Why Support a Blogger?
You may think you’re not a blog reader, but every time you click on a link to an article on Facebook, go to a tutorial on Pinterest, find a recipe on a non-corporate website, etc. you are reading some blogger’s content. Social media has changed the audience of the blogosphere since blogs started. Many bloggers drive traffic from Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. It’s no longer just people who click “subscribe” who are interacting with a blogger’s content.
I started this blog a while back (almost a year ago!) but didn’t really start posting regularly until this spring. Since I’ve been focusing more on the blog, I’ve learned some things about how to make it “successful.” Success in blog-world is highly variable. There are people like me – who are just hoping their words aren’t floating around in cyber-space unread. There are people out there (also like me) who are trying to make a little bit of money. (Hopefully enough to break even on the blog upkeep!) And there are also people who use blogging as a full-time career. (Yes, it can be done!)
No matter the level of blogger you are supporting, there are some things you as a reader can do to help us. So why would you? Well, bloggers are creating the content you search for every day. Without bloggers, Pinterest would be a bore, your recipes would be solely from allrecipes.com, and you may never read some of the incredibly funny or touching tales written by people just like you. Without the support of readers, most bloggers would give up on the time, energy, and cost of running a blog.
So, What Can You Do?
There are quite a few ways to help support bloggers (both that you know and that are complete strangers!) You may not be aware of all of the incredibly simple things you can do to help us succeed.
Read Our Content
This one is obvious. But it’s also important! Some bloggers are out there just creating a virtual diary, but I’d be willing to bet that the vast majority are writing to be read. We track how many readers we get, and we can even see how long people stay on our pages. It is good for the blog when we a) get readers and b) get readers who stick around. If you click our link and don’t wait the 10 seconds it may sometimes take our website to load, it can actually hurt our stats and Google rankings.
This bullet, for me, is especially true when it comes to people you know who have started a blog. You might be surprised at what you could learn from/about people you know just by reading their posts. Don’t just scroll by when people share a blog, click on it and check it out.
Click the Links Within Our Posts
I’ve already mentioned how it can actually hurt if you click our blog post link and don’t wait for the page to load before you go. It can also look bad for our stats (in the eyes of ever-important Google) if people read an article and “bounce.” ‘Bouncing’ is when a reader leaves a website from the same page they started on. Bloggers (and Google!) want you to come and stick around for a minute. Of course we want you to click the links to other articles on our own blog more than anything, but it is also helpful if you click a link to an external source, creating an ‘event’ for us.
You don’t even have to want to read the next page, to be honest. But if you like the article you just read and want to support the blogger a bit, click over to another article that they’re suggesting! Do this every time you come to our sites.
Want to know what I write about? Check out some of my popular posts:
Book Picks for the Popsugar Reading Challenge – Part 1
And Click the Affiliate Links Within Our Posts
You may have been surprised that there are people out there blogging full time. It’s true, there can be some good money in blogging! But, where does it come from? One way that bloggers make money is by becoming affiliate marketers. This means that we can sign up with retailers and get a small (sometimes very, very small!) commission from sales referred by our sites. It does not make the cost of the items you are purchasing go up at all. Most sites offer commission even if the item you actually buy is not the item we recommended. They’re rewarding us for getting you to their site. So go!
I am going to be totally honest – there was a time in my life where I’d read a blog where someone reviewed or recommended a product, decided I wanted that product, and then chose to leave their site and just go straight to the retailer’s site myself. Shameful! (A bit dramatic…) But if someone recommends something to you that you’d like, whether it’s a book, cooking tool, or cute top, why not “thank” them by using their link to go buy it? The only way bloggers can afford to keep going with our blogs is if we end up with some financial support, so show your favorite blogges some love by using our affiliate links for your purchases!
Sign Up For Our Mailing Lists
Most bloggers want to do anything but spam you. Our mailing lists are super important to us, and we know nothing makes someone hit unsubscribe faster than us blowing up your inbox. I’m not suggesting that every time a pop up for a mailing list comes across your screen you should give it up. But if you find yourself visiting a blog 2-3 times and like what you read, give their mailing list a try. You will usually get updates on new posts, special offers, and sometimes “insider” content. You can always unsubscribe if it gets too much or you find the e-mails unhelpful or annoying.
You can sign up for mine here!
Share Our Posts
Shares for bloggers are invaluable. It doesn’t matter if it’s on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. If you like what we’re sharing, SHARE IT! Most blogs have buttons either at the top or bottom of every page and on top of every image to make sharing super easy for our readers. (Mine are at the bottom of each post, with Pinterest share buttons also on photos!) Shares are how we get new viewers, and people are more likely to click a link that someone they know is sharing than some random stranger. And did you know that these social media platforms choose which posts to share with their users based on how many interactions posts get? Like & share, y’all!
For bloggers you know, you could help us by sharing posts even when they don’t apply to you! I write posts for readers, parents, and crafters. Chances are, even if you don’t fit into those categories, you know someone who does! Share away!
*A note on ‘sharing’ with Pinterest – it can actually hurt us if you share our posts to irrelevant boards. So only share on Pinterest if you have a board that it makes sense to save it to! i.e. Don’t save our book reviews to your recipes board!
Leave Us a Comment
On the post, on Facebook, on Pinterest … You get the point. We don’t care where the comment is. They not only help in our stats, but we genuinely want to hear from you. I want to know what (if anything) you found helpful. I’d like to hear if you’ve tried something similar. If you have questions after reading – I’d like to answer them. Do you have a tip that would make our content even better? Share it! When we hit ‘publish’ on a post, we can see if people are reading it. What we can’t see from our numbers is how people are feeling after reading it. I’d like to know.
Follow Us!
You can follow bloggers on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any other platform that we’re registered with. This will accomplish two things.
1) You’ll be exposed to ALL of our content. Many bloggers share different types of posts on different types of social media. You can also see who we’re following and what we’re liking to give you even more inspiration.
2) Followers lead to more followers. When people visit a social media account, they’re more likely to follow an account that many other people have deemed worthy of following! When you follow us, it helps us too!
You can follow me with these links!
How to Find Bloggers
You can always check Bloglovin.com for an easy way to get exposed to lots of blogs at once. Another way is to surf Pinterest, and pay attention to the pages you land on. What kinds of posts are the people writing that inspire you to click their pins? If you like what you see, sign up for their mailing lists!
Who are your favorite bloggers? Let me know in the comments!