This is how crazy I am. I’m concerned, because I’m getting too many blog hits.
Allow me to explain.
Last week I wrote a post early Wednesday morning, 2 May, titled Penultimate Daydream. I will be the first to admit that it was a bit of a rambling post, mostly because I was feeling sleep deprived, and I wasn’t thinking all that well. It came out pretty much as a stream of semi-consciousness, which it was.
Now, before I put that post up, I was having a pretty good week. I’d had decent hits on the blog for Monday and Tuesday, and I was surprised to see Wednesday do as well. I will admit, I follow the hits my blog gets. I follow where the hits are coming from. And, as you’ll see, in some cases I know who you are . . .
So I posted Wednesday. The post was Tweeted, and then put up on StumbleUpon, and my Pintrest page. For those who are looking to market themselves, I recommend these last two pages, as we writers need all the crazy exposure we can get.
I’ve watched my blog, mostly because I’ve been sick since Wednesday–coincidence?–and I haven’t been able to do a lot of writing. My mind hasn’t been in a happy spot, and getting out the daily blog post has been the majority of my creative endeavors of late.
So I watch.
Now, lets add to the equation that I’ve been at The Real Home since Friday night. Today is a state holiday, so rather than drive back to The Undisclosed Location on Sunday, I worked from home yesterday, and I’ll head back to the work site tonight. (Yay, me.) So even more so that other times, I’ve had my finger on the pulse of my blog.
The numbers have been insane.
Friday I saw a 100+ day. Same with Saturday, which had never happened before. Then Sunday–even bigger. And yesterday, Monday the 7th, was my biggest day ever.
So why am I bothered by this?
I use the website StatCounter to . . . lets just say it gives me a lot of particulars about who comes to the blog. I see people coming in from all over the world, which is good.
However, sometimes I see how long some of the people stay, and that . . . well, there are more than a few instances where I see a time of four seconds. Or two seconds. Even saw one hit where one person stayed one second.
As a writer, I don’t want to be a way station for people looking for a particular fix. I’d like people to stay a bit, read, and perhaps find themselves entertained. I’d love for people to hang out, even more so than I enjoy the hits.
The strange thing is, I know what’s causing all the hits. It’s a tag I used. That’s what’s pulling people in.
Which means . . . I’m at least getting better at finding the right lures.
The illness seems to have dissipated, so maybe I can get back to doing what I do best tonight.
And it’s not sleeping . . .
May 8, 2012 at 9:44 am
Yeah…I’m not quite finding where the “concern” comes into to play, lol.
. Any hit is a good hit, eh?
May 8, 2012 at 9:47 am
Like I said, I’m a very strange person. Only I could find something to be upset over in blog hits.
May 8, 2012 at 9:52 am
LOL…strange is good. So we’ll go with that and find other great things to be concerned about. Your most recent book release, and the upcoming sale of Couple’s Dance for starters.
May 8, 2012 at 9:55 am
And speaking of the current book, I just made a sale. Maybe two! And the person who bought it off Smashwords bought Kuntilanak as well. So three today!
May 8, 2012 at 11:13 am
I know of what I speak
. I see greatness in your future young Write-walker. LOL…
May 8, 2012 at 10:34 am
Ah the levels of paranoia we writers climb to. Never let it be said that we are completely antisocial creatures, no our social outlet just happens to revolve around whether people are actually ‘reading’ our blog rather than stopping by for a second or two. hehehe. As you can tell, I am intimately familiar with this particular brand of psychosis.
Thanks for the info on StumbleUpon and PIntrest. I’ll check them out.
Hope you feel better!
May 8, 2012 at 10:41 am
I feel much better today. Unfortunately, I have to go back to work tomorrow. If I get sick in the office again, I’m staying away for a week. This just kills me.
Yes, we want to be loved and read, both really, and we want people to be touched by our words. It’s a crazy thing, but it’s something that seems to make our efforts “justified”. It’s crazy, but it happens.
May 8, 2012 at 11:51 am
LOL I’ll trade your blog “Problem” for mine! I think I’ll try Pintrest now. I’ve been ignoring it but maybe I shouldn’t. Thanks!
May 8, 2012 at 11:56 am
I have fun with Pintrest. Even had two people repin my blog post this morning.
May 8, 2012 at 12:09 pm
Very cool! I’ll look into it! Thanks again!
May 27, 2012 at 4:31 pm
IOh, wait….. you can tell how long people stayed reading your blog? I’m not sure about this, but I think I fell asleep after clicking your site…. it was like 1 AM , then woke up at 5 AM and I was still here ( though on sleep mode , the screen was black )
May 27, 2012 at 4:36 pm
I have used other sites that keep track of that information, and I’ll get an idea watching that. Like I can tell, this time, you were on 5 minutes.
May 27, 2012 at 4:48 pm
I figure that’s right. Sometimes though I get to read it on my email folder first, then before I delete I go to your site to let you know I read your post. ~_~
May 27, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Thank you, Renxk. I like that you do that.