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| The Fly Agaric 🍄 Amanita muscaria |
Today marks the 6th year that RnS has been running – now that is really impressive… an MSc in Garden Blogging 😂. In the RnS tradition, Blogiversary is celebrated with a post where the hinges come off, the screws go loose and all kinds of craziness ensue! I write here whatever comes to mind as well as some generalised discussions, which don’t always pertain to gardening. So, let’s get started shall we:
I was feeling somewhat nostalgic this year round when I noticed B-post month coming up. I do know of blogs in the gardening world that seriously outweigh mine (such as Down to Earth which stands at over 24 million pageviews, it is mind-boggling! 😵), but I am also well aware of others that started around the same time as mine, who have very little traffic or have been abandoned. RnS currently has 136 posts and nearly 500 000 views – now that is nothing to sniff at! And I regard RnS as a being a success, since it gets a good deal of readers and attention globally. So I on that note I thought I would share some of my things I have done, my version of a ‘How to create a successful blog’ article.
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| Dwarf Rose |
Firstly, there are a few things to consider before starting a blog:
1) Your Goal:
What is your primary goal with a blog? Is it a personal or business blog? On a personal blog you can do whatever you like and depending on your topic/audience you can generate hits fairy quickly. A business blog is a whole other ball game where you need to stay focused around your business as well as writing in a way that attracts customers and gets them to buy something – this immensely hard work and may take substantially longer to generate hits than a personal blog. Another thing about a personal blog is that – do you want to be famous or just share what you know?
2) Your Topic:
The topic of your blog is a huge determinant in the number of views it will receive and impacts on your target audience. For instance, a Science blog about Quantum Physics will likely attract other scientists or serious citizen scientists, whereas a Science blog about Physics in general which includes some quantum physics is likely to attract a broader spectrum of knowledgeables in the field. I imagine that a political or religious blog will attract more views than a physics blog, but it will also attract more controversial comments that may have to potential to spiral into childish name calling. Therefore, choosing your topic has a large impact on views, comments and people’s manners!
The topic of your blog is a huge determinant in the number of views it will receive and impacts on your target audience. For instance, a Science blog about Quantum Physics will likely attract other scientists or serious citizen scientists, whereas a Science blog about Physics in general which includes some quantum physics is likely to attract a broader spectrum of knowledgeables in the field. I imagine that a political or religious blog will attract more views than a physics blog, but it will also attract more controversial comments that may have to potential to spiral into childish name calling. Therefore, choosing your topic has a large impact on views, comments and people’s manners!
3) The Platform:
So this is mostly a Google Blogger vs. Wordpress situation. After having run a blog on both of these, here is my take on it. Wordpress is aesthetically very pleasing and a lot of promotional functionally it built into the free version, however any custom HTML to make up for shortcomings is blocked and only accessible on the paid versions. Google Blogger may not be as nice to look at and getting the design right can take some time, but blogger is completely open in the sense that you can (if you know what you’re doing) fiddle around in the HTML of the template as well as adding custom scripts via gadgets (this would be social media feeds, third party stuff like a MailChimp signup letter etc.). Google Blogger can be frustrating and annoying at times, but the fact that you can add anything to your blog is a real plus. For the layman, you can search “How to I do ABC in Blogger” and you will likely find some kind smart person who will take you through it step-by-step. Thus, the decision lies between functionality vs. aesthetics.
So this is mostly a Google Blogger vs. Wordpress situation. After having run a blog on both of these, here is my take on it. Wordpress is aesthetically very pleasing and a lot of promotional functionally it built into the free version, however any custom HTML to make up for shortcomings is blocked and only accessible on the paid versions. Google Blogger may not be as nice to look at and getting the design right can take some time, but blogger is completely open in the sense that you can (if you know what you’re doing) fiddle around in the HTML of the template as well as adding custom scripts via gadgets (this would be social media feeds, third party stuff like a MailChimp signup letter etc.). Google Blogger can be frustrating and annoying at times, but the fact that you can add anything to your blog is a real plus. For the layman, you can search “How to I do ABC in Blogger” and you will likely find some kind smart person who will take you through it step-by-step. Thus, the decision lies between functionality vs. aesthetics.
Note: Also keep in mind that Blogger’s link to Google makes search-ability nearly instant and at a higher volume!
