My blog has a following in Russia. And I have no idea how. I started writing it
14 months ago when my daughter was born. www.youcantakeherhomenow.blogspot.com It
was a way of diarising the experience. The first time she rolled over, the
first time she smiled, the first time I had a hangover as a mum. All the key
moments.
I hadn't really done anything to promote it, other than tell a few mates and start a Facebook group.
And then I set up a twitter account, but I couldn't quite get the hang of how to use it.
I was told you've just got to push yourself into conversations.
That seemed a bit like the annoying person at a networking breakfast, who foists his card on anyone who makes eye contact.
I gave it a go. To no avail.
But then if I had a stranger telling me how delicious a cake my mum had made for my birthday looked, I'd probably think it a bit weird too.
Although Margaret Atwood did retweet something I sent to her. Which has to be up there on the celebrity swooning stakes with shaking Micheale Strachan's hand at the Lincolnshire show in 1986.
I couldn't and still can't work out how to get people to follow my blog.
I know people must be reading it, because it was nominated for the best writer category in the MAD blog awards. But I've only got 27 actual followers. Twenty seven! It's hardly worth showing off about.
It was ace going to the swanky awards do, getting dressed up and meeting loads of other mum and dad bloggers. But I felt like a fraud. All of them knew each other through on-line networks, reading each others blogs, and going to blogging conferences.
I checked out a few of them, and they were inspiring. Entertaining. Heartfelt. Funny. And all had at least two hundred followers.
Now I know a lot of them write reviews of products, or holidays, and use hyperlinks to broaden their reach. But I didn't want to do that.
My blog has always been about my experience as a new, or newish now, mum. I felt it would be getting off message if I started writing about the merits of Miracle Gro herb bags.
And then a woman from a PR agency got in touch and asked if I wanted to review a Miracle Gro herb bag.
And I thought, go on then.
So I set up a different blog, www.mindyourwalletpal.blogspot.com, specifically for reviews. Which has on last count, no followers, so isn't the raving success I was hoping for.
Never mind.
Thing is, I really enjoy writing my blog about being a mum. And there's something reassuring, almost life affirming, when women get in touch to share their experiences, to empathise, or just to say how they, too, made their daughter look like Marcus from About a Boy after their first home haircut.
But when I looked at the stats, that was probably the biggest surprise as to who and why people have stumbled across my blog.
Firstly, was the key search phrases, which included 'lentil farts', 'old sckool dance music' and 'how can I get her home'. How disappointing to discover the blog wasn't about successful one liners but sleep deprivation and first steps.
But most surprising was the geographical reach. Now, the majority of the audience was predictably from the UK, followed closely by the USA. No shocks there. But the third most popular country for readers was Russia.
How are people finding out about my blog in Russia?
Maybe I need to go to a blogging conference. Work out what I'm doing. Find our how to get some people signing up to follow my blog.
And then maybe I'll meet some real life people who I can follow on twitter and I can compliment on their baking skills.
That would be the dream.
I hadn't really done anything to promote it, other than tell a few mates and start a Facebook group.
And then I set up a twitter account, but I couldn't quite get the hang of how to use it.
I was told you've just got to push yourself into conversations.
That seemed a bit like the annoying person at a networking breakfast, who foists his card on anyone who makes eye contact.
I gave it a go. To no avail.
But then if I had a stranger telling me how delicious a cake my mum had made for my birthday looked, I'd probably think it a bit weird too.
Although Margaret Atwood did retweet something I sent to her. Which has to be up there on the celebrity swooning stakes with shaking Micheale Strachan's hand at the Lincolnshire show in 1986.
I couldn't and still can't work out how to get people to follow my blog.
I know people must be reading it, because it was nominated for the best writer category in the MAD blog awards. But I've only got 27 actual followers. Twenty seven! It's hardly worth showing off about.
It was ace going to the swanky awards do, getting dressed up and meeting loads of other mum and dad bloggers. But I felt like a fraud. All of them knew each other through on-line networks, reading each others blogs, and going to blogging conferences.
I checked out a few of them, and they were inspiring. Entertaining. Heartfelt. Funny. And all had at least two hundred followers.
Now I know a lot of them write reviews of products, or holidays, and use hyperlinks to broaden their reach. But I didn't want to do that.
My blog has always been about my experience as a new, or newish now, mum. I felt it would be getting off message if I started writing about the merits of Miracle Gro herb bags.
And then a woman from a PR agency got in touch and asked if I wanted to review a Miracle Gro herb bag.
And I thought, go on then.
So I set up a different blog, www.mindyourwalletpal.blogspot.com, specifically for reviews. Which has on last count, no followers, so isn't the raving success I was hoping for.
Never mind.
Thing is, I really enjoy writing my blog about being a mum. And there's something reassuring, almost life affirming, when women get in touch to share their experiences, to empathise, or just to say how they, too, made their daughter look like Marcus from About a Boy after their first home haircut.
But when I looked at the stats, that was probably the biggest surprise as to who and why people have stumbled across my blog.
Firstly, was the key search phrases, which included 'lentil farts', 'old sckool dance music' and 'how can I get her home'. How disappointing to discover the blog wasn't about successful one liners but sleep deprivation and first steps.
But most surprising was the geographical reach. Now, the majority of the audience was predictably from the UK, followed closely by the USA. No shocks there. But the third most popular country for readers was Russia.
How are people finding out about my blog in Russia?
Maybe I need to go to a blogging conference. Work out what I'm doing. Find our how to get some people signing up to follow my blog.
And then maybe I'll meet some real life people who I can follow on twitter and I can compliment on their baking skills.
That would be the dream.
by Anna Jefferson
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