January 10, 2011

This Blogger’s Dirty Little Secret and What You Can Learn from It

I’ve been carrying around a dirty little secret for a while now that I must confess: I barely read or comment on anyone else’s blog unless I’m researching information for my own post.

*Ducking as tomatoes fly*

I know. It’s horrible. I’ve been living in a selfish blogging world. But my goal in 2011 is to break this dirty habit.

It’s not that I don’t really appreciate the readers of the BCI blog (because I do!).

It’s not that I don’t aim to always create value for you, the business community. And it’s not that I don’t love when people leave their feedback on a post.

Finally, it’s not that I’m not grateful for all the awesome blog posts out there that help build a stronger Internet marketing community.

So, why am I selfish? A woman named Janet Jackson once said, “What have you done for me lately?”

I have a 90-pound monkey of guilt on my shoulders that I know won’t scamper until I start being more social and helpful, not just to our readers, but also to the Internet marketing and blogging community as a whole.

First, let me tell you about some ideas I had on how to build community around a blog, and then I would love feedback on what’s worked for you.

Following Your Followers

Who are these people that follow you and do they engage in other social networks? If so, track them down, friend them, follow them, do whatever it is that community deems makes you connected.

While you’re at it, send them messages on that social network, let them know you saw their comment on your blog, you appreciate their voice. This shows you took the time to find out who they are and that they are valued.

This one step can help bridge the gap from your blog to other communities your readers participate in. And after all, that’s who’s important.

Promoting Your Followers

Keep a log of all the people who are actively engaged with your blog — their names, their websites, their blogs, etc. You know, the people who either tweet your posts on Twitter often or comment on your posts in the blog – the people who you have come to know by name.

And aside from the obvious of replying to their comments or thanking them for their tweets, the question is: How can we do something extra for these people? Is there something we can help promote for them in turn?

For example, perhaps they left you a really great comment, and you want to tell all your followers on Twitter that this person did so. Mention the person, give the accolades and link back to the comment.

Or, maybe they are launching a service you think is valuable. Tell people about it. It’s that simple.

And of course, always cite your sources in your blog posts. If you got a really great idea from someone, include a link back to that post through anchor text in your content to give them credit.

Reaching out to Your Followers

Once you start keeping track of who your peeps are, you’ll begin to notice waves of engagement. You might have a reader who consistently comments for months at a time and then disappears.

It’s then that you can reach out to those people and tell them that you miss hearing from them on your blog. This is how you build relationships.

In fact, I can think of a handful of people I could do that to right now.

You can also use your followers as a sounding board to discuss ideas for new posts. Everyone loves sharing ideas and if it can help either one of you create the next best blog post, great!

Talking with Your Followers

Guess what I love. I love when people actually take the time to comment on our blog posts. So I get frustrated with myself when I don’t do the same.

Any comment is a form of outreach, whether they stopped by to just say “Hi” or added their own perspective to the story – whatever it is, they took the time out of their busy lives to let you know they were there.

A comment can add such a valuable touch. I’d personally rather have meaningful conversation with people than just see a traffic report in analytics to gauge success, because this is why we blog — to make meaningful connections.

And I don’t know about you, but blog comments can sometimes mean more than just a tweet about your post; 1) Because it takes more effort to comment than tweet and 2) Because you know they made it through your barrage of words and got something out of it. And that’s special.

So, why not do the same for them?

If they have blogs, go there. Read them. If you find a post you like, comment on it. Then, go to that person’s social network and your social network, and tell other people about it.

Managing Your Time Managing Relationships

How much time will it take to do all this? Depends on how many people are active in your community and how many other bloggers you want to start building relationships with.

I suggest setting up daily, weekly and monthly task lists. For example, what are the items that you can do quickly either first thing in the morning or at the end of your day?

You know that you can probably track down new people who have commented on a post quickly on Twitter or whatever social network they are on. So, this could be a daily task.

Some of the more in-depths tasks might occur weekly, like going through all the blogs of the people who commented on your posts and engaging in their turf.

And monthly, perhaps it’s your goal to set aside some hours to peruse industry bloggers that you haven’t made a connection with yet, and start forming relationships by reading, commenting and promoting their posts.

The business world has always been about relationships. But in the tight-knit world of bloggers and Internet marketers, networking and spreading each other’s knowledge is key to building community.

And now, I’m asking you insightful people once again to chime in and tell me and our readers how we can be better bloggers.

Please share your thoughts!

