I have been writing on this blog for a few months now and I’m trying to get a handle on what would be most helpful and interesting for those that are reading, subscribing, or pass through every now and then. I watch statistics very closely in order to measure which posts get the most views, comments, tweets, Diggs, etc. It is very interesting to me to see how people respond and what catches readers’ interest. As I’ve stated many times here before, I definitely do NOT want to change the way I write or what I write about in order to increase visitor traffic. However, I definitely DO want to hear from you, the readers, what topics are of most interest to you so I can better communicate and share and inform.
One of the most interesting and confusing statistics for me is that little Feedburner subscriber count over in the sidebar. The way I understand it, it is a pretty important number because if someone deems this blog worthy of subscribing to then they are making a commitment to at least be informed every time there is a new post. I personally subscribe to over 300 different blogs or news feeds and get updated throughout the day. But the confusing part for me regarding that little number over there is its daily fluctuation. It is different every single day! Sometimes it’s up. Other times it drops down as much as 20. And it doesn’t seem to be a reflection of what I did or did not post on the previous day. I can’t figure it out!
This, of course, drives me nuts. Not because I necessarily want to amass thousands of subscribers. But I do want to be able to understand why people subscribe and why they unsubscribe. I think it will help me to become a better blogger if I can gain some understanding of this, and perhaps it will also contribute to the growth of this blog in various ways. Maybe that little number over there will even become more consistent, whether it goes up or down or stays the same.
UPDATE 10/10/09: Here’s the latest Feedburner statistics. The green line is the subscriber count & the blue is what FB calls “reach”. Just thought this might help with the discussion…
So today I want to ask you, my friends and readers, to sound off. Help me out. Let me know what you like and don’t like about this blog. Tell me how I can improve. Tell me the topics that you’re most interested in. Give me suggestions for articles you would like me to write. Tell me how I can be more helpful or informative – how this blog can add value to your experience.
Please be honest. Tell me the truth. If you can avoid being mean while giving criticisms, that would be nice too. But if you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to rip into me, then here’s your chance.
In the end, my hope is that together we can grow this blog into a thriving community of people that contribute to each others’ growth, education and lives. Together we will help each other become better people. If somehow we accomplish that, my blog utopian dreams will be fulfilled.
So fire away! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!
- RELATED / YOU MIGHT FIND THESE INTERESTING
Comments ( 15 )
Hello Brian,
This is an interesting post. I want to ask you a question, when someone unfollows you on Twitter, do you want to know why?
I am a new blogger myself so my perspective is that of a “newbie” – but since you noticed it didn’t have anything to do with your content, could it be something as simple as natural attrition?
I almost never notice when someone unfollows me on Twitter because I know I’m being true to myself, and I don’t want anything weird messing with that energy.
I think you are a fantastic writer. You are very sincere, intelligent and provide great value.
My humble opinion: Forget all the people that unsubscribe and just move forward. There is a whole world of people out there that would and will subscribe once they find you!
Blogging is a natural process of growing and learning. People watch us evolve as it happens. Don’t look back. =D
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Diana Adams added these pithy words on
Oct 09 09 at
11:20 am
Keep those wonderful links coming. You always share such interesting stuff, and I particularly like your CSS links. It was a delight to actually SEE and HEAR you on the video!
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Pat Burns added these pithy words on
Oct 09 09 at
12:39 pm
Hey Brian!
Well I am pretty new to your blog and so far I loved that you have helped other designers by doing different lists of designers you have never seen before. For some of the newer freelancers, graduates, etc it has been very beneficial. It also shows the greatness of your character to help out your peers in such a competitive field.
Secondly, I would like to suggest a possible blog topic (and you may have already done one) about different processes freelance designers use for the “business” side of when a client contacts you for work. Or I guess the steps to take when a client first initiates they want to hire you for a project. Do you first send a quote or a design brief? Sometimes I don’t want to send a design brief upfront if someone basically wants to know the price quickly, but this has burned me quoting on a project before I knew “exactly” what all it entailed. Usually I do a quote and if they decide they want to go with the project I then send them a design brief, a project agreement and invoice for half upfront. Not sure if there is an easier or better way to go about this and I would love to hear your thoughts and others that have been at this for awhile.
Thirdly, another topic I would love info on is quoting. This is my least favorite part of the job and it seems like it takes me a long time. Is this just the way it is?
Thanks! I know this was long…hopefully it made sense.
-Beth
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bkmacdaddy Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 6:39 amThanks for the encouragement and suggestions, Beth! Great ideas for blog topics. I’ll see if I can put together some useful info/posts along those lines soon. Feel free, if you think of any more topics, to add them here or send them to me. Thanks again!
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Elizabeth added these pithy words on
Oct 09 09 at
12:40 pm
I honestly cant think of anything I would change or do differently.(More video perhaps?
I have gotten to know (and like) this blog as it stands. Its very content driven which is a plus. That being said, I think its a great idea to throw it out there and get feedback. I am the type of person that constantly tests, tweaks, and tests again. Always looking for improvement.
I am currently going through an identity crisis on my own blog and cant wait to see the feedback and outcome.
Whatever you do Brian, keep the wisdom and trueness of your content. That is why I think people visit/follow/subscribe.
