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Dan said:
You wrote this a while ago, but I find myself still puzzled by it. You stumbled into finding an under-served niche demo, but you don't have advertising, so that reason to tap that audience isn't present. It just strikes me as bizarre to regularly pander to readers in the hopes that they take an interest in what you were/are personally motivated enough to write about, especially when the former inevitably must eat into the latter. Unless you get off on high hit counts.

If people take an interest in what I write, that's great, but I feel no need to cater myself to them. That undermines the reason I bother to write in the first place.
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It's less an issue of "getting off" on high hit counts and being able to actually build a sustainable audience. Being able to post something and gain a dialogue with fans is something that I think is both a) beneficial to whatever skill set I'm using in this process and b) in the best interest of the potential expansion of said blog into one that would feature advertising. Which could, after all, take place in the future.

I won't attempt to claim that my blog is entirely a personal endeavor: I've made decisions in multiple situations where I write what I know will become popular, relevant in order to draw people into the blog. I guess the hope is that some of those people will stick around enough to be able to read the other pieces, even if some of them reek of selling out.

And for the record, in terms of Jericho fans, I actually am genuinely interested in what is unique situation in terms of fan recognition and the legitimacy of bloggers within promotional campaigns. But at the same time, as a blogger within a specific field, I find that there is a certain responsibility aspect to things: that standing up for the little guy, or covering a cultural phenomenon, is almost required in order to gain any level of legitimacy within the field.

Of course, I say all of this while dramatically scaling back on news stories and setting up a more rigid "What I want to cover this Fall" schedule. But I don't think that the time and energy spent "catering" to the Jericho audience was a waste of time. While I might have been on the side of personal expression and opinions when I started writing, I seem to have taken on more of a public responsibility role. Which, well, is something very different, although whether its good or bad is another thing entirely.
 
Memles said:
It's less an issue of "getting off" on high hit counts and being able to actually build a sustainable audience. Being able to post something and gain a dialogue with fans is something that I think is both a) beneficial to whatever skill set I'm using in this process and b) in the best interest of the potential expansion of said blog into one that would feature advertising. Which could, after all, take place in the future.

I won't attempt to claim that my blog is entirely a personal endeavor: I've made decisions in multiple situations where I write what I know will become popular, relevant in order to draw people into the blog. I guess the hope is that some of those people will stick around enough to be able to read the other pieces, even if some of them reek of selling out.

And for the record, in terms of Jericho fans, I actually am genuinely interested in what is unique situation in terms of fan recognition and the legitimacy of bloggers within promotional campaigns. But at the same time, as a blogger within a specific field, I find that there is a certain responsibility aspect to things: that standing up for the little guy, or covering a cultural phenomenon, is almost required in order to gain any level of legitimacy within the field.

Of course, I say all of this while dramatically scaling back on news stories and setting up a more rigid "What I want to cover this Fall" schedule. But I don't think that the time and energy spent "catering" to the Jericho audience was a waste of time. While I might have been on the side of personal expression and opinions when I started writing, I seem to have taken on more of a public responsibility role. Which, well, is something very different, although whether its good or bad is another thing entirely.
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Hmm, I see. That makes a certain sense I suppose. Thanks for the response.
 
Iamthegamer said:
Man, I am digging this blog thing. I get consistent minimum of 10 hits a day from all over the world. I feel so cool, especially when some Romania guy posts my blog in different languages and messageboards for next to no reason whatsoever. :lol Very good job sir, I salute you, wherever you are.:D
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I agree. It's at times addictive, at times disheartening.

For me, it's often a question of what do I feel like writing. It's not that I don't have confidence in my chosen subject, but rather refining it to a sharpened point. What kinds of things to cut, what do I need to have more of, and so on.

Regardless of whether or not you're writing entirely for your own benefit, getting hits is exciting, because you know that people are interested in what you have to say. But those days where your hits falter, it's a lot of, "oh no, have I done something wrong?"

I'd say with only two or two-and-a-half weeks of blogging under my belt, it's been a mostly steady incline. I got a gargantuan spike a couple days ago when I linked something I wrote about Loco Roco in the Impressions thread I started. Other than that, though, I've gotten a few hits a day. I'd like it to continue to climb from the average, but I'm still not sure where to attract an audience.

