Back in January I made it a goal to spend the month of February working on growing my blog. While this is usually an ongoing priority for most bloggers, I figured between the cold weather, fewer events on my personal calendar this past month, and the potential for Snow Days (we’ve had three this month, as well as several two hour delays) that I’d have some extra time this month to focus on extra growth. Part of that growth has included my involvement in the “Grow Your Blog” Blog Hop hosted by Kristy from Runaway Bridal Planner.
One key element for blog growth is networking. Blogging is not a one way street. In order to foster growth for your blog, its essential that you interact with readers and other bloggers on Social Media as well as on other blogs.
Some examples of networking include:
- Commenting on other blogs. This should go without saying, but you shouldn’t expect others to visit and comment on your blog if you don’t visit and comment on other blogs. Not only is it common courtesy, but its a great way to meet and interact with like minded people.
- Tweeting out links to posts on other blogs that you like. This is a great way to show appreciation for what other bloggers have to say, and demonstrates that you recognize that blogging is in fact a two way street.
Analyzing Pinterest Analytics, Part One – http://t.co/zVAqILXJhD via @EatPrayRunDC
— Kathryn (@Dancing2Running) February 24, 2015
- Just like tweeting out links, pinning posts to Pinterest and sharing links on Facebook are other ways to show some love for your favorite bloggers and/or share posts that resonate with you.
- Interact with other bloggers by giving shout outs. This could include #FF (Follow Friday) shout outs on Twitter to some of your favorite bloggers as well as words of encouragement and good luck to those getting ready to run a race that day or that weekend.
#FF be sure to follow these amazing Princesses during #PrincessHalf! @werundisney @ImperfectCAK @HeathersLG @mindybobe @fairytalesnfit
— Kathryn (@Dancing2Running) February 20, 2015
- I’ve said this before, but join a link up. Its a great way to meet other bloggers but also helps to get your name out there. I participate in the weekly Friday Five link up hosted by the DC Trifecta, and have participated twice now in the Tuesdays on the Run link up.
- Join a blog hop. Like I already said, I’m currently participating in my first one ever and I’ve noticed that this has led to a huge significant increase in my monthly stats.
Blogging takes lots of time and you won’t be an overnight success, but if you’re willing to invest the time and resources necessary the payoff can be huge.
For more blogging tips, be sure to check out these posts:
- Five Ways to Grow Your Blog
- Blogging Tips for New Bloggers
- How I’ve Increased My Blog Readership
- Tips for More Consistent Blogging
QOTD: How do you network with blog readers and other bloggers?
As always, love these tips! Thanks chica!
Anytime!
Love these tips. I definitely think commenting and/or sharing social media posts helps connect bloggers!
Absolutely!
I enjoy participating in link ups and blog hops.
Me too. Its a great way to connect with like minded people.
Great tips and I completely agree with you! Link Ups are fun and connecting wit other bloggers.
Absolutely!
The blog hop has been really fun. I keep finding new blogs to follow and my list is growing!
Mine too!
I know the tips you share are right on. As always, I just struggle with Pinterest. I have the hardest time pinning my own work, recipes, etc. I just can’t get that down. I have really enjoyed the Grow Your Blog Hop. I think it kept a small enough group to get to know one another better 🙂
Its hard to remember to go back and Pin posts. I wish you could schedule Pins in advance, just like you can do for blog posts, FB posts, and Tweets.
Great tips! The blog hop has been a fun way to meet new blogs and grow our blogs. It takes lots of time!
It definitely does!
Great tips! This is my first time doing a blog hop too and it has been so fun getting to know everyone and making some new blogging buddies! It takes a lot of time, but I think it’s so worth it to get more connected with other bloggers that you may not have known!
The blog hop has definitely allowed me to connect with new to me blogs and bloggers.
great tips! i think that you hit the nail on the head when you said sharing other bloggers things – it really does help. i would add to this, thanking blogger when they share your posts, etc. i always try to say thanks – it’s the least you can do and it takes 2 seconds. 🙂
Its definitely the least that you can do to show your appreciation.
