I want to thank you all for the privilege of hosting WOTH Writer's Blog. It was such an exciting opportunity to meet all of you, especially those serving cross-culturally. Even though this is the last post, please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding your blog. I would love to continue to help you further develop your blog.
EMAIL: webster@iteams.org
I am going to refer back to my first post, and ask the question: “Why are you blogging?”
No matter the answer, you have a blog; therefore, you want the readers. Why else post? You are posting to share. Blogging is a community, a big community with many MANY different “sub-communities.”
IF you desire the readers--GET INVOLVED. Read other blogs, comment, build relationships. Find blogs similar towards yours, and encourage their writing.
Jamie Jo, a fellow blogger said, “Comments are a blogger's paycheck.” How true! I know that I often post to start discussion through comments.
QUESTION: But how do I get people to comment and be interested?
ANSWER: Through simple comment etiquette. If someone comments on your blog check-out theirs and post a comment. If they don't have a blog, respond to their comment. First thanking them for the comment and then responding to their comment.
The length of the response is easily judged by the length of their comment. In most cases I try to give the responder a little more than what they commented.
For example: If someone simply said, “Great post, loved it.”
I would say, “Thank you so much for commenting and reading. I really appreciate the comment, it is such an encouragement.”
A COMMENT IGNORED IS TEN COMMENTS LOST.
Conclusion and Self-check:
My former housemate, a fellow-blogger, and I were talking about blogging. Why do we blog? Is it pride or desire for attention. Of course! Blogging can be very affirming, and answer all of our immediate needs. I quickly learned that for me blogging is secondary to the needs of family and ministry.
Although I know a few people who use their blog for ministry, they are not the majority. No, for me I blog for my friends and family back home. Yes I am ministering to them, but mostly I blog because people back home can feel more intimately involved in my life and I can share my love forwriting ---> a win, win situation.
However, blogging can quickly get-out-of-hand because it feeds right into our sin-nature. Our blog highlights us as individuals, and as we all slowly gain more and more readers, we need to continuously ask ourselves these questions: “Why am I blogging?”; “Is blogging taking me away from my first priorities?”; and “On a value scale, can I live without my blog?”.
In Job 34:5-6a it states: “For Job has said, ‘I am righteous, But God has taken away my justice; Should I lie concerning my right?” Job lost all his rights in birth.
Be careful of pride or self-righteousness in our own works and blog.
Signing-off from Jordan, Robin W
Special thanks to:
Cindy B (editor of WOTH)
Kinzi (my mommy blogger)
Lisa B (my housemate and encourager)
Brooke W (my editor)
Editor's Note: Congratulations to Robin on her article, "Loving Arabs without Losing Myself," published in the new issue of the WOTH onlineMagazine, May/June '11!
5 comments:
Robin,
Thanks so much for your valuable insights and suggestions over the last month. As a beginning blogger, I have gotten some helpful ideas from you.
I have a question for you about comments. Do you respond to people's comments on your blog comment section or do you respond by e-mail, or simply visit their blog. I was curious. I try to respond on my blog, but I doubt really that many people check it again and read my responses...any ideas?
OliveTree,
I am so glad!
Well truthfully I ran into the same problem. So I started emailing people who were commenting to check back. WordPress has an option that they can click to receive an email if anyone comments back, I don't know if blogger has this. I recommend all my readers to click that. But after I email them once to check back, I don't email them again and I just comment back.
hope that helps.
Blessed by you, looking forward to following your blog.
Yes blogger does have that option to have follow-up comments sent by email. I've wondered this, too, whether people actually check back.
It is true that the more blogs you read and follow, the more people will find their way to your blog, especially if you leave comments from time to time.
Thanks again, Robin, for this series. I enjoyed your article in the WOTH magazine, too. Nice job!
Thanks for concluding with some thought provoking ideas.
I get very few comments on my blog, but I know it is read, mainly because people tell me.
For me, it's a tool for both communication and reflection, and sometimes even to challenge others to thought/action.
Thanks again for your posts.
Robin,
Thanks so much for taking time to share your valuable insights. I have picked up some great ideas from you and have thoroughly enjoyed your blog. Your article in the latest WOTH magazine touched me.
Thanks!
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