ProBlogger: How Posting a Humble ‘Selfie’ Grew Traffic, Shares and Comments on a New Blog

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How Posting a Humble ‘Selfie’ Grew Traffic, Shares and Comments on a New Blog Posted: 22 Oct 2013 08:37 AM PDT Two months ago my wife, Vanessa, started to blog. It is something she’s been planning for some time and with a little encouragement and some design help from Shayne, we set up at Style and Shenanigans. The blog is in its very early days and Vanessa is still finding her voice but I think she’s a natural. I’ve been excited to see her experiment with a variety of kinds of blog posts. Two days ago saw a new type of blog post on Style and Shenanigans – a post that I watched Vanessa put a lot of thought into. It was the first time she’d shown herself on the blog in a picture with a post called Everyday Style @ Shenanigans Central. The post included a montage of humble selfie shots of an outfit she wore and a description of the different elements in the outfit. I totally understand V’s hesitation with the post. Putting a picture of yourself ‘out there’ for all to see is something I remember pondering for a few days, before I did  when I started blogging back in 2002. Back then, I had to go and get an image scanned to be able to put my photo up so it wasn’t something I could do on the spur of the moment. I also worried about doing it. I was concerned about privacy but I also felt weird about having my face ‘out there’. I think I’ve gotten over that… as a quick search on Google Images will show (although I didn’t post all of these shots myself and at least one have been ‘doctored’). While we live in an age of the ‘selfie’ – when people constantly photograph and share pictures of themselves – many new bloggers do worry about their first time. It won’t be for everyone and you will want to consider issues around privacy and safety however, there are some definite benefits. You can see some of those benefits with Vanessa’s post this week. V’s blog post statistics were notable for three reasons: Firstly, it was a record day of traffic. While it didn’t go viral it was the best day of traffic so far on the blog and around 7 times the traffic of a normal day. Secondly, the post got shared more than a normal post. Again, it wasn’t a viral post but a greater number of people shared it around. Thirdly, the post had more comments than she’d had previously. I think this was related to more than the increase in traffic. My reflection upon V’s post was that it was a post that people connected to, a lot more than previous posts. Because of that, it generated more interest and more engagement. People relate to people. We’re wired to be drawn to others and respond to their faces and stories. It’s no wonder that by injecting some personal touches into a blog – it has a positive impact. I noticed this same thing when I first started posting images and videos of myself in my early blogging. It felt weird at first – but it helped my readers connect to me. A Surprise Benefit of Being Personal I also think that it had another benefit for my blog. It made ME feel more connected too. I noticed this in particular when I started posting videos of myself, here on ProBlogger. The same was true when I first did video streaming chats and webinars. There is something about creating content that is more personal that makes ME feel more engaged with my readers. Perhaps having been seen and heard by my readers – I feel a little more accountable to them. Whatever it is, I feel like by putting myself out there and over the years my blogging has improved. Have you posted pictures of yourself on your blog? I’d love to hear about your experience of this. Have you posted more personal content on your blog? Pictures, video, stories etc? Was it something you struggled with or just did? What impact did it have? Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger How Posting a Humble ‘Selfie’ Grew Traffic, Shares and Comments on a New Blog

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ProBlogger: The Do’s and Don’ts of Conducting Interviews For Your Blog

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Conducting Interviews For Your Blog Posted: 21 Oct 2013 08:57 AM PDT This is a guest contribution by Kelly Gregorio. As an active blog owner, chances are you strive to produce content that is engaging, relevant and most important, fresh. Right? Switching up your content's style and delivery can keep readers' interest and may even make the experience of producing content more exciting. One way to engage your audience is with a stellar interview. Not only can a successful interview provide some great promotion to your brand and credibility within your field, but it also can get audiences more invested in your blog's content. Unfortunately not every blogger knows the keys to great interviewing. Missteps and mistakes can turn your endeavour into a flop while running the risk of staining your online reputation. Follow these quality do's and don'ts and make the process work for you, your interviewer and your blog audience. Do Prepare If there is one thing an interviewee hates it is a repetitive, unprepared interviewer. If you want stagnant answers and shallow insights, then by all means don't do your homework. However if you want them to open up… Get prepared. Know your subject's biography and background better that he/she does. Read every interview about them that's ever been published. Your interviewee will not only appreciate not needing to fill in the well-known blanks about their past, but they may even get invested in the interview itself. By reading past interviews, you'll know not to ask those same old questions that they've heard before. Take on the task of striving to ask something they've never publicly explored before; try to get them not just to answer, but also to reflect and really think. Don't Serve Your Own Curiosities Of course you will come to the interview with your questions already prepared –this goes without saying. However pre-interview be sure to formulate each question with your eventual readers in mind.  The formulated questions you collect should serve as a great skeleton for where you see the article going. The interviewee will either fill in the meat or break the mould completely; you have to be willing and open to things going either way. Whatever you do be sure not to abuse your power and ask questions that solely serve your curiosity. Do not ask things that you have no intention of writing about but are instead, are just nosey; it’s so unprofessional. Everything you say and do should be in representation of your reader's interest while being both polite and politically correct. Do Set The Tone It is your job to ease your interviewee's mind. Despite their public persona, people get nervous during interviews. And a clammed up subject will make for some boring interactions. This is why you should make the interview more of a conversation. Be willing to work with your interviewee as they formulate his/her thoughts. If you rigidly plan to quote them verbatim you are going to find yourself with a tight lipped and hesitant participant. Instead, encourage them to just be themselves and go off and explore together. Get clarification before quoting anything, to make sure that their intended message gets across. Don't Forget To Show Thanks Post-interview be sure to follow up with a formal thank you for their time. If you have an online following, promote your interviewee (and any upcoming projects they have going on) by providing teasers to your readers about the upcoming interview. Be sure to let your interviewee know when their post will be live. Not only is informing them the polite thing to do, it might even open your interviewee up to participating and interacting with questions and comments from your readers. Have you had any success conducting interviews for your blog? What tips can you add? Kelly Gregorio is a journalist that reports on small business trends while working at Advantage Capital Funds, a company that provides businesses working capital. You can connect with her through the comments section of her daily business blog here.   Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger The Do's and Don'ts of Conducting Interviews For Your Blog

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