Friday, February 11, 2011

Blog traffic

If I don't post every day my blogger stats plummet. I can skip two days, but on the third hits are down and by the fourth it is dead.
I don't know who is signed up for auto alerts so perhaps people get emails when The Lazy Farmer is updated.
I sometimes wonder where to go with this blog.
I have some funny local stories but I can see there are a number of local people who are viewing this blog. I suppose I could find out by writing those stories and seeing who stops waving at me from one day to the next. I imagine anyone local is from the days when I published The Daily Strumpet, (everyone's favorite irregular newspaper- the irregular newsletter for irregular people). Speaking of, I should be doing a special edition for George D. who is dying as we speak. He was a regular subscriber. It is really bringing me down that all the interesting old folks are picking this year to die.
But, I digress...
I started this blog to collect my no-till info and to rant into the ether and didn't really count on regular readers. So, I have not promoted.
It would seem that to promote a blog you need to spend an hour a day commenting on other people's blogs. You need to pay a lot of attention to key words. You need to keep posts fairly short and have pictures. (Of course the latter is a general rule of journalism.)
Gorges and the Griper commented on my post of a day ago which had a short comment about generating blog traffic.
I like to get comments and I kind of like complaints, especially from people I don't know so that I can unleash my pent up sarcastic bile. (Of course then I later feel bad about it and think I was too hard on them.)
So, I don't want a blog with hundreds of followers and no comments.
It is really quite interesting.
Of course it is also quite humbling. There are a million bloggers with not that much to say. I suppose I'm luck to have 32 people who say they care!
I'm going to go drill wheat. I wonder why they call it drilling? A grain drill is not a drill. It slices a furrow and drops seed into the furrow. There is no drilling involved, except where I added lights. I did drill a hole for that.

6 comments:

  1. I spend about an hour-and-a-half a day doing "blog work," even though I only promise to try posting twice a week. I enjoy it, primarily because of other folks out there, but it IS a chore for a working man and I think we all wonder just when the point of diminishing return kicks in.

    ReplyDelete
  2. " I wonder why they call it drilling? A grain drill is not a drill." That is most odd- we drill
    for oil, the dentist has one, there is the old brace & bit, cordless and they even put them in a press.
    ..unless it relates to the straight lines of a military drill, I guess I'm dumber than a 5th Grader, cuz I have no idea. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Budde, I'm not even sure how to get auto alerts. I just check on my dashboard every day to see which of the bloggers I follow have a new post. Most days you do not disappoint me. I'm not even sure why I started blogging. Maybe I crave attention (feedback)? Seems to me originally I wanted to put a little family history out there on the net in hopes of connecting with unknown distant relatives.(and I did with one through this blog).
    http://nevardblog.blogspot.com/
    Its only certain days that I am inspired to post anything. Maybe one of these days I'll gather all those posts together and publish a book. ":-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Don't worry about promoting it. Just write when you get a chance.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like blogs where people comment and as such have been luck to have a dedicated group of followers. Especially when I don't always get time to comment on their blogs.
    When people comment then you have a discussion and it is not just talking to the "ether." I think it makes a better blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for telling me about the drill. My grandfather plowed a few acres in Ga. but I was only on the farm a few weeks in the summer and xmas. Didn't get to learn as much as I would have liked. I did learn how to throw hay bales into a wagon and then into a loft.
    Maybe you can add more technical details like this into you blog. Then I wouldn't have to actively search out these facts.
    You do have a certain style/flair in your writing.
    It is understandable. Keep it up.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me what you think