How Do I Grow My Blog?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, ,

blogI’ve followed all the rules for a successful blog. So what’s the problem?

I’ve consistently posted twice a week, and I offer some valuable information that I’ve learned through research or experience.

Howbeit I’m not the funniest  writer in the world, but I like to think I’m easy to follow. I don’t use million dollar words, I’m not technical, but my writing is usually grammatically and structurally sound.

I’ve attached Tags to each post. Tags that I thought would attract other people. My thought was, if I could just get them to read a few posts, they would realize I did have something to offer and hang around-become a follower.

Well it turns out, just writing a really good blog and waiting for somebody to show up does not work. You have to actually engage and purposely seek out followers.

How do you do this? I just recently started taking my blog seriously, because I was tired of writing to myself. Yes it was good practice, but nobody wants to have a blog with no followers. It wasn’t quite that bad but close.

So what did I do that tripled my blog following in less than a month? I reached out to fellow bloggers. Like me, they are trying to build their platforms as well. I started visiting the websites of bloggers who shared the same interests that I did. Not only did I gain some great information in the process but I picked up followers. I didn’t have to ask people to join me. I read their blogs, offered comments on their writing, and they responded by checking my site out and doing the same.  I discovered this was a win, win for all involved.

A delightful surprise, was the friendships that arise from exchanges with other writers.  Totally unexpected.

I have added a block of time to my weekly schedule to read blogs of fellow bloggers (those I follow, as well as new ones I would like to follow). It’s not a chore, it’s fun!!! and you will build your following 🙂

So what works for you?  I would love suggestions on how to increase my following.

-Jan R

How Do I Grow My Blog?

9 thoughts on “How Do I Grow My Blog?”

  1. I agree that reaching out to others is key. I find it most helpful to do a search for a topic that currently interests me, whether it be writing related, or a specific book, movie, show, or even a random activity. The key is it’s something I’d like to discuss with someone in the moment. I browse through the posts and see which ones have something interesting to say on the subject, and have a voice that appeals to me. I read through their post and come up with a solid comment.
    I also like to reach out and support other bloggers who are focused on writing, but I think it helps to also engage people who have a very different blog focus than my own.

    Also, while I think tagging is very important, I’d also prioritize interface.
    For example, I’ve seen blogs that have 2-4 main categories, each with their own assorted sub-categories, all represented through menus.
    I also like to maintain indexes, which allow users to browse through all the tags within a given category, and see how many posts exist with a given tag.
    I think too many blogs rely on users to simply scroll down to browse through older posts, or go by month, instead of topic.

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  3. Great tip! I’ve been doing this and works. I have 99 followers in 1 month which is a stat I’m pleased about. I’m not sure if its good or not but I’m happy! It’s just frustrating when I write a post but seems like none sees it … Wish I knew how to ensure my blog post show up to other bloggers.

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