Blogging Strategies?

I have always been a detail kind of person, which probably goes back to trainspotting, and “doing” loco sheds on Sundays hoping to see some of the more elusive locomotives! Seeing every locomotive of a particular class was the ultimate goal!

My first full-time job was in a diesel engine mass production environment in purchasing. One had to consider sales orders and manufacturing capacity data, and then order parts and materials such that minimal inventory is carried, and yet production is never halted.

From there I went into a heavy engineering company and my particular area, again in purchasing, was buying parts and materials for steam turbines (for ships), and various machinery for the textile industry.

In Canada, I worked in purchasing for local government where things were very different. Because it was public money (tax dollars) being spent, everything not only had to be seen to be efficient and fair, but often had to be publicly proven to be so. Again, it was the details that probably kept me in that area, and professional progression followed.

Blogging strategies, probably not surprisingly, are of great interest to me. It’s not that my goal is a huge following or anything close to that, but I do like to know what “works” and what doesn’t. If my goal was simply to attract attention to my Blog, then I would just put controversial words in the subject line, and various search engines around the world would do the rest!

My intent is to write Posts about whatever interests me, but then see if there is any pattern as to what works and what doesn’t! Theoretically, I can be true to myself and provide interesting Posts! Perfect!

Over the life of this Blog (created in 2014), I have tried various things some of which were in desperation. i.e. Cannot come up with much to write about and so don’t write anything! That was interesting because although activity that day did drop, it was not by much. I must assume that quite a few of my Followers visit every 2 or 3 days as stats over a few days generally balanced things out.

I have also created very simple Posts due to time restraints. i.e. A pic of Ray with a brief caption. Pics do generate interest… or perhaps it is just Ray who creates the interest? I am pretty certain it’s the latter, which brings up  an interesting point.  I don’t think that a single pic of Ray in 2014 would have caused too much reaction but now, so many of you are relating to him at some level.

I have also broached controversial topics with some degree of trepidation and was delighted by the response (you “guys” are wonderful!). I rather suspect that things would have been a little different if I had done that in 2014 because many of you have been with me for a few years now. You know some aspects of my view of the world and life in general, so would not be inclined to Comment with an aggressive rant!

I have also “dabbled” in poetry which generated interesting and supportive Comments. I think that this too was successful because you already had a perspective of me and could apply that perspective when reading my works.

What seems to be coming out of all this, is that you can pretty much publish a Post about anything, complex or simple, and get good feedback… but the pre-requisite would seem to be having previously established your own character and views of life in general so that readers have a basic understanding of you in order to put a perspective on your Post.

Over the past few months, there have been a lot of new Followers and, upon checking their sites, it was clear that they were new to Blogging. For any of you “guys” that read this… be patient… be patient… be patient. Be true to both yourself and your Followers. If you can follow those simple concepts, then you can probably look forward to many years of socializing with people all around the world! Isn’t that exciting! 🙂

35 thoughts on “Blogging Strategies?”

  1. Excellent points! A blog has the potential to become an extension of your face and personality – Or you can give it a different persona altogether. Networking as well is so important! Respect and collaborations and conversations go a long way in taking your blog forward and give it a direction.

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      • I know a few bloggers personally. I have seen that often how they behave and what they write – there is a great difference. I have noticed that a bit in my writing as well – Blogging gives me a liberty to express without being bound by society conformations. The way I carry myself here hence is a different persona than the good society.
        Am I making sense?

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        • Hi Prajakta – Yes perfect sense. The reason I wanted to explore your comment was because there could be a conflict in being honest/true vs different personas. I can understand that you may wish to express yourself differently in that the obligations here (blogging) may be different from those at “home” with the inherent societal expectations. I do not however understand why one should behave differently to what one writes.
          Of course ones agenda will dictate the situation. My agenda is simply to dialogue; share thoughts; learn some new perspectives, and hopefully teach some… create a social network around the world. If my agenda was to impress (e.g.) women, then I would portray myself as about 40 years younger than I am; solid build; “tall, dark and handsome”!!!!
          I just totally accept the perspective that if I expect my readers to be honest with me, then I must be honest with them. It makes sense to me. 🙂

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  2. Socializing with people all over the world is probably the neatest part of blogging. Also important to me is encouraging authors (real ones, not just bloggers like me) in their writing. Blogging is the best!

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  3. That’s so true what you wrote! I guess the most important part of blogging is that your personality gets known. Then your personality will be seen in whatever you post. When I got introduced to social media I was told to blog about 25% about me in order to give my blog a face and soul! I think over time when you are more familiar with blogging and got settled in the community this happens automatically anyway! As you said, it is amazing to connect with the world and the different faces of the world. Blogging is so colorful and filled with inspiration and insights!

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  4. Very good post! You are right patience is an important attribute to have in a lot of things and blogging is definitely one of them. 🙂

    I think one of the biggest things that makes a blog generate followers is if blogger is personable. I don’t want to just read a blog post, no matter how interesting it may be. I want to be able to get to know the blogger, to “chat” with them.

    I have found that sometimes my comment section can be more interesting then my posts. 🙂

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  7. Yes, you pretty much sum up the art of maintaining a blog, most important of which is to be true to yourself. 🙂
    I would also add, if You are having fun posting, then your followers should enjoy reading.
    Keep up the good work Colin – and Ray! 🙂

    PS Annoyingly I have found that if I simply post a picture of Cake I get a Lot of views!! 😀

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  8. Point well made, Colin. It is just like how we can say things to a friend or colleague whom we have known for years that we wouldn’t say to a new(er) acquaintance.

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