I finally figured out how to ask better questions in this group

For a long time, my posts here were kind of vague, like 'how do I get more views?' I'd get a few replies, but they were just as general. About two weeks ago, I saw someone ask a super detailed question about tracking traffic from a specific social media site, and the answers were amazing. So I tried it. Yesterday, I posted asking for the best way to find out which old blog posts to update first, and I listed the three tools I already use. I got seven replies, and three of them gave me step-by-step plans I could actually start today. The difference was being specific about my exact problem and what I'd already tried. It turns out 'ask anything' works way better when you ask something real. Has anyone else noticed their questions get better answers when they get into the weeds a bit?

3 comments

3 Comments

pat_schmidt601mo agoMost Upvoted

Nah, sometimes simpler is better. You can scare people off with too much detail.

olivia_allen1mo ago

Totally get that, but gotta disagree with @pat_schmidt60 on this one.

jesser7916d ago

Oh man, I gotta jump in here. A buddy of mine tried this whole "better to scare them off early" approach with his band's new album art, and it backfired hard (like, nobody bought it because the cover was just a blurry photo of a fence). He spent months redoing it with all the extra detail and friends kept saying it was too much, but once he put more into it, people actually started paying attention. Simpler is cool for some stuff, but I swear sometimes you need the clutter to hook folks. Just my two cents, anyway.