Six Reasons I Won’t Stalk Your Blog
November 8, 2007 by Jennifer Chait
Filed under Freelance Writing
I’m a blog stalker. I’m also choosy about the blogs I regularly stalk. I wasn’t always this picky. I used to mainly write business copy, grants, and the occasional magazine article. Now that I mostly blog for a living I’m more selective. I chalk that up to being online too much. I don’t have time or the inclination to stalk blogs that fail to make a good impression quickly.
What qualifies a blog as non-stalk worthy is terribly subjective but some of these issues are problems that come up over and over again between my band of blogging pals and I. Additionally, some form of, “How come no one reads my blog?” is the number one email question I get from new bloggers and a questions I see frequently at blog-related forums.
There are major reasons I won’t read a blog; such as a blog is simply not my taste, (sports for instance). However, beyond content, there are six basic reasons that will stop me from stalking your blog.
1. You disable comments:
The fun of blogging vs. other forms of writing are the instant reactions and the fact that it is, or should be, a community oriented experience. If I like a post I want to tell the writer. If I hate a post I want to tell the writer. There are blogs I stalk simply because the comment section is so amusing. I get why some people disable comments but this is just how I fly. If you give your opinion and don’t let me give mine I won’t be back for another visit.
2. You never hit enter:
For someone who blogs short this isn’t a big deal. What I can’t take are 140 plus lines of the great wall of text. My eyes can’t take it. My over-worked brain certainly can’t take it. This is an easy fix. Hit enter, gain readers, end of story.
3. You play musical blogs:
Maybe you change templates every other week. You might decide your blog needs a new name each year. In one weird situation a blog I really liked changed their name, template and url four times within a year. It’s too much work for me to change my blogrolls and feeds all the time. Changes are good because blogs do evolve but if it gets too confusing I can’t deal and won’t visit.
4. You fail to respond to comments:
Believe me, I know it’s hard to respond when you’ve got even ten plus comments to deal with. However, if you’ve got two comments you do have time to respond back and you should. This is one of the best ways to build up readers and it’s good blog etiquette. Every comment I leave is time I could be spending elsewhere so getting a response back makes me feel happy that I used my time wisely – for someone who actually cares about their readers. One suggestion for those who do get many comments per each post is to do a nice round-up response. Going in and leaving a, “Thanks everyone for your input” and highlighting a few favorite comments is a good plan if you’re dealing with comment overload.
5. You update infrequently:
My favorite blogs update at least five times a week; most of them more than that. I know that’s a lot for some people though. For a personal blog just three posts a week will keep me coming back. I’m guilty of this myself actually. I have one blog that I’ve slacked at continually this year and big surprise I’ve lost a ton of readers. I am not stalk worthy at this particular blog and I can’t blame anyone but me.
6. You have a questionable blog personality:
A long time ago I came across a blog where the blogger had plastered atop her blog something akin to “Wow, my hits have really gone up since I started writing from a kitten’s point of view.” Was it a joke? I don’t know. The blog was pink so I assumed the worst and clicked out of there at lighting speed. I don’t want to read your point of view as a kitten. I want to read blogs that feel real — not false or void of the human condition.
Case in point; I’ve ghostwritten a few blogs where I’m dull because that’s what the blog owner wants. They want to sell something and hate when I try to add anything personal. I never get comments at these blogs because no one cares one way or the other about me or quite possibly, anything I say. I wouldn’t. If all you’re going to write about is pencils then fine, write all about pencils – swim in it. Just show me that you have a kid or a killer Frisbee habit, or something, anything, going on besides this mundane interest in pencils.
Of course I have more criteria regarding why I’ll stalk (or not stalk) a blog but the above are my biggie reasons barring topic.
Now it’s your turn. Why do you stalk certain blogs? Or better yet tell me why you won’t.
Among other places, you can visit Jennifer Chait at Offbeat Homes and Tree Hugging Family.
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I love all these reasons, and I completely agree. I know what my knees look like, I don’t need a kitten to tell me. Thanks for making me laugh out loud, and also for the practical advice.
Nice post, again! It made me think about ways to improve my blog. It’s not “stalk – worthy” yet but I’m working hard to get it there.
