blogging lessons from a mall
Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce the TriNoMa, or the Triangle Mall of North Manila. It's a HUGE newly-opened shopping center near our house, built right across SM North Edsa, another mall that's had "mall monopoly" over that area for the longest time.
I went to Trinoma today, and, believe it or not, the mall showed me what to do (and what not to do) in blogging...
1. Don't serve a half-baked cake. You know what Trinoma did? They opened their doors to people before they've made sure that their airconditioning works. My goodness, the place was so friggin' hot. And I mean melt-an-icecube, sweat-like-a-pig kind of hot. What's more, something was wrong with the piping, so some stores don't have water. And some of the lights don't work yet, so some of the halls were dim.
I compare this with the mall across the street. They had recently opened a new building they called "The Block". At the time of opening, there were only a handful of stores, but the lights were bright, giving the halls a clean, sophisticated look. Also, the airconditioning was awesome, and I remember that my friends and I stayed there just for the cool air.
Now, I know that websites are rarely "finished". In cyberspace, nearly everything is updated daily, and even "finished" websites are still updated every once in a while. But remember that we have to make sure that everything is running smoothly before we put a website up. Organize. Plan your content. Make sure the design works. Check alignments. Check links. When a website looks like it's finished even though you've only got teeny tiny content at the moment, it's more likely that people will come back later to check what you've come up with.
2. Do what you can to make people stay and look around. Okay. I'm not claiming that I have a huge reader database. As a matter of fact, I have a very small one. But hey, we can all use this tip.
The Trinoma has an awesome driveway in the front, with towering palm trees and a nice garden to freshen things up. It's a good move, I think, since it made a lot of people visit them and see what the buzz is about.
If you want people to visit your website often, put things that they might be interested in. (Of course, it goes without saying that you ought to be interested about what you blog or make a website about!) Although my primary content is my journal, I also put in art, photos, and my fiction. I'm sure you've got something interesting up your sleeve. So flaunt it! ^____^
3. Try not to do anything that will make people leave. Not being interesting is slightly different from shooing away people altogether. Now, I know that the Trinoma did not intend to shoo us away, but, seriously. Not turning the airconditioning on?! I'm sure they've got great stuff in there, but my friends and I didn't survive long. Although we tried to ignore the heat for the sake of "adventure", we gave up eventually and crossed the street for brighter, cooler SM.
In blogging, I suppose this will be equivalent to bad design and clashing colors. Yeesh. It's a viewer's nightmare. If you're not sure with making your own website design, there are a lot of templates and examples online. Learn from them and apply them. You won't regret it, I swear.
4. Take risks. As I mentioned earlier in this post, Trinoma was built right across a giant. It was like going to Olympus and challenging Zeus. Although I'm not sure if Trinoma will succeed in its attempt to dethrone the mall king of that area, the effort is not ignored. Unlike putting up a mall, though, you don't have to be a Zobel-Ayala, a George Lindermann Jr, or a Donald Trump to put up a blog. It takes time and effort, yes, but time and effort that is capital for improving your webmaster skills. If a blog or website doesn't sell, well, then, just go and make a better one!
5. Don't be afraid to revamp. Who cares if you have a blog/website that totally failed its purpose before? Who cares if nobody cared about the vacant lot that you had? Once you have a vision for your website or blog, don't hesitate to make it into reality. That's what Trinoma did: they built over a property that had been vacant for the last 15 years I've lived in that area. I would never have imagined that an impressive-looking mall was going to stand there any time soon! Now that it is, people head on over there to see what's up. The same can be said about our blogs. Redesign or restructure every once in a while to attract attention. A new banner, or simply new colors (even if you keep the template) gives your website a new feel. A fresh design always strikes the curiosity, so use that to your advantage!
---------------
Ahaha. I had originally intended to write about my frustrating time at the mall... But instead of doing that, I thought I'd just transform it into something we (including myself) can learn from. Hope you picked something up!
----
photo by Sara.
I went to Trinoma today, and, believe it or not, the mall showed me what to do (and what not to do) in blogging...
1. Don't serve a half-baked cake. You know what Trinoma did? They opened their doors to people before they've made sure that their airconditioning works. My goodness, the place was so friggin' hot. And I mean melt-an-icecube, sweat-like-a-pig kind of hot. What's more, something was wrong with the piping, so some stores don't have water. And some of the lights don't work yet, so some of the halls were dim.