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bkmacdaddy Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 6:40 amThanks Christian. I truly appreciate your support, friendship and encouragement.
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printedproof added these pithy words on
Oct 09 09 at
1:19 pm
I think Feedburner stats are related to activity in feed aggregators. If more people are actually marking posts as read on a particular day, the numbers will appear to be up.
At least, that’s how I understand it, after looking at the stats for a few blogs I work on.
As far as critique goes, I think the body copy of your posts shows up rather small on my screen. It’s about 2 mm on my screen (just under 6pt, which is a bit on the uncomfortable side). Can you please increase that to 8pt or 9pt? Instead of the percentage you use now, which is reducing based on pixel settings defined in browser preferences.
I’m sure it’s fine with lower resolutions; but my screen is 1440 x 900; and a lot of text gets reduced when it’s based on the idea that 10px is readable (which is only true sometimes).
Considering your audience is mostly designers, I think it’s fair to say that many have larger monitors. So I’m probably not the only one who finds it small.
That’s my only complaint, really.
I don’t actually subscribe to your blog as I tend to click on your links to your blog posts and that’s faster than checking in via Google Reader since I subscribe to a lot of feeds. But I do try to check out most of your posts, even if I don’t always comment.
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bkmacdaddy Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 6:26 amThanks Emily. The font size is DEFINITELY an issue for me too. I literally threw this blog together to get started and I customized an existing theme to accomplish the quick start. Unfortunately, when I redesigned the whole site a few years ago I made the decision to go with a smaller width than what is now much more common. So the existing space for blog posts is very limited in this setup. I am anxious to put together my own theme design that will accommodate what I’m doing better, including larger font size for the posts. It’s been driving me nuts!
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Emily Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 11:19 amYou could definitely increase your overall content width, to help with page length too; but I think people expect blog posts to be longer than other websites as well.
I have often stayed within 800px wide before, but I’m trying to get more accustomed to the 960px – 1000px range, which can still fit comfortably on most monitors. It often makes for more comfortable reading, especially since I tend to hover around 10pt for the base text size.
Good luck with making a new theme, whenever you have the time
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Emily added these pithy words on
Oct 09 09 at
2:28 pm
Hi Brian,
I think one thing to keep in mind is a blog is just that, a blog for you to do just as you have been. Write off the cuff, what inspires you, your opinions, etc. And we’re all happy to read it and post our own comments
Although there is some interaction, it’s hard not to confuse it with the “community” you can achieve on a forum, or even a small community website. From your video, it sounds like you want more of an interactive medium, but correct me if I’m wrong?
If you are looking to expand into a forum to achieve that community, Great! But I think your blog should stay what it is, you’re doing a fine job! ^_^
Pam
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bkmacdaddy Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 6:36 amThanks for the comment, Pam. You are correct – in this case I am defining “community” more in relation to the interaction that can and occasionally has happened here in the comments section. I also see the results of regular visitors and readers in how we begin to engage with a bit of familiarity. For me, this extends beyond the social media network interaction – or maybe just enhances it. But on Twitter, conversations are cut off at 140 characters. On Facebook, they are scattered about and, for me, too cumbersome to truly follow and engage with people. So my hope has been that this would be a place to interact a little bit more.
Thanks for the encouragement![Reply]
Pam - Ryvon Designs added these pithy words on
Oct 09 09 at
7:36 pm
I’m sorry. But When I first saw bkmacdaddy. I wanted to say Mustard & Pickle only. LOL! Only kidding.
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bkmacdaddy Reply:
October 10th, 2009 at 6:37 amHehe…you are not the first and probably will not be the last. But thanks for the chuckle!
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Conrad added these pithy words on
Oct 09 09 at
7:53 pm
Brian, what you’re doing here is totally correct. You don’t need to change anything, keep doing what you’re doing because you’re totally awesome. I love the way you think, the way you design and I really love your Twitter and blog postings. And umm.. I know that I need to say something mean and ugly so you don’t relax.. But.. Oh well, I don’t like the spinning tag cloud on the right, it makes me sick ^_^
Cheers brother! You’re cool
~ @kovshenin
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kovshenin added these pithy words on
Oct 10 09 at
5:56 am
Add a Comment
bkmacdaddy Reply:
October 9th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Hi Diana! I’m not really terribly concerned with whether or not the subscriber number grows or decreases as much as I am trying to figure out why. I am an analytical thinker so I always want to understand the reasons behind things. This one is particularly confusing to me because it goes up and down without any pattern that I can identify. I’m really more curious how it works, more than anything else.
In answer to your question about Twitter followers, I always wonder why people follow or unfollow me. But again, that’s more because of my analytical nature. I don’t watch or keep track of unfollows at all, so I never really concern myself with it. But I always wonder what the reasoning is for people to do things.
I’m not looking to be a people pleaser at all. That’s absolutely against who I am as a person. But I totally believe in hearing from others in ways that will help me to become better at the things I do as well as how I can be of assistance to others along the way. So that’s the spirit of this post in my mind. I’m really just trying to learn from those that visit here, and see how I can improve. I am always looking to grow. So I thought this might be a cool way to do it.
Thanks again for your visit, contribution and encouragement!
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