Written on March 14th, 2009 at 07:03 am by Darren Rowse
Would you Prefer More Blog Readers or Twitter Followers?
I’m running this poll over at TwiTip but thought it’d be interesting to run it here on ProBlogger too as the topic is relevant to both audiences and I was curious to see if there would be any difference in the responses on the two blogs (given their topics cover the two options.
Which do you value and prefer most – Blog Readers or Twitter followers? And why?
Would You Prefer More Blog Readers or Twitter Followers?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
120 Responses to “Would you Prefer More Blog Readers or Twitter Followers?” - Add Yours
Song Lyrics
March 14th, 2009 8:14 am
Why would you want more Twitter followers than blog readers? You can’t monetize Twitter followers.
Trader Mom
March 14th, 2009 8:15 am
I would prefer more blog readers since it is easier to express your thoughts and ideas in more depth on my blog than using twitter. Twitter is more brief quick exchanges.
Eric
March 14th, 2009 8:21 am
I’m going to guess that there will be a difference between results from the two sites. Curious to see how much!
DJ Chang
March 14th, 2009 8:25 am
Apples and oranges. The blog is the content. Twitter is another form of distribution; and a means to gather realtime surveys.
The answer would be both.
BTW, you can use http://search.tEarn.com to follow the results in realtime. Just type your hashtag as the search term.
Chase
March 14th, 2009 8:25 am
It’s going to be interesting to see how much the results vary depending on where the question was asked.
And too bad you cannot keep people from taking the poll off both sites…
But post your results!
usedtobeme
March 14th, 2009 8:30 am
I prefer blog readers because those people I develop a relationship with and twitters are my quickie friends if that makes any sense at all.
Viriatha
March 14th, 2009 8:34 am
I don’t mind using Twitter to connect to readers and friends but I would get too annoyed with it to do it all the time; and you really can’t say enough in only 140 characters.
Sameer
March 14th, 2009 8:39 am
Both, depending upon what you are looking for in the audience.
Kai Lo
March 14th, 2009 8:42 am
Definitely blog readers! I can’t type huge articles in Twitter, and plus the posts on Twitter scrolls so fast that most people will miss what you have to say. This would be a better poll if you were comparing something like Digg and Reddit. They are both social networks.
Mike Andrew
March 14th, 2009 8:46 am
At this stage I would prefer to build my blog reader numbers, I’ve set that up as a information resource,but I find Twitter a great referal tool
Pallian
March 14th, 2009 8:53 am
For a twitter startup like http://www.tweetizen.com (me) – twitter followers is everything, especially since it’s the only way for us to communicate with our members and the community at large.
Jeffery Patch
March 14th, 2009 8:53 am
I want to know who the few people who said Twitter followers are! :)
Blog readers all the way. They read all your real content, can involve themselves in more meaningful conversation, plus bloggers make money off of visitors to their site :)
Don’t get me wrong, I love twitter, but a lot of people who follow me are simply looking for more follows. Popularity contest?
Dominique
March 14th, 2009 8:54 am
I too prefer to have more blog readers as it is easier to make more long lasting relationships with them then on twitter.
Jamie Littlefield
March 14th, 2009 8:55 am
That’s like asking a newspaper: Would you rather have someone read your headlines or your stories?
Dean
March 14th, 2009 8:56 am
Blog readers by far. I spend a ton of time crafting pieces for my blog. Twitter is cool too, but I prefer to use it to get links to other blogs where I can see other meaningful content.
Cameron Stewart
March 14th, 2009 8:56 am
Possible error with survey ??? Question assumes that you have a blog. It could be “Assuming you have a blog and twitter account, would you prefer more readers or twitter followers?”
Veneretio
March 14th, 2009 8:57 am
I get that it’s a different level of engagement once someone makes the leap from just being a reader to being a follower on twitter, but at the same time, that unfortunately doesn’t get me into the higher advertising brackets. It also doesn’t give me a bigger pool to turn into active commentors. Twitter followers feel like the end of the reader line and so personally, I’d rather be getting more leads than converting more sales so to speak.
