I have been getting mail lately from people asking me how to promote a weblog. One was pretty straightforward: "...I don't want to get lost in the web. What did you do to get your blog noticed?"
Answer: I sacrificed a goat to Mike Hendrix.
Unfortunately, he just looked at me and said, "Yick! Gross, man! Couldn't you just have sent me some Bill Haley records?"
So, when that failed, I came to realize something: like anything worth having, you have to work at it. You have to write regularly. You have to have something to say. You have to network with others and do things to get noticed.
There is nothing at all wrong with getting to know other webloggers. In fact that's a good idea, because most (most) are happy to help you if you ask--although the busier the weblogger, the less they'll have for you. That's not arrogance, that's just simple math: I take an average of a week to get to most of my email anymore, and I can't even read all my comments (although I do read the ones I respond to, I can't respond to them all).
Still, that said, the comments on busy blogs are also a good way to get known. INDC Journal has some funny suggestions on that score and, although the suggestions are humorous, underneath them is something real: if you actually contribute to discussions on a busy weblog, people will notice you after a while.
By the way, being snarky, snotty, and insulting won't usually work. Contributing meaningfully to a discussion, however, generally will.
Also, linking other people, without demanding return favors, is good karma. It just is.
(Oh yeah, and here's a tip: don't send people trackbacks unless you've linked them. Trackbacks without links tends to annoy most folks. Not everyone, but a lot of people. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then don't worry, you probably haven't done it. If you have done it, don't be embarassed, you didn't know better.)
Beyond that, I have two other articles on the subject that I think new webloggers should read: Blog Traffic and Asparagirl vs. Instapundit.
Those two articles, and the materials they link, should tell aspiring bloggers everything they need to know if you ask me. Oh yeah, except one other thing:
Rome wasn't built in a day. Remember that.
* Update * James has an excellent piece of advice too.
I agree. Also, Rome wasn't built in a day -- and Boston's downtown construction project won't be completed in a century.
I have a suggestion - ask prominent bloggers to submit to an interview, and then rejoice as the hits fly in from the inevitable link from the big boy. They get a massaged ego and you get an instant readership. Once they've come once, they're likely to come again.
You shouldn't really listen to me, though, as I only get about 50 hits a day, and most of my readers are mentalists.
Attn: NEW BLOGGERS
Consider why you want to build Rome in the first place. Do you really want to rule a booming metropolis or would you be happier in a quaint little cottage at the beach? There's nothing wrong with either choice, but don't let the culture force you to default to the idea that bigger hit numbers will inherently make you happier.
NOT that I discourage visitors at my blog :) I adore visitors, but "visitors" are different than "numbers".
In my opinion, one of the many reasons that DeansWorld is wildly popular is that he manages to make everyone feel like a "visitor" instead of a "number". Think about it ...
How did you come here? And, Why do you stay? Personally, I came because a friend directed me here. And, I've dragged a few "real-space" friends here myself. Recently, I told a friend at church that doesn't really read blogs that I thought she'd get a kick out of "this one particular blog that a friend of mine does". She looked at me and asked "How did you meet him?" I stared at her blankly. See, I've never actually met Dean. It seemed so normal to call him a "friend". I bet it seems normal to the very vast majority of people here to call him that. This whole site is like one big bizarre extended family reunion. He manages to make everyone feel like they are welcome to be a visitor instead of merely tolerated as some perverted lurker peering in the windows.
Hmm...gonna hafta try the goat thing.
You're in Michigan, right Dean?
Poor attempts at comedy aside, I take the approach of "if folks want to read my blog, fine. If I can't interest them with what I've got to say, then I don't want to waste my time."
People find you, merely through comments and trackbacks, and of course through linking to posts on their blogs. And blogrolls.
If you're worth it, you'll get readership. If you're not, you won't. And artificial attempts to inflate hits and bandwidth don't really matter, in the end.
"If you're worth it, you'll get readership. If you're not, you won't."
I should just give it up now, then.
Dean is certainly my friend too. I read many things Dean had written in boards and loved the old roundtables. When he started blogging it just seemed to be a natural for Dean. I don't have a blog but have some things in the fire and I owe a lot of thanks to Dean. Reading him on a daily basis keeps me caught up with the happenings around the world and of course following his links has been a great way for me to meet so many other real good writers.
Try spam. They say it costs very little per message unit even if everyone winds up wanting to kill you.
On the other hand, how many more thousands of folks do you guys want pestering you day and night with their great thoughts?
Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI
Well, just let me start writing in my blog more than once a week and I'll be in business. Actually, my current goal is to write once a month. Maybe I should cut it back to once a year, as I've missed that goal the past three months... :P
"By the way, being snarky, snotty, and insulting won't usually work."
