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Dang, Nobody Saw it!

I spend too much time thinking. Maybe nobody else even cares about this. Today I am trying to wrap my brain around figuring out when to post to get read. There is obviously a lot out there on AR now. Posting on a Friday night didn't work out too well for me yesterday. I guess the rest of you all still have social lives, or no three year olds at home. Sunday night also seems to have been a slow starter for me.

I figure we are all social animals. If you post here, you probably want someone else to read it, right? And the acknowledgement that comes in the form of a comment makes it a more satisfying experience. Maureen McCabe wisely talks about the lonely world of real estate blogging, but the beauty of AR is that it has taken away the lonely factor.

I don't mean to sound like a whiny, attention grabbing baby. Really. And I DO appreciate everyone who has EVER left me a comment on my posts. But I bet that we ALL have a post (or two or three) that we think was pretty good, and it didn't start the conversation that we thought it would. When I first started posting here, I remember it felt like it took a little while before anyone noticed me.

So, I have a question and an invitation to extend here.

Question: Have you noticed times of the day/week that are better or worse for posting?
Invitation: Do you have a post that you think that readers didn't notice? If you do, don't be shy. Post a link to it in a comment here. I promise I will take a look at it, and I bet some other nice people will too.
Request: Take a look at the posts in the comments here. And let those bloggers know what you think.

I can't give out gold stars, or bonus points, but I hope this will drive some eyes back to some good posts. So give yourself a gold star, and leave a comment here.

HEY folks, this post is from September 2006. Just so you know... Somehow it got a gold star today.

Posted by Maureen Francis & Dmitry Koublitsky, SKBK Sotheby's - Metro Detroit on 02/24/2007 09:14 PM

Comments (71)

activerain, blog, michigan, featured post

Originally posted at: Dmitry & Maureen: Moving Metro Detroit: Dang, Nobody Saw it!

71 Comments on Dang, Nobody Saw it!

SEP

2006

Very, very smart. No wonder your such a Scoring Goddess!

Okay, so here is my link:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/Real-Estate-Embellishment-1-1?9265

I thought this one had such great potential, too! Thanks for giving it the opportunity for a second chance!

Rich Jacobson, www.KitsapLife.com

I've noticed weekends slow down. Saving a post for a weekend is best. Also, posting late at night can be hazardous to your health. The site goes down and you risk losing it all. I try to remember not to post directly to the Box at night. Now that Writely (see Geri's post) is available, I suspect I will be Krafting my posts there.

MF, I'm with you on the lack of readership, sometimes you think you grabbed the gold ring, only to find out nobody's watching.

Timing is everything!

OK MF, I went back in time to find a post about "moving costs"
After thoughtful consideration, I realize I didn't focus well on my original intent, that was to illustrate what a deep savings using alternative options for moving across country.

Rich, I love your writing, but I find the size of font too large. I have to continue to scroll too much to read too little. Does that make sense? Drop it down a bit and it will still stand out and more will fit on the real estate of my screen. Just a thought!

I just post when the moment grabs me! I don't really care who reads. It's kind of like singing in the shower! I enjoy it! That's all that matters!

Rich, I am with KK on your fonts. I am glad she brought it up. I have been to shy to mention it. Too big for my itty bitty monitor. KK has 2 BIG screens, so we are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

So, KK, don't be shy. Don't you have even one post you can add here for me?

David, you are a purist. More power to you. Me, I like the comments. Oh well!

Maybe it's just me, but I have a really hard time reading the standard font. But I truly value your opinions. I will drop it down a notch and see how it goes. Thanks so much for your valued input!

Rich Jacobson, www.KitsapLife.com

There's an inherent catch 22 here. On the one hand, you will want to post at a time/day when there is not much activity so that your post has greater "hang time" on the most recent blog list. On the other hand, the fact that it has a longer hang time is a result of less posting by others which in turn can be an indication of how many are logged on and reading.

I tend to agree with David on this one. Che sara, sara.

