Small Blogs, The Long Tail, and Building The B-List Community
It’s tough being a small-to-middle-sized blogger. You streak after elusive crumbs from the big boys and girls, but never really can break to the top. That’s not so bad–I don’t think I’d want the stress of becoming a big time blogger. But I wish there was more horizontal linkage among the middle range. The way it seems to work is a hub and spoke system: Someone, large or small, picks up a story, eventually a big blog links to it (if they didn’t initiate it themselves), and then a community of smaller blogs all chat about the story with reference to, at most, the originator and the big blog. However, it’s rare to see the small-blog discussants trade links among themselves. Partially, that’s because they can be tough to find–technorati is a hassle, and trackbacks seem to be falling out the vogue. But even still, it makes community building difficult, and has the effect of stopping the conversation at just a few disconnected voices.
There is an opportunity for the blogosphere to become a lot richer, not necessarily by expanding our blogrolls or RSS feeds, but by progressing organically from individual posts we find interesting to see all the range of commentary being forwarded on the subject. I think that the way to get the most out of the blogosphere isn’t necessarily to rely on the gatekeepers at the top (as useful as they are), but to harness the power of the b-list–blogs that are not at the top but can be relied upon to provide top-notch commentary on their areas of interest and expertise. It takes a bit more effort, but if blogs which can move traffic start working on this (Joe’s massive link round-ups are an excellent and all too rare example of the genre), I think we can really change this medium for the better, both in terms of our own intellectual stimulation, as well as revitalizing the more egalitarian and meritocratic blogosphere instincts that have begun to wane of late.
More thoughts over at my B-list location.
24 Responses to “Small Blogs, The Long Tail, and Building The B-List Community”
I think you’ve hit on something, David. Have you for instance conisdered joining or asking to join the Moderate Blog Network Justin Gardner at Donklephant initiated. It seems to be helping in this regard. I know I’ve linked more to blogs in that network recently and they vice versa.
I’ve been thinking the same thing for some time David and in fact predicted a few months ago that lateral B-list linking would eventually change Blogtopia. I try to follow that practice but it is really too easy to fall back into the habit of linking to the big blogs because they’re making the buzz.
As someone who has benefitted from your largess in linkage here, let me say thanks and pledge to be even more inclusive in the future.
David, first, let me say: Good post. Second, let me add: Cheer up. As someone in the news business who has also blogged independently in the past (I am now blogging occasionally as part of my day job), let me assure you that “movin’ on up” is possible, but requires lots of time and effort.
The secret of success? As Billy Preston once sang, “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing. You gotta have something, if you wanna be with me.” Which is to say, a blogger has got to add something to the blogosphere — news, humor, research, analysis, video, something — in order to get noticed, get linked, and keep readers coming back for more.
Blogging favors the full-timer, who provides several new posts every day. As my friend Lynn Vincent warns, “A blog will eat your life.” Look at Ace of Spades HQ — poor Ace barely ever gets to leave his house, because the hungry legions of AOSHQ lifestylers always demand more, more, more.
So, be careful what you wish for …
Another thought: Beware of “bloggernoia,” which I define as the fear that somebody’s not linking you because they don’t like you. Glenn Reynolds, Michelle Malkin, Rusty Shackleford, Charles Johnson, James Joyner and others in the upper tier of the right-o-sphere have always got an inbox full of e-mail from B-, C- and D-list bloggers, sending links to their posts and begging for traffic.
There is a right way and wrong way to do such e-mail tips, but that’s not the point. The point is that Rusty Shackleford only has so much time in the day, and thus only so much time to devote to reading his e-mail, following links, doing his own research, and writing his blog posts.
So if they don’t link you, don’t get discouraged and start thinking to yourself, “Screw those stuck-up bigshots! Why should I keep linking AllahPundit if AllahPundit never links me?” Even the “big shots” self-Google and check their Technorati profiles from time to time, and so you want to keep making those “up links” to the A-listers, even while you’re doing “side links” and “down links.”
Final thought: Don’t think so much about your relative status. Think more about producing a top-quality blog. Even if you’re only getting single-digit hourly traffic, you’re always just one link away from getting the Instalanche. Try to produce good stuff, even if nobody’s reading it.