Because of the Loco Roco thread, I got a ton of hits from NeoGAF, but I'm here all the time. It's really cool that people here are reading it, but I'd also like to attract an audience outside of the forum where I spend most of my time online. The rest have been coming more or less been from tag links coming from wordpress' main site. Another handful from google searches, I imagine.

But I still feel like I could do a lot more. No, I *know* I could do a lot more, but it's a learning process and I hope people are willing enough to stick around while I figure things out. :)
 
Yeah it has indeed been awesome getting hits from you guys. Any feedback about my comic or gaming reviews post them on the blog or pm me!
 
Well, I posted my blog before, but since then, I've actually fallen in love with the format and the ease of wordpress and have converted my entire review site to it.

It's been around since 2001, took a hiatus in 2006 and relaunched it in april of this year. So, there you go.

http://www.animekakumei.com
 
Belfast said:
Because of the Loco Roco thread, I got a ton of hits from NeoGAF, but I'm here all the time. It's really cool that people here are reading it, but I'd also like to attract an audience outside of the forum where I spend most of my time online. The rest have been coming more or less been from tag links coming from wordpress' main site. Another handful from google searches, I imagine.

But I still feel like I could do a lot more. No, I *know* I could do a lot more, but it's a learning process and I hope people are willing enough to stick around while I figure things out. :)
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It's so true, especially the first part. However, when it does finally happen, you will feel extremely vindicated. I had someone post a comment for the first time after reading for a few months, and to know that a) someone was reading for two months and b) said person commented to note the strength of a particular post was worth the months of blogging that preceded it.

But that only comes with time: chances will usually pop up, from my own experience, and taking them can send you down some exciting roads.
 
Memles said:
It's so true, especially the first part. However, when it does finally happen, you will feel extremely vindicated. I had someone post a comment for the first time after reading for a few months, and to know that a) someone was reading for two months and b) said person commented to note the strength of a particular post was worth the months of blogging that preceded it.

But that only comes with time: chances will usually pop up, from my own experience, and taking them can send you down some exciting roads.
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Indeed, that first comment felt terrific when it came. To think that someone out there actually gave a damn about what I was writing is a heady idea. The biggest deal for me, though, was the first time a big name author (who name came up on my blog) came by and left a comment on a blog post of mine. Talk about a humbling moment!

I'll drop a link to my blog again, just for those who might have missed it the first time around. Click here to go to A Dribble of Ink
 
aidan said:
Indeed, that first comment felt terrific when it came. To think that someone out there actually gave a damn about what I was writing is a heady idea. The biggest deal for me, though, was the first time a big name author (who name came up on my blog) came by and left a comment on a blog post of mine. Talk about a humbling moment!

I'll drop a link to my blog again, just for those who might have missed it the first time around. HERE
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Its is the known names that throws me for a loop because then you get paranoid into thinking do I tone it down or post differently because you don't want to offend.

Harry Shearer left a comment when I sorta bashed him for a post on Eat the Press. I went back and forth between " who does he think he is!!!" and " THis is so cool!" for a couple of hours.:lol
 
RevenantKioku said:
Hey Blackace, I just linked your Games and Life to my site. Always like to add fellow GAFfer's blogs on mine. You don't have to reciprocate, but I'd appreciate it. :D
http://www.bookofrevenant.com
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　will do! been slow on updates because my comic blog is taking a lot of effort right now! but I am writing an update as we speak!
 
Just thought I'd share this, as it is both fairly exciting and kind of cool. Nielsen (The Ratings people) just opened a social networking site called Hey! Nielsen, and as part of it they're hosting a Best TV Blog Contest. Based on their BuzzMetrics and all of their barometers, my blog (Cultural Learnings) was selected as one of the Top TV Blogs in the U.S. and Canada (There were about 70 selected).

Cultural Learnings' Hey! Nielsen Entry

I don't expect to win against a site like TWoP or anything, but it's kind of cool to be listed in kind. Makes me feel like a somebody.
 
http://hdrlying.com

Pretty much where I do all my serious game writing. I think a few people on GAF already know about it.

