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Today's question comes from Robin at Your Daily Dose:
Well, I do have one question for you. On my Thursday posts I dedicate Youtube footage that (ideally) resonates with something a reader wrote earlier in the week. Sometimes I have a difficult time getting that person to SEE it. In the past, I have taken several routes with this problem. I have left a note on their blog. Usually this is only necessary if they are a sporadic blogger. However, this isn't always the case. What do you think I should do? Should I have to hold their hand (aka leave a blog note)and lead them to the "good stuff?" Or should I just let them miss it? What would you do?
Robin, I think you've taken the best approaches there are. My favorite is the comment left at the blog of the blogger whom I've mentioned in my blog post. If that blogger is a regular visitor to my blog I don't say anything about my mention of them. I just hope that my comment will serve as enough of a prompt for them to come to see my post about them without being too blatant.
Sometimes the direct approach is the way to go if you really don't want your featured blogger to miss your mention of them. I try to avoid a direct email but I have resorted to that a few times. More often I will leave a comment at that blogger's site that lets them know that they have been featured. That usually does the trick with the added benefit of drawing a few of that blogger's readers to see what I've posted.
I guess it depends on how badly you would like them to see your post. When you've included me as one of your dedications, I usually find it because you've left a comment at my site. When you have directly told me in the comment that I've been featured, I'm over at your site right away. Some I've almost missed but gotten to later because I'm visiting you after the fact and remember your Thursday dedications.
The best way to get your featured bloggers to be less likely to miss that you have dedicated a video to them is to get them in the habit of visiting your site all the time. Isn't that the goal most of us have? Your presence on the sites of others through your comments reminds us to visit your posts. I know this to be true because my comments have dropped drastically since I have been commenting less on other sites. Time consuming I know, but it's the catch 22 of social networking. It's a matter of priorities.
So I've answered with the obvious that you already knew and that most of us bloggers learn pretty quickly: Do we spend the time blogging and promoting our blogging efforts or devote our time to doing the things that we need to get done. It's mostly about balance, but it's also a matter of priorities and what time we have available to us.
The bottom line is that I think you're doing your job the right way. You, as well as I and all the rest of us, have to do what's best for our lives. Some bloggers (such as Alex whose last name doesn't even have to be mentioned to know who I'm talking about) have things down to such a slick system that they can manage work, writing, blogging, and other activities with seemingly effortless proficiency. We are all different and have our own life situations which face us.
Now back to the question. I'm going to test the simple comment method. I'll go over and leave a comment on Robin's most recent blog post. If I've already left one I'll leave another one referring to my current post mentioning her. Since Robin is a regular commenter on this blog this may not be the best measurement as to how well my suggestion works, but we'll see what happens. Will Robin see this post in which I've mentioned her? Probably.
Oh, and any of you who are reading this, why don't you stop by Your Daily Dose and say hello to Robin. You can tell her that you saw her mention here. And maybe later you'll be featured on one of her upcoming video dedications.
Can you think of any other ways to get someone to see a post you've put up that mentions them? What is your best advice on achieving balance that includes adequate time for blogging? Have you had a video dedicated to you at Robin's site yet?
Sometimes the direct approach is the way to go if you really don't want your featured blogger to miss your mention of them. I try to avoid a direct email but I have resorted to that a few times. More often I will leave a comment at that blogger's site that lets them know that they have been featured. That usually does the trick with the added benefit of drawing a few of that blogger's readers to see what I've posted.
I guess it depends on how badly you would like them to see your post. When you've included me as one of your dedications, I usually find it because you've left a comment at my site. When you have directly told me in the comment that I've been featured, I'm over at your site right away. Some I've almost missed but gotten to later because I'm visiting you after the fact and remember your Thursday dedications.
The best way to get your featured bloggers to be less likely to miss that you have dedicated a video to them is to get them in the habit of visiting your site all the time. Isn't that the goal most of us have? Your presence on the sites of others through your comments reminds us to visit your posts. I know this to be true because my comments have dropped drastically since I have been commenting less on other sites. Time consuming I know, but it's the catch 22 of social networking. It's a matter of priorities.
So I've answered with the obvious that you already knew and that most of us bloggers learn pretty quickly: Do we spend the time blogging and promoting our blogging efforts or devote our time to doing the things that we need to get done. It's mostly about balance, but it's also a matter of priorities and what time we have available to us.
