It’s a Cruel Cruel WordPress World!

I’ve been blogging for about 2 1/2 months now, not saying much I know, however I still haven’t really figured out how this works. I feel like sometimes I put something out there and I get a great response, other times I can hear crickets chirping it’s so quiet. There doesn’t seem to be a correlation to the type of writing I post and the response, it seems more related to the time of day or time of year. It’s confusing and I have yet to figure out what the optimal time for posting is. One day 5:00 pm will be a winner, so I’ll post then and the next time I try it, it fails miserably. It seems like things have slowed down here since I started in November and then picked up again somewhat. Is everyone experiencing the same thing as me? Has anyone really figured out when the best time to post is or is it a gamble?

I think the problem might be the WordPress Reader. Don’t get me wrong, being able to read the blogs I’m following is really terrific, however I wish there was more functionality. I think the problem is that the feed is strictly related to time of post. If you post at the wrong time, people will completely miss your post because it will be so far down the feed that they will never scroll to reach it and they will only see your post if they actually click on the list of blogs they follow and specifically remember to click on your blog. That takes some dedication. I have a few blogs that I follow this way if I miss their posts, but not many.

I probably do miss so many great posts because of the time of day that I happen to check WordPress and the time of day that the poster added new material to their blog. I wish there were other ways to filter the results. I’m sure WordPress, just like other large platforms, is essentially a huge database that can be infinitely searchable. I think it might be nice to have some kind of dashboard that showed boxes of all the blogs that you follow, much like the Freshly Pressed dashboard. This would give you access to whatever latest content that your favorite blogs have posted. And you’d never miss anything.

I’m also sometimes frustrated with the search capabilities. I like that I can search by key word, however sometimes it would be nice to search by multiple key words or by name of the blog. Sometimes I’ll stumble upon a blog and want to find it within wordpress but for some reason I can’t seem to figure out how to do this easily.

Now don’t get me wrong. I really do like WordPress overall and of course it’s fantastic for a free product. I just wish that it was a little more user friendly in the reader section. I want to make sure people see my posts and I want to make sure I don’t miss something from my favorite bloggers. I will say that I really like the stats I can get from WordPress and I like the Freshly Pressed page because I’m sure it feels awesome to be Freshly Pressed and I’ve found a lot of great blogs that way.

So, what do you think? Have you found the magical time of day to post? Of course, we’re from all over the world on here, so my time isn’t necessarily your time, so that is a challenge too. Is there some magical formula? Am I missing something? Am I being a total idiot about using WordPress? I don’t think I am since I’m fairly computer savvy.

Oh the Cruel Cruel WordPress World! I can’t get no satisfaction!!!

Ok, WordPress, your turn! Show me what you’ve got!

Comments

11 responses to “It’s a Cruel Cruel WordPress World!”

ME

February 13, 2013

What do I think? People who need to find my blog will find it. I couldn’t care less about optimal times & strategies and things that are time consuming with the sole purpose of caressing your ego a little bit more. Write what & when you want. Not what & why other people think is right

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1. Victoria Sawyer
  
  February 13, 2013
  
  The words of reason my ego does not want to hear! Thanks for that cause ultimately you are 100% correct. But what if my ego likes…caressing? Is that wrong? My ego is so skanky. God!!
  
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  1. ME
    
    February 13, 2013
    
    Skanky lol, you’re funny
    
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2. ME
  
  February 13, 2013
  
  Well don’t get me wrong, I think it’s interesting. I’m just not sure if it’s worth your time
  
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katerpiller

February 14, 2013

Its just wordpress messing with your mind 😀 it knows that you’re one of the crazies.

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tyroper

February 14, 2013

I think it is a long term thing. A commitment. If you consistently give readers something interesting, something that sparks a reaction then you’ll get what most writers desire, VALIDATION.

You seem to give of yourself honestly here. And, you just published your book (which is cool and on my to-read list). Check out Seth Godin’s blog. He has great input on giving to your ‘tribe’, or following. All the best.

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1. Victoria Sawyer
  
  February 14, 2013
  
  Thanks for your words! You are definitely right. Validation sounds like the right kind of word for me! Aren’t Writers such narcissists! haha. Awesome that you’ve got my book on your list! Thanks!!
  
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alicem2013

February 14, 2013

Hi I have been blogging just a bit long (not much) I seen that time of day does matter but I find the more you share the more hits. I am on blogspot also, I noticed you do not have the add this share button, my hits increase using this, you do have to sign up but it is worth it maybe you should add the “add this” to your blog. Here is the sign up address: https://www.addthis.com/register#.URxKkaWsiSo

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1. Victoria Sawyer
  
  February 14, 2013
  
  Hey thanks for the advice, I’ll have to check this out.
  
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Gus Sanchez

February 14, 2013

Every blogger wants validation. After all, you’re writing this blog because deep down inside, you want someone to read this, and the more people that read this, the better.

There really is no magical time to post. I thought the same thing too. Honestly, it doesn’t exist. People sometimes just can’t catch up to all the blogs they follow; I recently had to trim my blog roll, because there were too many populating in my reader that I knew I’d never get around to reading.

The trick I’ve learned is, the more people you interact with, the more they’ll read your blog. Take part in blog hops – I see you already have – and (*ahem!*) do some interviews. You never know, right?

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1. Victoria Sawyer
  
  February 14, 2013
  
  I’d love to do an interview if someone, would say, send me some questions?! ha. I agree some times the list of blogs you follow does get rather full. I probably need to trim mine, but I keep finding awesome blogs! It’s so hard! Hey and thanks for validating the fact that there really is NO perfect time to post. I thought maybe I was missing something. It’s true, writers just want to be read. That’s all we really want!
  
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