4 Ways to Grow your Blog Building Strong Relationships (Part 2)

In the previews post, 4 Tips to Grow your Blog Building Strong Relationships (Part 1) we talked about a few tips to grow your blog Building Strong Relationships in this online world.

We covered how important it is being ourselves, that we don’t need to pretend, that it’s very important to be persistent, we should comment a lot (meaningful comments) and of course, make this all personal, warm and helpful.

Grow your Blog Building Strong Relationships in 4 ways

Today we are talking about other important ways to connect, build relationships, have fun and some factors that can change the results we want when it comes to grow your blog.

1. Social Networks.

We all know how important these are nowadays, so I’m not talking about it as a marketing tool but as a way to socialize.

I’ve mentioned before that I met my very best bloggy friend chatting on twitter over a movie topic. That’s it, so silly and so simple. We connected so fast. We found out how like-minded we were and we immediately connected on Facebook and on the phone. Today many years later we are still friends and even got to meet in person.

When you engage in conversations on social networks you get to know new people too. It’s a more direct approach, usually, we get quick feedback and we never know how far that friendship can go.

Of course, this is not a one-time thing and definitely not always you are going to have that immediate response. Relationships usually take time and social networks are here to help with that but they don’t do all the job though.

Nowadays, networking and socializing through these platforms are getting harder and harder, so the more genuine and personal you are the better.

Social media algorithms tend to not show your posts to everyone and are clearly pushing you to pay to get seen. BUT it’s also true that when you engage enough with people and they respond, your posts start showing more to them because they assume people like your posts.

The most important thing here goes back to my previous post: Persistence! We need to keep touch often, like posts, comment on posts, message, ask for help and respond to help requests. Just like you would build any other friendship.

Stay social, stay kind.

2. Asking Questions.

How else do we get to “know” people???…

That’s right!

Asking questions is a great way to engage in a conversation and get to know other people. We can either ask random questions on our social media or on our comments.

If some ingredient, technique, or thought is not clear or we want maybe some more details we can always ask, show interest in getting to understand better what people is sharing with us.

I’m working on this myself, I’ve always been a bit shy and go asking has been hard for me. But I’m trying hard=D because I’ve seen that it really works. People love to share opinions even though at the beginning we don’t get many answers.

I love when I get questions. I feel like people are really interested in what I’m sharing, it’s so cool!

We need to think of all this as if we were actually connecting with people in person, all rules apply.

We need to connect, talk, have fun, comment, politely agree or disagree, ask questions, socialize in parties, show respect, show love, get inspired and inspire others.

The most important thing after being ourselves and keeping these aspects in mind is BEING KIND and RESPECTFUL at all times.

It doesn’t matter if we don’t agree with something or if we don’t like something. We don’t need to leave negative, rude or hurtful comments. There is no winning on that.

Keep in mind that it’s not about agreeing with everything. You can disagree with an idea or a procedure but you can be kind and still disagree. I always recommend talking in first person. Like, “I’ve never done that in that way, I prefer doing it in this way because it helps me more in this and that…” You can even ask why and it might get polemic but still respectful and kind.

In those cases when we actually don’t like at all what we see, the best we can do is just leave and move on.

On the other hand, if we love something enough to use the idea or ideas, then let’s give the credits to those who gave us great inspiration. It’s not going to hurt us,  quite the opposite, it’s going to help us hugely!

3. Emailing.

One way I’ve found it to be an awesome way to connect with other bloggers is by using emails or contact forms.

Email is a direct contact with another person and a great way to start a friendship but it should be used wisely and respectfully.

You should never email anyone to ask them to be featured or to link back to your site or sell something. They probably won’t get back to you and you are likely to lose their respect right there.

Also, you should definitely email only bloggers you feel related to, that you love and that could be mutually beneficial. The email should be kind and respectful. There are a million ways to start an email conversation but in my experience, mentioning a specific blog post you loved, asking questions about it and/or sharing how it has helped you are some of the best ways to do it.

You can also share your struggles or accomplishments that might be related to what those bloggers share. Bloggers love that. I love that. And I’ve done that and I still do. I reach out, I share my opinions and struggles and more often than not I get such a warm response.

As a blogger myself, I love receiving meaningful emails, I love it when other bloggers and non-blogger reach out to ask questions or to share their experiences. I ALWAYS reply and help in any way I can.

Also, think that just like you get tons of emails a day, they do too, so you need to be very smart in your approach. When you show them that you actually read the content, you found it useful or helpful, they will feel more inclined to reply and then you can keep exchanging thoughts and ideas.

Don’t feel bad if they don’t reply right away or at all. Keep trying and you will see. Just keep in mind to not use this as a marketing strategy, don’t try to just get and always give more, that’s how you make friends, build lasting relationships and grow your blog.

4. Communities, forums, and groups are great ways to make new friends.

You can find them on Facebook and even Whatsapp that I know of. Some are very eclectic, some very specific but they all share in common the desire to help and be helped.

The only thing we need to keep in mind, just like with emails, is to be fair and not just take advantage. We help in order to be helped! We need to give in order to receive.

Sometimes I don’t have the time to go every day but I show up every now and then to share some great posts and post some of my own.

What I don’t do and I find it annoying {but hey, that’s just me} is asking people to follow back. I feel like I’m begging for attention and it might cause the opposite result, scare people off.  Also, that’s not the kind of follower/readers I want.

I want followers that really and genuinely want to follow and read me. So when I participate in Hops particularly Facebook that you need to use your personal account, I just leave a message letting them know where I’m coming from and what’s my blog because they are not fortune-tellers to guess what’s Camila Rojas’s blog, That’s it.

I’m sure that if they want to follow they will whether I ask them or not. So I just give the love of following/liking and if they follow/like back, then awesome!, if not I’ll still enjoy what they have to share.

I’ve experienced that in the long run those that didn’t follow me before started following me later on. It’s cool and I’m super happy with it!!!.

EXTRA TIP. Link Parties and Blog Hops.

I rarely join link parties anymore. I know that not many bloggers do this anymore either but I’ve seen quite some that still host them.

Link parties used to be a great way to engage with new people, start new relationships, and grow your blog.

It happened to me that I clicked on a post and I fall in love with the whole blog so I just start following her/him and some really AWESOME friendships have grown from there.

The idea is to drop a few blog posts of your own and then click on other blogger’s posts and engage. Maybe leaving comments, or just following on some channels are simple but effective ways to connect and grow.

If you would like to check some Link Parties, Tiffany from Beautiful Dawn has a great Link Party directory. Not all links might still host but some of them I know still are.

Ok…

That was intense!

So, when we join these thoughts with the previews post, all these new aspects are still about the same main point: caring and being ourselves, right? So let’s keep being caring and be ourselves, people, we can have SO MUCH FUN when we don’t pretend and let ourselves out!!!

What do you think? Do you have any extra tips to grow your blog that I didn’t cover? We all want to be better bloggers and people, right??? So your thoughts can help us a lot!!!

If you want to read the first part of my Grow Your Blog Building Strong Relationships just click on the image below.

If you found this article useful, don’t forget to PIN and share it with friends!

Is there any other aspect of blogging besides grow your blog that you would like me to share with you in a future post? Just name it in the comments!

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