It’s come to my attention that one of the most important aspects of blogging, and most frequently asked questions is about growing your following. Although there isn’t one exact formula that works for everyone, there are 2 very specific steps that every successful blogger has taken to get him/her to where he/she is today.
This secret sauce will work for any platform… I repeat any platform (your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, etc.). It is a guideline to follow that, in combination with having talent and a strategy, will 100% work to grow your following. However, each blogger’s situation will be different so don’t get too caught up in the logistics and instead focus on the general idea.
So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to explore the different social media audiences and how to leverage that to grow your blog in a little mini series. (Leave a comment below with what platform you want to know more about… Instagram, Snapchat, etc. and I’ll give you a shout out in the next blog post.)
But before we do all that, let’s talk about what you have to do right now regardless of what platform you’re trying to grow…
Get to know your audience
Getting to know your audience is something that every single blogger should do every single day. Ok, well, at least once a month. Why?
Aside from the obvious reason that it’s a nice thing to do, it will also help you grow your following. When you really try, and I mean really try, to get to know your audience (what their names are, what kind of stuff they’re interested in, what their goals are, etc.) you will gain their trust, which will convert them into lifelong followers.
And what do you do when you trust someone/something? You talk about it!
So ultimately when your current following trusts you, they’ll talk about you to their friends, and then their friends will talk about you to their friends, and so on. And with word of mouth like that, your growth rate will be unstoppable.
For example, let’s say you ask your followers where their favorite places to shop are. Then, you give those who answered a shoutout on Instastories.
You’re doing two things here: 1. you’re getting to know your audience by asking them questions, and 2. you’re showing you care that they answered by giving them a shoutout. This is the foundation for a trusted relationship with your followers which is what will help your blog biz grow in the long run.
Create content based on what your followers want
Once you start engaging with your followers more and asking them questions, you get a sense of your typical follower, which means you can create more of what that person wants. And when people get what they want, it makes them V happy, which means they’ll keep coming back for more. Maybe your typical follower is someone who’s ballin’ on a budget, someone who loves to travel abroad, or someone who struggles with eating healthy…
If, for example, your typical follower is an aspiring fashionista on a budget, you would create content geared toward that (e.g. super affordable outfits, doing more with less, stores with the best sales, etc.). Odds are your current followers have friends/followers that are interested in the same things, meaning they’re on a budget too, in which case they’ll be likely to follow you, too.
Ultimately you want your followers to feel like they’re a part of the journey - you want them to grow with you. You also want to find out their biggest challenges and be the one to provide solutions with your content. The more value you add the more followers you’ll get, pinky promise.
Ok, now it’s your time to shine. What specifically do you want to know about growing your following? What platforms are you interested in learning more about? Tell us in the comments below for a shoutout in the next post!
xx Britt
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Image Source Credits - WhoWhatWear
You Should Also Read:
Why Only 4% of Bloggers Make It
How to Be Business Savvy & a Nice Person
5 Things to Know Before Starting a Blog
