How To Turn Your Followers Into Readers
Many times in the blog world, you will come across people with large followings and as new bloggers, this is always very attractive. And then you may attempt to interact with one of these people and to your surprise, they are unresponsive. In this post, I want to share how to turn your followers into readers.
Followings are important for making an impact and for your ability to show brands and sponsors that you have enough of an influence to where you can get the word out about their products and services. But make no mistake, followers are not always readers.
If someone has a large following, consider this:
Are people simply following them because it was a requirement during a giveaway?
Are people following them because this individual has either participated in or hosted a lot of linky parties?
The point is, some followers might have connected with you for one of the reasons above, but come back to visit your blog seldomly or even worse, never again.
Perhaps you plan on being the type of blogger who only hosts awesome giveaways and having readers doesn’t really interest you, that’s ok too. It is your choice. But for those who would like to not only have followers, but readers, consider the following:
1) Consider who you would want to read your blog and develop an action plan on how to reach these individuals.
2). Use linky parties as not only a way to boost your following, but as a way to meet new bloggers and cultivate relationships with these other bloggers even after your initial contact at the party.
3). Become a supporter of other bloggers by commenting on and sharing what they are doing. People will begin to reciprocate and you will find more people responding to your posts.
4) Write post titles that will make searchers be able to easily find your post. Don’t be afraid of those 3 letters SEO.
5). Focus on creating unique content that people are actually searching for but not everyone is writing about. Duplicating content or topics may not get you the readers you are looking for because if someone else’s site is ranked higher than yours, the searcher will see those posts on the first few pages and never get to yours.
6). Once in a while, consider participating in linkups like Ten Things of Thankful where your followers get to know you better and you can begin to learn about other participants as well. These types of linkups have been a great way for me to begin awesome relationships with many bloggers that I may not have had an opportunity to get to know otherwise. Many of these bloggers have not only become followers, but my readers as well.
Are these tips helpful? Did I forget anything? Feel free to comment and let me know!
If this post was helpful, you might also enjoy other blog tips I’ve shared in the past like:
How to Become a Good Blogger
Are You Hurting Your Reputation With Google And Other Bloggers?
XoXo,
I guess I have the opposite. I have readers/commenters on the blog but not on FB
Great post!! Thanks for this- these are all good things to know!!
Good advice Brittnei! I find that my community grows when I make an effort to reach out to others and comment and share their content. I share as often as I can.
Great tips! How do I join in on #AskAwayFriday?
You are so right on with this post! When I first started blogging I was intimidated by bloggers with huge numbers, never considering where those numbers may be coming from. Using the methods you described, I've cultivated a nice little tribe out here and it's so much fun!! I basically forget about the numbers and just enjoy it because, if it's not fun, what's the point?
As usual, you're right on point, Brittnei. I always marvel at some of the blogs that have a bazillion followers. I wonder: do they really read this blog regularly? I'd rather have fewer followers and more consistent readers than vice versa.
Great tips Brittnei! Sharing…
Yea I've seen that, too. Honestly, I'd rather have a million comments than to have a large following, if I had to pick one of the two. My husband doesn't really want me focused on making money with my blog. Since I love to write and interact with people, it is the reason why I'm doing it. If I make money eventually, then I do. If not, no biggie
You are so welcome, Emily! I honestly hope it helps some bloggers to prioritize their time differently.
That feels nice coming from you since you know so much about blogging and social media. I honestly copy you and others in "our" circle. You all are such an inspiration to me. I'm blogging because I love to write and I enjoy the community, so your style really sits well with me Michelle!
Hey girly! So nice of you to take time to read my post. I will tell Penny (the blogger who started it) to add you on the email list. If you don't have a partner that has never participated before, you can always email the group and get a partner that way. I hope to see you participating really soon. It's a lot of fun.
