Katie writes:
I’ve been an occasional blogger for a while now. I have a bit of a hectic life, though it’s starting to calm down. When I first started I received quite a few comments, but they kinda stopped happening and I think that’s part of why I got irregular at putting stuff on the blog.
If I think about it, the interaction online is what I like, but because of the hit-and-miss way I blog I don’t interact as much as I perhaps should with others online.
Do you think I should I put myself on blog listing sites? I have to wonder if it is worth doing, especially after reading about how people like EdenFantasys seem to mess around with their links back to bloggers. And if so, without me being able to spend a long time online, am I just going to be a blogger also-ran?
I would really appreciate advice from an experienced blogger.
Katie, while you might get a few hits from blog listing sites, I’d suggest that you spend your online time otherwise:
- Add blogs in your niche to a feed reader so that you can find updates easily. This might take an hour to set up initially (less if you’re already familiar with using Google or another RSS reader) but it will be well worth it in the long run. If you’re just starting, choose twenty to thirty sites so that you don’t get overwhelmed.
- Read your updates daily. If you’ve selected a moderate number of blogs, it shouldn’t take too long to skim most of them and concentrate on a few that really catch your interest.
- Leave at least five meaningful comments on blogs from your reader each day. “Meaningful” is the key word here. Take the time to respond thoughtfully to the topic. Make sure that you leave your URL with your comment and set up an account with Gravatar. This will help the blog’s author and readers remember you.
- Link to blogs in your niche. They might link back to you. If they don’t, you are not allowed to whine.
Once your reader is all set up, Katie, you should be able to read and comment in under a half-hour a day. I think this will help you find some of the interaction you’re after, but I bet my readers can suggest more ways.
Readers? Have at it.
I’ve been on a bunch of blog listing sites. I don’t think it’s worth it. Commenting on other sites helps build traffic, and you get to know people.
I don’t know your niche, but something like e([lust], and the now defunct Sugasm, are good ways to promote traffic. You submit to the weekly compilation, and in turn you post the links to the compilation on your blog.
Since being new to the world of blogging, the best way I find is to find other blogs to comment on that you are interested in, and have comments about. Don’t force your links upon people, but occasionally link to posts that are relevant to your content, and you get links back, but also as a blog author, I really like to know why they have linked to my posts in particular.
It is a matter of time, and building trust.
If you follow the basic rules then your blog will be interesting. Interesting blogs don’t have to worry about links. They will come automatically.
Here is what I normally tell people
1. produce good content. Do not repost stuff from other sites without giving your own opinion. Write something that deserves the name “article”. nothing less than 200 words. If you reference to other blogs make sure you follow up on the whole conversation. It is always nice if there is more than one reference in your post that is talking about the same thing. Make sure there is some kind of benefit to your audience.
2. be patient. in order to become a source for any community you have to earn the trust of your audience. Poeple want to know what you do, what are your views. it takes time to build that up.
3. be true to yourself. There is nothing worse than people who try to be eveverbodies darling and agree with everything. I love to read blogs that do not share my views. It good be the next idea for your own post.
4. Engage with other bloggers, people that relate to your subject. Twitter, email, comments. If you write a “toy blog” you should contact manufacturers. Get busy !!
5. get the techical part right. make sure you submit your sitemaps to google, yahoo
get listed at dmoz.org
6. stay organized wiith your tags.the more content you have on your site, the more it is important that your audience has a benefit from your tags. tags are not there to make google happy. it is the way to guide your reader from one post to another.
7. do no think too much about your post. if you do not feel a little bit embarrassed about your post, then most likely it is not personal enough. :-)
The only thing I can add is don’t be afraid of linking sites. I would say most don’t do what EF has been doing but, I will say that they can’t promise you traffic or comments just the opportunity for those. Also traffic waxes and wanes as do comments so I wouldn’t worry about it overmuch honestly.
Hm, I like aags advice. Try to also go for Blogs that aren’t huge egomachines. Commenting on something like mashable doesn’t make sense for gaining a following. Holger, I have to disagree a little bit with your list. While I think you always should post some original content, I have been content to read just a little pithy sentence. value is not in length. Also I prefer Categories over tags and there no more than ca. 10. Categories are more general than tags and tell me more about what the blog actually is about.
Yep, I think AAG is right-on. I think probably about 95% of my readers are regulars, and I have them because I comment a lot elsewhere, so it builds community. Occasionally I get spikes in my readership from being linked to from somewhere else (e.g. stumbleupon), but those aren’t the readers I care about most because they’re the ones that aren’t going to stick around no matter *how* awesome that one post is. I forget where I heard this, but most people need to have heard about something 3-4 times before they remember it and trust it as a good source — which means the best way to get readers is to make yourself visible. Get around! :)
I usually read and comment on other blogs just because I enjoy reading and commenting on them, which is another reason for this being a good approach–even if it’s not done with the ulterior motive of attracting readers, it still sometimes has that effect.
I think “If you want comments, comment” pretty much amounts to “If you want people to talk to you, talk to them”. And even if they don’t visit your blog, or don’t comment, you’ve still had a bit of fun interaction on other people’s blogs.