Thinking about quitting your blog? Dee Stewart examines some way to give it a new lease of life.
Thinking about cutting the plug on your blog?
I almost did last year after I found myself busy with other projects, my Adsense and Chitika checks were waining and especially after I noticed that many of my blog friends had shut down their blogs or were barely using them. At first I wondered was I kissing a dinosaur? Should I stop blogging and move onto something better?
But for some odd reason my blog would not go gentle into that goodnight.
Furthermore, as a host of niche book blog I still had tons of books to review, local and national book events planned, authors penned in my interview calendar and book news to get out. I couldn’t end things, if I wanted to.
So I went back through some of the blog comments to get another perspective on the matter. To my surprise, I discovered the blog, had ideas, plans and things to share with me about our future. We began to reconnect and slowly CFB has brought back that blogging feeling to me. Perhaps your blog wants to do that to you.
Here are 5 things your blog comments provide that can help breathe life back into your blog.
1. Go back and read your blogs comments
I spent one day wading through many of my old blog comments. I noticed the comments shifted from a basic love of books, to help me guide my writing life; from kudos to prayer requests, from thanks to questioning my faith. The blog was no longer an extension of my writing life, but my personal life, as well. I discovered my blog entries didn’t reflect those changes. My new focus would.
2. Take Cues from Negative Comments
Negative Comments are great sources for new blog entries. You can:
* Debunk a Myth told by a Commenter, which increases your credibility.
* Ask the Commenter to become a guest blogger and speak on that subject, which drives a different, but complimentary demographic to your site.
* Use it to build a poll, so that your readers can participate, which makes your blog more organic.
3. Use Unique Comments for Blog Series
Some times you get comments on your post that wow you. “Oh, I never thought of that” Moments I call them. An actor friend of mine gave me information about a national stage play he was a part of I posted the information and I received so many private emails and comments about this play that I realized that people are searching for this information. Now once a month I promote a touring stage play.
4. Post Comments for Weekend Feedback
I use a Weekend Chatterbox feature on the weekend that opens commenters up to discuss whatever is my question for the weekend. This question usually comes from a comment from the blog that peaked my interest for further discussion. This Chatterbox spills into your readers blogs, which is a great way to build a blog movement.
5. Farm Guestbloggers
As you continue to receive more comments, you will build subscribers and foster friendships with some of the commenters. They will follow you all over the blogosphere and comment wherever you land. Those subscribers are like baby chicks. They know your land. They know what works. They will email you and give you suggestions, but more importantly, they will jump at the chance to guestblog. Daren doesn’t know it, but he’s farming thousands, including me. :)
Bonus: After I reconnected with my blog some wild things happened. My Amazon sales went up, CPCs rose, subscribers increased, I received more writing gigs and a new opportunity as Entertainment Editor for a national womens print magazine…the blog begin to pulse again.
Dee Stewart is a multimedia journalist, freelance editor, News Editor for Hope for Women Magazine, book critic and Gospel Diva Mama of a seven-year-old Georgia Peach. Visit her at Christian Fiction Blog.
Thanks for the pep talk, Dee. By the way, the URL to Dee’s blog isn’t right. There is a / where there should be a period between Christian Fiction and Blogspot. Also, the idiomatic expression is “to pull the plug” (“pulling the plug”), not “cutting the plug.”
As a relatively new blogger myself, I am already having some of those thoughts. Thanks for the insight on using some of the comment data for more focused writing, makes perfect sense just. Can’t see the forest for the trees sometimes!
Hi Dee – interesting points you make. I was about to hang up my keyboard and sell my site about month ago.
However, the craziest thing happened. One day from out of nowhere I got an email from the editor of Islands Magazine http://www.islands.com/islandsmagazine.jsp. The note basically said that they wanted to profile my wife and I as a couple that has successfully pursued their dream of living in the Caribbean and owning a business for their July issue.
When inquired as to how the staff at Islands Magazine found us, she said, “Why your blog, of course.”
MAJOR lesson learned about return on investment and the power of blogging :)
Thanks for the tips, Dee…Good Stuff!
Thanks for these tips too, very informative.
nhick
http://www.itrush.com
Negative comments are the signs of positive growth of the blog. These tips are the lifeline for every blogger. Thanks.