The bottom line is that I think you're doing your job the right way. You, as well as I and all the rest of us, have to do what's best for our lives. Some bloggers (such as Alex whose last name doesn't even have to be mentioned to know who I'm talking about) have things down to such a slick system that they can manage work, writing, blogging, and other activities with seemingly effortless proficiency. We are all different and have our own life situations which face us.
Now back to the question. I'm going to test the simple comment method. I'll go over and leave a comment on Robin's most recent blog post. If I've already left one I'll leave another one referring to my current post mentioning her. Since Robin is a regular commenter on this blog this may not be the best measurement as to how well my suggestion works, but we'll see what happens. Will Robin see this post in which I've mentioned her? Probably.
Oh, and any of you who are reading this, why don't you stop by Your Daily Dose and say hello to Robin. You can tell her that you saw her mention here. And maybe later you'll be featured on one of her upcoming video dedications.
Can you think of any other ways to get someone to see a post you've put up that mentions them? What is your best advice on achieving balance that includes adequate time for blogging? Have you had a video dedicated to you at Robin's site yet?
Winner of Yolanda Renée's e-book
The winner of the drawing for a choice of Murder, Madness & Love or the upcoming release Memories of Murder is commenter Sheena-kay Graham. In order to make arrangements to receive your e-book copy please contact Yolanda at address: yolandarenee@hotmail.com and she'll send a gift card for the book to your email address.
Thanks again, Yolanda and all of you who left comments for her guest post!
I personally think that the best way to tell somebody is just via comments or if they leave an email to contact them from there instead, great and thought provoking post though all the same.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Sheena-kay!
ReplyDeleteAnd who is this Alex you speak of...?
Most of those I feature already visit on a regular basis. Sometimes a blogger will miss it and I don't worry about it. If it's a really special feature, such as during the A to Z Challenge, I will leave a comment on that person's blog saying he needs to visit and I have a surprise.
And yes, Robin has dedicated several videos to me and I appreciate it!
Commenting works well for the reasons you mentioned already. It's also the most natural route.
ReplyDeleteI think you should send an email. It would be flattering to be mentioned in someone's blog, especially if you put the effort to have a youtube clip. It would be sad if they missed it.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, if a comment on the bloggers own blog doesn't do it, or an e-mail to that blogger, then isn't it their own fault? Regarding balance, I write on a group blog and have gotten in the habit of visiting other blogs sporadically. I do get around to everyone who has followed my blog, but it may take months and I don't always leave comments. Unless you leave a comment on my blog, and then I visit right away and will leave a comment. I'm a sucker for the personal touch.
ReplyDeleteIf it's something I really want someone to see, I will either leave a comment on their blog or email them directly to let them know.
ReplyDeleteYeamie -- If we comment regularly on other posts we get visited more on our own posts. Blog science!
ReplyDeleteAlex -- You've got a great system going.
Southpaw -- The comments are the most subtle approach.
Em-- That's true if you have the email. In many cases the email isn't available. I do send an email when I can if I feel the honoree should definitely see the post.
Kim -- I try to do the same though I do find myself often falling behind with reciprocations.
Andrew -- It's the most logical thing to do. I guess one could try more extraneous routes such as tweets or Facebook announcements or other social media mentions. Maybe some of those are more direct in certain cases. It's hard to know sometimes though.
Lee
I feel honored to have been mentioned on Robin's blog twice. Her wonderful tributes always trap me there while I enjoy her selected videos. It's so much fun.
ReplyDeleteA few times, I've forgotten to advise a fellow blogger when I've mentioned them, so now I try to make a point of alerting them via comments on their blog.
ReplyDeleteMost bloggers love to be referred to (in a good way) and are even more flattered when that person is inspired by something we've written.
I consider it a business aspect of communication to advise a person, and a courtesy.
I know I sometimes get busy and do not make it online-quite often I end up not going back to earlier posts due to time constraints.
ReplyDeleteIf Ed McMahon were still alive, I'd say having him show up at the blogger's house with a 62" iPad showing the video clip, as well as a huge certificate commemorating the event. Preferably, the certificate would be delivered by Victoria's Secret models.
Barring that, I would say a comment or e-mail is the way to go.
