Here I want to talk about finding quality blogs for your blog tour. There are a lot of factors, such as genre and where will you reach your audience, but today I’ll focus on how to identify a popular blog:
Alexia
“Alexa is the leading provider of free, global web metrics. Search Alexa to discover the most successful sites on the web by keyword, category, or country. Use our analytics for competitive analysis, benchmarking, market research, or business development.”
Google Analytics
Another site that lists blog stats.
Hit Counters
While this might give some indication, hit counters are usually inaccurate. A hit or a visit could be a five second event and not someone who stayed around. Sometimes hits will show up from a Google search. And whenever a counter is created, it can be set at a higher number.
Followers
Blogs with 500 or more are good places to start. You won’t be able to tell how many are following via email and other means, but notice the totals of Google Friends Connect, Networked Blogs, and Linky Followers. (Google+ followers may or may not have much impact.)
Unique Comments
A large number of comments indicates not only are people reading, they are interacting. Be sure to pull up the actual comment thread though. Some people reply to each comment, thus doubling the comment count. Unique comments, the original comments from a visitor, are what matter. (As examples, last year I found a blog with over 200 comments per post, but the owner was responding to each comment individually, so the number of unique comments was 100+ - which of course, is still impressive. This week I found a blog with over 120 comments on a post, but there were many replies and less than 40 unique comments.)
All of the above will give you a good idea of the true popularity of a blog.
And your inspirational Friday photo:
Reflection of an Alien Insect!
35 comments:
That puts me in my place, neither do I have many followers nor do I get a lot of comments. Still, I do get some, and quite a lot of people know me these days.
Scary picture.
Hi DL, Nice to be here again after a bit gap.
This is really an interesting and informative post. I do generally reply to my comments i receive, some say it only double the comments, but i firmly believe that that reply gives and impression to the commentor. and i too feel the same so most of the time i do reply individuallly, i don't care if some one say that this is to just show the number of comments, as said you only take the real comments why bother about the bloggers comment as comment LOL
Keep inform D L
Have a good day and a happy week end
best regards
phil
Great post! I use Google Analytics, but I never heard of Alexia. Thank you and have a wonderful weekend!
Love the photo!
Helpful resources, Diane! Always good to think about how many people will see your guest posts when you're on a blog tour.
Jo, you are still building.
PV, the interaction is important, just have to be aware how the person is responding.
Elizabeth, it takes so much effort to do a blog tour. We need to make it count.
Hi, L. Diane,
Congrats on the award! As always a very insightful post!
My pleasure hosting you today! Your tips are extremely helpful and all authors can benefit from them!
Congrats on your award! I hope you have a great weekend. ☺
Great advice! And for the record I think many cars are becoming insect-like.
Cool photo!
I'll have to check out Alexia.
Eerie photo!
Thanks for these links. I didn't know about Alexia.
Thank you again, Michael.
Steven, does that mean they "bug" you?
Thank you, everyone.
A few articles and posts I've read have indicated that pageviews and comments may be considered a better indicator of popularity than followers.
I do comment to every person or I visit their blog (often both). I do that because I prefer a personal touch that I prefer.
Thanks for the tips.
Always great tips. Thanks for them.
I'm especially terrified, however, by the Alien Insect.
Love the photo! It is important to pick the correct blog.
I never understood the term "unique" in reference to visitors or responders. Thanks for the explanation.
Have a great Friday and weekend. I'll be sending something to you soon.
xoRobyn
Not all of us are on Blogger. So I don't think GFC is an accurate account of a blog's oomph. Plus, I never use it anymore. I just put people in my RSS feed or not. :) If I follow that way, I don't think it shows up anywhere until I stop by to visit.
Excellent post as always!
Hug and chocolate,
Shelly
Never thought about using Alexa to find book tour stops. Great idea. Loved your guest post too.
That sucks...i only have half the followers. but then again, i haven't been a blogger for a year yet, so do i get a pass???
Congrats on the award! Well deserved for all the help you give to all of us!
Awesome photo!
Heather
Brilliant post. When I was checking out blog tour groups, the thing I looked at was the blogs participating in some of previously scheduled tours. Many had less than 300 followers and the posts had zero comments.
I recently lost my blog and had to start from scratch (now focusing on NA/Upper YA and not on writing anymore). I went from being a desirable place for a blog tour to not. Oh well.
Great tips! Never heard of Alexia before.
DG, a pageview can be someone who hits your site for two seconds though.
Lee, I didn't even see it until I edited the photos.
Mary, that's why you have to look at the other ways of following.
Tammy, you are doing really good for one year!
Stina, sorry!
Excellent points, and I'll head over to Michael's to check things out.
I had no idea you had alien insects in your garage...
Tina @ Life is Good
Hi Diane,
I do understand what you're saying. And yes, I would be one of those who has a comment total that might actually seem misleading. You might realise I comment back to each person to add the personal touch. I'm blessed with a lot of interaction on my site. Even though my site has relatively few followers when you consider that my site is over 6 1/2 years old an I'm very proactive.
I have to slightly disagree with blogs with more than 500 followers is necessarily a good place to start. I have been to a number of sites with over a 1000 followers and few, sometimes no comments. This tells me something. Follower totals can be superficial.
Thank you for this, Diane. Congrats on being in the Sisterhood.
Gary
I prefer the personal touch and the connectivity that comes with one-on-one interaction, so I like to reply to each individual comment whenever possible...
Thanks for the informative post Diane.
...and that's an interesting photo!
Writer In Transit
I've seen book/blog tours on sites with very little reader involvement, and I've had to wonder if the tour was even worth the trouble. But I guess it's all about getting our stuff out there, regardless. I'll be checking out that Alexa site before I try any touring of my own.
Great info this week! And great links! Def. checking out Alexa
Excellent and interesting post! Thanks for the information.
I enjoyed your post over at Michael's too. My blog doesn't get a lot of comments or activity, but it works for my busy schedule. Being popular can have its drawbacks, lol.
Loved that alien insect reflection :)
Have a good week Diane.
........dhole
Going to check out your post over there!
Thanks Diane! I enjoyed this post and yours over at Michael's blog!
You are a well of inspiration~
Hope you are doing well!
WOW! I didn't know that you can actually define that. I would like to try that in our future projects.
Phoenix seo
Yet more fabulous tips!
Jai
Hi Diane - I've heard of these, but its useful to know how they work ... Then the value of blog book tours and what to look out for
Great ideas for everyone - thanks Hilary
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