Last week, I wrote a post about the 3 Secrets to Getting ‘Return’ Blog Followers and I received an astounding response. As readers and bloggers, this topic completely resonated with you. Many of you left some really thoughtful comments, some followed up with questions and others shared that the post made them reflect on their own following practices.
I love reading your comments, every single one of them. No comment ever goes unnoticed. As I mentioned in that post, a supportive blogger reaches out to others in some way; this certainly doesn’t mean a comment for every comment or visit for every visit. However, it does mean that it is important to get to know your readers because building a community means establishing relationships and making connections. If you don’t comment, respond, visit, email, tweet, chat or stumble at some point, then how are you really relating with your readership?
Blogging is interactive and engaging. When I publish a post I am sharing content but moreover, I am creating dialogue. This is never static. Blogging is an evolving process that is always changing and the dynamic that keeps this process changing is the interaction of its readership. Readership is the reason blogs continue to thrive.
For a moment, think of a super popular blog and the major following that blog has. Of course the blogger behind that blog makes it fabulous through compelling content and great blog design, but the readers that support those blogs are the very reason they reach superstar status. Essentially, blogging wouldn’t be much if the dynamic of interaction was not a major element. If this was the case, many blogs would have the comments turned off or be published privately without the public knowledge and recognition of others input. This is why as bloggers, we love comments! We want to continue the conversation and know that someone else is reading, interpreting and responding to our ideas.
So, how can you establish your own community and continue to build your readership? My answer is short: utilize social media to its fullest. If you want others to make a connection with you then you need to make a connection with them as well.
Now, I am certainly not a perfect blogger with all of the answers, nor do I claim to be. I am still learning as I go through this process as well. However, what I do know for sure is that the beauty of blogging is you can publish whatever you want because it is your blog. So while some bloggers are looking to build a following, others do not share in this goal. If you are looking to build a readership, then read on because I am sharing the two social media platforms that I use everyday and in my opinion, are essential for any blogger that wants to grow his/her blog.
Twitter is the number one way for others on the web to “find” you and your blog. Think about when you first started your blog. You created your first post and couldn’t wait until tons of comments came in. Then, you were disappointed to find that you only received three. Why? Not because your content was terrible or your design needed work. It’s because nobody knew you existed. You could have the most brilliant posts and gorgeous design, but it doesn’t matter if nobody knows where to find you. Twitter will help you to establish an online presence, but YOU have to make that happen. This takes a lot of time and hard work. You can’t just join Twitter and then tweet your own links all day long and never interact with anyone. Nobody wants to follow someone who only tweets about themselves.
Just like blogging, it’s a two way street. Do I promote my new posts and giveaways? Of course I do. But, I also use Twitter by maximizing its potential in which I begin a conversation, ask questions and put myself out there. I want to get to know my peeps and Twitter is the perfect place to establish those connections. Here’s a little experiment to try: The next time you are about to follow someone on Twitter take a peek at their stream. Are they tweeting with others and engaging in conversation or at others by just supplying a bunch of links? There is such a difference and those that engage in conversation are the ones who will be followed.
So if you are a new blogger, create an account and get started! If you are already using Twitter, then tweet more with those you follow and begin following others of interest and begin a dialogue. Get out there and start tweeting not just about your site, but with others and get to know them. You will be amazed at how this interaction will quickly build your following. At the same time, it will help you to promote some of your posts to potential readers that may not have found you otherwise. And don’t just tweet, retweet as well. Bloggers are very receptive to those who retweet their posts and you will find they will reciprocate the retweet love when you need it. You can check out my new custom Twitter background (I’m so freakin’ excited about it) and follow Theta Mom on Twitter here.
Facebook is the second best platform for others to “find” your blog and is a great place to make connections. Honestly, I was very hesitant at first about joining Facebook. Although I may post pictures of my children on this blog, I do not share their names, birthdays, etc., and since I don’t even share my last name, creating an account on Facebook didn’t seem so advantageous to me. This was until I learned you can create a fan page for your own website without having to “friend” everyone and their mom. {Although, I do think it is good karma to friend those that friend you, especially if they are fellow bloggers.}
Just like Twitter, sharing a new link or post on Facebook through a fan page can be seen by many instantly. Furthermore, once someone becomes a fan of your site, your link shows up on their page. So just like the power of Twitter, your link is now in a place to be “seen” by others who may not have found you otherwise. But again, you need to take the time to converse with your peeps, reply to their comments and get to know them. Just like Twitter, it takes time and effort to maintain these relationships, but it’s so worth it! You can become a fan of Theta Mom here.
