A friend and fellow blogger recently expressed disappointment that his blog readership hasn’t grown. He’s been blogging for about five months and gets 15 to 20 hits a day. I commented on his blog and gave him some advice. He suggested I post the comments for others to see.
From what I remember, I think I went through a similar period after the first month. I wondered if I’d ever build up a readership. Before I started this blog, I wasn’t much of a blog reader. I read only one, a collaborative blog, because a friend joined it.
I went in with low expectations and was very flattered when one or two commenters stopped by. One of the advantages I had was I didn’t know about the big blogs that got 20+ comments and thousands of hits per day. After eight months in “business”, I average 350-400 hits per day; I got 500+ hits a few times, though I can’t remember for which posts. I appreciate every one of them.
You never know who’s reading your blog. Imagine my surprise when I found out that someone like Michelle Malkin was reading. And yesterday, I got a call from an editor I worked with once at the Philadelphia Inquirer. They do a weekly blog showcase and wanted permission to excerpt part of the Kerry post on abortion, particularly this paragraph: “Our laws are grounded in moral absolutes, whether secularists think so or not. I don’t know if Kerry believes abortion is murder….”
Having a purpose for blogging definitely helps. Mine was to comment daily from a Christian point of view. The blog is also a central location for my columns and articles, and a quick way for friends to find out what I’m up to.
My first piece of advice for bloggers trying to build a readership is to blog because you like doing it. Here’s the comment I posted on my friend’s blog:
I’d advise you to submit your blog to all the blog directories out there (Blogwise, Weblogs Compendium, Weblogs.com, Eastonweb portal, [Globe of Blogs], etc.) and start linking to, visiting and commenting on other blogs.
Because I’m used to marketing my writing, doing the same with my blog came naturally. Until you build up a small following and get linked from a lot of blogs, it’s difficult to bring people to a site unless you have something very unique to say. Let’s face it; most of us don’t.
You could try writing an occasional column/article and submit it to conservative or computer (programming) [his profession] web sites. Many of my early readers came to my blog because my work appears on several sites, and I make sure my blog address is in the tagline.
What is unique about me? Well, I’m a conservative, Christian, outspoken black woman with an edge to my writing. That stands out. What’s unique about [you]? Specifically, what’s unique about [you] that others would be interested in?
Do you enjoy blogging? If so, at the end of the day, that has to be the most important thing. You’ll drive yourself crazy wondering why you don’t get a lot of hits or comments. I’ve been blogging for over 8 months now, and I’m just now averaging 350-400 hits per day….
What’s your angle? Do you want to do politics, personal stuff or a combination? I’m no expert, but when I created my Corner, I knew it was going to be an extension of my column. Politics. I don’t write about my faith enough, but that’s one goal I have in mind for the site.
One final thing. I’ll repeat what I said in the opening. Visit other bloggers, the ones you don’t usually frequent, and start leaving comments. It takes a lot of time because like many bloggers, you work and have a life and try to find time to blog. Take some blogging time and use it to leave long, thoughtful comments on other blogs. I try to do that at least once a week. I’ve been added to many a blogroll that way.
Keep blogging for yourself first and they will come!
Additionally, bloggers who want to attract readers should participate in showcases, such as the Christian Carnival and Carnival of the Bush Bloggers.
What advice do you have for bloggers trying to gain a readership? Specifically, what keeps you coming back for more?
