During a recent blog-coaching session with the fabulous Sarah Bagley, we were brainstorming how to grow her readership. (Yes, I’m offering blog coaching for individuals!) And Sarah had an ah-ha moment that was rather genius, one that’s worth sharing with you.
She used to focus on commenting on other people’s blogs to lure them to hers, she explained. But once she tried targeting potential readers via Twitter, she realized that using the social network strategically is far more effective than commenting on other people’s blogs.
Why? Because when you leave a comment, you’re in a sea of commenters. You might be one of five commenters, but you might also be one of 20 or 150. That blogger might click over to your blog from your comment, but she could just as easily miss your comment in that sea.
On Twitter, however, you can target a potential reader directly. You can RT one of their tweets or include them as an @mention in a tweet about how much you like their blog or @reply to a link they offered. And when your handle pops up in their @mention stream, they will notice you.
If your comment was smart, they’ll likely click on your profile. And if you’ve got an interesting bio and your last three tweets don’t look spammy, they might click over to your blog.
BOOM. New eyes on your blog.
I discover new blogs through Twitter every day. I click over to tweeps’ blogs not because I’m really looking for new blogs to read, but because I want to check out and learn about people who interact with me on Twitter. Since a lot of Twitter users are curious and nosy like me, here’s your chance to use that to your advantage. Here’s an opportunity to make your own luck.
So next time you want to grow your blog community, don’t make the newbie blogger mistake of spending hours each morning clicking around the Internet and leaving comments on dozens of blogs. Spend a few minutes doing that, yes. But then turn to Twitter, identify potential readers and interact with them. Little by little, your blog will grow.
Thanks for the shout out, Alexis! And, obviously, I completely agree with your insights 🙂 Of course, I won’t abandon commenting all together, but I definitely try to think strategically since I don’t have hours to devote to Tweeting and blogging and commenting – although I wish I did! I am always trying to work smarter, not necessarily harder 😉
Love that! Smarter, not harder 🙂
Alexis, I am keenly learning about the vast potential of social media and at this stage am somewhat of a newbie, especially for business purposes (work assigned me to start our social media strategy because of my obsessive interest and appreciation of its potential).
I found this article really useful and so glad I came across it from your twitter feed, otherwise I too may have been one of the ‘newbies’ running my self ragged by commenting on blogs left right and centre. THANKS!!
Ben – @TheBenRobson – Watch this space as I am going to be ramping this up for my company One2create, based in England and am so grateful for insights from experts like yourself!
Do you reccomend setting up a seperate twitter account for your blog aside from your personal one?
Nope — I recommend keeping it all under the umbrella of YOU. Check out this post for more details: http://alexisgrant.com/2011/07/28/the-umbrella-is-you/
Thanks Alexis. I have been spending ages commenting on other sites without really thinking about the possibilities of Twitter. I will try changing my strategy!
Well…this is certainly how I discovered your site! Will have to do it much more.