So, what’s the bottom line? As many of you already know, building a readership takes a lot of time and hard work. A huge following doesn’t happen overnight, but by putting yourself out there to network through social media and connect with the very people who enjoy your blog will help to get you there.
Building a community means establishing relationships and making connections and at the end of the day, isn’t that what blogging is all about?
Terrific tips Heather, I’m just running out of time. Doing the blog is enough for me plus I have two online jewelry stores to manage. For now, I’m happy with my small following but I have to admit, I have yet to figure out how to manage my comments and find the time to read back on the blogs who comment on mine. How do you manage with so many followers? Even on a slow day, I sometimes see more than 30 comments and for me to stop and ready 30 different blogs and comment back, well I’d have no time for my daughter or non-computer activities. Will you be blogging about time management at some point? It’s interesting to note that I took a 3-week computer free vacation in February and did not lose one follower which surprised me. I’ve also been thinking about blogging less, perhaps 3 posts a week instead of 6. Any tips? I’ve also been curious as to what ever happened to that blog that stole you content. Were you able to put a stop to them? Deb
Found you through Friday Follow! Great blog, I’m now a Google Friend Connect Follower!
Visiting from My Kids Are Fun!
great, great post–and so timely. thanks for the great advice as I needed it NOW. happy friday!
Thank you for the info. I have not used Twitter yet, and have just crated a facebook fan page. I am afraid that if I started Twitter it would take away from blogging time.
I started blogging in October of this year and it really is about making those connections. I have many loyal commenters/followers and it truly means so much.
I have actually started a notebook so that when I find new blogs to follow that I really like, I don’t forget about them and they don’t get lost in my google reader!
My most recent problem is that my blog really has popped since January. I went from 100 followers to 225 in one month! For me the writing takes very little time, but answering all of the comments does and I always want to say something sincere when I leave a reply. How in the world do you do that with as many followers/comments that you get?
So true! I love twitter as well!
I’m here from Friday Follow! I’m glad to have found your blog! Following you now. Hope you’ll follow me back!
Shannon at:http://www.milkandcuddles.com/
Great tips for newbies. I’ve only been really active with my Happy Mothering blog for 2 months now. I’ve also only been on Twitter for 2 months. However, I’ve done a lot of research on blogging and social media and already have over 1300 followers on Twitter. And, most of the traffic to my blog comes from Twitter and other social media outlets.
There’s a section in this ebook that covers Social Media that is awesome! If you want to know how to get more out of Twitter and social media, check it out. It’s from an MLM site, but don’t let that scare you off. It’s got great information in the ebook… just skip over the MLM section. There’s also a lot in it about blogging and internet marketing. Best of all, it’s free
Laura – It’s very hard to visit the blog of every single comment, which is why I think it’s so important to connect in other ways. Do I comment on blogs? Of course I do, but if I didn’t get to a certain blog one week, I’ll be sure to tweet with them or catch up on FB. That’s why networking and connecting with your readership through social media truly grows your blog because you are establishing those connections.
Shannon – Off to check out your blog!
I have a Twitter account and Facebook account. I had those first. Now that I am blogging I don’t find time to get to the others. Between following, reading, commenting, responding to comments and doing posts I don’t know how to fit those in. I spend 6-8 hours a day blogging. I am home 24/7 and the kids are grown. So how do you do all of that and raise your family too?
Another great post. Thanks for posting about it. I learn something new from you all the time.
Hey! Came across your blog from a Blog Hop ~Friday Follow. Look foward to getting to know you. I’m a follower now!
Happy Friday!
Great post, as usual
I have been trying hard to reply to comments that people leave on my blog. I really want for people to know that I DO read them and DO appreciate that they took the time to leave me a comment! I’m still working on being more active on Twitter. Some days, there just doesn’t seem to be enough time to devote to my family, my blog, Twitter and Facebook. I’m trying to find that “happy medium”!
