Many of you who have happened on this post are probably already savvy bloggers. But, I stumbled upon this list of 10 tips for growing your blogging community in Susannah Gardner and Shane Birley's reference manual, Blogging for Dummies. Whether you are an expert or a "newb", you may like to have a read:
- Write. Garner states, "If you're writing actively in your blog, do the same thing in the comments you get on your posts by joining the conversations that start within the comments."
- Reply. Always reply to questions that are asked of you--either via email or in the comments.
- Visit and Participate.Garner suggests that bloggers join other communities that are related to the topic areas of your blog. In your comments on blogs in other communities, you may mention your site, but be sure to make your comments relevant to the topic at hand.
- Add Guest Bloggers.If you have regular visitors, you may like to invite them to write "guest blogs" on your site.
- Try Email and Newsletters. If you offer email delivery of some of your blog content, you may be able to attract readers who are not as technologically savvy.
- Track and Customize. Make note of which posts get the most comments. What do readers like? What are they interested in discussing? Knowing the answers to these questions can help you in generating additional blog posts.
- Develop Solutions. Pay attention to your blog community and be aware of the problems encountered by visitors. Attempt to be a problem solver.
- Check Your Code and Software. Make sure that your blog is accessible to all users. This means that it needs to work in all browsers, not just Safari or Internet Explorer.
- Have Contests. People love contests. If you are not generating enough traffic, run a contest. Offer free stuff.
- Ask Your Readers. Periodically write a blog post that asks your readers' opinions--like an opinion poll. A post like this may give you ideas for future posts, and could also generate additional readership.
The truth is that I am a bit of a "newb" to blogging. In my limited experience, I have been very surprised by the comments on my posts. Some of the posts that I thought would be "dogs" got the most comments. While some that I prepared very deliberately had little feedback. I have not offered a contest yet . . . maybe I'll try that sometime soon!
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