Guest Speaker: Phil Gerbyshak
- Want more people to comment on your blog?
- Tired of blogging in a vacuum?
- Want to make friends with your readers?
- Wondering how to score some great interviews for your blog?
The Relationship Geek will answer these questions and more from 7 – 8 PM.
Thank you,
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Visit Phil’s blog, Make It Great!, where he offers a daily dose of relationship blogging — one of the many things Phil that has earned him the title of Relationship Geek. –ME “Liz” Strauss
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Let’s open the Q&A . . .
I’ll go first. Phil, what do you do when something’s gone wrong, and you’re not feeling very much like the Relationship Geek we all know you are?
During the Virtual Conference today, you can take $100 off registration to SOBCon 07.
Great question Liz: When I’m not feeling like much of a relationship geek, I go find my friends who I know ARE in a better mood than I am, and I live in their world for a bit and soak in their GREATness!
Welcome everyone 🙂 I’m here for an hour, and I can type like the wind! Ask me anything. I’m here for YOU.
So, Phil, how do we make sure we’re not blogging in a vacuum?
One other thing I do is I think about a time when I was feeling like a relationship geek. What was I doing? How did that feel? And I focus on that.
Hey Phil,
Didn’t I just see you on Chris’ post? 😉
Anyway, how do you suggest bringing your readers into a conversation? Sometimes (on what I think are really dumb posts) my readers comment without asking, but when I write something I want and/or need comments on, I get nothing…
Any ideas?
Carolyn – the first thing to do is something you do very well: comment on other people’s blogs, and then take the conversation back to your place in your own post.
Hey Joe – Glad you’re here.
Getting comments requires you to leave margin for comments. Where can a reader fill in a gap, or ask a question for more clarification. Don’t give them everything, leave some for them.
Great question 🙂
Being a non-vacuum blogger also means linking out whenever possible. If it’s just you, then it’s like you’re talking to yourself. Share some of someone else’s ideas, especially if it might contradict yours, and the vacuum is gone.
Joe – Another way to get comments is to share your thoughts with others you know feel like you do, or feel different than you do, and ask them to comment on it.
Or comment on a post like yours on another blog, and change your URL to your article.
Great questions thus far. Thanks Joe and Carolyn.
Sometimes it seems I forget about that margin for comments.
Here is a question I asked of my readers and did get quite a response.
Do you think RSS is hurting the Blogging Community?
What’s your take on RSS and the conversation that is a part of blogging?
Carolyn – we all forget that. Easy to do. I do it all the time. Perhaps you can save some for the next post, as a follow-up?
Follow-up sounds like a wonderful idea!
Joe – I don’t think RSS is widespread enough to hurt the blogosphere, and in general, I think RSS is a good thing for information flow. As Microsoft embeds RSS into more and more applications, blogs will get more and more widely read. Comments will probably stay at about 1% of readership, as folks at corporations often cannot comment from work (I can’t now, and I know other companies will likely ban this as well, as you can trace the IP addresses back and make it look like corporate is sponsoring this).
All in all, anything that gets the message out to more people is a good thing, in my opinion.
Great question!
Oh, Phil. Since you asked, let’s talk a little bit about scoring interviews, too.
Conversationally, RSS makes things a bit tougher, but again, this is where leaving margin, or adding great graphics, helps. And why you have to post when you make a cool graphics change. Or put a video out there that doesn’t come through RSS. Do something to put their butt on your site, and they’ll comment. 1-2% will anyway 🙂
Phil, how would you say quantity and traffic counts are related, if at all?
Scoring interviews – this is easy, in my opinion. Just ASK people who’ve written books or are selling software if they’re willing to be interviewed. It’s cheap (not free) marketing, and if you’ve done this before, you can get bigger and bigger and bigger names.
Shameless self-promotion: I’m always open to an interview. Just let me know. I know Ted Demopoulos is the same way. Most of the folks I interview are that way. They want to get their message out. Bloggers are (to use a Seth Godin term) sneezers.
#18 should read “comment quantity…”
Chris – Quantity of posts to traffic is a tough question.
Quantity of posts: 1-3 per day max, in my opinion, is optimal, at least if you’re starting out. If you’re amazing like Liz here, you can crank out 10 quality posts a day. She’s an exception.
This will get you a steady increase in traffic, at least if at least 1 a day is a quality, thought provoking post.
I’d say CONSISTENCY of posting is what will drive traffic. Post at least 3 days a week if you can, and that’ll help.
Comment quantity: I think more traffic leads to more comments, not the other way around, unless…
You put the number of comments in your Feedburner feed. If I see you’ve got 10 comments on a post, chances are I’m going to click in to see what’s going on.
