Last year at a Salt Lake Bees game we ran into a girl wearing this t-shirt and I couldn't stop laughing. I have been guilty of self-promoting my blog more than once - and almost always to deaf ears. The fact of the matter is this - the t-shirt is true. No one does care about my blog. I've learned to deal with it, and so should you.I by no means consider myself a professional blogger. In 2 years worth of google ads, I've made a grand total of $8.11. But in the past week, all 4 of my siblings have started blogs. So since comparatively I'm now the experienced blogger with a loyal following of a dozen and counting (are you picking up the sarcasm here?), I thought I would post some tips that may or may not benefit those who stumble upon them.
- Know your audience. If your blog is about you or your family, chances are people are logging on to find out what funny or unfunny things happened to you or your family. People aren't coming to your blog to find out what movie is coming out next week. And they're not coming to find out what movie you saw last week either. They're coming to find out what movie you hated last week and why you hated it. It's important to note the difference.
- Post opinions you are passionate about. And if you're not passionate about them, pretend to be. It works in talk radio and it works in blogging too. As Stephen Colbert would say, "We're at war - pick a side!"
- Don't write a post apologizing that you don't have anything to say or that nothing is going on in your life. And if you take a few weeks off - don't apologize for that either. Life gets busy and people understand. On the other hand, if you have plenty of time but nothing to say, don't say anything. Or better yet, dig deep and come up with an opinion. I'm willing to bet you'll find a few if you look in the right places. You'd be surprised how interested and eager people are to find out what your favorite girl scout cookie is.
- It's perfectly fine to post the same thing that everyone else does (ie. "Fun at the zoo," or "Our Disney trip"), just make sure you make it your own. Don't simply tell us that you saw zebras or that you rode space mountain. Tell us why you love zebras or why you hate Space Mountain.
- Don't post things people have forwarded you in string emails (sorry Esther, I hope I haven't offended you - you are getting better!). I'll admit, I've been guilty of this a few times. It's just lazy blogging. If you ignore my advice and do this anyway, at least give us the liberty of explaining why exactly you thought whatever it is was so dang funny that you just couldn't resist.
17 comments:
Please everyone, don't be offended by this post! Jana just read it and I think it ticked her off. I don't mean to come across as self-righteous or arrogant. I'm just trying to pass along a few tips I learned in my journalism classes and a few I've noticed on my own.
I don't take offense to anything you say Ike. I've learned to deal with your personality and especially your sarcasm! In fact, it keeps me entertained! You are not afraid to say what you think (remember the comment you made about the light sabers??). You're just trying to make blogging more interesting, right?!
Some very sound advise for the ten readers that you have built over the past two + years...I am so offended!:) Maybe you should make a shirt with your blog address on it. jk:) I would think that the key to getting people to visit you would be to get your friends to add your blog to their blog. I wouldn't have ever known that Abe or Esther had blogs if you not linked to them to your blog. By the way Ikester, have you checked out our newest post? How about everyone go there, ( http://jakeandheatheryospe.blogspot.com/) it is awesome! Best blog ever...and yes, I am the man in the bunny suit..
Jake -
My advice isn't to help you get more readers to your blog. I stopped caring how many people read my blog a long time ago. If I wanted tons of readers I wouldn't post things about my life or my family - I'd post things about Britney Spears and her family.
The advice I gave was to help make your blog more enjoyable/interesting for the few readers that already stop by.
I look at a blog as two things, at least for me personally. 1- A way to stay connected with people and share your lives with them. And, 2- As a personal journal of sorts. I figure, if people are interested in my life, they won't mind looking at pictures and what not. I agree though, that the more interesting the post, the more enjoyable to the reader. - Jordan
Jordan,
I don't disagree with you. Sharing pictures through blogs is great. But if it turns into the only reason to have a blog, or the only thing you find yourself doing on your blog, I would recommend flickr to those people. Go to http://flickr.com/tour/ and check it out if you don't know what I'm talking about. It's much better and much easier than Blogger for accomplishing this purpose.
You're right, for most people a blog is an online journal. Considering 99% of people out there probably don't write in a paper journal regularly, blogging is a great way to journal your life not only for yourself, but yet to be seen for your ancestors.
Grandpa Martin had a life-long journal that was thousands of pages long. While the journal is extremely precious, it can also be quite boring because many of his entries are simply stating what he did that day (ie. "went to the doctor, worked in the yard"). The things that we his posterity look for are his thoughts, opinions, and testimonies.
I would recommend to everyone out there who blogs to also at the very least keep a paper journal of spiritual experiences. These are things that are too personal to share with the rest of the world online. Even if you only write in it once a year, I guarantee it will be something that will become much more cherished than your blog, not only to yourself but to your kids, and their kids too.
I agree 100% and wasn't offended at all.
I think what it is is that people consider their blog their own online newspaper of sorts. If someone is interested in them, they'll have to have plenty to choose from as far as to read about. IE - News, Pictures, Movie Reviews, Comics, etc. However, I do agree that just as any good newspaper, a good blog must have some substance. It's not just about passing on the news of the world. It is about your personal happenings and your personal spin on things, as has been mentioned. I do not, however, think that a good blog must be funny. It could simply be informative. Just my two cents. I, too, was not offended. I think you offered some good tips. - Jord
PS...Tim Ricks (aka Jesus) has a pretty funny blog.
http://www.babygirlricks.blogspot.com/
Jacob
Great blogging about blogging Ike. I am going to blog about your blog in hopes that my blog is better blogged in the future. BLOG!
I will blog about whatever I want. I don't care what you guys think. For a minute I didn't even share that I had a blog with anyone.
By the way.. . I'm not offended.
Abe, your "blogging about my blogging about blogs" comment is hilarious. It reminds me of the Colbert-Conan duel during the writers strike where you would be watching Colbert and he would show a clip of Conan showing a clip of Colbert.
It sounds absurd but is actually hilarious.
By the way - if anyone out there craves comments/interaction on their blog, just take my advice and take a strong opinion on something. Doesn't that make it much more fun? We set a record today for most comments on any post in 2 years (although half of them are mine!). It's been fun seeing how everyone reacts to my telling them how to blog. It's your blog, post whatever you want. And I'll think whatever I want about it. Deal?
I miss the picture from yesterday.
Thanks for all of the tips Ike. I'm sure we've had a few violations in our ignorance. I hope that you don't get us flagged by blogger or anything. We're going to sit down as a family and come up with some strong opinions we can get people all worked up about.
Tim,
If you'd like an autographed copy of my Tips for Bloggers, perhaps to hang next to your computer or just to frame and admire, I'd be happy to get you one. Just send $5 and a SASE and I'll have that out in 6-8 weeks.
I agree with Ike.
I also agree with Curtis, I miss the old picture
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