The Aftermath

For the most part, the results of my little poll thing were pretty positive. Granted I lost two followers in just as many days this weekend but I'm sure I won't lose sleep at night. Still doesn't keep me from thinking I might smell or something. But I'm just going to kind of wing this, gathering a sampling from each question and highlighting comments that stand out to me.

How long have you been coming to Bites?

The consensus of people that took the survey have been visiting my blog for a few months, ranging from about 4 to 6. Not bad at all. It gives me a better idea of where the comments are coming from.

How did you hear about me?

For the most part people either couldn't remember (I really can't comment on that since my brain's a sieve) or they were referred by another blog. That's usually how this community works! Networking is an awesome thing.

What's your favorite part of my blog?

I was shocked to see that a lot of people really liked my Things I've Learned from Books meme considering I probably get the fewest comments on those posts when I do post them. I have to say, that's probably my favorite weekly feature so I'm glad the majority likes it!

A lot of people also said my reviews, my honesty and my rants. They kind of all bleed into each other, don't they? I'm just glad my reviews are doing some good and people are reading them. If I can get even one person to pick up a book because I gave it a favorable review, I've succeeded. Or if I can make even one person laugh because I snarked the hell out of the book, I've done good.

80s Awesomeness was also up there with Things and, of course, contests! 80s Awesomeness is fun for me just because the 80s rock hard core. As for the contests, those certainly aren't going anywhere! I'm not going to BEA this year so I'm not going to have the same kind of stock pile of fresh books but I've worked my way into a good contest operandi that I think has done some good so far so I'll just continue on that route.

What's your least favorite part of my blog?

You know, the comments in this part made me think that people were afraid I was going to actually bite if they were too critical! Most people said there wasn't anything they didn't like. Those that said they didn't like something leaned towards the colors of my blog but they all said it wasn't a huge deal.

As you can tell, I took that one to heart a little so I switched things up. I lightened up the background because some felt it was too dark. I shrank the header because some felt it was a little too big. I made my navigation bar buttons readable because even I had issues reading those and I knew what they said. I gapped out the columns a little more and made them more discernible and separate. Hopefully that eases the cramping issue one person mentioned.

As for the overall color scheme, I'm going to keep it dark. Personally, darker websites make for easier reading. Glaring white hurts my eyes faster. I've always tried to balance out the dark by making the font not stark white against black but a more subtle gray so it's not so blaring. But really, no matter what site you're looking at, things'll blur if you stare too long so I'll just go for the happy medium and hope enough people are okay with it.

How do you think I could improve my book blogging skills?

ummm.. readig other blogs can give you a good sense of what you need to improve on and how to do so..

This is slightly elusive because how do you gauge which blogs are better and which are worse? I definitely could be more involved in upcoming books, like Waiting in Wednesday type of stuff or Kristi's Books to Pine for. But other than that, how am I supposed to tell what works and what doesn't? Gauging a blog by it's followers, for me, is disingenuous since a lot of blogs get those followers by having a slew of contests that reward for following. So should I look at blogs with high comment numbers? That's usually a good sign of a blog with a solid, genuine following.

I'm not too sure. I think your blog is great, and I consider you something like a pro at what you are doing. You seem to be like one of the older book bloggers even though I just found out you're only a year old!

Why thank you! I just wanted to post that because it was such a great comment. But for the most part, this is what the majority of the comments in this column read like. I was already doing a good job, no room for improvement. Nothing to improve on. Again, made me wonder if people were scared to be truthful! It's a wonderful ego boost but there's gotta be something!

Anything else?

Okay, guys, really? My head's not going to fit through the door with some of your comments!

love you

I really wish the best & hope that you can continue this for many, many, many more years! =)

I absolutely love your blog! Happy blogsversary!

You're awesome. 'Nuff said.

Oh, you're really funny. In a good way of course :)

Love your blog and reviews :)

We love your blog, or we wouldn't come daily. Good job, and best wishes always.

Your hard work shows in everything you post. I hope you stay with it for a very long time! Happy Blogoversary!

I do read your blog almost daily and enjoy your reviews and comments,.

I can't tell you guys how awesome this makes me feel! In all honesty, considering how those blogger trolls love anonymity, I totally expected some kind of Karmic retribution from at least one person for my biting honesty that I have a tendency of doling out. But I got none of that. See? I set up these blogger trolls perfectly and they don't even take the bait. I'm a bad hunter.

Only one person commented that I should get a button. You know? I've tossed around this idea for a little while now but I keep coming back to how I would reciprocate posting other people's buttons. I feel putting them all in my sidebar could cause too much clutter. Maybe I could make a post, like my Chomper Contests running post, for affiliates. I need to think on it some more and then should I do it, actually create a button. I'm still thinking on that, though.

And someone else recommended I get more art work. Not sure what that pertained to. More pictures in my posts or just around the blog in general? I'm just afraid of making it too busy. I have a blind eye for coordinating designs and colors so there isn't too much medium for me other than a little sparse or chachki overload.

But I thank everyone so much for taking he time to fill out my little survey and give me an idea of how I'm doing. It's definitely better than what I originally thought! You guys have boosted my self esteem for sure!