Thursday, November 19, 2009

A Crazy Little Thing Called Blog-Part 4: Interview with Kristina P.



A million thanks to Kirstina P. of Pulsipher Predictions for agreeing to participate in my first A Crazy Little Thing Called Blog Interview. Kristina has a very funny blog, loaded with hysterical photos and lots of tell it like it is humor on the "minutia of her day".

She started posting on her blog in May, 2008 and had two comments on her first post! By July, 2008 Kristina's comments were in the 20s. In August, 2008 comments were in the 30-40 range and by September, 2008 she hit 157 comments with a very funny Tom Cruise Couch Jumping Giveaway. That’s impressive!

In October and November, 2008 comments were consistently in the 200 range per post! Then in January, 2009 Kristina P. soared to 451 comments with a post asking for “Anonymous Secrets”. (A great idea, by the way.) Since then, her posting frequency has reduced to approximately once weekly (from nearly daily when she started) and now continues to hit the 200 comments mark on a regular basis. That pretty much makes Kristina P. the comment idol of many, many, bloggers.

So how does she do it, what are her secrets and will she share her tricks of the trade? Grab a cup of coffee, soda or your favorite spirit and read on my friends. I promise you'll be "Snugglie" glad you did.

Q. What’s your secret to getting your blog seen/found by so many readers (especially so fast) and how do you maintain upwards of 200 comments per post?

A. I initially offered topless pictures of myself, to people who would read my blog. Surprisingly, this was a big hit with the female audience as well. I think that was due to the fact they could feel a lot better about themselves and the state of their breasts, especially considering I don’t have children.

But, I would say that my initial big break came from commenting on a Latter-Day-Saint (LDS) satire blog, Seriously So Blessed. There was a large group of us who would read each other’s comments, and then find each other’s blogs. I have met several of those women and have become great friends with many of them.

I know a lot of women join The Secret Is In the Sauce (SITS), or other commenting communities, as well as sites that have blog rolls. I am a Mormon blogger, and am part of the Mormon Mommy Blog community. You do not have to be LDS to be a member.

Truthfully, I’m not sure where people find me anymore. I don’t use Google topics at all. I have heard from many people that they found out about my blog by word of mouth. Someone may post a link to a post of mine, or have several family members that blog and they read the same blogs, etc.

I am not active in other social media, like Twitter or Stumble Upon, but I know that many people obtain readers by having people Stumble their posts, or they will post about a new blog post on Twitter or Facebook. I don’t make money off my blog at all (no ads), or have a business, so I choose not to promote my blog in those ways.

I will say, I am an avid promoter of The Snuggie, which is the best thing that has happened to America since Lindsay Lohan became a lesbian, and I think that is what ultimately draws people in. Wearing The Snuggie is a sign of a true American hero.

Q. How much time do you spend a week writing blog posts versus reading and commenting on other blogs?

A. I used to post daily when I first started blogging. I think that most new bloggers find they love the outlet and release. I initially started blogging for just my family, and had no idea how social blogging could be. I have no desire to be an author and I’m not a writer by nature, so over the past 18 months, I’ve become a bit more burned out, and now I post about once a week.

I focus more on the quality of posts, not the quantity. One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to smoke more crack, which is going swimmingly, but I really wanted to spend more time writing about things that really make me laugh.

I am a self proclaimed Comment Junkie. In fact, a reader suggested I create a Comment Junkie button for my blog, which I did. Feel free to grab it off the sidebar on my blog.

I comment on A LOT of blogs. I know how it feels to get a comment and to know that people care about you, so that’s important to me. I always have my Google Reader window up, and I enjoy leaving comments for people. I probably comment on hundreds of blogs a day. Well, actually, I have my sweat shop employees do it. I am not above hiring small children to work 13 hours a day, cleaning my house or commenting on people’s blogs for me. Now, come on. I am not a complete ogre. I do let them watch Dora the Explorer, for 5 minutes at a time, over the course of the day.

In reality I don’t have children, I have a husband that travels a lot, I am an extremely fast reader and typer, and I have a job with a lot of down time, so I can spend more time reading and commenting than a lot of people.

Q. How many blogs do you follow and regularly comment on?

A. I don’t use the Follower feature on Blogger, for several reasons, but I do love my Google Reader. Currently, I have 534 blogs in my Reader. I would say that I comment on probably 450 of them on a regular to semi-regular basis. I can’t believe I just admitted that out loud. Don’t judge.

Q. What would you estimate is the ratio of “commenters” vs “lurkers” on your blog (per post)?

A. I’m not exactly sure how many readers I have, but I would estimate that it’s probably in the trillions. And by trillions, I mean tens.

