How often do you post to your blog?Making A Mark Survey (January 2009) - all figures are rounded
copyright Katherine Tyrrell
Nearly half of all the people who read this blog and responded to the January Making A Mark Survey post to their blog on a persistent and regular basis - two to three times each week.
150 people responded to the survey in January. The numbers keep climbing but I guess this was probably the most inclusive one I've had so far!
The pattern (which wasn't too obvious to those about to vote) has stayed pretty consistent throughout.
- just under 20% of you post 5 or more times a week. Of these around half (11% of the total) post virtually every day
- just under 20% post only once a week
- which means that 83% of us are posting at least once a week (or more)
- 11% take a minimalist approach and post about two to three times a month
- while 5% post less than once a month
- posting on a regular basis is what makes a blog work
- most people have blogs because they enjoy it. I'm guessing these are the people who participate more in the conversational aspects of blogging
- some people link their blogs to their efforts to sell paintings - but for most that's not the main reason
- frequency of blogging can be seasonal - depending on people's other activities
- people found they lost readers if their frequency dropped off
- gaining readers is a long haul - they build but it takes time (and good content helps)
- working out topics to focus on in advance can help you plan blog posts and generate ideas
- there's a perceived danger of the tail wagging the dog - of writing more than painting. (My own view is that the tail wags the dog only if you let it).
- either there's a few more of you out there who didn't confess (because early stats about blogging (see The Blogosphere matures November 2006) suggested that only 55% of blogs were active ie posted at least once every three months
- or the people who read this blog are mostly very active bloggers! :)
Of course what I have no idea about are the people who read this blog, never comment and never ever respond to surveys!
However I like to think that that these are all people who will eventually, on day, jump in and get their feet wet and enjoy the delights of becoming and being a member of the blogging community. Which as most regular bloggers now know extends well beyond what you can see on the 'surface' of the blog you can read.
Think of all those group projects, cyberchum meetups in your own country and the big trips to meet up with people who live overseas! "He who must not be bored while I sketch" has never quite been able to get his head around the fact that I travel in the UK and overseas to meet up with people I've never met face to face and have never spoken to on the phone.............
This survey will be added into The Making A Mark Poll - Resources for Artists which also contains the results and analysis of all previous opinion polls run on this blog.
I'll be posting a new poll for February tomorrow.
'Who's made a mark this week' follows later today but will be published a little later than usual.
SO interesting. It would be illuminating to do an analysis on the rate of posting and the corresponding longevity of one's blog. I, as you will remember ;D, posted many times a week for years. In order to maintain a balance in life, I've winnowed down to one or two posts a week.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yet, here you are, posting more and more, all the time and still productive in your art life!
My fourth anniversary is coming up and I have a post to make on the subject of Life and Blog!
Thanks again for this poll--- with its surprising, to me, results.
I check the stats on my blog almost daily - interested in whether figures go up or down. SInce I have been posting almost on a daily basis in the last three months I have noticed a steady increase but not in the number of people that comment which is something I find interesting. I also comment regularly on other people's blogs. Pretty much on every post of the people on my bloglist. I have wondered about cutting back my posting to maybe two or three times a week.
ReplyDeleteIncreasing visitors and comments is a very slow process. I was posting on a daily basis for some months before I saw any real progress. It does come though.
ReplyDeleteIt's consistency rather than frequency that matters - rollercoaster blogging isn't recommended as a way of increasing your profile.
I've blogged for three years and its taken that long for my blog to become 'stable'. In that I mean that there is regularity and likely some expectation on my readers for a particular level of content.
ReplyDeleteI agree that regular posting does increase visibility as does commenting on other artist's blogs. I go out of my way to visit other people, many who I've never seen before to comment and update my list with.
My posting was only when had another rendering done to post, it being then a visualization of my works, and that varied much, since pen/ink on the scale I render takes time... but now have shifted to showing my WIP, which allows me to post much more - at least once a week and so far higher than that... and yes, also inclines me to comment on aspects of my creating, which adds yet more postings... a gain for sure...
ReplyDeleteKatherine – I’ve read your poll results and readers’ comments with great interest. For a year, I posted small paintings 1-4 times a week, then nothing for several months while dealing with the personal stuff of life (not that painting isn’t a profoundly personal endeavor!). Returning to the easel, I knew it was time to experiment, which to me meant painting big.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I had become quite frustrated with working small and with the almost daily hassle of photographing, adjusting colors to match the original, sending emails and posting to my blog. I could have posted text only on some days – my head is full of art ideas – but I’ve always felt that a guest at my blog should be greeted by a new painting by me. I think it’s what they expect to see – and I’d like the artwork to entice them to see more. Obviously, the linear nature of a blog means text posts would push images down ‘below the fold’.
Interestingly, I’ve had more email sign-ups since posting my bigger art every few weeks. As you say, it's consistency that counts, whether posts are daily or monthly. Thanks for encouraging me to think about how and why I blog.
Karen, thanks for mentioning the eraser carving series. Yep, two more to come. I'd best get busy.
ReplyDeleteBut I wanted to write and tell you I think that John Busby's "Drawing Birds" is the best book on the subject. I treasure my copy. What a great artist. I'm glad you've brought this up for people to look into!
So much else to explore here. Many thanks!
Roz
Katherine, first I think I miss-addressed the last post, so apologies if I did in fact do that! I was writing emails to my friend Karen just before posting. Limited brain cells.
ReplyDeleteMore important, however, I couldn't get the Busby link to work when I clicked on it. Maybe it's just me, but I wanted to let you know just in case it wasn't.
Roz
I must confess that I'm one of your readers who never comments or takes surveys, but always stops by. I intend to change that. I've been blogging consistently since last October and find that if I post at least twice a week, my stats go up. Plus the link to my website has increased traffic there too. Thanks so much for the valuable information you provide.
ReplyDeleteJanelle - well done on starting to comment!
ReplyDeleteYou'll also find that your traffic goes up if you start commenting as people like to check out who people are and often follow their names back to their blog! :)