FREE KINDLE FOR PC

FREE KINDLE FOR PC
So you can read my books

Friday, February 8, 2013

IS YOUR BLOG DYING? WHAT TO DO.

{Image courtesy of the genius of Leonora Roy}
 
Charnita France has a great post on cyber C.P.R. for ill blogs:
http://socialwebtools.info/signs-blog-dying/

It got to me thinking if any of you out there are finding lowered traffic on your blogs.

I. YOUR BLOG IS IN TROUBLE IF ...

1.) Having an unremitting or a month-long fall in numbers is a sure sign your blog is ailing.

       Low traffic rate can be considered alarming when it remains static in a very low point
       (e.g., 40-60% lower than your average traffic) for a long period of time (e.g. 2-3 weeks).

2.) Automated visitors -
       As a blogger, your moderation should not be just limited to checking your daily comments
       and stats;

       delving where these stats are coming from is part of your responsibility as a blog owner.

       You have to know if these hits are from a single blog owner,
       a single search engine query, from a mobile device or from automated devices
       that help some furtive frauds to on the Web.

       Automated outbound traffic is useless in traffic, for it will never contribute
       in adding some points to improve your rankings.

       Technically speaking, these automated hits are nothing but useless spams.

3.) Negative comments -

      Negative and positive comments should be in symmetry:
      the former should not overpower the latter in number and stats.

      Having handfuls of negative comments can ruin your blog, too.

4.) No comments at all -

      Let us face it. No one wants to blog alone. We all love to hear comments;

     we all die for other people's attention.

     Therefore, if you have been blogging for a year and you haven't
      yet experienced the joy of receiving comments, then you're in a big trouble.

II. BLOG C.P.R.

1.) Blogfests -

      Blogfests are a fun way to meet writers struggling just like you are.  Google BLOGFESTS
      and enter the ones that seem fun.  You will meet kindred spirits and spark interest in your
      own blog.

       How cool is that?

2.) RETURN VISITS -

     As a harried blood courier, I suck at this. (Hangs head in shame)  With 3 hours of sleep and
     waning strength and now poison ivy -- visiting my friends is something I find it very difficult
     to do.

     That said -- courtesy is usually rewarded with habitual visits.  Try visiting those who used to
     visit but now do not.  Inquire as to their health and situation. People like being missed.

3.) POST REGULARLY -

     If visits have dropped, perhaps you are writing so infrequently that people have grown weary of
     seeing new content and stopped visiting.

     On the other hand, if you post too often, people will weary of trying to keep up.  Keep a happy
     medium.

4.) WRITE POSTS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ -

     Ask of your words before posting ...

            Will the readers be moved?

            Will they feel that they must share your post with their friends?

            Will they come back to that post over and over?

            Will they join your list or subscribe to your feed so that they don’t miss your future posts?

            Will they feel a connection with you that they will remember the next time your paths cross?


    You want your message to spread? You want your posts to go viral?

            Write to make your reader laugh out loud or to stop in mid-sentence in sudden deep thought.

5.) FIRE INTO THE THICKEST CLUMP OF READERS -

       In order to maximize your blog traffic efforts it is important to keep your best posts for the busiest parts of the week. When you think about traffic consider yourself and the days of the week you are searching on the internet.

        Hold on to your best posts for the best parts of the week. No sense in writing a knock out article on a Sunday afternoon when all the traffic is on the highway going to the mall.

        Go over your blogs stats to determine the best day and time of the day to release your blog traffic glue.

6.) DARE TO BE DIRECT -

        Ask your readers a question at the end of your posts on what they think.

        Ask them to share your post with their friends, urging them to read and become regular
        readers.

7.) GIVE A DAMN -

       Share links to posts of others who had something worthwhile to say.

       Spotlight the dreams of others coming true to inspire and to point to their products.

       Hear of a blogger in need?  Champion their cause without being asked.

       Be the change you wish to see in the world.

8.) I KNOW I MISSED SOME GREAT WAYS TO REVIVE A DYING BLOG -

       Write me what you think would be great ways to breathe new life in an ailing blog.

