Balancing Post Count
Reader comment / question:
“It annoys me when a blog has 15 or 20 posts a day. To me, it feels like the friend who forwards 15 chain emails a day and also sends 2 or 3 personal emails… I won’t name names, but I subscribe to a couple of blogs that do this. When I get too far behind in reading the posts in my reader, the first thing I do is go to those blogs and mark all their posts as read without reading them. I also tend to skim their posts more often than other blogs because more often than not there is only one or two good quality posts a day from those blogs and a whole lot of stuff that is uninteresting. The blogs I am thinking of all have many co-bloggers and appear to be network blogs.
Do you think there is a point where a blog posts too much in one day? If so, do you think this is usually a function of having too many co-bloggers? Of not exerting enough editorial control? Of…?”
What I think:
First this is a really good question, but I wonder why you’d have blogs in your feed that offer “a whole lot of stuff that is uninteresting” - that sounds dull. I’d delete blogs like that. Not knowing the background of the blogs I can’t say why they offer dull content. It could be too many bloggers, or bloggers who don’t know the topic well, or it could be any number of things. Their editor may be telling them what to write, or the bloggers hate their topic so they write garbage just to get posts out of the way. One way to know for sure is to ask - most blogs have contact pages. Jot off a quick email that says, you’d like to keep them in your feed but…
I don’t think a blog’s interest factor has to do with post count, because every post has the potential to be interesting. For example, The Blog Herald and Performacing both sometimes post often in one day, and I find the posts interesting enough to read; or I at least skim them all. There are other blogs that post much more than these two, like many celebrity blogs - for the people who like celebrity blogs, a lot of posts are a bonus. For someone like me, it would be torture to have them in my feed.
I think it’s more what the bloggers bring to the blog then the actual number of posts. They bring lots o’ junk, well, you end up with a junky blog. If they bring seven or two nicely done posts a day, you still end up with a nice useful blog either way.
Post count in general:
There’s a downside to too few posts. I’m currently working for a network that wants one post a day at each of their blogs, and in some cases less. I’ll be shocked if this blog network grows at even a normal pace. With one exception, I’ve never seen a blog grow well on less than two posts a day.
While I don’t think the number of posts alone can ruin a blog, I do think there is one potential downside to too many posts. Once you get past six posts a day, it’s hard to follow a blog. If a blog is hard to follow, it seems unlikely that you’ll connect with your readers. I like when I can easily keep up with a blog. For me personally that’s about five posts tops.
Post count is variable though. You have to find the perfect balance for each blog you write. Most blogs I write for seem to have a traffic cut-off, as in traffic stalls once you get past a certain number of posts a day. That number, in my experience is four or five posts per day. If you consistently receive the same amount of traffic when you write four posts or seven posts, then why write seven unless you have something magnificent to say? You can save it for tomorrow.
Good post content - no matter the post count:
I think that as long as you follow the “So what” rule that I wrote about at FWJ, then you’ll be fine. Some bloggers really can write endlessly and interestingly about a topic, some can’t. But that’s dependent on the blog’s topic, and the blogger’s knowledge base. If you’re only churning out mindless posts for the sake of a higher post count, and not because you actually have something to say, you’re not going to keep a good reader base for long. People do want to read something interesting at your blog.
I think we should open this question up though. Maybe a blog does look way worse to folks if there are too many posts.
What do you think everyone? “Do you think there is a point where a blog posts too much in one day?” If so, why do you think this is?
My Blog’s Stats After Adding A Co-Blogger
My previous two posts about co-bloggers covered the potential positives and negatives of having a co-blogger. Today I’ll share some results.
Background:
The blog I’ve been discussing in the last two posts is Tree Hugging Family. It launched in August 2007, so it’s somewhat new. Being a green family blog, it’s in a smaller niche, then say, pop stars or tech. Being in a smaller niche was one reason I was worried about getting a co-blogger; I wasn’t sure a co-blogger would reap large enough traffic benefits to make a difference.