I would estimate that about a sixth to a seventh of my readers actually comment, and from what I have gathered from other bloggers, that’s a pretty accurate number across the board for bloggers.

Q. Anything else we should know about commenting, readership or blogging in general?

A. Unless you are Dooce, The Pioneer Woman, or sex-God David Hassellhoff (seriously, have you seen him in a Speedo?), people rarely garner comments without commenting on other people’s blogs. I understand completely that if the time I spent commenting dropped, the comments I received would also drop.

I can’t remember the last time I commented on someone’s blog first, as I get new people who comment on my blog, pretty much daily, but I do visit every person’s blog who comments on mine. I have made so many personal connections through blogging, that it’s important to me that I don’t become “too big” for my readership. I hear that complaint a lot from bloggers.

There is a reciprocity rule in blogging. Blogging etiquette states that if someone comments on your blog, the polite thing to do is to return the comment, at least once. If someone continually comments on my blog, I will add them to my Reader, and will read and comment on their blog.

There are plenty of blogs I read that may not have the wit of Ellen Degeneres, or the poetry of Maya Angelou, but I truly care about the blogger and the relationship we’ve developed, and so I care about what they have to say.

I know Joanna recently posted about having to drop people from her Reader, and feeling guilty about it. I used to have the guilt. I no longer do. I read too many blogs to spend time reading blogs of people I don’t feel connected with or enjoy. I probably go through my Reader once a week and will delete blogs of people who haven’t commented on my blog in ages, and I just don’t know they are reading anymore. There are blogs, however, that I read and comment on regardless if they ever comment on mine.

I lose Followers just like everyone else. The first time I lost a Follower I curled up in the fetal position in my therapist’s office, sucking my thumb, singing a Clay Aiken song (I was so ashamed of that part), but now, it doesn’t bother me at all, and I understand it’s the nature of blogging.

The last thing I wanted to say about commenting, is that to leave a comment that is meaningful in some way. I am not going to say that I never skim posts, as that would be a lie. All bloggers do. But it’s rare. And if I leave a comment, I make sure it’s pertinent to the post, or I comment on something that struck me. Sometimes I leave a comment just to let someone know I am still reading.

But if you leave a comment like, “Oh my gosh! That is too funny! I hate Mario Lopez too!”, on a post about someone’s grandma dying, and you see that same comment on 10 other blogs, people will take notice and put a bloggy hex on you. Not that I've ever done that, of course.

So there you have it folks! Is Kristina P. awesome or what!?!?! She shared her knowledge and insight into blogging and made us laugh along the way. Even if "comments" aren't your goal, I hope you agree this was an honest and insightful read. THANK YOU KRISTINA P.

And as a thank you for taking the time to read through this entire interview, YOU can enter to WIN your very own SNUGGIE just like Kristina's!

All you have to do is leave TWO comments-- Leave one comment BELOW on my blog, AND one comment ON KRISTINA'S BLOG THANKING HER FOR THIS INTERVIEW!

All entries must be received by midnight, November 23, 2009 to be eligible. Comments must be made on both blogs at the above specified links/posts. One entry per person. Drawing will be random. All results are final.

Thanks again Kristina!

How do you comment?
Welcome to The Fifty Factor - Joanna
Photos courtesy of Kristina P.

60 comments:

  1. Oh my word! So interesting! And I am laughing out loud about the snuggie : ) as a prize! That is like the ULTIMATE prize, right! I don't know if I have ever been to her blog but I am going over right this second to check it out! I love good commenters! I think it is so important and very kind. Kindness always rules in my book!

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  2. Great interview! Thanks for introducing us to Kristina P, she is very funny and insightful about blogging. I personally love her blog because she is from SLC and I get to see pictures of home and feel like I'm hanging out with her. She is a sweet girl and probably pretty snugly in her snuggie!

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  3. What a great and informative interview! I can't imagine keeping up with that many blogs! My laundry would never get done!!!

    I'm heading over to check out her blog now!

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  4. I dont know how I stumbled on her blog but I remember the post was from a Super Dell link probably on another persons blog. She's so funny. Great interview with her Joanna!


    Enter me! I need a snuggie. :)

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  5. I had already decided to comment, but sure, I'll take the snuggie if I win. If I could actually wear a comfy blanket I might just become a god to my cats.

    Or at least they might regard me as one of their preferred items of furniture.

    Anyway my comment and I did have one was this: I had an online journal for years where I blogged once a day every day without fail no matter what. Now I only write when I feel like I have a coherent thought to share.