I compare this with the mall across the street. They had recently opened a new building they called "The Block". At the time of opening, there were only a handful of stores, but the lights were bright, giving the halls a clean, sophisticated look. Also, the airconditioning was awesome, and I remember that my friends and I stayed there just for the cool air.
Now, I know that websites are rarely "finished". In cyberspace, nearly everything is updated daily, and even "finished" websites are still updated every once in a while. But remember that we have to make sure that everything is running smoothly before we put a website up. Organize. Plan your content. Make sure the design works. Check alignments. Check links. When a website looks like it's finished even though you've only got teeny tiny content at the moment, it's more likely that people will come back later to check what you've come up with.
2. Do what you can to make people stay and look around. Okay. I'm not claiming that I have a huge reader database. As a matter of fact, I have a very small one. But hey, we can all use this tip.
The Trinoma has an awesome driveway in the front, with towering palm trees and a nice garden to freshen things up. It's a good move, I think, since it made a lot of people visit them and see what the buzz is about.
If you want people to visit your website often, put things that they might be interested in. (Of course, it goes without saying that you ought to be interested about what you blog or make a website about!) Although my primary content is my journal, I also put in art, photos, and my fiction. I'm sure you've got something interesting up your sleeve. So flaunt it! ^____^
3. Try not to do anything that will make people leave. Not being interesting is slightly different from shooing away people altogether. Now, I know that the Trinoma did not intend to shoo us away, but, seriously. Not turning the airconditioning on?! I'm sure they've got great stuff in there, but my friends and I didn't survive long. Although we tried to ignore the heat for the sake of "adventure", we gave up eventually and crossed the street for brighter, cooler SM.
In blogging, I suppose this will be equivalent to bad design and clashing colors. Yeesh. It's a viewer's nightmare. If you're not sure with making your own website design, there are a lot of templates and examples online. Learn from them and apply them. You won't regret it, I swear.
4. Take risks. As I mentioned earlier in this post, Trinoma was built right across a giant. It was like going to Olympus and challenging Zeus. Although I'm not sure if Trinoma will succeed in its attempt to dethrone the mall king of that area, the effort is not ignored. Unlike putting up a mall, though, you don't have to be a Zobel-Ayala, a George Lindermann Jr, or a Donald Trump to put up a blog. It takes time and effort, yes, but time and effort that is capital for improving your webmaster skills. If a blog or website doesn't sell, well, then, just go and make a better one!
5. Don't be afraid to revamp. Who cares if you have a blog/website that totally failed its purpose before? Who cares if nobody cared about the vacant lot that you had? Once you have a vision for your website or blog, don't hesitate to make it into reality. That's what Trinoma did: they built over a property that had been vacant for the last 15 years I've lived in that area. I would never have imagined that an impressive-looking mall was going to stand there any time soon! Now that it is, people head on over there to see what's up. The same can be said about our blogs. Redesign or restructure every once in a while to attract attention. A new banner, or simply new colors (even if you keep the template) gives your website a new feel. A fresh design always strikes the curiosity, so use that to your advantage!
---------------
Ahaha. I had originally intended to write about my frustrating time at the mall... But instead of doing that, I thought I'd just transform it into something we (including myself) can learn from. Hope you picked something up!
----
photo by Sara.
Labels: blogging, malls, trinoma mall, web design
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Cockroaches. Shopping. Humidity. Migraines.
comparing the opening of a mall with blogging is a refreshing delight. your tips are very useful and practical.
i guess that a large chunk of shoppers would go to the new mall, but it would not be to change patronage, but to try a new place (same as in blogging, we have our favorite sites, but it does not mean we would not be visiting new ones and coming back).
will be visiting your site again!
Posted by
sexy mom
been to trinoma yesterday... good thing the aircon is working already. But most halls seem to lack lights... the area is dim. Too dusty... my rhinitis acted up! And cant seem to see any janitors or sweepers around.
I didnt see information boards around but seen 1 info desk.. the girl is kinda helpful naman.
Posted by
Lasketti
adik. wahaha
Posted by
sara