If a tweet isn’t retweeted…
… does it make a sound?
Everyone who I have spoken with and everything that I have read about blogging can be distilled into a single, generally accepted truth: Content is king. Yet six months into my full court press of blogging, I’m beginning to doubt the veracity of that statement.
(This is a reprint of a post that I recently wrote for the Pocono Tweeup NING. Unfortunately, that NING is being taken down because The NING Network is now charging a fee for their services and also because the group’s activity on the NING was sporadic.)
While this Tweetup group is primarily made up of members who are seeking to harness the power of social media for business concerns, I would think that the rules, strategies, and implementations are applicable to non-business efforts as well. I’d appreciate feedback from my Tweeps as I provide an update of my efforts. Please share your experiences in the comments.
Finding Your Niche
By day, I’m an accountant, but what I really enjoy doing is writing. I write about life, politics, and people. This seems too broad a subject range to be crammed into a niche, but limiting the topics that I write about for the sake of conformity isn’t really a viable option.
I take great care to compose thought provoking blog posts, usually in the form of short essays, and I encourage visitors to participate in the discussions. What I have found is that once people spend a short amount of time on my blog, they tend to be repeat visitors – whether or not they leave comments. It’s a small, but attentive, group of people who are not known to me outside of my blog, as I tend not to push my blog on family and friends because I’m trying to assess whether my posts can stand up on their own.
There have been sixty-seven posts since January 29Th and they have all been new content and not simply reposting of Youtube videos and such. They have been topical, carefully crafted, and open ended so as to encourage continued dialogue.
Networking
The top non-direct traffic sources for my blog are as follows:
- Feedburner
- Stubleupon
- Youtube
Since my feed goes to my subscribers and Google visits are the result of keyword searches, I have found only marginal value in using the standard social media platforms for attracting visitors.
I have a number of longtime YouTube subscribers, but those numbers do not translate into blog visits. Twitter users tend to be less interested in viewing anything beyond the tweet, so links to blogs seem to be routinely ignored. Stumbleupon visits are usually hit and run and only a few seconds in duration, as those visitors stumble off to the next site in line. Facebook users appear to be more interested in Farmville or photos than anything else.
Support
Writing a blog is a solitary endeavor, so I look to myself for the drive to invest the requisite time to put out a quality site. But I realize that things may not change in the short-term, as my tagline reads: “Blogging, it’s just like howling at the moon, only quieter”. Consequently, fledgling bloggers eventually arrive at a junction where they contemplate whether the exercise is worth doing at all. This is where I am, today.
Looking to others for help is contrary to my nature. I’ve always been a bootstrap type person who is confident in my abilities. I’ve viewed success or failure as a direct result of my action or inaction. But I’ve come to learn that in social media, there are no lone wolves. Without the support of others, no blog can flourish.
I spoke of my reasons for blogging in this video that I posted to the new vlogging site, Let’s Vlog, in which I tried to encourage another fledgling blogger.
So the question for my Tweeps is what it has always been:
How do we leverage social media to attract new visitors, so that they can see what we have to offer?
Ray } – 
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Ray,
I’ve read this twice now. I usually read your posts more than once before responding. Your writing is deeper than a lot of the fluffy blogs I follow. Anyway, I hope I’m responding to what you were throwing out there for your readers.
In the three years I have been blogging I have learned this lesson: Be true to yourself.
I have to remind myself of this when I inevitably forget. My husband is well versed in social media (it’s a huge part of his job) and he has read this post too. His response was basically that you have to be true to yourself.
If you are looking for a small niche of followers then you will have to write that way. Your specific writing will attract a large audience of followers interested in that small niche. I believe the downside to this is that I would get bored or feel like I have pigeon holed myself. I cannot write only about my life as a Type 1 diabetic because it’s too depressing and incredibly boring.
If you cover several different topics, as you do, then you will have a broader audience but usually a less patient audience. This is my problem, if you consider it a problem! Different readers come out of the woodwork when I post different things. I’ve learned that but haven’t always accepted it.
Back to the lesson of being oneself in social media, I believe I am successful as a blogger because my posts are me. My audience fits who I am. I am not putting on a show or trying to impress anyone therefore I am successful. By the way, this is exactly why I stopped writing on The Piquant Storyteller. It was too much work and it was not me. Those “piquant” posts come to me when they come to me. I can’t schedule them.
