& Save Time?
You’ve started reading blogs and you really like some of them. At first, it’s easy to browse and read, browse, and read.
Then a few weeks go by. You want to write a post and mention them. You wanted to reconnect with a blogger that made an insightful comment. They don’t show up in your reader.
Where are they?
Ready to waste some valuable time? It’s like looking for your glasses or your keys. You can’t go without them. You know they are in the house somewhere.
Sleuth time
The lost blogger followed you, that’s a start. You don’t remember their blog or their name. How can you find them?
- If you use WordPress, it’s recorded on your blog. You’ve commented back and forth. It’s somewhere in your comment section.
- You could sort through all your posts to find the one where they commented.
- You could sort through your online history.
- You could sift through your Blog Reader and try to recognize them by their new post.
Control your reading
Your time for reading blogs limited. Be in charge of your own reading. Read blogs you like best and are most helpful.
- Your Blog Reader has suggestions, but you don’t like them.
- Searching Google distracts you.
- Do your favorite blogs show up on Google?
How do you find great blogs to read?
Five Ways to Intentionally Choose Blogs to Read
If you kept track, you’d probably find that you read for several hours a day. Most people read blogs with longer articles about topics that interest them.
New bloggers try to connect with both influencers in their niche, or area of interest, and other bloggers like themselves.
When I started in 2012, I knew no one else who blogged. I didn’t have a niche, and reading and writing overwhelmed me. I tried to connect with readers in several ways.
- Recent commenters
- Followers
- Facebook Groups
- Other Social Media Groups
- Friends of friends whose comments you liked
It worked.
Soon, I had hundreds of followers and thousands of comments. It became an overwhelming task to find them and follow up with them. Russel Ray said he kept a spreadsheet on all the blogs he read.
Whew!
It seemed like a great idea until the spreadsheet got out of control.
You need a way to keep track of people
You can develop an online journal that helps you find the bloggers you love the most.
What to write about bloggers in your journal
Recent Commenters
Click on the link and visit their blog. In an online journal, record the blogger’s real name and blog URL in your journal to remember that you visited them.
I use a Google Doc for this rather than the spreadsheet. You can create as many docs as you want.
Next, cut and paste the most important sentence from what you read or write a summary. This is important to give authority to your own posts as you write about the same topic. It also cements your friendship.
It will take three or four back and forth visits before you establish a relationship. It speeds up if you connect on social media as well.
Friends of friends
This is a very effective source of new blogging friends. Just like face to face friends, if you like someone, most likely you will like their friends. Sometimes you form a community around that blogger. Introduce yourself as a friend of a friend when you comment or visit their blog.
Record their name and URL and a brief statement into your blogging journal.
Followers
Not all followers leave comments. You can chase them down through your reader. This doesn’t take long, and you can make instant decisions about whether to record their blog in your journal.
Some followers don’t have a blog. They are just looking. If they have at least one post you can leave them a comment about their blog. Thank them for visiting you and ask questions.
Facebook Groups
These are some of my most engaging connections. You will find real names much easier on Facebook than on their blog.
Many of the groups have thousands of followers. Post your blog post or comment on the site, and respond to those who reply. If you make a connection here, record them in your journal as well.
You may be invited to join private groups, because you are taking a course. People you meet should be more serious than the average bloggers. The manager of public groups often engages as well.
Invite those you like to be your friends on Facebook.
Other Social Media Groups
Generally if you love one type of social media, you will use it. You might have accounts in the other accounts, but they all take time.
LinkedIn, is highly recommended for working people. Years ago I tried connecting through groups, but I have not found their groups to be as interactive.
Twitter connections have been very productive for me.
Instagram now connects automatically to Facebook, which saves time. Pinterest acts like your personal database.
Which one is your favorite?
Years ago, on the the advice of Janice Wald I joined Kingged. It’s a platform for publishing articles. It looks much different and more professional than it did when I joined. I got a lot of feedback from the articles I published. Unfortunately, I did not record these followers in my journal, so I can’t find them now.
Using an online Journal does not take much time to use, but it helps you narrow down and remember who you liked, what they said that you liked, and how you felt about what they said.
Visiting blogs is about making intentional choices as you read. Blogs you hate, leave them out of your journal. You’ll probably never see them again.
If one of your goals in blogging is to develop relationships, this is a way to listen actively and respond and create your own reader for your own time schedule.
I am revising my blogging posts to keep them relevant. If you find this helpful, please share it with your friends if they are considering starting a blog, or they research and visit lots of blogs.
Tell me what you do as you read blogs. I know people who read 30-60 blogs a day. Some are pros. Some are just awesome people. What are your secrets? What problems are you having blogging?
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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