I know what it’s like to check the SiteMeter after a hard night’s blogging only to discover that your brilliant analysis of the latest news hasn’t been read by anyone — i.e., hourly zero traffic — but it’s just part of the game. There are two possible reactions to such discouragement:
I could tell you some stuff that I tried, my first suggestion being that mentioning Britney Spears is always good for traffic, especially if you include photos.
Ditto. Fact is, we do try to do this as often as possible. Tons of good and interesting B-D level blogs out there, though. Far more than anyone could keep up with.
I have had a “liberal” blogroll policy for a long time–that is, I will blogroll anyone who blogrolls me regardless of ideology. When I wrote this piece after Atrios had his so-called Blogroll Amnesty Day, in which he purged his blogroll to make it even more narrow and elitist than it already was, I was shocked by how many people actually thought this was a good idea and how no one was challenging it until skippy also took up the fight.
I am grateful to all the A-List bloggers who have linked to me, but especially to Joe Gandelman at Moderate Voice because he was the first major blogger to link to me. As I said in my piece his oppenness to new bloggers and different voices is a good thing for the blogosphere that should be emulated by more people. As my blog has gotten more successful I have tried to help out others with less trafficked blogs by blogrolling them and linking to them in my pieces. It baffles me that many major bloggers do not see how important it is to nourish new and smaller blogs by throwing links their way and how such little effort on their part can make a big difference.
I disagree with Mr. McCain that traffic is necessarily a function of how good one’s blog is. Increasingly, the A-List blogs with few exceptions (such as this blog) are a closed network that only link to each other. Ironically, this is more true in the liberal blogosphere (which you would think would be more inclusive) than in the conservative blogosphere. Many of the A-List bloggers got to where they were in the early days of the Internet and don’t realize the important of links now that there are a lot more blogs than there were when they started out. People can only find you if you have been linked to or through search engines, but to get to the top of search engines you have to have enough links. The idea that people will “find you” if you are good enough is not as true as it might have been. Without the generosity of people like Joe, I would never have been as successful as I have been. So when Atrios writes pieces like “Why Your Blog Sucks” and links to the same usual suspects time and again he betrays a lack of understanding of how the Internet works as well as an unfortunate lack of generosity.
David- do linkfests and your traffic will shoot the the roof. I’m a conservative blogger, but welcome all points of view. I got involved with Linkfest Haven Deluxe and the linkage/traffic stats shot up…it is a great way to get exposure, but at the same time, you are exposed to blogs that you may not have ever taken the time to read, and found out that you actually like them…JMO
1. I disagree with your disagreement.
2. But thanks for calling me “Mr.”
The A-List on the Left may be doing what you say — and I think you’re talking lefties, because you mention my BFF Atrios (snark alert) — but (a) it’s stupid, since it would prevent them from getting potentially good information, and (b) it could be overcome by reverse-engineering their strategy.
As you may have inferred from previous posts, I have spent some time studying bloggers, trying to figure out the principles by which the blogosphere operates.
Obviously, good writing skills and a keen eye for news are valuable assets. A sense of humor helps. But there are some other things that some bloggers don’t seem to think about. For instance:
Do you use News Google and Blog Google to search for updated information? Do you Google for images to illustrate your posts? And do you use PhotoShop to edit images and add text?
The already plenty of plain-text “here are my thoughts on the topic du jour” types of blogs being done by people who bring skills, credentials and full-time status to the job. Newbies and D-listers can’t compete with the A-listers at that game, so you have to work harder — and work smarter — if you want to become the kind of source that the A-listers eventually link (which is how you move from D to C, and then from C to B). Be innovative and creative.
More in next comment ….
Should be “There are already plenty of …”
I am a profeshunnal!
I actually don’t consider blogs in A list of B list. I love to surf the net and I see LOTS of great blogs by people who do not get and who do deserve a bigger audience. When I do Around The Sphere I spend a LOT of time on it and I surf a variety of blogs and link to ones that state a position well, make me think or make me laugh. There are some REAL jewels out there that don’t get linked to because blogging has become a kind of club. There are also some big blogs that I stopped reading because their forte seems to be starting or keeping up blogwars with other blogs. I know that get hits, but you can take an issue and do a search on technorati and you’ll get some fascinating reading by looking at new blogs or blogs that are written by people who are not yet getting the readership they deserve.
