How do I get almost six hundred visitors a day and only have 2 or 3 comments to show for a day's worth of posts? I am suspecting that like Super Punch or the Daily What, my prolific posting encourages reading and visits but not much comment. I can't remember the last time I commented on those sites and I visit them several times a day when new posts are added.
Perhaps my numbers are skewed by the fact that people visiting my site several times a day when they get a message that I have posted something new. But then I have been told that I am read by many people on Google reader and those hits are not registered. Who knows what my true numbers are. Could just be one lone nut in hut who spends his days visiting then leaving then visiting then leaving then visiting and leaving again that is responsible for 588 of those daily unique visits.
I am not saying all this to suck in a few more comments I am just wondering if everyone experiences this. I might just be writing about topics that don't really inspire anyone to respond to. My two posts with the most comments came when I blasphemed all over the Bible. Hell I even had the Vatican issuing a 'Fatwah' against me for those. (Again? Really? How many is that now? 26? 27? And no one yet has taken me out? - I guess I am no Salman Rushdie) But I would rather not discuss the hot topics like abortion since you really can't make that topic funny and I do try for the humor if it is there.
99% of my comments come from North America. But I am also viewed in Europe, Australia, and parts of Asia. Do they just come for the pretty pictures? Where are my silent Israel or New Zealand or Moscow connections? I want to hear your comments to so I can visit you blogs and see what voodoo you do. My blog list is mostly a record of people whose sites I visited once they commented on mine. I liked their stuff because I love the variety of styles and topics that people seem passionate about. Mothers who bitch about the kids they love with a vigor not unlike the vigor I put into my anti-octopus rants. Its all very frustrating.
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12 comments:
Hmmm. Maybe if you post pix of kangaroos drinkin' Vodka?
Could they be evil kangaroos?
I can relate to how you feel...
I began a online journal comic in January of 2009 and it became an obsession with me to check my SiteMeter and see how many people visited, from where, for how long, etc. It drove me crazy! So much so that, I actually shut the whole thing down because I didn't feel like I was making a big enough splash in the internet ether. But a funny thing happened...
People started e-mailing me, talking to me on Facebook, etc. saying how much they missed the comics, how it had become part of their day and it dawned on me. It's not how many people view/comment on your work, it's how much that work means to the people who do. To make a long story short, I restarted a new journal comic in June 2009, did not add a SiteMeter, and just created comics that I enjoy. I now have nearly twice as many Followers as the first site, comments from all over the world (I think), and friendships with other like-minded comic artists. And I'm so much happier.
My point is: your blogging is obviously a passion (you post, like, 217 times a day, right?). The satisfaction has to come from within, not based on the number of daily visitors, locations, number of comments, etc. Although this type of validation is wonderful (and sometimes necessary in the tundra of both Canada and the internet), please be secure in the knowledge that, although some of us may not comment consistently (sorry, I'm guilty of that), there are many, MANY people who get a lot of joy and entertainment out of your writing. Sometimes the right post can put a little smile on somebodies face who was otherwise having a bad day. Bloggers have a lot of power, sir, and you are very powerful.
We are reading. Please keep writing, not just for us, but primarily for yourself.
wow...that is JUST what I needed to hear brother. I do love what I do and got some great advice early on to just post about things that I love and it has never felt like a chore. It's kinda a gift to have an outlet like this for all my passions. And even better I found your site tonight and am enjoying it very much. Again, thanks for the pick up.
Glad I could help, sir, and I'm happy you're enjoying my comics.
I figure my blog posts are boring and the reason i don't get that many comments but your posts are fun and i should comment more here but i'm really lazy. :)
I find sometimes difficult to add a comment on a blog, even when the post is something I really like.
OK, I will try to discover what's that story about octopus scourge as you make it sound pretty worrying.
Best regards from Belgium!
It's all your pictures. They get picked up Google Images and when people click on the photo on Google Image, you get credit for a visit to your blog.
I used to watch my followers grow and all that, and a friend even had me watching the Google Analytics and all that. Finally, I just gave up.
I don't care who reads, watches, comments - whatever. Just gonna post what I want when I want. People want to read? Cool! They don't? Also cool. Whatever. Just gotta do it for me.
:)
Excuse me, I must go yell at Matt for not telling me about his comic site...
Same here, but also with fewer visitors and fewer posts, I rarely get comments.
I once tried to turn off comment moderation and word verification to see if that would encourage more comments. I t took less than a minute for spam comments to start showing up.
Thanks everyone for your input. I just have to convince myself that it is something out of my control. I never tailor my comment to attract a comment-that would defeat my whole purpose and mission statement. Just do the voodoo that I do and appreciate those of you who do comment all the more. Which is the way it should be. The small number of meaningful comments are worth a thousand times more than forced comments. It's just human nature to want to be appreciated.
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