My question is how one stirs up journal traffic. Here's the thing...I've had the new journal (issues with completion) up since September 11th. Coincidence, not intention. The point is that I have no traffic. Something like 150 hits, a few hundred page reads. Apparently someone who applied to google for me thinks that I'm a "thirty-something," but at least I'm listed.

So, assuming you're on the search engines and your online friends think journals are stupid, how do you get traffic? I don't know why it matter, except that I want it.

-- Anonymous, January 02, 2002

Answers

Hey, Jessa! I'd say you should start by giving us the link to your journal, so we can go and check it out - that'll be a few hits right there! Woo!

Diary-x isn't open to search engines, so I haven't gotten any of my traffic through there - but slowly and surely, I've gotten more readers. Some of it is through posts I make to various forums (forae, yes, ok), and some from other things (like JournalCon), but the vast majority of it is from other online journallers who read my journal, decided they liked it, and then linked to it. My only suggestion for you, then, is to make friends with some online journallers. You might do that just by emailing somebody to tell them how much you like *their* journal. If somebody emails me to tell me that, and if they're sincere, and if they mention they have an online journal too? I almost *always* go to check out their journal. I've found some of my favorite journals that way, too!

-- Anonymous, January 02, 2002

Enh. The pimping. Something about it just feels wrong. And of course now I feel the need to tell everyone that it sucks and all the reasons why it sucks. So consider all of that said.

perpetualmidnight.com for anyone interested.

You're probably right about the friends with journalers thing. It makes me feel like a stalker to e-mail people about their journals. I mean, I get all embarrassed about mine, so why shouldn't they about theirs. Wow. There's some grammar for ya.

A sidenote: Almost e-mailed you, Jessamyn, in the midst of some law school despair the other day. But I figured that you practice, so you must actually like it. :) Congrats on the engagement.

-- Anonymous, January 02, 2002

Thanks, Jessa!

Um, maybe you haven't been reading my journal much over the last few months. I actually DID like law school, and my job now is ok, but I'm not exactly pleased that I'm a lawyer. That's due in large part to the fact that it put me about $100K in debt, and now that I know I never want to work at a law firm and make the big bucks, I'm not too pleased about the overwhelming debt. So feel free to email and commiserate any time!

As for pimping, well...I'm not good at pimping, either, and I don't mean that you should email other journallers just to tell them, "hey, go read my journal!" I just mean that, when the spirit (or, more accurately, a great entry) moves you, write and let the journaller know! I used to feel weird about giving journallers a link to my journal, but now that I *am* a journaller? I actually look for links to people's journals when they write to tell me how much they like my journal. It's such a nice compliment, I want to know more about THEM, too!

So I guess I'm not helping you much, am I?

Umm...have you joined any webrings? Heh. My advice is piddly. Good luck, though!

-- Anonymous, January 02, 2002

Jessa, I'm all kinds of excited that you have a journal now. Seriously.

Put your URL on emails to people you think would like it (or everyone, if you want everyone in your life to read it). Put it on the end of posts on message boards. That's not pimping, that's letting people know.

Other than that, I have no idea what to tell you. It will likely take some time to build up readers, keep that in mind.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2002

Jessa - you are all kinds of silly for saying this

Enh. The pimping. Something about it just feels wrong. And of course now I feel the need to tell everyone that it sucks and all the reasons why it sucks. So consider all of that said.

about your lovely journal. I very much enjoyed my visit, and had you not given us the URL, I may not have found it. So thank you.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2002