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Saturday, 31 July 2010

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8 ways to publicize your EVE Online blog

The other day, I got a conversation request in-game. Due to circumstances of the moment, plus not recognizing the character name, I rejected the request. (Nothing personal, but like many pilots, I just can’t always chat.) The other player later sent me an EVEmail letting me know that they sought advice on EVE blogging, particularly in attracting readership and getting a bit of attention from other EVE bloggers.

After apologizing for my inadvertent rudeness, I sent a list of advice. But I thought that maybe it might assist some other folks getting involved in the EVE blogging world. Most of the advice is EVE-specific, but bloggers can apply it in other areas as well.

(Please note that this list only covers blog publicity. The specifics of how and what to write, site design, and all that jazz lie slightly outside the scope of this particular post.)

  1. Write something. Don’t do too much ‘mass outreach’ until you actually have some content up there. Otherwise, folks will think that, like literally millions of other blogs, you write three or fewer posts and then disappear.
  2. Blog about a central topic. “EVE Online” could serve that purpose, but most folks have a general focus: piracy, wormhole exploration, nullsec warfare, whatever. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever post about other things, but you want to establish a bit of an identity. You probably have a playstyle and your blogging should reflect that.
  3. Link to other blogs. You can do this via a blogroll (listing of blogs), perhaps in your sidebar. You might decide to list every EVE blog you can find, like I have done, or you might decide to focus on those you particularly like. You might even choose those with a similar focus to your own. Even better, link to specific posts from your own writing. That will notify the other blog author (assuming your blogging platform has pingbacks and such enabled, and most do). He’ll likely come look at your post and maybe start to engage with you a little. After all, everybody loves having an audience, and we are each other’s audience.
  4. Get listed. Ga’len maintains a list of all EVE blogs in OPML format. Basically, this means he produces a file that people can import into their RSS reader so as not to do it one at a time. This will also get you onto the Latest Blogs list at EVE Bloggers, a popular portal for EVE-related social media run by Alexia Morgan.
  5. Twitter. You might notice that I’ve already linked to a few EVE Twitter accounts, and for good reason. A good number of EVE players actively communicate with each other via Twitter in a loosely-organized but friendly little community. Be sure to contact 00sage00 for addition to his popular Tweet Fleet list, which you might also want to follow so you can immediately get hooked in to the conversation.
  6. Chat in-game. The EVE-Bloggers channel usually has several folks, ranging from a handful to more than a dozen depending on time of day and such. Generally, the activity levels there shouldn’t overwhelm you, and we talk about everything from EVE blogging (naturally) to general EVE gameplay to whatever else strikes our collective fancy. Don’t spend too much time pimping your blog (though you should of course mention it), but engage in conversation with the folks there. Get advice on blogging and site design, or even ask for a link.
  7. Link your blog in your bio. Should explain itself, really. When other players do a “show info” on your character, that link should prominently feature in your bio. This becomes even better now that we have Moondoggie and everyone can see it without necessarily alt-tabbing out of EVE.
  8. Comment on other blogs, Get involved by commenting on posts on other EVE Online blogs. Generally, most blog comments include a field to include a URL. This doesn’t mean you should go spam with links, but actually post a relevant comment. You might even write a post on your own blog in response. If the other blog doesn’t take pingbacks, most folks won’t mind a quick comment stating that you responded with a full post. That shows that you really took the time to read and consider what they wrote, which everybody likes.

Have other tips on getting publicity to your EVE Online blog? Share them in the comments below!

Image credit Librarian by Day

Related posts:

  1. Let’s get connected: Guide to EVE social media
  2. How to get readers for your new EVE blog
  3. Social Sunday: 5 tips for encouraging commenting

Date: 2009-12-29

Categories: Guides

Tags: , , , , , ,

  • I also would add to the list: once every couple of weeks have an open-ended thought provoking post that requires a bit more work to write and prompts people to comment on or link to.
  • Funny, the IGS is the one section I avoid at all costs.

    I don't doubt that you can guess why...
  • Cas, I do like roundups of forum posts, especially because I never read them other than occasionally checking the IGS and the fiction section. Pretty sure I am not the only one there.
  • Tony, yeah, I just figured a bit more couldn't hurt. Plus it feeds my ego.

    Myr, I agree with you and Mynxee. I rarely post about CCP announcements; exceptions include stuff that only made forum posts (not dev blogs or such) or where I want to talk about it in a little more depth than "OMG SO KEWL!".

    Usually, anyway. I reserve the right to occasionally revert to full-on fanboi mode if the mood strikes. :P
  • Good tips I think there has been some others similar done previously but helpful especially to the newer bloggers :)
  • Myr: I find the mass repostings by bloggers of major CCP announcements or trailers a bit spammy unless the bloggers add some substantive opinion or content related to the CCP material they are reposting about. I figure anyone reading Eve blogs is likely tuned into CCP and getting the news straight from the horse's mouth. They don't need me to tell them about it. Therefore, I am typically not inclined to repost CCP-announced stuff myself unless I want to discuss something in connection with it (as I did for the Dominion patch notes).

    Twitter, on the other hand, I don't mind seeing multiple short messages about the same thing...its just the nature of Twitter. Which by the way is addictive as hell.
  • Check on everything, except that Twitter thing I keep putting off to join. Perhaps in 2010 I will finally give in to the craze.

    Question to the commenters: How do you feel about whenever CCP releases a movie, or patch notes, or something else happens within the community a lot of blogs repost it? Do you feel it adds to spreading the word or do you simply not bother reading it again unless it has interesting additional information? I've personally been steering away from it as I have a blog with a roleplaying focus and do not want to lose readers to copy / paste posts.
  • As a new Eve blogger I found these tips most helpful. Thanks! :) I hope to jump in on the chat channel some time soon.
  • A comment from VP himself... truly this blog has ascended to the high heavens, or at least reachable from such...
  • Commenting in a blog post about blog posts!

    ;)

    Well, here's my tip: Whatever topic you decide to write on, be passionate about it and don't be afaid of what others will think. Write the blog for yourself.

    I can't tell you how many blogs I've deleted off my RSS reader (yes, many of which have even deemed to be "elite" EVE blogs) because either the author doesn't know what the heck they are talking about, or they are just rehashing the same old crap that everyone else is. Or both.

    Now go read my blog because everything that I talk about it awesome.

    :P
  • Ga'len
    Anytime mate!
  • Yeah, I need to reconfigure my chat settings and all. Thanks for that :)
  • Ga'len
    Good tips mate!

    I was writing a comment and it turned into a blog post, go figure. There's a tip for you. Don't write a TL;DR comment, turn it into a blog post and cross link the two!

    http://www.eve-druid.com/the-list-is-in-the-open/
  • I agree with the assertions AND mynxee's comments about it taking some time. Do not be afraid to try new things, the other is important to note...only 1 out of every 10 visitors will even comment so use tools such as google analytics, for the blogger folks, or Cystats ( for the WP folks like me) or feedburner's statistics package juts see what your numbers really are...you might be pleasantly surprised.
  • Developing a following for a blog takes a long time, even if you follow all your very good tips brilliantly. This is something people seem to overlook; a lot of new bloggers become disappointed when they don't immediately have dozens of followers and give up. I say, have faith in the process. Rome wasn't built in a day. If you offer WELL WRITTEN interesting or useful content--even if you only post once a month--you will be able to nurture and grow a loyal readership. It will also give more established bloggers a content-driven reason to link your posts in their own while discussing related topics. That's a great way to build some traffic.
  • Good post. Didn't know about the OPML.

    Cheers
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