I’ve been an avid reader of many personal finance blogs for years and I took all I learned to help chart our course to financial independence. I also learned a heck of a lot from my very patient brother. My husband and I made some very smart financial decisions because of his great explanations and advice over the years. So here’s a huge shout-out to him too!
So now I feel like I have some stories to share, along with what I learned about making better decisions in my coursework. But without a lot of tech support this summer, it wouldn’t have mattered how much I wrote. This blog would have never happened.
I would say I am a moderately skilled digital immigrant, but my daughter is definitely a digital native. She is my tech support and proofreader and now she’s getting ready to head back to college. And since I’ve been blogging for almost 3 months now, I have a few ideas I would like to run past you. And since I’ve gone back to work at this point, if there is anything I want to change or add – I’d like to get her help while she’s still here!
I honestly had no set plans for this blog. I just thought that writing about my work on decision analysis could help other people. I wasn’t really sure what “space” I would end up in, but personal finance seems to be a good fit. And now that I’ve interacted with many of you – I’m so happy I’m here!
But as I move forward, I have been looking at all of your blogs and I have a few questions. My goal is to set up the blog to add value for readers and to make the experience as seamless and enjoyable as possible. If you would like to chime in, I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of these 5 questions:
1. CommentLuv or not? Or something else?
As an avid reader of many sites, I was trying to figure out why some blogs use it and others don’t. The main reason I wanted to add it to my site may seem selfish (and it’s not for more comments – because the number of comments doesn’t matter to me at all). I am always interested in what others are writing and this is an easy way for me to see the latest posts of commenters and visit their sites as well. And if it allows other readers to see their post titles, then it is a win-win for both of us.
I know a downside to CommentLuv might be commenters that just want a link back to their site. But my thought was if they are not “real” comments (or people who have commented before), then I can make the choice to not approve the comment.
I really respect Mr. 1500Days and Steve at ThinkSaveRetire – and if they use it, I thought I would experiment with it as well.
2. Facebook or Pinterest? Or neither – or both?
I’ve had quite a learning curve with just being able to post on the blog. It also took a lot of time to figure out Twitter. And I don’t use automated posts or direct messages either. But maybe I should? To think about adding Facebook or Pinterest (or Instagram, or…) all seems like too much at this point. Am I missing something though? What works best for you?
3. “Freebies” or not?
I see many PF bloggers give away some type of free e-book or a spreadsheet, budget tool or something else to help their readers. I could certainly generate some type of decision-matrix or handout that could be used by people if they wanted to try it when they had an upcoming decision. If I knew it might be helpful, maybe it would be a good idea? What about giveaway’s such as books or gift cards? I’m not sure I want people just showing up for prizes when they aren’t regular readers. But some folks who do this are just the nicest folks too – and they don’t seem to do it to gain readers at all. Maybe they are just rewarding the readers they have?
4. Blogroll or not?
I think this is the one I struggle with the most. I read so many interesting, funny and informative blogs that I really would love to highlight all of them. But that could be a LENGTHY list – but maybe it’s worth it? And is a list enough – or a short description with the list?
5. Interview series, “Round-Ups” or something else? Or are all of those overdone?
This is another idea I have been thinking about. I really enjoy reading more about bloggers, their lives, interests and projects they are working on. But there are some great bloggers who do this already and if more people do it, it may lose its effectiveness. I also love round-ups by other bloggers! They help introduce you to new blogs and I’ve found some of my favorite blogs this way. But again – maybe that’s overdone too?
I was thinking about “theme” round-ups – where it wasn’t just on random topics of recent weeks. Maybe once or twice a month – look for themes in what bloggers are writing about or invite people to send posts on a topic. Then post links to the “Theme” weekend reads (going back to college, giving, emergency funds, rental properties, etc.). My goal would be to have multiple posts on the same topic as a way for readers interested in that topic to find many perspectives in one place. But I am guessing others already do this too – but I haven’t found them. If you know a site – can you let me know? It was just a thought.