My simple criteria for a blog? It has to benefit me. It had better teach me something, or at least entertain the heck out of me.
I just don’t have time to spend on blogs that can’t figure themselves out enough to benefit their readers. In fact, I’ve been exposed to a lot of great reference blogs through your site. ProBlogger to name just one.
That is an excellent point about commenting. I am very, very guilty of not replying to comments on my own blog.
Guess I’ll work on that tonight…..
Thanks for a wonderful resource blog that I couldn’t do without!
I like good subject lines for posts, that’s the first thing I scan when I look through a blog. If the subject lines aren’t interesting and add to the fact that it’s devoided of images and videos…well…that won’t keep hanging around. This blog doesn’t post images, but the subject lines are always interesting and Deb’s personality shines through her writing.
I try to interject some imagery in my blog, and I’m working on making better subject lines. But I thought my LOLcat was a nice touch to my last post even if it’s not really related to the topic of blogrolls.
As a new blogger, this is very, very helpful. I’m going to be MUCH more religious about updates. I’ve been only doing 1-2 per week. I realize though, especially with my new addiction to RSS feeds, that this is even more important.
Thanks!
Oh hey tree hugging family- I know you form AW. Great post, thank you!
I also don’t bother with blogs that aren’t often updated. I like blogs that I can relate to. If you’re in the same situ as me, I’ll read your blog. One of my favorites that I’ve been writing about today is emoms at home-freelance parent. They’re mommies and writers. BANG, thats me. But I also like JUST writers blogs, or JUST readers blogs…just as long as you have something in common!
Jennifer, we’re not specifically tree-hugging, but I’m working at it. see http://www.30yearstosavetheworld.blogspot.com Same kind of thing…
For me, a blog must have three things:
1) Visual appeal and a clean design that grabs me instantly;
2) Short, pithy posts, ideally with lists, pics, and or videos, NOT rambling, long-winded paragraphs of eye-glazing text (I care what the blogger says, but not THAT much!);
3) Personality, HUMOR, and intelligence.
My favorite blogs — List Of The Day (listoftheday.blogspot.com), What Would Tyler Durden Do? (wwtdd.com) and Boobs, Injuries & Dr. Pepper (boobsinjuriesanddrpepper.blogspot.com) — all excel at these things.
B
One of the biggest turn-offs for me is bad writing. I can handle it if the person obviously has English as a second language – heck, then I’m impressed. However, I read a lot of blogs about writing, and I get fairly irate when the so-called “writers” aren’t any good at their craft. (Now I’m wondering how many typos are going to slip past me in this comment when I hit “submit.”)
Thanks Amanda. I like when I can make people laugh. There are some new and really nice ideas here. Dahlia noted that good subject lines for posts are a key factor and I agree. That’s what first does draw me in. I don’t love trick subject lines though — the ones that seem great but they turn out to be dull.
Allena – I like blogs that I can relate to as well; but I also read many that people likely would never think fit my style. I like when I can learn to relate to a new topic. Also OT I will check out your blog; thanks for the link
Boo – all good reasons to follow or not follow a blog. Design is a big deal. I like clean and if there are ads I like them in a more gathered manner to free up my eyes for the actual posts. Design won’t make it or break it for me but it’s important. I also like lists and pics (some video). I use those at all but one of my blogs.
lornadoone – if it’s not too bad, issues like grammar and spelling don’t bug me so much at blogs. It drives me nuts in articles or other copy. I think it’s because I consider blogs a smidgen more casual and I myself am less careful with posts than say when I send in an article to an editor. But off the charts errors and writing weirdness is off-putting. At least hit spell-check. Although, I have left my fair share of errors in comments — I hit enter too fast plus surf late when technically I should be in bed.
Thanks to everyone for commenting. Good stuff all around!
Ok, I agree that responding to comments is great. I like getting responses and I like giving them. My big question is should those responses be another comment? Or should the response be a direct email to the person.
I tend to do it a little of both ways depending on the nature of the comment left. But should I always be leaving the response as another comment?
I’m lost on long posts, unless they’re really, super interesting. My attention span isn’t real long!