Well the comment part of any blog is the feeling of people coming to the blog.
As you rightly said they shall be noticed and considered carefully to improve the quality.
Nice post.
I got my first negative comment the other day. I laughed b/c I realized that it is a sign of growth.
Dee, I just took a look at your blog and the Weekend Chatterbox feature is a great idea!!
Negative Comments are great sources for new blog entries. You can:
It actually depends on how they come across.
With the exception of this blog and a few others, most people will not complement you when you are doing something they like
That negative commenter may not represent what most are enjoying. In fact some people thrive on being negative just to upset others
Goodness!!
This came just in time! I was just about to give up on my main blog that I’ve been running for the last year or so but suddenly I feel inspired to bring it back to life.
Thanks a lot.
Great ideas Dee. Just wanted to let you know that the link to your blog is broken. It’s christianfiction/blogspot.com instead of christianfiction.blogspot.com
Good stuff Dee,
btw, your URL link is wrong, it should be:
http://www.christianfiction.blogspot.com/
Thanks Darren. All great tips. I’ll be sure to consider them.
If you are the best blogger that you can possibly be and then start losing that “blogging” feeling, there are a number of things you can do to reinvigorate your blog.
Perhaps the most important is remembering. Yes just remembering. Sit down in a quiet place and try and remember what got you interested in blogging in the first place. Why was the subject matter so important to you?
You will need to put yourself back in the “space” that you were when you first started blogging.
Always remember this: Everything in life is “Just A Thought Away”.
You as a great blogger is just a thought away.
You as a unique person with unique perspectives to share is just a thought away.
I especially like the idea of asking someone who disagreed with you and wrote a negative comment to become a guest blogger.
Giving up is never a good solution. No matter what your goals are: Giving up never gets you any closer to them.
Try and always remember that success, luck, and good fortune goes to those that are in a position to receive them. If you quit or give up you are in no position to receive anything that is positive.
The Masked Millionaire
http://www.TheMaskedMillionaire.com
good post. yeah. some times when we dont have a good readership base, we may think of quitting blogging. But, the most important thing to remember is ‘It may take years to build a sucessful blog. Dont expect it to happen in a short span of time. Currently if we are not earning much, we should always treat blogging as an investment. It may take a second to make a descison of quitting blogging but dont forget that it takes years to build a successful venture from blogging.
One tip for blogging ideas is to take photos with your iPhone or camera. Just ordinary things, people, park benches, whatever.
Look at the photos later on and ask yourself what a particular picture has to do with your blog. Perhaps an empty park bench will inspire you to write a post about needing more readers!
I actually just published an article last night on how comments are the most important part of your blog in that they tell you about your general readership and what they want to hear.
http://www.blog-tutor.com/2008/03/21/comments-the-most-valuable-asset-of-a-blog/
Some good advise, but I think that a pep talk in the beginning phases of a blog is also in order. Sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel…then I get a few more readers and clicks, then I write a bunch of posts…this hobby is grueling.
it is always great to stop and read your tips on your blog
As if i was swimming on the open ocean, I came upon your blog as a lifesaver’s Island to where I stop, read, rest and keep on swimming into the web’s ocean..(poethic aint’ it?)
It’s always sad to see bloggers throw in the towel and give up writing.
I’ve been there many times (and have pulled the plug on various blogs). Sometimes there is liberty in starting over and rebuilding from scratch.
If you do pull the plug on a blogspot blog, make sure to keep your blog in place and never delete it. Just put a link in your last post pointing to your new blog’s residence so that sploggers don’t take advantage of your good works.
The key to blogging longevity is to just keep plugging away on those days when your mind is blank and you can’t think of anything to write. Make sure to always post something to keep the creative fires burning and your readers happy.
If you can’t write something yourself just copy. But make sure you add something of your own in the end.
Excellent advice! And this “They will follow you all over the blogosphere and comment wherever you land. Those subscribers are like baby chicks.” was very visual and struck me funny, thanks!
I am newbie in blogging, your information and sharing really help for my improvement, Thanks A Lot.
regards
Just keep motivated, your blog is a source of very informative details. :)
“4. Post Comments for Weekend Feedback” – This is really a good idea
Great tips, ye old comments threads can really yield tons of great ideas. We just have to look at it from a different view.
this is a great post! i am currently trying to revive my blog again too! I hope this goes well!