Have a great day
Those are great tips. I didn’t even think about doing a fan page on Facebook. I will think about that.
Ladies – Based on many of your comments, the “biggest” question comes in reference to time management. I would love to dedicate a post to this as well and keep the sharing coming!
Following from Friday Follow! Love your blog layout – simple and cleancut. Well done! Come on over to my blog about Life as a Wife @ http://www.riathurston.com
Have a great weekend!
It does take a lot of work but slowing I am building a blog following. Thanks for the good tips! I too believe it’s all about relationships and I am enjoying make them!
I’ll have to check out the fb thing. I haven’t b/c I didn’t want it to be associated with my last name.
I’m new to Twitter, but it’s amazing. My bff just started her blog today and I tweeted about it- and she has almost 30 followers on her first day! Awesome power. http://inmyownlittlecorner-angie.blogspot.com is her blog. 😉
This is a great post. I have a Twitter account, but am completely clueless with it though. I still don’t understand the “tweet” “retweet” etc. stuff. If anyone reads this and can help me, feel free to email me at thestrollerballet@gmail.com.
In the meantime, I”m going to try and do some research!!
Very great tips! I already follow. Just popping in to say Hello. Happy Friday Follow
Sarah – I’ll email you.
And Stacie – Always great to “see” you mama!
Hi there!
I totally agree with the importance of social media; it’s brought me so many loyal fans and readers. Great post!
Anyway, I have something for you – an award of sort called a LOVE LINK>
Your site link and the following was posted on my site today:
Theta Mom – I love that she is honest and forthright with her life and experience as a mother.
Please read on:
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
I bestow this LOVE LINK honor on you this 12th day of February 2010. Now, you have received this LOVE LINK because you are special to the sender. So it’s up to you to share it with five of your favorite blogs and so on. It’s important that you post their links within a short article on your site as well as one reason why you love them. It is also important that you go to Womenslifelink.com (where it started) and share your blog’s name, location, and the name of the blogger who sent you the link. This is really an experiment, and we’d love to see it touch many bloggers around the world. Remember, it’s up to you to continue this LOVE LINK! Simply copy and paste this paragraph and what you’ve said about them into their blog comment section or an email. Good Luck and happy blogging!
I love how you are so savvy and methodical. I, on the other hand, just write some stuff and read and comment on a lot of blogs because I love you people. I am kinda of lame like that.
Another great post Heather!
The interaction between blogger and reader is truly so important… and you my friend do an amazing job at that!
I wanted to let you know that last post of yours was fabulous. I actually wrote a post-long comment and (got caught at work) was unable to submit in time (crappy work).
You really have brought it all together beautifully in these posts.
Truly awesome.
MrsBlogalot – Thakn you so much for that. Knowing that a post like this resonates with readers makes this whole blogging journey so worth the ride!!!
I recently had a girl say to me, “Why do you care about hits if you don’t make money from ads?” I was like, umm, do you have a blog? Every blogger wants more people to read his/her blog!!!!
Great tips Heather! I never thought about the way I tweeted on twitter–I will be changing things up for sure! Building relationships is definitely the key to a successful blog.
Good tips!
Have you already done a post on how you manage to keep up with all the blogs you follow?
So much to do. I have Twitter…I still don’t get it. I tweet every once in awhile. I have a FB page but have done nothing with it. I love FB for personal uses…but oh my one more thing and I may burst! How do you do it!?
I am looking forward to you post on time management. I have no where near the amount of followers that you have and I seem to be barely treading water.
I like the new twitter backround!!
Now you have to do a how to on Twitter;} I like twitter however it is hard to tweet and get tweets in real time- WHY? Hopefully I am not the only untwitterer! teehee
Happy Saturday from Cairo!
I’m too busy to read your long post at the moment – I’ll be back later…
but wanted to say Hi! “Hi!”
Excellent! I’m finding much truth in your findings.
Such a good post Heather! I often get emails from other bloggers asking how I get reviews/giveaways or find new blogs……I tell them TWITTER!! I’m VERY active on twitter…..then I usually get “well I’m on twitter, but I don’t get all of that”…….you HAVE to be INTERACTIVE on Twitter!! people think they just go on there and tweet “I’m on my way to the grocery store”….”washing my hair today”…..and throw in links to their new blog posts…………yeah, that’s NOT going to cut it! LOL
As the more active I have become on Twitter, the greater my following has become.