Great question Chris. I hope that answered your question (and the other half of it too). 😉
Carolyn,
The best was to get an interview is to ask, plain an simple.
I asked Liz and she gave me an interview.
I asked Darren Rowse, he gave me an interview.
I never thought it would happen, but both of them are real people just like us. 🙂
Great point Joe. Just ASK. People are people.
Phil, which do you find better for building relationships, blog commenting or email (and why)?
Great question Chris.
I am an e-mail guy. If you’ve been to my blog, you rarely see me in my own comments. I love the intimacy of a 1-on-1 e-mail. The folks that leave comments are the special ones, the 1-2% folks I mentioned. Those are the folks I want to come back to my blog, to become my friends. They’re the evangelists.
That being said, for the reason I mentioned above (to boost traffic) I am going to start, in April, responding to comments in my comments, along with e-mail.
And I’ll let you know how it goes. We’ll see. 🙂
I also find that commenting on OTHERS’ blogs is a great way to build relationships. I love to comment on other people’s blogs. Great stuff deserves praise. A nice thank you for sharing your insight goes a long way. If only 1-2% of people are commenting, it’s tough to stay motivated. Remember: 100 readers = 1 comment (or less). Don’t get discouraged. Love your commenters, and be a good commenter.
Does that get to your question Chris?
Phil, I gotta tell you how cool those e-mail answers are. On the flip side, I’m glad you’ll be adding yourself to your comment section. It’s good PR.
Carolyn – follow-up is fun. Pull out a comment, put it in the context of your original post, and use it as a post. See if that gets more commenters.
Thanks Carolyn. I think it’s good PR too. So we’ll see how it goes. Yvonne DiVita (http://www.lipsticking.com) reminded me that I’m leaving my readers behind by taking the comments off blog.
So I’ll try both, because I’m an intimate guy. I only hug 1 person at a time, with both arms, before I move onto the next 😉
I think you covered it very well.
I tend to do just the opposite, jump on the comment with a response as soon as I am able. And I think I might start emailing more. I see what you are saying about it building a stronger bond with the commenter.
Interesting concept — building a post from the comment up.
Thanks Chris – here’s another reason why I e-mail: I personally don’t go back to posts I’ve commented on, unless I’ve really added some value to the conversation or asked a question, and even then, sometimes I forget to do so. If I don’t go back, I wonder how many other commenters do go back and re-read? It’s great with WordPress because I can subscribe to the comments via e-mail, but not with TypePad. And that’s where I am, I’ve got a ton of juice there, so I’ll stick it out.
Yep, building a post from the comment up is fun. It’s a great way to encourage reader participation, especially if instead of linking to the comment link, link to the commenter’s website, and your original post article. Link love, instead of link LIKE. Works for me!
Hi Phil,
I want to comment about generosity. Your generosity, specifically. Authentically sharing yourself with others via email, showing up and going the extra mile to promote someone else on your site and others. I see the ethic of giving before getting.
Can you talk about that?
(You are who I want to be when I grow up.)
Lisa – you’re making me smile (and blush). Don’t stop 🙂
Seriously, I don’t know how (or who) else to be. I love to give, and I want to give as much as I can, as long as I can, until I can’t give anymore, then squeeze the giving out of me so I can give just a little more. Heck, that’s why I’m here. To give the world a better place, a GREAT place.
I’m just glad to have friends who are willing to take what I’m giving (that’s usually a BIG HUG, if you ever see me in person).
And really, giving is the root of all love. So I’m glad to give what I’ve got.
That answer it, or do you want more?
Phil, my only caution would be the danger of seeing everyone through your own glasses.
Not everyone is like you (as totally cool as you are).
Some of us are a bit ocd about the refresh button! I go back to most of the places I’ve commented to see how the conversation is going.
Likewise I should make the effort for a more personal email from time to time.
Great point Chris. And that’s why I’m going to try something new.
One thing to note: I can’t comment during the day, when you might be commenting. Do you care that I comment hours (sometimes a day or 2) later?
Me? I totally don’t care. If what you have to say is worth saying now, it will probably still be worth saying in a day or two.
I keep track of all the comments on my own blog. I respond to comments deep in my archives all the time.
A late comment is preferable to no answer at all. To get no reply is, again, being in that vacuum.
It’s something I learned from Liz 😉
Personally, I enjoy visiting the 20 or so blogs I read daily–in person. And I like coming back to look at the comments. So yes, it’s okay.
I believe this is the preoccupation of the newbie blogger, however. Probably won’t be able to do that foreever.