Good lord, now you tell me...
One other thing that probably works pretty well is to offer a unique data resource. TTLB probably gets lots of blog reads through links to his ecosystem, for example.
1. Link to a whole lotta blogs, then threaten to delink them if they don't do what you want them to do (The Rittenhouse Rule).
2. Write satirical articles that others who share your wacky sense of humor will love to link to (The Scrappleface Rule).
3. Be over the top in your postings! Take extreme positions. Rant and rave. Ignore facts. Froth. (The Rall Rule).
4. Show your tits. Or, if they're not big enough, someone elses. After all, you're not going to meet any of your readers in reali life, will you? Downside: Do you really want readers who are only interested in your rack?
Comment, comment, comment.
As a new blogger, I've found this is the single greatest source of people visiting.
And when in doubt, ask. I've asked a lot of questions, and everyone I've chatted with has been extremely helpful.
Or you can do what I did -- accept a bribe from Dean to donate via the Alliance to the Spirit of America. Then spend the weekend in stimulating discussions with his guest bloggers. My Sitemeter numbers doubled the week after that!
Seriously, though, I think the best thing any blogger can do is NOT to think about the numbers (advice I should probably take) and just write what is important to you. Then find other blogs that interest you and interact with them.
And as Dean says, it takes time.
Seek out and invite talented writers to be co-aurthers on your blog. Then write noting and cash in on there work.
Here's one sorta off-topic question: I'm a starving college student, so I have to content myself with a Blogspot blog. But those don't come with comments or trackback or any cool stuff, and I barely know enough HTML to create a table. How do I get comments and whatnot?
Kacie, a lot of blogspot users also use Haloscan for their comments. There is a basic account that is free and it works quite well.
I forgot to mention before, one way to get people to find your blog is to be creative with the titles of your posts. Try to be descriptive of the topic. This way, you will have a better chance of coming up on Google searches. It also helps with RSS feeds.
I've noticed from my Sitemeter stats that I've attracted visitors who have read several posts that way and I've had at least one leave a comment.
I have to disagree with Boyd when he wrote, "If you're worth it, you'll get readership. If you're not, you won't." I'm into my fifth year of weblogging, and I've seen plenty of instances of a weblogger quickly becoming popular even though (I think) they're not much of one. The most recent high-flyer I can think of is Wonkette. She's was entertaining during her first week, but I got bored of her quickly.
Then there are weblogs like Milt's File that are really, really good, but don't get as much attention as mine. There's some X factor there that I haven't yet grasped.
I have to say that just being on Blogspot is usually a handicap. Ditto not having comments, at least for the beginning blogger (although if you get truly big enough you may have to get rid of them or go to moderation).
It is my experience that trackbacks are very positive things (and just something else that's hard to do with BlogSpot). Not because people follow the trackbacks necessarily, although some do, but becuase you get noticed by other bloggers when you do it.
The truth is that getting noticed by other webloggers is what makes the biggest difference. Meaningful comments, helpful links, trading blogrollings, and so on. Some would call this "schmoozing" I suppose and even look down on it. But if you think about it that makes no sense at all: being nice to people, showing that you have integrity, interacting in discussions with meanignful or fun dialogue, helping others out---isn't that pretty much the classic definition of "How to win friends and influence people?" Frankly, isn't it pretty much a recipe for happiness and success in the real world too?
No, no, we are ar-TEESTS! We don't actually want readers! We don't actually care what others think! We are too good, too pure for that! Screw you, you heathens, I blog for BLOG'S sake!
Or, you can offer to dress in drag. Then just watch the site meter spin.
Don't you mean "prooper" blogging etiquette?
"By the way, being snarky, snotty, and insulting won't usually work."
Not if you're doing it wrong, certainly. One man's snark is another man's satire, while one man's snottiness is another man's wry wit, and finally: One man's insult is another man's truth.
I think it's really about style: If people like who you are, what you offer, and what you have to say, they'll read you. If what you have to say happens to be in line with a certain popular agenda, so much the better; if not, then your niche is your niche.
Biggest thing: Content. Actually post stuff, make sure it's original, make sure it's as non-derivative as possible, and make sure your readers feel like you're trying to *give* something to something, rather than trying to *get* something from them.
If all goes well, you might end up with a few hundred loyal readers whose suggestions, reflections and support make it all worthwhile. I try to not worry about getting famous. If I'm ever discovered, I want to make sure there's a healthy body of real work backing me up.
Regarding the Trackback issue--I tried to use them a couple of times and simply couldn't figure out how they worked. No annoyance intended. On that matter (and numerous others, I'm sure), I'm simply clueless.