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Stumble and Be Stumbled

Critiqued by Cowboytf | January 9, 2008 .

If you are not familiar with StumbleUpon, let me just clue you in.  It’s basically a social website where readers can find new and interesting information that they may have never would have found before.  People rate each post with a thumbs up or thumbs down and have the chance to put their 2 cents in about the post. You can also use it as a bookmarking tool. 

stumble.png

I’ve been fortunate enough to get a few posts stumbled lately and it has given me a huge increase in traffic, as well as, subscribers.  It has only been in the last few weeks that I have really begun to learn and understand the whole stumbling phenomenon.  I finally downloaded the toolbar and I’m glad I did.  It has been super handy and much easier to stumble a post that doesn’t offer the stumble link otherwise. 

stumblebar.png

You simply click on the thumbs up to stumble a post.  If it has already been stumbled, it will turn green.  If the post hasn’t been stumbled, a box will popup with the post url and a place for you to put in your review about the post.  You can either add your own thoughts here or paste an excerpt from the post.  That’s it!  If you want to see if your site or post has been reviewed, you can find out here.  Just type in your main url or any url of your choosing.  If you have been reviewed, you will see something like this. 

stumble2.png

As you can see, I typed in the url to my standmixer contest and this is what came up.  As you can see, it has been reviewed, in fact, 4 pages of reviews.  This means people stumbled my post and, by the looks of it, gave it a thumbs up. 

Why would you want your post stumbled? 

The number one reason is traffic.  You are pretty much guaranteed a huge increase in traffic.  By getting traffic, you gain potential subscribers/a loyal reader base/customers.  Nobody wants to own a blog with no readers.  It defeats the whole purpose of blogging in my opinion.  If you need more reasons, you can read a whole list of them that should get you motivated.

Keeping your readers coming back is the hard part. 

  • Many factors will affect whether your visitors will come back including your blog design.  It’s just like in real life folks, first impressions only come once and according to some people, you only have 4 seconds to impress. 
  • Ad display can be a huge factor as well.  Ads that don’t properly blend or that over-take your blog can turn people off instantly.  Try to keep a section that is only for ads and if you choose to have adsense, PLEASE make them blend in!
  • ALWAYS offer a way to subscribe and a link that explains RSS.  Many, many people have no clue what feeds are and they work.  You may also want to consider using the  What Would Seth Godin do Wordpress Plugin to encourage new visitors to subscribe. 
  • You’ve heard it before, BRANDING.  Creating a unique logo or having a unique theme that makes you stand out can easily keep your blog on reader’s minds. 
  • The ever so famous, CONTENT is the big one that will bite you in the butt so make sure you have quality and sploggy content.

It’s really important to update your StumbleUpon profile, add friends, and join different networks.  This can factor in big time when more regular stumblers come across your post.  Keep stumbling and get stumbled.  Don’t stumble yourself though or you risk the chance of getting booted! 

Don’t forget.  You can stumble posts in ANY topic—recipes, contests, blogging tips, PHOTOS, news, politics, and more!  Now sign up, get the toolbar, and start stumbling.

If you found this post helpful, please consider subscribing to my feed or stumbling this post.

Posted under Blogging Tips & Tools | 24 Neighs n Snorts Like this article? Subscribe to our RSS feed

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24 Comments so far
  1. Jenny  January 9, 2008 4:23 pm

    I need to get the rss plugin thinger for my site. It might help, it might not, who knows. :)

    Jenny’s last blog post..New Theme for a New Year

  2. Leigh  January 10, 2008 9:52 am

    I try to add friend’s posts to stumbleupon when I remember to, it really does help traffic. Besides, I like to stumble and FIND sites, too.

    Leigh’s last blog post..Doctor Results

  3. Handbag with Wallet Giveaway! : All Chick Stuff  January 20, 2008 10:17 pm

    [...] Stumble this post. Don’t know what the hec stumbling is? Learn more here. [...]

  4. My Wooden Spoon  January 24, 2008 11:01 pm

    [...] got less than a week!!!

  5. Contest Winners WOOHOO : My Wooden Spoon  February 1, 2008 1:23 pm

    [...] course, everytime someone stumbled my post, they gave me huge surges in traffic as well, so thank you to ALL of you who stumbled.

  6. Mej  March 25, 2008 11:34 am

    Hi! I find your blog very helpful. I’m just a newbie here so I don’t know that much. Hope you can teach me with these stuffs. I joined last week, and I am pretty excited. Thank you!

    Mej’s last blog post..Online Converter

  7. Cuisinart Food Prep Giveaway | My Wooden Spoon  May 1, 2008 6:50 am

    [...] Stumble this post.

  8. Kitchenaid Stand Mixer Giveaway Contest | My Wooden Spoon  May 5, 2008 1:50 pm

    [...] Stumble this post.

  9. hotelsinturkey  May 5, 2008 2:50 pm

    Thanks a million for the information..

    hotelsinturkey’s last blog post..CHERRY JAM

  10. Gift Set: Kitchenaid Food Mill, Cookbook, Dish Towels Giveaway #2 | My Wooden Spoon  May 8, 2008 6:03 am

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    [...] page. 3. Stumble this post. If you don

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  15. 10yr Memberships for 2 Winners to Emealsforyou.com | My Wooden Spoon  June 12, 2008 10:26 am

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    [...] count. 2. Stumble this post. If you don

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  18. Aye, Aye, Aye…Fiesta Party with Pace! | My Wooden Spoon  July 23, 2008 10:13 pm

    [...] Stumble this post.

  19. 3mth Giveaways Come to an End with a BANG! | My Wooden Spoon  July 27, 2008 7:37 pm

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  20. Lisa  July 28, 2008 12:34 pm

    What an intresting concept, I am going to really check it out more.

  21. jeanne  August 2, 2008 9:50 am

    I did find this very helpful. I went ahead and made myself a blog awhile back but then got totally confused on how to put things on a sidebar (don’t even know what that is yet), stumbleUpon and more. Now I know what StumpleUpon does so I will be getting that as soon as I send this post off. Thank you for your help.

    jeanne

  22. EnviroKidz Bars Giveaway! | Lisa Cooking  September 3, 2008 10:29 pm

    [...] 3. Stumble this post. If you don

  23. Pizza Hut  September 3, 2008 11:39 pm

    [...] 3. Stumble this post. If you don

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