Which is probably a silly philosophy if you read that from a purely business standpoint, but then metaphors don’t always transfer well now do they :)
Jess
March 14th, 2009 8:59 am
oops! i think i may have screwed up your results a bit, i voted on both sites. (more blog readers, for sure), but from what i noticed so far, the results are similar on both sites are similar.
Zsolt Eszes
March 14th, 2009 9:00 am
I would prefer more blog readers, but a way to get that is to have more Twitter followers who go to your blog. This is a trick question. You should have both, not one over the other.
~Zsolt
http://twitter.com/LightningZsolt
Robb Sutton
March 14th, 2009 9:00 am
Blog readers.
You can always convert blog readers into Twitter followers. I am not sure you get as much traffic and loyalty through Twitter as you do with the personal involvement of your blog.
Robb Sutton
Suzanne Osio
March 14th, 2009 9:02 am
Twitter is a fleeting moment, people who follow a blog, do so because they have an interest in the bog content. Twitters, some, just want to increase their numbers.
Jay
March 14th, 2009 9:04 am
Blog readers!!! I love twitter and enjoy the community but as Robb said above, blog readers will turn into followers- not necessarily the same will happen the other way around. Besides the blog is your community- They come because they want to read your thoughts- followers are sometimes just looking for numbers.
Aspasia
March 14th, 2009 9:05 am
Blog readers, definitely. My rainbow of crazy can hardly be summed up in 140 characters. :P Seriously, Twitter supports and promotes my blog. According to my stat counts, I have a lot of bleed over from Twitter to my blog, so it’s doing its job.
BuildAndEarn
March 14th, 2009 9:06 am
I would seriously question the intelligence of anyone who answers “twitter”.
Hate Master
March 14th, 2009 9:06 am
I’m pretty sure it’s going to be obvious that Blog Readers will get like 90% of the votes.
Laika
March 14th, 2009 9:10 am
Both really, and they are not mutually exclusive. More and more people come to my blog via tweets and retweets (and to a lesser extent the other way around).
If I had to choose I prefer blog readers more, because they surely go for the content. A number of twitter followers don’t even “follow me, i.e. my tweets”.
However, my twitter FRIENDS are dear to me. And they provide value. (links, advice, replies, even sending articles I need). Generally I don’t see them as quicky friends. Another advantage: it is easier to enlarge your community.
Susan
March 14th, 2009 9:15 am
My blog is just a personal one…so for me the answer is definitely- the blog. My friends, both IRL and online, follow my blog and it allows us to communicate at a more intimate level than does Twitter. Both have their uses but for me and my circumstances, blogging gets my vote!
Alex H. Wang
March 14th, 2009 9:18 am
Blog readers… Twitter is great, but followers are much easier to come by. You need great content to get blog readers, but there’s a loyalty in reading blogs that have great content that Twitter just can’t completely replace.
Derek
March 14th, 2009 9:28 am
I answered blog readers, but I think that twitter followers will become blog readers if they are engaged and intrigued by you.
And Twitter followers tend to be more diverse (mine are, anyway) than those who read my stuff on my blogs, so the reach is more on Twitter.
Parth
March 14th, 2009 9:29 am
I still haven’t figured out how to use Twitter
Iain Broome
March 14th, 2009 9:32 am
Absolutely more blog readers. While I enjoy using Twitter, my blog is where I hope to provide real value to other writers. That’s what I want to be recognised for and what I want people to engage with as a source of advice and guidance.
Manjit Johal
March 14th, 2009 9:43 am
Blog readers,
Twitter followers are a lot more fickle, and I agree with the previous posters that you get a lot more engagement with a blog reader over a follower.
