Six Mistakes I Have Made as a Blogger
With battlegrip.com now four years old I can look back at thousands of posts and, by carefully reviewing my work, find ways in which I have failed you. In general, the site is a success because my ultimate goal is easy — make myself happy! — but it is the secondary goal of reliably entertaining you is where I must improve.
So as I look at four years of blog posts about toys, comics, art, games, and extremely random things I find myself mentally constructing a list of mistakes I have made as a blogger. In the interest of forcing myself to get better I am writing down sharing this list. I hope that in the future I can avoid these blogging mistakes.
1. Irregular Posting Schedule
Some days I am inspired and excited about blogging and post frequently, sometimes posting eight or nine entries in a single day. This often happens either when I have a lot of free time or when something has captured my passion. And then other days I struggle to get three or four posts online or, even worse, don’t post anything.
This is not good and from now on I will try to run six blog posts — ranging from an affiliate link to things I’ve seen online to a review — every single day.
2. Lack of Focus
battlegrip.com,as my personal site, is as random as I am and jumps from topic to topic without warning. But I love this and it is only listed as a mistake because traditional blogging wisdom suggests that unfocused sites with several random entries have a hard time attracting readers.
Rather than lose the randomness of the site, though, I will try hard to construct a schedule and stick to it. Not something as strict as “Transformers entries are always on Mondays,†but instead a more general schedule where book reviews are on a specific day of the week, designer toys appear on another day, and mass market action figure reviews are a third day.
I fully expect to fail at this, but if I can find a way to succeed — and share a schedule everyone can trust — then it should help you know which day(s) of the week you’ll be happy visiting battlegrip.com.
3. Failure to Attract Comments
For seeing tens of thousands of unique visitors each month battlegrip.com does not get many comments. Maybe I’m doing something wrong — the blogging “experts†would say I have no clear “call to action†at the end of each entry — or maybe it’s just that my writing isn’t interesting enough to convince many of you to leave me feedback.
I see other sites run monthly contests in which anyone who comments is entered into a drawing to win a prize. I have tried this a few times in the past, but mailing physical goods is a pain and doesn’t work well with my schedule. Maybe what I should do instead is offer an Amazon gift certificate every month; that’s at least something I can handle through the web.
4. Not Interacting Enough With Other Bloggers
I should be chatting with other toy bloggers. I should be out there reading other sites and commenting more than I do. Part of the reason I do not comment often at other blogs is because I usually link directly to anything that catches my eye. Posting a link here at battlegrip.comrather than a comment, I feel, helps everyone here more because it gives you a chance to see a post you may have missed.
So going forward I will try to leave more comments at other sites without putting an end to linking to sites from battlegrip.com. I’m not sure how I’ll do this — any suggestions for me? — but I will try to be a better blogosphere citizen and chat with other bloggers. And this should extend to writing guest posts and reviews for other sites: if you run a blog and want to talk with me about a guest post or review please tweet me and we’ll work out the details. I’m @philipjreed on Twitter and use Twitter more than any other social media site.
5. Not Reaching Out to Manufacturers
If battlegrip.com is about toys then shouldn’t I be regularly receiving information from toy manufacturers of all sizes? There are a few companies I have decent relations with (and some I have incredibly tight connections with), but it is a disservice to you to have not put an effort into, for example, participating in things like Mattel’s “Ask Matty†series.
This mistake I’m unsure of how to fix. Out of all of the large toy companies the only one to ever respond to me is Hasbro — repeated attempts at e-mailing Mattel, as one example, have gone unanswered — but that’s no reason for me to quit trying.
One way I can think to work at getting news from manufacturers is to suggest that if any customer service reps at a toy manufacturer — or comic publisher, or game publisher, or anything else I’ve written about here — contact me on Twitter: @philipjreed
6. Not Asking You What You Want
The final of the six mistakes I have made as a blogger comes down to not getting your feedback often enough. battlegrip.com may be my site and my place to relax, but it is also my way of entertaining you now that I no longer write for a living and if I want to succeed at entertaining you then I need to know what you want to see.
