And you want people to read it. In my humble opinion, it is all content and staying within your niche, not knocking off others, and waiting out the time it takes to build loyal readership. I do also think Problogger.com's recent post entitled: How Not to Promote Your Blog: Top 10 Broken Blog Promotion Strategies is a helpful guideline.
We probably all get emails asking us to link up which is great if it is a blog I read and comment upon but if not, my rule of thumb is that I read the blog for months usually before putting them up on a reading list. Part of the niche here at BH is that my blogs of note are also best-in-class and complimentary-subject entities. That list over there, on the right, I'm committed to those blogs. I read them seemingly forever and now that they are there, we have a partnership: I don't throw other blogs up there of any old thing just whenever because it detracts from the quality of my blog and does not indicate to other bloggers on the wall that I take them seriously to put them among the best company I could find. See? That barely scratches the surface of the read-comment relationship and the essay above will help in this area.
I think the Probogger essay can give clarity to those new to the blog community. It seems a misunderstanding that because one comments, one will make the billboard list. Furthermore, comment hounds are a little creepy, no? Business self-promoters? People who leave one comment hoping you will become one of their readers and make it on to your blog roll but never recognize you or visit your blog again? Ugh. Yes, there are a few things that make me a little uneasy...
So, kind Readers, do you have advice you can offer new additions to the blogosphere? It seems there are a lot of new sites which be well served by your experience.
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7 comments:
I could not have said it better. I follow nearly all the blogs on my best list daily. I hope eventually I will build traffic (who wouldn't?) but until then I am thrilled and pleasantly fulfilled knowing others out there share my interests and that I learn from them as well. Bravo. By the way, re White House flowers ... I'm looking for a very thin, obscure book about, in part, flowers in the White House during the Kennedy Administration, when the flowers were lovely, loose, rather country-house in style, and perfectly suited to the interiors. And charmingly inventive too ... I seem to remember the grand Monroe vermeil vessels being filled with common and enormously cheerful white daisies ...
I'm horrible at this. There are blogs on my list that I am devoted to, whose authors I consider friends of a sort. But when someone asks me to add them to my blogroll - sometimes several times - well, it just seems a little too self-important not to. I put them on. But it bugs me. It also bugs me when people put their links in their comments. Is it possible to be a purist? Old school? With blogging?
AAL - Indeed. I have learned from each of you as well, the chief reason I began to follow these blogs... The White House book, if you come across it, I will be so pleased to read a post on it. It sounds so refreshing and fearless.
Patricia - this could have someting to do with why you were Miss Gracious :) I completely agree on the links. When I get the emails, I add the blog to my read list and begin to read along to decide if I like the site, am interested in the material and this it is quality stuff, and if it is relevent to my catefory. I try to give it a couple of months -and I like to see that they post daily. I will comment for them so they know I am trying to comply with their request and if I cannot, I just let it fade away. If they won't drop it, I respond that I just don't think the two are compatible. I hope they understand that I need to stay in my corner of the sandbox and have a certain level of partner in order to insure the branding and legitimacy of the site. I read an atricle about this recently too, I will look for it again. But it made me feel I was on the right road.
Ugh. Lots of typos. Forgive me, I have been awake for days.
Great post.
I just got yet another e-mail from someone I have never heard of before and who has never commented on my blog, telling me about their blog and asking me to add their link to mine. This is really not the way to make friends in the blog world. It feels more like spam than a friendly request when you don't know the person.
Sometimes I'm tempted to give them a little lecture, but I bite my tongue. ;-)
Julia - I understand but I had this pause two weeks ago when another VERY popular home/ christian women's blog got a sponsor all of a sudden... it was a blog/ retailer who had sent me an email asking if I would come by. I did, and the blog was just not a good match to mine. You know, if I don't want to read it, why would my readers... Anyway, evidently the retailer was shopping places to sponsor as well as trying to get readership. Could have been a missed opportunity but I'm better off staying in my niche and believing in it.
Just now getting to this so sorry for the late comment (computer on fritz - typing on my phone). I am keenly interested in blog etiquette - we are all certainly navigating new waters here - and this post is well-met. I won't pretend I don't get a secret thrill when I see my blog added to another blogger's list (especially a favorite's!), but I would never presume to ask to be listed or trade links. One can build relationships through commenting and/or linking content (always give credit!) but sometimes blogging can be lonely especially when it seems one hasn't had any visitors. Sorry to ramble on so.
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