Don’t Forget Your Sense of Humor
Before I forget, happy Blogger Appreciation Day! Show another blogger how he or she is appreciated by offering encouragement and support.
Yesterday I chatted for a bit with another network blogger who was a bit down about the direction her blog was taking. As a health blogger who discussed a chronic condition she felt her posts, and her community’s comments about their health issues, was bringing the community. She felt her blog was so depressing she didn’t want to do it anymore. A couple of other bloggers chimed in and we discussed ways to add positivity to the blog. Especially through humor.
I think as bloggers we feel our primary goal is to teach, but it’s also to entertain. There are people who come to read our blogs not to learn something new, but to read and interact. Humor is a great way to encourage positivity and get some great comments rolling.
The benefits of using humor in your blog posts:
- Humor makes people smile and laugh. It makes them want to show your post to others and encourages them to come back for more humor.
- Laughter is contagious. Laughing makes people positive and upbeat.
- Humor shows a human side. People like to see you’re not perfect or that the same things happen to all of you. "Slice of life" humor is always well received.
- Humor helps others to forget about their problems for a while.
- Humor lets us all stop taking ourselves seriously for a while.
- Humor breaks up the day.
How to use humor in your blog posts:
- Tell a funny story or anecdote.
- Find a funny video.or
- Ask readers for their own funny stories.
- Look for humorous cartoons or articles and bring them to the attention of your readers.
I think bloggers forget they don’t always have to be serious. Bloggers who discuss topics such as illnesses or sad topics especially have to be careful not to become too depressing. Don’t forget to inject a little humor in your blog posts. Watch and see the difference it makes with your community.
Taking Your Blog to the Next Level with Video
You know what I love the most about blogging? It’s taking my blogs to the next level. I’m rather technically challenged so my blogs tend to have only the basics. My first big step was to switch from Blogger to WordPress for my personal blogs, I was nervous, but I did it. I took another big step when I learned to use images to illustrate my posts, but I’m proud to say I mastered that in no time. Now, I’m taking my blog to a higher level with video.
Why video?
Video scares me. I’m not confident enough in my appearance to show myself to the world through video, but I definitely think there are times where it’s good to show rather than tell. For instance, I did my first ever video blog post at Simply Thrifty today. My husband and I have to replace our backyard fence. Rather than hire someone, we’re saving money by doing it ourselves. What better way to illustrate the work needed to be done than with video? I think that by using video I show that we’re saving money, but also that maybe we’re sacrificing other areas of our lives as a result. It will be interesting to see if we regret not hiring anyone by the time we’re done. Sure,I could still use my words, but this really drives home my point.
How can you use videos in your posts?
- To show a before and after. For instance, if you have a gardening blog you can show your garden as it progresses through the seasons.
- To demonstrate. Why not take your instructive post to another letter by offering video so your readers know if they’re on the right track?
- To entertain. I’m not talking about juggling, but there are definitely times when a video blog post done in good humor is more entertaining than a written post.
- To review. One of the reasons I got the video camera is to do video product reviews. I don’t mind writing about them, but I’d love to really show what the products look like or how easy they are to run.
- To add a personal touch. Your readers might feel they know you better if they can see or hear you rather than only read your words.
Do you HAVE to have video?
Of course you don’t have to have video. It’s certainly not necessary. To me however, it felt like the next logical step.
Stop Obsessing Over Your Stats
You’re halfway through writing a blog post and get stuck on a thought. You look around a bit, check Twitter, stare into space a bit and when no words come to you, you check your stats. You fool around a bit, checking out keywords and page views and then return to your work. 30 minutes later you check your stats again. This process is repeated throughout the day.
Does this sound like you?
You must stop that this instant! Yes, stats are important. Yes, stats need to be analyzed regularly in order to learn more about your traffic and community but they shouldn’t be a distraction. The best way to bring in the masses is to offer pages and pages of useful content. Don’t be so driven by your stats they prove to be a distraction. Unless you hit a major Digg or Stumble, your traffic isn’t going to change much in 30 minutes. Set aside a couple of times a day for checking your stats and leave it at that. You have more important things to do.
I know what you’re thinking. “But Deb, last week you told us it’s important to check stats.” Indeed I did, but not to the point where you’re consumed. Don’t let your stats become an obsession. Worry more about content and building your community.
It’s time for another poll…
Why You Need Stats
I used to have a client who refused to let me know my blog’s stats. She was all about traffic and community building but wouldn’t let me in on too many details. This can be a problem. If you’re not privy to your stats you have no clue what is driving people to your blog. Clueless bloggers don’t do well. Here’s why stats are important:
Keywords: How will you know if your keywords are driving in traffic if you can’t see your stats? When you have regular stat access you can experiment more and find a formula that works. Your stats tell you your highest ranking keywords and also, what other keywords are being used. For instance, through my stats with my blog Freelance Writing Jobs I learned teachers use my blog as a way to find summer work. Now I know to include writing jobs for teachers’ resources and educational materials.
Traffic: Wouldn’t it be nice to know how many people read your blog? It would suck if you were doing all that work and had no visitors. It would equally suck if you have huge mega traffic and no one is telling you. Knowing the days people visit most and least can help you plan your editorial calendar or posting schedule. You’ll also want to know where your traffic comes from. Is another blog or forum discussing one of your posts? If so you’ll want to join in. Did you make Digg or a newspaper? How will you know without your stats?
Content: Knowing what posts performed the bests and which were the clunkers is important. No one is going to want to visit you if you talk about the same lame subject all the time.
Info for Publicists: One thing my former client didn’t understand is that in order to get press releases, product info and even products to review or give away, I needed to give publicists numbers. Telling them, "I’m sorry but my employer won’t let me know stats" doesn’t give them a reason to have confidence in you. They want to know their products and news are going to reach a lot of people.
Payment Info: If you receive bonuses based on traffic, you’ll want to know how many page views you’re receiving. Not that you don’t trust your client of course, but mistakes happen.
I don’t believe any blogger can truly be a success without knowing stats. If your employer isn’t allowing you to receive this information, convince her of why they’re necessary and make sure she knows you can’t do your job properly without them.
