10 ways to find readers for your blog

In January I started this blog. By February I couldn’t imagine my life without my blog. It is fair to say that I have fallen head over heels in love with blogging. When I first started, I really didn’t have a clue about finding readers for my blog. I wrote that first post, hit publish, and waited. Well almost. I think the wait was probably disturbed by some demands from the threenager!

I first realised what I needed to do after Chloe Madeley retweeted my blog. Suddenly, I had people reading my blog. I then realised that readers were not going to come and find me! Nope, I had to go and find them. So where did I find those readers?

• Linkys. I know I keep going on about linkys. I am practically obsessed with them! They really have made a massive difference when it comes to growing my blog. I try to join in with one linky a day. You should always comment on the hosts posts and then some linkys insist that you comment on the post before your own. Make sure that you use the hashtag whilst commenting. I normally aim for commenting on at least 5 blogs. However, I often find myself reading loads more and commenting on tons. It is a great way of discovering new blogs.

• Be consistent. Blog on the same day everyday of the week. That way your readers will come to know what days they can find new content on your blog. Now this is a controversial one - you might also want to try blogging everyday, just for a short period of time. This will help get your blog out there, especially if you are a new blog. You are also creating good evergreen content.

• Twitter is a fantastic resource. Use it to promote your posts. However, don’t just focus on your posts. It is a great way of interacting with bloggers and sharing the love. Everyone loves a post retweet. In the words of Craig David -

“Can I get a rewind?” Bloggers say “can I get a retweet?”

Oh, just me then? Awkward. I need to work on sharing new posts on twitter. I often forget to promote it more than once. I also use evergreen for my old posts. What I will say is that I have an evergreen tweet that goes out at 10:37 and that gets the most reads. I have also read that tweeting a post at 1pm is a good time and also just after the school run between 3 and 4pm.

• Guest posts. Getting your blog out there via another blog or website can introduce you to a whole new audience. There are a great range of blogs that offer you the opportunity to write a guest post.

• As I mentioned earlier, my break through moment came when I tweeted Chloe Madeley. I asked her if she would like to read my post because I had featured her. She then liked it, said some kind things, and shared it with her followers. Therefore, if you feature a person or brand, I would always tweet them to let them know. They then might share it with all of their followers.

• Instagram. I don’t really use Instagram to promote my blog. However, I have found readers via Instagram using hashtags for different communities. Two great ones that I have been using are #worldoflittles and #littlefierceones. If people like your photos then they might like your blog. Make sure you have a link for your blog in your Instagram bio.

• Respond to comments. Now if you are getting loads and loads of comments, then this isn’t always going to be possible. However, if you are just starting out (and you have the time), then it is great to respond to all of your comments. It shows that you appreciate the time someone has taken on your blog and it is a nice way of developing a relationship with your readers.

• StumbleUpon is a great resource and can really help increase your viewings. I would like to say that I know how it works but I really don’t. One minute I am in stumbling heaven and getting loads of views, the next minute I am languishing with only a couple of views. I have a love/hate relationship with this platform. One minute I am hopelessly in love with the idea of it and then the next I really can’t be bothered with it. This is probably my problem- I should be stumbling frequently. Stumble any blogs that you like. StumbleUpon likes lists, anything with nice pictures, bullet points or numbers. I will say that StumbleUpon can be great for inspiration. I have had some great ideas after a half-hour of stumbling.

• Email signature. Amy from Mr and Mrs T Plus Three told me this one. You should have an automatic signature with your blog address. That way every time you email someone they will see that you blog. This has been really effective for me.

• Get yourself in the media! I was recently on BBC Radio Jersey and this helped get my blog out there to all of the BBC Jersey radio listeners. You could offer to write something for your local paper. If you are feeling brave then try to get on your local radio. The Huffington Post also accepts articles from bloggers. This has been good for sending some traffic my way.

There you have it! If you know of any other good ways of finding readers then please let me know in the comments box. I should also add business cards. They can be a great way of getting readers to your blog. However, don’t do what I did! I attended BML16 and then forgot to give out my cards - whoops!