Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Blogging: The New Challenge Part 2 Finding Readers

Blogging: The New Challenge Part 2

New Methods of Finding Readers

On Monday, we talked about the current reality of dwindling blogs and the loss of Google Reader. You can read about it in, "Blogging: The New Challenge Part 1." Today we're discussing how the current blog climate is forcing us to use new methods to find readers for our blog.



A few years ago finding readers for your blog was as easy as offering a few subscribing options in your sidebar, following other blogs, and sharing your posts on Twitter or Facebook.

Oh, how the times have changed!

As with all good things, there can be too much of a good thing. The blogosphere became flooded with aspiring authors. Many of them saturated Twitter with promotional links. Although I love sharing other blogs, I completely stopped sharing links on Twitter for several months. It felt like  noise. Twitter shouldn't be about shouting, "Buy this! Read that!" at other people. It should be about having a conversation, saying, "hey, you guys might like this post, I sure did."

Also, at one point I had eight different folders in Google Reader and each folder contained 20-30 blogs in it! I couldn't keep up, and I didn't bother trying. Occasionally I would click on a blog from my Facebook feed, but mostly I relied on Google Reader.

My blog reading changed about nine months ago. I no longer went to Google Reader--seeing over 1000 unread posts every time I went intimidated me. Instead, I found myself reading blogs I noticed on Google+, Facebook, and, sometimes, Twitter. I also clicked through pictures on Pinterest that linked to an intriguing blog post.

I can't speak for other blog readers, but here are reasons I read a blog.

1. The author is a friend. I put high priority on my friends' blogs. It's one of the ways I feel connected to them.
2. The title grabbed me.
3. The blog post was right there in front of me on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.
4. It was recommended to me.

How do I find the blogs to read?

1. It's linked on one or all of the social media sites I frequent.
2. Someone I follow shared the blog, and the title interested me.

Since Google Reader was eliminated, I no longer subscribe to a reader (with the exception of Blogger). This means that almost every blog I read, I found through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, or it's written by a friend.

Why is this information useful?

Many bloggers stopped feeding the link to their current blog post on Facebook and Twitter. But by doing this, they're losing me as a blog reader. I read 3-4 blogs every weekday, and I find most of them on social media sites. If your blog post isn't there, I'm not likely to read it.

Google+ confuses many writers, but it only takes a few seconds to share your blog post on the site. I read more blogs shared on Google+ than I expected to when I started using this service. Google+ does an amazing job with sharing. I can see the title, the first few sentences, and the photo for the post. The posts are easy to navigate.

Pinterest is another place to find readers. Edit a stockphoto or personal photo to include a "hook" to lead people back to your blog (see the photo above). If someone "pins" the photo, it's automatically linked back to the post. This is an easy way to tempt new readers.

Staying social online still has benefits. By taking the time to comment on active blogs, you increase your odds of connecting with the author, who in turn will be more likely to support your blog too. I made so many friends through blogging--I can't put enough emphasis on how this has added to my life.

As time passes, some of your blogging friends may seem to disappear. You might even find that the majority of your "core blog friends" have chosen to spend their time elsewhere. Be open to new blog friends. There are always up and comers out there. A few newer bloggers I enjoy are Lindsay Harrel, Jeanne Takenaka, Susan Tuttle, and the new Married...with Fiction (a group blog written by Jennifer Major, Becky Doughty, and Heather Day Gilbert).

Keep your eyes open to what other successful bloggers are doing to increase their traffic and find readers. Don't be afraid to try their techniques!

The other behind the scenes factor: SEO.

Another way to find a blog is by typing a topic in a search engine. If the search engine determines your blog is a match (through tags, keywords, labels--search engine optimization), your post will pop up in the results.

This is one reason I always recommend typing your author name into the "tag," "label," or "keyword" section. Every post you write will be related to your author name. Regular, frequent blog posts keeps your name and blog relevant with search engines.

When authors get published, they want readers to find their books. Readers might type the author name in a search engine (I do all the time). What does an author hope the reader finds? The author's website/blog, of course! From there, the reader should be able to easily navigate to find out about the author, what books she's written, links to buy the books, and a way to contact the author to tell her she's fabulous.

Type your author name in a few search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing...) and see if links show up leading a reader to you in one way or another. Ideally, you want your website/blog to show up as the number one result.

Blogging in 2013 is challenging. Authors have to get creative and keep an open mind about where a reader might find their blogs. Don't be shy about continuing (or starting) to feed your blog posts into Facebook, Twitter, Google+. You never know who might find your blog this way! And don't get discouraged. If you enjoy writing a blog, stay with it!

Do you have a blog? What challenges are you facing with it?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

25 comments:

  1. Great post, Jill! I do find my followers increasing slowly, but surely while posting on Facebook and Twitter and some Yahoo groups. I'm finding blogging a lot of fun, but also time-consuming.

    I have a feeling most of my followers/friends are other authors, though. Still, making friends can't be a bad thing, and I'll get to meet some of them at RT in a couple of weeks!

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    1. Susana, having authors as followers/readers is a good thing. We build relationships with authors and help each other out. Plus, besides being an author, I'm an avid reader. I love to spread news about books I love. I don't think having authors as readers is a negative at all!

