I posted quite a long note yesterday on turnarounds. After seeing that I got precisely zero visitors on my blog, I remarked to someone that what I write must be very specific and must be interesting only to a very small set of people. But then as I was visiting some of my favourite blogs, something struck me. Actually, these are 2 questions:
- Out of the people who visit, read and comment on any given blog, how many are bloggers?
- If, as I suspect, most of them are bloggers, what is the central theme of their blog?
I believe the answers to above two questions would be very instructive. For one thing, I don't think only bloggers visit blogs like Boing Boing or InstaPundit. But when it comes to specific topics like business, economics etc. does anyone have a reader base which is widely spread in terms of interests? Or do you have a reader base most of which is fellow bloggers talking about the same topic but with a different perspective? On top of that, when it comes to blogs focusing on business or some other specific, narrow interests, can we expect a lot of readers who do not blog?
My blog does not get a lot of visitors; in fact on a good day, I get about 10 unique visitors. So I cannot do this experiment myself. Instead, I scanned my bookmarks folder for the blogs I visit regularly. And lo and behold, majority of the blogs I visit are business blogs or work blogs. Out of the 24 regular blogs that I visit, 18 are business blogs, 2 are economics, 3 are news analysis and current affairs and only 1 on history! Talk about clumping or clustering of bloggers!
On the other side, I do visit 3 blogs which have nothing to do with my work or personal life, but are nevertheless of interest to me. I think this is where I play the bridging role however weak it may be.
If you leave aside the point that I have a strong bias to complain about this, how valid are my conclusions? If all the various groups of bloggers are clustering together based on their blogging topic, how does a good, new (ahem!) blog gets found and disseminated? I am interested in hearing more about your experiences in finding a new blog that has a unique, relevant take on a topic that is not central to your blog. If you did run into such a blog and watched it grow in readership, how was it done?
My opinion is this where bridges play a critical role. If you think of each special topic as an island, then we need bridges or ferry men who can lead people across and give them the opportunity to see new, wondrous places in the world. Have any of you played such a role? If so, what was your experience? How much of my conclusions or hypothesis are justifiable based on your experience?
Bren, thank you for the helpful tips on how to drive readers! As I mentioned in my previous post, I am primarily posting because it is cathartic and clarifying. Unfortunately after some time, catharsis kinda loses its appeal! What I am doing here is to reflect on what I experienced for the past 1 year and try and create a mental model that will help me as I go forward. Unfortunately, I don't think what I am writing is kind of self evident and can hold up in all kinds of situations. Given that, I would like to hear from kindred spirits who have been there and done that, so I can learn something more. In that context, this blog is a very selfish exercise. I want readers who can educate me and extend my thinking; if in the process, some readers find my blog entertaining or thought provoking, more power to me!
I wonder if I am gonna irritate all you folks out there by this attitude...
Posted by: Srini | 14 January 2005 at 10:32
Couple of notes. First, you really do have a good blog...at least, I like your writing.
Second, I won't ask why you care about readership, but if you only want more hits on the blog, you can sign up for some of those blog traffic exchange deals...I've heard they work okay.
If you want a specific type of reader to take note of your blog and begin commenting and engaging, then I think the first step is to comment and be engaging on others' blogs. I know you've done this a bit, and it just takes a little time for it to sink in with folks. When they see your name and link over and over, eventually they'll stop by. If you're writing enjoyable stuff, they'll stick around.
Other tips: leave comments at blogs with lots of traffic. FC Now, etc... Also, maybe consider writing a manifesto for ChangeThis.com. Drop notes individual notes to specific blog authors if you think you've written something that would be of interest to their readers. Use trackbacks liberally.
Keep on keepin' on!
Posted by: Bren | 13 January 2005 at 23:23