Comments on blogs.

Tiarnan_Ceinders · Jun 12, 2012

I just want to share this:

I've blogged quite a bit on different subjects. I've blogged about stand-up comedy and hockey (on a really big site with several thousand viewers per day). I've also had a number of blogs that went up in flames within the first week or two.

I usually find it very hard to get people to notice the blog within the first couple of weeks, and so I end up quitting when what I write seems to go out into a vacuum, or is only commented on by my mother. According to whom everything is great, and I never make a mistake, and you go, honey.

My newest blog, about my dearest subject (we all know what that is), was started two-three days ago. I've been adamant that I won't quit this time. And it really helps to see that on the third day, two AW-writers (I assume) took the time to visit and comment on the last blog entry.

I just want to point out how happy that made me and how it motivates me to keep blogging and to make sure to comment when I visit other people's blogs.

I also think writers and authors are a perfect group when it comes to blogging in particular. We want to share experiences, and we want to write. So getting in touch with eachother on blogs, forums and comment sections to exchange ideas is a wonderful tool.

So I just wanted to thank the two ladies in question for visiting, and to share my feelings with the forum to make sure that we all take the time to leave a small comment or just say "hi" when we visit a blog. It really makes such a difference.

Love,
T.

Tepelus · Jun 12, 2012

Most of my traffic comes from this site. And Facebook. I have been looking and reading fellow AWers blogs recently, since I figure they're looking at mine, I should go take a look at theirs, you know. I don't comment often and I don't expect a whole lot of comments on mine either. I just like that I'm averaging about 50 views a week, though when I do see a comment and see people following my blog it makes me all giddy. Hopefully, once my blog has been around a while I'll get more comments and views. Good luck with your blog, and keep it up. Remember, you're just a speck in the internetverse. It's going to take time to build a fan base.

Smiley0501 · Jun 12, 2012

I agree - most of my traffic comes from AW

It's so nice to meet AW'ers on other parts of the "globe" (aka world wide web). I love it.

Good luck on your latest blog adventure!

magicmint · Jun 12, 2012

Yes, the blogging community is very supportive!

dclary · Jun 13, 2012

My traffic comes from reddit. Except for the monthly blog chain, no one from here comments on my site.

J.W. Alden · Jun 14, 2012

Some of my favorite blogonauts are AWers. The monthly blog chain (which I sadly didn't have time for this month) has been a blast, and introduced me to some cool blogs.

Good luck, Tiarnan!

BigWords · Jun 15, 2012

The lack of comments on a couple of my blogs don't really matter in the slightest - that I am doing something vastly different is enough for me.

Tiarnan_Ceinders · Jun 15, 2012

BigWords said:
The lack of comments on a couple of my blogs don't really matter in the slightest - that I am doing something vastly different is enough for me.

What can bother me is taking maybe 2 hours out of your time to write the best possible blog post - informative, linking to great resources, analytical - and then have it float into the Internet completely unnoticed. Or if it is noticed, nobody takes the time to discuss the content. Too many of those can make me give up on a blog, because the fun part about blogging is the interaction with others.

dreammaker · Jun 15, 2012

AW rocks. AW-ers are awesome. I started my blog a week back and the little traffic on it has been AW and friends. And they made a few comments too

. Love these guys.

writingismypassion · Jun 15, 2012

Establishing a blog presence so to speak can certainly be difficult. My advice would be to make sure you are participating (reading, commenting, etc) in other blogs that are about what you are posting. For instance, when blogging about writing, take part in other blogs that deal with writing. Sharing a post about the smartest dog breed? Find blogs that deal with that. People have to be interested in what you are writing about, and they'll be more interested in what you have to say if they've seen you around. Hope that makes sense (and helps!).

Bufty · Jun 18, 2012

For the average Joe, starting a blog is like owning a house on a star in the sky with your phone number stuck on a pole outside the house, and expecting folk to phone you up asking if they could rent it.

The internet is VAST and unless and until you build up connections and links to other blog sites etc., how on earth do you expect folk to know your blog even exists?

Tiarnan_Ceinders said:
What can bother me is taking maybe 2 hours out of your time to write the best possible blog post - informative, linking to great resources, analytical - and then have it float into the Internet completely unnoticed. Or if it is noticed, nobody takes the time to discuss the content. Too many of those can make me give up on a blog, because the fun part about blogging is the interaction with others.

knotanes · Jun 22, 2012

Bufty said:
For the average Joe, starting a blog is like owning a house on a star in the sky with your phone number stuck on a pole outside the house, and expecting folk to phone you up asking if they could rent it.

The internet is VAST and unless and until you build up connections and links to other blog sites etc., how on earth do you expect folk to know your blog even exists?

Yes. That. Exactly that.

Not to get into one-up-man-ship, but I currently feel like I own a similar house on a star and the star is in another part of the multiverse and I'm waiting for people on Earth to notice it. Oh, and the contact info on the pole is written in Klingon.

