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If you build it - and built it well - do they come?

Posted by rightcommentary • 3/30/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic

Okay, this is somewhat of an existential question...

I've read all these great blogging tips - by various bloggers - and they all sing what I call the "Field of Dreams" mantra to blogging...

... if you build good content - they will come.

First of all - building good content isn't easy... especially in my field, political commentary. But okay, I can do that.

But secondly - how many blogs have I visited toiling in obscurity? Hundreds... I mean - there are something like 3M blogs on the internet - with like 100,000's being made every second (or something along those lines - you get my drift)....

So... if I build it - they will come...

We'll see I guess - I've been up only 3 weeks... and had about 200 unique visitors. I don't know if that's good or bad... it is what it is I guess.

Bryan
www.rightcommentary.com

User Comments

3/30/08

epm1013

Bryan,

It's a start. If you published a poltical newspaper and distributed all over town, would you gain readers automatically? A lot of your success with your blog will be attributed to your marketing it.

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3/30/08

offendedblogger

Hmmm, I've had www.offendedblogger.com since October of last year and I am now up to 44,143 visitors from 132 countries.

I suppose I built it and they came.

Some even come back.

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1. 3/30/08
  
  rightcommentary
  
  44 thousand visitors in less than a year? Wow - how are you measuring that?
  
  And your site is great... it's like a combination of "smoking gun" with Drudge's current events... but being "controversial" is kind of outside my lane at the moment... I'm interested in blogging on politics - but remember - I'm a politico as well... I can't go around punching everyone I meet in the face.
  
  bryan
2. 3/30/08
  
  rightcommentary
  
  It's funny - rereading your post...
  
  I've had quite a number of readers from Israel, China, Europe, and England. Considering I write almost exclusively about American politics and international affairs from American Foreign Policy - I wonder what that's all about.
  
  SUBVERSION no less I'm sure!
  
  Bryan
3. 3/30/08
  
  offendedblogger
  
  Well, I use Google Analytics and my offendedblogger.com blog gets Stumbled a lot, which brings in loads of traffic. When I was issuing Fatwas (at things that pissed me off that week) I started seeing hits from Tehran on there, which was funny!
  
  They have been coming back now and then, one day they read 6 pages and stayed for like 28 minutes hahaha!
  
  My www.theoffendedamerican.com blog is my actual political blog, I was using it just to post offenses in the news but decided to turn it into a political version of www.offendedblogger.com .
  
  It should be fun to watch it grow, as well.
3/30/08

Hippychikky

2 x 2 they came, and he built it, he built it well

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3/30/08

LisaT

The answer is yes. Slow at first but it will build up. Focus on QUALITY.

[reply]
1. 3/30/08
  
  rightcommentary
  
  Yeah but Lisa... you're site is hysterical. I read your site just to get my mind off the stuff I'm writing on MY site!
  
  Bryan
3/30/08

EcoInsomniac

I believe they will come. At least they better I'm posting every day in hopes that they will come.

[reply]
1. 3/30/08
  
  rightcommentary
  
  Amen... although I don't write every day... sometimes I write 10 articles in one day - sometimes I write none. I think it averages out to about 7 articles a day. Since my blog is catagorized and is more of a magazine than a linear stream - it works out. Not all of my categories are being updated ever day - but at least all of them get something once a week.
  
  I've also started to attract some other writers... that will help ensure I've got fresh content.
  
  Bryan
3/30/08

marcueto

Yes, they will come.

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3/30/08

AmmoBob

Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't... A clean looking site, that is easy to navigate and has good quality content will grow readers relatively fast... The key is bringing all those elements together...

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3/30/08

marcueto

Rightcommentary

You have a very appealing site. Easy to navigate and interesting commentary. You have built it and they will come. Well written content, no matter how controversial. I also agree with AmmoBob...elements must come together, but you have all three in my opinion of course.

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3/30/08

Aprilfreelance

Don't leave out offline promotion, too. You can easily make flyers and ask local stores to give them out in their bags, or leave some in community gathering places. People who don't normally follow politics will pay attention right now because of the election.

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3/30/08

MadameX

Not unless you tell them it's there.

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3/30/08

cooper

I think going forward with an idea and not relying too much on reading all that blogging information is probably a better idea. Most blogs fold within a year. I read somewhere that the general consensus is with the millions of blogs out there only four percent, if that, are worth reading, that was the general consensus of a few professional blogger types, one even said it more like 98 percent of all blogs are crap, so with that being the general thought I think you just have to go forward with your ideas and not the ideas of everyone else out there or just find your own little hold in the wall and enjoy it.

No they won't always come, sorry, you can beg and borrow links but if you want readers for a political blog these days.
If politics is what you are interested in then read and comment on blogs where politics are the main subject, quote some CNN, msnbc, or WAPO stuff with linkage to an article, but make sure you write decent content around it and you might get back links from such things, and if you have some special qualification put it out there otherwise pure opinion doesn't really get far at least I wouldn't think so. I am interested in politics but read only a few political blogs, there are just too many of them.

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3/30/08

rightcommentary

Oh and since this group has thus far been helpful (seriously)...

Any thoughts as to why my Snap isn't uploading right? I've forced the Snap now twice and it still won't update... empty ICON for my blog...

Quite annoying.

Bryan

[reply]
3/30/08

cooper

What's a snap?

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3/30/08

mikeny07

It takes 12-16 months from what I read. That probably means working at it 7 days a week though. Building links, commenting on other blogs each day, writing good content, making blogging friends.......

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3/30/08

metroknow

I think it also strongly hinges on your subject matter. It's easier to get readers if your content is focused on something that bloggers in particular care about. For example, sites like copyblogger and the like consistently produce stellar content, but they are also preaching to a voracious audience desperate to find that "edge" that will set them apart (including me). So to build traffic rapidly is easier IMHO. I wrote my first blog for a year before I figured out what I should Actually be writing about...and now that I've figured it out, I've got nearly 5 times the traffic in just a few months. My content was good on the other site, but the site was not focused enough, and not focused on things people care about.

Hope that helps,
metroknow
www.almostfit.com

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3/30/08

latinocool79

I built my English page for Latinos and they came

I am in my 6th month and I had Visits: 68,528 and Unique V:35,579

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3/30/08

rightcommentary

I got stumbled last night - and had 140 visitors in one hour on one article I had written a few weeks ago... so yes, I've noticed stumbleupon brings some traffic rushes.

Bryan

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