StumbleUpon made this blog’s traffic explode
November 21st, 2007I didn’t plan to update this blog again today. I’d just verify the comments in the moderation queue and take a look at the stats. In fact, I did both things. There was only one comment to be approved (thank you, Simonne!), so that part was fast. Then I proceeded to check the stats out.
This was when I got truly scared.
I noticed a HUGE change in the traffic’s graph. As this blog gets around six daily visits, I calculated it should have gotten 30 or 40 today, hence the visual difference. Of course this was right before I saw today’s actual traffic: 318 views so far.
My first thought: “StumbleUpon.”
And I was right: almost all of those hits came from that site.
This wasn’t the first time I had a post of mine stumbled. So I knew how it was like to get some (much appreciated) increase in traffic thanks to StumbleUpon. But my previous experiences cannot be compared to this one. This wasn’t a mere “increase in traffic.” It was much more like an explosion.
I confess I wasn’t ready for this, because it was totally unexpected. I had no way to guess that my previous article on blog readability would generate so much interest. Now what am I supposed to do?
I don’t know! I vaguely recall having read articles about the things a blogger should do when she receives massive traffic from a social media site. But guess what? I’m so surprised and confused that right now I just can’t remember any single piece of advice about this!
Obviously I don’t expect the party to last for long. I know it’s improbable that these casual visitors become regular readers. But let’s see if there’s any detectable changes in average daily hits, feed subscriptions and backlinks. I’ll wait some days and then I’ll report the results. Even if I get no results at all. 
At first this happening made me worried. I thought that from now on I’d have the “obligation” to write fantastic posts in order to keep my audience interested in this blog. However, I quickly realised that was a silly thought.
First of all, my previous article was all but fantastic; in reality it was rather lame. Besides, as stated above, those visitors are unlikely to return (unless I have another page successfully stumbled, but that would be another story). So, while stumblers will always be more than welcome here, I won’t go out of my way in a desperate attempt to please them at all costs. Instead I’ll stick to my original plans and continue to write my usual posts. This blog may eventually be taken to a different direction, but I don’t think the moment for it has come yet.
Now I’m really curious to know who’s the woman who discovered my post. I’ve read at StumbleUpon that she was from Romania. Simonne? Was that you?
November 22nd, 2007 at 8:18 pm
What a coincidence, I had the exact same thing for the past few days, I normally get about 100 or so unique visitors per day but thanks for just one article, it exploded to about 1.5k per day for the past 2 days. Its a rush and I know its going to end but I don’t want it to
November 22nd, 2007 at 11:32 pm
StumbleUpon has basically been my main traffic source for everything. I get around 200 hits from it every day - it makes up 80% of total traffic. I love it. The cool thing is that sometimes some of my old content gets 20-50 stumbles periodically.
November 23rd, 2007 at 12:31 am
Hey Karen,
Here is the link to your discoverer
http://www.stumbleupon.com/url.....ue-part-2/
Well done and keep up the great work
November 23rd, 2007 at 11:40 am
[...] StumbleUpon Made This Blog’s Traffic Explode - a1-fan-fun has written a great account of his first experience with StumbleUpon. For new bloggers, StumbleUpon makes it fun to blog. No longer do new bloggers have to write knowing that no one will see their articles. [...]
November 24th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Heya,
I have done a similar post on my SU experience. Well mostly being inspired by this post. Thanks, and yes, SU has changed my entire outlook of blogging. It has changed for me , from being personal and writing whatever I wanted to, to writing quality posts keeping my readers in mind. But of course, the writer’s self interests and opinions come first.Ain’t it so?
Cheers!
Sujoy
November 24th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Congratulations! I once woke up to find that I had received over 3000 visits from StumbleUpon. The only other think I have to say is: While humility is fine, and generally considered an admirable trait, don’t ever put yourself down. There are enough jerks in the world doing that for you. Just stay focused on what you want, look at your progress, enjoy your successes, and learn from your failures. Stay confident that any rewards you reap are deserved.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:10 am
[...] Zara presents StumbleUpon made this blog’s traffic explode posted at a1-fan-fun, saying, “All bloggers want more traffic. StumbleUpon may help a [...]
November 30th, 2007 at 3:06 am
Hi!
Same here. Newbie blogger and avaeraging 5 views per day. A stumbled post brought more than 200 views in 24 hours. Is this significant? BTW, noticed you also have CommentLuv, nice.
December 3rd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Hi, I’m new here via blog catalog then bloggers carnival and I’ve had some very good days from the occasional posts I’ve written on wordpress but now I’d like to know how you get “stumbled” on and well, do you ask people to do it (hint) or is it just a matter of writing good content?
Do you know?
I hope you’re having a peaceful, wonderful day today and every day.
Peace, love and understanding.
~ RubyShooZ ~
RubyShooZ’s last blog post..Please help feed hungry people.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:05 am
[...] main traffic driver, but it shouldn’t be my only one. I want to find ANOTHER StumbleUpon to generate the same kind of traffic, and more. Recently I’ve been experimenting with ProjectWonderful, EntreCard, and StumbleUpon [...]