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WHAT THOUSANDS OF HITS, “LIKES” AND COMMENTS CAN TEACH YOU:
My aim is to compose a new post for this blog at least once each week – but since it’s entirely a labor of love, this “schedule” gets pushed when I’m busy. Occasionally too, I sit and wonder what to write about – or question why I’m spending the time writing at all. This tends to delay things as well.
A week ago, WordPress featured one of my recent posts on Freshly Pressed – essentially pointing it out as one of their favorites to the gazillion subscribers and daily readers of the WordPress homepage. And, from Friday through Wednesday of the following week, readers went from respectable (my assessment) – to comparatively INSANE.
After the digital dust settled, I was able to quasi-analyze which of my posts and images got clicks – and which didn’t. Those that did had:
- topics that were relatable or of general interest
- an emotional aspect or connection to readers
- a means of interaction, questions or sharable tips
- strong images or video incorporated
- something original to say or show
In a very simple way, the experience helped me re-answer the question – why blog? Unlike waiting for feedback from pitches or discussing work with colleagues, the impact of “like” and “don’t like” in this case was instant, blunt and very informative. This equals good click – whereas this, not so much… no click.
For me, the main reason to blog is feedback. Through reader comments, clicks and searches, I glean a terrific amount of insight into what people like and respond to – and that makes me a more informed writer, presenter and designer.
The posts that were least successful at attracting readers (and therefore clicks) are what I’ll call curatorial – re-posts of images or material that I came across and wanted to pass on. For this type of post, it seems that even my most brilliantly witty titles and thoughtful copy (if I may say so myself), failed to garner much curiosity.
The post that racked up the most hits – out of over 12,000 – was about a former roommate’s collection of souvenirs, and how memories and meanings that are tied to such objects, can evolve over time. In short, it told a story – and readers liked it. The fact that it provoked emotion is evident in their comments, which contained stories of lost loved ones, distant childhoods, holiday traditions and personal mementos.
In between the most and least read posts, were dozens of examples of images that inspired a click, when those around them didn’t – and articles that were read and shared, when others were ignored.
This is all basic to A/B or usability testing on websites and games – and it’s a natural part of the discourse to people who regularly make presentations or give speeches. However, without access to focus groups and audiences, you’re not likely to have many opportunities that allow you to see a large-scale and unbiased opinion of your ability to convey a concept – or the effectiveness of your choice of words, images and designs.
© Markus Horak, 2011
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Filed under: Art, Business, Creativity, Culture, Design, Graphic, Motion, Video Tagged: blogging, Design, feedback, presentation skills, reader insight Image may be NSFW.
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