Blackace said:
　will do! been slow on updates because my comic blog is taking a lot of effort right now! but I am writing an update as we speak!
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I'll add you to my blogroll as well Blackace.
 
thetrin said:
http://hdrlying.com

Pretty much where I do all my serious game writing. I think a few people on GAF already know about it.



I'll add you to my blogroll as well Blackace.
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Done! Be hawt if you could link my Emerald City site as well!
 
I didn't know if I could post a link to my Halo 3 launch write-up in the stickied halo thread, so I'm posting it here.

http://www.framespersecond.net

The latest blog entry is called "much to do about nothing" and it's about going to
one of the halo launches in los angeles. It has pictures and everything but I'm not
quite good at placing them correctly yet.

A couple people write for this blog, but since it just got started, it's been me basically.
My posts are usually about games, since that's my primary hobby.

Please let me know what you think.

ps. Yes, that's a giant ass crushing the guy.
 
Coverly said:
I didn't know if I could post a link to my Halo 3 launch write-up in the stickied halo thread, so I'm posting it here.

http://www.framespersecond.net

The latest blog entry is called "much to do about nothing" and it's about going to
one of the halo launches in los angeles. It has pictures and everything but I'm not
quite good at placing them correctly yet.

A couple people write for this blog, but since it just got started, it's been me basically.
My posts are usually about games, since that's my primary hobby.

Please let me know what you think.

ps. Yes, that's a giant ass crushing the guy.
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It's an entertaining read! I wrote about the launch up in Canada which was even more of a non-event than yours was. If you want to read it just scroll down until you see the Halo 3 boxart.

http://mytime-dyno.blogspot.com/
 
zesty said:
I hadn't really planned on reading it until I got to this part of your post. Not too shabby.
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Yes. I asked my wife to create a nice graphic for the site and this is what she came up with.
She says it's a giant ass spaceship and they just owned him. I didn't ask for details.

Dyno: lol, nice write up.
 
Memles said:
Just thought I'd share this, as it is both fairly exciting and kind of cool. Nielsen (The Ratings people) just opened a social networking site called Hey! Nielsen, and as part of it they're hosting a Best TV Blog Contest. Based on their BuzzMetrics and all of their barometers, my blog (Cultural Learnings) was selected as one of the Top TV Blogs in the U.S. and Canada (There were about 70 selected).

Cultural Learnings' Hey! Nielsen Entry

I don't expect to win against a site like TWoP or anything, but it's kind of cool to be listed in kind. Makes me feel like a somebody.
Click to expand...
Pretty cool, dude!

Although, that link didn't load :|
 
CajoleJuice said:
Pretty cool, dude!

Although, that link didn't load :|
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The site's been sketchy with updates this evening, so if you try again later it might actually work. They also might be asking people to sign in and all that jazz, so I won't expect anyone to go through all of that unless they're really passionate about it.

In my blog world, meanwhile, I've been most shocked by a half-assed school assignment I put together because I was too lazy to do a real assignment. And thus the result was a Marxist analysis of Firefly posted on my personal blog. Which then got linked to on a Joss Whedon fan weblog. Which led to people starting to tear down my ideas, which is unsurprising considering that this wasn't a formal assignment and I didn't really need to "prove" anything. But, either way, it got like 800 hits. Which then resulted in the YouTube video getting tagged for copyright infringement by 20th Century Fox, which I was really guilty about.

Guaranteed A? I'd say so. Also a rather fun and surprising little exchange for what was just supposed to be a unique way of presenting the "commentary" on a Marxist theoretical text.
 
Memles said:
The site's been sketchy with updates this evening, so if you try again later it might actually work. They also might be asking people to sign in and all that jazz, so I won't expect anyone to go through all of that unless they're really passionate about it.
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What exactly is the Hey! Nielsen site? I'm very curious about it.

Nvm, it loaded.
 
The Interrobanger

Been working on the design and content for months, but it just kinda launched yesterday.

So far it's just my mixes up there, but I plan on it primarily being a musical discovery blog with maybe a slight amount of personal stuff and maybe a few film related entries as well.

We'll see. :)
 
Since Memles posted his triumph in the blogging world, I just wanna say I was linked by Deadspin.com this morning in this post. It's pretty much the most popular sports blog on the internet. Woooo. I wrote that post in a hurry too.
 