CJ Michaels · Jun 23, 2012

I'm fairly new to AW and to blogging. It's been an interesting experience though. And a fun one, though I will admit that the funnest part of starting a blog was designing the graphics.

I've been checking out a few AW members blogs lately, trying to get my toes wet in the whole blogosphere thing. I'll have to go through these posts and start clicking. My own version of blog-hopping, lol.

CJ Michaels · Jun 23, 2012

Okay, maybe I'm just dense (possibly true) but what is reddit? And the monthly blog chain? I'm spending hours trying to figure it all out. There's Twitter and Facebook (got those down by now, I hope), then you get into StumbleUpon, Google+, and now reddit? All of these social media platforms are confusing, and figuring out how they all work can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

J.W. Alden · Jun 23, 2012

Reddit is basically a message board, but it's very popular. I don't ever lurk there because the layout makes my eyes hurt, but I'm trying to convince myself. I know a lot of people who get decent traffic from there.

The monthly blog chain is something we do here on AW in the interest of fun and reading each other's blogs. There's a prompt every month and participants write a blog entry based on it (most write a flash fiction piece, but there's no restrictions on what you can write), then we all read and comment on each other's contributions. It's good times, though I don't always have the time for it myself (like this month).

Hope that helps.

CJ Michaels · Jun 23, 2012

Thanks for the info! The monthly blog chain sounds like fun. Might check into reddit too.

Erin Latimer · Jun 24, 2012

Most of the people that comment on mine are from here! Yay, AW-ers are the best! I love getting to know other writers and reading and commenting back and forth on our blogs! Supporting one another is what writers should be doing all the time. If anyone wants to be blog buddies just drop me a line, I love to read about other people's writing journeys!

sadbeautifultragic · Jun 24, 2012

Good for you, fellow T! And good luck in future blog-related endeavors.

-t.

L.Jones · Jun 26, 2012

I am a lazy AWer. I am not a lazy blogger but since it's not a writing blog... what was the question? Oh, comments... often times the most read blog doesn't have the most comments. The best way to get comments is to be a good comment giver. Not just a great post comment but something that contributes or makes people laugh is a good way to get people to come back and do the same for you.

http://dearhelenhartman.blogspot.com/

kohuether · Jul 6, 2012

I love commenting on people's blogs! It's such a big part of building community.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

For me, I find that it is especially helpful at the start of a blog or after a major redesign. It is a good way to get people interested in what you have to say because you've shown that you are interested in them...

Roger J Carlson · Jul 6, 2012

Almost all of my blog hits (200,000+ page views) are the result of Google searches.

But comments make me happy.

http://rogersaccessblog.blogspot.com/

randi.lee · Jul 6, 2012

I get most of my traffic from AW and give most of my traffic TO AW. This community is just so supportive of one another that I like to be supportive back (that, and the blogs here have proven to be some darn good reading

)

Dryad · Jul 6, 2012

This comment thread is interesting to me because I'm not generally a commenter myself and my young blog (as it currently stands) doesn't even have a commenting feature. I tend not to comment because my reaction of "Yeah! What you said!" doesn't seem to really be adding to the conversation. In the future I'll be thinking of the blogger's desire to hear back from the universe, in which case a few explanation points might be just the thing.

Sunflowerrei · Jul 6, 2012

There aren't many comments on my blog. I wish there were more, but I don't expect it to generate a ton of comments, considering the type of blog it is. AddThis recently told me that somebody bookmarked two of my posts and I was very excited about that.

I suppose sometimes you read a post and don't have a reaction to it. Or you feel that your reaction has been covered or isn't substantial enough.

My hits from Google. Some from Facebook, too. The day I started to blog about my Downton Abbey obsession was the day my blog views started going through the roof.

Eric San Juan · Jul 18, 2012

People rarely comment on my blogs. When they do, it gives me a little burst of renewed interest to make a few more posts.

Thing is, to generate more comments you should also be participating on other blogs, too, as Tiarnan suggests.

But that's a load of work. I have more forums and blogs I should be reading/posting to than I can possibly keep up with as it is.

So I've just accepted that my modest levels of traffic are what they are, and don't think much about it.

Comments on blogs.

Tiarnan_Ceinders

Tepelus

And so...

Smiley0501

Lurker, now activated. :-)

magicmint

dclary

Unabashed Mercenary

J.W. Alden

The King Who Bore the Sword

BigWords

Geekzilla

Tiarnan_Ceinders

dreammaker

making dreams everyday.

writingismypassion

~Charity~

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

knotanes

CJ Michaels

CJ Michaels

J.W. Alden

The King Who Bore the Sword

CJ Michaels

Erin Latimer

Stay in and write.

sadbeautifultragic

L.Jones

kohuether

Roger J Carlson

Moderator In Name Only

randi.lee

Certified Non-Genius

Dryad

Sunflowerrei

Eric San Juan

Boxy But Safe