Well the beginning of another week.
Must say I learnt the odd thing from doing the giveaway. Here are some thoughts about it.
I noticed t'other day that I've got nearly 200 followers so sort of guessed I'd maybe get around 120 participants. Now that amount of followers might sound darn good but I wonder what it really, really means!!! I know I'm an old cynic but I always question things in life.
I follow lots of blogs and always keep my dashboard open in one of my tabs (which I refresh regularly) so that I can see who's updated their blogs almost as soon as it's happened. I wonder if others do the same? As I have all these people who have at some time put me down as somebody they (bravely!) decided to follow I was somewhat surprised that 'only' 74 folks signed up for the giveaway. Perhaps it was bad timing. I only announced it on the blog. Interesting, eh?
Ah, I didn't advertise the giveaway on any of the tatting lists. Why? Because I rarely go to them nowadays!!! I belong to lots on yahoo which I 'dip into' when I have new patterns to announce or if I see a question that I can help with. In that case I usually write to people privately. The intatters forum is another that I belong to but find it too 'challenging' for my small brain!!! I DO wish it had a 'daily digest' email option as my life would be complete if it did!!!!
Another 'thing' I didn't do was stipulate more options to the signing up procedure. I find that (personally) I can never be bothered to join in these games if I have to 'jump through hoops'. It's the thought of having to put 'buttons' on my blog, mention it and almost grovel to sign up that made me 'not' put any rules to joining in!!!! I'm not a 'rule' sort of person!!!
Another point - nobody knew what 'it' was so that couldn't have put them off. Perhaps a blind giveaway wasn't a good idea!!!!
Whatever else - it amused me and I was SO happy to give something away that was really worth having.
Whatever else - it amused me and I was SO happy to give something away that was really worth having.
Well I totally agree with you!!! Oh I have Tatted your Elephants and I found the pattern really easy to follow. I have put a picture on my Blog.
ReplyDeleteJane,
ReplyDeleteMy day, when i am at home, starts as follow. First go downstairs(that is at 9 o'çlock in the morning)turn on my pc go fetch my newspaper, make my first cup of coffee. Start reading the newspaper and when the pc makes a noice I know I can styart readsing. First all my e-mails, is that ready, i go to my favorites and click on Your blog to read the news. So you are a part of the morning ritual.
i must say your blog is the first i turn to every day , from there i go to all the blogs i can find. i get great idea's from other peoples blogs jot them in a note book and hope fully i will get to do some wonderful tatting. i'm tatting your meercats at the moment a friend said she challenged me to do one i said good as done, knowing about your pattern helped.
ReplyDeleteI just click on the "what's new" button at intatters - that works well. Your giveaway was fun, because we didn't have to wait too long to find out who the winner was!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the idea of a blind give away.
ReplyDeleteAnd I especially liked the idea of not having to go thru hoops to enter or get additional entries.
I do not do the blog follow thing, I don't understand it, but I do use google reader, and you are a part of my morning routine also. (sadly mine starts at 5 am though.)
Thank you, Jane!
I missed seeing who won! How did I do that? LOL!
ReplyDeleteFollowers - you and I have discussed this. I don't follow and while I have followers, I don't put up the gadget that shows it. I use my blog links to keep up with new posts and also get a google alert so I don't every often miss much.
Giveaways - well, if I'd known what it was, I probably would not have joined as I have the book, but it was fun not knowing. I rarely get in on giveaways that require you to do certain things. I don't advertise for people by adding badges and such. I might mention them in my blog, but it's because I like what's going on, not because I'm improving my chances of winning. I really get annoyed at that practice of using blogs for advertising but it's become very popular because it's free. I don't mind the occasional mention but I really hate having something pushed in my face all the time.
Most of my giveaways are lightly "attended". The exception was the OWOH which had over 1100 participants. About 10% stopped by. The other was my monthly giveaway a few years ago where you only had to enter once for the entire year. I don't mind. I don't see it as a popularity poll and I know you don't either. It's an interesting bit of human nature though.
Whoops! You're making me late for work again!!!!
Hey Jane!
ReplyDeleteI'm one of your followers who didn't sign up for your giveaway although I had planned to.
I check for updates frequently on my blogroll, but can't always comment because I am often interrupted by my family who I also share this computer with.
Anyway... I read your blog first thing in the morning. It was a really busy get 'em off to school morning when I read about the giveaway and I meant to go back and comment, but I didn't because my son came down with a nasty stomach virus, followed by myself, and over the next few days, DH and my oldest. I bounced back quickly but have been spending allot of time disinfecting so I have been pretty hit and miss on blog reading and I forgot.
I thought your idea for a blind giveaway was great and I loved that there were no rules!
