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”

  2. Pingback: Blogging: A Question Answered | beetleypete

    1. Thanks, Pete. It was well over a year before I even felt like a real blogger. But in all honesty, I didn’t expect a lot of engagement, or a big following at all. That just comes with time and effort.
      Thanks for following this blog too.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      Reply
  10. Pingback: Blogging: Lead By Example - Novel Excursion

  11. Thanks for the tips, Pete! I’m a new blogger and felt quite a few of those faux pas you mentioned. Gotta work on that patience. 🙂 I’m 6 posts in and excited to keep trudging along!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  15. Great information. Short sweet to the point 🙂 brilliant.
    I use voiceover, which helps me read/listen more.
    You have a wonderful community of followers. I could hear your sincerity in each of your replies. This was one of the best so far that I’ve listened to… Almost everyone but, I’m sorry couldn’t get all. Sometimes voiceover, decides to kick me back to the top and I have to start all over again LOL.
    I’m glad to be here and say hello. To you. And to all your followers.
    I am still building my blog and on Tuesday I have a scheduled post to share more about me.
    I look forward to engaging with you in the future. Wishing you a beautiful day.

    Like

    Reply

  25. Hi Pete! Thanks for the tips! 🙂 I started my blog less than a month ago and I’m really enjoying it. However I’ve held off on buying a premium theme because I wanted to make sure that I truly enjoyed it and would consistently post before spending a lot of $. The downside, however, is I’m not satisfied with my theme and afraid if’s too “bare bones” for followers. Do you suggest waiting more before buying or just going for it?

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    Reply

    1. Amber, my Penscratch Theme is a free theme, and I have over 7,000 followers and between 400-600 views a day, every day. If your content is good, then the theme is secondary. I never followed anyone because of the blog theme, though I do avoid blogs with coloured type (Red/yellow/Green) on a black background, which I find hard to read.
      I pay for the ‘Personal Plan’, which is only £36 ($50) a year, paid annually. For that I get no ads, which is atractive to readers, online support using Live Chat, and twice the storage space for images and photos. I think that’s very cheap for my main hobby and pleasure. Premium is £84 ($118) a year, and includes all the Premium Themes. I don’t think they are necessary, but that’s also pretty good value once you are sure you enjoy blogging.
      The next step is the Business Plans. They get quite expensive, but have the added attraction of being able to use Plugins.
      (I also pay £15 ($21) a year for the domain name, but that’s from personal choice, and is not at all important.)
      I would wait until you have been blogging for at least a year until you decide to pay for something, as it is not refundable if you cancel the plan. But $1 a week for the Personal Plan will hardly be missed by anyone, in all honsesty. Cheaper than one coffee in Starbucks. 🙂
      As for increasing readership, never neglect relevant tags and categories on each post. They provide the basis for anyone looking to read the subjects you blog about, and are the main reason why anyone finds your blog in the first place.
      Feel free to ask me anything, anytime.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Wow! Thank you so much for such an in depth response. I truly appreciate all the advice, especially how you broke down the prices and benefits of each plan. I will definitely check out your Penscratch Theme when I get the chance. All the best to you and take care! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    1. We work hard on our blog posts, Maryansika. When nobody reads them, it can be discouraging. Think about the tags and categories you are using, as they help people find things they are interested in. Also be aware it takes a long time to get regular readers. Years, not months. When I started blogging in 2012, I had just 10 followers in six months, and most of those were friends or family. I was happy to get 15 views in a day.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  27. As a new blogger I find that this really helped me stay motivated! I haven’t been getting traffic and I was beginning to get deterred but with this post I feel inspired again! Keep up the work and I will definitely be back for more!! 👊

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Please try to stay motivated and inspired. If you don’t, then your blog will not progress. When I started out in 2012, I had 10 followers who were all friends and family, and my blog was getting 20 views on a good day.
      It takes time.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. I used to be so excited to get 10 views and one comment from someone who was not a friend or relative. It takes years to become part of a community in blogging, but it does happen eventually if you stick with it, and ignore the stats at first. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  35. Some really helpful stuff there Pete, thanks. Some Blogging friends advised me that it’s best just to keep your head down and blog away for at least five to six months before reviewing how things are going. Also if you have external content such as a website, Twitter, Facebook etc link your posts to them as it can generate more interest. I was also advised to try and use Quora which can be a bit tedious at times, but lightened by some of the idiotic questions that are posed on there!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Steve. I am not on Facebook, but I do link all my posts to Twitter, as I have some ‘Twitter-only’ followers. I tried Quora, but gave up on it, as it can generate too many irrelevant Q&A sessions. I also stopped using LinkedIn as well, due to the interaction there having nothing to do with my blog.
      I am aware that many bloggers get 100% more feedback from using links to Facebook than they get on their actual blogs. But I will never have a Facebook account.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      Reply
  37. Pingback: Blogging: Lead By Example – Baddatt_Enterprises
  42. Pingback: More Help For New Bloggers | beetleypete

  44. Thank you for the useful advice.. I am really appreciate it.. As a new comer of this platform i really need advice on how to make my blog more readable and attract people. Thank you very much for your concern 😄😄😄

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  45. Pingback: Blogging: Lead By Example – The Catalyst Leader

  49. You have made some very good points. I have found a couple of blogging flaws of my own. The main one is not posting on a set regularly basis.
    I have so much content to write about I become overwhelmed.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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