The one thing we all want to know is "how can I get more blog followers?". It's okay, you're not a bad blogger for googling that, we've all done it at some stage and it's because we associate success with followers and see so many 'successful' bloggers with millions of followers. Before you know it you're beginning each day by searching for "How to get as many followers as Lily Pebbles?".
Well like I said, there's no such thing as a "secret formula" but contrary to what a lot of other bloggers say, there are a few ways of building followers which I'll get to in a sec...
For any "successful" bloggers reading this who have done a Q&A and told your followers to "just create good quality, original content and be happy all the time on social media or YouTube" is the only way to get followers, then you should probably remember that mist people know you're talking shiz. You should probably take a long hard look in the mirror the next time you decide to encourage people to hop aboard the bullshiz train. You're wasting their time and setting them up for failure. Moving on...
Here's how to ACTUALLY get followers...
1 - Answer questions.
Sound stupid? Well guess what? We're all pretty stupid sometimes and every single one of us has typed a question into Googleand hoped to find an answer. No-one needs to ask you anything for you to answer it, just propose a question and answer it. For example, if you surf through this blog post, you'll see I ask a few questions, like "how can I get as many followers as Lily Pebbles?". When someone types that on Google, the search engine shows content related results, so it's possible my blog will appear as a result. You can do the same. The more unique the question, the more likely you are to appear in the first page search results for that question meaning more traffic and depending on your user friendly content, that should start to see an increase in followers. Which leads me to my next point...
2 - Content.
You can't just ask a hundred questions in one blog post. Ask one, answer one. If
you ask a question and don't answer it, then the reader will just go elsewhere. Be sure to give good thoroughly researched answers to those questions and you're more likely to get followers.
SourceL Ciappara.com
3 - Social Media
People are nosy. Work on that factor and you won't go wrong. If you share a bit about something without giving them everything, they will want more. Its a bit like giving me a standard sized bag of crisps. You know the family pack is gon' be finished within 10 minutes. So, if you're working on a post, tell your twitter/Facebook/whateverfrickinsocialmediayouuse that you're working on something and it will be revealed in 2 days. Every day, post a different quote from the blog until you publish it and then do "the grand reveal" on the final day. Building momentum makes people feel part of it. Nosiness will always get the better of us and you'd be surprised by how many people will want to keep up to date on any new "secrets" and will follow you. Sneaky huh?
4 - Link Share.
Sometimes on twitter you might see hash tags like "follow4follow" or "likeforlike". If you tweet your blog link using these hashtags you'd be surprised by how many like minded bloggers will follow you for a follow back. I've done it myself before and I'm not such a fan of this method because it's inauthentic but it does work & so thought it was worth sharing.
5 - Competitions
How often do you go and follow someone because they're giving away a Mac lipstick if you do? It might sound like bribery or buying followers but actually it freaking works. Obvs the bigger the prize the more followers you get but ANYTHING for free is appealing. Don't forget to promote your competition by sharing it with competition sites such as competitionsandgiveaways.co.uk/ or www.competitionhunter.com
6 - Be A Publicity Whore...
Next time you're llistening to the radio & they ask for listeners to text in, do it! Put your blog link at the end and they might read it out or better yet tweet them about the show including your link & they may retweet you. Popular account & retweeted link = massive exposure. Just get your name out there, write to the daily mail about something important to you, email a large company telling them their shop us great & you'd be happy to post about it on twitter if they'd retweet you. Its good exposure and its free, which leads me on to...
7 - Advertise On Other Blogs...
A lot of bloggers have "blogger rates" for bloggers looking to advertise their blog on a larger blog. The rates are usually quite low and although followers might not come in their droves, they do come. Persevere and don't advertise in the same blog too often - mix it up. Different blogs bring different followers!
Source: Irkitated.com
8 - Comment On Other Blogs.
This is really a good way to build followers and broaden your horizon into how other people blog. If you comment on 10 blogs (with good
Non shiz comments) you're likely to see 5/6.will comment on your blog and some might even follow you.
WHAT NOT TO DO...
- Don't go buying bulk followers from places online. They might work but Google will send you to the naughty step for it, not to mention your real followers will think its "desperate".. Oh and PR companies can see straight through it.
- Don't copy other bloggers. People have already followed zoella, they don't need to follow a copy cat version. Be yourself and provide unique content.
- Never copy & paste from other websites. It's lazy, it's amateur and most importantly, its boring. No one wants to read the same shiz over and over again. Not to mention duplicating content is a huge no-no as far as search engines are concerned.
- Don't leave comments on blogs saying "hey! love your blog, would love a follow at (insert-shameless-blog-URL-here) - I've done it before, I talk from experience. It doesn't work and your comment will end up in a spam filter.
I've covered as much as I can think of on "everything you need to know about getting blog followers" but I am SURE there will be a few of you with questions or suggestions, so feel free to leave them below and I will be sure to reply!
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