Great tips. Now if only I could master SEO I'd be in business! Lol
Allie, I so agree with you! I continued blogging and created this blog because I just wanted to write and interact with people. By doing these things in this list, I've been able to connect with all types of bloggers. Some who have tremendous followings share with me opportunities to grow my following. I know this is important for later if I want to work more with brands, but I'm in no rush to make money in that way with my blogging. I truly do it to be able to write from the soul and to connect and create relationships with awesome bloggers like yourself.
I was just thinking that when I wrote this post, Allison! I really hope we get a chance to meet one day! Haha! The support I get from bloggers like you who actually come over to see what I'm writing and leave comments means more to me than a large following.
You are so sweet! Thanks, lady! xoxo
They are great tips. I'd rather have a small number of meaningful readers than a large number of followers. Definitely! I like the relationship and give and take. I wouldn't have time to have less meaningful blogging relationships with tons and tons of people.
I like to do my own thing 90% of the time and then I do two link parties a month, as well as two Ask Away Fridays a month. It's fun for me to break it up too.
Hi Brittnei! Right on point with this post! Surprisingly when I try #3 more times than none the blogger never replies! What is up with that. I comment on a variety of blogs with a huge following, smaller following, new bloggers, old bloggers, etc. 1 out of 10 times I'll get a reply back, and I'm lucky if they visit my blog back.
Makes me wonder about some bloggers. Thanks for sharing!
xoxo, Jess
I'm totally sharing your opinion on this, I rather stay a small blog and have readers and be big with only followers. The interaction with other people is what makes this so much fun!
There are some great tips out there on SEO. I've learned a little here and there about it. The one tip I gave here is probably the easiest one to follow haha. You will get there. In due time I'm sure
Oh and what is your blog site so I can go back and check you out. You can reply to the comment and I'll get it!
I'm learning to find a balance, Tamara. I did want to do more with brands, etc, but I'm learning that this would take away a great deal of my time from being able to follow blogs that I love and cultivating valuable relationships. So my following is growing, but I like to focus more on the give and take relationships. I've limited myself now to one linky party that I host – coming soon with April starting Sunday for all bloggers and after November is over, I can limit my posts to about 3 a week maybe so I'll have more time to go comment on my favorites.
Jess, it is so great that you bring up the point of bloggers not responding to comments or never going back to their readers' blogs. I will be publishing a post related to that next week actually! LOL! I think the key is finding people who like to comment back and show support. It's most likely not going to be the people who have a ton of blog hops on their own blogs. Where could they possibly find the time to cultivate relationships. And maybe they are more concerned with being connected to brands instead of cultivating relationships. Those people tend to be more interested in getting followers. You can also tell by how many comments they have on their blogs and if they are responding to them. There have been a select few that I looked at and I noticed the same people always supporting and commenting and these women have easily up to 100 comments on just one post! Look at my posts and see the frequent commenters…I guarantee if you go to their blogs, they will respond to your comment and will come back and see your blog as well. I hope this helps! xoxo
Great tips! I have been trying to bring more regular readers to my blog and hopefully implementing some of your tips will help me out!
Nice post. I think it is difficult to share opinion as you don't have much control over other people's actions (online or not). But creating enticing content helps.
I focused on building my Twitter following more when I started blogging. And I do feel that it's been hard to utilize these followers as opposed to other social media groups. I have been wondering myself about how I am doing things.
Maria
Great tips, I think it would be helpful if I participated in Ask Away Friday. How do you find someone to participate with?
That is so true! I blog because I love to write and interact with you all. Sometimes I tell my husband about some bloggers I know as if we are real life friends. That's how wonderful it is to have cultivated relationships with readers.
I'm sure it will. It's all about finding the right people. As you continue on in the blogosphere and you give not asking for anything in return, it will happen.
I'm sure it will. It's all about finding the right people. As you continue on in the blogosphere and you give not asking for anything in return, it will happen.