    There's definitely something to be said for both approaches - I think the discipline of writing publicly every day taught me a lot, but at this point I prefer taking the less but better approach as well.

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  6. I thoroughly enjoyed this interview with Kristina. I am, however, dubious about the Snuggie but open to the possibilites it brings.

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  7. Excellent intervies and very funny too. Great post.

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  8. Fantastic interview, good questions and great answers from Kristina.

    Thanks also Joanna for the lovely message you recently left on my blog, xoxo.

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  9. I loved this interview with Kristina. She is so open and honest. Many things she´s mentioned I´ve noticed as well. I´ve never been to her blog, but now I´m curious and will be checking her out.
    Thanks for the tip. I love funny blogs!

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  10. She's my kind of gal! I wonder what kind of hallucenogenic drugs are sanctioned by the Mormon church. She was verrrrrrrrrrrry careful to skirt that one.

    Joanna, don't enter me in the drawing...just keep on honing our blogging skills. Love it!

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  11. what a great interview. she´s hysterical. i´m off to find her blog. thanks joanna! besos!

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  12. Oh my gosh! That is too funny! I hate Mario Lopez, too!

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  13. She is very funny. But I think she should offer the new Slanket 'cause it has a pouch for your hands and a builtin place for your feet! ;-D just saying...

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  14. Love it! JOprah of the Blogosphere!

    I did take a peak over at Kristina's the other day and I LMAO!! She's on my blogroll now!

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  15. I have been reading K's blog for awhile...it is so funny and I love that she is such an honest and real person. She would be a blast to meet in person.

    I really liked this idea of the interview. It was another side of Kristina. Great answers to the questions. The line about singing the Clay Aiken song cracked me up.

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  16. An excellent interview, thanks! Off to check out the seemingly omnipresent Kristina P.!

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  17. great interview jj...wow, thats a lot of blogs in the reader...enjoyed the humor along the way though...i love to blog and love to read about others...almost more than writing my own...thanks again jj.

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  18. great interview Joanna, I enjoyed that.

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  19. Hi Joanna, this was a great Q & A post and I am amazed at how knowledgeable bloggers are in just 18 months of blogging. I am not striving for hundreds of comments but having a few comments on nearly every post is warm and fuzzy. Thanks for sharing this information with your readers and again, I am in awe of your wonderful writing and your big heart.

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  20. Wow, Kristina is awesome. She's like a real-life Margene (Big Love) minus all the rug rats. So pretty and funny and amazing.

    I want to be Kristina when I grow up. Srsly.

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  21. What a funny lady!!! Great interview!

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  22. Great interview! I just started following her blog recently, and she is hilarious!

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  23. That was a great interview. I can't believe she is able to keep up with that many blogs!

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  24. Where I come from, a Snuggie is something you (unobtrusively, if possible) pick out of your buttcrack because you wore those damn underwear that keep creeping up and promise yourself for the 23rd time that you're throwing those damn things AWAY when you take them off and end up putting them back into the hamper... repeat cycle endlessly.

    I'm sorry, what were we talking about?

    I have decided that a successful blog is one that makes old people (my parents) and young people (my kids) laugh, that I can look back through and smile at from time to time... and one that gets some comments. I don't know how many is optimum... but I like to try to answer commenters personally.. so for the next few weeks, one or two comments a day may be best for me.

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  25. This interview cracked me up. So I need to smoke crack and read 500 blogs and leave comments. Maybe I should switch to meth?? LOL!!
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  26. SueAnn, meth really makes your teeth disgusting. Stick with the crack.

    Joanna, thanks for asking me to do this! This is the first offer for a guest post I have taken anyone up on, and I woke up this morning to more great comments!

    I did want to add that I do read every comment. People assume that people with a large amount of comments don't, and I think that's why a lot of people stop leaving them.

    Good luck to everyone! I hope whomever wins the Snuggie will take a picture and send it to me for my Snuggie Picture of the Week!

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  27. In my opinion (and we all know how much that counts) this was the best interview yet! I am defiantly poppin' over to her blog 'cause I love to laugh! Hey, about the snuggie...the temperature is droppin' here like a rock off an overpass!!!

    Have a super day enjoying the laughter of a good friend. God bless!!!

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  28. This is a wonderful interview. I am quilty of not responding to others when they leave comments I try I truly do. Between posting, visiting, working, cleaning... and now with issues on blogspot interferring my posting... arrgh. I need more hours in a day. Smile... I love the way she writes just like you a ray of sunshine. Have a golden day! xoxo

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  29. I love Kristina's blog.. and anyone who loves the Hoff in a Speedo has to be OK!