One thing I will promise is that there will never be annoying pop-ups on the site (unless I somehow goof-up something!) I have given up reading some blogs that stop you from reading content until you “click off” a pop-up. I’m not sure why bloggers do that. Maybe you gain sign-ups, but I think you lose a heck of a lot of other readers too.
But maybe there is some other tool or plug-in that would be beneficial to my readers? Or possibly some other idea you have - I’d love it if you share!
If you’re a blogger, thank you in advance for any feedback you can provide J You are the best!
If you are a reader, is there anything in the list of questions you’d like to comment on? Something you like – or things you can’t stand? I’d love to hear from you, but I certainly understand your choice to not comment too! I did that for years!!
And as always, thanks for reading!
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We felt the same when we first started blogging Vicki (and still feel it!) - there’s just so many blogging things that we could do, how do we decide what to do!? We’re still learning 9 months later, so don’t feel like you need to know everything at once.
1. Commentluv is nice and it gives people a way to share what they’ve just posted, without mentioning it in their comment. And I’ve seen that you’ve added it, so I think that was the right call 🙂
2. I think Facebook is definitely worth it. We only post our new posts to Facebook, nothing else (maybe there could be more that we could do). There are a lot of regular people out there that don’t use any other social media except Facebook, so you might be missing out on them if you’re not on there (I know we have a decent amount of regular readers who are updated on each of our posts by Facebook links). Pinterest is up to you. It takes a lot more effort as you need to create pictures for it (Jasmin is wonderful at this, feel free to Twitter DM us about how she does it). People do have a lot of success with Pinterest, particularly using Tailwind and Boardbooster.
3. The spreadsheets, e-book etc just make you seem more official and it’s always good to get your info to everyone in one accessible document. We haven’t done that, maybe eventually. I think prizes are kinda pointless, if your content is good people will keep coming back.
4. Blogroll - we have one of those. We used it to keep on top of who we wanted to follow, as well as giving shout outs. Now we use Feedly to follow blogs (which for us, is a million times better), however I still like having a blogroll to give a shout out to the blogs we follow, particularly Aussie ones.
5. I get your point with roundups. If everyone roundups then it’s kinda boring, but at the same time it’s a good way to spread the word, or just share what you found interesting. We haven’t done this, I’m torn because I don’t want our message to be just about linking to other blogs..but at the same time I want to share the love. So just sharing via Twitter is what we do. Maybe we will do things like guest posting in the future, I’m not sure.
Definitely use Feedly if you don’t already, or Feedburner (anything with an RSS feed).
Hope that helps 🙂
Tristan
Thanks so much Tristan! I just made my own spreadsheet to record all the feedback too! SO very helpful! Now I need to look up what Feedly, etc. is… I’ll let you know what I decide!
Tristan made a good point that I forgot to mention. I use feedly as well and it is a fantastic way to keep track of blogs you want to follow. I don’t know how I would keep track otherwise!
Jon @ Be Net Worthy recently posted…U.S. Stock Market Reaches Record Highs – Time to Celebrate?
Thanks! On my list to figure out tonight! I have been using the RSS feed…I think! (Wow - that totally makes me sound like I need tech support!) I don’t even want to talk about figuring out the whole “child theme” when setting up the blog…
Vicki, as a new blogger, these are literally the same questions that I have been mulling over myself! I’m glad to know that I am not the only one that is wondering. Here are my thoughts…they are worth what you paid for them!
1. commentluv - I was wondering the same thing. At this point, the “out-of-the-box” commenting functionality is working fine for me, so I’m not going to mess with anything different. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! At least for now, I have bigger fish to fry. I’ll be interested to hear how you like it.
2. FaceBook or Pinterest - I had the same learning curve as you with Twitter and feel like I have at least that one channel under control and have a token presence on Facebook. I feel like a lot of people are getting traffic on Pinterest, so I have asked my wife to see if she could look into that and maybe “own” that piece for me. I can’t take on another channel at this point.
3. Freebies - I’m staying away from that for right now, but I have heard that they are great for adding to your email list. Right now that is not a priority for me.
