“The only way to improve the quality of your life is to improve yourself. If you want to grow your organization, you must grow as a leader. If you want to have better children, you must become a better person.” – John Maxwell
In the last months of 2008 and until now my blog site’s hits picked up. The rate of visitors has increased a lot compared to early part of last year and that of course puts a smile on my face. I attributed the improvement to my recent availability and frequent online activity. I’ve visited old contacts’ blogs, became active in several networks like multiply.com and Friendster, wrote more frequently than before and my wife has been promoting it as well to her colleagues and even her manager which left me wondering if I’d be thankful or not for exposing me up to that level. Anyway, she left a comment and it was one of the most flattering comments I ever had.
That visit and comment though just didn’t add one more blog hits. From then on, I got challenged since I now know who’s been reading, who visited and what probably the expectations of my visitors and readers are. The pressure to write sensible blogs with acceptable composition started. I also began to check what my latest posts were and if I violated some of the company’s confidential policies. The good thing is I didn’t but the bad thing on the other hand is that due to the urge to write more, I seem to have written with so much wordiness yet with less appealing topics, that even I hated it. Surprisingly, the hits kept on rising.
Now I’m becoming worried than ever. I asked myself if I know who’s been coming back, why they come back, what their interests are and how they learned about my site in the first place. With that in mind and similar other observations from the blogging world lit my thinking bulb. It’s time I answer the question, “Who are your blog visitors?”
- Lurkers. They are often times blessings in disguise because they increase network traffic and they make up the biggest percentage of a website hits. I suspect The problem with having them though is that they don’t leave any (good or bad) comments which keeps you guessing what they are so interested about that they keep on coming back. Among these lurkers are:
- Spammers
- Advertisers
- Enemies who would love to see you fail.
- English grammar teachers who are searching for the “I-kill-me-moment” for their next day classes. “Class, please visit crisn.wordpress.com and find as much grammatical error as possible on his post…”
- Copycats who secretly grab your ideas and plagiarize it on their own blog site (thanks at least for pingback that they get caught somehow).
- Journalists who are desperately trying to meet the deadline and hoping that a keyword or tag from your post would light up their own light bulb.
- Your current boss looking for violations in confidentiality.
- Your next employer.
- Your colleagues who wonder if you’re the same person they know especially if you’ve kept your writing skill (or the lack of it) secret.
- Your ex-lover.
- Bloggers you visited and commented.
- Social engineers and Phishers.
- Same feathers. From the famous “birds of the same feathers flock together” cliché. These are visitors and/or readers who may be also members of the internet forum or egroup you’re currently in. More often than not they don’t necessarily mean that they love your site, your subject matter or even your writing style. More likely, they are just there hoping to exchange links and probably get some ideas in the process. So beware and don’t immediately edit that blogroll of yours unless you’re totally convinced that they deserve that sweet spot in your blog site.
- Niche audience. These are the people that you want in your blog They are those who have the same interest as yours and can fully relate to your blah, blah, blahs. They understand your jargons and other fancy terms. Unlike lurkers though, they usually keep in touch with you either through comments or emails. With them, the likelihood of an exchange of useful ideas is very high. These are among the people that you should maintain and have a close relationship with. Either add them to your favorites or add them to your blogroll.
- The 3 Fs. They are your Family, Friends and Fans all at the same time–by force or by choice. Although they aren’t as frequent as the lurkers, their visits are usually well-meaning and their praises are true. Just a warning though especially if you’re the type who can’t take criticisms. This group of people (or person) may give blunt comments that will hit you like your mother’s whipping spank–it will hurt, but whether you like it or not, it is for your own good. So appreciate and cherish their comments but listen and act accordingly to their criticisms.
As my employment time is counting down my blog hits however is going up. While laid off, blogging I guess will be my main occupation, paid or not, as I try to figure out what my next moves would be. It is just wise then to know my visitors because through it I get to feel what to improve, how to improve it and hopefully perfect it in the end – no matter when and no matter what it would take. After all, I love writing and I’d be all smiles when the day comes that I do what I really love to do.
***
Mood: 3/10 Honks!
Marcus Can Blog 