It has been quite some time since I posted anything about blogging tips so I thought I would take a few moments and answer some common blogging questions I get via email. Here goes:

Tags – More Isn’t Better!

Some of you don’t know that WordPress limits tags to 15 including a category designation.  If you use 16+ tags it’s like using zero.  Don’t use more than 15.

I think I write good content, but why do people not seem to want to engage with my page?

There is no hard, fast rule here.  I have 2 basic principles based on other pages I have followed to help you with this: 1. post content which appeals to the masses, or 2. write specific content which appeals to a specific group of people of which there are considerable numbers.  I’m not sure where I fall in this paradigm, but I believe I would be more along the lines of option 1.  With that said I follow a page called Lucky Otter’s Haven which appeals to people dealing with narcissistic relationships.  The content is incredibly informative and Otter gets a ton of views each month.   Regardless, your content still must be helpful, informative and high-quality.  

How do I grow quickly?

For those of you who do not want to wait you must be willing to reach in to the change purse.  The route to fast growth is to operate a self-hosted blog, use Google Adwords, practice incredible SEO tactics and advertise on higher volume blogs.  Then, connect your page to every possible social media site and be active.  Then (and probably more important than any of the previous stuff) you must produce relevant, helpful, quality content.

Why don’t you visit my page more often?

I get this question a couple times per month.  The truth of the matter is I try to get to every blogger’s page who follows me.  But even if I could read 100 blogs per day, it would still take me over 3 months to read every page.  This brings me to a tip on engaging with your readers…Each day I visit 50 pages and I select those pages directly from my notifications.  I recommend you use this tactic as well.  After all, it is a good practice to engage deeply with those who are choosing to comment and like your posts. Then engage with those bloggers who you follow in Reader.  If you use these 2 tactics you should be able to cover a lot of ground and do so efficiently.

What can I do if people are not commenting and liking my posts?

There are many reasons why we blog.  Some do so to vent and purge.  Others want to make an impact on the world.  Some people want to display their poetry.  Etc, etc, etc.  But we are all here to have others look at our stuff.  If this were not the case then we could simply keep a journal in a notebook instead of displaying it for the world to see.  If you want people to comment and like your content, then you need to write content worthy of receiving a comment or like.  I think a lot of people miss this simple point: people are under zero obligation to read anything a blogger writes.  They are under zero obligation to engage or care.  The blogger must give people a reason to care; a reason to engage.  You must be unique.  You must be profound. You must be informative.  You must be engaging.  You must be creative.  If you are not one or all of these things then you are…….INVISIBLE.  Getting people to your page is easy. Keeping them coming back is not.  Getting them to engage is nearly impossible in a crowded digital world.

Last, but not least, remember this one point…

…blogging is a verb.  Blogging is all about interaction.  When I first started blogging I thought I would write great content, hit publish and people would flock to my page to read my wonderful views on the world.  The truth is blogging is action.  In order to get comments, you must comment.  In order to get LIKEs, you must first LIKE.  In order to get interaction, you must first interact.  If you sit back and wait, you will spend your whole life waiting.  Get active.

I hope this helps a little.  If you have any questions for me you can always contact me through the contact page here.  Have a great Tuesday!!

“How do I grow my blog fast?”  This is the most common question I receive via email.  As a matter of fact it has become a back-n-forth email game Jason (Harsh Reality) and I play. The reason being is that the requests for help get incredibly forward and sometimes downright aggressive in nature.

Currently a quarter of my followers (around 10,000) are bloggers themselves so it makes sense that bloggers want help growing their network.  I sought help when I first began and OM was gracious enough to help me understand the nuances of blogging.  He is the person who taught me the meaning of “blogging is a verb”. And to this day most of what I know I attribute to his tutelage.

The answer to the question is not a secret.  Growing takes a lot of work.  Growing requires time.  Growing demands dedication.  When you put in the hours, grind it out day-after-day and give it time, growth will occur. But it’s more like watching a tree grow than a house being built.  It takes years not months.

When I first started blogging I worked my blog around 60-70 hours per week.  I started early in the morning and I continued until late in the evening.  I adjusted my daily schedule so I was always attending to the blog.  I have always tried to give my page a “live” feel by responding quickly to comments, keeping new content posted and sharing other bloggers’ pages to provide a variety of information.

I hope this helps those of you interested in growing.  You must be active and patient; in time growth happens.  Tomorrow I will have a brand new post with blogging tips so be sure to check back in the morning!