Eddie Gear
March 14th, 2009 9:45 am
Hi there,
A very appropriate question asked at the right time. I use twitter as more of a publicity tool and of course to get some of the latest updates. Blog readers count because it helps you to understand how many readers have in someway benefited from what you do.
Cheers.
Eddie Gear
Richie
March 14th, 2009 9:51 am
I think blog readers are easier to monetize.
Jeffrey aka The Scrub
March 14th, 2009 10:00 am
I will start to use Twitter soon… probably this weekend when I have some free time. I suspect that my blog will still be my primary focus though. Twitter seems like more of a branding tool than a way to develop a sense of community. I prefer longer posts and more depth for the reader.
WTJ
March 14th, 2009 10:05 am
no doubt, BLOG READERS!
you can’t get twitter followers to read all your tweets but blog readers will read all the blog posts.
Mr. I
March 14th, 2009 11:21 am
My choice would be Blog Readers. I mainly use Twitter for interacting with readers and without readers, there would be no use of Tweeting(at least for me)!
Ganesh
March 14th, 2009 11:30 am
blog readers absolutely.. atleast until when you really have good twitterethics of saying hello to people and you really mean it.
I as an individual don’t prefer following thousands of people… it’s just that I want to do justice to this app and really interact with people.
Gloson
March 14th, 2009 12:08 pm
I would choose blog readers, because,
not all your followers listen to you, especially those who follow many people.
If all of my twitter followers listen to me, I would want more twitter followers because you can easily convert them to blog readers.
Puspanjali
March 14th, 2009 12:20 pm
Twitter is fun.Blog readers and those regular ones are like old friends and family members.Even new readers are the new members of family to be welcomed with open arms.Twitter traffic is like social traffic………They hit the back button within seconds.They don’t read your post completely and don’t leave behind a comment.Blog readers do.I love my readers even if I have only a few.Twitter is a one night stand.
David
March 14th, 2009 12:25 pm
Of course blog readers.
Although having a fair quantity of twitter followers is useful to atract audience with RE-twits.
Coffee Man
March 14th, 2009 12:43 pm
Engaged blog readers. Most followers do not really follow if you follow me.
Bells
March 14th, 2009 1:12 pm
I couldn’t care less if I had only a handful of twitter followers. I use twitter to read and communicate with friends and blog readers. I have been getting follower requests from totally random people and this bothers me. Why would they want to read what I do? And why would I want my twitter pages covered in random thoughts from total strangers? My blog however can be read by anyone and the more the merrier I say. It’s the place where I write thoughtfully and for as wide an audience as I can. Twitter is garbage by comparison.
Dominique
March 14th, 2009 1:17 pm
I got into blogging because I wanted to write about regional travel. You can’t jam an entire stories and several photos into 140 characters!
Twitter is great for making connections, finding and sharing story leads, announcing your own articles, chit-chatting with folks…it’s a nice addition and/or tool to use for my blogging activities.
Lee Ka Hoong
March 14th, 2009 1:51 pm
I prefer blog reader instead of twitter follower. Because I’m not familiar with Twitter and yet to know how to get traffic from there. Still in learning process. :) So I prefer blog readers.
Regards,
Lee
David Turnbull
March 14th, 2009 2:18 pm
I don’t see why anyone would want more Twitter followers than blog readers. Having people follow me on Twitter is great, but the barrier of entry is so low that it’s not a monumetous occassion. Each person who subscribes to your blog is saying “Yes, I value what this person is saying and want their content”.
Marziah
March 14th, 2009 2:40 pm
Blog readers. I love Twitter, but blogging is what pays the bills. Even Twitter isn’t monetizing Twitter right now.
Mohammad Afaq
March 14th, 2009 3:04 pm
I know twitter followers are good but I haven’t really gotten any results so I don’t care about twitter. I love my blog reader and I will keep loving them.
