[UPDATE 5/14/09: So, I’m not sure this post ended up coming out quite like I hoped. If you feel like this reads like I’m up on a high horse wanting you to cater to me, please read my thoughts in the comments section. Thanks.]
I’ve been perusing the blogosphere quite a bit lately as I get more acclimated to twitter. Whenever I follow someone or they follow me, I take a look at their blog if they have one to see if it’s worth reading. I’m especially interested in finding good youth ministry blogs, and I figure there’s got to be more out there. Unfortunately, I’ve been a bit disappointed in the blogs I’ve been finding.
I am unlikely to read your youth ministry blog if…
- you post 5 times a day – Most people don’t have this problem, but a few people like to post links or videos (and post them often). I don’t have time to read all of the articles you link to or sit through all the youtube videos you think are cool, especially if you post multiple times per day.
- you don’t have an easy-to-find RSS feed – If you have a good blog, I can subscribe to it and put it in it’s appropriate folder in my Google Reader with three clicks. If you have a link to your RSS feed it takes about 5 seconds. WIthout an RSS feed I have to copy your blog address, open up Google, add a subscription, move it to the folder, etc. I am much less excited to follow your blog if I have to hunt for the RSS address. You should always have an easy-to-find RSS link above the fold. Always.
- you don’t publish a full RSS feed – People use a feed reader so we don’t have to click to 100 different sites to keep up with what is going on. Only publishing part of your feed defeats that purpose. Do us all a favor and please publish the whole feed.
- your last three posts go something like this – “It’s been a while since I’ve posted because I’ve been super busy. I’ve been a total slacker on the blog lately. I hope to get back to regular blogging after this busy stretch clears.” Don’t apologize for not posting. Just post stuff when you are able.
- your site or content is filled with tons of ads – I know that you want to try to make enough money to pay for your server costs, which I understand. But don’t go overboard. The worst is those ad scripts that automatically find keywords in your posts and then link to an ad from them. Don’t go overboard on the ads. If you put ads in the RSS feed, put them at the bottom of the post.
- all you ever do is posts links and videos – I don’t mind you pointing out good stuff on the web, but what will really keep me coming back is if you have something good to say. So say it–be creative! A doubly bad version of this is if you only post to funny and/or gross youtube videos. Seriously guys, let’s not reinforce the youth ministry stereotypes. Give me something substantial.
- you have a huge photo of you – I don’t mind seeing who it is that is doing the writing. But I don’t want to feel like your site is trying to sell your own personal brand. Come on, we’re in youth ministry. We’re not that big of a deal.
- you only quote scripture out of the King James version – Hey, I’m just being honest. How many “KJV only” sites do you subscribe to? That’s what I thought.
- you use lots of exclamation marks – They should be used sparingly! Use them all the time and they lose their value! When you use them, only use one, not three!!! See what I mean!?!
- you use it just to try to sell me something – I don’t mind having a discussion around a topic that you’ve written about in a book or around a curriculum you’ve written. But I don’t want to feel like you are only using your blog to promote a commodity. Blogs are for exchange of ideas and dialogue. Don’t try and coerce (or worse, trick) me into buying something.
So there you have it. Don’t break the above rules and there’s a good chance I might follow your blog regularly. Notice that I didn’t say that you need to post regularly. I really don’t care how often you post–I prefer quality over quantity. Since I read feeds in an RSS reader, it doesn’t make any difference to me if you have a long time between posts. A few of my favorite blogs that I’ve subscribed to for years have really sporadic posting rhythms, but I know that the content will always be good when it comes across my screen. Of course, going a year without posting might not be a good idea, but put your focus on quality posts and don’t force yourself to write something just because it’s been a while.
Oh, and realize I’m just one person. These are my criteria, but some people have different criteria. For example, Josh Griffin posts way too often for my taste, and usually posts lots of links, videos, pictures, and quotes. So, I don’t subscribe to his feed. However, he has 1675 subscribers to his site (which is way more than I have). Obviously not everyone agrees with me.
If you know of youth ministry blogs that meet my above criteria and aren’t in my sidebar, let me know by dropping a comment. Yes, even if it’s your own blog.
Happy blogging.
