BIP #7 - Comments Galore Wrap up Post!

Kim planned two weeks for this but unfortunately I only discovered it a couple of days ago. Therefore I don't think I can really write about what new techniques I used for making my blog more comment-able.

Every blogger wants to see comments on their posts. It shows that their blog is being read, that they have connected with their audience and comments give vital feedback on their content. I have learned a lot from comments on my blog and I love catching up with my other blogger friends through their comments.

I have found that the blog posts I get most comments on are

1. Highly interactive, such as the Friday Challenge.

2. Have something to say or solid content and, while perhaps posing a question, don't just exist to pose a question.

3. Have caused a debate, either on the post itself or in reaction to comments left on the post.

For a really good list of other reasons people comment, check out Shadowthorne's response to my earlier post on this topic.

When it comes down to it, what prompts me to comment on someone else's blog? I guess first and foremost it is content. If the post has something to say, and is said in an interesting manner I want to add my two cents worth.

BIP #7 - Make your blog more commentable

Once again I'm the chubby rhino from Jumanji running along five minutes behind the rest of the Blog Improvement Project herd. I've just found out that April is Focus on Comments month and that the wrap up for the first task is on Saturday 18th.

Oh well, I'm not too worried. As long as it helps improve my blog, what does it matter that I am taking longer to do it than the other BIPpers - right?

So, making my blog more comment friendly.

A lot of the articles about this on BIP mentioned writing open ended posts, posing questions and making sure to reply to comments (something I have been very bad at doing lately - sorry).

Now, I thought I would incorporate a few of those techniques into this post and ask you, dear readers, to tell me what makes you comment on a blog post. What is it that really makes you get out your keyboard and type? What are the things that turn you from a lurker to a participator? And what are the things that really annoy you and make you leave a blog in disgust?

I look forward to

(is that open ended enough?)

I'm all of a Twitter

The poll has closed, the votes have been tallied and the result is in.

Twitter is the winner!

I have set up my twitter account - you can find it here, or read my tweets at the side of this page. Now all I have to figure out is how to use it to promote my blog and what on earth am I going to tweet about????

So many choices!

As I mentioned yesterday, the latest BIP is encouraging me to join a social networking/media site and use it to promote my blog and build connections. I decided to do some research into the different social media outlets available to me, as there are so many. Here are the ones I thought sounded most interesting:-

1. Twitter - Twitter is a text based social media site, often called the 'SMS of the Internet'. People communicate with 140 character long messages or 'tweets', which are updated during the day (think of the Facebook status bar and nothing else). It sounds like it wouldn't be too time consuming to take part in and a lot of agents and publishers appear to be using it.

2. Helium - Writers are paid for contributing articles which are then peer reviewed, the highest rated articles receiving the most money. As recently as last month a range of social networking features have been added to the existing writing and reviewing functions. I am already a member of Helium (a very absent member) and I found it quite time consuming to write and review articles that I would only get pennies for when I could be writing stories for bigger paying markets, but perhaps I missed the point and should give it another go.

3. Friendster - A social networking site focused on helping people make new friends. One of the first of these sites, it predates Myspace and Facebook (although they seem to have a lot of features in common with it). I like the idea of the fan profiles you can set up to draw more attention to yourself.

4. Ning - A place where you can make up your very own social networking site within the easy to use templates of the Ning banner. Sounds fun - but what would my social networking site be about?

5. Digg - People share stories (from the web) and vote on the ones they like (dig) or dislike (bury). The most digged (dug?) stories every day are displayed on the front page of the site.

Blog Improvement Project

I popped by the Blog Improvement Project site today and - oh dear - I really have missed a lot in my absence. There have been carnivals (social media ones, I'm not sure if they are more or less fun than ones with candy floss and geeks) and getting back to blog basics and I'm still stuck on brainstorming! Oops.

I'm going to take the next few weeks to get up to date with the project and help inject some much needed life into me and my blog. However, before then I need your help.

The latest task is to pick a social networking site and sign on. I'm not quite sure, my brain seems to have turned to spun sugar (too much thinking about carnivals), but there was mention of stalking authors and celebrities and promoting your blog on a social networking platform.

The thing is, I've tried Myspace and Facebook and I don't know, I feel as out of place on the virtual social networking scene as I do in the real life version.