——————————————-
Mohammad Afaq
Free Website Traffic
information
March 14th, 2009 3:06 pm
Its like choosing between “Half-Full” and “Half-Empty”. Its hard.
Make your own snake cage
March 14th, 2009 3:10 pm
Twitter is ok, but I find it pretty useless for myself. It’s like a glorified text messaging service that allows us to spam 10s, 100s, 1000s, 10000+ people at once with 140 characters of gibberish.
JonZ
March 14th, 2009 3:15 pm
Depends on what business you’re in. If you have a media business model, a blog post offers more engagement (which translates into revenue via ads or some other kind of media-based monetization).
But if you’re marketing physical goods, Twitter can spark a more immediate call to action (that is, it can drive demand and generate sales through other channels).
Most of the comments here suggest Twitter is just for fun, more of an indulgence than a business practice. For me (doing online media for a product manufacturer), it can be the opposite — the blog is a great place to provide information for the record, but Twitter is what sparks the action.
Talen
March 14th, 2009 3:31 pm
Twitter is just the newest for of IM…it’s strong now but will probably fail in a few years when the next new shiny thing comes out. Nothing beats content and blogs are where the content is.
I think Twitter as it is is a great compliment to a blog for certain people and niches and should be used to it’s fullest but with only 140 characters it’s very limited.
Laurence Flynn
March 14th, 2009 3:35 pm
This can’t be a serious Poll! Twitteris useless for most people that do the follow me follow you thing. Darren gets alot out of Twitter because he doesn’t follow many people. He uses it get his word out and he doesn’t really care what his followers tweet about unless they are answering his tweets.
Take someone that follows 15,000 people and has 15,000 follows. Do you think that this user reads the stream? He will read stuff in his middle column on TweetDeck and that is it. I have 800 followers but I can’t remember the last time I read a post in the stream. So if I’m following you then sorry, I’m only doing it so you follow me and maybe you’ll see something I tweet. And that’s what most people do. Follow millions of people so they get followed back not to read their nonsense but to hope that someone reads their nonsense. Seriously. :)
If you want a GOLDEN Twitter tip and I mean pure gold it is this. Follow people that follow less than 100 people and if they follow you back you have a much better chance that they’ll read something you tweet.
Or you could spend 5 hours retweeting some Twitter “stars” in the hope they’ll notice you and reweet you to their 20,000 followers. But (a) they ain’t gonna see your tweet and (b) who’s reading the stream anyway.
Oh yea, Twitter is awesome therefore follow me.
HDTV Plasma Televisions
March 14th, 2009 3:36 pm
blog readers of course …. because we can monitize it :)
Joe Chavez
March 14th, 2009 3:47 pm
Blog readers. It’s a better forum for information sharing. Twitter is too limiting.
Manuel
March 14th, 2009 4:15 pm
I would choose more blog readers. They are more helpful if you want to monetize your site.
Karl
March 14th, 2009 4:33 pm
Definitely more blog readers. Even if you don’t monetize, there is still the relationship that you build with your readers, and the exchange of ideas and information. I think most people read blogs with more objectivity than those who simply race through tweets.
Matt - Make Money Online
March 14th, 2009 4:41 pm
I would more prefer to have more blog readers than twitter readers. Having more people coming to your blog is important if you want to be able to make money online from it.
domz
March 14th, 2009 5:16 pm
I would choice blog readers also, twitter followers are handy tho.
Umar in Dubai
March 14th, 2009 5:27 pm
Twitter complements my blog, not competes with it. So while it would be nice to have lots of twitter followers, which might even lead to more blog followers, but the ultimate goal is to maximize my blog readership.
Bill Masson
March 14th, 2009 5:33 pm
There’s no contest for me, id’e choose blog readers over twitter any day of the week. But if you use twitter to its full extent then it can be a very powerful tool, as we all know from the social experts who have thousands of followers.
I think twitter is a bit like StumbleUpon where users are just surfing for the fun of it and are not serious about traffic or any lasting relationship with your blog.
