13 Days to go: Blogging in and outs - Part 2

Before I start on Part 2 of this series, I'd just like to point something out.

The countdown I have going in the title is the countdown towards the opening of the first ever Northside Makers Market that will be happening in Northcote, Australia. If you'd like to visit or learn more about this market, please visit the website for more info.

This is Part 2 of a little blogging tips and tricks that I will be posting over the next week or so.
New to this series? Read Part 1 here: Part 1 : Blogging, the ins and outs

Now let's get down to business.



Image by Koalazymonkey via Flickr


You have a blog now, you have a few posts. You still feel stupid. There's nobody reading it: no comments being left, no numbers scrolling on your traffic counter. Plus you think your posts are boring anyways. What's the point?


STOP!

Put a huge stop sign in front of all that negativity. That will be your number one reason for not having any readers! Get up from your seat and shake it all out. This is not a popularity contest. This is not high school. This is your blog and the number one thing you have to learn about it is that you reap what you sow.

Did you put in the effort to promote your blog? Did you drop links in appropriate places to ensure that people know about you? Back in the day where websites were few and far between, getting noticed wasn't quite as hard as it is these days. Now, there's more blogs, more personal websites, and even more pages on the internet than we could possibly fathom. If you don't do something that's going to make you stand out, what right do you have to expect people to pay attention to you?

So here are a few quick and easy hot-tips to get people reading:

1. Social Networking sites

Facebook, Myspace, Twitter: hate them? Too bad. They are really great networking sites that work. Set up linkbacks, set up fan pages, tell your friends on facebook about it all. You have to shout your name from the virtual roof top, and you have to shout it loud. Don't know how to work these things? Google and Help pages are your friends.

Or ask me. Email me and throw me your questions. I'm always happy to help. =)

2. Post constantly

Keep.on.posting : I cannot stress this enough. I don't want to have stumbled upon your blog and see that you only have 3 blog posts with the most recent one being 3 weeks ago! It makes me think that you cannot be bothered updating your blog. And if you cannot be bothered with updating your blog, why should I bother with reading it? Get into a habit of posting at least once every few days. You will form a routine, a habit and very soon you will be blogging spontaneously, or even planning up blog posts while you are away from the computer.

3. Give and Take

If you don't read other people's blogs and leave comments, just why should they return the favour unless you are some really awesome celebrity? And chances are if you are a hot and famous celebrity, you won't be needing these tips anyhow since your publicist would be the one getting the name of your blog out there. I know, I know. Leaving comments are a pain, a hassle, and troublesome. I used to be a lurker as well, and never bothered to leave comments. As a result, I didn't get any back. You can't expect something and not give the same back in return. Show the love to others, and they will show the love to you as well.

So start today, start now: leave a comment on this post and you'll be well on your way!



Image by Martin Deutsch via Flickr

4. Interactive content and incentives

People want to be able to get something out of everything. It's how the way the world works now: we are all terribly materialistic. So once you have gotten into the groove of blogging, start coming up with interactive content to involve your readers.

Kirsty from Kootoyoo has the perfect example of this: she keeps a growing list of creative spaces on her site and encourage people to show theirs as well. She picks her favourite creative space with the winner getting a featured spot on her sidebar. People start going back to her blog to add to the list and check out other people's links. It involves people, gives them ideas for blog posts and is creative at the same time.

You can also post up polls and surveys. Ask your readers what they think of something. Should the focal in this necklace be red or blue? Should I sell this or keep it for myself? Readers are people too, and we all love for our opinions to be heard.

Giveaways are also a popular way to involve the reader. I don't really think I need to elaborate more on this as this is pretty self-explanatory. Be careful on having too many giveaways though: people will just end up coming to you with the idea that they can get free stuff out of you instead of actually buying something. So unless that is your intention, try not to overdo the giveaway idea.

5. Photos, photos, photos!

Try to always have an image to accompany your wall of text. People love to look at photos and pictures plus they help to add some colour to your blog! Often if I see a wall of text, I start skimming and eventually stop reading. So have a photo to break it all up, and try to find photos that relate as well!

Of course there are other ways to promote your blog and obtain readers. But the above 4 are amongst the most basic of them all, so ask yourself: Are you doing these?



Image via Andrew Mo via Flickr


Part 2 will end here, I hope this has helped even a little bit in any way or form! Do you have any other tips to share on how to bring the readers in? Please do share your thoughts if you have any!

My next segment in this series will touch on the blogs from the perspective of a reader.

Stay tune for more, and I do welcome feedback! I love getting comments so please do leave some. I check back on your blogs via your username as I love to follow new blogs and read them. So if you don't leave a comment, I don't know where your blog is to follow =P

13 Days to go: Blogging in and outs - Part 2