Monday, January 17, 2011
Blogs people like to read??
So I just Googled "What do people like to read about on blogs?"
Not many helpful links came up. The first was a site called "What white people like". Didn't even waste my time clicking on that one. Another came up "100 Blog Topics I Hope You Write". That sounded interesting, so I clicked it. Nothing exciting.
I love blogging and sharing my writing journey...but lately it seems no one is really interested. I've been getting very few comments and Google Analytics shows low numbers, aside from a blogfest last month.
I am desperately trying to find out what people want to read about and comment about!! I want readers to know me...but is my life really all that interesting??? My writing life is probably the most exciting thing I got going!! No one wants to read about my trips to the gym or housework. I don't lead a very glamorous life!!
But my goal this year is to gain new followers and get more conversations going in my comments. I am always so jealous of blogs with 20+ comments! I can count on one hand how many of my posts have gotten that response!! And it's been almost 2 years I've been blogging!!
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What do people like to read on blogs? Now there is the million-dollar question! I've seen bloggers who have gone from 0 - 500 followers in less than six months and still can't fathom how they did it! I'm not questioning the content of their blogs but what made theirs so attractive? The only thing I do know is that bloggers who are published, or are about to be, seem gain a lot of followers quickly, which I'm assuming is our need to be part of that success and hopefully have some it rub off on us along the way.
ReplyDeleteIf you find the answer, let me know!
You know that's tricky. I just write from the heart and i have gained a steady flow of commentors who seem to be interested.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is different and some blogs are going to have 500+ followers and 50 +plus comments and some are not. I suppose it is just the way it works.
You can gain more followers by visiting other bloggers and following them/leaving comments. It's a lot of work, but that's one way. Of course, that won't increase the comments on your blog necessarily.
ReplyDeleteThink about this. Who do you want to read your blog and what would they like to read? Are you trying to build up potential readers for the books you write? Then, don't have writing related topics or (sorry--boring every day life stuff). Instead, focus on the genre you write and think of things that might interest those readers. For instance, if you wrote paranormal, you could write about vampires, ghost, and anything paranormal. If you wrote historicals, you could go on virtual tours of historic places. Women's fiction and romance are harder to peg, but you get the point. Right now, I'm more focused on my editing business, so my posts are mostly about writing or editing.
I hope this helps.
Lynnette Labelle
www.labelleseditorialservices.com
www.lynnettelabelle.com
lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com
The thing is, I do follow others and comment, as often as I can. But I'm following A LOT of blogs and it is impossible to comment on every one every day. I try to vary my post topics..sometimes it's about writing, other times it's just stuff that has happened in my personal life. I know people like to read funny stuff, so I try to keep everything light and comical. I want to appeal to everyone- readers of my books, other authors and writers, anyone. So it's really hard to find what will interest people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments!! I will keep trying and see how the next few weeks goes! I have a lot of different things lined up!!
If you ever find the answer, let me know :) I think a lot of the comments have to do with what the writer is giving the reader. To me, the most commented blogs have a lot of reviews, inspiration, and giveaways. Or they have the credentials (agent, author). I just try to do my best, I think that's the only thing any of us can do. Oh, and I try to comment on everyone else's blog. The more they see my face, hopefully, the more they'll be tempted to figure out who I am.
ReplyDeleteI am trying...really I am!! LOL!!! I could spend an entire day just reading and commenting on other people's blogs!! I need to actually work on my own writing too!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I jumped in my followers in a two week period where I was reading a lot of blogs and commenting on all of them and making sure I started following them, but the holidays happened and now homeschooling is happening and it is so hard! Here is what I am doing now. I log onto Twitter for about an hour or so in the morning and get a bunch of links--when I feel inspired to do so, I comment (I don't have a lot of time so unfortunately can't comment on all) and I try to put some of the links on my blog, and I always post my latest post up on twitter. The posts with linkage seems to get more readers. Then I try to go to the blog of everyone who comments on mine and follow them, and I always respond in my comments. Is it enough? Probably not. Is it all I can do now? Yep. I am hoping for the Field of Dreams philosophy. If you build it, they will come lol! Good luck :-)
ReplyDeleteI googled blogging subjects the other day and came up empty handed, too. But I think it's important to realize that just because someone isn't commenting doesn't mean they aren't reading. I've visited your blog more than a couple times and didn't leave a comment (not because I wasn't interested, I just had nothing to add). And I think people do like to hear about you going to the gym. They read your blog to know the person behind the writing. Good luck to you!
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I don't know. When I scroll down the google connect blog thing and see what's been posted, I usually gravitate to fun blogs or blogs talking about books. I find I get a lot of comments when I talk about weird topics--like my mom's recent plastic surgery.
ReplyDeletethe type of blogs I read are more about my friends and their kids so this may not apply but it seems from my own blog and theirs that the ones with the most comments are ones that are the most controversial or perhaps offer people a way to provide an opinion or ones that are given by others.
ReplyDeleteIf I blog about something that happened, I sometimes get comments that are somewhat generic. If however I ask about I have been told X but I believe in Y for this reason. I often get a lot of comments, sometimes more than I would think.
Interesting to note, when I made my blog private, I had a ton of people email me that they wanted to read the blog and could I add them to the list however these people never made a comment in the year it was a public blog.
I try to avoid anything controversial though...nothing I hate more than people arguing on my blog!! Especially when they're arguing with me!! My thoughts are usually taken the wrong way and someone comments and gets defensive, instead of keeping an open mind. So I guess I've learned that unless I want an argument on something, I keep it to myself.
ReplyDeleteSomething fun, getting the readers involved usually does well. What you're reading now, something unusual happening, what interests you, ask questions of people(like today!) contests, get involved in blogfests, a weekly theme for a post...hmm...S'all I can think of off the top of my head! Hope you find something good!
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem with my blog and I’ve come to realize it has little to do with actual content (although that is important in it’s own way), it has to do with how loyal you are to others blogs. The more you comment, the more traffic you’ll receive.
ReplyDelete