You need to decide what you want from social media. I told you before about a friend of mine who has hundreds of followers on her blog. But in my opinion she intellectually prostituted herself to get them. Her writing is forced and not her 98% of the time. But hey, she has the audience she wanted. They eat up her salacious and inappropriate posts so she keeps posting that way. She got exactly what she wanted. To be a popular girl in the blogging world.
You may never get an expansive audience. Then again, maybe you will. As long as you are posting what is important to you then your audience will consist of people who find your work important to them as well. And that is what makes you successful as a blogger. Twitter and Facebook are completely different animals. But I believe you still need to be yourself and a true audience will follow. Maybe.
I’m not on Facebook by choice and Twitter seems to be enough of a waste of time. Those sites seem to be based on a numbers game. The more followers you have the cooler you are. But I have busty women following me on Twitter because of my name PiquantStory! My husband has people following him on Facebook who he barely knew as a child and he never posts anything on Facebook. It’s a popularity contest. Just my opinion.
I love your writing. It’s intellectual and interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Tristan
Hi Tristan,
First, I’d like to thank you for this awesome comment. Your feedback helps — perhaps more than you can imagine. I also appreciate your husband’s participation and advice.
You hit the mark with your assessment of “what I was throwing out there” — the direction in which I wish to take this blog. Having blogs of your own, you are, of course, aware of the time and effort that one must invest in order to create. The process of idea generation, writing, editing, design, etc., consumes large chunks of time. In the early stages, ending up with something that I could be proud of was enough, but as time passes, I yearn for something more.
The problem is that I can’t really define what that “something more” is.
Visitors, comments, links, to be taken seriously, to find an audience that wants to discuss serious things? All or some of these could be the answer.
I agree with you that writing for a niche would give me a better chance of connecting, but oh would that be boring. It’s like some of the folks on twitter who harp on a single subject for weeks on end. It’s maddening. I have a website that’s dedicated to posting Excel tutorials. I love Excel. Becoming an expert in its use has enabled me to earn a better living. But I soon discovered that focusing on it in my spare time as well was a horror.
So far, I have resisted any urges to go the way of your friend by putting on a show. As a matter of fact, I would probably stink at it. I enjoy playing roles when I make my videos, but when I write it’s not about entertainment, it’s about self expression and an open exchange of ideas. There’s nothing like a good debate. I mean real debates, like we used to have in school. Ideas expressed and considered, and points and counterpoints offered respectfully and with a basis in truth. The mind was stimulated as the ideas flowed. Those debates were so unlike today’s name calling slug-fests. They were wonderful.
That’s the environment that I’d like to create here.
Since the original post was intended for my Tweetup audience, I expected feedback from the members of my group, since we were all, presumably, seeking the same thing. Surprisingly, only one member provided feedback on the NING. The silence of the other members was not only disappointing, but it also caused me to question whether the premise for the group was false and if we were really just all in it for ourselves. That was a sad realization.
As you’ve both suggested, I am going to continue to be myself in my writing because if I tried to handle it any other way there would be no point in doing it at all. I still don’t know where I want to take this blog or how I’m going to get there. I may not need to know those answers to those question right now; or ever for that matter.
So Tristan, I thank you for your kind words and for sharing your thoughts with me here today.
Ray
I’m glad that you found what I said useful. I get everything you said in your post and in your reply to my comment. I’ve been there. That’s too bad that you didn’t get the response you expected from your Tweetup audience.
One thing you have to remember is that your blog is only 6 months old. You’re still building an audience. Be patient with the process. Even if your original audience is not interested you are still building a blogging reputation with other people. If it weren’t for Twitter (I love that you describe people on Twitter as maddening!) I would have never found your blog. I think Twitter is a useful tool to a point. Beyond that point it can be a waste of time.
Oh that reminds me . . . you tend to post on weekends which is when social media numbers are at their lowest. So the timing of your tweets could be why people aren’t clicking on the link. You could try retweeting during the week to see if timing makes a difference.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you write about topics in a unique way. It’s possible that people are intimidated by your posts and don’t know how to respond. There are times that I feel intimidated by your posts. I feel I understand you well enough to know you invite debate and opinions. You do a good job of inviting participation. But I will admit that there are many times that I don’t feel strongly enough about a topic to even share my two cents. Or I don’t understand the issue enough to put myself out there in a comment.
That may be frustrating to you but I believe that is the reality of quality writing on a blog. So if you don’t already have some sort of analytics on your site, I use Google Analytics, you should get one so you can at least see how many people are lurking over your posts but are too intimidated to participate!