This is where I need your help. Do I return to my neglected profiles on the above mentioned sites and try to promote the hec out of my blog, or do I boldly go where no Inkpot has gone before - and if so, where? Twitter? Bebo? Facespace? Ahhhh!

Thoughts and suggestions much appreciated (I might even put up a poll).

Happy Sunday.

Blog Post Bingo

I thought I better blog about the Blog Improvement Project as I haven't mentioned it in a while and I still have to do my brainstorming, which was the last task. However, more about that next week. I'm here to talk about blog post bingo.

A little while ago Kim set a challenge. Us BIPers had two weeks to mix up our blog posts. The suggested post topics were

1. A link post

2. A short post - less than 200 words

3. A list post

4. An opinion post

5. A poll or question post

6. A how to post

7. A long post - over 700 words

8. A review post

9. A definition post

10. A free space post

We had until midnight tonight to include as many posts from the list as possible and there are prizes for those who posted the most list items.

Now, I didn't do very well in the last two weeks. Here are the posts that I feel qualify:

1. Link Post - Blogs of Note

2. Short Post - Sunday Toon (much less than 200 words, but it does have a picture)

3. List post - The Books I'm Not Reading this Week

4. Long post - My interview with Spencer L Casey, Author of the Month

I think blog post bingo is a great idea and I even though I didn't post about all ten items on the list, they have given me ideas for future posts. If you have any post ideas you would like to see for a special Inkpot post bingo, let me know.

Inkpot Files Update for February

This is my 500th post! I feel I should be celebrating with fireworks and whistles and a marching band. Prizes too (maybe for my 1000th).

Anywhoo, as I am slowly working my way back to normal posting I thought I would give you a hint at some of the things I have planned for the Inkpot Files over the coming month (and a short month it is too):-

Things to look out for in the up coming weeks

1. More posts on the blog improvement program.

I'm already behind on my last task, which was brainstorming about blog improvement. I'll post soon about what brainstorming techniques I used and what the results were.

2. An Author of the Month.

I'm hoping to make this a regular to the blog. The inaugural Author of the Month will be Spencer L Casey. I'll post a review of his new book 'Dalia's Fire' in the next week or so and also an interview with the author, which is really interesting and I know you will like it.

3. The Inkpot Challenge

I haven't finalised the details of this yet, but I am planning on instituting a Friday Challenge where I either challenge myself or one of your guys (or you can challenge me) to do something over the weekend and then report on it the next week.

Anyway, these are just some of the things to expect on the Inkpot Files in February. If you have anything you would like to see, make sure you tell me in the comments!

2009 Blog Improvement Project

I stumbled upon the 2009 Blog Improvement Project while browsing Deb's blog. The project is the brain child of Kim and the aim is to have an improved blog by 31st December 2009. To facilitate this, Kim will set two tasks a month to help towards improving your blog with different tasks focusing on goal setting, writing better content, building community with readers, getting more readers, and blog layout and design. Participants can choose which tasks they want to complete and are encouraged to blog about the tasks they do, linking their posts back to the BIP site.

My first thought when reading about the project was 'What a good idea.' My second thought was 'I won't sign up, I'm happy with the way the Inkpot Files is.' However, the more I thought about it the more I thought the Files could do with some improvement. It is good to want to improve things, after all, and I'm all for having a better blog come 31st December (whatever that might mean). So I signed up.

The first task is Setting Goals.

If you had asked me last week what my goals for my blog were I would have said:-

1. To post everyday and

2. To get more readers.

However, after reading the very useful articles Kim linked to on BIP, I now have more lofty aspirations. So lofty, in fact, that they fill up pages and pages of A4 paper. I won't post them here because they would take up too much room and bore you, but I will list some of the projects I plan to implement to improve my blog.

1. Design a personalised banner for the Inkpot Files.

2. Do research into blog promotion.

3. Introduce guest blogging.

4. Write more about my writing, the writing process, agents and publishing.

5. Review works by up and coming authors.

6. Showcase the work of and/or interview up and coming writers and people in the writing industry.

7. Do more vblogging with book trailers, interviews and sketches to amuse, entertain and inform.

These are some of my ideas for improvement. Now I want to know what you think. Is there anything you would like to see on The Inkpot Files? Anything you want to stop seeing? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.