All great tips! Sharing and interacting with other bloggers is so important. Not only has it helped me grow my blog, but it’s helped me make some great friends! Blog hops and link ups are great. I’m also working on my first co-sponsored challenge 🙂
Good luck with the first challenge! Can’t wait to hear all about it!
Also, by sharing other people’s stuff on social media like twitter and pinterest, you’ll also gain followers but engaged followers who you actually WANT to interact with. I find that I like seeing tweets with commentary about ablog post rather than “Such and such recipe via @soandso” I’m more apt to click on it if I see “wow this looks so good! Check out this recipe from @soandso”
Good point. I usually add commentary to my tweets, most have forgotten when I tweeted about Courtney’s Pinterest post. Oops!
Great tips! The blog hop sounded interesting but I couldn’t participate this time since I was gone for half the month. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on it once it’s over.
Its been a great learning experience. And while its taken a lot of time (and is not something I’d be able to pull off every month), its definitely been worth it!
As a newbie blogger, I really appreciate this post. Thanks so much!
Glad you found it helpful.
Great tips! I’ve also been participating in Kristy’s blog hop this month and it’s been wonderful for networking and meeting other bloggers like you 🙂 I love discovering new blogs to read and now I have several on my must-read list!
Me too!
Great tips! I try to link up with other bloggers for feature posts and I find that is a great way to get some traffic to your blog! And commenting! Almost every blog I comment on, I’ll get a response on my blog!
Connecting with others for feature posts is another great opportunity for networking.
These are all great tips! I need to get better about joining link ups, but I just don’t plan my posts in advance so I always miss the boat, but I am loving Kristy’s grow your blog! I try to comment on the blogs I read and return the favor when people comment on mine, that seems to help a lot with traction.
Returning comments definitely helps show your appreciation for others reading your blog.
I am visiting from our very first blog hop. We are new at this and all these tips are helpful. I’ve been having fun reading all the blogs and connecting with people.
Me too!
all very good advice here. I can attest to how helpful it is to comment on other people’s Blogs and help them out! 🙂
It definitely is.
Great tips, I grew mine by using all of these, although I’m still not great at Twitter so always forget the #FF!
I don’t remember every week either.
Effort is the key to blogging and our goals are different than most. However, we love the interaction with other bloggers, but growing our blog and monetizing it has never been a priority.
Blogging definitely takes a lot of time and effort. If you aren’t willing to put in the effort then you can’t expect to have any success with it.
Oh, and nothing wrong with having different priorities than what seems to be the norm. Its good to be honest and true to yourself and your own goals, not what others are doing. 🙂
great tips! This blog hop has been a lot of fun and a great learner experience!
It definitely has!
I agree with you… it’s gotta be a reciprocation. People who take take and never share or join in won’t be around long. Good tips. I have Pinned!
Thanks for pinning!
These are great tips. I’ve bookmarked this post! Even though I’ve been blogging for a long time, I still need to find new and creative ways to get more followers and engagement. Thanks for this!
The blogging world always seems to be changing.
Making a few great connections means more to me than meeting a ton of people that I won’t interact with again. I agree with you it does take time, but it all pays off in the end.
Absolutely!
I think you’ve got a lot of them listed here. Lately, I’ve been really enjoying interacting with people on IG by commenting on their photos. I’ve already found this has increased my readership and allowed me to connect on another level with my audience.
I’ve been trying to comment on more IG photos as well. A picture can tell a thousand words in a much different way than word can in a blog post.
This blog hop is my first as well, and just like you I’ve seen some awesome stats from it! I try to interact with other bloggers/people with the same interests through social media. I need to be a lottttt better about commenting on blogs more often after I read them. It’s silly not to, I’m already there reading!
If I read posts from my phone I try to remember and go back later to comment when I can get to a computer. Sometimes I just forget though!
Great tips! I agree. You have to reach out. Blogging is not an isolated thing. You have to interact all day every day. My favorite thing to do is set a goal of 20. 20 comments on any social media and at least 20 likes. Every day!
That’s a great goal!
Great tips! It’s amazing how retweeting and commenting helps.
Absolutely!
Great tips! We’ve loved having you join our linkup and thanks for practicing what you preach! 😉
Thanks again for hosting the link up!