       Together, you and I may turn struggling writers on the verge of giving up around to happier,
       dream-fulfilling days.  Now, that would cool!
         
And just because I enjoy this scene:
      

20 comments:

  1. Excellent tips, Roland! Couldn't have said it better myself. Especially the 'Give a Damn' part.
    And bummer about the poison ivy! Here we have cures for really complex diseases and stuff and no one can come up with something that makes poison ivy rashes go away fast.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Alex:
    There is a $50 creme that could have helped if I had gotten it applied in time. Alas, I was on the road when I contacted the poison ivy. So I spent the fifty and still am in agony! Aaaargh!

    If we all have one another's back, we will all be the better for it! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Does an antihistamine help with poison ivy? What did you end up doing for it?

    Great ideas to revive the blog!

    Popular posts and links in text boxes in sidebars seem to draw lots of views on my blog. I look at the search terms and which URLs are referring traffic. It's a good way to find your work in other places.

    There's something about Zorro, and that black cape. Must be the superhero association.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think my blog is dying because I don't give a damn anymore. I've got other writer interests I'd like to pursue, but can't do those and the blogs consistently.

    Or maybe I'm losing my creativity :)

    Good to see your blog is still going strong and gathering followers. I hope you accomplished all you wanted when you started it. I know you had a specific goal in mind. Perhaps that is where my lack is, no specific purpose except getting to know other authors and to learn the craft of writing.

    I'm still learning how to write.

    ......dhole

    ReplyDelete
  5. D.G.:
    My poison ivy twitched my fingers into losing my response to you. Aaaargh! I am taking an antihistimine and $50 creme but to no avail. Poison Ivy usually ends in 2 weeks unless I re-infect myself. Cross your fingers for me.

    Yes, your ideas work for me, too! :-)

    Donna:
    We're all still learning how to write -- even Stephen King!

    My goals changed as I wrote my blog. My friends are now my goals.

    When your short stories appear in the anthologies, perhaps they will draw happy attention to your prose!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think that is sound advice... I always feel that my place is a beat away from death... sadly.

    I see the future for me and it's brightness is dim... alas I suffer the dagger in thy back... as my spine bleeds bone. I see darkness... black... black... bla...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Excellent advice, Roland. I find blog posts in the middle of the week attracts more commenters for me. Adding humor is a plus, too.

    I find when I miss out on a blogfest or don't participate, the number of comments on my blog decreases.

    Sometimes I wonder why I do it, blog that is.

    My questions / concerns center around content. What to post and target audience. So many (myself included) blog about writing. I often wonder with so many of us, if we all don't sound the same over time. Not to put a damper on the situation, but does that make sense? The question "why do I blog?" often runs through my mind. I think for me, it's a mixture of connecting and exposure. My current blog isn't to sell my writing. I'm almost certain that only one person in the blogging community bought Little Acorn's Big Fall. One. And that's okay with me, because I totally get it. Most of us are struggling artists.

    Wow, that was some rambling! Sorry. O_O Obviously your post struck a nerve in me. LOL! But to answer your question do I feel like my blog is dying. Hobbling around in a circle maybe, but not dying. Not yet.

    Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I haven't written moving posts in a long time! Hopefully THIS post will move me to post more regularly. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tried to leave a comment but blogger didn't like it...LOL! Love the dance scene, have you seen Take the lead? Thanks for the tips and hope you stop scratching soon.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Jeremy:
    I know it can appear dark when our dreams, our lives fizzle and fade and all seems black. But with the support of friends you will find that though the darkness does not get lighter, you learn to walk in the dark.

    Sam tells Victor in THREE SPIRIT KNIGHT:

    “Son, everyone dies alone. That's what it is. It's a door. It's one person wide.

    When you go through it, you do it alone.

    But that doesn't mean you've got to be alone before you go through the door. And believe me you aren’t alone now.”

    Jeremy, you have friends here in the blogverse. Alex and I are two. There are many more.

    You are not alone.