Thanks Darren for these life saving tips. Really useful. I like the idea of “Farm Guestbloggers” and am currently more focused into this one.
Dee,
Thanks for the insight.
Anyone who is on the verge of cutting the plug on their blog will do well to read this.
Joseph Ratliff
Hi, all. Thanks for the great comments, tips and correction to my link. I am correcting it now. My daughter’s birthday was yesterday. She’s eight. We had a slumber party from the 22-23, easter egg hunts and now church, so I was clueless that my blog post was picked. How exciting. I’m quite grateful that you found the article useful. Of course I will be using these comments. :)
No Weekend Chatterbox this weekend. I was baking cupcakes and pillow fighting!
I couldn’t change it. Click on my name to see my blog. Thanks for those who took the time to get the url right.
Hey, Nitpick,
Thanks! Do you edit books, too? :) I need one to proof mine.
Mark, great news. Can’t wait to read more about you.
Thanks, Cory. The Weekend Chatterbox idea came from a post Daren did in the past called, “What Do you Do with Your Blog on the Weekend?” I liked the open ended question idea, then decided to use user comments to stir the pot.
https://problogger.com/what-do-you-do-with-your-blog-on-the-weekend/
Miss Universe, you’re right. There are some commenters who post negative comments with hopes that your readers and you will bounce to their site. Or you receive negative comments form anoms, who don’t want to be attacked later for their remark.
All those are fine with me. I try to–can’t say 100%-post entries that I feel strongly about and am willing to defend. If the comments is way off base what I’ve found is that your readers will defend you, too. so…
Springleap: (great name) since you’ve had the blog for only a year I would stick with it. like some commenters have said it takes time. my blog was created to house some feature stories on christian publishing i had done for a few publications and to post some reviews for a christian newspaper and it became something more, so give it time. it’s like harvesting crops.
TheMaskedMilioinaire: Unmask yourself. :) Good points. I would also that one of the reasons to have a mission statement or purpose for your blog helps. In my case, I am an editor and a book critic, so the need for me to consistently blog about it was waining. I write everyday on the subject, regardless. I wondered whether this medium was worth it anymore. I did have a site for the blog and moved back to blogger. I plan to go back to its own site, but I didn’t want to pay the price if I wasn’t going to continue as a committed blogger for Christian Fiction Blog. I plan to move it over next month.
Pras: I like the idea of blogging as investment.
Mark: Wow! You’re very creative. Help me out. My daughter has played Enchanted five times already today. How can I make her stop? :)
Niklas, Kudos!
SeePortal: A pep talk. That’s a good one, too.
Pio: you are too many things, poet!
Chris: so right. I have a blog for brides and stop posting when i broke up with my ex. i didn’t delete the blog, but someone took my name and since i didn’t switch over to the beta version my blog now has a new name. i remind myself to post every month at least. i’m a publicist, too so I constantly receive great stuff for that blog.
Arun: as an editor i couldn’t do that. seems too close to plagiarism.
Thanks everyone else again.
I’m glad I ran in to this article thanks for the advice.I’m new so I really haven’t gotten board with my blog,but this advice is still useful.Thanks.
Dee & All You Wonderful Commentors!
Your excitement very infectious! Please share with this newby… where do you go, what do you read, what site do you visit to learn how to “get your blog out there” in the first place! Do I need to go the PPC route? I’d love to get to the stage of “drowning” but I’m not even getting off the beach!
Thank you! jenny, mommy, great grant writer!
livingwellgrants.blogspot.com
Thank You for writing this blog! As a newbie to the blogosphere, I found it to be informative and a source of hope.
I especially liked the part about farming guestbloggers and once I actually start to get comments, I’ll be eager to apply that technique. From one fellow Christian to another, God Bless!
Dee! in your case the negative comments are different but in case of mine, where i am running a blog which is based on a political mindset and a specific way of thinking, negative comments do hurt and hence you cant even let them reach the site. I mean it is different for different type of blogs and hence you cant generalize it. In my case, it is either agreement or disagreement but then it is not where it ends, the disagreement is often very angry and hence might be abusive sometimes.
For rest of what you said, i did got some positive points out of it and hence will apply on my blog.