Your blogging goals are great. Self expression and open exchange of ideas. Keep it up. You will find the audience that fits who you are. Don’t worry about where you want to go with your blog. I think you’re already going in the right direction. Let it morph into what it’s going to be. You’ll be happiest that way.
Happy blogging,
Tristan
Hi Tristan, your follow-up comment is even more helpful than your original, so I just had to come back to this post again.
Patience: You’re right. Six months isn’t a very long time;
Weekends: That’s when I do most of my writing, so I post them right after I finish editing. I’ve thought about scheduling posts, but I haven’t tried doing that yet;
Retweeting Posts: I’ve done it, but it makes me feel like I’m spamming;
Analytics: I track my visits, which is how I was able to determine the ineffectiveness of the various social media thus far.
Lastly, you’ve said some incredibly nice things about my writing, and I appreciate those kind words most of all. I may still be just howling at the moon, but you make me feel like I’m not.
Thanks, Ray
I write because I have to. Writing is a key way for me to process my emotions and clarify thoughts.
I blog because I want to: I enjoy the social network that has formed around people who write about similar things. I have become “friends” with many people who write about the same topics I do, and I appreciate their input and perspective.
Every now and then, I wonder if I should keep writing my blog, because I don’t post as often as I first did. But something always brings me back to it; I still read all the blogs in my “circle,” and those posts often inspire me to write new ones. Or something happens in my life that I simply must write about.
I don’t make an effort to expand my readership, but it happens naturally: I link to other widows’ blogs, and they link to mine. I deliberately did NOT create a Facebook page for my blog, and I am deliberately NOT on the blog network of Facebook. I don’t want to market myself or write for an audience. I write for myself: Some people like what and how I write; others don’t.
As long as *I* like what I write, I am satisfied.
Hi Alicia,
Having an urge to write is an ideal place to begin when considering whether to start or maintain a blog, but contained within that urge can be an equally compelling need to share. I suppose that this is the source of my chagrin.
While networks of like-minded people are good, the blogs that I tend to engage with are those that offer me insights into the unfamiliar. For instance, I follow blogs of women more than men, moms more than dads, and people of every age. If I’m interested in some specific topic, I Google it, but in terms of an ongoing dialogue with other bloggers, I prefer the eclectic to the niched.
I agree that we shouldn’t try to write for an audience in a non-commercial blog. There are too many down sides. Doing so can alter a writer’s style, and not for the better, because this type of writing is personal in nature and it ought not be influenced by target audience considerations.
So yes, Alicia, like you, I write for myself and am pleased when a reader enjoys what I have written. Still, as with a good cook (which I am not) who prepares a feast, there is bound to be a little bit of sadness present if there is no one else seated at the table to enjoy it.
Ray
Hi, I’m not a tweeter or a twitterer or whatever they’re called, but I surfed into your blog via a comment you posted in onecoolsitebloggingtips which I follow – sporadically – via a feed reader. I don’t know how helpful or otherwise my comment will be to you, but here goes.
My blog is nearing its first anniversary and it surprises me that I’ve stuck with it. The surprise is not due to the blog itself or my ability or otherwise to attract a readership but simply because I’ve blogged on and off for the past six years, on other bloghosts than wordpress which I’m currently on, and this is possibly the first blog that I’ve wanted to continue beyond a year. (Well, that said, the year’s not quite up but I think I shall still want to continue it!) I’ve had blogs that have followed a particular theme – even have a secondary blog at the moment that does, and that’s running out of steam after just a month or so – and have had more varied-topic blogs. Whatever the content, something has always made me want to stop blogging. I’ve often wondered why I’ve been unable to take a blog into its future, but haven’t managed to find the reason. However, some of it is this:
I used to blog on LiveJournal and found the very small community there rather cloying.While there are a huge number of bloggers on that platform, they seem to all find each others’ blogs in a very short space of time, so it’s more like being with a part of ones family that one would rather not see all the time! They are very disinclined to visit blogs outside the LJ ‘family’ as there is a kind of feedreader inside the system there in which one only has to click on one’s (so-called) friends page and everyone who is subscribed to ones blog is there – all posts all in one place but nobody outside of LJ.
Now, this problem with the exclusivity of LiveJournal is very like the exclusivity of Facebook and other sites. People stick to their own little community. Facebook is a community, MySpace is a community, I presume to an extent, that Twitter is a community (though I’ve not used it).
