Blogging 101: Growing Your Readership

for other parts in this series, check out Getting Started and Next Steps.
once you have gone through the process of getting your blog setup and writing a few posts, it's time to start growing your readership and interacting with potential followers. there are a few things that i have learned along the way that have been immensely helpful and have made blogging such a fun and interactive experience. aside from generating content, my favorite aspect is connecting with my readers and building relationships with them.

be active on social media
one of the best ways to do this is to be active on social media. i can't stress enough how important this is, whether you're new to blogging or not. it's a great way for your readers to get an inside look into your life and to learn your personality a bit more. my social platforms serve different purposes. my Facebook fan page is where i share links to my daily posts and the occasional status update or quick story. i like to use Twitter to complain about the fact that it's still freezing cold in Chicago and share all the weird things i see while walking or riding the train. Instagram is for...well, you all know what Instagram is good for. i have the most follower engagement on Instagram, then Twitter, and then Facebook. i use Pinterest to pin my outfits or beauty tutorials, but that's mostly just for me to pin my own things. all that to say, if you haven't set up your social media accounts yet, you must! find some of your favorite bloggers, brands, or friends to follow and start interacting with them.

participate in link-ups or weekly posts
another great way to gain some readers and find new followers is to participate in link-ups or weekly posts that other bloggers have started. i host the High Five for Friday link-up every Friday where bloggers of all followings and categories can come to link up and share their five favorite things that they experienced each week. if you haven't linked up yet, you should! it's a great way to get your blog out there and to click through to find other blogs that you can follow and build relationships with.

advertise on other blogs
a great way to reach new people is through advertising on other blogs, especially those with similar and/or larger followings. for example, if you're a beauty blogger, you should find a great beauty blog to advertise on. every blogger's advertising rates will be different, so you'll have to see what works for you and where you're at. a good way to start advertising (if you're not ready to invest) is to sponsor swap with a blogger that has a similar size following and demographic as you.
*i'm planning to do a full post on advertising, so that will be coming soon!

attend a blogging conference or find a local blogging community
meeting other bloggers is a wonderful way to build connections and network in the blogging community. who knows, you could make a great friend through the process! i personally haven't attended a blogging conference (i'm hope to soon!), but know some people that have and absolutely loved it. it's a great place to learn some new things and meet some new people. plus, it's a lot easier to talk about all things blogging with someone that actually understands what you're talking about ;)
if you're not ready for a conference, do a quick google search to see if there's a local blogging community where you live. if you're in/near a big city, you'll certainly find some groups. it may be a bit trickier in more rural areas, but you never know! i definitely recommend making connections with people in your area. you can build a working (and personal) relationship that is mutually beneficial.

this is certainly not an extensive list of everything that you can do to grow your readership, but these a some steps that you can take to get started. they're all relatively easy and don't take too much extra work, so you should try one or two!

if you have specific questions, feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email!