CajoleJuice said:
Since Memles posted his triumph in the blogging world, I just wanna say I was linked by Deadspin.com this morning in this post. It's pretty much the most popular sports blog on the internet. Woooo. I wrote that post in a hurry too.
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Congrats! It's a good post, and it's always nice when your blog is selected as a key piece of discourse in an internet-wide discussion. It shows both the quality of your work (rushed or not) and your ability to capture the most relevant stories. Kudos!
 
Iamthegamer said:
600 hits in the first month! W00t W00t!
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Thats a great start! For a first month I'd be pretty happy with that too. I have no idea what mine did in the first month as I wasn't running any stats on it at the time, but I highly doubt I did 600 in my first month. Nice going.

As you build your blog over time though, you'll laugh at when you were excited about 600 in a month. As your audience grows, and you get more interaction with your readers, you'll be thinking back on these early days and you'll marvel at how far you've come.

For reference, 600 hits is 2-3 days for me now, and I've got regular readers that I have come to know very well through comments and e-mails. It's fun to establish those relationships.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
Thats a great start! For a first month I'd be pretty happy with that too. I have no idea what mine did in the first month as I wasn't running any stats on it at the time, but I highly doubt I did 600 in my first month. Nice going.

As you build your blog over time though, you'll laugh at when you were excited about 600 in a month. As your audience grows, and you get more interaction with your readers, you'll be thinking back on these early days and you'll marvel at how far you've come.

For reference, 600 hits is 2-3 days for me now, and I've got regular readers that I have come to know very well through comments and e-mails. It's fun to establish those relationships.
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I will second the congratulations, and yeah: 600 hits is a great start for a first month. I know that in my second month I saw a 250% increase in my blog hits as well, so things can get off the ground fairly quickly. That first month is always the toughest to get through, as things always start slow. Once you break through to the second, however, your work WILL start to pay off.
 
Iamthegamer said:
600 hits in the first month! W00t W00t!
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Tomorrow will be a month for me. I've got a total of 854 hits right now, though admtitedly, somewhere around two hundred of those are from a couple posts I made here on NeoGAF. :)

As those numbers have settled, it's hovering around 35 views a day, with the occasional jump into the 40s. I need to find some ways to start boosting it higher!
 
Belfast said:
Tomorrow will be a month for me. I've got a total of 854 hits right now, though admtitedly, somewhere around two hundred of those are from a couple posts I made here on NeoGAF. :)

As those numbers have settled, it's hovering around 35 views a day, with the occasional jump into the 40s. I need to find some ways to start boosting it higher!
Click to expand...

I started to build more traffic by visiting similar blogs/forums. On a lot of blogs when you make a comment it asks you what your name, e-mail, and site address is. Then when someone clicks on your name in your comment, it'll them to your blog. Start commenting regularly, and you'll see some cross over traffic, and in my case, I had a couple of the other blogs link to me directly after they read some of my stuff, which was pretty cool.

When posting your blog address in forums, make sure it's appropriate and don't over do it. But it's also a great way to start to build word of mouth. Traffic will also come as you post more regularly, and build a larger archive of back posts as well.

Incidentally, my latest blog milestone is that I passed my 1500th post a few weeks back.
 
Kung Fu Jedi said:
I started to build more traffic by visiting similar blogs/forums. On a lot of blogs when you make a comment it asks you what your name, e-mail, and site address is. Then when someone clicks on your name in your comment, it'll them to your blog. Start commenting regularly, and you'll see some cross over traffic, and in my case, I had a couple of the other blogs link to me directly after they read some of my stuff, which was pretty cool.

When posting your blog address in forums, make sure it's appropriate and don't over do it. But it's also a great way to start to build word of mouth. Traffic will also come as you post more regularly, and build a larger archive of back posts as well.

Incidentally, my latest blog milestone is that I passed my 1500th post a few weeks back.
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Yeah, I noticed that some of these techniques work. For the few things I've posted on GAF, for instance, I include a text link to my blog (i.e. "here's what I posted" instead of just the URL) and I usually post the full article, so people can choose whether or not they want to see what else I have to offer. As a former mod, I know shameless self-promotion is usually frowned upon around here.

But I know that I really do need to start posting and commenting on other blogs. That's something I'm bad about.

Thanks for the advice!
 
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