So with that in mind you can expect to see polls here at battlegrip.com as I ask you what you want to see next. I recently ran a poll to ask for your input on the site’s next theme week and I will be posting more polls in the future. So keep an eye on the site and watch for more polls; with your help and input I can better entertain you.
I’ve made these mistakes in the past, but now that I’ve thought through — and posted! — my mistakes then maybe I will, as a blogger, improve. And improving my own skills as a blogger should increase both my pleasure in maintaining battlegrip.com and your joy in following the site.
I want to thank all of you for reading battlegrip.com and I encourage you to tell me how the site can be more fun for you. And if you see anything you agree or disagree with in this (or any) post then post a comment or tweet me — @philipjreed — and tell me and we can chat about it. (Notice my “call to action†there? Is that how the “experts†want it done?)
Now it is time for me to start work on the next four years of (hopefully better) blog posts.
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New Years resolution: start commenting more on BattleGrip. Least I can do for the work you put into the site.
Personally, I kind of dig the “lack of focus,” although I never really interpret it as such. I like that I can hit up your site and be surprised at a couple new reviews in as many days, or maybe see something random that I’d probably never find of my own accord.
Either way, keep up the great work, and good luck on your initiatives! I have no doubt 2013 is gonna be great for you and the site.
@Dave Juicebox – Thanks! I think the whole “lack of focus” thing can go both ways depending on each person’s own interests. That’s part of why I don’t want to drop the randomness entirely but instead kind of put some structure behind the madness.
And I plan to keep posting through 2013 so I’ll try to make sure to have enough fun on the site to keep you checking it out.
Phil,
I think it’s interesting that the creator/owner/author of one of the most active, diverse, entertaining, dedicated to all things cool blog sites I know somehow thinks this site isn’t doing enough.. Really? Unless your trying to somehow conquer the interwebs I think you’re doing a tremendous service to the community already. I think it’s great you’re adding more content, etc.. Don’t get me wrong.. But I hope it remains fun for you and doesn’t turn from a labor of love to just.. well.. labor 🙂
Jet
Well, if it means anything – PaxCybertron is my third attempt at an ongoing blog. I tired a comedy blog which fizzled immediately, I still have my Gunpla Blog, but seems my Gunpla days are at low embers right now, it’s pretty quite there, and PaxCybertron – I have found that, with comments, it usually is the same group of people commenting on each site, people who enjoy my posts and want to interact, but I realize a lot of people just read and move on, which is fine too. I like your blog a lot, and I usually check all my blog links every other day (though I try every day)and yours is always first on the list! I do always try to comment if I am knowledgeable about a topic too, but that’s mostly Transformer stuff!
@Jet – Thank you! Don’t worry, the site is still fun and I am going to keep doing it as long as I am having fun. This post was more about trying to share thoughts on areas where I can improve the site rather than intended as “I don’t have fun.”
I’ll try to keep getting better and posting fun stuff for as long as I can.
@PaxCybertron – I have tried a few differnt blogs over the past decade but this one, I think, is the clear winner out of all of my attempts. And I think that’s because I try to cover a little of anything I find interesting.
I appreciate the comments you make on stuff. And since there seem to be more than a few Transformers posts here and there I seem to be writing stuff targeted right at you.
You’re upset that you don’t get at least six posts up a day? Stop making me look bad! I can barely get one in. On the serious though, you do a bang up job and I know these things can be tough. I’m not sure why certain things happen to certain blogs. I almost think its a bit random at times.
@Newt – I’ll try to limit myself to six a day so you don’t feel too bad. 😉 But thank you! You’ve got your own bit of random fun going on and I try to share your stuff here every now and then just in case someone is missing out on what you’re up to.
I wish I could get those hits in a month! Keep up the good work! 🙂
It’s encouraging to read this, as you’re a blogger that I definitely look up to. I really hope that this site doesn’t lose the diversity that it has, because It blows my mind just how diverse it is. I can’t wait to see what 2013 brings.
