Mentoring & Helping other Bloggers
I am reading more and more in conversations on Twitter , on blog posts and in e-mails that many edubloggers are getting discouraged of writing their blog. They are discouraged for the fact that they are not receiving comments or are feeling brushed off and left out by so called “probloggers”. A few weeks ago, I wrote about my feelings about this phenomena in a post titled WHO do YOU write for?
A great help for new bloggers who are craving for and not receiving comments came from Sue Waters and a great post “First Five Tops for Writing Better Blog Posts ” this morning.
Sue writes :
Worse Still! You finally finish the post believing it’s your best ever only to find no-one comments.
I bookmarked the post immediately as a personal reminder for my own writing. I can also see creating an adaptation of these tips for student bloggers.
- Use short paragraphs
- Use headings
- Remember to hyperlinks
- Always comment back to readers on your post
- Subscribe to your own blog feed
I would add to Sue’s list the addition of relevant visuals that support the point and the idea you are trying to pass on.
Another post I wrote Celebrating new Bloggers , I could feel the frustration from this edublogger:
I have made some changes, commented on other blogs and posted updates on twitter, but I really am not getting many comments (pretty much none).
I want to mentor and encourage new bloggers, but how do you do it, when you already are so short on time. Do we need to postpone these things until the summer? At this point, I have so many things postponed for these precious few weeks, that I will be probably be just as busy as during the school year. 
How can we encourage showcase and help newcomers to the edubloggersphere?
I had an idea this morning while driving and listening to a new song I purchased on iTunes the previous evening. I really enjoyed Para Que Tu No Llores by Antonio Carmona. I had never heard of this artists before last night, until I found one of my favorite Spanish singers Alejandro Sanz performing this duet with him. If it were not for the name of Alejandro Sanz, I would have never clicked on that song to listen to the preview and consequently buying it.
iTunes also uses on their sidebars the heading: Listeners also bought…Amazon.com uses the heading: Customers who bought this item also bought…
How can I transfer this to the bloggersphere?
By following iTunes and Amazon’s example, I can make sure I update and refresh my blogroll in my sidebar frequently to include new bloggers. Maybe I could create a Spotlight of the week/month/etc.
Just as Alejandro Sanz singing a duet with an unknown artist to me lured me into giving him a try, I could invite a guest blogger to my blog to give them the opportunity of exposure to new readers that were able to sample his/her writing.
Image by Vic
Isn’t there a less known or unknown singer/band warming up an audience before a concert? Aren’t the superstars sometimes the springboards for others’ careers? Whose springboard can we be in the edubloggersphere?
Hi-
Thank you for highlighting Sue’s post. I went back to my last post and primped it up after I read I read the original early this morning.
I’ve only been blogging for a few months and twittering for a week. I have searched for tech folks and am following you and more than 100 others. I’ve added at least 20 blogs, including your, to my aggregator and my blog roll.
I have found your post to be awesome. I really have enjoyed, appreciated and learned from them. Thanks.
Writing a blog is only half of the story. The other half is going out and commenting on other blogs. In fact, commenting might be the more important and difficult part.
Silvia, I am sitting here with your Mom, discussing this blog post. We both agree that you have explained, very well, your ideas for encouraging and mentoring new bloggers. The idea of “superstar bloggers” highlighting a “new blogger” or even writing a “duet” post is a simple, yet very effective way of allowing new bloggers to express their ideas or thoughts, whilst knowing that many people will read and take the time to comment on their post!
Had it not been for reading, then commenting on your blog, then following you on twitter because you replied to my comments, then becoming involved in a global project with you because of all of the above, I would not be sitting here at your Mom’s dinner table commenting on your latest post. We now know each other personally and a global friendship has been established to last a lifetime!
Who would have thought that one comment on one blog post has had such positive consequences. (That’s your Mom speaking!!)
I agree with Jason. You can write the worlds best blog, but if you don’t comment anywhere no one is going to know about it.
The other thing to do is to create a blogroll of blogs related in topic to your own and then click through those links at least once a day. bloggers check their stats and will notice your clicks eventually.
Skip- Thank you for the compliments. You are doing the right thing of getting started joining the conversation. Subscribe to blogs that you are interested in, listen in on the chatter on Twitter and following relevant links, leaving comments. That’s why I clicked through to your blog. Looking forward to read more from you.
JasonR- I completely agree with you. Commenting is the other half of the conversation. As I am reading more and more comments on other blogs, it seems that your statement “commenting might be the most important and difficult part” had hit the head on the nail. Commenting seems to be in a different category than writing the posts. While you are working on creating a quality post and succeed in in, you still might have problems coming up with the right comment on someone else’s blog. I don’t remember who and where it was said, but it was similar to this: …sometimes I want to comment, and I have all sorts of ideas and responses in my head, but I am not able to formulate them…
This is what happens to me many times while reading an excellent blog. Then I store it in the “need to come back soon” file and unfortunately that is where it stays. Will have to work on this!
nzchrissy - I can just imagine the two of you sitting at the table and reading the blog. I wish I could have been there. I am so sad, that I missed seeing you in BSAS. I would have loved to show you my favorite city in the world. I do know that my mom was a great substitute for me though. I guess I will have to go and visit you in NZ one of these days. I agree that friendships start in the most amazing ways sometimes.
Mama- Nun freue ich mich, dass du es endlich geschafft hast, wenn auch mit und durch Chrissy, ein Kommentar auf meinem Blog zu hinterlassesn. Naechstes mal kannst du es nun auch alleine! Du kannst auch ruhig auf Deutsch schreiben. Freue mich, dass du so viel Spass mit Chrissy hast.
EFL Geek- The blogroll is a great addition to the lists of things for new bloggers. I always check back to the sites that link to one of my posts. Thanks!
Hi Silvia – thanks linking to my post on the Edublogger and also sharing your thoughts. Sorry I’ve taken so long to respond to your post but haven’t been well today (with a cold). Comments mean so much to new bloggers and I try to spend as much time as possible support new people. Kim Cofino and I are currently coordinating a Commenting Challenge to encourage educators to be become more effective commenters, better blog citizens and support new bloggers.
We are hoping that by everyone working together we can all support and mentor each other. We would love for you, and your readers, to join together with us and working on the challenge. Kim’s writing a post where we can share our thoughts on the logistical aspects.
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