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| I don't even know what this is anymore... how not to label your pictures 😅 |
Next, how to drive traffic to your blog:
1) Post Frequency:
Everybody will claim that you need to blog as often as possible, i.e. no less than 3 times per week. I say this depends: Personal or Business, then Maybe and Yes apply, respectively. When your blog starts out you need to blog more often because you have to ‘Get Out There’ basically. If you want to be famous or make a living from your blog, then you're gonna have to post once a day to get ahead and then stay ahead. Alternatively, once you start having a reliable stream of traffic (not counting spammers and at least more than 10 views a day) I would say it is safe to start toning it down and moving towards longer higher quality posts less often.
Everybody will claim that you need to blog as often as possible, i.e. no less than 3 times per week. I say this depends: Personal or Business, then Maybe and Yes apply, respectively. When your blog starts out you need to blog more often because you have to ‘Get Out There’ basically. If you want to be famous or make a living from your blog, then you're gonna have to post once a day to get ahead and then stay ahead. Alternatively, once you start having a reliable stream of traffic (not counting spammers and at least more than 10 views a day) I would say it is safe to start toning it down and moving towards longer higher quality posts less often.
2) Promotion:
Here I think it is Social Media vs. Search Engines. I have built RnS for search engine optimisation (SEO if I want to be fancy about it). This basically comes down to placing informative key words that pertain to the blog post, such as the keywords for this blog would be: "blog, blogging, Google, Blogger, Wordpress, How to, create, successful, experience, B-post, blogiversary, drive traffic, views, hits" and some geographic locations as well. Having boring titles – because the title is literally the face keyword of the post, so make it what you wrote about (you can add the fancy or snarky or funny topic to the boring part, but the informative boring title must be there). Proper, informative and yes, boring image titles (included in the JPEG title as well)! Images, especially high resolution free images such as those of RnS drove huge amounts of traffic from Google Search and Images alike. The Wordpress blog I had did not have the powerful innate link to Google and hence required a lot more social media marketing… which tended to drive me insane 😯. Because you simply get swallowed in the volume of other posts and trying to be heard and not getting distracted by what is on the feed was challenging. So I would rather spend my time optimising for SEO and generating blog content quite frankly – I also believe that you reach your genuine audience this way and not just passers-by because they actually searched for you!
Here I think it is Social Media vs. Search Engines. I have built RnS for search engine optimisation (SEO if I want to be fancy about it). This basically comes down to placing informative key words that pertain to the blog post, such as the keywords for this blog would be: "blog, blogging, Google, Blogger, Wordpress, How to, create, successful, experience, B-post, blogiversary, drive traffic, views, hits" and some geographic locations as well. Having boring titles – because the title is literally the face keyword of the post, so make it what you wrote about (you can add the fancy or snarky or funny topic to the boring part, but the informative boring title must be there). Proper, informative and yes, boring image titles (included in the JPEG title as well)! Images, especially high resolution free images such as those of RnS drove huge amounts of traffic from Google Search and Images alike. The Wordpress blog I had did not have the powerful innate link to Google and hence required a lot more social media marketing… which tended to drive me insane 😯. Because you simply get swallowed in the volume of other posts and trying to be heard and not getting distracted by what is on the feed was challenging. So I would rather spend my time optimising for SEO and generating blog content quite frankly – I also believe that you reach your genuine audience this way and not just passers-by because they actually searched for you!
3) Post Tone and Shelf-life:
Daily posts about what happened on the yard are likely to receive instant once-off views from your followers and depending on your keywords may have a few views through searches. Blog posts on “How to’s” or “Why ABC happens” or other informative articles are generally posts that may not receive a stream of views instantly but they have a long shelf life as the information in them stays relevant for a long time and they kind of snow-ball views as they get older. Also identifying information gaps in your field and writing a really informative post on that is hugely beneficial, such as my South African Biomes post and How to Grow Tree Tomatoes posts I identified because I searched for this info and came across very little. After digging around in all kinds of information dungeons or just simply growing tree tomatoes myself for 3 years I simply then wrote a post about each to fill the gap. Blog posts with a conversational tone are more attractive and approachable to everybody because it kind of sounds like that monologue you have in your head sometimes. Also, letting loose, being a bit more informal also helps and when possible a bit of humour lightens info-packed topics.