I had missed the Geri Sonkin post that KK referred to, so I am including it here. It's a great find. I just signed up.

How's this? Any better? Thanks!

http://activerain.com/blogsview/Real-Estate-Embellishment-1-1?9265

Rich Jacobson, www.KitsapLife.com

I think so. And it looks like someone else JUST read it, so maybe this is working.

OK, I'll throw my hat in the ring. Here's a post on one web day http://activerain.com/blogsview/One-Web-Day?9887

Alright everybody, perhaps we need a featured section marked by you! But really we have one, it's in the post ratings. If you read somethign you like please give it a thumbs up.

Caleb, this isn't about the thumbs up thing. And I think you do a very fine job of awarding gold stars. Really.

I honestly do think that some posts get unnoticed just because of when they are posted. Or maybe they are boring to everyone but me.

And I do think that people are underutilizing the thumbs up, but that is a separate topic.

I've seen some good post here that I missed the first time around. Its bound to happen.

Here's one titled "Giving back" that I thought had a lot of potential. I envisioned agents sharing past and current efforts and some great PR for AR. And if we can actually implement the idea, the results could be dramatic.

I actually withdrew this and reposted at what I thought might be a better time but it got buried again! I appreciate the chance to keep it alive. Thanks!

I am not worrying about my position in AR anymore: I am in 10th place in Florida which is a pretty competitive state and I am number 2 in Orange County and number 2 in in Orlando right behind Terri Isner...so I am pretty content......

Trying to get to number one or even number 2 in Florida is a loosing proposition I think...so I will stay where I am for now and just be happy..... I have over 30,000 points which in 3 months being here on AR is quite respectable also...... just think if some genreous person just happened to DONATE about 45,000 points to me, I would jump to 1st place!!!!!

whoohooo!!!! hehehehehe....:-D

It's funny, when I published the post about Writely I was so excited to share it with the group. Admittedly I'm a night owl and something happens to me right after I make the decision to call it a day. It's that "I'll just take one more whirl around the web to see if I missed anything" and I suddenly get my second wind. Next thing I know it's two o'clock in the morning and my eyelids are pasted to my head. So I tend to write at odd hours.

When I checked back to see if I'd gotten any comments and there was a big fat zero there, I thought "doesn't anybody else think this is a good idea?" When I came back to the computer this morning there was feedback. So from now on I'm going to let you do my thinking for me since you do it so well. Just point me in the right direction from time to time.

Hi Maureen If I am reading your post correctly, I think I asked the same type of question in one of my blogs a while back. Matt posted a nice chart, but it still really didn't answer the question of when is the best time to blog to get read. I can't seem to get on the rigth schedule lately. Maybe the graph Matt posted will help you.

Lisa ... I was on the call yesterday too. I was distracted because I was trying to get rid of red x's in my OneWebday.com that I published right as the teleseminar was starting... http://maureen.realtownblogs.com/best-wishes-columbus/onewebday-columbus-9-22-06/ excuse the shameless blog promotion.... not an AR blog...

Highest reading day on my other blog is Monday... weekends are dead unless I pander to other bloggers... which I do (shameless blog promotion.) Monday's I do real estate... the big entry for the week... if Monday is a holiday, the big day is Tuesday...but I don't get a lot of comments any day of the week... but people are reading it....

AR the comments are a bonus...

I agree with Joe. Back in the "old days" we had three pages of new blogs. I think now we are up to 8-10 pages daily of new blogs. I can't read that fast! Also, I don't like the double spaced blogs, too long to scroll down. Also, size matters too, not too small print and not gigantic. That's my cents worth.

I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed by all of this too. I try to read as much as I can. It just gets to be too much for me at times. I'm with Alexander on this one. I'm done with the points. I'm just gonna do the best I can. Do I have a few posts... sure do. I have 3 or 4 with NO remarks. boo hoo

Here is one of them....

