Blogging Day 4 | Grow Your Blog Community

Do you remember Megan from MamaBub? She made some awesome Glitter Pumpkins during my 30 Days of Pinterest, and since then, she’s been playing along with the Adventures in Pinterest series. When I read Megan’s posts I feel like I’m sitting down with a girl friend over coffee. I love her book, TV, and travel advice, and her recent holiday crafts making me feel all warm and fuzzy, in a Christmas kind of way.

Several years ago, before I started my own blog, I read a number of other blogs. The thing that struck me the most was that there were all of these people, who seemed to know and like each other, having conversations in the comments. I was a new mom and struggling with the feelings of isolation that can come along with that. Eventually I bit the bullet, started my own blog, and waited for readers to pour in. I would be waiting a long time.

See, no one knew I existed. That was in the early days of Twitter, and I didn’t join right away. Facebook was still a place where I was only connected with friends and family, and Pinterest was just a gleam in someone’s eye. There are a lot of ways to drive traffic to your blog, new or old, but what I really wanted were those conversations. I wanted friends, people who could relate to my lack of sleep and my toddler who loved nothing more than to run away from me in public. The key is finding those people. But how do you grow your blog community?

Comments
Don’t let anyone tell you that commenting is dead. It isn’t! Sure, Facebook and Twitter have taken the place of some of those comments you might have once received, but the comments section of a blog is a great way to make yourself known and to start a conversation. Leave genuine comments when you have something to say, not just for the purpose of leaving your calling card. Sometimes one visit will inspire someone to come visit you. Sometimes it will take more than that. If you’re lucky, you will develop a sort of mutual admiration society, where you each read and like each other.

A great way to find other like-minded bloggers is within the comments section of blogs that you love. Visit their blogs and leave comments if something they say strikes you. Scroll through their archives and get to know other bloggers. Do you have a niche? This is a great way to find other people who are speaking your language.

Twitter
It’s hard to imagine building a community in 140 characters or less, but some of my greatest internet friendships have been fostered on Twitter. Do not just make Twitter a dumping ground for your linking to your latest blog post and your Instagram photos. Once again, start a conversation with people. The key here, and everywhere, is to be genuine and to be yourself. If your goal is to grow a community of people that you like to talk to, talking just for the sake of saying something will get exhausting quickly. Ask questions, give advice, or commiserate about sick kids or traveling husbands. Twitter can be overwhelming, so don’t try to catch up on everything you’ve missed during the day. The best advice I’ve heard is to treat Twitter like a cocktail party and jump into the conversation where you can.

Facebook
If you have a fan page for your blog you’re probably shaking your fist at the Facebook algorithm that ensures that whatever you post will only be seen by a fraction of your followers. That can make building a community on Facebook a challenging enterprise. This can be discouraging, but there are still steps you can take to create a community on Facebook. Sure, link to your latest blog post, but do more than that. My greatest Facebook engagement comes when I ask a question about something people want to talk about. Recently, I wanted to know more about a video game we were considering for our son, and I got some GREAT feedback from other parents.

Let me be clear about something. These aren’t strategies for growing your blog readership in 30 days. They can be, but you have to be clear about what your motivation is. For me, I have always been in blogging for the community, and while a community can be a lot of people, it doesn’t have to be. I love the friendships that I’ve made. I’ve had the opportunity to meet a number of these people in person, and call even more of them friends.

By no means do I think you should start doing all of these things now. Pick one area to focus on. I find that to some extent my communities overlap in all of these areas, but I’ve made my strongest connections on Twitter. That won’t be true for everyone. Find the area that you’re most comfortable in, and focus there. Finally, don’t spread yourself to thin. Focus on quality connections, rather than giving yourself a daily quota.

I look forward to Megan’s posts on MamaBub. She’s getting all kinds of crafty this holiday, and you need to see these posts. If you’re going for a more handmade holiday this year, here are some suggestions for great homemade decor and gifts, and I love love love this wee Christmas tree that Megan made.