Resolutions revisited.
- Boost Words + Images interaction. I've been reading quite a bit about increasing commenting and traffic to a blog, and I'm happy to share some of the tips I've learned. First and foremost, the key is to make relevant comments on other blogs within your niche. Check. Contributing to the blogging community is fun and rewarding. After all, where else do you find such a gathering of folks sharing ideas about a topic? The major effort I'm putting forth these days is more frequent updates: you may have noticed a regular full-sized update on Thursday evenings, too. Even though I have a full-time job and plenty of other things to distract me, I know I need to put the time in to Words + Images to keep it alive and interesting.
Promote! Eh, I think my self-promotion needs to get a little more shameless. I'm also on the lookout for appropriate guest posters and interviewees.
Get into some more galleries, grants, and contests. Uh-oh, no images on their way from the printer yet! The lure of holding new prints in my hands will make sure this gets done, though...
Utilize and mobilize a Words + Images mailing list. Hmmm. I haven't done nearly enough thinking about this one, but there is now a sign-up page linked from the "about me" section of this site.
Get to know the Baltimore art scene. Meeting people is so intimidating for a recluse like me!
All in all, not a bad first month of the year. How are you doing on your resolutions? And, if you can, throw me some thoughts in the comments. What are some strategies you use to get people exchanging ideas on your blog? What are some great ways you've found to meet new people in your profession, and how does a timid person like me break the ice? Do you send out email updates to keep folks in the loop? Even better, for those of you who blog: what strategies do you use to maximize your time while providing consistent, quality content (I carry an idea notebook in my purse and make heavy use of Google Reader to glean ideas from favorite news sources)?
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You're right about using your own comments on another blog as a networking tool.. I've been commenting like crazy on every food and eco-blog I've come across. The result: I'm getting way more hits to both blogs.
For me, I like to send out email updates to people that come up in my life. For instance, I read that one of my old professors had won a grant, so I emailed her with congratulations and an update on my goings on. Since, we've been in much closer communication. Even something so simple as "I had Thai take-out the other night and I thought about you" works for me.
My blogs are very easy to write for: food and environment being my two favorite things. I find that looking through my flickr photos can help me find ideas for upcoming posts.
Thanks for the extra updates. Much appreciated!
It's fantastic! I can be very tentative in my networking/commenting unless I think I have something really important to contribute, so that's one of my silly things I've been trying to overcome.
Oh, and I'm glad you're enjoying the increased updating! I wish I had more time for blogging in my life.