Yea, it is good to have a following to create an influence. I guess I was compelled to write this post because I'm used to people sharing more and doing more to create traffic and followings. Very rarely do I see a post focused on teaching bloggers about the importance of cultivating relationships with their readers.
Hey Sonya! I've already given your email to Penny,the blogger who hosts Ask Away Friday so you will be in the loop! Thanks so much for taking time out to read my post!
Thanks Brittnei and I can't wait to participate in your new blog hop.
It would be wonderful to catch up in person, Brittnei! Let's keep that in mind and begin to consider potential meet-up options.
Great tips. I always get those comments about a follow for a follow and I know there are a lot of us bloggers out there now and it is harder to build up a list of loyal followers and readers but I do want people who are interested in my content. I usually follow everyone who follows me anyway just to show support for their blog.
I have met so many wonderful and amazing women through blogging from all over the world including yourself and I love talking to you all. I feel like I have a whole new bunch of friends from different cultures and it is amazing! Sometimes it is hard keeping up with all the blogs I follow but no matter how small or new a blog is I always make an effort to stop by, comment and encourage.
http://diaryofatrendaholic.blogspot.ca/
I used to do more link ups, but I've found that I get little to no visits from the huge ones, and I just don't have the time to visit all those blogs. I prefer things like Ask Away Friday or Finish the Sentence Friday, where I have to write a post to participate. The visits I get from those posts are much more likely to turn into readers than from the huge blog party ones.
Great information Brittnei. Your How To series is really taking off and you are getting a ton of interaction with your posts. Great job!! Look at you go
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(¸¤ Lanaya | xoxo http://raising-reagan.com
Good information…I have found this to be true as well. I prefer getting to know people!
I totally agree with #6! When I did #AskAwayFriday it was so much fun. I really enjoyed being a part of a link up that I could get to know the blogger. I'm hoping to be able to participate in more like it.
These are great tips Brittnei! I am really trying hard to wrok on #3 and get more people to comment. It's all about finding the time.
Oh you are such a doll. I can't wait to see what post you decide to linkup!
You are so right! It can get overwhelming. I've started doing things like categorizing in bloglovin the loyal readers so I can always go to their blogs and comment. Facebook and twitter are a little easier to return a like on a fan page or a follow. For comment love, one thing that has helped is my intense debate comment form. Now my readers get my reply emailed to them and I get their blog site o I can go back and comment on their blog.
I agree. I'm really excited about a new linky me and April are doing because we plan on visiting every single person that links up. Then we want to feature people on our blogs later on in the week. I noticed that even hosts weren't making time to visit people who linked up so that is a little discouraging for people and they tend to not return. I'm only doing the one though so I can still visit and support my loyal readers and growing tribe.
Aw, Lanaya thank you for noticing! This blog challenge has me going in a direction that was so unexpected. It feels like I'm in a groove though and I'm enjoying the interaction.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post! I find that people are so busy trying to build a following because they know brands and sponsors look at that but creating relationships in blogging is also important. I wouldn't know the things I know if I didn't have that.
Tens! There is another one I'm about to publish a post for called Finish The Sentence Friday. A lot of supportive bloggers link up to that one.
Finding the time and the right people. If you stick with me awhile I'm sure you will begin to cross paths with some great, supportive bloggers who show comment love. Feel free to browse my posts and notice frequent commenters. Those are the ones very passionate about creating relationships in the blog world.
These are really helpful! Thanks for sharing. I love learning new things.
Good tips, Brittnei! I'd love to get more non-giveaway comments on my blog and on FB. Facebook in particular seems really hard to get much interaction.
Hey Kriss! I'm so glad you enjoyed this. Thanks for stopping by as always!
Yea, I think with Facebook it takes more fans and more updates to get interaction and time of course. But I think these tips are what help people to get more comments on their blogs. Many of the people who shared these with me over time post less (maybe 3x a week) and don't participate in as many linkups so they have time to really follow and support other blogs.