“Similarly, blog visitors on a mission will flit from one blog to another within a niche, seeking a particular type of nectar.”

I feel that’s absolutely true; perfect image to describe it.

“Similarly, blog visitors on a mission will flit from one blog to another within a niche, seeking a particular type of nectar.”

I feel that’s absolutely true; perfect image to describe it.

I don’t have readers – how can I know what they want? Once I have readers I obviously have done something write.

All I can think is try out different things and see what the results are in the various ways of counting (all of which disagree!).

Any wisdom on this circle I would be very grateful to hear.

I don’t have readers – how can I know what they want? Once I have readers I obviously have done something write.

All I can think is try out different things and see what the results are in the various ways of counting (all of which disagree!).

Any wisdom on this circle I would be very grateful to hear.

Bees have a strong preference for visiting one type of flower on a foraging trip? They don’t mix their nectar. Similarly, blog visitors on a mission will flit from one blog to another within a niche, seeking a particular type of nectar.

You could do the dance of the seven veils in front of a blogger on a mission to find an answer to a problem – or wave a rose in front of a bee who’s out to harvest dandelion pollen – and it will do no good. The point being – your blog/flower may not be what the bee/visitor is seeking today, but that could be all changed tomorrow; but not, of course, if you give up and stop blooming.

Here endeth the extended metaphor.

Bees have a strong preference for visiting one type of flower on a foraging trip? They don’t mix their nectar. Similarly, blog visitors on a mission will flit from one blog to another within a niche, seeking a particular type of nectar.

You could do the dance of the seven veils in front of a blogger on a mission to find an answer to a problem – or wave a rose in front of a bee who’s out to harvest dandelion pollen – and it will do no good. The point being – your blog/flower may not be what the bee/visitor is seeking today, but that could be all changed tomorrow; but not, of course, if you give up and stop blooming.

Here endeth the extended metaphor.

“So promotion needs to be added to the mix.”

True, but if they keep at it the long tail eventually will catch up and they’ll get noticed. I didn’t do much to promote my site and someone ran across a post they liked, put it to Digg, it made page one, and I was promoted without doing anything. Maybe I was lucky.

“Structure, usability and architecture come into play. A good foundation to allow the content to shine and breathe.”

Not always true. I have seen poorly designed sites get a TON of traffic. I do agree that all of these things are vital and will give you the best chances for success, but I’ve seen some absolutely atrociously designed sites get 5 figure subscriber counts. I think Darren even had a post about this awhile ago.

BTW Chris, featured your site in my 25 great designs post here:
http://thefuturebuzz.com/2008/07/30/25-examples-of-clean-effective-and-beautiful-web-design/

I do love the design of your site, definitely will keep this in mind when I pay someone to give me a pro design instead of template.

“So promotion needs to be added to the mix.”

True, but if they keep at it the long tail eventually will catch up and they’ll get noticed. I didn’t do much to promote my site and someone ran across a post they liked, put it to Digg, it made page one, and I was promoted without doing anything. Maybe I was lucky.

“Structure, usability and architecture come into play. A good foundation to allow the content to shine and breathe.”

Not always true. I have seen poorly designed sites get a TON of traffic. I do agree that all of these things are vital and will give you the best chances for success, but I’ve seen some absolutely atrociously designed sites get 5 figure subscriber counts. I think Darren even had a post about this awhile ago.

BTW Chris, featured your site in my 25 great designs post here:
http://thefuturebuzz.com/2008/07/30/25-examples-of-clean-effective-and-beautiful-web-design/

I do love the design of your site, definitely will keep this in mind when I pay someone to give me a pro design instead of template.

What I would love to see you cover is getting then involve in the community because 80% of readers will not comment on your blog. Its a sad fact, not really fact because I don’t know the exact percentage but you get where I’m coming from.

Another great post there.

What I would love to see you cover is getting then involve in the community because 80% of readers will not comment on your blog. Its a sad fact, not really fact because I don’t know the exact percentage but you get where I’m coming from.

Another great post there.

I started by looking for a topic that there is actually demand for, and that hasn’t been done to death. I chose to publish “blogging and website tips”, but made a point to be more specific, i.e. leaving out the jargon. Where relevant I have explained what the jargon actually means.

Even saying that content is king is not the whole story. It helps if you know your topic intimately and can present the information in a compelling way. People come to read content, but you need to be a good writer to make your content worth reading. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.

I started by looking for a topic that there is actually demand for, and that hasn’t been done to death. I chose to publish “blogging and website tips”, but made a point to be more specific, i.e. leaving out the jargon. Where relevant I have explained what the jargon actually means.

Even saying that content is king is not the whole story. It helps if you know your topic intimately and can present the information in a compelling way. People come to read content, but you need to be a good writer to make your content worth reading. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.