Sunday, November 4, 2007

Beyond the beginner blogger--measure your blog

Tony Glover has been blogging only a couple weeks, I like his approach to blogging and think that his blog can serve as an example to other knowledge workers who are considering blogging.

Tony is a regional Extension commercial horticulture agent, located at the C. Beaty Hanna Horticulture &Environmental Center at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, Alabama. Tony's blog, Heart of Dixie Gardener, serves as a model for a beginning blog because:

1. Tony is blogging his knowledge, job, and passion.

2. He expands his reach by using everyday questions from clients as topics for his blog posts.

3. Tony is using links within his blog so others can investigate the topic further. While this technique takes a little bit of time,
By linking to it, you are 1) giving credit for your inspiration and 2) giving the reader an opportunity to delve into the topic for more detail and explanation.

4. Tony is using pictures as a way to demonstrate his point.

Now what? My advice is to keep blogging (obviously).

One particular question he may be asking is "How do I know how many people are reading my blog?" My advice:

1. Claim his blog in Technorati.

2. Use Google Analytics.
The statistics in Google Analytics count the number of visits to his blog, the number of pages visited by during each visit, length of time spent on his blog, what directed the visitors to his site, and where the visitors are located.

3. Use Feedburner.
When the feed is fed through Feedburner, then the number of feeds that are routed through Feedburner can be counted.

Daily Blog Tips blog offers explanations for measuring blogs.

Tips for beginner bloggers can be found:
Tips from a New Blogger
Blogging: Stepping into the learning process
Make mine chunky -- Write and present information in chunks

No comments: