When you decided to start your blog, one of the things that you might have pondered about when you first hit that “Publish” button was this: “Is there someone who’s going to read my blog?” In the first few days, or weeks, or months, you will encounter the struggle of getting people to go check out your blog posts and start reading them.
No One Is Reading My Blog, Even My Friends
It can be uplifting if you set up a visitor counter and it says “1 visitor” after 24 hours, not thinking it was you who was tracked by the system. But who cares? It says “1 visitor” and that’s the important thing. But, if the visitor counter still gives you a lesser number of what you expect, and you ask yourself, “Where are my friends at?”, then you need to re-think and sink into that pure honesty in re-evaluating your list of friends on Facebook.
But, no, it’s not that simple. And please, don’t be the “Scrooge” to your friends just because they are not reading your blog. I want to be straightforward with you that not all of your friends will read your blog. Here are the three (3) possible reasons why:
You’re Not Telling Them You’re Blogging
You might be shy to announce that “I’m blogging!” Some of the few things that will stop you from doing so are the fact that when you blog, your work will be publicized. Since your blog will be available online, you might be criticized for grammar, spelling, photo quality, etc. The feeling to be told off about these things are quite daunting and somehow a little scary.
But did you know that the best way to tell your friends that you’re blogging… is to tell them?
Sharing the idea that you are now blogging is a foundation of getting a community of readers to start checking your blog and, cross fingers, hoping that they will enjoy what you are doing.
Social media is there to become your platform to tell people that you launched your blog and you have stories to tell them online. If you have an opportunity to gather with friends for a study group at school or a night out on a weekend after the long dreadful work week, find that twinkling spot to say, “Hey, I started blogging already. Want to check that out?”
Do it. You are not going to lose something from trying. They are your friends anyway. They should be the first few people to be your ultimate stronghold and your circle of support group.
Your Blog Is Not Their Cup Of Tea
Simple. What you’re writing about is not their interest. Accept the painful truth that those things your blog contain do not belong to what they want to know. From a blogger’s point of view, “your niche is not their niche.” I have a couple of friends who are into fashion and style. I love the idea that they are blogging about it, but, honestly, fashion is not my priority now.
Checking their blogs is on my “to-do” list so I can get ideas for amazing brands and new finds at the mall. A little hesitation on some brands they present is something I have right now because we all know, fashion brands are quite pricey. We’re friends, but, “Bro, you’re wearing an Armani underwear!” (A pair of Armani underwear for men costs $29.00+/-)
The perfume he’s showing is called “Y”. That’s interesting. Which brand? Yves Saint Laurent? I am not even sure how to say it right. You go and check this video and learn how to pronounce the brand name. Crazy!
So French! My nostrils are struggling. By the way, a 60ml Y fragrance bottle for men from YSL costs $72.00. Like, come on.
Well, not all fashion bloggers do this. There are fashion bloggers who still feature content that I can relate to. There are even fashion bloggers who write about thrift shopping. But then again, I’m fine with my favorite brands, you know. If I need to look for a new one, I might go and check their blogs.
We’re still friends, though. But I just can’t dip the biscuit into their cup of tea. Not this time, no. As a blogger, the best thing that you can do is to get in a circle of friends who have the same interests as you have in terms of your content. You don’t need to unfriend the old friends. You know what I mean.
All you need to do is go beyond your comfort zone and look for a fresh bunch of people whom you share the same sentiments on the topics you convey on your blog without forgetting those who cannot drink the tea with you.
You’re Targeting The Wrong Audience
This is one of the most crucial parts of blogging. I have already discussed this in my previous blog post on how to built trust in your reading community and gain loyalty from them.
Knowing your reading audience and engaging with them on social media are two of the ways I have introduced to make a more personalized connection. You need to strategize on how to keep them coming back to your blog and reading the latest post that you have published.
GO CHECK: 7 Ways To Better Connect With Your Blog Readers
Final Thoughts
Always remember that your friends are the people who can help you gain more readers on your blog. You can politely ask them to share your post on their social media so you can get more potential readers. But also, always put in mind that not all of your friends share the same interest that you have, so you can’t force them to check your blog because “we’re friends, right?”
The convincing factor of letting your friends to start reading your work online is to tell them you have something to share with them. You can also ask them to also share what they think about it. It’s a mutual relationship between you and your readers (friends or not). Your blog can be a place for you to share your thoughts and let them share theirs.
Make sure that when you write a post on your blog, you want others to read it. Therefore, make it something that doesn’t interest only you. You need to also consider the possibilities of them having an interest in what you write.
And the last thing, write something that they don’t know yet. Share stories or ideas that they are not aware of. Make it a habit to spark that light of wonder. As readers, all they need to get out of your blog are information and new knowledge.
My simple strategy to get them from reading your blog is this: ask them what they want to know and write about it. Once you are done writing about what you think, tell them you have your answer posted on your blog. Surely, they will go check your blog out and would be curious about what you think.
Then again, it is not a guarantee.
Do you need more blogging tips, check them here.
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