Barbara,

I had a spike last night. Too early to judge and I cheated by using Stumble. But in just over 24 hours, it got 395 visitors.

It’s too early to judge whether it had value but I suspect not. It is though interesting to consider how you can both create a spike, and do it in such a way to capture visitors.

I’m on a fast learning curve at the moment, trying to get used to RSS readers, but one thing I should have done is have the subscribe button a little more prominent (which I’ve since done). It may have generated more subscribers in a reader, it was way donw the page, and I must admit that I’d forgotten about it!

The Stumble campaigns are really fascinating, and it think could work really well for niche topics.

Ian Denny’s last blog post..Blog Survey: Why Bother? Survey To Reveal Your Motivations

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I experienced a spike recently when one of my posts got stumbled. Traffic was significantly higher for a few days, culminating with a day that brought me 1200 visitors, roughly 100 times my usual traffic! Of course it dropped back sharply after that, although some of those stumblers seem to have become regulars because now I consistently have more traffic than before the spike.

Can I duplicate it? I expect that as I continue to blog, I will occasionally write posts that get stumbled. But it’s hard to predict what posts will be popular–I’ve been surprised in some cases. I think one thing that helps you get stumbled is to stumble other blogs. You create a reputation with other stumblers and get on their radar. Of course, you can easily spend way more time on this than you should. It’s all a delicate balancing act.

Hunter Nuttall’s last blog post..The Problem With Voting In America: Too Many People Do It

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My blog is quite new, but I did experience a one day spike due to one of my posts being stumbled, which of course proves that content IS “ruler of a sovereign state”.

The fact that traffic went back down to normal the next day means that I still have work to do.

Nez’s last blog post..?I Work for the Government?

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Hi Ian,

Those spikes are crazy, aren’t they. Yes, they can sometimes be self created, or someone may Stumble or Digg a post of yours. Only time will tell if it resulted in an increased reader base.

Having an RSS feed button in a conspicuous place on your blog is very important. Some visitors prefer reading blogs via a feed, and if we don’t give them that option, they may never come back.

Hi Catherine,

I know you are a Stumbling addict, and I can see how that happens. Last night I spent over an hour Stumbling dozens of sites. Finally, I had to say “enough”.

Resource posts are great, whether they get Stumbled or not. You have written some great ones, but like you said, they are time consuming.

Hi Hunter,

Aren’t those spikes a rush? They do bring in visitors that may not have known about your blog previously. Although it’s great to have posts Stumbled, or Dugg, often a well written post, will draw traffic in via search engines. Although that traffic isn’t spikey, it does seem to be more consistent. From experience, (especially on my OM blog), I have old posts that continually get traffic. It all adds up.

Hi Deb,

Yes….we do hate those drops, don’t we? Blogging traffic can be so fickle. I do know you did a guest post. Those always draw in a surge of traffic, but a lot don’t stick around.

We do miss our “regulars” when they don’t comment. I know I do, but I also know they all have full time jobs/families that are their top priority (as is mine). Loyal cyberspace friends always come back, although it may be a few days.

As a new blogger, it is tough when you put so much time into your writing, and you feel like no one is listening. Comments tell us they are, as do our traffic counts.

When I first started blogging, I used my imagination and just pretended I was speaking to the masses. My traffic numbers told me differently, but I believed, in time, I would be heard…and slowly my blogs are growing. I remind myself that there are millions of blogs out there, time is of the essence for most, and in time I will be found. When I look at my stats for the last 10 months, I have seen a steady increase in growth, so that pleases me. Spikes in traffic numbers do help the averages, but I don’t depend on those.

You’re right Deb, this is a crazy business, and one to easily get addicted to. But, you have so much to share, please do not let a drop in your numbers discourage you. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a good blog. Darren, at Problogger has been at it for five years, and he started out just like you and I.

Stumble Upon is a social media network. If you look in my top right sidebar, you will see a small green and blue “SU” in a little box. If you click on that box, you could do a “review” of this post. It gets sent into Stumble “land”.

You can join Stumble Upon for free, and upload their toolbar. In short, what you can do is hit the “Stumble” button (in the toolbar), and it will take you from one site to the next (commercial free ), based on the preferences you set when you join.

In the toolbar, it will also show “I like it” with a thumbs up and a thumbs down. When you are on a site, you can give it a “thumb”, and that site gets a “brownie point”, so to speak.

Stumble Upon offers a lot of options. It’s something I don’t totally understand. Currently both Catherine and I are trying to find out more about it, including the “rules”….if you misuse it, you can be banned. When I feel confident enough to write a post about it, I will, but in the meantime, you might want to check it out. But, be forewarned, stumbling gets addictive.

Barbara’s last blog post..Honorable Mention For A Mom Who Blogs

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Hi Barbara,

When I saw that spike, my first thought was, “What happened?”, but thanks to Google Analytics, I can see which post was being visited and from what source.

Down the line, I see using my stats to help me understand what my readers like, and guide me as to what kinds of posts I should write (especially when I’m stuck for an idea or have “blogger’s block”.)

Nez’s last blog post..?I Work for the Government?

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I love how each of your posts end with an assignment for the day.

Yes, I get so stoked on a spike and it’s hard to watch the traffic die back down. But the leveling off at a higher level than before helps.

See, I feel better already just by doing the assignment. I’m subscribing.

sterling | bizlift’s last blog post..Go Big: Free Enterprise Tools For Small Biz

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