4. BlogRoll - I have the same issue as you. If I started a blogroll, there’ be so many to add, I’m not sure it would be worth the maintenance to keep it updated either. I keep finding new blogs. Maybe once I settle on the top 50 or so I will create one.
5. Roundups - These seem to be a great way to connect with other bloggers and provide value to your readers. I love your idea of creating them around certain themes. I may consider these in the future.
Those are my thoughts, but I’m brand new to this, so I’ll be very curious to see what other people have to say!
Jon @ Be Net Worthy recently posted…U.S. Stock Market Reaches Record Highs – Time to Celebrate?
Thanks Jon! I’ll report the results out too of what others think about these questions. I know there is a group of us relatively new and it makes me feel better that we all have many of the same questions. I was going to have my daughter look more at Pinterest since I never had even logged on. That will definitely have to wait until the job is over. I’m not all that good with Facebook either…I know I’ll somehow connect it to my own page and goof something up!
Hey Vicki!
I use CommentLuv and roundups as a way to share other people’s work - I don’t always have time to share on social media so this way I am able to help promote other people’s great content. Links to other sites directly in posts helps their SEO and rankings like Alexa as well.
Pinterest over Facebook! I have seen better results from under a month of Pinterest than 5 months with Twitter! Facebook is tough for me so far, especially since I can’t promote through my friends (annoynmous)
The pop up boxes don’t bother me as much, as long as it’s one click and they are gone (there are some you can’t get rid of that drive me crazy) I do see better sign-ups when using them vs not.
Apathy Ends recently posted…How to Change Your Life in 5 years or Less
Thanks for that information AE. Your pop-ups don’t bother me because they are off to the side and don’t goof up the view (at least on my computer). I heard Pinterest might be where I should go before Facebook - but I need to sit down and honestly figure out how to use it myself first! I like Twitter to catch up with folks, but it doesn’t drive much traffic. I didn’t know about linking to sites in posts and SEO and Alexa either. That’s great information!
“1. CommentLuv or not? Or something else?”
I’ve been thinking about this, as well. I like the format of CommentLuv and was thinking of switching over, so I am curious to see what other people’s experience of it has been. Before I got started I had read that the best way to set up a comment section was with Disqus, so that is what I did, but I don’t really have a rationale for why.
I like the idea of a theme roundup. Sounds like a solid way to get in depth on a topic or see different viewpoints.
As to the rest, I will be camping out and reading the comments you get, because I am just as curious about all of this.
Matt @ Optimize Your Life recently posted…How Much Money Do You Need to Retire?
Thanks Matt! I hope these will help out some other folks too. It was definitely timing for me - because I can’t afford to have to deal with the tech part until I get done with this “temporary” job 🙂
I should be the last person to give advice. But I’m going to anyway 😉 I think Comment Luv is great. People who want a link back can get one from leaving their website in the comments anyway. I do want to create a blog roll or a resources page at some point, but I’m afraid it would largely be a copy and paste of the 200 or so people I follow on Twitter. I know Pinterest can be really lucrative and meaningful in terms of driving traffic with Boardbooster and Tailwind. But I just don’t have time to look into that yet. Which is an awful thing to say because it would probably save me time. Maybe winter break 😉 Regardless, you do such an excellent job of staying authentic in your words and your design. I know you’ll make the right choices!
Penny @ She Picks Up Pennies recently posted…One Year In: Blogging for Fun About Money
Thanks Penny! Yes, time is a huge issue right now and I totally have no idea what Boardbooster and Tailwind are. They sound like brand names of paddle boards or something! I have just never used Pinterest myself either - so the learning curve is much greater… And your thoughts are always appreciated 🙂
Vicki, I just remembered that last December Sarah over at the Yachtless ran #pfmessages, about money messages in pop culture. The initial call was at http://theyachtless.com/2015/12/07/widening-the-circle/ and the roundup was at http://theyachtless.com/2015/12/30/secret-messages/.
