Greetings: I want to reach out to all the museum blog managers out there. If you're operating a blog, who manages it? Who contributes and where do those ideas/ suggestions come from? What are your parameters for blog posts? What are your visitation numbers? I'm interested in hearing your stories and learning more about how other museum blogs are being run.
To get the blog rolling, I'll start:
I manage a blog with the help of a small committee of representatives from Collections, Exhibitions, Curatorial, Education, Library, Tours, and Technology who make suggestions and keep me updated on what potentially blog-worthy things are going on in their areas. They will sometimes write posts for me, sometimes suggest others to write posts or connect me with guest bloggers, and sometimes sit down with me to give me the information I need to write the posts myself.
Our blog has been up for about three years now. We started out really ambitious: posting 5-6 days a week. Blog fatigue has set in in the past year, however, and it's harder to get contributors or fresh ideas. Our posts are down to about two a week now, but interestingly, the number of visitors to the blog continues to increase at about the same rate: slowly but steady. We're currently at around 6,000 users a month.
I'm interested in learning from other blog managers in the trenches: what works for you in terms of generating content? What posts are the most visited? In our case, new acquisitions or upcoming exhibitions get some of the best response, along with behind-the-scenes stories about conservation, prep, etc. And our biggest post of the year is April Fools Day, by far.
How about you? What's the weather like in your blogosphere?
I appreciate anything you can share. Thanks!
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Linda DeBerry
Publications Manager
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Bentonville AR
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