Boost you Blog // 4 Ways to Interact with Blogs you Love

Hello all! I hope your week is turning out lovely.  Today as a part of the Boost your Bog series here on Five Sixteenths I wanted to share with you 4 ways to interact with blogs & bloggers you love.  You may be thinking, "How will this boost my blog, Moe? Won't this boost the other blog?" 

Yes, yes it will boost the other blog.  But that is good for you! Here's why: If you are interacting with blogs you love, the blogger behind that blog will notice you & pop on over to your blog.  They may find something they love & start to follow you, leave you comments, or mention something they've found on your blog. 

Here are 4 ways you can interact with a blog you love -

Be an active commenter // If you love the blog & the posts, let them know!  Comment on the posts you love leaving a genuine message for the blogger.  We love comments, as I am sure you know because you love comments too! I know that if you leave a comment on my blog I try to go peep through yours.  Sometimes I end up finding AWESOME stuff where I have to comment.  If I think we have a lot in common or I want to keep learning about you, I'll also hit that little button called follow.  See how that works? By interacting on someones blog you'll in turn have them interacting with yours.  Pretty cool, eh?

Linking to a relevant post in your comment //  This totally just happened to me so I had to throw it in here. I will tell you I am writing this post for you in advance so it is scheduled to go up (like most of my posts) & while writing it I got an email about a new comment on my LDR post.  This girl Amanda from Little Tranquility is awesome.  She linked to a post she thought I'd be interested in on here blog.  Boy was I ever interested.  I immediately sent her a note back telling her that she was telling my life story in that post.  I totally follow her now & made a genuine connection.  So, if you think a blogger would like to read a post on your blog relevant to the topic they've posted about, leave the link.  But again be genuine! Don't spam, it's not nice.  Don't shove your blog in people's face, it's not nice.  Don't leave a link in every comment on every post on their blog, it's not nice & sort of annoying.  But I am so glad Amanda took the time to share her post with me.  It made me feel special, that she thought I'd enjoy it & really let me get to know her better.

Tweet it, Tweet it real good //  Sometimes blogs have a pin it, or tweet it, or other social-media it at the bottom of their post body.  I know that blogger has a built in one on my posts but I'd eventually like to add a widget that throws in my twitter handle as well.  If you find a blog post you love, tweet it to your followers! Be sure to mention the original blogger so twitter sends them a notification.  They'll see the notification and be like 'oh sweet!' then they'll head over to your profile & check you out.  Make sure you are public though!  If you aren't, your fave blogger won't see & your post will be left in the dust.  (For more awesome social media tips, check out CampfireChic.  That girls got some awesome sauce running in her blood)

Join the conversation // This is another one related to twitter & to instagram.  If you follow bloggers you love, talk to them.  Comment (nicely & genuinely) on their tweets & get into the conversation.  If they want to hear from you, give it to them.  Additionally, (like the second tip up there) link things to them that made you think of them. Anytime I see something related to sharks I immediately send it to Kaelah of LCH.  It's only happened once, but if I think she needs to see it I let her know! Same thing with Becky of Strumpets Crumpets.  Her little dog Mickey is just too cute so anything related to little white puppies, lambs, or even Halloween gets sent right over.  Getting to know someone on a social network makes you almost friends.  I love when people see things that remind me of them.  You may eventually build up a little twitter/instagram inside joke (I'm looking at you Kristin - cake, Judge Judy, & Dr. Phil).  After all twitter & instagram are a place to be social, not just promote your blog/shop/etc.  You want to appear to be human too.

Actively participating with the blogging/social media community means your name is going to more & more people.  See something you like, let them know!  You don't have to follow every blog in the universe but even if you stumble upon something from Pinterest or HelloCotton that you love make sure you let the blogger know.  Being genuinely interested builds friendships & not numbers.

On the Blogging 101 eBook front, I am making progress! I am so excited! May is almost over & I have just about finished the first section I wanted to talk about.  Because a lot of you commented on that post wanting to know how to make your own social networking buttons I thought I'd do a little eCourse on that.  So, if you notice to the left there after the sponsors there is a Take an eCourse link.  If you click through it (or click here) you'll see that there are 3 eCourses going to be available on June 1st....one about Social Networking buttons!

Do you have any tips for getting involved with blogs you love? 

Boost your Blog is a (most of the time) monthly feature offering advice & tips on creating a better blog, a better blogger, & better interactions around the web. click here to view more Boost your Blog posts.

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