Lastly, the personal benefits from blogging:
Daily posts about what happened on the yard are likely to receive instant once-off views from your followers and depending on your keywords may have a few views through searches. Blog posts on “How to’s” or “Why ABC happens” or other informative articles are generally posts that may not receive a stream of views instantly but they have a long shelf life as the information in them stays relevant for a long time and they kind of snow-ball views as they get older. Also identifying information gaps in your field and writing a really informative post on that is hugely beneficial, such as my South African Biomes post and How to Grow Tree Tomatoes posts I identified because I searched for this info and came across very little. After digging around in all kinds of information dungeons or just simply growing tree tomatoes myself for 3 years I simply then wrote a post about each to fill the gap. Blog posts with a conversational tone are more attractive and approachable to everybody because it kind of sounds like that monologue you have in your head sometimes. Also, letting loose, being a bit more informal also helps and when possible a bit of humour lightens info-packed topics.
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| Ooh! What's that, can I eat it? 🐈 Asjas PhotoBombing my peanut experiments! |
1) Writing:
Blogging regularly (even once a month) immensely improves your writing, which is a fantastic thing especially when your occupation relies on writing, such as progress reports, scientific articles and theses. It teaches you how to choose or work with a topic at hand, research effectively, outline content, write concisely and in such a way that anyone can understand complicated topics. I think that this is one of the biggest and unexpected gifts that blogging offers.
Blogging regularly (even once a month) immensely improves your writing, which is a fantastic thing especially when your occupation relies on writing, such as progress reports, scientific articles and theses. It teaches you how to choose or work with a topic at hand, research effectively, outline content, write concisely and in such a way that anyone can understand complicated topics. I think that this is one of the biggest and unexpected gifts that blogging offers.
2) Freedom:
On a personal blog you can write what you like, when you like and as much as you like because it is your space and if someone else doesn’t like it and leaves a jerk comment – Delete. Simple as that and don’t give anymore thought to it. Blogs are flexible and you should let it grow with you. For instance, when I started I posted every week, but that was towards the end of my Honours and I had the time. Slowly it became twice a month and for that last two years it has been once a month. The only important thing is to keep at it. Even after taking a blog holiday (which I have done several times before) I always came back to find that the blog had grown and this motivated and inspired me to get to it again. The blog should not be a to-do list item, there is already enough of that – is should remain a flexible creative outlet.
On a personal blog you can write what you like, when you like and as much as you like because it is your space and if someone else doesn’t like it and leaves a jerk comment – Delete. Simple as that and don’t give anymore thought to it. Blogs are flexible and you should let it grow with you. For instance, when I started I posted every week, but that was towards the end of my Honours and I had the time. Slowly it became twice a month and for that last two years it has been once a month. The only important thing is to keep at it. Even after taking a blog holiday (which I have done several times before) I always came back to find that the blog had grown and this motivated and inspired me to get to it again. The blog should not be a to-do list item, there is already enough of that – is should remain a flexible creative outlet.
3) Achievement:
Having a successful blog, even if it is only a personal one makes you feel that there is at least one thing that keeps building on your hard work and dedication. I really admire people who make a living from blogging, because that is something different entirely. Obviously, here, success is a subjective thing: I see any blog as successful when it has a reliable stream of readers, even if 80% are always new. Another thing is that blogs never truly die – they become abandoned yes, but good content will find a way to its audience eventually and so will that persons’ effort. Blogs touch other people, from inspiring them to start their own vegetable garden to simply putting a smile on their face when they see the picture of your cat’s photobomb – blogs get around… 😇
Having a successful blog, even if it is only a personal one makes you feel that there is at least one thing that keeps building on your hard work and dedication. I really admire people who make a living from blogging, because that is something different entirely. Obviously, here, success is a subjective thing: I see any blog as successful when it has a reliable stream of readers, even if 80% are always new. Another thing is that blogs never truly die – they become abandoned yes, but good content will find a way to its audience eventually and so will that persons’ effort. Blogs touch other people, from inspiring them to start their own vegetable garden to simply putting a smile on their face when they see the picture of your cat’s photobomb – blogs get around… 😇
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| Can I play with them? 🐈 |
Just a side note. Even though RnS has been hugely successful, the Google Algorithm update of May 2017 has severely effected the blog stats. Blog stats have dropped by 75% since the end of May! 😰Google is essentially culling RnS from search results 💀and I don't really know why... I don't have spammy activity here, neither do I have irritating or flashing advertisements, I update regularly, over 95% of all content here is self generated (articles and images). Is RnS really that awful? I have gone through RnS with a fine tooth comb over the last two weeks and zapped as many potential problems (according to webmaster) as possible, but some of the errors I have no clue how to fix as I am not a programmer or website designer. Fortunately, I do not make a living from RnS, but I really don't want it to die just because Google says so. 😖 Anyways, I think Mr G is having a hard time scrubbing out RnS because of all the keyword and image presence it has, especially for SA- so RnS is keeping up a good fight! 💪 I am hoping the added error zapping will get it back on track.👏
So, this post has turned out to be quite informative as I wanted to write about my blogging experience and the Blogiversary post is the ideal opportunity. Another side note, I have finished writing my PhD theses – it is now an equally frustrating and horrifying situation of waiting for feedback. This was the main reason why post have been scaled back as I spend so much time in front of the computer that I started to get pinched spinal nerves! 😑 And the scariest part was that my entire writing area is optimised and ergonomic – but fortunately I was very close to finishing at that stage and was able to sort it out and now I can do something else other than only sitting and writing LOL!
