I must admit I am recently and completely obsessed with The Pioneer Woman's blog. I heard she offered wonderful give-aways on her site and noticed a gorgeous lidded pot available for enthused readers who left a comment on Friday and Friday only. Ree mentioned three would be given away and I thought my chances might be pretty good. That is, until I scrolled down to comments and saw 33,000 other folks had beaten me to the punch. In one day.
Whereas I hesitate to remove my own page views from my Blogger stats lest I am left with no stats at all. I've always maintained I'm my own best audience and Blogger stats shows I'm no liar.
You can imagine my surprise and joy when someone I don't know in real life and am not related to by blood or marriage mentioned my blog the other day on a homeschool mom chat board.
In my euphoria, I did not notice she began her post title with a "Hmmm..." Rookie mistake. "Hmmm...." and "Just curious" always mean the poster is about to eviscerate you. Don't be fooled if you are on a Christian mama board or even talking to a real life Christian mama. They can be the most practiced at this skill. Beware in the South that this type usually precedes the comment with a "bless your heart" or "bless her heart" before moving in for the kill.
I skipped the hmm until I read the comment, which sweetly wondered if I hadn't blogged just the opposite perspective of the one I voiced on the chat board.
I don't know, did I? Very possibly. I deliberately ignored the obvious "you hypocrite" undertone and decided to center on the positive. This lady remembered my blog? And a post I didn't even remember? That's amazing to me. I can't remember what I said yesterday and my writing lodged that firmly in her brain?
Naturally, I thanked her for being a reader and asked her to become a "follower" of the blog so I would know she's reading. Plus, 11 followers seems so much less loser-ish than 10, don'tcha think?
To which she replied she was NOT (ok, I capped. She didn't, but it felt like she did.) a reader. She had read it one time, "Sorry to pop my bubble."
But ya know what? I'm still kindof elated. I never did find whatever post she recalled, but I obviously provoked an intense reaction in her. Strongly negative, but surely that's better than lukewarm, right? I'm gonna go out on limb here and state categorically that Jesus thought so. And you know Jesus is the trump card that ends all arguments, so I win.
I don't want you all--all 10 of you--to think poorly of this woman because she seems quite friendly and wonderful to everyone else on the board. I can only surmise the issue is me. Probably, I brought this one on myself by a true but unnecessary comment a year or so ago in response to a post of hers. There's another lesson in that for me, I am sure. If I were going to write myself a note about it, I'd probably begin it with a "Hmmm..."
(If you are reading my blog, whether by FB or another means, if you'd take a moment to become a "follower" on the blog's homepage, I'd appreciate it!)
Blessings, Holly
Don't be fooled by stats, I read your blog through my reader every time you post (though I am a follower), so I wouldn't always show up in any visitor stats. (And just for the record, you and I have never met--but we did chat on the phone once.)
ReplyDeleteI have over 100 followers, but few actually read my blog. I don't follow out of reciprocity, I don't usually ask people to follow. Some people do a mutual follow thing, "If you follow me, I'll follow you!" But then they don't read what I write or they don't visit again. I like the idea of what I share through writing being read more than the perception of looking popular. (However in this case, if you don't follow me, please do. I am contradicting my last statement within one blog comment--a new record!)
I admit to being eager for comments 'cause I like conversation. I don't write to feel like I blog in a vacuum.
So yeah, at least she read yours once (and then popped your bubble...)
Now chat boards? I don't read any of those! Wouldn't know how to find them...
Holly,
ReplyDeleteYou are hilarious, and I love your blog!
I also was obsessed with Pioneer Woman a couple of years ago. I subscribed and starting seeing her three or four daily updates on her "confessions" blog. Then, I realized she also had a cooking blog and a photography blog. And a home decorating section. And, oh yes, her homeschool blog. And somehow in the midst of that she managed to take 300 photos a day of various farm animals, children and beautiful people. And work the ranch at 4 a.m. alongside Marlboro Man. Not to mention cook him a gourmet dinner every night, photograph it, write step-by-step instructions and publish those on the blog. And... homeschool?
And that's when I realized she is either the most highly efficient person on the planet or she has a staff. And she is not actually writing all of those blog posts. Or cooking all of that food. Or maybe even taking all those photos. Or... or... could she even have help with homeschooling??
I don't know. But either way... whether she's perfect or has many assistants, I realized it wasn't healthy for me to obsess over her and I had to unsubscribe.
However, you might also have heard of the very unfamous "Pioneer-less Woman". (http://everydaymomlife.blogspot.com/2009/06/pioneer-less-woman.html) She actually will even stop by and read YOUR blog!
Oh, and PS... If you want people to subscribe, it is a good idea to invite them to do so! (as you did in this post...) I agree that subscribers often aren't readers, but they are more likely to read than people who don't subscribe.
ReplyDeleteContent is key. And I love your content! So, keep writing, and I (and many others) will keep reading. =]
I follow your blog both here and on FB. I try not to get too down about my stats and I don't think I will EVER get 30,000 followers/readers. Just recently, I had my record amount of readers on one post - 57. Far cry from 30,000. The next day I was down to my usual 25. I just keep writing and hope, like you, that my words touch someone. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks, all! And yes, Ellie, I do remember talking with you on the phone!
ReplyDelete