Blame Kelley for this post. Or, okay, maybe thank her for this. She thinks sharing with you how I organize and cope with the gazillion posts/emails I get each day may help some of you receive more benefit from the blogosphere. I agree. Also because my blog pace may not be so unhurried from now on because of all I will be sharing, I wanted to pass on a few tips on how to organize and still read all of your favorite blogs without looking for the unsubscribe button.
Before I share a few tips there are some things that are important for readers to understand when they join a blog.
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- Understand that bloggers come in a variety of personalities AND this affects the layout of their blogs. From how they deliver their content to you, to when they do it, to what they blog about gives you a clear picture of their personality. You may say this is a given, but I promise I will give you an example real soon, but you’d be surprised at the people that don’t get this.
- Personality, experience and background affects the blogger when they speak whether it is in generalities or whether it is very detailed and specific. One guess where I am on this sliding scale? Obviously the longer that a blogger has been doing something and the more experience they have gives them a treasure trove of tidbits to draw from.
- Some bloggers only worry about numbers — that is the unsubscribe and new follower numbers. Those type of bloggers never make blogging a passionate hobby but only a business. They do not inspire a reader because their time is focused on pleasing folks instead of persuading them. Forget the numbers and foster a relationship with the reader is my mantra.
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- Maintain a separate email JUST for blog posts. I have an email account that is just for reading blog posts and yep I love it. It is an account that nobody has the email to and is used to receive only blog posts. Some readers unsubscribe from a blog claiming “too many updates”, but are they really? Or are they just filling up your personal or main inbox to the point that you can’t enjoy them? Besides your main inbox not being cluttered up, you can read on your own timetable AND read them all in one setting. It is so nifty to look at a whole page or 20 blog posts at one time for the day and read the ones that interest me. With the abundance of phones, tablets and iPads, having a free email account which is just for blogs makes it very enjoyable for me to check when I am in the mood.
- Subject lines matter to me a LOT. Not all bloggers feel this way but you should help them along if their subject lines are not specific because it can waste your valuable time. Give them feedback, help them grow and improve as a blogger. I know I value your comments and always welcome them. To show you how much I do not want to waste your time, I use Feed Blitz email dispersal, which is not free, because I want you to get blog posts with a SPECIFIC subject in each blog post. When I see blog posts that say “Here is what So and So had to say today” I cringe because I am forced to open it up before I know what it contains. Having the option to delete the blog post or browse until you find one that interests you is a huge time saving tip. So read my subject lines as I take much care to be sure you know exactly what I have for you each day. This is the example of what I was talking about when I say “personality comes into layout”.
- Where is the fire? Take your time reading. If you have a separate email account, then there is no rush to reading your blog emails for the day and it’s a breeze to look at all of them at one time. Look to see if there are any time sensitive posts like a giveaway and read those first, otherwise read on your time table.
- Understand the blogging cycle. Not all bloggers give specifics on what they blog about, but I do. If a blog failed to give you specifics, the very name of the blog should give you a hint of what is the mainstay or common weave of blogging topics. Not all bloggers have a variety of topics to blog about either, but if they do, most of them follow a sort of cycle. For example: Look at my blogging description: Dynamic 2 Moms Homeschooling Adventures: Our blogging pace is unhurried as we share our free printables first on our blog. Unit studies, lapbooks, notebooking pages, Free 7 Step Curriculum Planner, Free Student Planners, Free Home Management Binder, organizing tips for homeschool, homeschool curriculum review and some education for the educator are all things we like to share. Because I homeschool, mothering and homeschool always comes first above my love for curriculum, home management binders, curriculum planners and anything else I blog about. I feel that my topics are like a blogging cycle and I address each one as I plod along. When I read an email that says “content no longer” it only tells me that the person did not read carefully what I blog about. That is all, it is not a personal affront and my life is blessed by each person that comes here.
- Personalities Differ. One night, I had a nightmare thinking I blogged about how my toddler {when I had one} did poo for the day and all were to hail him and rejoice. Thankfully I have never done that and feel over sharing about personal things makes for drudgery. Who cares about my toddler’s potty habits besides me and his dad? Okay– maybe grandma. However, when I do talk about topics I am talkative passionate and tend to be the “detailed and like to give a lot of information” person. At times I prefer to send one or more posts at one time instead of each day. Overwhelmed people may think they need to scroll and read all the posts in that long rolling scroll. They do not. Again, bloggers do this so that you have choices. If you are interested, read them all, if not, use the subject line and delete that post. Like I explained above, give yourself time to go through a cycle on a blog by doing your part as a reader by organizing all the content you get.
Every blogger has a style whether it’s general and all over the place or being finely tuned to details. I appreciate both kinds of personalities as the blogosphere needs all of them to round us out. Appreciating that helps to make a better fit for you.
Take your time poring over all the blogs you enjoy, organize them and read them when it’s good for you. Reading your favorite blogs will be something you eagerly look forward to each day.
Hugs and love ya,
