Blogging: Lead By Example

~ beetleypete

A lot of new bloggers arrived in 2021, and I am grateful that quite a few chose to follow my blog. Some of them wrote on their own blogs about how they are struggling to get to grips with blogging, had few followers, and little or no traffic. A couple even contacted me by email, asking for suggestions on how to build up their readership.

Of course, we all know that two months of blogging is too soon, and no indication of how your blogging experience might turn out. But excited new bloggers can find that initial lack of interaction very disappointing, especially if they have arrived here from fast-paced platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

So once again, I am offering some tips about how to make blogging work. Whether they bother to use them is up to them.

1) Lead by example. Blog how you would be blogged to.

2) If you follow another blogger, then at least comment on their posts occasionally. Once a month is adequate, if you are busy. Once a week is better though.

3) If you find you are not enjoying the content of a particular blogger, unfollow them. It’s easy to do that.

4) Never ask anyone to follow you back by writing ‘Please follow my blog’ as a comment.

5) Definitely never ‘tell’ anyone to follow you by writing ‘Follow my blog’ as a comment.

6) Engage and debate by all means, but never Troll or be rude. If you don’t like someone’s opinions, stop following them. And then ask yourself why you followed them in the first place.

7) Avoid boasting. Things like ‘I have already published six books’. ‘I have sold 1,000 copies of my e-book’, etc. Nobody likes a bighead. Of course this does not exclude you from promoting your own work on your blog, it’s a great way to do that. Just be nice about the way you do it.

8) Don’t try to upstage a blogger writing about illness or grief by stating that you are worse than them, or have more to grieve about. That’s tacky.

9) Be polite, and do not use swear-words in comments.

10) Thank people who follow your blog by leaving a thank you comment on one of their posts.
(Not required for people just trying to sell you things, or promoting their own religion)

11) Don’t expect all your followers to read everything you post.

12) Don’t expect any followers to leave a comment, but be pleased when they do.

13) Reply to those comments, to show them that you appreciate the time and effort. Even if only to say ‘thanks for commenting’.

14) Don’t expect a regular readership if you don’t post any content. You can’t put up a couple of posts, then sit back and not bother to add more content. Followers will disappear like ice melting if you do that.

15) Keep going. Two months is not enough time to see if your blog will be popular. It might turn out to be, but you must not be impatient.

There you have fifteen easy to follow suggestions that may help you enjoy blogging more than you are at the moment.

291 thoughts on “Blogging: Lead By Example”

  1. Sound advice, thanks for posting. Your points are helpful to a new blogger. I look forward to exploring more of your posts.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your kind words, Shruti. I have always tried to give help and advice to new bloggers. I remember how overwhelming it can be when you start out.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Thanks, COTH. I have written a lot of blog tips posts previously, but this one hit a nerve.
      One of my most popular posts ever, with over 1500 views, and still going!
      I really appreciate you letting me know you enjoyed the tips.
      Best wishes from England, Pete.

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    1. I am so pleased you liked it, and found it useful.
      This was one of my most popular posts, and has been viewed almost 1500 times.
      I really appreciate you letting me know it helped you.
      Best wishes, and happy blogging. Pete. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. Those are good tips. I know I read and like more posts than I comment on. If someone takes the time to make a comment I will reply. Or at the very least like their comment. It shows I read it. I have also found some follow my blog until I follow them back. Then they disappear from the followers list. Take care.

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    1. Yes, we all learn that many bloggers are fickle. One of the joys of my blog is a core of followers who have been with me for many years, and never let me down. I don’t even follow some of them, but they have never left me. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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        1. Thankfully, I never played the numbers game. Although my stats show almost 7,500 followers, I ignore that. I have around 800 real followers, and less than 150 of those comment on a regular basis. That’s good though, because if I had many more, I could never keep up. 🙂

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        1. I just write what I feel or think about, and there is a lot of fiction too. But there is not a week that goes by where I do not learn something new about my readers and followers, or the world of blogging. That’s part of the ongoing appeal of this wonderful community. 🙂

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  16. Wow this was so helpful and reading the comments were also. Thank you so much. I am new to blogging and this was right on time. I have not made my first post yet as I was getting ready to. So after reading one comment above, do you recommend the FIRST blog being the why am I blogging now blog? Again thanks!

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    1. Jasmine, you can create a post about why you are blogging, similar to an ‘About’ page.
      I have one on here you can look at as a guide. https://beetleypete.com/about/
      People do like to identify with a blogger when they are reading posts.
      But always post what is in your heart, not what you think people will want to read.
      I am very pleased that you found my tips helpful.
      Best wishes, and good luck with your blog, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

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  19. Great tips, thanks for sharing. I think it’s important whatever you blog about, to first and foremost blog for yourself (if that makes sense), then if people start to follow you and leave you nice comments then it’s a bonus. Took me a while to realise that.

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