OK, I think I am guilty on all charges. Guess I’m off your list. 🙁
You’re kidding, right? You don’t do any of those things! I’ve been sending you a lot of link love lately, too.
I dunno, I read that and thought… I may be guilty of a lot of those! Mind if I send this to some of our authors who are getting serious about blogging/social networking?
Fine by me. I added in a snippet at the beginning saying I didn’t mean to come off so pompous. Hopefully people get the idea.
Two other helpful things you might consider:
Even worse, I don’t know if I’m guilty because I don’t know what an RSS feed is. I mean, the little orange thing shows up at the top of my blog, but the one time I tried to subscribe to a feed, I never found it again. Don’t hate me because I’m old and technologically incompetent.
Laura
There’s no hate here. I’m just suggesting what might be hindrances for people to become regular readers of a blog. If you want to learn more about RSS, start with this youtube video. If you want more readers, understanding RSS is pretty important. I’d be glad to help if you want it.
Also, some people don’t care whether or not people read and interact with their blog. If that’s the case, then don’t worry about it.
OK! I have watched the YouTube video, which was very helpful, and have now put all of the blogs I read into a feed reader, which will save me some significant clicking.
With the exception of the biggest of blogs, EVERY SINGLE ONE of my favorites does not have an RSS feed widget. I absolutely see your point, but I’m just saying that if I cut myself off from blogs without a feed thingamajigger, I’d miss a lot.
Believe me, I’m sure you’re right, and the burden is on bloggers to make sure people can read our blogs. But the way this came out in this entry sounded like you were saying, “Well, you don’t even want me to read your blog because you WILLFULLY DECIDED not to include an RSS feed, so poo on you,” when the likelihood is that many new bloggers are like me who just don’t know about this stuff. Do you know how long it took me to figure out how to add hyperlinks??? Very sad.
I’m wondering if you might want to rewrite this entry of yours positively. Rather than “I’m won’t read your blog…”, change it to “I’m likely to read your blog…” and help us with positive suggestions, like, “if you add an RSS feed, which makes it easier for me to follow you.”
I was thinking about rewriting it, but just needed a little motivation. I think I’ll do that.
Wow, so high and mighty of you. Who cares if you read my blog (even though I just started). Nobody cares. Don’t think your so important.
Tom, I can see how you might think this is a bit of a high and mighty post. It really wasn’t meant to come off like that. So, sorry about that. It is honestly meant to be a way to help people do some things that will make their blog more readable. Most people start a blog because they think they have something worth saying and want some interaction with it. In order to do that, you must have readers, even if it’s only a few. So I posted some of the things I look for in a blog. Some are personal preference, and some are just things that people don’t think about.
I didn’t mean for it to be a deal where people cater to me just so I will read their blog. But things like making sure you have an easy-to-find RSS feed are a must.
And, just to spite you, I subscribed to your blog. 😉
you post 5 times a day
* according to my blog entry calculator i average 3.124 posts a week
you don’t have an easy-to-find RSS feed
* yes! unless you are color blind, my rss feed should be pretty easy to find.
your site or content is filled with tons of ads
*google ads banned me from using adsense because i was clicking too much on my own ads. dude times are tough, i needed the money.
you have a huge photo of you
* i have cool hair, and i want to make sure everyone in the blog world knows i spend $35 on my haircut
you use lots of exclamation marks
* i am an emotional person and i like drama. and i use a lot of hyperbole.
you use it just to try to sell me something
*according to the joker, if you are good at something you need to get paid for it.
; )
Haha, you clicked on your own ads? That’s kinda funny. Yeah, I tried a few different ad techniques, and none of them were worth the clutter they created, so I just took ’em down. If I ever hit tens of thousands of visitors a month I might rethink it.
Dude, you don’t have a huge photo on your site. I’m sure your hair would be worth a mega-photo, though.
By the way, surely there are more favorite youth ministry bloggers of yours other than little ol’ me?
Hmmm … if I take off my picture … and stop posting so much … aw shoot … I can’t!
Argh!
JG
As I said, this is just me. You’re the one with, let’s see, what is it now, 1728 subscribers. I’m have, ummm, a lot less than that. Maybe I should take a page out of your book.
Still though, I think you’re spot on with most for sure. JG