I Need a Hit
I’ve been blogging over here at Loving the Bike for about 9 months now and have been loving every minute of it. I feel that the site has grown in a positive direction and for being such a young cycling blog, it’s managed to hold it’s own within a community of amazing blogs.
I consider Wade over at Cycling Tips to be a great mentor of mine, and he recently asked me what goals I had for the site when I started it back in February. My response to him was that originally, my goal for Loving the Bike was for it to allow me to get involved with blogging and social media….to learn all about it while diving into a subject that I love. This goal didn’t take long at all to be realized as I have created countless friendships and experienced numerous acts of good fortune because of it. I absolutely love doing the blog, building friendships around the world, and learning a lot about cycling, life, and blogging along the way.
With all of that said, I have to admit that I really would love to do this as a full time deal. I’m sure it’s the wish of most bloggers out there….but, man would it be sweet to work as a full time blogger. I’ve tweeted and FB’d many times that I will make a living from Cycling, Traveling, and Writing (and spending all of my time with my Family)…and I still plan on bending the Universe to make that happen. The sooner the better.
But in order for this to become a reality, I’m going to need a great deal more loyal readers like you. Basically, “I Need a Hit”….more like a few thousand hits per day. But how do you get them? Good Content….Good Marketing….Incredible Information….yeah, all of this and a whole lot more. A little luck and celebrity promotion wouldn’t hurt either. Do you want to know what a celebrity endorsement can do for a blog? Well, I can tell you what a brief encounter with Lance Armstrong can do for it.
A couple weeks ago I tweeted about seeing Lance out training on the roads of Austin. Much to my surprise, he replied back to me…..and boy did the Twitterverse take notice. I received countless messages that day from people shocked and amazed that “The Great One” had actually tweeted me a message. It was pretty cool….but what does a little thing like that do as far as marketing is concerned? Well, considering Lance has almost 3 Million followers on Twitter you’d think the floodgates would open up, right? Well, after checking out the analytics for my site…his one tweet looks to have driven around 300 extra people to my site that day.
Not a bad little boost, but it just goes to show how much it would take to increase the daily hits to my site by over 1,ooo per day. I need a hit. But until this blog starts bringing in thousands of people each day…..I’m still going to totally enjoy pumping out content, interacting with like minded and great readers, and learning and loving along the way.
Mate, I click on your site every day and I have a link to you on my Blog. Anything to help!
I enjoy reading about pedal related matters on your side of the pond and seeing the nice weather! A zero degree pedal in to work for me this morning here in the UK.
Hi Darryl,
I have loved reading and now being a part of your blog the last few months. You have what so many sports blogs lack – true love of the sport, lots of good information and entertaining content, and NOT one hint of elitism. Keep it up. I hope you realize your dream of full-time blogging and I hope you continue to love it along the way!
Thanks Kelli, I don’t know where you find the time for everything….but I’m glad you’re still able to get over to read the blog. I’m also very excited and honored to have such an incredible nutritionist as part of the Loving the Bike team…..so cool.
Darryl
Keep at it Darryl. You’re doing a fantastic thing here and have obviously built a strong community.
The advice that people always tell me is this:
Keep doing what you are doing, let your enthusiasm for cycling shine through in your writing, and stay true to the readers who you’ve already won over. There’s a reason people come here and they don’t want that to change. Sounds very cliche, but true. However, as your interests in cycling change so will the topics you write about, but you’ll be taking everyone else with you.
My personal piece of advice is don’t let this blog consume you and don’t stop riding your bike. The less you ride, the less you’ll have to write about!
The hardest part you’ve already done. Sticking at this for nearly a year is no small feat.
BTW, thanks for the compliments.
Thank you very much, Wade. and you’re welcome for the compliments…..its’ so deserving.
With great advice like this, I’m sure everyone will understand why I consider you my mentor. I really appreciate all the help and advice you’ve given me so far and I look forward to having you as a sounding board for bigger and better things in the future.
Darryl
I’ve only been following the blog for a few months, but so far I really enjoy your posts. Keep it up.
