1. That if people don't comment on a post, it doesn't mean they hate you and think your post is rubbish.
2. That blog readers skim. If you write a stack of words, be prepared for not every little one to get read.
3. That readership grows really slowly, and not to get discouraged. Commit to writing it, and hang in there. If you build it, they will come. In several years time.
4. That your deep, heart-felt posts may not get comments. People don't have time to respond to you with an essay, but they don't want to write a trite 'there, there' either. Hence, 0 Comments.
5. That a lot of the time you can't be bothered keeping the blog going, but that you feel a sense of satisfaction when you make the effort to do so. It's all about momentum.
Huldra Forsvant (Theodor Kittelsen)
Huldra Forsvant (Theodor Kittelsen)
7 comments:
Very true, especially point 4.
It would be nice I think to have, as well as the '0 comments' tag, the '20 reads' or something. Would make us all feel better!
I hear you brother.
Not sure about point 2. Really like your longer posts over shorter ones, personally.... :)
AY
Amy- yeah, that would be a great tag. It would be a bit of much-needed encouragement.
Nathan- I knew you would.
AY- You might be a bit different to your typical blog reader:) I think most readers will do a quick skim regulary, rather than sitting down less frequently, and reading thoroughly for a longer period.
Great posts Ben. I totally agree. I also think most blogs go through a 'dry spell' where post after post is just boring! I'm going through a dry spell on my blog at the moment...nothing to say, nothing to write, writing because I think I should, not because I have anything to say!
I love that your blog has both variety and consistency. I look forward to your Thursday peanuts post each week, your Monday quiz... but I also really enjoy all the variety in between. Makes for great blogging.
I rarely comment these days, but I enjoy reading the deep heart felt posts. They are real - and I appreciate 'real' in blogs. Do you want comments on those posts? I wrote a post a few years ago....maybe last year....which was really very personal for me, a poem about finding out one of my kids had special needs....and nobody commented....I felt ultra vulnerable....so I wrote a post about nobody commenting on that post!! Lots of comments after that! It is funny how you can't really predict what people will comment on though. I get a lot of comments in real life about the posts about the crazy things my kids say, but I don't get many comments on those posts on my blog.
Wow - sorry - long comment from me. Very rare.
Thanks for your thoughts, Ruth. Yeah, I'm having a big dry spell right now. I'm posting, but am not really wanting to. Would like a break, but am committing to pushing on. Come monday morning and having to think up 10 questions and draw a picture, I am groaning loudly!
As for the heart felt posts, I definitely want comments, but am now a lot more resolved and at peace with the idea that there won't be any. I try to think logically, rather than just getting hurt (which comes very easily for me!).
I think it's important to think, before posting something really heartfelt 'will I be ok if no one comments on this?' If not, I try not to post it.
I can imagine it hurting when you posted a poem, and on something so personal. At the same time, I think you can feel proud that you put it out there anyway. And I'm sure people still read it and appreciated it in their own way.
Thanks Ben. Very timely.
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