10 ways to lose blog and DU Journal readers.

[brainshrub]

This is for those of you following the DU Journal: Brainshrub - Best. Journal. Ever! (Tips for political bloggers.)

Performancing.com has a wonderful piece on 10 Ways To Lose RSS Subscribers (Note: the link is www.performancing.com/node/1934 I don't know why the link is going to "pernacing". The code in the message is correct, I've checked it a dozen times.)

Visit the site for the full details, but to sum up:

1. Hardly post and when you do it is to apologize for not posting
   
2. Re-post boingboing or some other popular blog, or copy and paste press releases
   
3. Only ever write when in a bad mood, drunk or have nothing to say
   
4. Constant unrelenting negativity
   
5. Bang on about the same old gripe day after day
   
6. Talk down to your audience like they are idiots
   
7. Be incomprehensible
   
8. Be elitist
   
9. Be needy (Sucking up to A listers)
   
10. Constant irrelevance
    

Forget your RSS feeds - this is a great way to lose readers period.

I particularly agree 100% with #1.

For Gods sake, don't apologize for not updating your blog! Just update it.

The fact that you haven't updated your blog or journal for 3 months adds nothing to the conversation. If anything, it makes readers less inclined to visit again because you've just reminded them that you don't update every day.

Think of it this way:

When an actor forgets his lines during a play and has to ad-lib a bit - she doesn't come on stage during the intermission to apologize. All that would do is bring attention to the gaff.

Banging on the same gripe every day is also tiresome. Even BradBlog, whose primary issue is BBV, takes time to discuss other topics. If people are visiting your blog, they already know that Bush sucks - so try to find other things to write about.

Peace,

Paul -V-

P.S. (By the way, I'd like to apologize for not updating my DU Journal every day.)

[FormerDittoHead]

1. thanks for fixing the link! n/t

[brainshrub]

2. I know, it's very odd. The code is correct.

I am DEFINITELY typing " www.performancing.com/node/1934 " but it goes to "perancing". WTF?

[Nobody]

3. Good advice

I know someone who is frequently guilty of #2. He will link to an article or a picture and won't comment.

A blog is a giant Op Ed page, but his posts often don't do anything more than say "Look at the X". Not "Be careful you're about to step in the X", or "Gee that X is ugly" or "Wow that X is really impressive".

The last time he did something like that, I point blank asked him what his own opinion was.

[brainshrub]

4. The formal term is "linkdumping"

Are you talking about my blog back in 2003?

;)

I've made every blogging mistake possible. Brainshrub.com started as a link-dump and I used to wonder why no one would link to my site.

When I stopped blindly linking to other blogs and began to write original content, that's when I started getting boosts in site traffic.

Don't get me wrong, occasional link-dumps are fine. I still do them myself.

But if you are going to do a link-dump:

1) Be creative.
2) Give your opinion.
3) Don't do them too often. (Once a week, tops.)

For example, I call my link-dumps "Brainshrub's Morning Link Scan" and I give them a theme. Here are a few examples:

http://www.brainshrub.com/taxonomy/term/31

[patricia92243]

5. Uh-oh: I'm number 10 :)

[egadsbrain]

6. One way to get DU thread readers who blog

is to post "10 ways to lose blog and DU journal readers!" I've been collecting sites, doing research and saving links and items to post for weeks now waiting for the time when I feel ready to start my first blog. Thank you for your posts & journal brainshrub... it's time to get off my arse and just get the thing started! :D