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  2. Same thing. I noticed it's on the OUTs. That's okay though. I think other areas will take its place.
    Thanks for the tips, Jill! I didn't realize about the Keyword/Tag function and GooglePlus loses me completely.

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    1. Writers have a knack for finding the place where they are most comfortable networking online. Maintaining a blog might not be everyone's cup of tea, but having a "hub" that shows up in search engines is vital for authors. Using keywords with your author name helps your ranking in search engines. :)

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  3. I just got the coolest comment that reminded me of one of the biggest reasons I keep at it. So true we never do know who'll we'll be reaching with our words!

    Glad you're in this too, Jill!

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    1. Oooo, I love those comments that make it all worth it! Wonderful!! :)

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  4. Great post! At first, blogging was a struggle. But as I've continued, I've been able to improve my writing skills and, more important, find focus. Now I'm learning how to get the message out in the world-so thanks for the advice!--Mitzi @ writtenreality.com

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    1. Mitzi, I just read a great post about this very thing at the Books & Such Literary Agency blog this morning. You are right on track! I'll be checking out your blog!

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  5. Jill, these are wonderful tips! I've never used Google+ even though I'm on it. I'll check it out. Also, I must now go clean my bathroom. For real this time! lol

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    1. Cleaning the bathroom sounds magical, Jess. Come clean mine when you're done! Ha!! You don't even have to use Google+ to share your posts. Just click on the Google+ button in blogger and share it!

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  6. Oh, Jill, thank you so much for linking to my blog! You are awesome...such a supportive friend.

    I'm facing the same challenges as everyone else. I have fewer commenters but I'm also commenting less--I can't keep up, especially since I started my new job in January and teach online as well. You have some great tips here, though! I love reading little bloggy tech tips you give, like sharing on Google+. I appreciate you and your wisdom more than you know!

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    1. I love your blog, Lindsay, that's why I linked it! :)

      Comments never tell the whole story. Go to Blogger dashboard and pay attention to your Pageviews. That shows the big picture.

      Oh, and I read Cara Putman's blog at least once a week--solely because I see it on Google+. She got a new reader in me, just by linking it!

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  7. I too rarely share promotional links on social media because it feels like spam. I've also started to limit reading/interactions with blogs that are written in the same vein. I do, however, love connecting with writers who have interesting content and find those connections to be invaluable.

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    1. I feel the same, Johanna. For several months, I backed off of social media quite a bit, but I'm noticing more publishing contracts being offered by traditional pubs again, and I think the time is ripe to interact more online. Just my thoughts... :)

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  8. Hey - thanks for the shout out:) Love this post b/c I picked up two new things. First, I think I'm on Google+ by default, but I've never really checked it out. Think I'll try it. Second, I had never thought to put my name in my blog tags. Like I said, I'm kinda a backwards blogger when it comes to the author aspect, but still I understand the importance of the name recognition. That's a great tip, and so easy to do! Now I just have to figure out what to do about my name b/c there's already a Susan Tuttle out there:)

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    1. I'm laughing because adding my name in the keywords didn't occur to me for YEARS! It takes me a while to catch on... :) Adding your name in the tags of each post is super easy to do and effective!

      You might want to consider pen names. Do you comment on agent blogs? Books & Such Literary has a very interactive blog. The agents respond to many comments. Don't be shy about asking the question in a comment. I'll bet commenters and the agent of the day would give you suggestions. :)

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  9. Like Susana mentioned, I think the bulk of my readers are other authors--or personal friends. But I see that as a good thing. These are the people who understand the realities of the writing biz. These are the people who are going to be the biggest cheerleaders of my books. And these are the people I am excited to cheerlead for. So, I see it as a good thing.

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    1. Melissa, I couldn't agree with you more! What's so bad about having writers/authors as our main blog readers? Last I heard, most authors need help spreading the word about their books. We need advice. We need other blogs to promote our projects. And--we want to help our peers! Win-win!

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  10. GREAT words of wisdom here, Jill - thanks! I couldn't agree with your list more of why I blog and read others' blogs. Friends first - topic next. It goes downhill from there. :)

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    1. Thanks so much, Donna! It goes downhill from there for sure!! Ha!

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  11. Jill, thanks so much for the mention. :) Thanks also for being both a great encourager and instrumental in helping me set up my blog! This post is very helpful in so many ways. I keep hearing about Pinterest.....I guess I'm going to have to get on there sooner rather than later. ;)

    I agree with you regarding Twitter. I don't go on my page very often, because usually the Tweets are links elsewhere. I like your idea of expressing what you tweet when you do share a blog-link.

    And adding my name to the Tags. Thanks for that. Going to do that beginning today. Thanks for sharing your wisdom here today. It's oh, so helpful!

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    1. You're very welcome, Jeanne! I'm so glad you have a hub for us to go to now when we see you on the Books & Such blog! And I love your blog. :)

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  12. Jill:
    I enjoy blogging,like you, I have met so many wonderful people. I received a comment on Monday that makes all the time I spend writing and posting worthwhile. I have more followers than I did a few years ago. One thing is I have to look at page views to get a better idea of how many are reading.

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    1. That's so great to hear!! I love your devotions and I need to get over to your site again soon! :)

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  13. Oh, how helpful and wise this post is! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us, dear Jill. I am going to start implementing these ideas right away!

    With much gratitude,
    Jen

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I love to hear from you!