Guest Post by: Elena Rosa Brown
Communities are so important to blogging. Let’s be honest that blogging camaraderie is why most of us got into blogging in the first place. And it can be awfully disappointing to pour all that effort into crafting posts and creating good content if no one’s around to join in. It’s like throwing an awesome party and no one showing up. No blogger wants that. So how do you get people to your party and build a better community?
- Make a genuine effort to respond to emails, tweets and likes. Did someone comment on your post? Comment back on their blog or facebook page. Did they write something brilliant or tweet a good tip? Go on and share that with your readers and followers. Go beyond the superficial and take the time to engage with your readers. Everybody loves positive attention.
- Celebrate others. You know how nice it is when someone tweets your content out of the blue? How often are you doing that for other people? It doesn’t have to be your followers either. Some of my best relationships have come from me celebrating bloggers I really enjoy following.
- Make it easy for people to comment. Guys let’s be honest you poured all that hard work into a post, let’s not put obstacles in people’s way if they want to comment or share your stuff. Do some research. How easy it is to comment on your blog across different browsers and devices? What’s the best, most user-friendly comment widget for your platform? What about embedding simple buttons to help people share your content (like share this or X)?
- Ask for help and advice. Questions are powerful hooks that help your readers know you’re interested in their opinions. Asking for help or advice is a great way to get conversations going. Guaranteed fact: everyone likes giving advice. So think of a post you could write that starts with ‘How do you…’ and watch the conversation fly.
- Talk about your life. I know this isn’t for everyone and that’s OK. But my more personal posts have been the ones to get me the most comments and have helped built up the most amazing friendships. Not keen to share? Why not use Instagram as a way of letting people behind the scenes?
Try these tips out and let us know how you get on!
