I missed last years short stories over at Bines blog and I really wanted to be part of this years Schreibzeit. When I read February’s topic I wasn’t too happy, nothing inspiring – but then thinking about it a bit I decided I will share my ramblings on “How to get more readers“. Maybe some thoughts help you but at least they gonna help me :-)And it’s never a bad thing to think, right?
Being a communications manager at day I should have totally figured this thing out, right?! Knowing my readers, knowing what they are interested in, anticipating where they are and what they need.
Too be honest: I don’t know, I don’t care and don’t want to put effort into it when I do.
Ok now let’s break up this statement.
I don’t know
Hello reader, why are you here? I would love an answer. What posts interest you, what do you gain by coming by.
Google analytics tells me, my (not so) weekly happiness reviews are quite popular. But that’s just random silliness. It also tells me my mood boards and my German potato bread are an evergreen. But what about the rest. And where do you actually come from?! I mean how and where do you read this blog?! I know I’ve got 26 followers on bloglovin but I also know there are more of you coming by. How do you follow me? What feed reader do you use? And does it even matter?
From a professional view I would advice: make a survey to figure out your audience. Ask questions and write posts out of your comfort zone to see what the reactions are.
Me as a private person thinks: what if I take a survey and people want to read things I am not interested in writing or that don’t fit with this blog space of mine. Wouldn’t it be weird asking and the not delivering?! So not doing it safes me heartaches.
I don’t care
And with this last thought we are right at I don’t care. Just because everyone is doing it this or that way doesn’t mean it’s right for me. It’s still my space. I admit sometimes I get carried away and might even be a bit envious when seeing blogs who started later than mine and have a gazillion number of followers. Then I feel like I “need” to do something about it. I usually take a step back, take a deep breath and get back in time remembering why I have started. I wanted to be more creative, I wanted to safe my ideas and achievements somewhere but overall I wanted to be happier. Knowing that all creative process will do that, was the reason to get started. And that’s the question I will answer: will it make me happy, is it fun to do or is it because other people do it and you don’t want to be left out?
Not worth the effort
I know I would gain lots more of traffic when setting up a Facebook account. Or an Instagram profile. I consciously decided against Facebook. I don’t want to. Too much hassle – it would just be a task and I fun would be lost. Don’t get me wrong, I do have a private account I love but for the blog, naaaay.
And Instagram?! Well this is intriguing. Right now it’s self protection not having one. I know I would spend hours there and I only have 24 hours a day. But I fear it will change soon.
However I do have Twitter and I am quite active there. I love being part of Twitter chats it’s a great and easy way to get in contact with fellow bloggers. If they stop by at my blog?! Don’t know but I realize some new twitter followers when I just twittered about my latest blog post. Meaning twittering about blogposts can enhance your reader ship. However I don’t think the Twitter peeps are not much into commenting on the blog…
So to sum it up I could probably say: I choose slow growth. I might know how to speed things up but it doesn’t feel right. I want to engage with the people who are here. I try to reply to every comment on this blog (and I hope I haven’t missed any). It’s my personal philosophy. I try to visit every commenters blog at least once and if I find something speaking to me I leave a comment.
For now I am happy with my choice. Doesn’t mean it won’t change, doesn’t mean I mind new faces here and doesn’t mean I won’t do any cooperations or link parties and such.
Now leave a comment if you agree or disagree. Let’s have a chat! Looking forward,
Tobia
Oh and in case you are not following me yet hit those buttons and do so: Twitter * Pinterest * Bloglovin * Google+
6 comments
hahahaha! Ah, I love you T, you are awesome :-)
I kind of agree – as much as I love getting comments and new readers, I don’t want to start planning and strategizing so much that I stop being me!
As for why I am here, I am here because I think you are fun, smart, adorable, and I find your creativity really inspiring!
Ahhhhh thank you so much.
Lets strategize in London I bet we’ll have tons of ideas! I’ve just gotten an idea!!!!!
I’ve been blogging for over 10 years now and I have to say… there is no secret recipe. First and foremost, you should do with your blog what makes YOU happy… because otherwise you won’t be able to keep it up. Consistency is key, too. Unfortunately, my experience is that people are moving away from blogs and communicate more via Twitter/Instagram/Facebook. While I LOVE Instagram, I don’t want this to replace my blog… and therefore I do make an effort to go and read other people’s blog and also comment there. I think a lot of the conversation has shifted to other social media platforms, but I still want to write and maintain my blog.
San recently posted…February Favorites
So true! It’s much easier to tweet something. Also reading tweet doesn’t take that long. I can even see this shift in the short time am blogging. I try to comment at least once a day somewhere. It’s tough!
Liebe Tobia, ich finde es klasse, dass Du trotz anfänglicher nicht-Inspiration,
doch mitgemacht hast! Danke dafür. Dein Text und Deine Gedanken gefallen mir sehr
gut. “Langsames Wachsen” sehe ich als den richtigen Weg! Auch ich hatte schonmal
vor eine Umfrage zu machen, was meine Leser interessiert. Habe es aber dann doch
nicht gemacht, weil ich eben die gleichen Bedenken hatte, wie Du: Was, wenn ich dann
den gewünschten Content nicht liefern kann/ nicht liefern will?
Liebe Grüße, Bine
Bine recently posted…Wie ich Texte auf Fotos schreibe.
Ach Bine ist das schön so etwas von dir zu lesen.
Finde ich doch, dass du so einen schönen ausgewogenen Weg gehst. Danke!
Ich muss gleich mal schauen was das März Thema ist, ist mir bisher irgendwie durchgerutscht.
Liebe Grüße, Tobia