Blogging 101: Get Involved in the Community

I think that one of the biggest misconceptions that new bloggers have is that you can just start posting and people will read your content and follow you. But the thing is, a lot of people who are reading blogs also have blogs. And people like to have mutual interaction as a one sided conversation is awful.

I’ve had it before where I’ve tried to start conversation with other bloggers multiple times and they’ve completely blanked me. Not only does this make me feel kind of bad about myself, it makes me think that they’re not really a nice person (despite what their social media is trying to tell people). So of course I don’t really feel like supporting people who don’t care about people who are engaging with their content. And I know this is the same for a lot of people.

So, how do you actually go about being part of the community? Well first things first is finding other bloggers who have similar interests to you. This doesn’t have to be someone who’s blogging about the same things, but keep an eye out on social media! I have a lot of non-book bloggers on social, who I interact with a lot and I have actually formed friendships with some of them. Because we’re still interested in one another’s content, even though we’re not blogging about the same topic.

Commenting is Key

If you don’t have time to read and comment on blog posts everyday, I suggest putting time aside every week to go through and read and comment on other’s blog posts. Commenting not only shows that you’ve read their content (and please do read it because it’s very obvious when a comment is from someone who hasn’t read it), but that you’re taking time to engage with them about the content. Plus people love feedback about the thoughts they’ve thrown out to the expanse of the internet!

Don’t forget that you should also spend time commenting back to people who are reading your content. If someone’s reading all your blog posts, then they’ll be happy that you’ve acknowledged that and that you’re continuing the conversation. I like using the ‘Comments not replied to‘ WordPress plugin as it lets you know if you’ve missed a response.

Commenting on social media is also a great way to engage with and build yourself up in a community. If you’re replying to questions, asking someone about where they got their shoes, or just letting them know how much you love their content – they’re gonna take notice that you’re actively trying to start a conversation. Plus, people will then start engaging back with your content.

You can always ask for help

One of the great things about other bloggers is that pretty much all of us are willing to help. If you have any questions just comment it or send a private message and this often starts a conversation for you. I know it’s super hard to talk to new people (I truly hate it), but the community is always so eager to reply and to talk – and if the first person you reach out to isn’t, then they’re not worth yours or anyone else’s time.

Blogger Chats

Since January I’ve been purposely trying to join more blogger chats to get to know people a little better. I have chats on Twitter, Whatsapp and Instagram – and I know a lot of people use Telegram as well. These chats usually includes loads of blog links, but every so often we’ll have a large group chat about different things. For example blogger events that we may be going to, advice for one another, discussing studying.

Because of these chats I know have a few people that I talk to on a regular basis, both in the chat and individually because we’ve learnt that we have similar interests. Overall these chats are really good at networking with fellow bloggers, finding new people and engaging on a more personal level. This means that people will start to see you as part of the small community that you’ve got.

There’s also often weekly twitter chats publicly. These are super easy to join in with and it’s a great way to get involved with people already within the community. For example check out the LBloggers Chat or Blogosphere Chat!

Social Media Groups

Facebook groups are a great way to expand your network and also promote your blog. If you search blogging or blogger on Facebook you’ll be able to find multiple groups. There’s  regional groups, e.g. UK bloggers if you want to be part of a community that also meets face to face.

There’s also LinkedIn groups. I’m in the UK Bloggers group which enables me to see other bloggers who are also using their content as either a full time job or a stepping stone for their career. This one also includes PR people which is a great way to network and to be part of the wider community of bloggers who are putting themselves forward for opps. There’s often a difference between hobby bloggers and full time bloggers due to time restraints, financial issues and sometimes even interests.