Before I was a serious blogger, I had a lot of time to visit other blogs. Much of my inspiration came from reading what bloggers had to say about faith, family, finances and various topics.
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| photo credit Recently a reader told me she was considering starting her own blog but wasn’t sure how she would be able to create encouraging content plus continue to learn from other bloggers. She asked me if I had any thoughts of the matter. |
Since I’m very slowly learning how to manage my time on the internet as a blogger, {it takes some serious focus!}, the only thing I could offer as “advice” {because I am so far from an expert in this area} is this:
You can be such an encouragement to bloggers as a reader, and sometimes you’ll find that’s even more enjoyable than having your own blog!
When I started writing more often, I didn’t have as much time to comment on or even read other blog posts. I wish I hadn’t gotten away from this, but it just happened. I’m trying to fit reading back in as much as I can, realizing that connecting with other bloggers is a good way to encourage friends and grow my blog as well!
What are some ways you can encourage bloggers and their readers when you’re not a blogger yourself? Here are a few ideas!
- Take the time to comment–even if you have to get through CAPTCHA ;). As a blogger, I spend much time writing many of my blog posts. I know that we don’t always have a lot of time, but if you feel that something a blogger says means much to you or has given you great practical advice, let them know! Even if it’s something simple like, “thank you for sharing” or “I’m going to use your idea to do xyz”, we bloggers appreciate it!
- Share your ideas in the comments. Bloggers and their readers love to hear different ideas or approaches to whatever the current post is about. For instance, when I posted recently about healthy snacks for traveling, I got so many great suggestions in the comments section!
- Share a post if you find it helpful! This can be done by “pinning” the post on Pinterest, clicking “share” below the post on Facebook to show it on your personal page or using various other sharing programs like Stumble Upon or Google+.
- Subscribe to blogs via email or RSS or follow on Facebook. All bloggers like to see their subscriber list go up, so if you are finding yourself continually visiting a blog for their content, why not subscribe so you can see each update? Also, because of recent changes to Facebook, bloggers posts aren’t shown to their readers as often. If you want to continue to see posts, click “like” or comment on a post so it will show up more often. Or follow this guide to add blog pages to a Favorites list!
- If you have a question or suggestion, ask! I love getting questions from my readers because it gives me ideas for future posts and challenges me to take a different approach to a situation that I’d never thought of before. {By the way, if you ever have a question or suggestion of what you’d like to see me write about, send me an email!}
Shared at The Better Mom, Women Living Well, Thankful Homemaker, Growing Home and Time Warp Wife.
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18 Comments on How to Encourage a Blogger {When You’re Not a Blogger Yourself!}
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Shared this on Facebook. :-) Something that I have found encouraging (although it’s from other bloggers), is when a well-known blogger takes the time to notice a small guy like me — even if it’s just a quick comment it’s really appreciated. So I just wanted to say THANK YOU for being one of those bloggers. It’s quite refreshing. :-)
You are welcome! :)
I think this is amazing!
Thank you for your post. I am here for the first time from women living well link up. Thought id say hey and thanks for your post. Now that I am a blogger I think about actually commenting on what I read from other blogs. I hadnt really thought about how comments make them feel until now sadly.
I never really realized I could comment on blogs until I became serious about blogging. Sometimes my friends say, “You mean you want to know what I think?” :) It does take time but I know we all appreciate it!
Love this…will share on my fb page….thanks!!!
I too have found as my blog grows, it’s hard to get the time to comment on others site…something I love to do so much… a balancing act.
Blessings!
Michy
Faithfully parenting Fridays linky party
I love this SO much because it really discourages me when I don’t see any comments…I do like seeing that people are reading my blogs but it still discourages me if I realize they aren’t actually commenting…it makes me think maybe I’m not writing well enough. Thanks for this post! :)
I read a statistic once that only 5% of readers ever comment on a post–so even if we get ONE comment on ONE post we write, that’s worth the time that it takes to write, I think :) Don’t be discouraged!
I am also guilty of working on my own blog and not stopping to read and comment on others’ posts. I have to remind myself of the Golden Rule: if I want people to read what I’m writing then I need to read and comment on what they’re writing.
Thanks for the great tips!
That’s a great point Keri, one that goes for those of us who are bloggers wanting to see other bloggers comment. Give and take!
Love this post! Lots of great tips. :)
What great tips Jenn, yes you have to take that extra time! I know this will help others asking the same question!
Excellent ideas…all of them. I don’t do a great job of keeping up with my own blog these days, but I still love to hear comments, suggestions and encouragement!
I also have an idea on how bloggers can encourage readers — make it easy to comment, to tweet, to pin, and to share on Facebook!
(Thanks for not requiring me to copy those crazy codes!) ;)
Great suggestion! I also appreciate it (as a reader) when bloggers respond to comments occasionally. As a blogger, I know how difficult (and sometimes impossible) it is to respond to every comment, but it’s discouraging to see bloggers not responding to any comments. Blessings to you, Jenn!
And here I am, not even having replied to any of these comments yet, Crystal! :) I also get discouraged when bloggers never respond to comments. But I guess I can’t know what’s going on in their lives at the moment, maybe they have a very good reason!
And busymomof10, that’s a great point about us bloggers encouraging readers–make it easy to share what we write! I’m still tweaking that process at my own blog…
Great post!
What discourages me as a blogger? No comments! Asking a question at the end of a post and not getting any answers!
So, you are so right! To encourage your favorite blogger, leave a comment, answer questions or give feedback and offer an alternative viewpoint (respectfully, of course), share her post on facebook, twitter or pinterest!! All of these really encourage bloggers to keep plugging along! :)