    Candilynn:
    If LITTLE ACORN'S BIG FALL had been kindle=published, I would have bought it. I went to U-TALES and the darn site was in Norweigien or German!

    You post so seldom each month that I fear many people forget to check in on you to see if you have a new post.

    Three times a week seems the right frequency to insure people drop by to see what new mischief you have stirred up. :-)

    For content:

    I ask myself what questions I am currently asking myself or what questions nagged me the most when I first started out.

    (I went 3 months of daily posts when I first started out with NO comments! Then, I joined in a blogfest and my blog world exploded in contacts.)

    As for writing about writing:

    Write about the parts of crafting a novel that bother you and what routes you've found that helped, asking for others to talk about what in writing is proving difficult for them.

    Write about what you've found to be different in the world of publishing since you first started, etc.

    There is only one you - write of your take on the publishing world, on the world of a mother trying to write in a day filled with demands.

    I'm glad you liked my post. :-)

    Jennifer:
    As a counselor, you know something of the depression, doubt, and angst of a person tackling a dream in the dark with no certain promise of success and taunting words of family & "friends."

    You could write a cracker-jack post just on that alone. :-)

    Siv:
    It's fighting to KEEP FROM SCRATCHING that is driving me crazy!!!

    Yes, I know TAKE THE LEAD and have posted the tango sequence from it a time or two. Though I no longer tango, I love to watch two dancers do it well. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes, interesting topics and associated pictures can draw readers.

    Enjoyed reading your post, Roland.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks, Terry!
    Good luck with your audiobook. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great tips on how to keep a blog alive. I find having other people host on your blog also helps.

    Good luck with the poison ivy. Yeouch. Hate having that itchy mess, happens at least once every summer to me or the kids.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sorry to hear about the poison ivy, ugh! Hope it heals soon. These were really great tips. Thanks for sharing them!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Mighty fine tips, Roland. I always comment-back, though it sometimes takes me a while. I usually only blog once a week, so I'm glad anybody shows up!

    ReplyDelete
  16. You've shared so many great points here...things I can surely learn to apply in my own blogging experience. Thank you, and best of luck dealing with that poison ivy! Never had it myself, but hear it's just awful!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks Roland... These are EXCELLENT!

    I can't BELIEVE you have poison ivy AGAIN.... I had heard once you get it, you will be susceptible to it.

    Do you know what it looks like to avoid it. Five small. SHINY, greenish and red leaves. They are also pointy. BEWARE of this type of leaf.

    I hope you feel better soon!

    ReplyDelete
  18. ...my numbers have indeed dwindled a bit, and I've no one to blame but myself. Too much lag time between posts is my culprit, not enough minutes in the day, my excuse.

    I'm due for a post of meaning, one that keeps a finger scrolling as opposed to clicking ;)

    Poison ivy on your fingers...and still blogging? Roland, you are truly a die hard!

    El

    ReplyDelete
  19. Jaybird:
    I get poison ivy every year though usually in November. I kept from getting it until February. The oil gets on the stair's outside railing, and sooner or later it gets onto my hands! Ouch!!

    Elsie:
    I'm happy you liked my tips!!

    Milo:
    You are an inspiration to all of us who have been rejected!

    M.J. :
    I hope my tips help you in some small way. This poison ivy is certainly a challenge!!

    Michael:
    I watch for the plant. Sadly, the tenants work and play in the woods bordering this apartment complex and smear its oil on the outside stair railings! I try climbing the stairs without touching the rails but sometimes I forget. Aaaargh!

    I am so weary but the burning itch keeps me awake. Always something!!
    Jack Sparrow recommends rum!! :-)

    Elliot:
    I tell myself anyone can quit, so I just bull on. It blunts my focus and mind -- which explains why Victor is still in the crisis I left him in before the poison ivy! :-) Best of luck with THE FALL!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Roland .. I think I must be very lucky - I'm erratic in my postings but I have wonderful blogging friends and like you - for now that's my raison d'etre .. tucked away and coming closer to the surface are other aspects to utilise said posts ..

    I'll be back when my Kindle is set up - has to be this week sometime!! Cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete