Admittedly Gnome's Lair isn't the biggest blog around as most of you may have noticed, but it does get some decent amounts of traffic, provided of course we all understand the importance of twelve individuals in their glorious and beautiful uniqueness. Anyway, thing is, I thought I might share a few of the ways I use to promote this very blog in order to help friends, fellow bloggers, game creators, dark collaborators and all sorts of lovely creative people drive more traffic to their gaming blogs, projects and/or games. Here goes:
First of all and besides google, I can't help but use twitter and facebook, which -to my shocked disgust- are actually fun little things in themselves. They also both make sure every time I post something someone will have a look and are also places where incredibly silly discussions can take place.
Then there's Stumble Upon. A handy link sharing web application that's incredibly easy to use and can at times herd the gaming masses to this humblest of lairs. And now for a tip: never just promote your stuff. Use Stumble Upon to share the links that you generally like and neither become nor behave like a spamer.
Same thing applies to Digg, which will either drive thousands of visitors to your site/blog/whatever or, well, two. Oh, and do ignore its obnoxious, mostly retarded community of adolescents.
As for N4G, this is a site that really demands you to invest time and actually contribute to it, but should one of your submitted stories get approved, you can expect a few hundred people clicking on your link. Besides, it's a great -if mostly mainstream- source of gaming news too.
Submitting stuff to delicious can also be helpful, as can be the more traditional techniques of guest-blogging and link exchanging, but those you know. Uhm, that's all really... Good luck everyone!
(Not) related @ Gnome's Lair:
It's always interesting when a random post gets tons of views and one you're sure will be popular gets only a few.
ReplyDeleteAnd frustrating too. That's why I generally stick to what I find enjoyable. Saves the frustration. Really does.
ReplyDeleteThis stuff works. Or you could always use a blocker followed by a miner and then a basher. Oh, and don't forget to give everyone umbrellas or it could get messy.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips, Kos.
ReplyDeleteI'm still pretty new to this "making other people read what I write" game, and I'm trying like heck to make it work, but I feel like I'm a bit behind the 8-Ball because I'm not writing from an "independent" POV.
Ah well. Back to the grind.
well mr. gnome ive been reading ur blog for years now thank you!
ReplyDeleteWatching your traffic, key words that lead people to your site can be interesting. I had a post once homosexuality and games, and for some reason, it was one of my top pages for quite a while. It's useful to see what value people find in your site and to perhaps focus on that.
ReplyDeleteIt's good, too, to watch your top pages. You might have one that doesn't generate a lot of traffic but draws consistent traffic. For example, I had a post about some puzzles in an average-rated game. It brought in low but consistent traffic for two years.
Another possibility is offering free stuff, though I'm wary of it because people can come only for the downloads and nothing else. For example, I have free comics for the DS, and I get very consistent downloads. For a while, people lingered, but now, it's grab the download and leave. :)
Likewise, I'm wary of the "service" posts. I did a comparison of video formats and tools for the DS, and I had a LOT of visits to that page for a year. But I think it's like the downloads--people come for a specific purpose and that's it.
I think niche writing is good. By that, I don't mean a topic of interest to a small group but a topic that people are passionate about, like homebrew games. If that's your passion, too, then you'll probably do well. I think honest love for something draws people.
@ Marc: I really didn't want to type this, but, well, I'm afraid it's a LOL.
ReplyDelete@ Bill: Hope that helps Bill. But being properly professional is definitely not a bad thing. Actually, why not start a new blog of your own too?
@ Anonymous: Thank you!
@ Guttertalk: Actually Chris' post on R-Type and homoeroticism over at our abandoded Cabaret is also doing pretty well. And those are some excellent tips too. Thanks!
I couldn't get into Digg and StumbleUpon as it seemed too time-consuming to figure out how to attract their users, but did get pretty good results with N4G for the couple of times I used it.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, with time I've grown skeptical of the popularity potential of my blog's central themes and only mention HardyDev's articles on facebook, twitter and sometimes on adventure gaming forums.
Actually dear Igor it seems that Stumbleupon users are quite keen on indie adventures. Really. I've noticed my average related submissions attracts almost always over 100 visitors. As for the general popularity of indie adventures, well, they may not be Starcraft, but they are far from obscure.
ReplyDeleteAnother great post! Thanks for sharing I agree that fresh articles that are interesting to your readers can maintain your traffic manageable!!! :)
ReplyDelete