I agree on the enter key, if things are broken up I can scan faster and pick out what I want to read.
Love photos and catchy titles!
Michael, unless I have a very good reason I don’t email people who leave me comments. One, my email is clogged enough without having random bloggers email me comment responses so that would just annoy me. I assume others won’t enjoy that either (but maybe people here will chime in and say they like it). And two, there’s no need. Part of blog comments is that everyone shares them. Emailed comments are only seen by two people.
I clicked on this post hoping to gain some insight that would help me with my own blog and you did not disappoint! I need to update more often and start sharing some more of the humerous sides of my life.
I normally try to do that, but lately not as often. I agree with “every” single one of your points. If I am looking for new blogs I get a “feeling” as soon as see the first few words. If it doesn’t catch my attention, well then, I leave and go to the next one.
I definitely believe in responding to comments. There is a blog I visit that easily gets 30 plus comments a day…amazing…I understand if he can’t comment to everyone; but not those that only get a few comments…come on…some of those comments can be hilarious.
One of the funniest blogs I stalk is Daisy The Curly Cat, which is entirely blogged by a cat named Daisy.
I love it! It has a great sense of humor. I think that is something a lot of bloggers – including myself – tend to lack. Humor is often difficult to get across via blogging.
Cheers,
Snoskred
I never return to a blog that forces me to listen to music. And I like being able to choose whether to comment or not. I’m also not a big fan of blogs that require me to do math (2+3 x 7 =).
And here is a new favorite of mine: A blog post that goes into great detail about why bloggers should allow anonymous comments, then asks the reader to sign in with name, website, mail, and word verification (this happened to me last week).
Those are some great reasons, I have to agree. I can add a few more why I won’t come back to a blog.
The paint job has to be decent. I hate going to websites that are just ugly. If the person doing the site doesnt have enough respect for the reader to at least spruce the place up a bit, then what makes me think that the writing wont be ugly as well.
Another reason I would never go back to a blog is if it made use of too much vulgar language. Now, i dont mind the occasional F-Bomb, but some of these blogs are so ridden with slang curse words that it just makes me sick.
Great post!
I’m a new blogger myself and I found this post to be very helpful, thank you! I learned quite a bit. I’ve recently figured out how to upload pictures, which is nice for readers; my big problem now is frequency of posting. I started out posting nearly every day, but since my assistant at my day job left I’ve been working double shifts and haven’t been able to post nearly as frequently as I had been. Hopefully my situation at work will resolve soon so I can get back to regular blogging!
Thanks for all you do to help us out!
Gina
I’m five for five!
What I like about a blog:
1. Nice design and layout
2. Plenty of information
3. A calm, informal fun tone
4. Concise posts that are helpful
5. Being able to see that the writer is a real person
What I hate about a blog:
1. If it’s self-indulgent prose about personal thoughts, I’m gone. I want to learn something new, not become your friend.
2. Adsense and advertising looks cheap and turns me off. Unless it’s upper-class advertising, then it looks nice.
3. Long posts that ramble
4. Pithy, quirky, witty personality that makes me wonder if the blogger does drugs on the side.
5. Showoffs.
LOL So since I have a chef blog, when I hit 140 words I just sign off and leave you to figure out how to make the dish?
This list just shows that there’s something for every taste. Although I blog mostly on one subject, I am not a one subject person, and you know what? My readers come for the food, but the highest traffic comes when I (rarely) talk about something strange or deeply personal that just had to have an outlet that day.
Excellent reasons, for sure, and why I no longer read particular blogs. Another BIG reason for me is if the blog owner is overtly pushy with her religion (I say “her” because most of the blogs I read belong to women). I am not a very religious person myself, so I don’t like hearing constant “God talk.”
I alo will not read blogs where every post is “whoa is me.” A little venting is fine every now and again, but I have my own problems to deal with, too. The exception is if someone offers a problem AND solution.
Tons of ads and advertising – can’t stand it.
Great info, Jennifer–thanks!
“Among other places, you can visit Jennifer Chait at Offbeat Homes and Tree Hugging Family.”
Where else can we find you?
