Monday, September 29, 2008

5 Easy Steps to a Successful BlogSpot Blog

Sick of "Why doesn't anyone comment on my blog?" whiners?

Ask them if they bothered to comment on other people's blogs themselves and watch them ignore you.

Here are my 5 steps to a successful BlogSpot Blog.

1. Create an easy to remember blog address. The extra .blogspot.com already makes things confusing for some people so avoid hieroglyphics in your blog name, as witty as you may think it is. 1hotMLF4u.blogspot for example is terrible. Not to mention a little gross.

2. Fill it with content. Don't post one "Hello World" blog and then ask people to comment. This isn't MySpace or Facebook. You need to have something to say. Try asking questions...

3. Keep it clean. Not the content but the design. Don't fill it with flashy crap, again, like MySpace. People don't want to visit your page if it takes a minute and a half to load and then it only crashes when it runs out of memory. Don't make it look like something from the movie Blade Runner that might induce seizures in children.

4. This is perhaps the most important of all 5 steps. You comment first. Visit other people's blogs and thoroughly read through their blogs. Comment on their pages. Put some thought into it to, no fluff. You will be amazed how quickly people will reciprocate.

5. Appreciate your readers. Once they visit, keep them involved. Ask them questions. Mold your blog spot into theirs. Give them what they want if you want to keep them. Remember that they also most likely have blogs of their own. Offer them what they can't do themselves but still cover topics they are interested in. Comment on your readers blogs and maintain the sense of community. Don't act like a movie star and brush off autographs.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

I truly agree with this post. Although I am fairly new to blogging I have research and researched ways to get it going and improving my site. Thanks again.
Pookalou
http://pookalou.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

You're funny. I laughed at the 1HotMLF4u. Haha.. anyway, thanks for the tips. I'm going to Follow this blog.

http://firstamendmentright.blogspot.com

Nana Net said...

So true on #5! A little kindness sure goes a long way..... Especially a "Thanks or Your Welcome!"
Plus I agree with # 4 too. Seems that I do love to comment on almost every blog I read. Rather it be the current one they posted or an older one.
That honestly, how are you going to get anyone to come to yours if you do not go looking at theirs?
Or searching around at least?
Oh well, my friend you have posted another great piece here!

Nana Net

http://wwwawbfam.blogspot.com/

Iris said...

Awww this is wonderful advise. I totally agree with all 5. I will check out the plugged comments/blog links too.

Ashley Smith said...

I especially agree with #4 and #5. I think that commenting on other people's blog is the main go getter that gets the ball rolling in your favor, in order for people to visit your blog. Great post!

Anonymous said...

Ah, well thanks for the discouragement! I'm really confident about my vegetarian escapade now. =) Thanks for becoming my first Follower! Does it scare you that they make blogger sound like a cult? haha

HektikLyfe said...

>Pookalou: Thank you! I hope my advice helps. You have some great skills and I look forward to seeing more of your photography. Good luck with your new business venture.

>Lea Self: Thanks! I'm following you too. We should all try our stomachs at vegetarianism if we can ... stomach it. Discouragement??? Aww man I hope you're kidding. When you take on a lifestyle, especially one as hard as this one, you really have to develop a stiff upper lip. I know many people that have successfully done it. I just know that I can't. My diet is already pretty limited. I couldn't survive on carrots, corn, lettuce and cucumbers alone. Seriously, that's about the extent of my veggie digest capable diet.

>Nana: Well, you're quickly on your way to becoming one of my regulars! :) You would be surprised how many people just complain and wonder why their whining posts don't attract more readers. They scare them off. I really enjoy your introspective blog.

>Iris: Thanks as usual! Your recent video has prompted another refreshing waterfall of readers! :)

>Valash: Merci! Your informative posts always get my mind racing. Sorry if my last comment was a little ramble-y.

Anonymous said...

I also try to comment to at least one article in a newly read blog...but sometimes, its really hard to do so. I agree that the flashy ones are probably good, but by the time my eyes adjust to the blings, I've lost interest.

sooo, my blog is boring I guess LOL

JeaneBee
http://kuperthedog.blogspot.com

Mainframeguy said...

sensible stuff - I think I have followed most of your rules - even taken the step of buying my own domain with what is for me a catchy name (probably not for many though! It is didactic.me) I think you should add a sixth step or something with advice about patience or persistence. People probably expect instant "memedom". I am trying to be realistic - I have only been blogging a week or so - hoping to have an audience of sorts after a year or so at latest, if I have some in time for blog action day then so much the better!

