Much of what bloggers do these days they do because they see everybody else doing it. It is a big game of “follow the leader”… or in this case, “follow the guru”.

But, sometimes when everybody else is zigging, it is a good time to zag. And in this episode of The Blog Program, I ask the question…

Is the blog sidebar dead?

My readers have probably noticed that in the last few months, I have gone to a no-sidebar layout here on BMA. It started out with just my feature posts – all of which were published in full width. Then, toward the end of 2013, I went ahead and flipped the switch to ditch the sidebar throughout the entire site. I did bring back a mini floating sidebar just to make a few shortcut links more easily accessible, but the traditional sidebar definitely doesn’t exist here at the Academy.

In episode 16, I talk about why exactly I made this switch. I talk about:

• What people usually put into the blog sidebar… and could it go anywhere else?
• Why I believe the sidebar might actually get in the way of your content marketing.
• Which elements of the traditional sidebar are worth keeping, and which are a waste of space.
• Why banner ads in your sidebar is practically a waste of time
• How removing the sidebar could change the way your audience views your landing pages.

How To Get Rid Of Your Sidebar

If you decide to get rid of your blog sidebar – and that is a decision that you have to make for yourself – then the next question is… HOW?

The absolute easiest way is to use StudioPress, based on the Genesis Framework. The Academy is based on Genesis and it makes swapping between layouts as easy as a click of the button. Literally.

If you’re not using a framework, then you’ll need to do it manually. Check out How To Use A Custom Page Template in Wordpress. I did it this way for years… but trust me, once I switched to StudioPress, I would never look back to the manual way of doing it.