I stand firm

Worf made me. I took the pledge even though I don't know who Jeff Goldstein is and I am happy in my ignorance. No, stop it. I don't want to know.

I'm almost up to post number 400. Unbelievable! Time for a look back at the blog. What have I accomplished?
A shrinking reader base. I used to get about 200 hits a day. Now it's more like 70
More photos of wisteria than practically any other blog out there.
Occasional rants that are misinterpreted, ignored or mocked (best answer to nearly any rant, I say.)

Here's a fact you may not know: I have restrained myself. Despite the internal desire to tell all, I haven't once yet described one of my recurring George Bush dreams. I have them regularly. Usually we're on vacation and meet up with George. Last night my mother and I were on a cruise and George. . . Wait, stop! I almost described that GWB dream. Phew! I need to keep the record clean. I wish I was kidding about having these dreams. I'm not.

Hey I wonder how cheryl b is. These people who don't have blogs. How's the baby?

Comments

  1. Megan Frampton11:34 AM

    I don't think you should think your hits are going down--for people who subscribe to bloglines, seeing your post doesn't end up counting on your page as a hit. IOW, Bloglines checks your site for me, and I used to go directly to it. So I read every post, but don't check back all the time.

    And you've got 9 bloglines subscribers, and who knows what other people use to check you. I know there are Kinja users out there, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7:21 PM

    Kate, your blog is better than most romance writer's blogs. Most published writers write hella boring blogs, probably because they're terrified to offend anyone.

    I'm always temped to write anonymous comments informing them that their boring blog sucks.

    I mean, when you've got pet store clerks writing a blog that's more interesting than an erotica writer's blog - something's wrong with this picture.

    So good job.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Douglas Hoffman11:10 PM

    Funny how we all seemed to start blogging at the same time. Ever notice that?

    Look, if you want to get more hits, you have to salt your blog with the proper keywords, like 'big tushy orgasm' and 'competitive autocunnilingus' and 'underage rim jobs'. There. That ought to do it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous11:11 PM

    Dammit, I hate it when I give people the frog.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous3:52 PM

    That's true, Kate - keywords are important. I did about 2 posts with "Steven Seagal jokes" in the title and I wound up on a bunch of Steven Segal forums. I did one post with "human traficcing" in the title, and now if you google "books on human traficcing" my site comes up number one. Probably half my traffic comes from google searches.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous5:09 PM

    i love your political straightshooting imbroiled in humor style Kate....and of course we miss the hell out of you over at the OLD PLACE....~*~sniffle ~*~

    pass the Kleenex please....

    serious get's old REAL fast

    i'm gone as me...nanza...and now i'm writing an E book.....now that's humourous enough to come and see...LOL....come and read it will ya cutes....

    lov ya and don't leave...or i'll sic the dog on ya...nanza

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sam8:30 AM

    Maybe your hit machine is off.

    Keep blogging. I need means of procrastination.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Daisy Dexter Dobbs10:28 AM

    As the number of bloggers increases, Kate, it takes more effort--and time--on our parts to draw them to our blogs. And it depends on who you’re targeting. Deftly used keywords will certainly bring people to your blog but you’ll lose most of them if your blog isn’t what they were looking for. Peppering a post with terms that really have nothing to do with your regular posts won’t ensure new followers. Most of them will be one-hit readers. So, the question is--are you looking just to pump up your stats (for technorati’s ranking, for example), or are you trying to build a solid readership?

    One of the best ways to hike your hits and increase readers is to set aside some time each week to post comments to other blogs. If people comment on your blog, reciprocate, and they’ll likely return (and you’ll also attract some of their readers). Also check out blogs you personally find interesting, or those with a similar feel to yours--especially those with larger readerships. If there are plenty of people who comment there, you can expect that there are at least that many (and probably many more) who just lurk. By posting comments (try to do so at least once a week), readers of those blogs will likely check your blog out and if they like what they see, they’ll be back.

    Another way to increase hits is to cross-promote your blog. MySpace.com is hugely popular and overflowing with potential readers for your blog. Set up a page there and use it to refer people to your blogspot blog. I’ll usually post a portion of my blogspot post on my MySpace blog, directing readers with a link to blogspot to read the rest of the story. You can also post bulletins there, which go to all your MySpace friends. It’s a great way to get the word out. You can see what I’m doing with mine here: http://www.myspace.com/daisydexterdobbs

    My stats show lots of people coming from MySpace, as well as from blogs on which I’ve posted comments--and from my personal website. Keywords bring tons of people in, but the keywords I use are in direct correlation to the usual “feel” of my blog posts, so many visitors brought in from the keywords end up becoming regular readers.

    The downside is the great deal of time it takes to “work” your blog. Sometimes it drives me crazy because there just aren’t enough hours in the day--so I fall back and get behind. Then I’ll pick up and do a little extra a week or two later. If you don’t invest the time to work it, you’ll lose readers. The problem of time aside, maintaining a blog is cost-free, and a dynamite way to draw in blog readers and readers for your books--as well as agents and editors. Of course, one of the nicest aspects is becoming acquainted with many new people who ultimately become friends.

    Yes, I know this ended up being a damned epistle, Kate, but verbose is my middle name--LOL--sorry about that. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous12:11 AM

    Most of the time I use my Internet Ninja computer to read your blog, which has all sorts of safeguards and software to keep my ISP from being captured (this computer, otoh, doesn't.) So if that sort of thing influences your counter, add one more regular visitor to your headcount. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. THIS! Christine3:19 AM

    Pledge, smedge.

    I come for the whining.

    X

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kate12:34 PM

    awwwww, what a nice bunch of reponses to my whining. it almost makes me want to be pitiful all the time ("tell me again how much you loooooove me or I'll whimper some more")


    Cheryl--is Sirius Orion aka The Star Baby here amongst us??

    ReplyDelete

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