So, this post has turned out to be quite informative as I wanted to write about my blogging experience and the Blogiversary post is the ideal opportunity. Another side note, I have finished writing my PhD theses – it is now an equally frustrating and horrifying situation of waiting for feedback. This was the main reason why post have been scaled back as I spend so much time in front of the computer that I started to get pinched spinal nerves! 😑 And the scariest part was that my entire writing area is optimised and ergonomic – but fortunately I was very close to finishing at that stage and was able to sort it out and now I can do something else other than only sitting and writing LOL!
Anyways, I only started cleaning up the garden this month and I am not planning on planting until I see decent and regular rainfall. I am thinking of a few crazy planting schemes for the garden this year and if it pans out I’ll post about it here. Finally, I want to thank all of my readers and welcome any new ones! 💖 As always, come back regularly to find me up to my usual gardening and blogging shenanigans! 😈
- TTFN -
Ta-Ta For Now!
The Shroom
🍄
Related Posts:
B-post 1#
B-post 2#
B-post 3#
B-post 4#
B-post 5#
Roots 'n' Shoots Support Page - Referrals
- Update late 18 August 2017 -
After some debating with family and friends I think we have possibly come up with a reason why Mr G is being so mean. Mr G has being pushing their AdWords paid campaigns (or Ad Ranks) since early May 2017, which means keywords don't get you top search page spot anymore - No, the money does 💰. So Mr G will likely suppress all content that is not paying for page ranking, which means that when users are searching for something they will likely get paid ads instead of more relevant (or free) content. So RnS is being culled for greed (or I believe the term is 'Sandboxing' from the 'Sandbox Effect'). It is very sad, I have worked hard to get RnS there, 😔 but I will keep posting here as long as RnS exists! Mwha ha ha! 😈 There is also an option of driving traffic from the other search engines that are available, however this is also similar to starting over... ah well, I have (re)registered RnS with Bing and I see that DuckDuckGo already knows of RnS. Opting for those are similar to all the points that I made above, so now I just need to be patient... again 😉
Related Posts:
B-post 1#
B-post 2#
B-post 3#
B-post 4#
B-post 5#
Roots 'n' Shoots Support Page - Referrals
- Update late 18 August 2017 -
After some debating with family and friends I think we have possibly come up with a reason why Mr G is being so mean. Mr G has being pushing their AdWords paid campaigns (or Ad Ranks) since early May 2017, which means keywords don't get you top search page spot anymore - No, the money does 💰. So Mr G will likely suppress all content that is not paying for page ranking, which means that when users are searching for something they will likely get paid ads instead of more relevant (or free) content. So RnS is being culled for greed (or I believe the term is 'Sandboxing' from the 'Sandbox Effect'). It is very sad, I have worked hard to get RnS there, 😔 but I will keep posting here as long as RnS exists! Mwha ha ha! 😈 There is also an option of driving traffic from the other search engines that are available, however this is also similar to starting over... ah well, I have (re)registered RnS with Bing and I see that DuckDuckGo already knows of RnS. Opting for those are similar to all the points that I made above, so now I just need to be patient... again 😉