Good point Chris and Carolyn – I’m curious…if you leave a comment at my blog, and I don’t respond for 3 days, do you feel like that’s a vacuum? Would you prefer an e-mail? Do you care if it’s already been a few days?
Good for you Lisa. I’m honored to among those you stop by and say hi to. Thank you VERY much.
I used to do that too, until I started using Bloglines. I’m thinking of switching to Google Reader to clean out some of the cobwebs/junk. I’ll keep my favorites, but some, I have to leave behind. Especially those that never stop by and comment. I value relationship more than content, though I value content first, then relationship.
Even though I can be a bit compulsive about checking back, I’m not really all that emotionally attached to getting a response.
Besides, at your place you’ve kinda trained the kids to take care of the comments amongst themselves. 😆
Phil,
Yes, a three day span feels like a vacuum to me. Sort of feels like a first date with no phone call for days and days afterward…
Ooh, first date and no phone call. Does she love me? Probably not.
I remember my first response to a comment. (humming It Feels like the First Time)….
Yeah, I try to respond faster, though when I travel, sometimes I’m not so good.
And yes Chris, I think I’ve trained the kids well 😉
The fact that a response has been made takes it from the vacuum. My objection is when I leave a comment and get no reply at all. Everything can’t be immediate, but all things deserve good manners.
Gotcha Carolyn. Thank you.
Great comments = at least good manners. Excellent point!
But think on this: If you respond individually to each comment with a comment, not only are you publicly recognizing each commenter (who doesn’t appreciate a little public recognition?) but you are also instantly doubling your comment count, for what it’s worth.
In the military we were taught to praise in public and punish in private.
Responding in the comment box is a great way to publicly encourage more commenting.
Yikes! So much for this hour.
Good point Chris. That’s a really good point.
One note (just to give you the other side): If you tell me what a great job I did, but I wasn’t around to hear it, does it still count?
Yikes? Carolyn, I am SO glad you’re here. What’s 60 minutes among friends?
5 more minutes – anything else I can help you with?
I think it was Leah Maclean who ran a cartoon a few months back: if you post on a blog and no one comments . . . .
Hi Phil (and everybody),
Great topic. I usually answer comments in the comment section. But I’m behind and have probably left people sitting by the phone. Oh no, I feel bad about that…
When I leave comments, I would like to check back and see how the conversation goes, but I got overloaded. I’m trying out co-comments, but that’s just another layer of reading.
What’s a girl to do?
Yep – good stuff Carolyn. That’s funny 🙂
Hey Sandy – I say go for the e-mail response for quickies (thanks for weighing in), and leave the ones that add value for the blog, or for a separate post.
And cut yourself some slack because you’re only a wonderful human being, and you can’t keep it ALL straight 🙂
Totally. Because remember, it’s only 1-2% who are commenting anyway.
Even if the first person doesn’t notice (and I bet most of them will) the other 98-99% see the response and may become more inclined to comment as well.
I sometimes say things in the comment box that are entirely for the benefit of the lurkers (even though no one else may realize that’s what I’m doing or why I say something.)
I’ll be working on a plan for interviews. Should be lotsa fun. This day is turning out to be a GREAT one 🙂
One of the most obvious examples of that was comment #14 in the last hour.
Chris – you have convinced me friend. Thank you for your excellent points.
So are we all going to SOBCON or what? I hope to meet you all in Chicago!
Cool stuff Carolyn. Feel free to start with me if you want to get a warm up in. 🙂
I’ll be there Phil. (Even if means I have to get a hug.) 🙂
I’m going to say my goodnights now friend. Bye Chris, Lisa, Carolyn, Sandy, Joe (I think he left before) and all the lurkers at home. Thanks for sharing your GREATNESS with me tonight! Stay tuned for David Armano!
You’re on, Phil. I’ll be sending you an email. Thank you.
Definitely a hug for Chris.
And talk to you soon everyone!
Am I too late?!! I heard Phil was giving out hugs and ran right over!
Ann – I’m still here!
Phil,
You are the man!!!
Thanks Liz! I’ll stay here if you like 🙂 I kinda like this place.
Thank god! I couldn’t stand to miss a virtual hug! I hear you give the best ones too 🙂
I try to do that. I give better ones in person though. You’re getting at least 2. 🙂
Virtually, it’s tougher, but I can do it! You can too. I hug me, you hug you, close your eyes, and smile. Feel the love!
🙂
oh yeah! – see you over on David’ post!
OK this is getting a little to weird for me. 🙄
i know i’m a late check in here 🙂 Sorry.. wow Phil sounds like you did make it GREAT!!
Like the idea of building a post from a comment. Awesome perspective
GP In Montana
Thanks GP. Never too late 🙂