Well, the blog is four years old! Wow. I never thought I'd keep it going for so long. There have been times when I have struggled, and when the posts have been infrequent, those are the times when I felt like giving up.
There have been good times too. Posts that proved popular (and not just to foreign 'bots), comments, it all helps.
I suppose I should do a run down of what seems to be working?
It's hard to say for sure what makes a popular post. Generally, if I am enthused about something, be it a new game, or a new range of minis or a new (to me at leat) technique, people seem to like it. Two of my most popular posts, and ones I'm pretty proud of, are the home made GMs screen and the flying stands. Of course, it helps that when I make something I think works well, I share it on various social media. Tutorials generally do well, partly for the sharing reason. I rarely do reviews or unboxings, partly as I genuinely find it difficult to say negative things in print (here at least). Even if I don't like something, the creator has (usually) worked hard on the product, and it can become a personal thing. I have done some posts about new stuff though, such as Terrain Crate and various games (the Magic the Gathering post is oddly popular), maybe I should do more of these?
The least popular posts seem to be the 'hey I just heard about this' type. Perhaps because they don't really say much, and certainly don't require a second read. They aren't something I share links to either. I've always thought of them as a sort of service to my readers, so I'll keep doing them, I just won't expect anything much from them.
If I look at the referring sites, the majority are from Facebook backing up my suggestion that when I link to a post it gets more hits. Pretty obvious really, but I'd like to get to the stage of having regular readers who check the blog for new posts, or even follow it so they get notification. It might help if I could get organised enough to have a regular release schedule, rather than just posting when I think of something.
It's fair to say that the blog could be renamed 'the Blog of Unfinished Projects', and that is one reason why I started it. I make no apologies, however; the 'oo shiny' aspect of the hobby is one of the things that appeals to me. I'm trying to get better (see my posts on the five box system for instance, and I did run a balance of bought vs painted minis a while back). However I'll take a moment to remember the projects that never got anywhere. Chief among these must be the 18mm Barsoom project with which I started the blog. I still have the (unpainted) minis and may go back to it some day, but I'll probably use a different system.
Finally an announcement! Recently I posted quite a bit around the wrap-up of my long running D&D campaign. The series has been pretty well received and I enjoyed looking back and analysing the games. I don't think it quite belongs on a painting and modelling blog though, so I have made the decision to start another blog focusing on the roleplaying aspect of my hobby. The Periodic Gaming Table will have (I suspect) fewer posts, and they will almost certainly be rambling posts. I'll use it as a forum to wrestle with ideas and try and come up with some sort of understanding of what works and what doesn't in the adventures I design and run. If you are primarily interested in painting, modeling and crafting, it might not be for you. If you enjoying running or playing role-playing games I hope you find something of interest. In any case, you are all welcome to check it out here.
Everything's better with cake!!
There have been good times too. Posts that proved popular (and not just to foreign 'bots), comments, it all helps.
I suppose I should do a run down of what seems to be working?
It's hard to say for sure what makes a popular post. Generally, if I am enthused about something, be it a new game, or a new range of minis or a new (to me at leat) technique, people seem to like it. Two of my most popular posts, and ones I'm pretty proud of, are the home made GMs screen and the flying stands. Of course, it helps that when I make something I think works well, I share it on various social media. Tutorials generally do well, partly for the sharing reason. I rarely do reviews or unboxings, partly as I genuinely find it difficult to say negative things in print (here at least). Even if I don't like something, the creator has (usually) worked hard on the product, and it can become a personal thing. I have done some posts about new stuff though, such as Terrain Crate and various games (the Magic the Gathering post is oddly popular), maybe I should do more of these?
The least popular posts seem to be the 'hey I just heard about this' type. Perhaps because they don't really say much, and certainly don't require a second read. They aren't something I share links to either. I've always thought of them as a sort of service to my readers, so I'll keep doing them, I just won't expect anything much from them.
If I look at the referring sites, the majority are from Facebook backing up my suggestion that when I link to a post it gets more hits. Pretty obvious really, but I'd like to get to the stage of having regular readers who check the blog for new posts, or even follow it so they get notification. It might help if I could get organised enough to have a regular release schedule, rather than just posting when I think of something.
It's fair to say that the blog could be renamed 'the Blog of Unfinished Projects', and that is one reason why I started it. I make no apologies, however; the 'oo shiny' aspect of the hobby is one of the things that appeals to me. I'm trying to get better (see my posts on the five box system for instance, and I did run a balance of bought vs painted minis a while back). However I'll take a moment to remember the projects that never got anywhere. Chief among these must be the 18mm Barsoom project with which I started the blog. I still have the (unpainted) minis and may go back to it some day, but I'll probably use a different system.
Finally an announcement! Recently I posted quite a bit around the wrap-up of my long running D&D campaign. The series has been pretty well received and I enjoyed looking back and analysing the games. I don't think it quite belongs on a painting and modelling blog though, so I have made the decision to start another blog focusing on the roleplaying aspect of my hobby. The Periodic Gaming Table will have (I suspect) fewer posts, and they will almost certainly be rambling posts. I'll use it as a forum to wrestle with ideas and try and come up with some sort of understanding of what works and what doesn't in the adventures I design and run. If you are primarily interested in painting, modeling and crafting, it might not be for you. If you enjoying running or playing role-playing games I hope you find something of interest. In any case, you are all welcome to check it out here.
I think Barsoom would work well with Dragon Rampant?
ReplyDeleteI will happily check out either of your blogs.
Good call, we can check it out at some point. I'd suggest reduced model units though. Red Martians as Bellicose Foot?
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