I blogged at THF solo for about 5.5 months and then decided to find a co-blogger. Peggy has been co-blogging with me since February.
Stats:
THF is a network blog, so I won’t be giving away exact stats, since it doesn’t belong to me. That said, I figured the best way to illustrate the difference between me blogging solo vs. the co-blogger addition was to create a graph. I only included unique visitors and page views to keep it tidy.
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5 Lame Ways to Comment at Other Blogs
Looking to get your comment deleted from my blog? Comment like this…
1. “Hey, this doesn’t relate to your post at all but…. http://www.linkthatdoesnotrelate.com” - you lost me at “doesn’t relate.”
2. On one of my contest posts: “Everyone come enter my contest instead! at http://www.mycontestisbetterthanyours.com” - sad. Really even if you leave out the “instead”, I’m likely to delete you AND not enter you in my contest. This, in my opinion, is no better than spam. It’s just not cool. You already get to leave your url at my blog.
3. Say one of the following: “You suck” - “That last comment sucked” - “This post is stupid” - if my blog, my readers, or I suck so hard core, please back it up with why. I mean, it’s the least you can do, and it will save you from a delete.
4. On my post about organic shirts: “I love organic shirts, they’re so much better than regular shirts, my favorite organic shirts are from http://myorganicshirts.com” - then I look and guess what your url and email are - oh, big surprise, “myorganicshirts.com” this is slightly concealed spam within a semi-decent comment, but I’ll still catch and delete you.
5. “I HAVE A BLOG LIKE THIS! PLEEZE COME SEE MY BLOG LIKE THIS BLOG!” sigh.
You know, commenting at other blogs is one very cool way to promote your blog, and get more traffic. However, you do need to leave a real comment. The comments above are the types of things I see all the time. Often I’ll go check out the blogger and see that they’re working for someone else, say, a network blog, or an obvious company blog, which frankly boggles my mind. Bad comments are a terrible way to promote your client’s blog. If you work for someone as a blogger, and part of your gig is networking, you can do better than the above.
I promise, you’ll get more clicks back to your blog if you leave a comment that has one or more of the following traits:
- Relates to the topic.
- Smart
- Respectfully argumentative
- Questioning
- Helpful
What sort of comments frustrate you?
Quick SEO Tip: Keep Up with Trends
Because bloggers have to be on top of what’s going on in their niche, it’s important to keep up with trends. I find the best way of doing this is through online trend reports such as Google Trends and Yahoo! Buzz and also through email alerts through Google alerts. In fact, the first thing I do when starting my day is check out Google Trends and Yahoo Buzz. This tells me what people are searching for at that time. Google Trends is updated every hour so you can stay on top of the hot searches. I also like to use Google Alerts to advise me of other blog posts and news articles posted about a particular search term.
What are some of the tools you use to stay on top of trends and search terms?
Who Should You Link To?
Someone on one of Deb’s posts here asked, “I am working on identifying the important blogs in my various niches - how about a post on how exactly to do that? It’s easy if your niche is tech or web related. You can just look at Technorati’s Top 100. But what’s an efficient way to go about finding other niches? How do you know who’s big? AND how many of these communities is it reasonable to strive to be active in?”
Now, since it was Deb’s post I’m not going to answer the whole question - maybe she’d like to. But I wanted to comment on this, because I’ve always found the whole “who to link to” issue really interesting. I’ve seen people ask this question before on forums, and it’s fascinating to me, because I’m sort of the old school mentality of linking to who I like vs. linking strategically.
Not having performed any serious scientific studies on linking, I can only offer my opinion though. Maybe it would be more beneficial for me to only link to big names, maybe not. I know it’s sometimes beneficial when big names link to me, but the other way around, well, I’m not so sure.
Examples:
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One Last Post About Comments: Become Part of Another Blogger’s Community
This week on Twitter, someone mentioned how he was getting a little tired of seeing everyone blogging about how to comment and how no one is saying anything new. At the risk of getting his dander up, I’d like to offer up one more post about commenting. Thanks for indulging me…
I’ve been remiss. I’m always talking about the importance of commenting to build traffic and I haven’t been doing it enough myself. My problem is as I get busy with my own blogs, I don’t have as much time to visit other blogs and drop them a line. This is a big mistake. Every blogger should visit blogs within his niche and become part of the community. Here’s why:
Hey Look at Me!