Greg in San Marcos
March 14th, 2009 6:28 pm
Blog readers for me! I like twitter but the blog is where I would want to be at and the readers would be even better.
Maureen
March 14th, 2009 6:35 pm
Well, I know I’m going to sound blasphemous, but I hate Twitter. That is just not how I think, getting disconnected information from a bazillion people at once. I tried all sorts Twitter organizers and applications, but it just wasn’t working. Finally I realized that i was spending way too much time trying to make Twitter work for me, so I finally deleted my Twitter account. Maybe my blog will never take off because I’m not on Twitter, but if Twitter is a requirement for blogging, then I’m just not cut out for blogging.
Cigar Inspector
March 14th, 2009 7:10 pm
I’m pretty sure that a value of a blog reader (subscribed to RSS/e-mail) is way higher than a value of a Twitter follower.
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach
March 14th, 2009 7:22 pm
Depends upon how I eventually connect with them.
johan
March 14th, 2009 7:47 pm
Hopefully my blog readers find ‘a safari feeling’ on my blog and not the ‘fast-first world-run-and-filter-feeling’.
Ellen
March 14th, 2009 9:11 pm
Blog readers of course. That’s why I write a blog is to get readers and people who respond to what I write. I can’t write what I want in 140 characters and gain a community of readers. At least that’s my opinion.
Toma - Optimizing The Web
March 14th, 2009 9:20 pm
I think that blog readers are more more more important then Twitter followers. Mainly because many times your followers are not willing to interact with you. And if you are talking by yourself it’s no fun. Many Twitter users concentrate to open discussions with power users that have thousands of followers, hoping they’ll attract some attention from all this and get some more followers for themselfs.
This is another problem with Twitter : the fact that you can’t really talk to someone that has so many followers. If I want to talk with Matt Cutts I’m not sending him a message on Twitter : I go to his blog and post a comment. It’s much more easy and the discussion can became much more interesting and also could lead to some benefits not only to me but for others that will visit the blog.
Thanks,
@TomaBonciu
Kris
March 14th, 2009 9:21 pm
I would prefer more blog readers. A lot of my ideas come from reading other blogs and also from the posts and comments on our own. I enjoy the research involved in writing blogs and there’s always something new out there that just doesn’t show up on Twitter, which has more of a fast paced, leave a quick comment and move on style. I find that blog readers and writers tend to spend a little more time thinking things through.
alone
March 14th, 2009 10:46 pm
i choose blog readers for sure.
twitter is fun and sometimes can be used for discussion but it’s not effective enough as the comment for the specific post itself.
DaleK
March 14th, 2009 10:51 pm
Where’s the “Twitter followers who have any interest what-so-ever in anything I have to say” option?
The other day I voted in some poll for a person who I’d DMd with. Their response? “Thanks for the vote, now let’s get to know each other.”
Coulda been some sort of auto response I guess.
Mean Clean Tech
March 14th, 2009 11:05 pm
I would say blog readers by far, Twitter is just a fad in my opinion since before long they will have to find a way to monetize their traffic and it may hurt their system. Also just like Myspace and Facebook after awhile it kind of loses its luster. With a blog reader you can monetize as well as keep them coming back for years.
Chris
March 14th, 2009 11:20 pm
Blog readers for me – Twitter is great, but is more for lots of bite-sized pieces of information. It’s on my blog where I get to go more in-depth.
Actually, ideally, I’d like blog readers who also connect with me on Twitter :)
Ilaria/Swimturtle
March 14th, 2009 11:21 pm
Hi Darren,
I would rather have more blog readers. I’m almost ashamed to tell you that I have not even begun to scratch the surface of Twitter’s potential. I also try not to spend too much time on the internet, so I sit down, write content, read the blogs I’m interested in, comment on a few, and then leave the computer, if I can. So I may write a few tweets during that time, but I am by no means an all-day tweeter, and I am working on changing that. My blackberry has always given me trouble installing a twitter client, so I use it to write a few tweets as instant messages and I have the tweets of a few close friends forwarded, but I cannot follow the twittosphere at large.
