WriteLikeFreddy.com
After listening for well over two hours, I paused to think about this blog. It began in the late fall/early winter of 2011. I began by reviewing books I'd read. Soon I was reviewing books that were offered on Facebook's Talking Fiction page, and I began focusing on mysteries. Many of the books were part of a series, something I've always enjoyed reading.
My 'site statistics' tells me that we've averaged about nine hundred 'pages read' per month in the six months this blog has been appearing. That's about thirty three page views per day. That may not imply that thirty three people came to the blog, as many people read more than one page once they're here. The reader counter tells me that between 7 and 14 readers is an average day.
I think that's not bad for a blog that varies between random thoughts, book promotion, book reviews, and 'other readings' links. The webinar, though, would suggest that's not even a blip on a number line. We have 47 members 'following' the blog. But the webinar suggests that 250 readers a day, or at least a week, would be a modest showing. Successful blogs reach thousands and tens of thousand of readers every day. In order to facilitate that happening, bloggers are advised to blog more often on others' blogs ... "guest blogging" ... to reach others' audiences. I have done a bit of that, writing for another's blog and interviewing an author to feature her work here.
My question for you, then, is: "What are you looking for when you open my blog? Book Reviews? Random Thoughts? The Writing Prompt Responses like April's Health Awareness campaign? "
Danny might suggest that I pick one or two of my own books at a time, and write about their content. He might encourage me to invite other authors who write in that genre to 'guest blog' here at Terry's Thoughts and Threads, optimistically bringing their own audience with them to build my numbers.
The comment link below works, and I invite you to respond here, or to me in an email (needlesandpens@comcast.net)
I don't think you should be asking people what they're looking for then seek to provide that. You need to write what you're knowledgeable and passionate about and let the appropriate audience find you. Writing to pander to others in an attempt to boost readership will defeat the purpose of blogging. You can increase your readership by blogging about popular topics like celebrity gossip for instance, but are those people who read gossip pages the type of person you want reading your blog? It will be a meaningless, un-intimate interaction. It also won't link up to whatever book/product you may want to sell e.g. a romance writer shouldn't blog about science just because she thinks it can bring in more page views. All those page views won't translate into sales for her. What you blog should be synchronised with what you enjoy and what you may be selling. Establish a theme and blog along those lines. Don't write on too many unrelated topics. While you must blog on things that interest you, also remember you're blogging for an audience who over time will come to expect certain themes from you; you don't just blog for yourself.
ReplyDeletePS. Nobody wants to read about random thoughts. Personally I am interested in the book reviews.
Thank you for responding so quickly and honestly. I agree with all that you've said, and have been wrestling with the mixed messages I take from perhaps too many sources, when the source that counts is my reading audience. I enjoy blogging about books I've read, and sometimes meeting and interviewing the authors who wrote them.
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