Good luck on figuring the rest out. I’ve just kinda been plugging along as I go. I added CommentLuv, and like it. (It helps me find good articles. It also can help me recognize spam from real comments as i think my spam filter is a little too aggressive sometimes.) I’ve been trying to improve my Pinterest, which means working on my blog graphics more.
Emily @ JohnJaneDoe recently posted…Retirement Savings When Your Employer Doesn’t Have A Retirement Plan
That’s great information. I like CommentLuv on other peoples sites because it gives me a quick look as to what others are writing. I guess I hadn’t really thought of it as promoting mine all that much (but I’m sure it helps!) Ugh - blog graphics is not something I am good at…. maybe Pinterest will wait a bit longer - I’ll join Penny on winter break!
Vicki- great questions! As far as my $0.02 goes, I’ll try to address as many points as possible!
I would generate a Facebook if I were you. It seems like most blogs focus on one social media outlet initially but then branch off into others. I focus on Twitter and sync all tweets with my Facebook so very few posts directly to Facebook. I think I’ve generated around 250 followers that way.
I’m not big on the freebies yet. I consider a blog post a “freebie” and don’t have the extra time to generate anything else.
I’ve pondered the blogroll as well. The only reason I haven’t is because there are great sites like http://www.modestmoney.com/top-finance-blogs that have a pretty great list. The only problem with that site is that some pretty new but awesome blogs are hard to find at the end of the list.
I think your theme based roundup is a great idea! Keep up the good work- your blog has very valuable and unique content!
Thanks Preston! It’s helpful to see some numbers related to Facebook too! If I didn’t take this job, this fall would have been dedicated to learning more about the other social media pieces - so I guess it will have to wait a bit! And that’s a great point about sites like Modest Money too. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Vicki,
Since we are very new to blogging, we can barely keep on top of writing., posting, reading and commenting!!
Saying that, anything that can simplify as opposed to complicate works. I can see the value of comment luv and we should look into adding it.
I agree with you on the annoying habits of pop ups, affiliate links all over the place on certain sites. I rarely go back to those sites.
We have not discussed guest posts much - they seem to work at times. Other times, they fall flat. It is probably a right time, right place call for doing that.
Theme concept sounds good. Might get multiple sides to a topic and lively discussion. E.g early retire with kids or not, stocks v bonds thesis, the two sides of ACA and healthcare for early retirees.
At the end of the day, just do what feels right and keep it simple before experimenting with too much at one time.
Mr. PIE recently posted…Revealing our FIRE Plans: One Story, Four Ways
Totally agree with just keeping up with the basics being a lot of work!! I was concerned with making it easy for readers because I know I can complicate it for myself pretty easily 🙂 Thanks for your thoughts!
Great questions! I’m watching all these responses as I had a few of the same questions myself. I’m still testing things out and have found that more isn’t always best. Sometimes keeping up with multiple endeavors can bog you down and make the blog less fun. I never set out to make this blog feel like a chore. Social media is the best example of this… too many outlets can be hard to keep up with!
The Green Swan recently posted…College Tuition Estimate
Totally agree! I am trying to find the social media that works for me but I find that part pretty overwhelming. And it it gets to be too much of a “job” - it won’t happen for long.
Love that you asked these questions. My 2 cents:
1. Sure, why not! I use the Disqus plugin though and it doesn’t have anything like comment luv. If it did, I’d use it.
2. I ditched all social media years ago (twitter excluded) and have no time or desire to use them for my blog. I get plenty of Facebook traffic from others that share on the site and that’s good enough for me.
3. I don’t see the appeal, but if I had something valuable then I’d consider it (a weekly giveaway from a sponsor for example)
4. Blogroll. I don’t check them out personally and have no intention of starting one
5. I enjoy reading roundups that others produce, but again I don’t think I’ll do one anytime soon.
Other commenters have me intrigued by Feedly, going to check that out.
Re: popups, I’ve switched mine off and on. I figure if they’re working for J$, Financial Samurai then I’m not above using one either.