OK, let me give you an example of the kind of strategy that might work for you:
1. Blog nights and weekends, when the full-timers are off the clock. You might try getting up at 4 a.m. and checking around for news that’s broken overnight, so you can be one of the first to blog it.
2. Look for breaking news via Drudge or Memeorandum or other aggregator/digest-type sites.
3. Use Google, News Google and Blog Google to dig up background on the story, something that will add perspective or detail or a new angle to what everybody else is already talking about.
4. By the way, do you know what I mean by “power Googling”? At this very moment, I have 14 Web windows open, and am toggling between them as necessary. When you click on a link, always “right click” and “open in new window,” so that you have both the link and the original source available. You can close extra pages later (after you’ve gotten the information you needed), but speed is everything in news-blogging, and being able to toggle (ALT+Tab) between mulitple windows is part of the formula for fast research.
5. Do a trackback on every blog you link (at least, those that allow trackbacks). Even if you don’t get much traffic from those, you get your name out there — you “show the flag” — and people become familiar with your name. To take an example from the right side of the ‘sphere, you’ll sometimes see Ace of Spades HQ trackback at Hot Air. Ace is a pretty successful blogger (21K hits a day), but he’s still trackbacking. Heck, I’ve seen Michelle Malkin trackback at Hot Air — and she owns the dang thing. Trackbacking works, and you should do it.
6. Always do a “linked at” (i.e., a reverse trackback) for every blog that links you. (If, like me, you’re too dumb to figure out how to install trackbacks on your own blog so people can do trackbacks on you.) The “linked at,” like the “hat tip,” is an important blogospheric courtesy and makes you look like a class act.
More in next comment …
Actually, it’s probably more like some of the big dogs have become lazy. It’s easier to go back over and over to the same places you like and not to look for new stuff. Still …
I say that anybody who has skills, who really wants to try hard and is willing to learn and innovate, can improve their traffic by improving their product. There is no problem that cannot be solved by hard work and brains. Let me continue what I was saying in the earlier comment:
7. News is more valuable than mere commentary, especially if you’re the little guy. Everybody’s got opinions, but if you can bring the cold, hard facts about the latest political controversy — or call attention to some overlooked news item that maybe should be controversial — then you have a chance to become a provider of unique material, a reliable source of actual news.
8. Have a specialty (or two, or three), but try to be broad-based and mix it up now and again. Horse-race politics (“Hillary’s up by 2 points in the latest Iowa poll — it’s the end of the world!”) gets boring after a while, and so does scandalmongering, warblogging, or ideological navel-gazing. And don’t forget to throw in some occasional celebrity news, just to keep it light. My motto: There is no such thing as too much Britney.
9. On hot topics and breaking news, add frequent updates, and do digest/wrap-up posts. This is a great thing to do at 4 a.m.: Compile a long digest of who-said-what about the hottest topic in the past 12 hours, mixing links to news stories with links to blog comments and finishing it up with an “also blogging” list. Post it, read it over to make sure it’s solid (no stupid typos or bad code), and then e-mail the resulting digest w/URL to as many bloggers as you think might link you.
10. Titles matter. Giving your blog a catchy, easy-to-remember name is the first step to success. There was a time when the competition was less fierce, and thus names like “TBogg” and “Atrios” and “MyDD” could become huge. But nowadays, you need a name that actually says something. And the same is true of the titles of your blog posts — keep it to seven words or less and make it clever. Same goes for the subject lines in the e-mails you send out begging for links.
… is better than …
One last comment — When e-mailing your stuff to other bloggers and asking for a link, you should do the body of the e-mail this way:
By putting the URL at both top and bottom, you’re giving them two chances to decide to copy the URL and link you.
Also: Limit the number of CC’s you put on your e-mails. Many e-mail programs will reject as spam any message that exceeds a certain number of CCs. Usually, you’re safe with 4 or 5, but I almost never send an unsolicited e-mail with more than 8 addresses. And if you’ve got something really hot that you think is worth an A-lister’s attention, you should send those out one by one.
