Quick question--
Does anyone know how to target actual avid blog readers other than asking random people, who may or may not like reading blogs, to follow you (I see that a lot on here)? I ask because my mission isn't just to have a ton of followers, but to have people who actually read what's written.
Thoughts?
That's a tough one because I don't follow people to get them to follow me. I really spend time reading posts and follow when I want to keep updated about what they are writing.
It seems that there is a divide with bloggers in general. One set are interested in high stats and increasing numbers of followers regardless and the other set are interested in getting their posts read with hopefully people commenting and taking a real active interest etc.
I always hope that people would be interested in what I write and make genuine comments if interested.
Almost forgot to add, that I spend a good amount of time reading through many posts too, and leaving genuine comments and don't expect nothing in return.
You covered the things well, RPD! The strategy that would keep you in Blogging and while you enjoying your own actions- many people would join and take it to something even more- whatever the label it might be!
It takes time at first- once it have strong base- it grows fast and keeps the constancy!
There are people who looking for shortcuts, and lazy enough- forgetting how to engage and offering juicy but empty promises in returns!
Always hate coming to a post I want to comment on after RPD has been there.... *sigh* RPD sums it up so well....
But yeah, the best way to 'drive a targeted audience' is to target who you read and who you comment on. In the end, I read very few blogs regularly, the ones that I do are ones I truly enjoy, and the ones that I do normally read me back in return. I do a ton of networking, and have gained quite a few followers that way. Pretty much everyone that comes back to my blog, again and again, I have an acquaintance with, because I talk to them so much in comments and discussions and forum posts like this one. And just like RPD, I don't really do it to get visitors in return, I do it because I enjoy it, and my comments reflect that enjoyment.
This can be a tough and long process depending on how you attempt to do things. As a blogger it's super easy to jump into an ocean of other bloggers with the only intention of gaining a wider audience... but I've found that doing that rarely works. Simply for the fact that it's difficult to attract bloggers as readers when they're trying to do the same thing. You're best bet is simply networking with people online.
Twitter has been my best tool to attract an audience, and I now have a very devoted group of readers that always tune in to read my posts. I focus strictly on video games and activities happening in the gaming community, so obviously I would focus my attention toward people who enjoy video games. It's always important to attract people that sincerely share your interests.
Don't just interact with people because you want more readers. Interact with people because you all enjoy the same things. Blogging is way more than just being a writer with readers. Blogging is a way to converse and find people that love what you do. Be consistent, publish quality content, and TALK with your readers... I've found that if you continue to do this, then you'll soon begin to see some success.
