What I’ve come to learn in the past two years is that people who aren’t bloggers don’t really get blogging. They like reading a blogger’s thoughts, but they don’t understand the business end of the gig. They read a blog because they like it! End of story. And thank goodness for them!
This little blog of mine has been a space to track and share the places I’ve been in person and mind. It’s a way to stay connected to friends and family thousands of miles away. I like that and am happy with it. But I’m probably supposed to be thinking about how I can generate a little revenue from it. As a former marketing professional, I know exactly what to do. I just don’t wanna.
There is no grand plan to turn Wanderlynn into a money making machine. It’s just a place for my voice to be heard. Knowing that others identify with or enjoy my words encourages me to keep going. Keeping going opens doors to new opportunities that I may not have plans for but welcome, like product reviews, partnerships, sponsorships… little business-y bumps that top off my “Achievement” tank.
That’s just me. Other bloggers are planning and writing with the goal of generating money, through paid advertising, sponsorships and so on. Which is great! Whatever type of blogger your friend or cousin or daughter is, there are a few things you can do to support her endeavor. It’s easy stuff, I promise!
- Subscribe – Marketers want to reach people. Lots of people. Subscribing to your friend’s blog’s RSS feed (here’s mine) in your reader (like Feedly), leaves a trail of your blog’s reach, making it more attractive to advertisers and PR professionals. Plus, you won’t miss new posts because they’re automatically delivered. Have no interest in learning what RSS is? Maybe you can just sign up to get new posts by email. See that button on the right over there? Near the top of my site? That counts, too!
- Click through – Advertisers like to know that eyeballs see their paid ads. That’s why some savvy bloggers post jumps to their blog (to encourage you to hop over out of your reader), or have a little footnote that the post came from their blog. Click on over to help a sistah out. Better yet, click through those ads or sponsor links to prove that their advertisers are reaching the right audience.
- Comment – Comments on posts demonstrate an engaged audience. They prove that your friend is writing content that people want to read. The thing is, you need to leave those comments on their blog site so the evidence is real. Another reason to click through!
- Follow on social media – Some of us have Facebook pages or are on Twitter or Instagram (or other social media sites). The number of “Likes” or followers we have matter as much as the number of subscribers to our site. If you’re already using these social media, why not follow your bloggy friend?
- “Like” and Share posts – OK, so you can comment on their Facebook posts, too. The more action your friend’s posts get from their followers on Facebook, the longer the post stays afloat above Facebook’s filters. Which means more people see it. Which means the potential to reach new readers grows. See where I’m going with this? Pin that recipe to Pinterest. Retweet that link. Share the love!
- Tolerate the blogging tendencies – Here’s a truth about blogging: It can be life-altering. For many of us bloggers, our lives are what influence our blog’s content. Over time, though, we develop a blog-worthiness filter that changes how we look at our days. Your blogger friend might need to move under a streetlamp to get a good iPhone shot of her Belgian waffle. She might try something new for the sake of writing about it. She might want to scuttle off with her laptop to bang out a post. That’s all the churn of the creative motor that drives her. Please accept it, and better yet! love her for it.
All easy enough, right?
Are you a blogger, too? Do your friends and family read your posts? Can you think of other advice?
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