Q&A: How can you build your followers list?

Though it can be extremely exciting to see your following increase and your readers becoming more loyal to your blog, I like to remember that for me, blogging is about creating relationships.    Of course I enjoy having new readers come to my blog, but I also like to create a relationship with all of those people.  I make sure I answer every comment I get with an email in return and that I visit that reader’s blog and also leave a comment on one of their posts.  But, to get you to that point, here are a few tips on increasing your followers list:

1. Make sure to push your posts out via social media.  If you use Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or any other social network – share on those websites when your posts have been published.  This will help direct your readers/followers/friends right to that post if they aren’t looking through their readers.

2.  This goes back to what I mentioned earlier – focus on building relationships with the readers that you do have.  Try hosting an interview on your blog or creating a series where you can feature one of your readers a week, once a month, etc.  You can promote your post via social media, and hopefully your interviewee will do the same!

3. Try out an ad swap!  If there’s a blog you really love or a blogger you’d really like to work with, reach out about an ad swap (sometimes called a button swap).  Try to look around their blog first to see if they host ad swaps, but if you can’t find any information on that, feel free to reach out via email/social media.

Readers, how else do you grow your following?