:) Ann
Hi Jane!! You are part of my morning ritual also!! Your blog is the first one I go to. :)
ReplyDeleteAs far as the giveaways. I don't enter all the giveaways I come across. If it is an item that I already have or have something close too it, I don't want to take the prize away from say a new tatter or someone who really would like to win. Don't get me wrong, I love to win giveaways and I have won a couple, but I think about a few things before I enter. But that's just me.
Have a great day!
I go to my blog dashboard several times a day and check on who has updated their blog. Always look forward to seeing what you are up to. I follow lots of blogs (anonymously) but enter very few giveaways.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the way you did your give-away. I don't like to have to "jump through hoops" either. In fact, I am considering a few changes for my next give-away. I may not post it in the title but just put in into the fine print so if you are actually "reading" my blog, then you will notice it. I also do not wish to have others post it on their blog that I am having a give-away. If I just want the folks that take the time to actually read my blog and not just look at the pictures to win, then I think this is what I will have to do. Perhaps there should be different types of give-aways, like "Please read my blog and tell others about it", or "just for those who already read my blog" as a thanks to them for doing so. I am going to have to give this some serious thought because I have a bit of goodies I would like to give away but I may use this as an experiment. I think I don't want people to read my blog just to see if I am giving something away but I would like to find a way to get more readers of my blog.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all thanks to everybody who's commented. If I can I will answer some of you privately. Gina, my apologies for making you late to work!!! Sorry to hear you've been poorly, Ann.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea there, Paula.
In fact once again - thanks to all who read the ramblings of an old git!!!
I really enjoyed this give away. It was fun and didn't half to do anything but leave a comment. I always check your blog everyday, just to see what you are up too.
ReplyDeleteJane, your blog is also one that I read first thing (at whatever time I sign on).
ReplyDeleteGotta say, my giveaways never attract the volume of participants you enjoy. Thirty comments tops! But I do them because I want to give back.
Well, I for one stop by as regularly as I can,and I did enter your giveaway. I thought a blind giveaway was a splendid idea (not knowing added to the excitement in MHO)
ReplyDeleteYour blog posts are a faithful read for me, but to be honest sometimes life gets in the way and I can't check my blog list every day, and have to play catch-up when I can check them. Perhaps this was part of the problem. Some of your followers might check weekly rather than daily. I am only guessing mind you, but this could be true perhaps.
Try not to get discouraged by a lower than expected turnout on your first giveaway. It could go differently next go round. I have been trying to wrap my head around having a giveaway of my own, but being so new I might have a simple coin flip to do to find my winner (haha)
I read your blog everyday to see what you are up to. Yours was only the third giveaway I have taken part in. I knew it would be good. I won Tat's all She Wrote's giveaway. I love to get other peoples tatting or thread.
ReplyDeleteI check for blog entries every evening (here) because it's convenient for me. I liked the way you did your "giveaway" and I missed the winner, too since I was traveling. LOL I didn't enter, so others would have a chance...
ReplyDeleteI don't like "hoops' either; but, I limited my first give way to the handful of followers I have, just for their sticking with me! LOL
xxxx P
BTW I DON'T always leave comments because for some reason I have a really hard tie leaving comments on your blog...???? which is weird since we have the same system. But YOU KNOW I follow you faithfully.
I was pleased to not have to jump through hoops to enter your giveaway Jane....I don't usually do all they ask for extra entries or whatever. I'm much too lazy! So feel free to do it again just like you did, only next time----be sure to draw my name!
ReplyDeleteGiveaways do attract the volume they mostly deserve, period. However, having said that, I don't enter every giveaway I come across for the simple reason that I may not have a use for the items. Of course there are people who just join in the fun and never really think much about winning. Sometimes I have that mentality too.
ReplyDeleteWhere reading blogs is concerned, I try my best to squeeze in some updates every day, with the very little time I have.
I spend most of my day with my son and then trying to sneek in finding a new pattern (like I dont have enough...) I don't blog (but I love reading them)so I dont know how to be a "follower" I do check in here throughout the week to see what you have been up to. Though I spend most of my time on your patterns page in the tut section trying hard to teach myself shuttle tatting =) I loved the whole blind giveaway, thats the whole reason why I entered my name also. It just seemed so much fun. Mystery prize and all. (was a nice prize btw)
ReplyDeleteI started with a brief list of links on my blog, but I removed them when I changed templates or something and didn't put them back. Want to know why? Because I didn't want to offend any of my tatting friends by not putting their blog in my list and I just didn't have the time to keep updating it. I check all of the 60+ blogs that are in the 25 Motif Challenge almost daily and I get the Google alerts and check all of the blogs that aren't in the challenge from there. If I have time, which happens rarely, I go through my favourites and check all of the pages I did't get to using the first 2 sources. Along the way I check out any of the links to other pages I come across. Some of the giveaways in blogs are pure advertisement. Some are just for fun. I think the just for fun ones are the more enjoyable both for the participants and for the observers.
ReplyDelete