Maybe when Santa brings me an iPhone… hint hint!!!
Samer Forzley
March 14th, 2009 11:23 pm
I prefer more conversation, where ever that takes place, ultimatley twitter and the blog have to work together. wrtie a blog post, post on twitter, get the conversation and readers to the blog from twitter. Ultimatley you have to merge both efforts
Louise
March 15th, 2009 12:02 am
Twitter is fun, but I think of if more as a vehicle to point qualified visitors to my blog, and thus my website, where the whole story resides. That’s my end goal.
Paul W. Swansen
March 15th, 2009 12:05 am
Twitter is the water cooler, while the blog is the conversation.
Robin
March 15th, 2009 12:08 am
Twitter really doesn’t translate well for many topics, mine included. I am too cheap to pay for text messaging, so don’t see any big reason for me to sign up, for Twitter yet. Never say never, but I donn’t think I’ll be using the service, in the near future.
ITrush
March 15th, 2009 12:08 am
Blog readers first, followed by twitter.
Annie
March 15th, 2009 12:32 am
My assessment is based on the number of comments I received on my blog. For the same period of time that I have used Twitter, I still get more readers from BlogCatalog and more referrals from Stumbleupon who comment and interact, and we become blogging friends.
Twitter updates are however, very informative and more relevant for developing personal websites. It is useful for bloggers who want to take it to the next level of online internet presence.
“Content is king”, the vote goes to “having blog readers”.
Bob Firestone
March 15th, 2009 12:50 am
Blog readers of course.
It is easy for someone to follow you on twitter then never actually read your stuff. If they are going to your blog then they are reading, getting value and making you a resource.
krissy knox
March 15th, 2009 2:28 am
I would definitely like more blog readers because my blog is very important to me. Communicating on Twitter is one of the most important things in my life, and Twitter is definitely my most important Social media venue. But I am choosing my blog as most important because eventually I plan to make a career out of blogging, writing, and related activities. It is not even the fact that I want to monetize, it’s just what I do naturally. But I want to reiterate again that Twitter is a very, very important part of my life. I love my followers (most are mutal and I consider them friends, of course), and couldn’t imagine my life without them. Thanks for a great question, Darren!
Suzi Dafnis
March 15th, 2009 3:16 am
Definitely blog readers. I want to deepen the conversation with my community and that, I feel, requires me to be able to converse in more than 140 characters.
I’m really focused on conversation and exchange and so part of my goal is to get those that want to work more closely with me -to migrate some of our conversations from twitter to blog.
Suzi
PS Thanks for the awesome work you do. Always engaging.
Frank
March 15th, 2009 3:49 am
I prefer blog readers because I would rather people see what I write. Also, my blog drives money as well, so that is definitely another big reason. Twitter is great, but if you follow people more than likely, they will follow you back. It’s harder to get blog readers because there are so many out there.
Golda Smith
March 15th, 2009 4:01 am
The blog would be my first choose simply because I enjoy writing and if people are going to your blog hopefully they are reading it.
Julie Arnsdorf
March 15th, 2009 4:21 am
Prefer blog readers since blog content is more time-consuming to generate. Although some Twitter traffic has generated blog subscriptions. One plus about Twitter is that it’s fast and simple.
Great survey question!
Aldis
March 15th, 2009 9:02 am
I better prefer blog visitors, simple because they are then reading my thoughts, which are often longer then my tweet,w which can’t be longer then 140 characters.
Besides as I saw it’s easier to get a twitter follower then blog reader and if I had to choose between blog reader or twitter follower, then I definitely choose Blog reader.
