Who reads them?
Who is going to read my blog?
This is the million dollar question. Who is going to read your blog? Actually you don't know. No one knows. But... don't leave it all to chance...
Below are some suggestions about how you can start to develop your readership (viewer vlog).
Does it matter who will read your blog?
The main beneficiary of writing a blog will be you. A chance to reflect and to take time out to think about things. An oasis possibly in an otherwise tumultuous world. The readers will come... if you follow some of the suggestions below those who your blog resonates with will find you.
Sharing your blogs on Social Media
Blogging is fabulous when used in conjunction with social media. Often we have lots to say about a subject but trying to cram this into a status update can compromise what we want to say.... or we are in danger of boring people who aren't that interested in the topic being discussed. So directing people off to our 'extended version' on your own blog is perfect... they might get hooked on your writing too!
A good idea is not to post across all platforms at the same time. Space them out a bit and thereby enable yourself time to reply to people who comment.
Many of your existing friends will be interested in learning about your blog and reading more about your views. We rarely get the chance to have long detailed conversations these days so giving people a deeper insight into how you perceive things that they can read when they have time can develop much deeper connection.
Don't forget Facebook Groups either. Use these groups with care though. Don't go spamming. If your post is relevant to a discussion or is a useful embellishment to a thread then use it for sure... There is a Facebook Group for the SW Herts Town Business Creatives where you can post too if it is relevant.
Twitter is a great tool for widening the conversation and engaging with new people. Often people say the same thing about Twitter as they do abut blogging in that they don't know what to say... well all you are learning about blogging applies to Twitter as well... Twitter and Blogging, together, are a powerful combination. It is also easy for people to share / retweet your blogs... so this can expand your readers fast. Note to self : Learn about twitter (you can do this on link4skills)
Google+
If you have a Google Account (if you have created a blogspot blog you will have) then do add your blog to the list of links on your profile. This is what people see when they click on the ABOUT link. It helps having links on other platforms linking back to your blog
There is also a Business Creatives Group for SW Herts here where you can post if it is relevant
Facebook Business Pages & Google Brand Pages
If you want to collect your posts together in one place on Facebook and Google so that discussions and commentary can be held on these platforms then it can be a great idea. Rather than tie up your own wall / timeline all blogs can be seen through the one page.
If your blog is business related then don't forget to create articles or status updates with your blog content on LinkedIn too. You can also make use of the SW Herts Town Business Creatives group to post your blog... if that is appropriate to do so. (Join the group if you haven't)
You can also create a special board to showcase your blogs on Pinterest. This is perfectly acceptable practice and is a great way to share your content to a whole different audience. SW Herts will have a complementary Pinterest Board where we will add all new blog posts to increase your visibility too!
Add your blog to your website
If you have a website already and your 'new' blog is external to your website then consider linking to your blog from the website. Clearly this is not essential and sometimes not appropriate or relevant. If however the content is complementary and people who use your products and services could benefit or deepen their relationship with you through tapping into your writing then it could be a good idea.
Let us get your blog added locally on this blog site for local bloggers
When blogging first started there were few if any social media platforms. Blog directories sprung up to enable people to find bloggers talking about subjects they were interested in.
Today Social Media has replaced a lot of blogging. In a way it has confused people away from blogging as they can talk about what they want on their wall.... after all... it is their wall. However... you have to be connected on the social media platform for people to see your posts and then you open up a whole new can of worms. Blogging is out there on the internet... anyone with a browser can read it... so it is very different.
GET YOUR BLOG LISTED HERE... so the reason for this mini website is to bring together stories from local people who have something to say who are already publishing but not enough people know about it... we can share a single local relevant much smaller directory of blogs from people we can actually get to talk to if their content and ideas resonate with us.
Feature in the local Community / Town Business Creatives newsletters for SW Herts
Each week in South West Herts we send out either a Community or a Town Business Creatives Newsletter. In each we now have provisioned to share recent and new blog posts from this SWHerts Blog directory.
So get blogging... we want to be able to feature as many local blog posts as possible as often as possible... these newsletters are going out to more and more local people each week so don't miss out.
(sign up to the community newsletter here ... and the town business creatives newsletter here)
Tell people who you meet, send them a link if interested
From this point forward when you meet new people you will find that sometimes the conversation will turn to blogging and your blog. Expect this and be ready with the link address. People are often interested to hear that you write a blog and it is a good way of them getting to know you better and do some background research about you.
Often the blog serves to corroborate the things you discussed and seeing it in the written word often has a much greater impact. You have put it out to the world publicly... that builds credibility. It is tiny things like this that help to build your integrity and inevitably leads to business if that is the purpose of the blog.
Add it to your online Profiles and your literature when next reprinted (write it on for now)
Take the time to go around your social media profiles and add your blog (as appropriate). It might not be relevant to do so... and not everywhere, depending on how you are operating online. Similarly if your blog is complementary to your business or groups activities, add it to your collateral artwork for when you reprint... and don't forget to add it manually for now.