Great tips. Networking is so important. I’ve done a lot of link ups but not a blog hop. I will have to try that.
If you can find the right fit for you, its definitely worth trying at least once.
Great tips! With blogging and growing your brand… you have to give much to receive much! 🙂
Absolutely!
These are all really great tips! Definitely with you that it takes a lot of time, but it’s so rewarding! :]!
Blogging is lots of fun and definitely rewarding.
These are such great tips. I agree most with the commenting. It takes time but if you put in the time it makes it worth it because typically people will return the nice gesture and even if they don’t it’s ok too. But I bet it might not be as often that you return to that blog. Thanks for the post!
I absolutely agree! If I comment on a blog several times and never once have that blogger visit mine, it makes me think a bit about continuing to read their blog.
Great post, I pretty much agree 100% with all your tips!!!
Blogging is such a two way effort, I know every blogger dreams their posts will go viral, and I believe it can happen to anyone. But I believe for the most part, most of us have to put the work in first to build our blogs, which pretty much is listed perfectly in your advice above!!!
I am so glad you joined up with us! I am not just saying this, to say it, but your one of the blogs that I’ve gotten to know so much better in the hop, I enjoy following you and totally plan on continuing it long after this hop is over:)
Thanks Kristy! Means a lot! I added your blog to my Bloglovin’ feed the other day and look forward to keeping up with your blog once the blog hop ends.
Great tips! I think networking is key…it took me a long time to be a regular commenter, but I started out with trying to coment on 3 blogs a day, it was a great way to ease into connections for a shy blogger like me. 🙂
3 a day is a great place to start so that you don’t feel overwhelmed.
Great tips! I love the link ups and this hop for finding new blogs. I also think commenting is great and sends traffic over. I have met lots of great bloggers through ambassador groups, too and at local meet ups.
I too have met some of my favorite bloggers through ambassadorships.
Those are all great tips, especially the one about commenting on other blogs. I’ve been blogging for five years and have found that there are bloggers who, for whatever reason, won’t come visit your blog even after you’ve commented on theirs a trillion times. There’s also those that are very kind to return the favor and almost always come over to comment back.
I hear ya, Terra. When I comment a lot on somebody’s blog, and they never return the favor, it makes me rethink whether or not I will continue to read their blog.
Wonderful summary of what I’ve been learning from the Blog Hop this month! I will tweet this – and maybe I’ll pin it, too. I’m still a bit vague on Pinterest, but I’m trying!! I would like to get involved in a linkup, but I’m not quite sure how…do I just show up? I’m still so new to this…
Link up etiquette says that you should mention the link up and the hosts in your blog post, and visit and comment on their blogs. But yes, you don’t have to ask for permission in advance to join. Just write a post that meets the weekly theme.
Always appreciate your tips! I know there’s a lot more I could/should be doing to grow my blog via networking, and plus, it really is fun to connect with fellow bloggers. Thanks for the little boost of motivation! 🙂
You can do it! 🙂
Joining this blog hop has definitely helped me with the commenting. It’s the area I struggle with most. Well networking in general is really kind of tough for me. Thanks for all the great tips
You’re welcome!
Great tips! I need to work harder at remembering to post links to blog posts I like on social media.
I do it when I read the posts instead of trying to remember to go back and do it later.
Great tips! Definitely something to keep in mind as I try to grow my network.
Love your tips for networking, Kathryn! I found your blog through the Friday 5 link up when I first started blogging. I really need to link up again and keep forgetting to – there are so many great bloggers who participate.
Joining the blog hop has been a great experience for me. Although, it has definitely pointed out my weaknesses! I still struggle with comments. I have a tendency to comment on the same bloggers and friends. I know that growth happens from branching out but with limited time for blogging, I struggle with reaching out to new blogs. I’m glad to have this opportunity but with life and then a vacation this month, it has been a little stressful to keep up with things. And, your tips are so great too!
I definitely need to join more link-ups and blog hops. These are great tips!
Great tips, Kathryn! I love linking up with other bloggers, and I’ve enjoyed this blog hop. I think that it’s important to remember that we’re part of community and it’s important to support one another. Keep up the great work!