Blog Advice: How To Get More Followers

I remember the day I started this blog (not too difficult...it was only four months ago).
Hudson & I were house sitting, and we were just chilling on the couch watching tv. I had wanted to blog for a while, but I didn't know where to begin. So the first post I wrote was our love story. I spent that whole week writing, and those beginning posts are still some of my favorites, like delicious recipes, beauty tips, running advice, and how to trust God.
I didn't know anything about blogging, other than that I was supposed to write.
I thought it would be cool if I hit 50 followers. Hudson and I had a celebration when I did.
We celebrated again when I hit 100 followers. Then 250. 500.
I decided that when I hit a thousand followers, that would mean I made it as a blogger.

Well, guess what. Apparently I've "made it." Ha...rightttt.
In some ways, I don't feel like today is any different than the day I started.
I still don't know hardly anything there is to know about blogging.
But I'm here to tell you what I do know.
This is my intro blog advice post; throughout the next few weeks I'm going to write a whole post specifically about each of these tips to give you even more blog advice!
So without further to do...
How To Get More Followers
0. Readers are more important than followers.  I have to begin by saying I 100% believe I'd rather have 100 people who read, comment, and interact with my blog than 200 people who "follow" my blog but never read it. However, to have readers, you do need followers.
1. Write quality content. Quality is so much better than quantity. Keep your posts personable. Know your voice (for me, this means that even though some of my favorite bloggers are the ultra-funny type, I'm not and shouldn't try to be). Don't feel like you have to post every day...but do jot down notes throughout the week of blog ideas you have. And before publishing something, always ask yourself: Would I want to read this myself?
2. Have a good design. Your blog's design is the first impression people get of you and your blog, so of course you want to make it good! Stalk blogs that have good designs. What sets them apart? The header, colors, continuity...so much comes into play. I designed my own blog originally, and if you can do that, props to you! But to be honest, I wish I would have used a designer sooner (thanks to JW Design).
3. Make your blog easy to navigate. Make use of your blog's pages. Use them to categorize your posts so people who want to read more about, say, DIY projects can easily find that. Also, get rid of captcha on comments. Click on settings, then posts and comments, and choose "no" under show word verification. If you're worried about spam, just select "users with Google accounts" under who can comment.

4. Make your blog easy to follow.
I cannot stress this one enough. If you're on blogger, put the GFC widget close to the top. No one wants to scroll the whole way through your blog to find it. I also highly recommend making a link to BlogLovin & RSS. Make sure to put all the ways to follow you on social media near the top too.

5. Use social media as much as you blog.

Social media is a great way to connect with bloggers and to share your posts. I use Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram daily. Some quick tips? Twitter is a MUST. Also, make a Facebook page separate from your personal profile. This way, people can follow you easier and you won't spam your friends. Lastly, try to make everything consistent with your brand. For example, my Twitter is twitter.com/newlywedmoments, my Pinterest is pinterest.com/newlywedmoments, etc.

6. Make sure you aren't a no-reply comment blogger.

What's that? It's when you comment on someone's blog, but they can't respond because your email isn't linked to your blog account -- they aren't ignoring you! This also happens if your Google+ account is linked to your blog. Not sure if this is you? Comment on your own blog as a test. It's easy to fix and I explain how to do that in this post.

7. Connect with other bloggers.

Blogging gives you the opportunity to meet some really like-minded people that can turn into friends! Equally important to producing content on your blog is interacting with your readers. Join some link parties (but not so many that you're missing that quality content). Reply to comments (and respond to them via email -- if you respond below their comment on your blog, they won't get a notification). When you follow someone new, it's nice to let them know, but don't just comment "I'm your newest follower...follow me back?" Write them a nice comment, or even send an email!

8. Advertise on other blogs.

You can promote your blog all you want on your own, but most likely that's not going to be good enough. You have to get yourself out there, and a great way to do that is by advertising on blogs similar to yours. If you wanna advertise on Newlywed Moments, I'd love to have you! But I understand not wanting to put too much money into your blog. A lot of blogs (myself included) offer "swap" options where they put your button on their blog if you put theirs on yours. Swapping was how I got started and I highly recommend doing it (and using Passionfruit)!
9. Set guidelines for yourself. The truth is that blogging takes A LOT of time. I probably spend way more time on it than I should. My recommendation is to set a guideline for yourself that you won't spend more than so many hours per day/week blogging. Your life is more important :) A great way to manage your time blogging is to schedule posts. I didn't know this until like a month into blogging, but it has made all the difference for me!
10. Always remember why you started blogging. In your quest to get more blog followers, remember that wasn't the reason you started (hopefully not). Whether you started your blog to inspire others, to have a creative outlet, or to update your friends on your life...write a mission statement for your blog (see mine here) so you remember your purpose for blogging, and don't lose sight of that.
Have more questions?
I'd love to help you out. There are three ways we can do this (can you tell I like lists?)... 1. Keep an eye out for more of my weekly blog advice posts. 2. Join the Bigs & Littles Blogging Network to get matched with another blogger who can help. 3. Email me your questions through my blog advice session!