Blogging next steps

[MY63]

Ok now I have a blog and some content I also have some followers "Thanks" I was chatting to another new blogger and we were wondering how do we get people to read our excellent content (well my friends is).

We both have links in our signatures but are unsure of the next steps any advice or tips would be appreciated

Thanks

Michael

[Crazyorange]

Post a thread on your review with a link to get people to check it out. Do a giveaway - people need to leave a remark to win the item. Post a pic on Instagram with a link to your blog.

[Laura N]

I think naughty videos are also popular -- I guess it depends how far you want to go.

[Neo]

I think naughty videos are also popular -- I guess it depends how far you want to go.

[Crazyorange]

I think naughty videos are also popular -- I guess it depends how far you want to go.

George clooney videos please

[Laura N]

Huff. No one ever thanks me. So I will be serious now.

Here's an idea, Michael, though it wouldn't work for everyone. Remember how you said you have some cases that didn't work out perfectly, so you set them aside? What if you occasionally offered one of those for sale on your blog? Or one in a crazy color you tried once, or something experimental like that. I think Greg Minuskin does something similar with his nib work.

[migo984]

Michael, you have a conundrum here. Blogging as a medium has been around for a long time now; they are a bit passé and new ones are late to the game. The internet is swamped with them and people are loyal to the ones they are used to. So unless you have something unique or different to say then people won't shift from the blogs they're loyal to. Take all the stationery/paper/pens/ink blogs - there are literally thousands of them. New ones don't stand much of a chance alongside the plethora of established blogs.
Also, I read an article in Wired (I think) that blogs aren't read much now by the under 25s - they don't want to read one person's usually lengthy monologues. They have shorter attention spans and apparently less time to spare (?!) and prefer 'pithy' i.e. facile.

I don't read blogs myself as I find many a bit egocentric so not sure I can/should offer advice, but in my view you do have a unique blog subject. You may do some/all of the following already: do you maximise the number of other blogs you are linked to, or see if your blog can be linked from the websites of your favourite suppliers of leather, tools etc? Also, you could promote your bespoke service by offering promotional items e.g. Rugby World Cup pen cases in national colours, special seasonal offers, free shipping, competitions, videos on leather care, How-To's, etc.

Not much help I know.....

[Crazyorange]

I thinks what's important.....who do you want to reach? What do you want from your blog? Do you want business? Do you want to test free products?

If you want to post for the sake of helping others - which I think is your main goal - it will take time to get subscribers. I agree with migo- the market is glutted. I understand videos are important to many subscribers. In fact, I prefer to listen to a review and watch bits and pieces than read long posts. But once again, I think it depends on your viewing audience and the craft you do.

I find on my own blog (for my business) people do read it. Though barely a soul has signed up for future posts. I have a counter on my posts - click if you like it. One article has 150 likes. - dam proud of that.....because I'm a little fish in the blog sea. It's nice to see people are reading what I write.

The key to blogging - enjoy it!!! If it makes your heart sing keep doing it. If it's a drag- bag it.

[MY63]

I am pretty sure we can leave the videos naughty or other wise.
Laura N thanks
Migo984 for someone who does not read blogs you seem to be spot on to me. I don't think I am linked to any other blogs thanks
Crazyorange My blog is not about sales but I think you may have guessed that. I do like to give things away as some of you may already know but even my gifts are custom made and I prefer to choose who gets them.
I would like to share my ideas and work and maybe encourage more people to have a go at making their own cases boxes or anything else I have made.
I just wondered if I was missing something important.
Thanks
Michael

[hallzzy01]

Coming from someone who just started blogging in May, just write what you want to write because you enjoy it. I started mine because I was writing about my pens anyways in a journal, so I thought I might as well share my thoughts with the community. As for followers, I have a few. I mostly post on different social media outlets to let people know as well as being interactive with everyone.

Being 'blog of the week' on Pen Addicts podcast didn't hurt either

[Lady Onogaro]

Hi, Michael,

I think you are doing just about what you should be doing. Remind people of your blog on this site and all of fountain pen and ink sites. Contact the bloggers for the sites you like to read and ask them to take a look at your site, or even ask them if they will let folks know about your site.

You might also put up an Instagram site or a Facebook page and direct people to your site that way. You could also promote your site on the various fountain pen Facebook pages. I'm not on Instagram myself, but I know many people are. I visit FB now and then, but I know that some of my friends are on it constantly (usually the over-40s). I mostly find FB boring and prefer blogs and Instagram and Pinterest aren't interesting to me, but I know others are always on them because of the use of cellphones).

Like migo says, the people who go to blogs are faithful to the ones they have followed. But you can note some reasons why. I love several of the book blogs because they have rather insightful and fun discussions of books, and not the most recent ones, either (I am truly and heartily sick of the fact that only certain books get reviewed over and over again as if they are the only books on the planet). So I go to certain sites just to see what others are reading that aren't the book of the month. So I would look for like-minded blogs and post there and invite others to see your sites (that's how I found my favorite book blog, A Work in Progress).

I hope this helps.

[nospam666]

I would also suggest posting your reviews with a link to the blog post in the review. I know a lot of people rely on Links in their signatures, but those of us on Tapatalk and other phone forums won't see signatures for the most part.

[Morgaine]

I currently have 2 "active" blogs, one for correspondence and that, the other for another hobby but is badly neglected. Sometimes, on my correspondence blog, I get over 200 views. I have a correspondence forum (there's an easier letter writing challenge compared to InCoWriMo - come by and have a go, if you like) and for that, I have set up an Instagram account although a lot of those pictures are of mail I send/receive. Some blogs/sites have a presence on Facebook, so I set up a page for both my blog and my forum. It is slow going. I don't want to appear pushy and wave adverts under people's noses (appear desperate?), but do need to pull people in. If I was a bit more artistic, I could design some posters for the forum and put up in places.

[amk]

One thing you could do which I think might get a small but very active audience would be to organise a project people could follow. You would put up a list of everything needed to do the project, say a small and simple pen case, and you'd find followers would then be postings pictures of their own stuff, and asking questions, and talking about their experiences - which would get the blog buzzing.

(I know, I owe you some photos - I've been busy with woodwork while the weather lasts and I can use my (unheated) workshop, so no leatherworking at the moment. But I've had one stroke of luck - I found a leatherworking clamp at a car boot sale! so the stitching will be moving forwards fairly soon. And I've also acquired some new repair projects, and a few nice pieces of hide.)

[MY63]

One thing you could do which I think might get a small but very active audience would be to organise a project people could follow. You would put up a list of everything needed to do the project, say a small and simple pen case, and you'd find followers would then be postings pictures of their own stuff, and asking questions, and talking about their experiences - which would get the blog buzzing.

(I know, I owe you some photos - I've been busy with woodwork while the weather lasts and I can use my (unheated) workshop, so no leatherworking at the moment. But I've had one stroke of luck - I found a leatherworking clamp at a car boot sale! so the stitching will be moving forwards fairly soon. And I've also acquired some new repair projects, and a few nice pieces of hide.)

We like a bit of woodwork too I made my new leather clam from some wine barell staves

DSC_0193[1] by my0771, on Flickr
In fact I used to enjoy making boxes before leather working took over.

I might make a simple pen sleeve and put that up for others to have a go at it is nice to have something you have made yourself.

[amk]

That's a handsome clam! And it hasn't got woodworm (mine's still soaking up the cuprinol)

[MY63]

I have to be honest when I first got the staves the insides were charred and soaked in red wine so it was a bit smelly half an hour with the belt sander and some light coloured wax soon sorted that out.
Does cuprino kill woodworm or are you hoping they will drown