Beth ~ Funny about the anonymous comments. I almost want to say I don’t like bloggers who don’t stand behind what they say or lie. But it’s hard to prove a blogger is like that. It’s just a feeling you get. On the flip side; most paid blogs do require readers to log in, no matter if the blogger thinks it’s a good idea or not. So it may not be that bloggers fault. I hate ads on blogs but get it because that’s one way blogs make money. So…
Judith ~ “LOL So since I have a chef blog, when I hit 140 words I just sign off and leave you to figure out how to make the dish?” No, I’ll read posts that are pages long just so long as you hit that enter key once in a while. Long I don’t mind. Long with no breaks makes me insane.
Mary ~ “Where else can we find you?” Hi, I didn’t want my bio deal to be too long.
Other blogs I write for include:
http://www.hippiesounds.com
http://www.pregnancyandbaby.com/blog/
http://www.officestuffer.com
http://jenfreedom.blogspot.com
I also do some other ghostwriting projects. Thus I’m not allowed to say. You might find me by chance though. Also that last blog is my slacker blog I mentioned so enter at your own risk
Poor spelling, lack of an actual theme and tons of flashy banners and ads turn me off. Occasional off-topic posts are fine, but when you really have no idea what the blog is about, there is no reason to come back.
The overly personal ones are a little annoying as well.
Recently I visited one that I thought would have a similar theme as my chronic pain blog, or so I thought. The posts were full of vulgar language and complaints about how she hates her mother.
Perhaps the blog was therapeutic for her but was nothing I would care to read. That type of blog shouldn’t be made public, in my opinion.
I love visiting blogs that teach and inspire . . . I don’t like visiting blogs that claim to be about a topic, but deliver nothing valuable. For example, the theme and set up center around something, like cooking for two ….. but all the content is about what the blogger did that day or why the love knock-knock jokes. **sighs**
Many of the “how to” blog sites say that you should put pics and video on your blog and this post reiterates that. However, how do I know what pics and videos I can use, if they aren’t actually mine? And do you always have to pay for the use of those photos?
Hey Jen, great post! Now I know why you stopped coming by.
Seriously though, I enjoyed the post and it’s a great guide for bloggers who want to be stalked.
Armywife, you can find royalty free pics through stock sites. http://www.morguefile.com is a great site.
(Army)wife ~ One of the best posts ever about where to find good images (free and otherwise) is at Presentation Zen: http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2006/01/where_can_you_f.html
Julie ~ I hope you’re kidding. I forgot to mention that I fail to stalk when I’m too busy blogging myself to even breathe let alone stalk. Alas, I wish people would pay me to surf but so far there are no openings. I think you’re a very good blogger and that’s one thing I’d never lie to someone about. No sense candy coating.
Jennifer, yes’m, I am kidding. I promise.
It’s easy to stop stalking when you have to much work on your hands. Just trying to keep up with clients, blogs, and personal life will slow down even the most obsessed blog-stalker.
I have a handful of blogs I stalk, forgot to mention my reason in my previous comment. If someone has a great personality that shines through their writing, even if there are writing mistakes, I’ll stalk it. I may not be able to visit everyday, but I do get around to stopping by and reading everything by the people who strike me as just ‘real’.
I’m a fan of the personal touch along with insider information. Those are two of the things that have me coming back here, Editorial Anonymous, and The Rejecter all the time.
The blog’s appearance is another big factor. If the colors hurt my eyes like white on black can at times or, even worse, yellow on red, I run screaming within three seconds. I have enough trouble with eye strain without subjecting my eyes to paint jobs that make them bleed.
I’ve been lax with my updates lately, especially when it comes to the critique blog. I just don’t have time for the required tv watching with that one at the moment, but I have no excuses for the other.
Excellent post, Jennifer. You laid it out plain and simple and your advice is dead on.
Misses E ~ you said, “I’m a fan of the personal touch along with insider information.” Basically that could have been the short version of this post. When you get down to the major nitty gritty, I think that these overall are the two most important issues in blogging or at least the combination is very stalk worthy.
Deb ~ Thanks
Hope the expo is fun today. I saw some pictures of the b5 and KMM tables on the Blog Expo blog yesterday and got jealous with a need to be there all over again. The expo floor looks great!
See, I can’t participate/comment on a blog that updates daily – it’s just too much for me. The blogs I frequent, I like to comment on. But I just don’t have time to comment that frequently. I get something like 40-50 comments every day, but I only update two or three itmes a week.
I think daily updates are really overrated unless you are an information providing site (like this one). Some of the best mommy blogs – dooce, finslippy, etc., only update two or three times a week and they have no problems with traffic.
Typos galore in that last comment, but you know what I mean. I think. Probably.
Great post, Jennifer, and we seem to have very similar taste in blogs!
I have to echo Beth and say one of the things that will send me fleeing a new blog immediately is when music comes on. I’ve often got my volume cranked up and can never seem to find the button to turn it down–there’s something so alarming about unexpected music that not only will I shut down the blog window, I get flustered and usually end up closing down a bunch of other open windows as well trying to escape.
(I am, obviously, not particularly sophisticated when it comes to using my computer!)
Anyway bloggers: kill the auto-play music, please. If you’re partial to a great tune, tell us about it and let us play it ourselves.
I’m in complete agreement about hating having to log in or register to post a comment. There are a few blogs I won’t read anymore for this reason.
The music thing irks me, too, especially when it makes my computer freeze up.
Widget over-kill also bugs me.
I also don’t like when every single post has a video. It slows down the loading time, and most of the time the videos aren’t worth playing once the page finally does load. I know video is supposed to be the wave of the internet future, but at least give me something to read while I’m waiting for your sub-standard videos to load.
So Jennifer, what you are saying is..don’t be chatty.
Why I won’t read a blog?
1. Aesthetically crap. I am visual and it has to draw me in by the way it looks.
2. Too much information not enough personalization. I want to feel I know the person
3.If the author has very strong opinions that are totally opposite mine. There is no point.
4.If it is a food blog and they mention boxed mac and cheese in a positive way.
5. Ditto for serving corn with pasta.
6. Interesting about the music. My readers have increased dramatically since I put music on two of my blogs.
Great post jennifer. I grok it.
Sue ~ You said, “I think daily updates are really overrated unless you are an information providing site (like this one).” I think it depends on the blog. I have blogs that won’t change too much no matter if I do posts three times a week or three times a day. I also have blogs that if I don’t post more than once daily the stats go down more than I’m personally comfortable with. So maybe it also depends on the blogger’s satisfaction too. With one blog I get depressed when it goes below 50,000 and others I don’t care.
Crabby! One of my favorite bloggers. Thanks for visiting me here. I agree. Many people have mentioned music. I like when people have a button that allows you to turn the sound off. My audio is obnoxious too but maybe not as hard as yours
Amy ~ Agreed. Just like words I think you can usually cut some videos and be just fine. Even with good internet videos can be so slow.
Marye ~ Hey you. You crack me up with that mac n cheese comment.
Also, what’s this all about, “If the author has very strong opinions that are totally opposite mine. There is no point.” Wouldn’t that technically be me? That’s ok I still grok you.
Sometimes it’s nice to read opposite opinions to learn a new view. Although I get what your saying because nothing like that is a regular read for me.
No..I mean like they are militant opposite opinions. You, I grok. I respect the way you think and actually we probably click on several levels. But if you had a blog that was militantly pro-abortion, say, then I would not read it because I would have nothing to add, and I all ready know I won’t change MY opinion on it, see?
There is a difference in being challenged in your thinking by nibbling on someone elses ideas and getting an enema with someone’s raw opinion
Not responding to comments is a big one. It’s not enough to just write blog posts; it’s your responsibility as a blogger to continue the dialogue started in your post.
I wish I had comments as an option. Oh well. I chose a platform and I’m down with it.
Hey, I’m glad you visit even if do post only once a week.
Erik ~ You can always change platforms. It’s a hassle but if you decide blogging is your deal you’re going to want comments at some point. Just something to consider.
People! Always nice to see you (read you). You did drop a word so I’m not sure if you mean you only post once a week or are talking about Balance. Could be either I suppose. Also I do make minor exceptions. You are an amazing blogger so thus can get away with the one post a week. I will still stalk you when I have time.