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15 responses to “This Blogger’s Dirty Little Secret and What You Can Learn from It”

1. Wes writes:
   

   Hi Jessica,
   I’m just as guilty as you are. Then I wonder why hardly anyone comments on my posts. I just (like 20 minutes ago) wrote a post about my goals in 2011, which is also along the lines of building a community around my blog, and not just writing helpful blog posts.

   @ January 10th, 2011 at 11:25
2. Jessica Lee writes:
   

   You just made the first step! Congrats! Keep it up and let me know what is and isn’t working for you, K?

   @ January 10th, 2011 at 11:29
3. Wes writes:
   

   Will do!

   @ January 10th, 2011 at 13:42
4. wasim ismail writes:
   

   Linking and connecting with your follower is important, as they will start to spread your word, and before you know it, its like chine wisppers, everyone knows about you, if its done correctly.

   @ January 10th, 2011 at 16:04
5. Michael Seals writes:
   

   As a reader of blogs I rarely leave comments, even when I feel one is necessary. Kind of digest content and move on, but like yourself I plan on commenting more especially on the blogs I read most often. Someone has taken the time to write content for people like myself so why not take the time to let them know what I think?

   @ January 10th, 2011 at 18:00
6. Anthony writes:
   

   Any business, including blogging, is about relationships and building good meaningful relationships is harder via the written word. I’ve read a couple of your blogs and they come across in a very conversational style – so easy to relate to. I’m trying to learn that skill.

   @ January 11th, 2011 at 04:37
7. Boise SEO writes:
   

   Great blog post Jessica, I tend to read blog posts that are up to date, useful, and funny (well, not funny, just not boring). I’ll go one step further than Wes. You can check out my blog posts at http://www.seoforidaho.com/blog
   We have some pretty good posts out there as well.

   @ January 11th, 2011 at 08:36
8. Jessica Lee writes:
   

   You’re so right about this. I think it’s really about connecting with followers. People want to support their friends and colleagues. Thank you for joining the discussion!

   @ January 11th, 2011 at 09:45
9. Jessica Lee writes:
   

   I’m with you. If it’s good enough to read and you got something out of it, why not take a couple extra minutes to leave a comment. And thank you for yours!

   @ January 11th, 2011 at 09:47
10. Jessica Lee writes:
    

    Hi, Anthony! I’m glad you can relate to our blog! Thank you for telling us.

    Conversational style is definitely something that is learned.

    Believe me, I had to push myself coming from a very corporate setting where it would not have been acceptable to talk to our audiences in a conversational manner.

    So, it just takes practice. Just start mimicking the style of the blogs you like.

    Try writing something in a way that comes naturally and go through and make tweaks to it to make it more conversational.

    Have a great week.

    @ January 11th, 2011 at 09:51
11. Jessica Lee writes:
    

    Thank you! I’m so glad we don’t fall into the boring category (at least I don’t think we do, because I see you keep stopping by). The minute I stop hearing from you, I’ll know I need to step it up.

    @ January 11th, 2011 at 09:53
12. mark rushworth writes:
    

    To be fair im struggling with my blog. keeping engagement high is a priority but despite getting around 300 hits per day i usually only manage a 1% comment conversion which is a bit weak!

    @ January 12th, 2011 at 05:16
13. Jessica Lee writes:
    

    Hi, Mark! It’s a big job, I feel you. That’s why I think it’s best to be included as part of operations so it doesn’t slip. Of course, I haven’t begun to take my advice yet but it’s on the schedule for Friday!

    @ January 12th, 2011 at 09:25
14. Heather writes:
    

    Hey there, Jessica!

    I’m in the same boat as you. No excuse…just got very lax about syndicating others’ posts and connect with my readers. Thankfully, that has started to change recently.

    One tip to help share the love with your readers: if you are using WordPress.org for your blog, I highly recommend getting the CommentLuv plugin. When people post comments, their latest post on their own blog will appear below their comment.

    Keeping up with your readers and syndicating posts can be a daunting task if you aren’t organized in your approach. Just start with small steps and block time off in your schedule to focus on this particular task. Eventually, it will become habit and you’ll be able to grow your fan base at a fantastic rate!

    Thanks so much!

    Heather

    @ January 15th, 2011 at 09:36
15. Jessica Lee writes:
    

    Hi, Heather! That’s a great suggestion, thank you! It’s a cool plugin. The only thing I would add is that if you have time, hand-selecting and promoting content can give that personal touch that can sometimes mean a lot.

    @ January 17th, 2011 at 10:09