Regards,
MJK
http://thelandofpure.blogspot.com/
I don’t see anything new here.
This post could not come at a better time. I am at my one year mark for my blog and a couple nights ago I had decided to hang it up. I saw that blogs that I did not think were good as mine were doing so much better than me. Perhaps all the time I take to research my material just did not interest people? Maybe what I write does not interest people?
To top it off, I wrote a story about a company and put my heart and sole into it to help this start-up company. I even tried to connect them with some of my contact because I believe in what they are doing. I asked to be mentioned in their press page but was only mentioned in their blog with just a few words. The online people who get mentioned on the press page were obviously the big boys who you would like to show off. I was crushed. I felt I could never compete with the big boys and how was I fooling myself working this hard for nothing.
I was also frustrated because I was trying to get online publishers to pick up a story or two of mine who did not even email back. On top of it seemed that everyone I saw either had a technology, publishing, or marketing and advertising background. I only have my personal experiences. Sometimes, I feel so overwhelmed because I have to learn everything myself.
I blog to create community, and go to the next level so I help more people.
Masked Millionaire, I know giving up is not the answer and I am not a quitter but sometime when do you know when it is time to give up? I can’t blog any other way but to spend the time researching and writing the best I can because I feel I owe it to my readers. But the amount of time I am spending is way too much sometimes. My blog owns me.
I am still undecided as to what to do and perhaps am looking for that sign of faith? Sorry to write so much, but as you tell I am at a crossroad.
Jenny Lynn: Problogger is a great place to start. Not only does Daren have great information here, but many bloggers that frequent problogger have great blogs of their own. Like most of the commenters suggest find something that you love to talk about rain or shine free or pay and start from there. I love books, so here I am.
Happy Easter, Ryan!
MJK: I have seen what you mean. I enjoy reading political blogs and some of the stuff gets real nasty. You’re right. More power to you. But I have seen on Michelle Malkins blog when she has used negative comments to start a new blog entry. I’m not a fan of hers, but she does use her bad comments as examples, literally. :)
Shams: I like your name. Sorry I couldn’t be of help, but glad you stopped by and chimed in.
Anna: Your blog is so nice. You should have seen my blog after its first year. Girlfriend, you can’t stop blogging about the environment. What are you talking about? You have people commenting and chiming in. Take a Blogcation. Get some guestbloggers in there and just step away from it, but watch it. I think you’re a bit too closed to it right now, a bit burned out. I get that way when I’m revising a manuscript. Back away from it for a while.
Dee-thank you for the words of encouragement. I also want to thank you for the time you took to answer everyone. It is a trait that I wish more blogger would do on their own sites. It is like being heard. Everyone needs this.
Thanks, Anna for coming back. Don’t give up on your blog. I like it. :)
I’m in a similar boat to where you must have been a year ago. So much going on with college and other online endeavors. It’s good to hear about others who were in the same boat.
I don’t know if I would ever give up blogging, but I do tend to make tons and tons of posts for a few weeks, and then take a break for a week or so. I’d personally rather just have consistently spread out posts, but sometimes I find it pretty hard with time contraints.
Anyway, thanks a lot for the motivation,
-Nick
Someone mentioned the link didn’t work…I think someone threw in an extra .com before the blogspot. Try this if you are curious. http://www.christianfiction.blogspot.com/
Dee, you have some nice articles!
Nick: Thanks for chiming in. I agree. I use a posting calendar. I try to stick to writing the same labels for a particular day. I also try to write more compelling posts, but not as often for variety and to give my subscribers something meaty to eat on and draw them into the blog.
Heather, thanks. I don’t know how I messed up my link. But thank you all for sharing it with the community. That’s really nice. :)
This is a great post! I faced a similar situation where I wanted to discontinue my blog because I was (and still am) having trouble getting traffic to my blog. Also, I can’t think of a good way to monetize my blog, and that’s a little discouraging because it’s a blog about funny videos and pictures.
After a couple of months of inactivity, I decided to pick up where I left off and keep updating because I enjoy posing to my blog.
I got busy as well . . . I just changed the name of my blog from Hey, Don to Cash Flow Today.
I think of blogging as a marathon . . . it’s easy to get busy and set it aside . . . but I believe you can also get back to it.