I visit every single blog every day (Yakezie + non yakezie blogs I have bookmarked), but I don't comment on each one of them. I thought about that, it was difficult to comment on every blog and if/only if I commented I got visits back. So it was difficult for me to decide, but eventually I decided to just visit without thinking about whether that blogger visits me or not. I do comment when I really have something to add, but if I already see that someone said what I wanted to say in the comments, I move on. Sometimes I just promote it in reddit/twitter as it is faster and I can do it from my phone...

 

So my referral traffic has been abysmal but I already work 10 hrs in my day job and 6 hrs on my blog (I take a long time to write my posts :( ) there is only so much time... You are doing great. Don't stress about commenting, try to comment when you can...

Wow Suba that is incredible. I try for 10 a day.

I'm starting to feel overwhelmed too. Last night I didn't even turn on the computer after I get home, I was exhausted.

I think the team idea and other ideas are great. It'll help focus our effort. Previously, I try to rotate through my Google Reader list and comment on as many blogs as possible, but there are just so many sites on my list now. I think I'll have to make a folder for each day and go to only those blogs on that day.

Miss T, you are doing a wonderful job.  Don't let yourself get overwhelmed.  Melissa has given you some great advice... some that I will be taking, myself.  About a month ago I found out that a relative whom I am close to (a cousin) was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  I have since become the lead for her care (on top of my own job, blogging, and managing my own house).  And in the middle of all this, a beloved aunt died unexpectedly.  So the last month has been adjusting to my new "normal" (and will likely be this way for the next 6-12 months).  I did exactly what Melissa suggested and took a step back from everything blog-related until I could get myself physically and mentally situated to the new routine.  I have felt terribly guilty and have missed the blog world, but sometimes it is important to recharge yourself or else you will get overwhelmed.  Now I am back and feeling much more creative and am ready to move forward with The Single Saver and other bloggy ventures as time permits.  Hang in there!

 

I really like So Over Debt's idea.  Another idea might be to form "teams of 10-15 people who can at least visit other blogs in their "team" each day - comment or not based on time.  It might help keep our Alexa ranks stable.  I have to admit mine has taken a nose dive but that is mainly due to not posting or promoting nearly as much due to the family issues.  I guess I need to get back to work.  :)

 

So sorry to hear about your family Denise. If there is anything I can do let me know. I am thinking of you all right now.

I like your idea too about the teams. Definitely another option I think is worth discussing. What do you all think?

Thanks again for hearing my vent and taking  a bit of a load off. I have honestly been almost at tears lately trying to keep up with everything. 

 

If it gets that stressful, I would recommend taking a step back.  Blogging should be enjoyable, and if you are overloading yourself, it can take away alot of the enjoyment.  Make take a week or two off from commenting just to give yourself a little breathing room.

 

Thanks Melissa. This is good advice and I think I am going to do this just until I recharge and figure out a more balanced approach. 

I also make sure to comment on blogs that I find commenting on mine.  I think establishing this type of relationship is great.

I also find (and maybe it's counter-productive) that I tend to shy away from some of the blogs that get tons of comments.  I'd rather comment on a blog whose posts routinely get a dozen posts versus one where a post gets a hundred hits.  First, the 'mega'-blog owner probably isn't going to click through to my blog.  Second, if I'm comment 87, chances are very few other readers are going to read through all comments, see mine, and click to the blog.  I have a better chance being the fifth comment on a post with 10% of the traffic. 

I really like So Over Debt's idea.  Another idea might be to form "teams of 10-15 people who can at least visit other blogs in their "team" each day - comment or not based on time.  It might help keep our Alexa ranks stable.  I have to admit mine has taken a nose dive but that is mainly due to not posting or promoting nearly as much due to the family issues.  I guess I need to get back to work.  :)

Thanks again for hearing my vent and taking  a bit of a load off. I have honestly been almost at tears lately trying to keep up with everything. 

If it gets that stressful, I would recommend taking a step back.  Blogging should be enjoyable, and if you are overloading yourself, it can take away alot of the enjoyment.  Make take a week or two off from commenting just to give yourself a little breathing room.

I really liked SOOVERDEBT's idea. I have pasted it below: 

This is the solution I proposed:

- We create a Google spreadsheet or calendar where all of us sign up for a particular day.
- When it's your turn, you commit to posting something fantastic on your blog for the assigned day.
- The rest of us will concentrate on that blog for the designated time period – linking, retweeting, commenting, etc.
- If you have time to comment on other blogs, great! If not, at least you've hit the featured blog of the day.
- The featured blog benefits from the traffic, Alexa boost, and promotion from the rest of us.
- We benefit from helping our fellow Yakezies, plus the hope of referral traffic from our comments.

So that's my idea – what do you guys think?

What do you all think about this? It might actually create a manageable system for all of us. 

Thanks again for hearing my vent and taking  a bit of a load off. I have honestly been almost at tears lately trying to keep up with everything. 

Thanks Squirrelers for reminding me that no one has forgotten about me. I forget that I am "established" now- I still feel like a little guy. 

Note: If you do take time to comment on my site, I will do my best to comment on yours going forward. Just bear with me.

Cheers to all you AMAZING people!

I have to admit my commenting has dwindled as the writing ramped up.  I still try to get some in but I only like to write when I have something relevant to say.

That being said, I have about 75 blogs in my RSS.  It takes quite some time to scan through them all and read those that interest me.  I've since split them up in sub folders.

Every day i'll look through the folder I deem "big guys".  The bigger sites I tend to get more traffic from.  I then go through my "Favs" folder - folks like Miss T!   After that I plow through a lot of feeds that are pretty educational but not always ones I comment on.  Lastly, the unorganized.  I'll comment/read those if I get a chance.

But there don't seem to be enough hours in the day to get through everything as thoroughly as i'd like to.

I like the idea of grouping blogs.  I love Google Reader and adding folders would help me prioritize which blogs to read.  Clever.