You also need to mention but have not been explicit enough that blogs need frequent content updates. Hard to be prescriptive, but I have seen someone complaining about no reader then checked and seen they average an entry a month at best! That will not have anyone coming back for more! It is hard to generalise how often you need to update - but in this case less is definitely NOT more and it is better to err on the side of too often, surely?

Sarah Jane said...

Hey, good topic. When I first created my "family blog" it was just for close friends and family cuz I didn't think anyone else would care. Then I got one of those widgets that shows where your readers are from around the world and it gives me great delight to see the different origins and wonder who they are. They don't comment but that is ok with me. I'm not really discussing topics.

Unknown said...

Really down to earth tips you share with us here!

Keep posting,

PRIVATE JET

Stella said...

Great post. I'm a new blogger myself, and while I haven't complained, I'm definitely trying to figure things out. Your five steps are great tips for any blogger. Thanks!


www.datingwho.blogspot.com

HektikLyfe said...

>Jeanebee: Clean is not synonymous with boring. The purpose behind the whole Web 2.0 design is to rid us of the burden of overused animated gifs!

>Mainframeguy: It took me about 6 months to develop a following on my old domain and it took a lot of work. It is definitely not a part-time one-man show if you intend to make a business out of it. Perhaps you would consider collaborating with others in order to make it more of a success? There is such a thing as too much content though. Sometimes you crank out so much that people miss out on some of your greater work. People don't like to click through to older blogs.

>Sarah: I know what you are talking about. Seeing that little red dot on the map is more impacting than a simple comment about their location. When I came here to BlogSpot and I saw readers from Africa, Korea, Japan, Hawaii, Canada, South America, Europe... it just blew my mind. I do live for the comments though. I feed off them. If people don't comment then I know what I have written was worthless so I stick to whatever is more popular. I want to inspire discussion, argumentation...debate.

>Pasifik: Thanks. I thought your blog title was a play on words. Wow. Ever service any celebrities or recognizable politicians?

>Stella: Glad to help. Good luck with your "Ask Abbey" type column. I can totally see this becoming a success. I tried my hand at it once on MySpace but it failed miserably. People don't want relationship advice from a guy. Add to that the fact that I called it Dr. Larry Schlongswinger didn't help much either. Hey, the advice was good though.

The Brain Twinkey said...

I agree with the masses on #4 & #5 although it needs to be mentioned that you shouldn't post a comment for the sake of posting. You should only post if you really have something to say not just to publisize your blog. But make it easy to be found by always including your blog address!

http://braintwinkey.blogspot.com

HektikLyfe said...

I don't know. Sometimes a "thanks for the post I enjoyed the read" is enough and some people wouldn't really consider that something to say. I enjoy gratitude and appreciate it even if people don't really have anything to add.

Now on the other extreme if people start posting crap like "FIRST!" then I would agree with you. :)

TripleLLL said...

Thanks for the suggestions. Your blog is quite an eclectic mixture of topics. Since you "fix things," I wonder if you're familiar with the acronym RTFM. This is what a friend of mine sometimes says (half jokingly) when someone asks his computer advice.

www.missinformationnews.blogspot.com

HektikLyfe said...

Eclectic is a perfect descriptive word for this blog! :) I didn't want to feel limited or constrained in anyway by a category descriptor. So OFF with the REIGNS!

As for the acronym, yes I am VERY familiar with it. :)

The nice way to put it is Read The Freakin' Manual, but I'm not usually nice so...

Another one I run into frequently is the all too common I.D. 10-T issue. Heard of that one?

Anonymous said...

thanks for the helpful tips!

Stylistic Flowz said...

I agree, since I've joined the blogging community, I can say I'm addicted, and not just to my own writing, that would be a tad narcissistic, but to the writing of others. I of course want more traffic, but I feel if I continue t write, and not become stale, then people will come. So thanks for the great post.

www. internaltrainride.blogspot.com

HektikLyfe said...

>Jessica: Hope they help!

>Stylistic Flowz: Yes, content is key.

Jamie Fuchs said...

Thank you for the tips. They sound reasonable to me and I will definitely keep them in mind.

http://wockaconversations.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Hysterically funny and spot on!

HektikLyfe said...

>Jamiee: You're welcome. I hope they help if you use them.

>Rebecca: Thanks! I'm glad you found them entertaining. Laughing by myself gets old quick.