I have recently entered the blogging world, and though my blog has only a humble three posts, I was wondering if any of you blog, and if so, how do you get views? (Sorry for the run on sentence, every once and awhile i cant help myself) Any way, if any of you do blog, I would love to hear any advice you may have and would love to read your blogs, fellow writers.
I have a sewing blog (although, ideally, it will cover more topics). Traffic is pretty slow, although I had a spike to 100+ hits/day when my sister mentioned my blog on another sewing site. My advice: update 3+ times a week and network with other site that have topical overlaps. My blog link is also in my signature
I blog (the link to which is in my signature) about writing, my life and politics, all of which tend to meld together. Some posts are generally accessible to everyone, some are specific to UK politics, and some even more to politics in my local area. I try to update three or four times a week, and use social networks (twitter, facebook, google+) to advertise new posts. The key to getting views is to blog frequently, and to advertise (by linking, by commenting on other people's blogs, etc).
Good ideas, I do tweet out the link to my blog with every new post. I tend to blog about writing, philosophy, and whatever crosses my mind. Hopefully I will get more views. I will say that i like both of your blogs
By the way Kyle, do you make any money with the ads you have? Not trying to be pushy, but is it worth it when you get a higher level of traffic?
I've been getting into blogging a little bit lately. A grand total of 15 views (9 of which are referrer spam) . At the moment just working on a few pieces, getting them up to scratch, then worrying about views later.
Not really. It's under $5 since I activated ads (almost a month a go). But if you want to click a few ads, it'll help pay for diapers
I had a couple of really successful blogs, both with creative writing, both I left after the whole fans and haters thing got too stressful. The most important thing you can do to get views is to write really interesting content. It helps if you do it at regular intervals, like at least once a week, but really it is the interest in what you'll write next that keeps the readers coming. Also, to identify other, very popular blogs, which deal with similar topic to yours, and become regular reader and commentator. But keep it in mind that bloggers hate nothing more than self-promoting comments, where people ask others to visit their page, or spam them with links to their facebook and what not. Meaningful and to the point comments will encourage others to click on your nickname and that will lead them to your blog. There, you can have all the links etc. What else... Having the blog look nice and easy to read, and being patient. Sometimes you will become the flavour of the month overnight, others, you will have to be patient and wait to be "discovered" by other bloggers. And the bigger the blogging platform is, the less likely you are to get noticed quickly. Best of luck with your blog!
Yeah, I havent found something i really like you know? I want to make it a blog where i just talk about a lot of things. Maybe add some ads, hopefully it will take off. If not, then it'll at least get me some clips (kind of)
I have recently started a blog myself. Good thread topic, ZP3. Yeah, it is quite a conundrum regarding how to make your blog popular. I mean, there are literally millions of blogs out there in cyberspace, so how does one guy stand out among the crowd? I guess I am in the process of finding that out along with every one else who starts their own blogs. Maybe there is a way you could pay Google or something. Businesses do it all the time, purchasing prominent space for certain searchword results. So maybe they have a blogger option or something.
I blog on Tumblr, and it's pretty cool. It's a great site if you follow the right people, some cool blogs. I usually tag my stuff so if people search for something related, they'll find it.
Tumblr confuses me, to be honest. It does the Myspace thing, of being very glitzy and flashy, but just losing me in all the different things I don't really understand. But it seems to have a huge user base, so I'm probably just missing the point.
I have a blog that started out to be a perfume blog, and is now a perfume/sewing/gardening/writing/fried chicken/general babbling blog, currently with a focus on sewing. (Link on that Visit Homepage thingie.) When I post more, I get more traffic. If I stuck to one topic, I'd probably get even more traffic, but, nah, that wouldn't be any fun. I'm not the least bit worried about getting enough views to make money, and there are several people who comment (and whose blogs I read), so I'm perfectly happy with the whole blog thing.
Zp3, I hope more people post on your topic because I want to see more writing/opinion blogs! They interest me greatly. In addition, you can find my blog at (signature). How do I gain traffic? I network with other bloggers, find a consistent schedule to post quality content, and tell anyone I think would be interested.
Successful Blogging? Hello; I am curious what you all think of blogging. Has anyone had success with it, has anyone not? If you have had success in blogging, or if you are someone who reads others' blogs on a regular basis, what makes, or made, the blog good? I used to use sites such as Livejournal and the like to record my thoughts and observations, personal notes, and short stories in a semi-public location where friends and family could view them, but I fell out of this habit many years ago. Now, although I have a job which pays very well it has nothing to do with writing. As writing is where my true passion lies, I would like to return to my craft. Furthermore, I have a strong desire to share some excerpts and information from other authors which I consider important. To this end, I have had a blog for a while now with some excerpts and quotes posted to it, but I am unsure how to increase the visibility of it. So far, the blog has primarily been populated with excerpts from some of my favorite authors; individuals such as Leo Tolstoy, George MacDonald, Niccolo Machiavelli, etc. and since these authors are considered rather more archaic when it comes to public reading materials, I am not surprised that traffic is low. I would like to increase it, though, and I would love to see some really stimulating discussions arise among the readers. There is also something else I am unsure about, and that is whether I should devote the blog exclusively to excerpts and literary commentary. As I said, I am a writer, so my interest is not exclusively in sharing excerpts from existent literature. Although I cannot, for reason of first rights, publish my novels online, I do have many essays, short stories and news-style articles which I would like to share with people too. I am undecided as to whether I should combine my own work on the same blog, however, because I do not wish to draw people's attention to my own work simply by using excerpts from more notable authors. Would you recommend that I start a new blog for my personal work? And in any case, does anyone have suggestions for how to increase traffic? I do know that a few people are stumbling onto the blog each month, particularly those who do Google searches for any of the authors I have excerpted from (I'm pretty good with tags/key words), but the numbers are very low. I appreciate your time reading this, and any feedback you all may have to offer. Thank you; - Toadling
I blog on Tumblr, too. But mostly just graphics and pictures. I have a Blogspot blog that I use solely for ranting and such, so it's completely private; my Livejournal is for writing, heheh. Perhaps, to get viewers, you could try following other blogs associated with your host? I don't know if you can "follow" using Wordpress, but Blogger works that way, and that will help spread the word of your blog a bit. Comment on other blogs' posts with your account name so it gets out there as well. Maybe even try affiliating with sites, lol, though not all sites do affiliations.
In the weeks that I've been blogging, I have realized its less about the views and more about the experience. What a great tool we have, a place where we can write and send it all over the world without ever once having to pay or go through any hassle!
Sorry jonathan, I've only just seen your question. I'm not sure I'd describe it as a strong following, but there are a selection of people who seem to consistently read and comment on my blogs. A lot of it comes through my interaction with the blogosphere at large, in both writing and political flavours.
I blog pretty often, but I don't really do it for views or reads as much as I do it simply to put my thoughts out onto paper. Overtime, I've found I like writing about what I'm thinking rather than stories and such. But in answer to getting views, I can tell you that people tend to read AND respond to things that are the goofy, perky kind of interesting (like "Abraham Lincoln vs Washington in a Fist Fight", or "Sex after the Sorry"), thought provoking, informative about some common things in life, or highly charged debate topics like religion or politics. Also, you are likely to get more views not coming to strong or forceful with your own views and opinions, but leaving a generally neutral tone where anyone feels safe to jump in. And advertising. Anyone can make a blog and there are millions and millions out there. People tend to like to see that other people like what you're writing before the "let" themselves become interested in what you have to say so get your friends to read and hype up your site. It's like a homeless guy having a little starter change to rattle rather than an empty cup. Makes people think other people gave so it's all right to give themselves. Weird, but true. Hope this was helpful. Not a professional opinion, just from my experience.
I've blogged, but I do more of a journalistic version of blogging. I write for myself in order to help myself, as well as others who are going through the same things as I am. As far as trafficing goes... just network your blog with another site and you'll be sure to get some hits.
Another advantage of blogging; last night I attended a "digital shindig" held by the publisher Quercus, to which I was invited because they read my blog (specifically a review I did of one of their books). Which was pretty darn awesome