Every time you comment you draw attention to yourself. People remember your name. Soon they’re going to want to click on the link to your blog. More and more people are going to visit and become part of your community as well. This is a good thing.
Yeah.. I Know a Little
By participating in the discussions you’re showing off your expertise. Granted, if you come off as a know it all you won’t be very well liked, but if you’re an upbeat, enlightening part of the discussion people will remember. Commenting at other blogs is a good way to show off your expertise.
So Did Anyone Watch Lost Last Night?
Many bloggers work at home alone during the day. Commenting at other blogs is sort of like chit-chatting with your co-workers at the office. Even the shyest people need to socialize a little bit. Visiting other blogs and interacting with the regulars can be very therapeutic.
Here’s the thing…
When you visit other blogs, you learn:
- Who are the movers and shakers in your niche. Trust me on this, you want to have friends in this business.
- You get your name out there.
- You spread the word about your blog.
- You gather ideas based on others’ blog posts and comments.
- You meet lots of new like-minded people.
- You learn about new blogs in your niche.
When I began Freelance Writing Jobs three years ago, I spread the word by visiting other blogs and commenting. Though I did a few other things as well, this is the one single thing that made the biggest difference. People don’t just up and visit blogs. They have to know they exist. If you want that to happen you have to get out and toot your horn…often.
Why I’m so Liberal with the Link Love
If you’re a regular visitor to my blogs, you know I like to end my weekly blogging with a link love post featuring news, tips and ideas from my favorite bloggers. I do this for several reasons:
- To turn my community on to something I feel will be of interest
- To show another side to a story
- To highlight another great blogger
- To learn something new
- To share something fun
- To start a discussion
- Others might discover my blogs through my linking to them
I was once asked why I like to send my visitors to my competition. I responded that I don’t see other bloggers as competitors. I see them as friends and colleagues and we all share ideas together.
We all appreciate when other bloggers link to us, won’t you do the same?
Image: stock.xchnge
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.
Bringing in Traffic from Beyond Your Network
Working for a network is great. Everything you need by way of support is there for you. Your editors and fellow bloggers can always be counted on to come by and comment and link to your posts. If you’re part of a large network, the support of your peers is invaluable, so don’t get me wrong…but wouldn’t you like to expand your readership beyond that of your network?
Spread the word
Don’t be afraid to spread the word about your blog and blog posts. There are ways to do this without being spammy.
- Twitter - I love Twitter for social networking but it’s also a great way to advertise your blog posts. As long as you participate in the conversations and don’t just use it as a way to advertise your posts, people will respond.
- Blogs - If you want to expand outside your network, you’ll have to visit blogs outside your network. See what else is going on in your niche, and participate in conversations.
- Social Media Sites - There no denying sites like Digg, Stumble Upon, Fark, Reddit and others can bring in a surge of traffic, but they can also help with the backlinks and give you a few new daily readers. That’s not to say you should submit every single post to these sites, but if you have a good one, don’t be afraid to toot your horn.
- Email - No, don’t spam people. A link in the signature of email might bring in readers you didn’t expect. My vet is now a regular reader of one of my blogs because I had a link in my email signature.
- Forums - Do visit forums in your niche and participate in the conversations. You don’t have to promote every blog post, but a link in your signature will bring over the curious. In fact, that’s how most of my early blogs began to receive traffic.
- Offer up the link love - If you refer to other blogs in your posts, they’re sure to do the same. Besides, it’s good blog karma. On most of my blogs, I like to offer a weekly roundup featuring different blogs and articles of interest to my niche.
Go ahead and look outside of your network for traffic. Since many networks offer bonuses for traffic and revenue, I’ll even go as far as to say it’s within your best interests to do so.
Image: stock.xchnge
