This is almost as frustrating as trying to find a rental in Orange! If it works, though, there'll be more posts soon! (If not, you won't be able to see me cursing.)
Entries categorized "Blogging"
12/21/2011
09/29/2011
09/26/2011
Set Self-Challenging Goals for Building Your Blog's Traffic
One of the hardest things about blogging is that initial realization that just putting it out there doesn't mean people will want to read it. There was a time, not too many years ago, when a few consistent commenters could be enough to keep underwhelming stats from turning into discouragement. But the Internet's move toward centralized social interaction -- sites like Facebook and Twitter -- has made even those commenters harder to come by.
So, how does a blogger -- regardless of experience -- keep from becoming discouraged when traffic stats don't bear out much reason to continue, and blog comments aren't there to bolster the will?
There's an easy solution: Encourage yourself by setting realistic goals with your own averages as the target.
Think of yourself as a novice runner, preparing for a marathon. If you can go from sedentary desk jockey to running 26 miles on your first training session, you're not only an exception to the rules, you're also quite the phenom. But even a novice should be able to match their first session's mileage at their second session, and maybe even increase it a bit. The third session should match or beat the second. The fourth should match or top the third. This sort of slow escalation won't get every would-be runner up to marathon form, but it'll consistenly challenge every would-be runner to top their individual best.
And this sort of goal-setting can work for blogging, too.
I'll use my own blog, a rarely-trafficked site, as an example. I don't use any stats beyond what TypePad offers. This is a screenshot for my pageview stats, taken earlier today:
While it's obvious that I don't have the juice to set tomorrow's pageview goal at 100, it's very reasonable for me to expect 29 pageviews. Why? Because my average number of pageviews per day is currently 28.84. It's reasonable to expect an average day. It's reasonable to see each day that my goal is met as a success. It's reasonable to see success as a reason to continue. Following this line of thought, an average day becomes motivation to persevere. And, if it begins to look like tomorrow will be a below-average day for pageviews, it's also reasonable for me to do something -- like post more than usual, or tweak how or what I'm posting -- to make sure I attain that goal.
While this sort of goal lacks ambition, on the surface, the fact is that if I get 29 pageviews, tomorrow, that average will move up a bit from its current 28.84. And when the average rises, my goal does, too. On days that go well-beyond average, my goal will rise even more.
In short, its a goal designed for slow growth. And, while explosive growth may be more satisfying on multiple levels, it's a slow-growth expectation that can keep you blogging on days that are more dud than fire.
More importantly, it's a goal devoid of competition. Your succes, or lack thereof, is completely detached from that of other bloggers. The (Western) Taoist in me sees that as the best sort of goal to have, and I think Lao-Tzu would agree:
Knowing others is wisdom;
Knowing the self is enlightenment.
Mastering others requires force;
Mastering the self needs strength.He who knows he has enough is rich.
Perseverance is a sign of will power.
He who stays where he is endures.
To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.
via daily-tao.com
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