Guys,

You are not the only ones who wonder when to post and do people who post early in the morning go back and look at what happened later in the day after theirs posted. How many people really pay attention to others blogs. So, you are not our their by yoursevles.

Sara and Alexander, I am not talking about points. I agree that you can only sustain this as long as you are having fun and learning. Its not about the points. I guess we all have different reasons for doing this.

KVS, I agree with you about the double spacing. Add to that poorly formatted posts. Don't like to read them. Too much in one paragraph is hard...

Louann, I liked the daily stats. I remember your post. Would like to see the same thing for the seven days of the week. How much does activity fall off on the weekend?

Maureen,

I did a little experiment a couple of weeks ago. Of course I am in Eastern Standard time, but I notice that at around 4:00 pm, EST, there are a lot of commenters, then again around 7-8pm EST.

The comments I get in the am are from the night before, so I figured they came from the West Coast. (With the exception of the Lovely Wife whose comments have been seen at 5am!!)

My thoughts about this were that 3:30 would be a good time to post a blog. Of course if everyone does this, we will all get lost in the shuffle.

You are right about blogs being lost. I have seen some really good ones get a couple of comments and then another one comes out and it gets lost.

Good post, btw

SEP

2006

I agree with Maureen. Monday is consistently the highest traffic day for me. Nearly every monday I break a new record for traffic (current record 415 uniques).

I think the reasons are obvious as to why Monday is a big blog reading day. And I have to point out thatit is the morning that is always the hottest. Any day.

The challenge that I see coming, here in the AR blog, however, is that if everyone starts to use Monday as the day to post, then we will experience the effect of "Cats and Dogs." To your shagrin, the post will never get the exposure it should because of too many other posts piling up on top of it.

And then we are back to your question of "when to post to get read?"

On AR, the strategy will really begin to differ from your independent blog as more and more begin to join and blog.

WeeRaining... not a good strategy.

The time you post it really doesn't matter that much to when regular readers read it. If Maureen F. posted on Friday night and not again until Tuesday... the readers who come to her post are going to read her Friday night post on Monday.

If Maureen posted Friday night, Saturday and Sunday and Monday some of her regular readers are going to read Friday Saturday, Sunday and Monday on Monday.

Those finding you re: Technorati, a Google Blog search etc. are different.

You don't control when they read. Just keep addng good content when you can and they will read it.

Well I just typed a long response and got an error and it went away. SHOOT!

Briefly..... I guess I'm cautious what I write because of the chance of it being BLASTED to the web.

Does anyone know how much of what we write is on the web? If I google my name, I don't see any AR content that I've contributed. Granted, I could post and contribute a lot of things (and manage to keep this Missouri Auctioneer from taking my #1 spot which is obviously his intention LOL)

But I'm cautious

I usually post in the early evening. Only because this is when I am done work for the day and sit down to write. I have certain times of the day that I do certain things. By doing this I create habits.

Does it make a difference? Probably. I don't think the time matters as much as the consistancy. I think if readers can expect a new post from you at a certain time it may build anticipation. I also think there may be such a thing as posting to often. Quality above quantity will work everytime.

But again, what the hell do I know. I guess really all we can do is write it, throw it out there and see what happens.

Fran,

If you post members only, nothing goes out to the search engines. Otherwise, it all goes. I don't know though, how quickly pages get picked up. I haven't come across any of my individual posts on google, but I did see that the Lovely Wife comes up first for "beer smack"...

Do with that what you will.

BB, I am with you about quality over quantity, though it took me a while to catch on.

MM, I don't know that too many of us have regular readers here yet. Meaning people that just show up to read one blogger. Maybe Broker Bryant does, but he is the only one that *might*, IMHO. I just read whatever comes out as it comes out, sorta... I've started filtering a bit just because of the volume now.

MF... Maybe not regular readers from the public yet... but you definitely have regular readers among AR members. I think though I was talking about on NON AR blogs.

