Well, for the first 2 months of this blog I've been running a poll asking readers how many different New Zealand crime fiction authors they have read. The results have been interesting - largely as I expected (78% have read 0-2 NZ crime authors, but 75% have read at least one Kiwi crime writer - we probably have Ngaio Marsh to thank for a few of those 1-2 votes...).
It is pleasing to see that approx 20% of blog readers have read 3 or more Kiwi crime authors - hopefully moving into the future these higher numbers will increase. Another pleasing aspect is I have had at least 62 different people (from several countries around the world) read this blog at some point (given the votes), which is nice, and not too bad a start for a fairly new blog I guess.
The results of the poll are set out below - I will run it again in a few months, and see if things have changed as a few Kiwi crime authors become more well known, more widely published (eg Paul Cleave in UK, Vanda Symon in Germany, other new Kiwi authors in Aust/NZ etc), and hopefully as the number of readers of this blog (including local NZ readers) increase...
Thanks for participating. I really appreciate all the votes, and the comments people have made over the past couple of months. Long may it continue :-)
Smart way to begin your blog, really, as it gives you some sense of your readership. I am also quite curious with regard to who visit me which is why I use SiteMeter to keep track.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think it is a great idea to repeat the poll again. But it will probably take some time before your blog has any real influence (or rather, before you are able to measure it). It takes time to change people´s reading habits, and to change where & how they buy books etc.
Great. I can't wait to see you troll around the world begging for visits to your blog again in just a few months' time.
ReplyDeleteInteresting comment 'anonymous'. Hmmm... I guess when you're starting out blogging, you kind of have to let people know what you're doing - you could just rely on people randomly just stumbling over it in the massive realm of the Internet I suppose, but I would think it's a good idea to let people who are interested in similar things know about it. Oh well. I can understand if not everyone feels that way.
ReplyDeleteI've been fortunate enough to be 'passed on' by other bloggers to their readers, e.g. with the competition I ran (thanks Peter, Dorte, Janet, Graham, Vanda etc). I don't think I've been a "troll around the world begging for visits", although there is one forum, of similarly interested people, where I have posted a few links to my blog where I thought the readers might be interested in the topics discussed. And I asked some people on that one forum to vote, as I was interested in their thoughts and opinions. So apologies if you felt that was inappropriate. I haven't spammed anyone, or sent emails/links out widely - just comments or links to people who had shown some interest in this area.
I'm hoping with this blog to provide some information people may not otherwise have, and to provide some further insight/comment that crime/thriller fiction fans might find interesting - particularly when it comes to NZ authors who might otherwise be overlooked (both in NZ and overseas). If you're not interested in that 'anonymous', then that's cool...
There's no real gain (financial or otherwise) in it for me - it's a little bit of a 'giving back' service, but hey, maybe there are ways I could do things better. It is a new blog, after all. So if you have some other things you'd like to see 'anonymous', or things you wouldn't, please let me know. It's an ongoing evolution after all
Craig; it is a bit difficult to take unspecific complaints from anonymous guests really seriously, I think.
ReplyDeleteAnd I don´t think you should be afraid you are not welcome in our crime and mystery room. Most people there are kind, generous and interesting in finding new, informative blogs from around the world.
I rather think Anonymous meant "trawl" Craig. I really must build up my acquaintance with Kiwi crime fiction (currently with just 3) writers. I love your list on the side- that gives me some names to look for.
ReplyDelete