Oh man, do I have questions. Because really, this whole blogging thing has been trial and error (a lot of error) for me. So here are some questions I'd love to ask fellow bloggers. Obviously don't feel like you have to answer all of them. Or any of them.
What type of post (review, author interview, guest post, rambly-ness, lists) get the most views/comments? Are you surprised by the popular posts?
If you use Twitter, do you use it just for book and blog stuff? What about Facebook? Pinterest? Do you find the micromedia helps your blog?
What do you do about angry comments?
If you publish a post but then see a bunch of errors do you correct them? Or do you figure the post is in the wild now and those errors will teach you to proofread more carefully next time?
What do you do if you get in a reviewing slump? You have a bunch of reviews you need to write but you're just not motivated.
Tell me your secrets, blogging experts.
*I tried writing the second part of this prompt 3 times and this was the least angry version. Because really? You know it all and have no questions?
Logging you in...
Tanya Patrice · 665 weeks ago
1) Most comments - memes I participate in where I leave the most comments on other blog ... usually a Top 10 post. But also my Weekly Reading on a Monday - which serves as my "review" post.
2) Twitter for everything but don't use it often - I comment a lot instead.
3) Angry comment = delete immediately and I don't feel bad about doing so.
4) Old posts with errors = fix when I spot them.
5) Reviewing slump = I read in advance ... meaning I have a few book "reviews" saved up so I can take my time and read big books, or get over a reading slump.
What Red Read 121p · 665 weeks ago
readingrambo 112p · 665 weeks ago
My gosh. The horror.
I don't think I've gotten any angry comments...I hope I'd respond to them with this gif: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3s7p2Bo3I1r1vcx3....
What Red Read 121p · 665 weeks ago
Also I've never had an angry comment before but if I get one, I WANT TO USE THAT.
Laura · 665 weeks ago
1) I dunno. My most popular posts are ones for Stand by Me and Into the Wild, presumably because they fulfil some kind of crazy google formula. But other than that, it's ones that are linked to much more popular blogs...
2)Twitter=fun. Facebook makes me want to DIE so I avoid that.
3)I hunt down the perpetrator and murder them.
4)I totes correct like grammar things because I don't want the evidence of that out in the world!
5)I do not write them. Or write substandard ones and then forget about them.
I like that I have pretended to be a blogging expert in this comment. I mean, i don't even get no free books or nothing! What do I know?!
What Red Read 121p · 665 weeks ago
I sorta like not getting free books. I mean, don't get me wrong, free is my favorite price for books, but if you get free books you don't get to choose them. You just get free books someone else picked. And I have too many books I want to get to first.
I too hate FB. Although I am on it. but not for book stuff.
Laura · 665 weeks ago
Becky B. · 665 weeks ago
When I've got angry/rude comments before I answer back overwhelmingly/scathingly polite and make sure to use lots of proper words. :)
What Red Read 121p · 665 weeks ago
I love this idea and I will definitely be giving it a try. I'm sure deleting the comment is the mature thing to do, but this sounds way more fun.
booknympho 32p · 665 weeks ago
I use Twitter and Pinterest for book blogging. I know there are ways to track whether or not it really sends traffic to your blog but I’m still figuring that out. From what I’ve heard, Twitter is the way to go, but I’m still new to it.
I haven’t had angry comments but it depends on what the person is saying. Probably just delete it or not reply to it. If it’s really mean and negative or inflammatory, then definitely delete. If the person is just upset that I gave a book a bad review, well that’s fine, they don’t have to agree with me. If it starts causing problems or drama on my blog, then definitely delete.
If I publish a post and find errors, then yes, I do go back and correct them. I know typos and grammatical errors can be annoying and I don’t want to do that to readers. I try to proofread but sometimes I’m just swamped for time and would rather get a review up.
If I’m in a reviewing slump, then I just take some time off and that usually helps. Hopefully I have enough posts to schedule to tide me over, but if not, then it’s okay. I try not to stress about it. Just participate in memes or write something else if you want to still post. And if you’re not in the mood to write the entire review, maybe just jot down some key points so you don’t forget anything when you do get around to writing it.
Hope that helps! :)
What Red Read 121p · 665 weeks ago
Thanks for the answers! Have you thought about tracking your stats? I thought Wordpress was supposed to have some good tracking info. I use Google Analytics (though I'm sure not to its fullest potential).
I was thinking of trying Pinterest to drive traffic to my blog (along with pinning the other random things).
I like your slump reviewing advice. I think I'm going to need to start taking down some notes before I actually write the review
readingthethings 62p · 665 weeks ago
2) I just use Twitter to be social. I do auto-post new blogs, but I have no idea if it brings in traffic.
3) I used to try to be diplomatic, then I realized no one is paying me to be dipomatic, so I delete any comments now that don't positively contribute to my reading experience. Contradictory comments on my interpretation to literature (which pry open my mind) add to my journey by helping me see a different perspective. Acerbic complaints do not.
4) I always correct them. :)
5) I just write them as inspiration strikes. Sometimes a book actually improves with a two month wait. It's true!
What Red Read 121p · 665 weeks ago
And the consensus seems to be correct mistakes so I should go back and start fixing some old posts. I know there are many errors out there.
@Bookshop_Girl · 665 weeks ago
@Bookshop_Girl · 665 weeks ago
What Red Read 121p · 665 weeks ago
I notice from the Google searches bringing people to my blog a lot of them are for image searches. Ah well. Maybe some of them will hang around and read something.
stentorpub 15p · 665 weeks ago
1. It's hard to predict what posts will get the most comments. Some meme posts usually do pretty well, and sometimes a seemingly random post does well. I wrote one once ("Uphill, downhill") about my obsessing over how many pages I had to go, was I past the halfway point in a book, etc. that must've touched a common nerve, but who would've thought? Like others have mentioned, I also get a lot of image searches, particularly for a couple posts that included maps (A Game of Thrones, and Stephen King's Under the Dome).
2. I haven't used Twitter for my blog thus far, but have considered creating a Twitter account "just" for my blog. Every now and then I'll link to my blog on FB, but I don't "automatically" notify of new posts.
3. I've only had a few "angry" comments in two and a half years. One, which was just mean spirited and not contributing value to a discussion, I deleted. The others I left up, thinking I’d just let the world know how ill-mannered the poster was. I was touched when on one of them, a regular reader kind of jumped to my defense. :-)
4. It depends on how egregious they are. :-) I often do, but sometimes I am too lazy.
5. I wish I knew the answer to this one. I would implement the techniques immediately...
What Red Read 121p · 665 weeks ago
I feel like I'm an awful judge on which posts will get a lot of traffic and which will fall flat. Some of my favorite posts get nothing while something I wrote as a throwaway get a ton of traffic. And of course there are the image searches.
I've been lucky that I haven't had any angry comments yet. I sort of like the idea of either replying to them extra politely (as Becky suggested) or else leaving it up there so other people can see what a jerk that person was. I know the mature thing would be to delete the post but I don't know if I'm that mature.