I've heard one AR member deleted everything on her blog recently...within the last 48 hours, I believe. A couple of people had pointed out to me what she was posting. What she deleted is on Google already though and I want to say she just posted some that is on Google this past week... "Dang everyone saw it!"

Ouch, would that be the case of "Dang, everone saw it, AND I DIDN't WANT THEM TO"

MM, and one more thing.

Does the outside public READ real estate blogs? So far the only regular readers I see on any real estate blogs are other people in the industry. KWIM?

I post at night, so I find when I post late, I get a good amount of comments and views from the people that log on first thing in the morning, because I am at the top of the list...this usually only works for me when I get a gold star. I find I usually only get the comments and participation I would like from the gold star posts...so i think excellent content is the best way to get noticed...although that is a subjective rating system isn't it?

As far as blogs I wished and hoped got more response or more exposure, I have 2

First my Rebirth Of Cool blog, that focuses on Detroit Real Estate. I love the city of Detroit and am very proud of my knowledge of the city and its past and present. and this is the one that introduces the series.

Second this is a link to a blog I wrote about the craziness of seller concessions and incentives out there currently...I really thought this one would have generated more discussion than it did....it really took me a while to get to be so despised and commented against....I guess this one was before I learned to hone my craft.

SEP

2006

MF wrote:

>MM, and one more thing.

>Does the outside public READ real estate blogs? So far the >only regular readers I see on any real estate blogs are other >people in the industry. KWIM?

I have people who read my blog who are not in the RE industry. What is KWIM?

Know what I mean KWIM

Weekday nights is the best time I see. I thought Sunday nights would be a good time but I was wrong.

SEP

2006

I have read some research that indicates Wednesday and Thursday afternoons are high traffic times. My traffic drops like a rock on the weekends. i think people mostly surf at work

I just get up in the morning have my coffee and do my posting. I am working my way up the score board in my state. I guess I am just too competative.

How can anyone find this site and know what it is about anyway without being invited by their realtor?

Christine, this site is indexed in google, at least many pages are. For Birmingham Michigan Real Estate, my AR profile has come up on the top 3 pages.

You are in the toughest state and perhaps the toughest county in the country. Keep up the good work.

OCT

2006

I've found that Sat/Sun mornings are good times to have more content read/commented on.

FEB

2007

I searched on google and found interesting tech comments which drew me in.

I haven't been on long enough to notice a trend for time of viewing/comments. However, I have been on long enough to feel the sting of not having what I considered as a good article viewed or commented on. For that reason, I'm hoping some of you will check out http://activerain.com/blogsview/48298/Historic-Heaven-or-Hellish and http://activerain.com/blogsview/47298/Rum-Cakes-and-Real. Neither article has received the feedback I thought it might. For those of you who have commented, thank you. I appreciate every one.

I'm new to blogging and just trying to soak it all in and boy is there a lot to soak in! Do this, don't do that, that's too long, that's too short, Oops you readers won't like that! I'm dizzy!

I am totally lost here MF - Did you post this back in September 06 and re-post it now with comments and all? I see comments dating back to sept. 06 and either I had a really long day - or I should shut down the computer and go to bed.

I have noticed different times do make a difference, but lately I usually post at whatever time I can - the late night ones may get lost in the shuffle, but with the new system at least your subscribed readers will get the posts. Weekends get more notice for sure, I'm usually too busy on weekends to check.

Here's a post I wrote about ART BASEL, which I thought was HUGE....and only got 8 comments.

ART BASEL Miami Beach - International Art Show.

I have certain people I subscribe to and when I see when they have posted a new blog...then I click on them and read it...very simple...Active Rain has changed in the way people LOOK for blogs....

Also...I have begun to look around in the various groups I am members of...and when there is a new post I read it..... again, very simple....

So...if you want to have a LOT of people look at your blog, post to as many relevent groups as you are a member of...and it WILL be read by them.....

That is my experience..... =-D

Some are so faithful in commenting I don't see how they do it. There are so many to read. Occasionally, maybe once a week i just start at the most recent post and read, commenting only on the ones that immediately bring up a thought in my brain. I don't work one up, the blog has to spark something in that grey matter.

