Some of you may remember that I started a blog on SpritzCentral many months ago to use as a training tool for the WISE members. The blog was focused specifically on the tools and terminology associated with the well-known WordPress blogging platform.
Here’s a short, but ghastly update on what’s happened in the interim. For you bloggers in the group, and on the web in general, read and take heed. Don’t make the same mistake that I did (always good advice).
After starting strong with several short postings over the course of a week last year, I promptly got busy and completely abandoned my baby blog. Not only did I discontinue posting new articles, I also didn’t bother to see if anyone was reading it or posting comments. If I wasn’t paying any attention to my blog, surely no one else was!
Well, I was wrong. I happened to stumble across my blog over the weekend, and was horrified to see that hundreds of visitors had viewed my blog, and that several dozen un-moderated comments had been posted since its inception.
The discovery was mortifying for two reasons – a few of the comments were clearly inappropriate for display on my blog (and have since been removed), and the visibility that I could have been gaining from my blog with a little time and attention was a painful missed opportunity.
What’s a blogger to do? If you find yourself in a similar situation, you might try what I did to rectify this personal atrocity:
- Added SpritzCentral’s comment feed to my feedreader (now, remember to read that!)
- Updated my anti-spam plug-in to reduce spam comments.
- Installed a stats plug-in to easily track the blog’s traffic stats from the dashboard — a reminder to me that people are actually visiting the blog.
- Re-dedicated myself to posting regularly — at least once a week. It’s now on my Outlook calendar as a recurring event. Any ghost writers out there?
The moral of the story is this — neglecting your blog is like not showing up at your own party. Don’t disappoint your guests. If you’re going to blog (and you should), commit yourself to nurturing the blog on a regular basis. You’ll develop a loyal readership, and the potential payback in visibility for your business is tremendous.
Happy blogging!
Tammy Hartweg
Spritz Web Solutions
847-510-5987
Read my blog!
Great advice, Tammy! Consistency seems to be the key, as well as relevant content. A good blog is an important part of an online presence. Don’t forget to link it to all your social media sites!
Sue Boedeker
http://www.valley-virtual-assistance.com
Excellent blog entry, Tammy. I’m not too sure about some of the technical side of your recommendations, but will go to WordPress and investigate adding some of these features, especially the SEO widget. Thanks for a thoughtful and timely article.
Thanks, Marian and Sue! As you can see, I’m making a point of checking to see if any comments are received on this posting.
Thanks for all of the information. It is interesting to hear how effective and visible blogs can be.