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When Is A Blog Post A Success?

When it moves your blog toward its ultimate goal.

You do have a goal for your blog, right?

(Thanks to Lorelle for asking the question: How do you determine the success of a blog post?)

If you enjoyed this post, please share it!

Check out these posts:

July 16, 2007 Posted in Blogging by

  • http://www.nettiehartsock.com Nettie Hartsock

    Hi Ben,

    great one!

    nettie

  • http://www.capforge.com CapForge

    This post and the last one are elemental, and something I just hit on in my own post today (before I read yours!).

    I am working on my goals for my blog, and the specific direction I want to zero in on to make the niche and the readership more targeted than just the overall “starting a business” theme.

    A good blog knows its purpose, scope and limitations, and that is what you have hit upon and what I am working to distill.

    Thanks for the reminder :)

  • http://www.thehappyrock.com The Happy Rock

    Most people have the goal of make money, or have fun.

    I know that I have specific quantifiable goals for my blog, but I can't say the I have directly narrowed who my audience is and how I am going to be different. Not easy tasks to quantify without having some experience and time.

  • http://www.instigatorblog.com Ben Yoskovitz

    @Happy Rock — I think more people have the goal of developing and enhancing their personal brand and important relationships in the online and offline world.

    That's really my key goal, which allows me, in some respects, to not be hyper-focused on specific niche. I talk about a few things that interest me, each reaching different audiences, and raising awareness of “me” in those spaces.

  • http://www.google.com Jerry Lee

    Actually, I don't have a goal at all with my blog.

  • http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/ Matthew Cornell

    Great point. After blogging for two years, I *just* realized what my blog's purpose is: 1) To establish my reputation, 2) to help my readers, and 3) to know what I think (via writing).

  • http://ideamatt.blogspot.com/ Matthew Cornell

    As a follow-up, having a goal enables *focus*, which in turn enables making good choices, in this case, about what to write.

  • http://www.instigatorblog.com Ben Yoskovitz

    Matthew – Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

    And the great thing about the goals you've laid out: you can accomplish all 3 at the same time!

  • http://www.marialanger.com/ Maria

    My blog’s goal is to communicate and share. I write about anything that strikes my fancy, from the flood that destroyed my lower horse corral (horses removed in time; thanks for asking) to how to modify your WordPress blog’s theme to add Twit This links. (And that’s just this week.) My goal is part personal journal, part supplemental reading material for the folks who (buy and) read my books.

    That said, I can tell which posts are successful by how many hits and comments they get. The comments are especially rewarding; they turn a narrative into a conversation. I’m not lecturing — my visitors and I are discussing. And that’s when I get to learn new stuff, too.

    That’s how I gauge success.

  • http://www.marialanger.com/ Maria

    My blog's goal is to communicate and share. I write about anything that strikes my fancy, from the flood that destroyed my lower horse corral (horses removed in time; thanks for asking) to how to modify your WordPress blog's theme to add Twit This links. (And that's just this week.) My goal is part personal journal, part supplemental reading material for the folks who (buy and) read my books.

    That said, I can tell which posts are successful by how many hits and comments they get. The comments are especially rewarding; they turn a narrative into a conversation. I'm not lecturing — my visitors and I are discussing. And that's when I get to learn new stuff, too.

    That's how I gauge success.

  • http://www.instigatorblog.com Ben Yoskovitz

    Maria – There’s no question that comments are a gage of success. Comments are one of the most rewarding aspects of blogging.

    However, there are plenty of successful blog posts that don’t receive a lot of comments. Often I write something that’s very rewarding for myself personally (for any number of reasons) but it doesn’t receive huge discussion. And that’s OK.

  • http://www.instigatorblog.com Ben Yoskovitz

    Maria – There's no question that comments are a gage of success. Comments are one of the most rewarding aspects of blogging.

    However, there are plenty of successful blog posts that don't receive a lot of comments. Often I write something that's very rewarding for myself personally (for any number of reasons) but it doesn't receive huge discussion. And that's OK.

About Ben Yoskovitz
I recently joined GoInstant as VP Product. GoInstant changes how we use the web, making it shareable like never before.

I'm also a Founding Partner at Year One Labs, an early stage accelerator in Montreal. Previously I founded Standout Jobs (and sold it). I'm a hands-on startup guy, helping companies grow successfully from the idea forward. You can reach me at byosko at gmail dot com.

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