Don’t even bother CC’ing Instapundit, for example — if you think you’ve got something worthy of the Instalanche, send it to him and nobody else. And then pray. If he hasn’t linked you within an hour, then it’s OK to start spamming it around to everybody else — hey, he had a shot at the exclusive for a whole hour, right? Offer the A-listers le droit du seigneur, so to speak.
I don’t do BCCs on e-mails, because some e-mail programs will automatically mark as spam anything with a BCC.
Generally speaking, bloggers are busy people. Most of them are part-timers, blogging in between stuff at their real jobs or blogging nights and weekends.
To take one example, Michelle Malkin does more than just blogging. She writes a syndicated column, does public-speaking appearances, is a regular on Fox News, supervises HotAir.com and I imagine is also hard at work on her next book. Oh, yes, and she is also a wife and mother of two young children. So getting her attention is going to be difficult, simply because she’s so busy.
This is why I coined the term “bloggernoia” — about a year ago, I thought Michelle hated me, because she wasn’t linking the Donkey Cons blog (now inactive) I was doing to promote the book I wrote with Lynne Vincent. So I got paranoid (“was it something I said?”) and then got angry (“why that stuck-up so-and-so! who does she think she is, anyway?”) and had my feelings hurt. But then one day I must have said something she thought was good and — voila! — the Michellanche!
Remember, the A-listers have inboxes full of stuff from everybody and his dog begging for links. So it’s always going to be tough to get the attention of any A-lister, no matter how good your stuff is. Work hard, be patient, build your B-list networks, and don’t give up.
Above all: Constantly seek to improve the quality of your product. Study and develop your craft. Be innovative. Strive for excellence.
I agree with Robert Stacy McCain that there is no magic mantra to achieve success. He provides a reliable recipe for a struggling blogger: “Work hard, be patient, build your B-list networks, and don’t give up. Above all: Constantly seek to improve the quality of your product. Study and develop your craft. Be innovative. Strive for excellence…”
I am reminded of the street bazaars in India where so many vendors sit on footpaths selling things which almost look the same. I marvel at their patience having seen them sit like that for years!!! Is it meditation, faith, patience, professionalism or helplessness? But I have seen many of them chatting among themselves merrily and even laughing and enjoying themselves!!!
Blogging in the beginning is a solo trip…and may remain so for a long time unless one develops the skills mentioned by McCain. But why should one be afraid of being alone!!! I have seen sadhus and ascetics, or for that matter scientists and philosophers, sitting in lonely slpendour for years before they attract public attention.
Even if they don’t catch the public eye, they are just happy and satisfied at doing what they like best to do…and enjoy life. Now in doing so you must avoid coming into conflict with your immediate family members if you have responsibilities. Doing so would invite a comparison with an alcoholic. And so it is if you have a regular job. Or, shortage of money to support your basic needs and those of your loved ones.
In fact in real life too those who succeed and manage to remain happy are generally the ones who follow a moderate lifestyle.
I have been blogging for almost a year now, thanks to Joe Gandelman and his blog The Moderate Voice. However, I don’t fatigue myself by remaining on the alert all the time for the constantly flowing information fearing that I might ‘miss something’.
At times I do miss things…but I don’t regret it. For me my peace of mind is uppermost. Blogosphere offers all the temptations for those who have tasted it…if you get addicted then you may miss out on lot of other things in life which are equally fascinating.
So to McCain’s wonderful suggestions I can add three words…balance, harmony and discipline…to avoid a burn-out situation. After all blogging should for fun, satisfaction, information, education and participation in a community/society activity…in this global village on planet earth.
Hi folks,
I’m an aspiring D-level blogger – my site has been up for about a month now. There are some really good tips here.
I’ve been having some luck with a growing number of small blogger like myself – sharing comments and trading links, etc. I’ve been taking the effort to read other folks’ blogs, and make comments.
It seems like my circle is growing daily and my traffic has been increasing. If anyone wants to come and view my blog, and offer to share links, or even make a comment on one of my posts, I’ll be happy to do the same. Thanks,
–Ron
http://revolttoday.blogspot.com/
Robert Stacy McCain has some great tips. I haven’t got a lot to add to it, except for this: build relationships, personal relationships, with other bloggers.
