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Some people complain that certain networking sites don't bring decent traffic to their own sites.You have to take a step back and look at this honestly.
Not all sites work for all people.
I have been told that MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog are great ways to get new traffic to your site. However, I haven't noticed a great deal of traffic coming to my site from these sites.
On the other hand, I'm getting a lot of readers from Entrecard. But others have said that Entrecard isn't working so well for them. So you can see it goes both ways.
How a network works can make a huge difference.
I don't really spend much time surfing around MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. If someone adds me to their friends, I'm happy to reciprocate, but I don't usually look at their site. I think this is because I can add them without actually visiting their site.
With Entrecard, I have to visit a site in order to drop a card, and I have stopped to read quite a few of the sites as I drop my card. Sometimes I subscribe to the site or leave a comment. The fact I actually visit the site when dropping the card is what's so different about Entrecard, and why I think it works so well.
You get out what you put in.
There isn't a lot to do on MyBlogLog, but there are discussions on BlogCatalog. However, I don't participate in these. I do post on the Entrecard forums though. As a result, quite a few people click through to my site just by seeing my posts. I actually get far more clicks that way than I do from any of the ads I've placed.
Shifting the focus.
I used to write blog entries about a lot of different subjects. It was a personal blog with a bit of technical stuff thrown in, along with some news about my recent music. I did get quite a few people checking in, but virtually no comments whatsoever.
Since I started writing about blogging and website tips without the jargon, I've seen an immediate increase in the number of people who visit, read, comment, and subscribe. I think this is because I chose a topic that I know well - blogging and website tips - but gave it a unique edge, i.e. without the jargon. It was the change of focus that resulted in this increase in statistics, and it's been quite an increase in terms of how many people are checking in.
If blogging networks aren't working for you... it's time to face facts.
Some people blog and blog and blog and never really change anything about the way they do it. They join blogging networks, don't get much traffic, so give up and move on. They complain that sites haven't really done much for them and practically beg people to comment.
To be perfectly honest, you have got to ask yourself the simple question: is there an audience for your blog in its current format?
I don't mean to put anyone off blogging with this comment. I want to give some people a reason to think about how to improve their blog. If you don't write good content, you write the same stuff as everyone else, you're inconsistent with your posting frequency, or you don't really stick to one topic, perhaps it's time to take a step back and ask: why am I doing this?
If you aren't getting any traffic from any blogging networks, perhaps there just isn't the interest for your blog. By far the best option in this situation is to find a blogging forum and ask for a review of your blog. I've seen dozens and dozens of blogs asking for reviews that really needed them, because their blog just wasn't worth reading in its previous format. The people who requested reviews have since changed their blog around a bit and they seem to be doing a lot better as a result.
Remember, don't blame others!
If you can't get people to come to your site, maybe you're not promoting yourself in the right place. But it's also possible that their simply isn't the demand for your kind of site. Maybe this doesn't bother you, but why run a site that nobody visits?
What do you think?
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Tags: blogging networks, entrecard, mybloglog, blogcatalog, blogging forums
Posted by Ben on January 11, 2008 20:02 / Edited: January 12, 2008 16:58
Comments
Hi Ellie, thanks for the comment. :)
Sticking at it is a good start. You can still have a blog if the audience is small. And it's good to hear that your audience is growing. Too many people give up at the first hurdle - those blogs will never take off, because they aren't given sufficient time to grow.
Hey Ben, You stopped by my site once and left only one message. Remove some ads. I did remove some and I have played around with my page trying to make it more appealing. I will keep trying and I am going to subscribe to your site. Because I like your style. If ever you are in the neighborhood feel free to drop another hint.
Hi ettarose, thanks for the comment. :) I just commented on your blog and left another tip that might help.
I hope you continue to find my posts useful - thanks for subscribing!
Ben, thanks so much for your comment and tip. I really appreciate that you took the time to do that. You have a loyal follower now. I took your advice and changed the way people are able to comment. I did not realize that could be a hindrance. Thanks again.
No worries, glad I could help. I've subscribed to your blog too as I comment a bit more when I subscribe. :)
That is so true! It took me a long time to learn that...silly as that sounds. My world is completely based around hypnosis (and blogging) that it took me awhile to realize I have a smaller audience than more general blogs or popular subjects. But I stick with it because it is what I know and am passionate abut and the numbers improve as I go about it.
You summed it up so well.