Lisa Logan
March 15th, 2009 11:41 am
I’m one of the few, the proud, the votin’ for Twitter followers. The more I follow on Twitter, the more potential new people are introduced to my blog. I don’t monetize my blog directly anyway, and feel that interacting on Twitter is a better, more friendly way to meet people, be remembered, and bump my book sales. Finally, the more Twitter followers, the greater likelihood of finding exciting tips and news that wouldn’t likely be posted in comments to my blog.
Josh Hurlock http://twitter.com/JoshHurlock
March 15th, 2009 3:04 pm
I would prefer more blog readers because blog posts are more thought out than the Twitter updates. There is also some Twitter accounts that are not sincere followers. Therefore, I believe the blog gives individuals a better idea of their true impact.
Kikolani
March 15th, 2009 4:25 pm
I guess it would depend on what your goals are. If you want to just share information with others, Twitter would be a great platform to do so. It takes so little time to just send an update that you are reading a great article with the link than to make a blog post, and them promote it.
If your goals are to strictly get people to your site, then obviously, more blog readers would be the best. But since you can get more blog readers through Twitter, and it’s easier to get Twitter followers, it still makes sense to go for the Twitter followers.
~ Kristi
ZK@WebTrafficROI.com
March 15th, 2009 4:31 pm
So poll is showing that twitter have to prove itself more. They are using twitter to get the traffic and when you are comparing direct traffic (blog readers) and indirect traffic (Twitter followers) than they choose blog readers.
But seems to me that they have forget one thing … your blog readers are stayed at one place and on twitter you can move your followers anywhere and that also in just 140 WORDS …
Muri@Payment-System
March 15th, 2009 4:48 pm
I prefer Blog reader since they are really easy to invite to see my invitations offered,and I think I have more control with my blog follower rather to twitter does
Blogger Tips
March 15th, 2009 6:20 pm
l was right when l tought blog readers, l saw all others think like me. blog readers are more important for me too…
Free Domain Name Registration
March 15th, 2009 8:00 pm
Obviously I want more and more traffic on my website i.e blog. More Twitter followers are desirable but more traffic directly means more money. So more traffic to blog is more desirable.
Viraj Sawant
March 15th, 2009 10:14 pm
Twitter is hard to follow….sometimes it gets 2 much and its hard to shut down the twitter noise !!
Thomas
March 16th, 2009 8:21 am
Blog readers, because Twitter still doesn’t make any sense to me. :(
Dom
March 16th, 2009 9:53 am
What a stupid question. That’s like saying “Would you prefer to be stabbed in the eyes or have a nice cup of tea?”
Oh BTW, your poll doesn’t work direct from the RSS feed.
Peg
March 16th, 2009 10:47 am
I think I prefer more blog followers since my blog is about a store I have online but the Twitter thing also seems to be able to help me get the word out as well if not more than on my blog.
I’m curious what your results will be.
Elena Verlee
March 16th, 2009 11:16 am
I’m new to both, and I’d prefer blog readers because I know they chose to be there.
Twitter is great to be exposed to new audiences and to quickly learn about new ideas and have immediate feedback. However, there seems to be a lot of people on Twitter just looking for an automatic follow and playing it as a popularity contest. I’ve followed – and then unfollowed – people who have thousands of followers but don’t seem to have anything interesting to share or talk about.
Timon Weller
March 16th, 2009 12:48 pm
Blog readers by far!
Jane Blogs
March 16th, 2009 1:45 pm
As many people here have already said, there is no way to monetise your twitter followers (yet), save by sending them to your blog.
And finding a way to monetise twitter would defeat the whole point of microblogging.
venkat
March 16th, 2009 4:23 pm
Twitter is also another source for getting traffic to the blog .
LEon
March 16th, 2009 6:46 pm
Twitter follower are more passive while Blog reader on the other end are faithful readers.
Deborah
March 16th, 2009 10:11 pm
More blog readers by far. What would be even better more interaction on the blog.