Also: comment at your own blog. When people leave a comment, respond.
[...] Mar 31st, 2007 by mvdg David Schraub wrote a good post about being a “small-to-middle-sized blogger.” He writes: It’s tough being a small-to-middle-sized blogger. You streak after elusive crumbs from the big boys and girls, but never really can break to the top. That’s not so bad–I don’t think I’d want the stress of becoming a big time blogger. But I wish there was more horizontal linkage among the middle range… [...]
Building a Better B List…
The discussion on blogrolling and building a better B-List of blogs has surfaced again. I stayed out out the earlier round, where Atrios and other A-List blogs purged there blogrolls, but I do think the discussion is worthy of note. As a blogger and a…
I’m a pretty new and small blogger. For a while I played in the political and current events game, but have realized that this is a tough venue to make any traction. So, I’ve headed toward the more eclectic content where I try to add value through bringing various web material and my observations together (say Basque music, Dubai architecture, or commentary on my trip to Paris). I occasionally throw in a poem and photography. One thing I’ve found is that having a tie with photographs (I use Flickr) has provided some of the largest traffic. For reasons that mystify me, a huge (at least for my blog!) number of people are interested in a photo I took in the Prescott AZ area! Another popular entry is about the poem and musical renditions of Ring Out Wild Bells. As my blog has developed, the traffic grows because my entries have more lasting value than current events commentary.
I have no idea if I’m B list–just blogging for me and whoever else reads. About 300 on Truth Laid Bear and about 700+ link to me. I doubt that I’m breaking any news stories. But if I see something interesting, I’ll link to it.
I’m obviously content to read 30-40 blogs a couple of times a day and blog as the spirit moves me …. Tonight I looked through my list of email subscribers and was surprised (based on the low number of comments I receive) how many seemingly legit subscribers I have. I have approximately 1200 incoming links — only because of the blog rolls I’ve joined. My focus is networking (special interest blogs) and reading — I never expect to be an A- or B-list blogger. It’s all fun — I pay to blog, actually (host server lacks gravity on load time; I’ll switch when contract expires). It has never occurred to me to give up my day job!
But the rest of you — keep up the good work!!!
who you calling B-List?
-TP
http://themoderatevoice.com/media/blogging/11827/small-blogs-the-long-tail-and-building-the-b-list-community/
Here’s the perspective from a non-blogger, and perhaps from a non-typical blogee. My number one priority as a reader is ascertaining the blogger’s expertise on the subject matter they discuss.
I am only rarely interested in reading something based on second, third, and lord knows how far down the food chain it can go, information. For that I will simply pick up a paper, turn on the tv news, or click on the WA Times link.
Neither am I into the ‘enquiring minds want to know’ trash, so most of Mr. McCain’s suggestions for enticing readers would be completely wasted on me.
Blogs that act as portals or resource centers have some value. For instance Michelle Malkin’s blog is a good place to go to get a general overview on what is happening on the general news front. While her site is basically a re-working of the old MSM strategy of ‘lets report on everything and pretend we know something about it all’; it does add value by links to other sites which can provide more in-depth information. However, there is a flip side to that coin: I ceased going to her associated Hot Air site when it became obvious that the individual she put in charge had reached his level of incompetence and was set on reducing the site to nothing more than a cloud of gaseous hot air.
For in depth information I want a ’boutique’ blog: a place to get in depth information on a specific subject that no one else, or few others, can give. My favorite blog in this category is Michael J. Totten’s because he focuses on one area, and pays his dues by spending time on the ground combined with intelligent sleuthing, in-depth writing, and a high level of responsible interaction with his readers.
There is a limited number of openings for general all purpose blogs. There is unlimited opportunity for trash; and, thankfully, for bloggers who have specialized interests and knowledge – for me that is where the real strength of the blog sphere exists. Getting known is important; however, all the strategies, tactics, networking, etc. to publicize your site won’t mean much if there is nothing of substance there to hold your visitor’s interest once they’ve click on your link for the first time.