Make the Most of Blogging Communities

Originally posted at ManiaRavings.com on October 25, 2007

Last week, I spent a little more time than usual on blogger communities like MyBlogLog, BUMPzee and blogcatalog, trying to fish for new readers and make new friends.

In this post I’m going to talk about what I have been doing and conclude with how it ultimately paid-off. These tips mostly apply to those new to blogging but seasoned bloggers can learn a thing or two as well !

Let me jump-in right away and remind you that it always takes time and dedication to lure people (from anywhere) to come and read your blog.Blogger communities make it a tad easier (than dating services) to connect to people and socialize because everybody has at least one thing in common which is “Blogging” !

I’ve had a MyBlogLog account from before I even had a blog ! But I never used it actively and not even after I began a blog. I naively thought that all I had to do was to list my blog and visitors would come!

Why commenting is still important

Most Blokesters may already be aware that one of the best ways to increase your blog’s presence is to comment on other blogs. New bloggers may not realize this right away and most are shy to comment, feeling that their comment might be dumb or might be ignored !

Your comments will always be read - whether good or silly, and a good input always has an impact. Besides, blogging is all about socializing - if you’re a hermit, you aren’t getting anywhere.

Now that’s only one side of the story ! For bloggers who are just starting out, it’s better not to leave those comments on your blog hanging and instead, try to reply to everyone of them. BlogBloke for example, takes the effort to reply to every comment and creates a warm feeling and leaves a good impression his visitors.

How does all that apply to blogger communities?

Normally, when you visit someone’s profile, they reply back saying, “thanks for stopping by” or something similar. That’s fine, they’re being friendly folk.

But you need take an extra step ! First, visit their blog (if they’ve listed one) and check it out. Then go back and send them a message on how and why you liked their blog.

Don’t stop there ! Take a look around in the neighbourhood and visit their friends blogs and their friend’s friend’s blogs leaving complements as you go along. You’ll get the hang of writing short and unique comments after you’ve done a few and you’ll have lots of fun doing it!

(Also you’ll probably be able to tell splogs from blogs and also if the entries on a blog are original or plagiarized).

Don’t forget to visit the new members. Welcome them to the community and put in a good word for their blogs too !

Yes this is time consuming but don’t get stressed out ! You’re out there to meet new people and to have fun getting to know them.

A bit of reality: only around 5% of those people who view your profile will also visit your blog ! Who said it was easy ?!

Also, I’d like to mention that MyBlogLog has a 20 message a day limit imposed to fight spam. But that does not apply when some one has replied to your message - because you’re engaging in a conversation.

Good profiles and honesty will get clicked

People take more interest in a profile page that is more complete and they will click on a picture that looks good. When I changed my picture on MyBlogLog, I noticed a considerable increase in the number of profile views. Enough said !

Be honest about who you are and what your blog is all about. Add tags that really describe you and your blog. I’ve seen profiles with tags spanning every word in the dictionary and listing blogs that are nor really theirs ! The biggest turn-off is dishonesty !

Your blog design is also an important factor that will determine the first thoughts of a visitor - should they stay and read on or should they leave. So clean up that clutter and make your entries more prominent.

Lastly, write quality posts to to keep visitors interested. Generally, quality improves with time and the number of entries you write.

In Conclusion

There is no magic formula for getting more traffic to your blog. What works for me may not work for you, so experiment and use trial and error to determine what strategy is best for you.

Either way, there is a good chance that you will see your name “in lights”.