GREAT post!!
Thanks so much for your insights. What I liked most was the fact that you said that it doesn’t happen over night. Even though I’m relatively new to blogging I love the idea of being part of a bigger blogosphere and being able to share in a dialogue with others.
Twitter has opened up many new doorways for me~ you are right on!
Ladies -Thank you so much for your comments, I love every single one of them. And I am happy to know many of you found this post resourceful. Rock on mamas!!!
Sage words from someone who seems to have this networking thing down. Or more down than many of us! As a fellow blogger and fan of this blog, I really appreciate your concrete advice here. I am on Twitter and am just getting the hang of things. I have realized that it is much more enjoyable and interesting to interact with others – trading content, retweeting brilliant bits, and just saying hello. And Facebook is a tremendous tool as well. Oddly, I have two pages – one personal and one more “professional” for book/blog stuff, but it seems to be working well.
On a more philosophical level, I am really intrigued by the evolution of social media and how participation in it is becoming so widespread. It is so incredible that using its tools we can connect with so many people who are similar and different, close and far, far away.
(As an aside, I need to spend more time here. Judging from the comments from your readers, you have an intelligent and lively bunch of followers whom it would be a privilege to get to know!
Thanks for the great and resourceful post!
Wow…what an amazing post!
Thank you for all these great tips!
You’re always so resourceful, and I’m literally holding my breath for your Time Management post! I need it! Four (4) kids, a company I co-own, my crazy fun but busy blog, Facebook, Blog surfing and commenting, and now Twitter (!). Argh! I still can’t wrap my head around the whole thing.
Here’s my pressing question: I have a few hundred followers on Twitter, but not sure how they became my followers. I would also guess that only about 1/4 of them (if that) share my passions or interests. Having said that, can you ‘weed out’ certain people (but still keep them as followers; say, on your main screen) and only have the ones who you’d like to see/read/share their tweets ? It just seems so overwhelming, it’s not even funny. I can’t imagine adding this to everything I’m already doing! However, I do realize it’s importance. If you don’t have a moment to respond back, no biggy!
I want to be in the Top 10 Mommy Bloggers in the next few years… I’d love to “do” my blog full time at some point, soon!
Thanks in advance, as well as for visiting my blog. You’re the best!
Kat – I am going to post this on your blog as well. Here are my thoughts to your comment: There are so many people who follow on twitter but either don’t interact often, tweet or have relevance to me as well. I block those that are spammy, but also those that end up not logging in for months at a time also get unfollowed. This does take time and effort to “clean up.” However, you begin to find a group of those who you tweet with often and these are the relationships you work on building. Those are the peeps I was referencing in this post.
Happy Saturday Sharfest! Thanks for this post. I have been tinkering with Twitter, but I find that I don’t have time to sit in front of my computer with it all day. I have tried to access it from my smart phone, but am not finding it very “smart.” Any tips for mobile tweeting?
PS – Now following you on Twitter!
Have a great weekend!
Great tips about social media. Building a following takes time and commitment. Thanks for sharing.
Erin – I actually don’t have the phone capability for Twitter, but I do see many use it effectively.
great Tips…Im making a new face book because my other one is for family and work, which I do not necessarily want them to see my blog..Ok definitely dont want them to read my blog….But thanks for all the info..i like facebook but Ive never really gotten the hang of it…i have a twitter too..but dont really use it either…! Have a great day..!
Great tips Heather! I’m on Twitter and Facebook, but I have to admit that I don’t take the time to build a dialogue like you suggest. Mostly because for me it seems a little complicated, and like you said, it does take some time. Thanks for sharing.
Twitter is always my #1 referral site. It rocks my world. Sometimes it’s easier to tweet something rather than to do an entire post.
Can’t wait to read about time management…as you can see I am pretty far behind.
Hi! Great tips!New follower from MBC friends following friends! Feel free to check out my blog!
peasterpeach.blogspot.com
Julie – I totally agree. Twitter is the #1 referral site!!!