Getting readership and building a brand

[merlot105]

Hi,

I'm generally new to blogging. I'm trying to create a blog that will allow me to "rub elbows" with other people out there in the blogosphere with the intent on possibly exchanging links/blog posts with other bloggers and businesses. My blog is: Substance Trumps All | The entanglement of entrepreneurship and happiness. It's new and doesn't have much content on it yet. Still, I'm wondering how I can build a decent readership, and also, how I can also meet other like-minded bloggers. When I say "meet", I mean through the internet of course. Your help would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[sarahfriedlander]

First, congratulations on starting off in the blog world! In order to build a good readership, the first thing would be to start populating your blog with content and on a regular basis. This will show your reader that your blog is a priority and that they should visit, subscribe to read your content and that you will be posting new information with regularity. The more content that you post the more your chances increase to appear in search results.

In addition to just posting, let other people know about your blog. Posting in a forum like this is a great way to let people know about your blog and build readership. There are many entrepreneurial types of forums that could also benefit from you informing others about your blog. Also, places like Quora are a great place to interact with other like minder potential readers and let them know about you. And finally, reach out to other blogs that are in the same spectrum - you can even ask them if they would link back to your site, or possibly you could write a guest blog post on their site. This would allow you to let their readership know about you and what you stand for.

Good luck!

[merlot105]

Sarah - thanks so much for all the help! All of it is much appreciated. As far as continuing to post content on my blog - I'm very passionate about the subject and I'm always thinking about it, so you can rest assured more quality content will be added. As far as quora goes, I've heard about it but haven't used it yet. From my research, it seems like another Q&A site. Am I wrong? How does this fit in the world of blogging?

Thanks!!

[KristineS]

The first thing to do is to keep creating content.
Second, write an About Me page for the blog or take it off the site. Right now it just has the boilerplate text. I'd recommend writing something. People like to know a little bit about those who write what they read.
Third, find blogs that are dealing with the same subject matter that you are. Comment on those blogs, substantive comments, not link drops. If something someone says on another blog really strikes a chord with you, write a post on your blog including a link to the content on their blog that inspired you.
Fourth, consider setting up accounts on Facebook and Twitter. That can be a good way to publicize a blog.
Fifth, be patient. Building readership takes time. Lots of time. Every blog out there that's a blockbuster was patiently nurtured and written over a period of years. You have to put in the time.

[Zman]

Congrats on the Blog! I totally agree about the content creation. Space it out. If you get in the mood to write, create a couple posts and "schedule" them so you don't post more than one or two posts in one day. This is easy to do in Wordpress. Also I would recommend two free plugins (if you don't know how to find plugins just send me a message and I will be glad to help). The first one will create a "Privacy Policy" page (you need this) for your blog. It is called "Easy Privacy Policy". It will instantly create a privacy policy for you. The second plugin is "Google Analytics For Wordpress". You will have to create a free Google Analytics account but you should have one anyway so you can see where your traffic is coming from. This plugin will link your blog to your analytics account.

If this all sounds a bit much let me know. I can walk you through it pretty fast.

Congrats and good luck!

[merlot105]

Thanks for all the help guys. Wordpress already has a "stats" page where I can view all the needed info about my traffic. If I find that it's not enough, I'll add Google analytics. Obviously, I will be adding much more content to come as well as an "About me" section. I guess there's nothing better than reading other blogs and commenting on ones that strike a chord with me. Also, contacting bloggers with similar interests seems like something that will help me meet people in the blogosphere.

[jacksarlo]

To build decent readership 3 things you need:

1) Quality content, posts not written in 5 minutes, but those that provide REAL value...
2) Good blog design, you want the look & feel to be good and easy to use (navigation, categories, etc)
3) Traffic

You also once you have setup your blog and have some good content on it immediately ask for blog link/post exchange,
you don't have to wait.

[SWAMP80]

Congratulations on your blog! It can be such an exciting and rewarding endeavor and we wish you the best with it. Definitely consider LinkedIn Groups and Twitter to promote your posts. By sharing your content you can build readership and your own reputation while positioning yourself as a thought leader in the space. Of course, it's like a cocktail party, and you don't want to talk just about yourself or your content so always be sure to offer things beyond that. For example, answer other peoples' questions in entrepreneurial groups on LinkedIn, share other content besides your own, etc. Also with Twitter, try finding related chats and search for people talking about related subjects - engage in conversations. By creating your persona online as a thought leader you'll gain more followers and loyal readers. Best of luck to you!

[marrick]

What I usually do to get readers to my blog is to follow the people who share the same interest with me through social media. I like, share, tweet, or whatever it takes to share their posts and make them notice that I am interested to what they share. That way I can build a relationship with them and by the time I share something about my blog, chances are good that they can notice it and share it too. That way, I can get readers to my blog.

[LeadMaster]

Fifth, be patient. Building readership takes time. Lots of time. Every blog out there that's a blockbuster was patiently nurtured and written over a period of years. You have to put in the time.

Patience is one of the most important aspects of building a blog. If you question your dedication to the subject of your blog right now then it is ideal to think about what you will be committed to over the long haul because building relationships and obtaining steady traffic does take time. There's no use in working hard to get a blog going right now only to abandon it within a few months!