Sunday, 30 September 2012

An End And An Opportunity: Wrapping Up The Follow-Swap Blog Hop


Well the Follow-Swap Blog Hop is officially over, and I am officially stoked at how it went.

See, it's on Facebook. Therefore it's official.

In the end there were forty-four blogs on the list (which is about forty-three more than I expected), hundreds of views on my three FSBH posts, and enough lovely comments to earn me a permanent, stupid grin. And for that I can’t thank you enough. :D

 I wanted the FSBH to be a chance for everyone (myself included) to get a better idea of what catches blog readers and turns them into followers, so now I’m dying to know what you learnt from all your hopping about. What made you immediately look for a blog’s follow button? What sent you running for the hills? (Hopefully nothing short of a yeti bursting out of your computer screen but you never know). What was more important to you: content, voice or design? Or was it the person behind the blog which appealed more?

Being a master of thinking ‘til I’m cross-eyed I’ve already got a list of ideas, but I want to leave it open to you guys first. I’ve had loads of people who couldn’t make this blog hop ask me when it’ll happen again, so this is your chance to get in on what will hopefully be an even bigger and better event next time. I’m going to compile a post with all your feedback and links to you/your blogs, so leave a comment with your blog’s URL and we’ll see what we can whip up.

And while you’re at it (or if you just need to kick-start you thinking caps), check out these limited edition, FSBH posts: The Follow-Swap Blog Hop: Effective Content and Defective Stamp Collections and The Follow-Swap Blog Hop: Twitter Profiles That Don't Make Me Facepalm

Thanks again, everyone.


Katherine Amabel

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17 comments:

  1. katherineamabel30 September 2012 at 17:54

    On second thoughts, I'm probably getting overly excited and carried away (shock, horror!) without showing you what I mean, so here's my example: the blogs which attracted me most were those with a whole range of content - not just book reviews, not just writing advice, but lots of snippets of valuable or inspiring information.

    What did you guys find?

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  2. Anonymous30 September 2012 at 19:25

    Thanks so much for such a great idea. I've wanted to expand my audience but didn't really know how. Not sure I got too many new followers...I guess sarcastic single-girl humor is not what people are looking for??? But no matter...I enjoyed hopping over to other blogs and hey...I found your blog and a new Twitter-er to follow! (Oh..and I was attracted first to blog names. I like the funny or interesting. I was attracted to blogs with a content that went beyond writing advice. I want some entertainment!)

    Thanks again!
    Mrs. Darcy
    roomthirty3.com

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    1. katherineamabel30 September 2012 at 19:49

      Hey there, shame about the followers - those overly enthusiastic malware detectors wouldn't have helped. Anyway I love sarcastic single-girl humor so I always look forward to opening your posts. :)
      Kat

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  3. Anonymous30 September 2012 at 20:08

    People have got to make it easier to follow a blog.

    Blogger used to have a tool at the top left which you just clicked on to follow. That isn't there anymore. Now you have to sign in and click and confirm and it is laborious. If bloggers don't have the followers/members tool on their side bar, then they aren't going to have new followers. Sadly Wordpress makes it near impossible to follow, and many don't want to RSS because emails clutter an already busy inbox.

    Just my two penneth.

    Thanks for hosting, Katherine.

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    1. katherineamabel30 September 2012 at 21:42

      I totally agree there, and I always worry that I have too many different ways people can follow the blog, but if some use one method and some another I guess you just have to cater for it. Is it just wordpress blogs that make you sign in through twitter/facebook etc to comment? Annoying. :/

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  4. Heather M Bryant30 September 2012 at 20:29

    I totally agree Donna. I don't RSS anyone and whenever I find an awesome blog, I'm always so disappointed when it turns out to be wordpress.

    The thing that draws me to another's blog is hard to put into words. There's a general feel of homeliness and a personalisation to the voice and the content. If I get that impression just from one post, I'm going to stay and hang out.

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  5. katherineamabel30 September 2012 at 21:43

    Well said, Heather, I think that's very true. :)

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  6. Johana Vera1 October 2012 at 13:19

    Hi!! I'm basically stopping by to apologize and maybe even grovel a little. I remember signing up for the blog swap, but my week turned out to be beyond stressful at work so I had no time. There were some visits at my blog, and now I'm making up for those who visited but haven't heard from me yet. I'm so sorry I couldn't visit more blogs.
    And thanks for organizing this, by the way. So cool :)

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    1. katherineamabel2 October 2012 at 21:02

      No worries Johana, thanks for coming back! Hope you find some gems. :D

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  7. Unknown1 October 2012 at 20:31

    What a great idea! Great way to advertise blogs and find new blogs to read! I'm a new follower! :) Mine is http://17hnak.blogspot.ca/ if you're interested!

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    1. katherineamabel2 October 2012 at 21:04

      Thanks for stopping by. Off to check out your blog now :)

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  8. Sus2 October 2012 at 10:37

    Even though I was late to the game, I thought this was fun and am still catching up on checking in on some blogs.

    Name of the blog is what caught my eye first, and then if the blog had some personal content that was amusing or touching, I liked that the best. One blog literally just had me balling in my office. But in a good way.

    I agree with the wordpress gripe and the lack of an easy way to follow.

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    1. katherineamabel2 October 2012 at 21:03

      Wow, a lot of people have said the name. Now I'm considering a re-brand!

      Delete
  9. Texas Yellow Rose2 October 2012 at 12:59

    Katherine,

    Your blog hop came at a perfect time for me, helping me get back in the creative flow and saying "Howdy, how ya been?" to my Muse. Thanks for all your work in this project! I have two blogs - my writer's blog at http://mywritingneuk.blogspot.com and a chronicle of my life on the road as a full-time RV'er at http://phoenixonceagain.blogspot.com

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    1. katherineamabel3 October 2012 at 04:56

      Hey there, just visited your blog. Thanks for joining in. :)

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  10. Ink in the Book7 October 2012 at 15:52

    I know, I'm late getting over here to respond to your post, but with me, late is a close synonym!
    I really enjoyed this blog hop! I met some new blogging friends and I'm now following several blogs I probably wouldn't have found else where. Not only that, but I got several new followers, which is a bonus!

    What draws me to become a follower of a new blog is first decided by the content. If it's not something I enjoy reading, then I usually don't follow. The info doesn't have to be all about writing, either. Just stuff I enjoy reading!

    Apparently, about 20 or 25 blogs signed up for the blog hop AFTER I finished hopping around, so I will be making a new round to visit the ones I missed. I'm not one to miss out on anything exciting!

    Thanks for hosting, and I truly look forward to the next one:)

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  11. katherineamabel9 October 2012 at 03:13

    No worries, glad you liked it. Have fun hopping around. :D

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