Wednesday 16 February 2011

How to blog (not very well)

As regular readers know, I like to relax in the evenings and read a few emails.  When I’m not helping out Nigerian Finance ministers or confirming my HSBC bank details (I don’t even have an account with HSBC, but they seem happy to accept my credit card details nonetheless), I like to respond to my fan mail. 

Recently, I found the delightful blog ‘Ninjabread’ hosted by Curis and sent him a note to express my admiration for his efforts (especially this stunning ultramarines comic) and to ask him to ‘plug my blog’ which is internet speak for blagging some free advertising (not to be confused with ‘icing the log’ which I would not ask Curis for). 



Anyway, Curis reciprocated and sent his own electronic note of admiration for this very blog.  So what was he most impressed by?  The hints and tips for money saving?  The wonderful photographs?  The witty insights into the world of gaming? No.  What he admired most was my follower count and wanted to know how I'd managed to dupe so many people.  Bastard.

But anyway, my reply was as follows and I thought any fellow bloggers or self promoters may find it interesting...

My blog has been running for over two years now and the number of followers has grown steadily.  The main method I use is shameless self promotion, posting in various forums ('fora' if you're a pedant) everytime that I post on the blog.

The main site I post on is 'The Miniatures Page' which is where most of my hits come from.  Speaking of which, I use a 'Site Meter' tool on my blog to record the number of hits that I receive and where they come from, so that I can focus on the sites that work.  I've managed to piss off a few people with this method though, as I use their lovingly curated forums to advertise my shoddy blog.  I even managed to get thrown off one message board, though I can't remember which one it was.

Apart from that, the only other method I can think of is following other people's blog, as they often follow you in return.


So those were my tips, I hope you find them useful.  And don’t forget that you can ascribe any success that Curis may have in the future to my mentorship.  I made you Curis, I MADE YOU!

Happy Gaming

9 comments:

Chicago Terrain Factory said...

Odd that you would run into trouble on message boards for plugging your blog. I've had my blog in my forum signature for years & never had trouble. Its also one of the best ways of attracting traffic.

The Angry Lurker said...

Duping people, I never knew you did that, you must have duped me aswell, i'm shocked. LOL
It also helps that you have a good blog.

Eversor said...

Well consider me duped too. ;)

That said, it's a good tactic, and one I absolutely advocate. Whenever I post something on Warseer (increasingly rare, but anyway) I see my traffic spike.

Von said...

I didn't really get many readers until I started commenting on other people's blogs, and it's still done me prouder than other methods (at least, it has in terms of starting actual discourse, which I see as more of a standard of success than just 'getting more traffic').

This comment ran longer than is socially acceptable: please check out GAME OVER for the full shebang!

GDMNW said...

You mean to say that commenting on other people's blogs and then pointing out that you also have a blog which is accessible by clicking on your name to the left of your comment actually works?

Good heavens.

Catweaseloz said...

i find it hard to beleive too. you might want to keep an eye on those russian babes lurking on the right in the google ads though...

Curis said...

If I recall, our exchange actually went like this:

Curis: Hey Stinkoman! Everybody says you're the guy, but I wanna be the guy too!

FrugalDave: No way, you're just a kid! Maybe when you're older.

Dave said...

Thanks guys, I can see I've taught you all well...

@Curis, yes, my apologies for getting it wrong.

:/

grumhelden said...

Ninjabread is a bloody good blog, and pretty to boot, thanks for bringing it to my attention :) I have now followed him, so you are indeed the kingmaker :)