Want More Readers? Read More Blogs

This guest post is by Jeremy Myers of www.tillhecomes.org/blog.

Every blogger wants to be read. While some of the keys to attracting readers include writing valuable content, having error-free text, and using a clean blog layout, one of the most overlooked elements in getting people to read your blog is being a good blog reader.

Here are five tips to make this happen.

1. Read your own blog

Just because you’ve written a post doesn’t mean you’re done with it. After you post, you should read and respond to people who make comments on your blog.

One of the reasons people comment about your posts is because they want to interact with you, the author. If you do not reply, they feel ignored, and will likely not comment again. People will not continue to read what you write if you ignore what they write. The best bloggers out there try to respond to nearly every comment, even if they get dozens of comments per post.

2. Read your readers’ blogs

Another way to encourage your readers to keep coming back and commenting is to reward them by reading and commenting on their blogs. People like to be loved, and those whom you love will love you in return. Also, it helps to know what your blog audience is writing about. This enables you to write more targeted posts.

3. Comment on other people’s blogs

You should comment on at least five other blogs per day—more if you have the time. You should chose “target” blogs that you want to comment on frequently, ideally those that have similar content as your own. This gets the attention of the blog author and other blog readers, and some of them will come over to see what your blog is about. Also, if you comment enough, the writer of that blog may eventually add you to his or her blogroll, which will generate even more readers for your blog.

4. Repost excerpts from the blogs of others

When you read a good blog post, repost an excerpt of it on your own blog, providing a link back to the author’s blog. Don’t repost an entire entry—that’s plagiarism, and is illegal. But reposting a brief excerpt and linking back to the original is an easy way to get big-time bloggers to “guest” on your site, and if you use trackbacks, to get them to notice your blog.

Occasionally, they will even make a post on their own blog that you have reposted some of their content on your site, and that also sends traffic to your blog. Maybe that other blog author will eventually return the favor, and quote you on their blog, thus generating even more visits.

5. Repost the comments of others

Write an occasional post about the best discussion or blog comments you read that week. Include some of the comments people made on your own blog, as well as some from other blogs you read. If there is good interaction and dialogue taking place on a blog, either yours or some other blog, write a blog post about it. This gets more of your own readers involved in the discussion elsewhere, and frequently, they will mention that they found the discussion on your blog, which causes many of those involved in the discussion to come check out your blog.

Again, one of the reasons readers comment is because they want to be read. Nobody writes comments hoping they will be ignored. So show them you’re reading by replying and reposting.

A better blogger…

In today’s blogosphere, it is not enough to just write a great blog. You also need to read great blogs and interact with their bloggers in a meaningful way. This is the Golden Rule applied to blogging: Do unto other bloggers as you would have them
do unto your blog.

Do you read others’ blogs? Do you think it makes you a better blogger?

Jeremy Myers left the established church to follow Jesus into the world. Though he has advanced degrees in Bible and Theology, and over a decade of pastoral experience, he left all that behind to hang out with people who generally aren’t found in church. Jeremy writes about his ongoing journey at www.tillhecomes.org/blog. He also contributes Scriptural research at www.gracecommentary.com.