By Eilene Lyon
It seems I’ve reached a couple WordPress milestones this week: my 100th blog post, and 1000 Likes. Let’s see…if my math is correct, that means I’ve averaged 10 Likes per post. To be sure, some (okay, one) got NO Likes at all, and others have over 20. Should I be worried that I’ve got a sub-par performance record going? I have no idea!
Certainly my earlier posts had fewer views and, hence, fewer likes. These two posts are currently in a tie for the most:
Of course, it isn’t really about numbers, but it can be fun to track my progress in the blogosphere. (Yes, writers do like to be read.) Mostly I write to improve my writing and maybe share a few photos and tidbits with people who have similar interests: history, genealogy, travel, science, and nature.
The thing about Likes though, is I really don’t know what they mean.
I click Like when I’ve found your post interesting enough to read the entire thing (i.e. it’s good!). I try to comment, but sometimes find I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said.
If your post can’t hold my attention to the end, I just don’t get to the Like button and that’s that. Doesn’t mean it’s a bad post, just not my thing, I guess.
So what impels you to hit Like? Do tell!
Myricopia 
I just hit the like, so now feel compelled to answer your question! I’m pretty much the same, if I read to the end, I hit like to show my appreciation of the writing because I know the time and effort that goes into it. I usually comment when I feel I have an immediate response, which means it has affected me on some level. Sometimes I don’t comment because someone has already said what I was thinking, and I’m not a big talker, so sometimes I just don’t have anything to say!
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Thanks! I agree.
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I’m like you – if the post can hold my attention to the end, it gets a like. If it strikes a chord, it gets a comment. Always nice to celebrate milestones.
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Thanks for reading and responding! I appreciate it.
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I don’t always click Like if I am going to comment as well. Sometimes I’ll click Like when I’d love to comment but haven’t the energy, then if I can I’ll return later to comment as well. I much prefer to post (and receive) comments than Likes and had the latter turned off in my blog for a lot of posts.
I’d probably have far more followers than I do, if I didn’t unsubscribe the ones that were following for the wrong reasons (ie, spammers and others who only want to get attention to their own site). Another blogger I follow did the same recently and she found she’d cut her followers list down from something like 800 to 80. Personally I prefer to have a lower number, knowing that they’re at least people who are actually interested in my content.
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Thanks for the comment. I agree that the number of followers doesn’t matter so much as having followers who are reading and engaging with me.
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By the way, it’s impossible to hit Like on your post about Little Rock (that got no Likes) because of the subject matter. if someone clicked Like, how would anyone know which part of it they were agreeing with? For the record, I think segregation was a shameful part of your country’s history.
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Hmmm. I guess I consider a Like to be about the quality of my writing as well as the subject matter. I certainly wouldn’t consider a Like on the Little Rock piece to mean that someone agrees with segregation.
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People interpret use of the Like button differently, though… so that’s probably why it got none. Just a thought. 🙂
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I appreciate your feedback.
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I have a love/hate relationship with likes. I didn’t allow them on my blog for years, then decided to see what they’re about. From what I can tell, they allow shy people to express themselves in a way that makes them feel like they’ve engaged with me. I mean, I get the same likers over and over again, in the same way that I get the same commenters over and over again. And yes, I like posts– but usually then add a comment because I’m wordy like that.
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Yes, we do seem to get the same people, but that’s fine. I like knowing they’ve read the piece. And I do try to check the blogs of people who hit Like, though I won’t necessarily read or follow them.
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I find that views and likes are more a measure of engagement than quality of writing. When you publish frequently and engage on other people’s blogs, your views and likes will go up. When you take time off from blogging and blog reading (like I am doing now) both readership and likes will plummet. It often takes a long time to get the readers back.
That is just the nature of blogging.
To measure how pleasing my posts are, I look at the relationship between views and likes. The highest rating post are not always the posts I would expect. Sometimes it is downright disappointing and other times it is a pleasant surprise – but the most pleasant of all is when I really think that I wrote something fun and my readers agree.
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Yes, I think you may be right about engagement vs. writing quality. But I think if I was a poor writer, engagement would also tumble.
It may indeed be difficult to re-attract readers after an absence. I recently unfollowed blogs that haven’t posted in 4 months. I assume they don’t plan to return any time soon.
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hey! you did great! congrats!
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Thanks!
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I hit “like” when I have read and enjoyed a post but can’t comment through lack of time, or not having anything useful to add to what has already been said. If I comment, I don’t “like” as well – though of course I probably still like the post! I used to check out every new blogger who liked or followed me, but now I only visit new commenters and only follow those who strike a chord for some reason. However, I can tell from my own blog that many people like and comment on the same post. We are all different!
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Makes good sense!
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Congrats, Eilene. The thing is, it builds slowly. I’ve been blogging for six years now–between 4 blogs. You are doing everything right–great compelling posts, regular posting, and interacting and making friends with other bloggers via their blogs. It will all increase over time.
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Thanks for the encouragement, Luanne!
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