Ian ConstantineWill this title get me 100 votes?
October 23rd 2008 05:26
While there are some really good and important posts out there, how do you attract people to read what you have to say? Why do some really good posts go unnoticed, while a copy and pasted piece of junk can rocket in the popularity stakes?
Is it all in the title? Or is there something underlying that attracts more comments and thus get more votes…
I direct you to the first question, something I wrote a while ago… Why do votes matter?
"I have come to a realization whilst using Orble. The eternal chase for votes is irrelevant. A part from an ego boost and the mandatory 10 (to get noticed) there is not much point in them..."
To read the rest of this previous post 'Why do votes in orble matter? click here
So do votes matter? Well if you want to get on the popular list, I guess they do… but this can be achieved a number of ways without writing anything of note…
*I am not having a go at anybody, just making a simple observation…
So what other methods are there to attract people to your posts? Perhaps it is an intriguing picture? Does a picture accompanied with a title make you more likely to read further? No doubt. But what picture is the best for what you are trying to say?
By far the most popular technique is to pose a question in the title… to set-up some sort of list… I experimented with these to see if people would bite… a post such as “Greatest athlete of all time?” will usually attract attention… but can be easily slapped together will little thought… Think we have established this…
The other obvious technique is to bait people – a popular ploy where you make your title provocative… just wait for people to tune in with their two cents worth! Add a provocative pic and you have a sure thing…
Then there are the perennial UPPER CASE TITLES…. Or the really really long titles with the theory being, how can you miss this title?
There is the saying less is more... in this case what it represents is that you can not keep using these tactics and attracting an audience… if you try to sell out, people will soon tire of it…
i.e if you use the same technique every time you can cheapen your work and then when you actually want people to read it, you might find that the cupboard is bare…
-think the boy who cried wolf…
The answers lies somewhere in being creative, and building up your reader base, interacting with fellow orbler’s will also introduce you and your work and you will get to know each other on some sort of level… making it more fun to read each others work…
You may find you have a lot in common with the community and you mind find that you have met certain bloggers before… its happened!
Getting more involved will mean people want to read your work and will also want to comment… Meaning your posts will become inherently more popular…
What are you trying to say? Why are you saying it? And why should other people read it?
Figure out this and your orble experience will be much more tangible, fun and much more rewarding…
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Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling
Potter in a Harry
Votes are easy to get. It's not why I'm here.
Sport's a tough subject on Orble. You have to bring something new to the table. A different angle. Otherwise people like myself will skim the sports pages online and totally disregard your posts. There's so many sports jounos out there you're in competition with.
Take the fact that Tiger Woods caddied for someone this week. You could go to town on that information, and write a post that was entertaining but informative at the same time.
They're my thoughts on the matter.
Comment by sportsbar
Fret X
As mentioned in the previous post (linked), votes do not come up in any rankings system that Orble uses... thus votes are irrelevant... Funny why they are there and why they equate to a post being popular when it should be traffic and other factors...
Also as you said, I do not come to orble to find sports news... why would i? it is not a news breaking service...
But as a sports fan, i love debating sport, love the topical issues, love explaining behind the scenes and love challenging other people's views and perceptions of sport...
Go to a pub, you'll here every larrikin talking sport, watching sport... the arguments, if not totally unbased/unbiased are fun and thought provoking...
Guess that is why i started blogging sport, to discuss sport on a medium that cared more than just who won...
Comment by David Edwards
That said, votes don't really matter at all. But it serves as a yardstick for whether people are actually reading your posts at all.
-SportingMind
Comment by Leonard Marlborough
Racing Write
I've asked the very same question about votes not always equating to effort. Reading other sports blogs I have noticed that votes are difficult to come by for all in this genre. However, some sport posts have been nothing more than a cut and paste.
Although I write about horseracing, my own favourite posts are those where I have gone on a tangent and included references to Kurt Vonnegut (linking the inner clock of the jockey to Kurt's own fascination and play with time) or the Gunpowder Plot (V For Vendetta), or race or gender politics within the world of racing. And then I find that I also need to write 'straight' racing to balance it out - especially at this time of year. A balancing act between straight reporting and creativity.
In the end I suppose I only write for my own pleasure (just like my novel) . I would hate to think that I would moderate and manipulate my voice for the sake of gaining extra votes.
I could just as easily put a few 'tips' down and call that a post. And in a way - because of my subject - it would almost be acceptable. But it wouldn't be writing. And I would soon get bored.
In my next life I am going to be a film reviewer. Now that's where the votes are!
Comment by Damo
What are they?
I'd rather they did not exist because people link them to their self worth.
If you write something that is noteworthy then eventually you will get noticed.
If you play to the cheap seats then before long you will have to reinvent yourself to match the next cheap fad. Sort of sucks the fun out of writing doesn't it?
Comment by sportsbar
Fret X
I guess I was just encouraging people to step out and actually write, to forget about the votes...
Comment by sportsbar
Fret X
As i said in the previous post (linked) what are votes? Why do they matter? basically they serve an in-house purpose... but there are literally thousands of people who come and visit your site after using a search engine, there is a whole World wide web out there, out of Orble... and they are actually the people you want visiting more often.
Do we write because we want votes? I know I don't, I blog because it gives me an outlet outside of work to vent, to argue, to discuss and to be entertained.
p.s I love film reviews, another medium that causes lots of discussion, but the ones that are popular in orble seem to be really well written.
Comment by sportsbar
Fret X
Bang on the money.
My Women in Sport article I wrote a year ago is high in the google search and constantly gets traffic, while never receiving votes... And That is the way it should be. If people are reading it, that is all I can ask.
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
I have to agree (and echo) the previous comments (particularly the first one) as my thoughts run the same way.
I dont know I am hypothesisng, but I have to agree, sport is such a hard subject and one easily overlooked if you do not offer a unique angle from a part of yourself/your personality.
I think all seasoned orblers first joined with the view to shooting off a few opinions with a veiw to easy money, which is very slow to matierialise ... leaving something else in its place .. friendships.
What can you tell me about sport that some faceless journo tells me in any magazine I pick up. Perhaps your opinions (and outrage/unique (funny) perspective) honestly voiced, will tell us the most about who you are and the sport itself. The beauty in the orbubble is, that there are very few boundaries to what you write, so knock yourself out.
btw Im heavily medicated atm, so apolgies for the waffle, just wanted you to feel the high of 100 adn tell you this was a good post, nice catchy title, bit of a vent ~ lovely.
Lilla ..
Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
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