As for traffic, it will come, but like everything it has to build slowly. Keep posting great content, interacting with other sites, getting linked on other blogs or Twitter and your followers will come.
I used to run a successful website, which I was eventually able to sell for good money, but it literally took about 5 years to grow it to that point. And trust me, there was a ton of work done it during that period, mostly on content. That was before social networking took over the web, so i would wager it is easier now.
You have a follower in me and I’ll recommend it to other cyclists.
Thanks for your insight and great comments. I really appreciate you following the blog, and that would be fantastic if you could promote it to your network. I’ll keep doing my best to post interesting and exciting content for y’all.
Darryl
Wow, that’s great that you got 300 extra hits after a tweet by Lance Armstrong, however, like you said, it also shows how difficult it can be to reach much higher numbers. As Sara indicated, I also often read blogs on Google reader rather than clicking on the actual site. Some blogs only include part of posts, probably to entice people to actually click over to the blog for the rest, but I find that kind of annoying, even though I know it’s helpful for increasing their traffic. It would be nice if readers such as Google had a way to count the amount of traffic and transfer to the blog site. In the meantime, would it help if all of us click on your blog over and over each day to show more hits? 😉
Yeah, I know that RSS feeds have become the way most people read blogs. I’m sure one day they might integrate the RSS feed with comments and analytics for tracking.
Thanks for dropping by and leaving your comments behind.
Darryl
I’m confident Loving the Bike will take you places beyond your imagination!
I don’t want you to think this is weird but you are my Lance Armstrong. No offense to Lance, of course. Let me explain – I knew about Lance years ago because pretty much everybody does. But I never watched him race, never followed what he was doing. Why? Because I wasn’t into biking. But now I am. And though a lot of my interest is because of 30 Days of Biking and because bicycling is simply fun, it was when you first followed me that I felt kind of cool, like I was a “real” biker because this biking blog guy actually took the time to follow me. Little me. Thanks Darryl – you are doing big things.
Oh geez, now I’m worried that I’m sounding way too gushy and personal. Sorry if I did. M
Not at all, Myrna….keep it coming. Wow, that just might be the nicest comment I’ve ever received here on the blog.
I am also very happy that we crossed paths and I know you and I have a lot more business ventures together.
Darryl
Darryl,
I’ll try to remember to always click on your site from now on so it counts as a hit. I haven’t missed a post of yours since we met through twitter, but I usually read it in my RSS. I hope your dream of full-time blogging comes true. That would be stellar!
Take care,,
Sara
Wow, thank you Sara….I appreciate your kindness. As you know, I love what you’re doing over at your site as well.
Darryl
You had me worried there for a second with the post title 🙂 You always have informative info and great posts. I look forward to reading your blog every time I open my RSS reader. Wade over at Cycling Tips aint got nothing on you, HA. Keep up the good work man cause I’m sure you’ll hit a thousand hits a day in no time.
I have no doubt LTB will be there sooner than you think. You’ve created a unique blog with great topics and resources. Your passion shows and people love being a part of that! I lost a lot of time after my cycling accident. It took me away from a lot including the fun of our cycling blogs. But my mission is to get back into the groove of visiting LTB more often.
Be Well and keep it rolling strong my friend!
Thanks Donald…as you know, I’m a fan of your blog as well. I’m also a fan of who you are and what you stand for. Remember…you, me, and our families still need to cycle the World.
Darryl
Oh, how I dream. But dreams do come true.
Congrats on your success (and the celebrity shout out!). Keep up the good work building community and the persistent passion for your cause.
Ditto Tim, Darryl. Looking forward to meeting you IRL tomorrow, too.
Darryl,
Along with the hits go positive waves man. Your site is one of my goto places when I start surfing. Keep up the good work. Anything I can do to help you bend the universe…
You’re a good man, Tim. Thanks for putting a smile on my face first thing this morning. I really appreciate your support. We’ll go over our “Bend the Universe” plan when we finally get out riding together.
Darryl