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Posted by: David Spinks - 26 August 2010 / 16:39
Tim Stiffler-Dean was kind enough to invite me to do an interview for his sweet site twintrview.
We discussed a lot of basic community concepts. You should check out the full interview here.
Here are some of the things we discussed related to Scribnia and our community:
Q: What is the importance of being so vocal on the@Scribnia blog and social media accounts? Should other companies follow that lead?
As a start up, it can be really tough to gain traction in a space… especially one as noisy as the blogosphere. Being active on the blog, on twitter and on other platforms is a way for you to gain loyal users early, and to establish yourself. We also use the @Scribnia blog for community efforts. In the “Behind the Blogs” series, we interview interesting bloggers from the community. It’s just a nice way to promote the bloggers in our community, while creating interesting content.
As I mentioned before, the ability and willingness to help is really important when interacting in online communities. Social media platforms like twitter, like blogging forums, etc… have been a great method for finding people who need help, and helping them.
Should other companies follow that lead? Hard to say on such a broad scale. Chances are, there are potential customers or users interacting online, and seeking information. Creating useful content and being active on SM is the best way to reach them.
Q: What are some tools that a company or person getting into professional blogging can use to be successful (like Scribnia)?
Depending on the resources they have, there are a few options.
The simplest tool would be a tumblr or posterous. They’re built for simplicity so you’re limited on what you can do but many companies have used these tools effectively. The next option is wordpress.com. It’s a bit more professional but it’s still free… which means you’re limited on options.
Most sites are using wordpress.org for their professional blogs these days. You’ll have to pay for hosting, but you have a lot more freedom in how you’d like the blog to look, features you can use, etc….
As far as getting your blog going with readers and comments, you should be using social media tools. Using twitter and facebook to share your content is fine as long as you’re not just sharing your own shit. Also check out tools like @commentluv and @disqus that will enhance the reader’s comment experience.
In the end, starting a successful blog is less about the tools, and more about the content/ how you’re getting it out there.
Q: What are some things that we can expect in the future from @Scribnia? (And how can we keep in touch to find out more).
Glad you asked. We have a lot in store for Scribnia. In the next few months we plan on really improving the overall site design and user experience. We will simplify the site a great deal, to make it really easy for users to get started, and start getting recommendations.
As I said, our goal is to enhance your online reading experience, and we’re working on a number of things to do that. We’ll also be launching a new product in October, that will be free for bloggers. It will provide them with quality story leads and professional opportunities to work with businesses.
You can stay updated on everything we’re working on by following @Scribnia, , subscribing to the blog or just signing up.
Posted by: David Spinks - 26 July 2010 / 9:39
Photo cred: Rachel Johnson
The question comes up all the time.
“How often should I reply to comments on my blog?”
My response is always the same and I’d like to explain why. I think that bloggers should reply to every single legitimate comment they get. By legitimate, I mean, it’s not spam or one of those “omg great post I totally agree” comment.
A general rule of thumb: Respond to a comment with equal effort to the commenter. That means, when a reader really takes the time to read your post, and share their thoughts, you owe it to them to respond with a thoroughly thought out response.
So why should you, a busy blogger, take the time to read and respond to every single comment? Here’s 7 reasons:
1. It shows your readers that you’re listening.
When someone comments on your blog, they expect you to read it. Responding to every comment shows that you’re reading each comment.
2. Drives the conversation further.
Maybe you don’t care about driving conversation. If you do, then as the host of the conversation, it’s up to you to get it going. Responding to every comment will help get a discussion going amongst your readers.
3. Builds a connection with more readers.
By responding to every reader who comments, you create a connection with each reader. I probably don’t have to tell you, but you never know what a simple connection can lead to. If you’re a business blogger, you can create valuable networking opportunities. If you’re a personal blogger, it’s still great to get to know your readers.
4. You’d appreciate the same treatment.
When you comment on a blog and get a well thought out response from the blogger… Feels good yeah? Yeah.
5. It will encourage more readers to comment, knowing that they’ll get a response.
If a reader sees that you respond to every comment, they can feel confident that they’ll get a response if they comment too. This will drive readers to comment on your blog more often.
6. Makes your posts look more popular.
This really shouldn’t be your reason for responding to comments, as it’s somewhat misleading, but it’s still worth noting. If your comments are included in the count of comments on your posts, it will look more popular. Of course, as soon as they see the comments, they’ll see that a lot of the comments came from you.
7. Improve the quality of comments.
If your readers know that you’re likely to respond, they’re likely to put more thought into their comment. It holds them to a higher standard.
You may not care about any of these things. If you do, then give it a shot. Respond to every comment. It’ll pay off.