than words. Besides, if you want to use an image to relay content, use a MEME or an INFOGRAPHIC to do so. You won’t be disappointed in the results!

These are small changes you can make immediately to improve you ranking. If you’re looking for more advice on how to boost your Google ranking, contact our team of copywriters from South Africa and we’ll be glad to help. Good luck!

January 28, 2016January 29, 2016 by Copley Sutton

5 quick tips for blogging like a pro – Olivia Colville

Everybody’s doing it—blogging about their passion, their business, their travels. If you’ve created a blog you’ll appreciate how tough it is to stand out from the crowd. There’s a lot of competition out there. Creating trust with your audience starts with creating a blog that looks professional.

Here are some quick and easy ways you can make your blog look like the real deal:

Give your readers a search bar that’s easy to find

Ever come out of the mall and forgotten where you parked your car? That’s how your readers feel when they’re looking for a post you wrote a while back.

Don’t let that happen. Put a search bar in your header or sidebar and make it easy for them to find what they’re looking for.

Include links in your sidebar and blog posts

This is the perfect way to keep your readers engaged. Adding links in your sidebar to your most popular posts will keep readers on your blog devouring your content.

Another clever trick is to include links to other posts you’ve written in the body of your article. Let’s say a visitor is on your blog reading about the hottest hairstyles for 2016. At some point in your post you could include a link to another post you’ve written about hair colour trends. Ensure that your links are on topic and you’ll see how engagement improves.

Add links to your social media accounts

Not all of your readers want to leave a comment on your blog. Some people prefer to interact via social media because it’s easy for them. So give them the option of getting in touch with you using social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Use a professional photo of yourself

Don’t rely on a blurry selfie for your bio or About page—get a professional photographer to take the shot instead. It will make a real difference to the way your readers perceive the quality of your blog and the content you offer.

Add a quality image to each blog posts

A compelling image helps capture attention and draw your reader in. Place it near the top of your blog post for maximum effect. Alternatively, you could include a photo in the middle to break up your text.

Images are essential for social sharing. If someone likes your post enough to share it on Facebook, the link will include your image and make it stand out.

Even if you’re an amateur blogger, your blog doesn’t have to be. All of these tips take less than 10 minutes to set up. But they’ll leave your blog looking more polished and professional. Try them out and let us know how they work for you.

About the Author – Olivia Colville

Since she was a little girl, Olivia has always had her nose in a book. Her curiosity knows no bounds and she spends her time collecting stories. Her greatest wish is to become a sought-after copywriter. Fingers crossed!

Author / Copley Sutton

Leptin: The hormone that tells you you’ve had enough