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  30. This was very helpful. Unfortunately I now have to figure out this whole google reader thing and hope that I don't get lost on facebook or stumble upon for 6 hours.

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  31. Wow, this validated a lot of what I already thought. Thanks for posting this interview. It was interesting and funny and made me feel less guilty about the time I spend reading 50 or so blogs!!!

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  32. that was seriously funny!! Love her suggestions and her great sense of humor.

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  33. This was amazing! I am bookmarking it so I can always return this fountain of knowledge!
    Thanks to both of you great women!!
    xo
    Blissings
    Elise

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  34. I am really enjoying these posts, Joanna! I love her sense of humor and yours too!

    Hugs!!

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  35. Great interview, Joanna and very informative. I don't think I shall do 'topless posts' though! That would do me no favours whatsoever - oh I don't know I might try it I suppose!! LOL
    I love this series - what a great idea of your's.
    Kristina had some very sound advice and it really does all boil down to commenting on blogs to ellicit a better comment intake. Unfortunately time is an enemy and that is why I get a moderate number of comments.
    I am away to visit Kristina.

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  36. I think it is like I always say, "If you give a comment, you will get a comment!

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  37. Joanna and Kristine, Merci beaucoup for the fabulous interview and advice! Will definitely check it out! And I'm kinda hoping that I'll win the Snuggie, too!

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  38. Great interview, Joanna! I hadn't heard of Kristina before so thanks for introducing me to another great blogger.

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  39. That was great information and what a riot she is! Thanks for sharing that!

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  40. What an honest and informative interview. I'm agog at the number of blogs she reads, and I am amazed at bloggers who post everyday. You two make a great team, and may in fact be the queens of blogdom.

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  41. I really enjoyed reading this interview even though no photos of Kristina topless were included.

    Seriously, very funny answers. Great interview.

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  42. Great interview....like the humor in it as well. I am off to check her place out!

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  43. Very interesting and funny. I needed a sense of humor today - thank you both. I will check out her blog.

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  44. Too funny! I'm going to have to go check her out now! :)

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  45. I enjoyed the interview immensely and wish there could have been audience participation. I wonder where she scores her crack and if her snuggie ever gets burnt by the pipe.

    Well done, Joanna! You don't do so bad on the comments yourself.

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  46. I love Kristina. She's hysterical! The snuggie love cracks me up. : )

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  47. I love Kristina. She's hysterical! The snuggie love cracks me up. : )

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  48. I can't believe Kristina is not pursuing writing as a profession. She's definitely got the chops for it. I've been reading her blog for awhile and laugh out loud. Every. Time. Great interview, Joanna!

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  49. And I'm complaining about keeping up with 200 or so blogs? I could never have that many. Unless I figure out how to go without sleep...,

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  50. She is totally entertaining! Very valid points about commenting. I know that every blogger who visits my blog, I will always go to read their blog and comment back. It is amazing how many great blogs there are out there and most of us don't even get to scratch the surface!
    Great interview! Now I'm off to be one of the many reading Kristina's blog & commenting!
    Thanks for hosting the interview, Joanna!

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  51. a chance to win my very own snuggly thingy madingy...put my name in the hat :)

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  52. I enjoyed this interview. I loved her point about the joy of release when you first start blogging. She's right about that. I still love the creative aspect of blogging, even if I can't make time for it every day.

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  53. The thing I love most about the blogging community is the sharing.
    It is such a joy to be in the company of all of you generous souls who grace us with your experience and wisdom.

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  54. What an interesting lady...can't wait to head over to her place to read some more...Thank you too for your kind thoughts dear girl...they're very much appreciated.

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  55. I love Kristina's blog and you would think that since she only posts once a week I would find the time to get there every week... but it seems lately that life's responsibilities are clamoring for my attention and my computer gets neglected. So not fair!

    She truly cracks me up and makes me laugh out loud with her posts. This was a great interview Joanna, a wonderful idea and it made me laugh out loud several times. Thanks for sharing this idea with us!

    I'm on my way over to K's blog before life grabs me on this Saturday! Have a fun weekend. :)

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  56. Wonderful interview and very good points. Since blogging is such a new social form, we all need to better understand its rules. Kristina is so funny that it's easy to see how and why she charmed so many people efortlessley.

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  57. Great interview! This is why I take breaks. I visit those who visit me and If I don't have time to return visits I don't post. In her own way, she affirmed my philosophy!

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  58. huh.. cognitively .

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  59. Thanks I really learned a lot from reading this!!

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  60. The information here is great. I will invite my friends here.

    Thanks

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