Ty @ Get Rich Quickish recently posted…Blog statistics - my first review of this blog’s stats
Great points Ty! I still haven’t made it to check out Feedly yet and I see your point about the pop-ups. I know AE said he uses them too - but his don’t shut you off from reading content. I guess it’s not a big deal - just annoying sometimes.
I would definitely consider Pinterest if you don’t mind making images. Facebook is also good because it’s easy! =)
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Hmmm… I’d have to figure out how to make images. I’ll have to add that to the list for when my job is over 🙂
I’ve also given up on some blogs with good content but too many pop-ups. I find the ones where you have to click on “No, I don’t want to be rich” or something similar super-annoying.
I’ve tried Feedly several times in the last few weeks but I keep removing it and reinstalling it. No matter which sites I follow there’s at least one which won’t refresh properly with current content. Weird.
We might do FaceBook but have been avoiding it so far. I’m not convinced that all the usual paths work for everyone. CommentLuv or any comment system that shows a link to the commenter’s site, to me, is win win. And Mr. Groovy keeps a spreadsheet of each person who comments and their website, so that we can refer back to it and try to be reciprocal with visiting/commenting.
Mrs Groovy recently posted…The Laser-Focus Positivity Challenge
I started a spreadsheet to make sure I checked in on others too but I haven’t kept up with it. I should definitely do that. Yep - those full page blockers are kind of the worst. But they must work for them - or why do it? I’m not interested in that though.
Possibly I am a bit of an exception, in that I have a very lackadaisical approach to blogging. I kind of got into it accidentally (I’ll post about that sometime), and I write under an alias because I have to maintain a certain amount of anonymity because of my work situation. I do not link my blog to other social media that I use (e.g., Facebook, Pinterest). I write on a variety of topics — writing, art, retirement, health, or whatever currently catches my fancy. I suppose if I had a goal of building a large readership or establishing my expertise in a particular area, I would use a different strategy. But for me, my blog serves as an enjoyable writing outlet, and also a way to keep up with blogs that I like to read.
I love using a blog roll. That way, I can go back to my favourites again and again, and also feature them for my readers. There are thousands of blogs out there, and I have found the ones that I like to read by looking through the blog rolls of my favourite blogs, and also by clicking on the links in their comment sections. For this reason, I think CommentLuv is a great idea, and maybe I will check it out for my blog. (I know I could use an RSS feed to follow my favourites, but I have very limited leisure time, and the idea of many intriguing posts waiting for me every time I signed on would trigger in me an obsessive desire to read them all, whereas I can be more deliberate about it using my current method. For the same reason, I never use email in conjunction with the blog.)
I see Twitter as a huge time sucker, and I just don’t have time for it. I’d rather be writing another blog post, or reading something of interest!
Jude
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I love your philosophy on blogging! I bet burn out isn’t an issue because the writing is the passion! Thanks for all of your thoughts and for the comments about the blog rolls. I think that is great!
The thing to keep in mind is it will change over time. What may work today, may not in a few months from now. I have tried a number of things over my three years. I had a blog roll at one point and a round up post which I no longer do.
I guess my best advice is you do not need to follow the herd. I would recommend an RSS feed, many readers use feed readers to get notified when new content is available.
The two rules I try and stick by is product great content on a schedule. Good luck!
Brian @ Debt Discipline recently posted…Spending Habits of Teenagers
Thanks Brian! It helps to hear from folks who have been at this awhile! I appreciate you sharing what has worked for you and where you made some changes. Content is key - rings through loud and clear!
Hmmmm its nice to hear that your girl is fully prepared for college and that’s a nice progress.
Commentluv is nice and I think you’ve taken the right decision by using it on your blog.
Blogroll is one of the most confusing things to me as well. I visit a lot of blogs on a daily basis, and I have maintained personal relationship with many of them. If am to choose any of them, my blog would be messy due to the huge numbers. So I left it.
Facebook to me did not really worth it.
Thanks for your comment. I think blogrolls are great ideas but hard to manage too. It would be hard to decide who to highlight, so I try to highlight different writers at different times. I haven’t done Facebook yet either - just no time and I’m not sure if it would really be a good use of my time either.