I'll post when I get the chance, which could be at almost any hour.

I'll bite on a blog post that if anybody read it, nobody responded.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/47330/How-are-you-licensed

I am SOOO glad to see some of these archived posts being resurrected, especially ones like this that never got the attention and exposure they so deserved.

This is a very exceptional effort to get those comments flowing! Thanks so much for doing this - Did anyone notice "IT'S RAINING IN HERE"?

MAureen F.... good post. I went to Rich's post just because of this post. The ending though, too many dwelling when to post. Hey, June 23rd at 5 am will be the best this whole year.... lol

Seriously though.....as a few have mentioned, too much gets lost. Just not enough time. And I found myself getting to burnt out trying to read everything, hence why I haven't been on as much. Hence why I can see my comments dwindle on my blogs. I guess out of sight is out of mind.

Overall, what BB and I think yourself had mentioned, quality, not quantity. You can see those that write for points..... for the most part.

Here are a few that I thought should have been mentioned.....

HomeOwners - The Importance Of Keeping Home Records only 12 comments Posted by Lisa and Robert Hammerstein on 01/23/2007 06:11 PM

Marketing YOURSELF or your COMPANY...... Part 2 of 2 23 comments, but I thought some good info. Written on 1/03/2007 02:50 PM

What's happening to the land around us......... Now, this one has received 48 comments....so what's the problem. Many of the same people and not featured. Thought this could have been one of those 100 comment type posts, because of the information and because it was debatable. Written 12/28/2006 01:53 AM

Overall....it has to be very hard to read all of these. But what gets me, from talking to Matt, Caleb, and Jonathan is that the requirements seem to change for what is called a featured post also. We talk about misspellings and grammar, how they look for that. But just a few days ago, there were like 5 posts featured within a day that we pretty bad. Now, I am not complaining, but another issue is not just timing, but consistency. Just my opinion.

here is another one.... Blog Locally for Targeted Traffic This one actually got a gold star, but only 16 comments. I thought it had some good content. By Toby Barnett on 11/19/2006 06:43 PM

here is a great marketing idea :Doctor's Office Marketing

Posted by Brian Brady on 10/07/2006 01:09 AM

Comments (4)

MF...again, a great idea here...

I definitely have noticed that weekends slow down as does later in the day. I believe many folks get in their normal weekly routine and spend as much time as possible with the family on weekends.

I read when I have time and lately I have had a few blog ideas and have not taken the time to put them on paper. I try not oo miss much b/c there is sooooommmmeeee good content.

Thxs for your post --its muy bueno!

Very interesting discussion here. In reading through the comments, I've read several great posts. Thanks! I'd Like to add the public IS reading...within the past week, we have had several calls from individuals who mention content from blog entries. They may not be commenting profusely yet...but they are definitely reading and observing what is going on. I wrote a post about ratings systems that are being placed on-line for consumers to rate their Realtors which I'll submit here as a link: Realtor, Did You Check Your Ratings Today?

So I have now commented twice

and since this is you but not today, I bet I just made a fool of myself on Craig's post. I'm going back to reading the Washington Post. But first, this was a cool post :-)

I usually post late at night...OR early in the AM (1AM) . That's the only time when it is quiet around here and I can write. I began wondering if more AR readers would comment if I waited 'til later in the AM to post. I did a data-mining experiment on time relevance and compared that to the subscribe blog factor. The comments on my articles increase when I am featured. Otherwise they hover in the not too noticeable range. Remember, though...I writeabout a niche market and some off-beat perspectives. But when looking at the subscribe factor...that seems to work to create a steady flow of comments regardless of day or time. I have one reader who reads my BLOG once a week and comments on each post. THAT makes me smile. As for the public reading...I get wonderful calls from people interested in energy efficient homes and sustainable building every week.

If I were granted a wish...I wish you would design a subscribe to my BLOG carnival. That way I think we would all enjoy the comments and camaraderie.