LC
I usually leave a comment on their blog. Last resort for me is an email. Some you can message through Facebook and Twitter.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'd be mentioning a person who wasn't a reader, but if they weren't, a comment seems fine. Certainly not something I'd sweat about.
ReplyDeleteI think that's wise advice. I leave a comment on their blogs too. If they don't see it, then they miss out. Congrats to Sheena-kay!
ReplyDeleteSusan GK- It's nice to be honored on someone's blog.
ReplyDeleteDG -- I know I like to be notified if someone mentions me somewhere. I get so negligent about visiting sometimes that I would imagine I've missed some mentions. I've sometimes found things months after they were first put up and I feel badly that I missed it when it first appeared.
Larry -- The in-person notification would be very nice. My wife probably wouldn't mind the model too much because she loves Victoria Secrets.
Carol--And sometimes we can still miss things. I rarely am on Twitter or FB but I know that some people are on there regularly.
Kelly -- Actually I have mentioned bloggers who weren't readers. Sometimes they come by because I've let them know, but they usually don't become regular readers after that.
Christine -- We do what we can. Sometimes people are just busy and miss things.
Lee
Lee, I feel the best way to let someone know is by mentioning it as a comment on their blog. As a second resort one can email them about it.
ReplyDeleteYes, Alex has mastered that system so well. I think he has clones to do all his work ;)
ReplyDeleteI am actually glad that you left a comment for me. As you know, I am out of town right now and my blogging time is extremely limited. So, thank you for the shout out Lee!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am trying to put together a HERE'S TO YOU post for this week. We will see if it comes together...
I tend to like visiting other bloggers' blogs just to check them out and stuff.
ReplyDeletewww.modernworld4.blogspot.com
Yep, I've done all those things too.
ReplyDelete.......dhole
M o n e y
ReplyDeleteOr pizza
I prefer leaving a comment. Sometimes I've gone the email route but that's rare. Finding an email isn't always easy. And like you, I wish I had more time to comment on other blogs. I want to, but time. Time, time, time. By the way, nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteI don't bother with You Tube, get all the news from the person's blog. Good post though.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
We just drop them a comment. I understand that people can't read blogs every single day, and they might miss a post if we don't let them know about it.
ReplyDeleteAs for us, we definitely need the reminder, because we don't read blogs every single day. We just can't. We'd love to, but there's not enough time in a day for that.
On the flip side of that, I think it's BS if someone puts up a mention without telling us, then gets mad when we don't notice it. They take it personally, like we're blowing them off, but we have lives outside of Blogger, and people need to understand/respect that. If you mention us, please tell us, and we'll definitely see it/respond.
Rachna -- Clones or a support staff.
ReplyDeleteRobin -- So in this case the leaving a comment theory works.
Gina -- Glad you stopped here!
Donna -- They're the most logical approaches.
esb-- I'll take money. A lot of it. Then I can buy all the pizza I want.
TBM -- Good to have you stop in. Time, ah yes, is the one thing I never seem to have enough of.
Yvonne -- There's a lot of great music on YouTube. And other stuff too. I could get lost for hours looking at videos, but sometimes I just have to stop myself.
Beer - Well, getting mad would be just plain silly. You're right. Most of us have other things to do than check every single blog every single day. And then there's Alex. Is he using more than one computer at a time? He's got to be using some special trick!
Lee
Leaving a comment on their blog is my first choice too. If they don't respond and then don't visit and comment on my blog in the near future after that, I tend to stop following and commenting on their blog too. It has to do with relationship building and reciprocity and prioritizing my time. Just as you said. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is nice when they receive a pleasant surprise just by tuning in. If there's no response after a few days, then I would leave a note on their blog. I don't think you can go wrong either way.
ReplyDeleteJulie
I did put together the Thursday post and you were inspirational this week, so I dedicated something to you. Hope you like it!!!
ReplyDeleteJagoda -- Yes, out of sight out of mind and that sort of thing.
ReplyDeleteJulie -- At least a second try for contact is good. After that I tend to forget and am on to the next blog post I've done.
Robin -- I'm glad you left a message to remind me.
Lee
Tossing It Out
why do you avoid directly emailing them?
ReplyDeleteNot everyone you are mentioning is a super blogger, are they?
Mimi's Watercolors
Mimi -- If I have a close enough relationship to the blogger I might email them. I tend not to send many emails as a rule and often I don't have access to a bloggers email.
ReplyDeleteLee