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Connect with bloggers at your level
< Don't blame others if you're not getting traffic | Networking with other sites | Beyond the Blogroll >
Networking with people on the Internet is an integral part of growing your site. There are many ways to connect with other people, such as subscribing to other sites and reading the latest content, posting comments, replying to comments posted on your site, and participating in forums.I'm more than happy to connect with most people so long as they're friendly and we can establish a two-way relationship - rather than one person spamming the other. You should both be doing that. ;)
However, I have had more success at connecting with other people at a similar level, in terms of how busy their site is. I'd recommend doing the same if you want to get the most out of your online friendships.
How to measure a blog's size
New blogs. Small blogs. Medium-sized blogs. Big blogs. A-list bloggers. These terms mean different things to different people. What do they mean for you?In my general guide to online statistics, I looked at sites that can track a statistics for people other than a site owner.
I think the most reliable of these is Feedburner. It's also worth looking at the number of comments that a site gets. More comments can indicate a busier site.
Subscriber ranges
Here are some rough numbers that may help you to determine the size of a site from its Feedburner subscriber count.Small - Less than 100 subscribers
Medium - 100-999 subscribers
Large - 1000-9999 subscribers
Huge - More than 10,000 subscribers
This is just my opinion - it's not set in stone! I'm sure there will be plenty of people who look at these figures and have other ideas.
Where do you fit?
It really doesn't matter what numbers you use to determine the size of a site. The important point is to look at how your site compares. It's not so much that the larger sites will ignore the smaller ones, more than it's easier to relate to people who may be going through the same experiences.So, if your site has 50 subscribers, don't set your targets on the sites with 10,000 subscribers. Focus on the smaller sites who maybe have 10-200 subscribers.
Owners of smaller sites may be less busy.
For instance, if I go to a site where new content generates an average of 5 comments, I am much more likely to comment than if every post gets 100 comments or more.People who own the larger sites had to start somewhere, so they should know how important it is to reply to your comments. However, if your site ever gets that big, I can understand not having time to reply to everyone - especially if a lot of the comments appear to be posted just to get their name on a high traffic site.
Don't be afraid to move on!
Recently I have started to subscribe to a number of sites that interest me, and sometimes I post a comment. I keep a close eye on whether the site owner replies to me and if so, how they reply.It's clear to me that some people are far more receptive to comments than others. When you reply to a post and nobody even acknowledges that you commented let alone engaging in a discussion with you, why bother continuing to comment on that site?
There's no need to push people away.
In addition to the above example, I should point out that I would never refuse to interact with someone if they had a smaller site than me (or even a much larger one). This is more of a guideline for people who are looking for sites to comment on, rather than what you should do if someone comments on your site. (That's an easy one - reply!)What do you think?
How big is your site?Do you network with anyone and everyone?
If you have a small site, do you think there is much point commenting on a very big site that gets hundreds of comments on every post?
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Comments on Connect with bloggers at your level
Hi Chris, sounds like we are in a very similar position. I do have another blog but as it's for news of new releases, I don't update it except when there's something to report.
I enjoy socialising with other bloggers - there are some great blogs and some very friendly people. :)
I will say that many huge sites get comments that you can't really respond to, e.g. people just checking in to say that they liked the blog entry. A simple thank you could be posted to cover all of these replies without having to reply to each of them individually. But there are plenty of good comments where it's usually other people who reply to them rather than the big blogger. That makes a blog feel more like a forum!
I will network with anyone who has the same interests as me. My interests are very common and general: movies, golf, internet, linux, parenting, etc. so it's not difficult to find people to network with. And yes, I will comment on smaller blogs with authors that reply back. There is no point commenting in a sea of comments where mine is practically lost in the noise (unless I'm the first or second commenter!).
Good write up, Ben.
Thanks for the comment, Rudy. Sharing common interests makes sense; glad I'm not the only one who noticed that some people don't reply to comments.
I have to say, my site is just a little personal one with not a lot of what I call serious content, however...I couldn't agree more with your opinion on people who don't respond to comments. After making 4 or 5 and not getting anything back I simply don't bother. It's one of the few things I'm extra pedantic about and refuse to budge on.
In relation to feeds, mine fluctuates between around 23-40 depending on the day. I have to be honest, I'm not 100% sure how they measure it, given it goes up and down like mad sometimes. I tend to shy away from the bigger sites for a couple of reasons. Primarily because I enjoy the interaction blogging fosters and on many of the bigger ones you're just a number as opposed to a person and rarely get any response at all. The other reason is many of them are geared towards blog development or tech stuff and it loses me, thus the reason I was so pleased to see what you had to say in your intro...
Hi anonymum, thanks for the comment. :) I have commented on a couple of the larger sites, but I don't make a habit of it due to the lack of response to most comments.
I do understand technical stuff, but I know that a lot of people don't. Perhaps if more people focused on de-mystifying the jargon instead of how to make money online, we might see more blogs being created by non-techies!
My blogs are both small, one at 30ish subscribers (recently jumped to 37, down to 25 and now back to 33). And the other hovers at around 20.
I've just started being more social in the blogosphere. So I will pretty much network with anyone.
As a small site guy, I do not see the point in commenting on huge sites. There are some bloggers who read every comment and respond. But most that I have seen just soak up the praise and move on, so I do the same.