Despite the vastness of the internet and despite its potential, people are very stick-in-the-mud which is why I question the wisdom of using Facebook, Twitter, etc, to expand ones horizons. (Sorry about the metaphors, mixed or otherwise!) Why should anyone using another site cross its boundary and -gasp – actually visit another side outside that one?
I have a Facebook and have rarely had a visit over to my blog from anyone via that route. I’ve also got accounts with Flickr and Redbubble and again, it’s rare that people visit from there (though people do occasionally go from my blog to Flickr and Redbubble). Apropos Facebook, I currently use it for personal friends, but I did some while ago have a public page there for my artwork. Neither have been helpful to me, but I am at least able to keep in touch with a few people via personal use of the site, so I hang on to it.
As for getting people into my blog, the route that works the best for me is visiting as many other blogs as I can, that I am interested in (it doesn’t sit right with me if I fake interest in a blog) and commenting on them. I avoid, like the plague, any blogs in which I don’t get replies to my comments. I can’t see the point. One of the reasons I blog in the first place is to have contact with people. No replies to comments = no contact with people. I don’t comment in people’s blogs to shine their egos (or my own), I comment because I have something to say, something to contribute to their post/s and because I’m trying to make contact with each blogger as an individual.
My own blog seems to be changing all the time, in content anyway, but really it’s not the blog that’s changing, it’s me. The blog is just a reflection of myself. I expect your blog is a reflection of you – at least a part of you, anyway.
So – maybe just take it a bit at a time and see how things progress? I’ve only read a few of your posts – three or four – and haven’t yet got a grasp on your blog’s ‘identity’ but I shall in time. I’ve added the blog to my feed reader and hope to return soon!
Hi Val, thanks for visiting and leaving such a comprehensive comment.
We seem to have traveled similar paths in our blogging endeavors, although you have been at it for much longer than I. This post was intended to chronicle my early experiences in following much of the advice that is offered to new bloggers. By putting those experiences out there, I hoped to find out if others were having similar difficulties and possibly learn of alternate strategies for improving on the number of visits to my blog.
I’ve not tried Live Journal, but I do recognize the clique mentality that seems to be a large part of all social networks. I think that it has to do with a disconnect between how I use these platforms versus how they are generally used. For example, when I add a friend on Facebook, or follow someone on Twitter, I tend to visit their profiles and follow the links to their blogs. I also visit the blogs of everyone who posts a comment on my blog. Others tend to view their social networks in terms of a numbers game, where many followers are desired, but they have no interest in actually expanding their networks bilaterally. They seem to prefer one way communication, or communication that resides on the platform of their choosing, so they do not follow links. For me, the purpose of a social network is to socialize — learn about new people; communicate with them, and expand each others horizons.
However, I can’t completely discount how effective social media can be at times. For example, one of my return visitors linked to a specific post on her Facebook. Her recommendation resulted in a surge of visits to that post. It was fun to see comments from new visitors. So it seems that recommendations from others, rather than self-promotion, is a more effective means of seeing positive results from social media.
About bloggers that don’t respond to comment: Yes, like you, I don’t get that at all. I visit lots of blogs and leave pertinent comments (never a stale three or four words) because as I mentioned earlier, my interest in all of my online activities is communication. I recognize that some of the more popular bloggers may have a difficult time replying to all of their comments, but I still expect to see that some effort is being made to respond to their readers. What I do not understand is when less popular bloggers, with only a few comments on each post, do not reply to comments. That makes no sense, so when this happens once or twice with my comments, I usually stop visiting that blog.
My blog doesn’t really have an identity or niche and I am told that that’s part of the problem. I think that you’ve described it best as a reflection of me. I don’t wish to confine what I write about to a specific topic like politics, family life, etc. just to clarify what my site is about. I like to write about serious subjects in a serious way, so my site is more about my writing and my world views than anything else. I liken my efforts to a columnist writing opinion pieces like Maureen Dowd of the NY Times. That’s my basic style of writing.
Some have found my site interesting, and have returned often. Most of them have their own blogs which I follow as well. In those cases, blogging has been very worthwhile for me because they are all interesting people with thoughtful ideas to contribute. We often have disagreements and that just makes the experience even better. As you’ve mentioned, it’s not about massaging egos, it’s about contact.
Your comments have been helpful. Thank you for adding your voice to this discussion. Ray