Blogging Made Simple!
I was having a conversation with my buddy Rupert from http://paranorensics.com/ about getting noticed in that big ol’ blogosphere. It’s tough going, for certain, and I am by no means an expert. But I have had a few mildly successful blogs in the past, and while OneLazyRobot is only two months old it has nearly 700 followers, which isn’t exactly setting the world ablaze, but it is upward progress.
What follows are three keys to getting yourself out there in the blogosphere, (consequently, these three things are key to getting your books noticed as well).
1) Produce content consistently. Nobody will see the blog post you don’t write. Maybe nobody will see the blog post you DO write, but hey, you’re odds are better. If you go too long between posts, you’ll notice a sharp dive in your numbers. The more you have out there, the more likely people are to come across you. I find if I go much more than four days without a blog post that my numbers drop off pretty dramatically.
2) Produce content people want to read. There are a lot of shitty blogs out there because people are throwing up stuff nobody really cares about. Or, they are throwing up stuff people care about, but on such a variety of topics that they are scatter-shotting the entire audience. Find your niche and work within it. You don’t need to 10,000 fans that only care about a 1/5 of the things you say. You need 1,000 fans who care about EVERYTHING you say.
With that said, when working within your niche, you’ve got to have a voice, an opinion. You can be an aggregate type website that compiles the latest trends and fashions, but if you don’t have an opinion (that you share) then people aren’t coming to see YOU, they’re coming to see the latest cat video you posted. I love cat videos as much as the next guy, but as a writer/entertainer YOU are the product people come to see/buy. Give them something worth buying/seeing.
3) You’ve got to interact with your fans and colleagues. I’m not saying you have to go out and grab beers, but when people write to you, you have to take the time to write back, and not something that just says “hey, thanks for the like.”
For instance, if I walk up to you on the street and say “Sweet shoes, I love galoshes!”, you would kill the conversation if you responded with “Thanks for the like.” or “Thanks for talking to me.” Both are weird and pretty much stop any sort of conversation in its tracks.
Likewise I don’t typically respond when somebody stops by my blog just to thank me for stopping by theirs. I know wordpress recommends that you do that, but seriously, you aren’t really engaging me in a conversation.
Engage me in conversation. Make me want to talk to you. That’s the trick (if there is one).
Oh, and be persistent.
And patient.
And did I mention cat videos? Yeah, those are key.
Anthony
Thanks. I’m glad you enjoyed it! When you going to release the next part of your story, The Siege?
U liked it?
I hav writing like half of chapter two, its not as awesome as chapter 1..just an introduction to the life of the protagonist
Well, post it when it’s ready, but don’t spend too long trying to *perfect* it!
Hmm..
I liked your post, mainly because of the cat video. 😉
Truthfully, I just throw all those words on the page so I have an excuse to post a cat-video. Otherwise, people are likely to think me a crazy cat-fella, and that simply won’t do. *though technically speaking they wouldn’t be wrong in that assessment*
great information. I’ve been blogging for 5 years (Red City)… and I just broke the follower ceiling – yep, I now have 47 followers. Somehow that doesn’t look right. I write the blog mainly for myself, but followers are good as well. When I break through to 100 followers I’ll have a party. Lately I’m involved in an art project so I’m not as consistent as I should be (goodbye to my 47 followers – C’est la Vie.
When you break 100 I’d better get an invite to the party!
Voice, opinions, and a Spidey sense. Gotcha!
Wait, you have some spidey-sense? Care to share? Pretty please!?
I kid you not. Just last month, something (no, not my stomach or my harassing family members who claim they love me) told me to go to the store. And there it was. French Toast Crunch! ONE BOX left by its lonesome self on the shelf! I swooped in like no other.
After two years of blogging, I finally broke 100 followers and everything you said in your post if great advice – the cat videos definitely, but the title of your blog really nails it.
That’s fantastic! I still remember what it felt like to pass the ten follower mark on the first blog I ever started and it was amazing! Every new follower is as great as the last!
Dude! You named me in your post.
Now we’re BESTIES! I’m going to get your face tattooed on my neck.
Let me know if this is getting weird.
Nothing weird about it. Neck tattoo’s are like scarves: always classy.
Reblogged this on Paranorensics – where forensics goes bump in the night and commented:
This excellent article is from Anthony Vicino, author and blogging guru. I am delighted that Anthony has agreed to beta read Intelligent Design: Genesis. I am currently halfway through reading his novel, TIME HEIST, which is bloomin’ marvellous. Buy it here —> http://www.amazon.com/Time-Heist-Firstborn-Saga-Book-ebook/dp/B00PJBSL74
MORE BETA READERS NEEDED – PLEASE CONTACT ME AND PLEASE VISIT ANTHONY’s BLOG
Two months and seven hundred followers? That’s actually doing amazingly well. I’ve been blogging for something like eight years and have only two hundred and fifty followers. I fell into the first problem you listed of not posting enough…
Thanks for the article; very useful and thoughtful. I am sticking to a weekly blog of chapters in my “Oodles” saga because that fits in with my schedule; I like to keep readers in suspense; it would be over too quickly otherwise; people may not read every instalment if it is too frequent; and it gives me time to look at other people’s blogs and comments. Perhaps I should have a parallel project, alternating?
I like the idea of having parallel projects running simultaneously, but if you’re consistently posting once a week, on a set day that people know they can expect content, then I’d say you’d be doing just fine.
P.S. We liked the cats!
Aw, man. Finally watched the cat video. Gotta say that first cat reminds me of myself during the first draft of a manuscript. That cat & lizard: me making new friends. The cat on the stairs: me going through life. And that kangaroo cat: gotta shake it up and be random.
Some really useful tips here, thank you. Having only started my blog this year the guidance is appreciated!
You make some good points – blogging frequently, targeting your niche and interacting helps you actually connect with readers and others out in the blogosphere. It just takes some time and effort. And who can resist cat videos?!