Saturday, August 01, 2009

Some Blog Changes...

"When you are through changing, you are through." ~Bruce Barton

Since reaching 1000 blog posts the other day, I've done some thinking and reevaluating, and the result is going to be some changes here at Allie's Musings. I won't get into the question of why-and-who visits blogs, why-and-why-not people comment, why-and-who keeps blogs in the first place. While I think blogs can be useful for authors, you also have to start looking at your content and who you're trying to reach. Is your blog personable and casual? Is it a forum for marketing yourself? Is it a place to share highlights about other authors and books or a way to reach potential readers/editors/agents? All of the above or none?

I have a steady stream of regular visitors, from what I can tell thanks to Google Analytics. However, I don't visit and comment on enough other blogs - nor do I have enough riveting content of my own - to keep growing my readership exponentially, which I think should probably be the goal of a writer's blog. And with my full-time teaching job and my own writing, it sometimes becomes a challenge? burden? to write an engaging blog post each day.

So...that was the long way of saying that I'm going to scale back my blog posts to 3x a week. For a few months, anyway, I'm going to post for Monday Mentionables (anything notable going on with my own writing); Writer's Wednesday (author interviews), and Friday Fun Facts (interesting tidbits for writers). And each month, I'll give something away to one lucky commenter: a book, or a download, or a gift certificate, or a goodie basket...or something to attract those lurkers who visit and read but rarely comment. :)

The official change will begin this Monday, August 3...hope you'll come back and join me!

7 comments:

Liz said...

Good idea - don't know how you did it in hte first place...
can't wait to see you on Tuesday!

Kathleen said...

Sounds terrific and a blog I'll follow

Mary Ricksen said...

I am doing the same thing.
I haven't been commenting lately because I have been finishing a WIP.
Blogging takes time. But Hi Allie!

Dayana said...

I can definitely relate, Allie. I have spread myself all over the place and at the moment quite thinly, LOL in the name of promo/branding.

I tend to update my blog at least every other day and my website every couple of weeks. In fact, I just posted a blog on much the same idea as you have here. Good minds think alike:)

Anyway, I've jumped over to the Google Analysis thingie and will take a look at how it works. Tell me. I have something called SiteMeter. I'm thinking its about the same???

Dayana~

Christine said...

I would love to be interviewed on your Blog...I like the question you pose about who reads, who comments. I am an author for The Wild Rose Press and published in poetry, flash fiction, children's and prose... Yes, I know I lack focus...

Christine.Columbus@hotmail.com

Allie Boniface said...

Hi everyone - and thanks for stopping by!!

Diane Craver said...

I cut mine down to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, too. But I never did it daily all the time anyhow. It's too hard to find the time. Sometimes I haven't been able to stick to these days though. But trying to keep on schedule.

I never knew how you did it with your busy schedule.