Post the link here…I am sure that we would all read it…

Don't get offended if people don't read what you have to say. My wife doesn't listen to my shows or read my blog….why not? She doesn't feel that she has to, as she "lives" the True North Scouting Experience. There are a lot of people in my district and council that do listen and read, but I never get feedback, just a comment in passing. Once again, when I ask those who give me a comment, I get "we are already living the TNSE with you. we already know you, no reason to listen."

I will say that I have gotten comments from those who I totally didn't expect to read my blog or listen to my show. Mostly council people, so I do have a tendency to watch what I say, but for the most part, if I have something that doesn't sit well with me, I talk about it in private scouting company…sometimes, there isn't a positive way to describe how you feel, so venting offline is a way that I do it…there is no need for a lot of that in my show, or any show on PTC…but I can't speak for all of the hosts.

Post edited 6:05 am – September 5, 2010 by MISS Liberty
Post edited 6:06 am – September 5, 2010 by MISS Liberty

Alright, Amy.  I'm back.   Get a latte or something, this could turn out long again.

1. Who are you writing for?  Know your audience.  This is especially important to keep in mind if you're going to play the numbers game with your blog.  Since you're targeting a *very select* group – specifically Cub Scout and Girl Scout leaders, it looks like (I could be wrong?) you're not going to get millions of hits to your page every day – no matter how good it is.  There just aren't that many leaders in that niche who also ready blogs who also would ready every day.  Cut yourself some slack and realize that you're only going to get a small percentage of a small percentage of a small percentage of the general public.
2. Advertise. You say you didn't come here looking for hits, but you SHOULD.  We're Scouters!  It's what we do. We (I assume) are your audience.  Girl Scout forums are a good place to hit, too.  Mind you, follow appropriate etiquette (which can vary from site to site) and be courteous, but DO advertise. Make sure you especially hit the sites where you already are heavily participating because people who know you already want to know what you have to share, so they're an easy audience.  The easiest way to quietly advertise is to put the URL and title of your blog in your profile info and in your signature (for forums/email.)
3. Keep your content fresh and consistent.  If you keep to a, let's say, once a week posting schedule, everyone will know you have "fresh content" every Tuesday (or whatever.)  If your posting is erratic and/or outdated, people will stop checking back to see what you have going on so even if you get readers, they won't come back.
4. In the same vein, you want to make sure you're offering something that folks aren't getting elsewhere, or make sure what you've got is better.  If I kept a blog with entries that just stated what the requirements were for specific merit badges, folks would skip it entirely.  They can find that information more cleanly and simply at meritbadge.org.  However, if I blogged about how to organize a merit badge seminar or how I taught a specific merit badge or how I kept records or followed up on boys who had started merit badges with me, I'd have a much stronger following.
5. Read (and comment on!) other similar blogs.  Those bloggers will likely take to reading you, as well (instant audience!) and their readers will likely start following your blog, too, especially if you land some good link-backs from those blogs or if you post an insightful, thoughtful, funny, etc. comment.
6. Stick with simple,easy-to-read layouts.  (Fairly easy to do with Blogger, since most of their ready-made templates are very clean.)  If your page is fussy, hard to navigate, or cluttered with a lot of visual garbage, people won't be able to get to the pith – which is what you're actually writing about.
7. Let people know when you update!  This is a super easy way to do with today's technology and with all the social media available.  Blogger already has an RSS feed, so that's one way people can "subscribe" to your blog.  You can also get a Twitter account or even use Facebook to "announce" when you've written something new.  When Steve (for example) posts that he's written a new blog entry, I'm much more likely to see that first on Twitter than through other means, so I'll just click through and read immediately when I see that up on Twitter.  People who follow the MISS Show on Facebook tend to listen to the show as soon as they see the announcement go up that a new show was released on the Facebook page.  You can also email people who you think might be interested in the particular blog entry you wrote about.  (For example, local leaders if you're posting about an upcoming local event.)  Just be courteous and use respect when sending emails – some folks may not want them, and especially if there are a LOT of them.
8. Write because you enjoy it.  Document for your sake, not for "everyone else."  You'll find it more fulfilling, and you'll keep truer to yourself than if you try to become a dancing monkey for an unseen audience. 
9. If you really and truly are only writing for a specific audience, poll people to see what they want  to see you write about and go from there.
10. Read some books about successful blogging and/or interview some successful bloggers.  Find out what they do that works for them and what they have done that didn't work.  One of the best books I read (not applicable to you, since it was more for folks with personal blogs) was "No One Cares What You Ate For Lunch."  It gave pointers on how to write more thoughtfully, productively, and prolifically. I'm sure you can find one that's more about niche blogging, it seems like "everyone" has written a book about blogging these days. Many of them can give you better suggestions on how to publicize your blog and how to get noticed.

Those are some ideas for you.   Hope they help!