Wow! Now that's geting the job done. Great ideas!!!!

FEB

2007

I like to post late in the evening, which because I am several time zones behind most is when most are sleeping. Surprisingly I still get responses while I am on-line at what is the middle of the night on the mainland.

Maureen, I had a post a few weeks ago called the Worst Post Ever Nomination Contest. You were allowed to nominate your worst (or first ever) post and a post you thought really stood out or your felt was over looked. Anyone is still welcome to participate. I'll post the link to it, if you'd like.

Maureen, funny that this should be reposted as I just noticed this phenomenon. I haven't been able to gather conclusions as to what times may be best but I do believe it makes a difference. That said, however, I'll still post whenever I have the time. I'm having fun with it.

Maureen F: WOW! This really is a "deep cut" Retro-featured post. Based on the first comment you originally launched this post back on Sep 13, 2006! As long as AR is going deep, the Codgers nominate ALL of our non-featured posts for consideration. ☺☺

Jay

My activity on Active Rain usually takes place either early in the morning of around 9PM at night. Other than those times, I'm generally too busy doing other tasks.

I like to be on most evenings for a while. Friday and Saturday nights MMK and I spend a good deal of time reading. We are loosers. Mornings are for responding to others.

Chris, just so you know, this post was from September. Somehow it got resurrected.

I read everything. But, like all things written, there are best sellers and there are those that go on to the shelf without much notice. I believe the reviewers do a great job. Some folk have followers and garner lots of comments. I haven't figured that one out. I suppose I'm not much of a social commentor. My stuff is pretty much just real estate, so I get far fewer comments than some. However, I love the comments. Comments are like desert, specifically a cholocate brownie smothered in vanilla ice cream.

One thing is sure. If an article doesn't get featured, it's like being buried alive. I'm not sure that the day or time makes any difference.

It's snowing out. Looks like I'm in for the day. I'll probably get two Localisms done today.

BTW, I'm still thanking Maureen for introducing me to this place.

Ahhh. Five A.M. Comments...

That's the best time of day to sit at my desk over looking the lake and watch the sunrise. I enjoy watching the world around me come to life. It inspires me to watch God do his thing every morning. How wonderful it is to have the option to do that.

Gee. I am so glad that someone notices how much I give of myself here on AR.

Now as far as a link goes, I have noticed lots of people writing about comments. Seems to me that this is the topic du jour. So here's a link that will take you to the classic post...

What Would Happen If Reciprocity Paid A Visit To Active Rain?

This post contains the secret to getting comments on your posts. Enjoy.

P.S. Please do not comment on my post...Instead go find a post with zero comments and comment on that.

TLW...ROAR!

Hey Maureen, great topic. I have to say when AR stopped featuring my posts on a regular basis I stopped writing here as much. If I write then I want to be read, I've said this to you before, I know. And I don't mean publishing 'recipies' or '10 things to do before you list' kind of crappola---but something that took some thought and is readable.

Anyway, what I did find is that the 'timestamps' on the featured posts run in succession so if you 'save' your post the original timestamp throws you back in the pack if you actually 'publish' later in the day so no chance of being picked. I find that AR usually grabs a batch of posts in the mid to late AM Central time weekdays, so if I have a good post I leave it on my screen minimized and wait to see when the first 'New post gets posted on the Home page.

Then I quickly publish because I know AR is searching the recent posts to Feature. But most mostly I just say 'F it' and post on my primary blog.

Maureen,

A resurected blog! Or should I say, recycled? There are a few of them here today. Maybe some of those blogs that didn't get viewed the first time will make it the second time.

FEB

2007

For Agents = Post on Friday or during weekend. Consumers = Monday best, weekdays. YMMV

FEB

2007

Geno - I was wondering why your frequency dropped off. Do you really think it was something intentional by the Rain Gods, that they would deliberately NOT 'feature' your posts? If so, why do you think that was? Just curious.....

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