Point 3 has plagued me since I started That Figures. I always appreciate feedback (and always try to engage, even going as far sometimes as having a ”what do you think?” comment in places) and although I have a few regulars who do comment, it’s odd how little interaction goes on, given the number of visitors. I wonder if in my case though it’s because I use the Blogspot tools for comments rather than something more accessible to off-and-on visitors…
is this where i’m supposed to comment? 😉
i enjoy your web site. sure i don’t read all the time but there are few sites that i do. just keep doing what makes you happy!
Forrest Gump voice: “Battlegrip is like a box of chocolates…” I love the randomness and the fact that your site has been unapologetically about what you like. I enjoy it but rarely comment because it does seem a little bit like you don’t partiicularly care what other people think. And that’s not a bad thing necessarily, it may not even be true, it’s just an impression I get from how deeply personal your particular passions are. Other bloggers are on the other hand seem to bend over backwards to make their readers happy while you are more about making yourself happy and if other people enjoy it, so be it…
Question on commenting. Do you have a time limit to comment on your site? I just visited a couple older posts, like Metal Head and couldn’t comment.
@prfkttear – There is a two week window before commenting closes down. That’s because the spam is horrible, bringing in hundreds of spam comments every 24 to 48 hours.
By closing comments after two weeks the spam becomes slightly more workable on my end. Deleting spam comments from the site takes a lot of work.
@Izdawiz – I had never thought that my tone was keeping people from commenting. But you’re right. That’s not at all intentional; I just know what I like and what I think. But I also want to hear other opinions.
@Iok – Between e-mail and info here I am now learning that my posts don’t really invite comment. I guess that whole “Call to Action” thing I always thought was a bit serious is real.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_to_action_(marketing)
@TJ Duckett – Thanks! And the diversity will stick around. In fact, I’m gonna try and cover some things I’ve been missing (which is part of why I’ve posted a designer toy review today).
@The Daytime Ninja – Will do! And I hope the times I link to your site to share something helps get you a few readers.
The what of it is fine. It’s the how of it I want to know!
Like Dave Juicebox, I kind of like the freeform format of the site. I’m always blown away to see posts on a Sunday. Also surprising: You’ve answered/replied to every one of my posts. I post to various blogs (be they toy review blogs, nerd sites, etc). I get responses from other site viewers on occassion, but I’ve never gotten a response from the site admin/owner. That’s totally awesome!
Keep up the great work on 2013! As I’ve mentioned before on many of my posts, your passion has sparked my recent obsession with 3rd Party Transformers. I get excited whenever I see a Transformers review (of any kind) as I gave up on collecting Transformers years ago. Now, I can’t wait to see what you review so that I can check them out on the stores. You’ve also posted reviews for many different lines that I can’t wait to check out once the holidays are over (like the Glyos toys). And finally, I can’t wait for Transforming Collections! With all that you do on a regular basis, I’m blown away that you can get any sort of regularity on this site.
@Paul – I hope you enjoy the Glyos line. If you’re at all into customizing, swapping parts, and building stuff then I think you’ll find Glyos very playable.
And I sure as hell can’t wait to finish Transforming Collections! I want that book in my hands today; I get a lot of free time over the next three weeks so the book should be done and ready for print by January 1st. Good to know I’m not alone in wanting this done and out.
Can’t wait for the work to be done on the book, i know it will be worth it!
Can only re-afirm the others, i really like the way he site is almost a hodge podge of content and scheduling, it’s hard to stick to a plan, especially when you have so much else to do.
Speaking of contact, i dont currently twitter, but have an offer or two i’d like to discuss, replied to the PDF email with a thank you, if thats what i can use to contact you just let me know.
Thanks for this. I’ve had a blog for a few years now, but until recently it was just a collection of occasional random posts. For the last few months, though, I’ve been blogging a lot more, and trying to figure out exactly what I want it to evolve into. I think your points are going to help me with that.