It kinda makes one feel….loved.
Silver Firefly
March 17th, 2009 2:53 am
Both. But if I have to choose (in this case, I do), then it is blog readers because a) I need a reason to keep writing articles and b) they might make me some money by clicking on my adverts. :-)
But Twitter is great for drumming up interest, referrals, etc.
Julia Stern
March 17th, 2009 3:39 am
I prefere more blog readers, because there I can (in the future) monetise my blog. Twitter is a nice tool, not more.
Rohit
March 17th, 2009 9:00 am
I prefer blog readers to Twitter followers .Quite amazed by the fact that a lot of people feel the same.
Twitter is a micro-blog.A 140 char long story or a link is never interesting.People like me love description and elaboration.Ultimately,any twitter post links to a blog post.The quality of the post is checked in the blog but not on Twitter.
Also,it’s the blog readers that can bring good income to you..:)
Tracy
March 17th, 2009 1:42 pm
Blog readers definitely. I write in a lot more detail and value comments more on my blog than any rubbish I write on twitter.
ViatAd
March 17th, 2009 1:45 pm
I prefer blog readers rather than twitter followers.
diamondtearz
March 17th, 2009 7:21 pm
I don’t feel as if a tweet or two can capture a whole thought. I’m working on it but just not quite there.
Errol Lincoln Uys
March 18th, 2009 7:47 am
Writing a historical novel online, so blog readers first choice. Twitter is good for promo ( and light relief!)
Syed Balkhi
March 18th, 2009 10:50 am
Even though twitter is getting all the attention, we must not forget why we join twitter. To get more exposure to our blog. So I’d rather have more blog readers.
I wrote a whole post inspired from this post
http://www.balkhis.com/webmaster-world/pick-between-twitter-followers-and-blog-readers/
Listorbit
March 18th, 2009 4:28 pm
I think both are important.
Tyrone – Internet Business Path
March 19th, 2009 1:07 am
Hmmm that is truely confusing and quiet worth thinking. Well generally i think we need followers…cause they carries the whole package!, they follow because they have read it. That could possible be, but…let me try to explain it in my site.
Caleb (Market Secrets Blogger)
March 20th, 2009 7:54 am
For now Blog Readers because Twitter is still in its infancy.
Many non-internet marketing ppl see Twitter as a “childish” type of thing…but I believe this perception will evolve. Until then, I need as many blog readers as possible!
Mohammad Afaq
March 21st, 2009 10:43 am
I started getting some twitter followers and I guess that I will keep working on it. Until now I prefer my blog readers but maybe after I get many twitter followers I start liking the twitter followers. Who knows.
Mohammad Afaq
http://twitter.com/mohammad111
Free Website Traffic
Anamika
March 22nd, 2009 8:08 pm
I joined Twitter only last week and i still have not figured out how it works. Coming to your question i prefer blog followers to twitter followers. On second thought what is the point of having followers if they do not click on the ads?
irrbah
March 29th, 2009 8:51 am
i want both of them lol
sikiş
April 5th, 2009 9:33 pm
I’m new to both, and I’d prefer blog readers because I know they chose to be there.
Twitter is great to be exposed to new audiences and to quickly learn about new ideas and have immediate feedback. However, there seems to be a lot of people on Twitter just looking for an automatic follow and playing it as a popularity contest. sikiş I’ve followed – and then unfollowed – people who have thousands of followers but don’t seem to have anything interesting to share or talk about.
Philip Nowak
April 8th, 2009 4:24 pm
I would prefer more blog readers, but I view Twitter followers as very important because they are ultimately driving traffic to your site by spreading your message.
In response to the very first post, it is certainly possible to monetize Twitter. John Chow mentioned it in his blog post titled “Blog Marketing Vs. Email Marketing Vs. Twitter Marketing.” http://www.johnchow.com/blog-marketing-vs-email-marketing-vs-twitter-marketing/
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