SETTING THE HOOK
GOING FROM BLOG OBSCURITY TO 3,000 FOLLOWERS IN 18 MONTHS
(written by Eric Schlehlein for Janice Wald and published on her site, http://mostlyblogging.com on August 16th, 2015.)
I’m not a blogging expert. I’m also not an expert in anything to do with social media, the internet, or networking in general. I’m a terrible salesman and self-promoter. Speaking or writing of myself leaves me squirming in awkwardness… and even now, as I sit and type, I’m already writhing in my chair and in my mind. I do not like writing about me.
I’ve been asked to write this piece about how I gained so many followers in such a short time. I’m certainly honored and willing to do so, but I’m equally as surprised and bewildered that what I’ve obtained in a following is so difficult for others to achieve. My areas of expertise involve things like Albuterol treatments, recognizing pitted edema, 12-lead EKGs, and avoiding power struggles. I know more about the pizza business than I know about Twitter and Instagram. Some would consider me socially awkward. I consider myself social media-awkward.
My blog at www.ericschlehlein.com has 3,047 followers. Why? Simple! I pay attention to others.
Let it be known that I had zero interest in blogging when I started my blog. Even now, as my WordPress phone app chimes to let me know that I’ve gained my 3,048th follower, I have no real interest in blogging itself. See, I wrote a novel… a four-year process that has taken my sanity and hair, my dignity and soul, my time and my self-esteem. I’m in the query process right now, 46 letters written and 19 rejections, and every day I’m certain of two things: I’m gonna get published and I’m never gonna get published.
My blog is nothing more than the nest that I was supposed to build as a platform to sell my book once it is published. I blog because the publishing industry says I have to blog. My blog is a means to an end. That’s all.
But I don’t do anything half-assed. When I go in, I go all in. If the publishing industry wants to see that people are paying attention to me, then I’ll get people to pay attention to me. How?
Good material… and a lot of it. I wrote something and posted it every day for months before I took a break. Your site, no matter how new, must have content. Thirty days equals thirty posts, so it doesn’t take that long to generate history.
Now, promote your blog externally. There are lots of widgets and site tools there for you to promote your material off-site. Some cost money, others don’t. I don’t spend any money to do this. When I post to WordPress, my social networking sites automatically post links to my blog. Also, “Like,” “Share,” and “Comment” buttons are huge. Use them.
Now, the most important step for me in gaining over 3,000 followers: Love your audience.
On days that I don’t post on my blog, I SPEND AT LEAST ONE HOUR BROWSING, LIKING, AND COMMENTING ON THE BLOGS OF OTHERS. AT LEAST ONE HOUR!
You must read the posts of others, in any categories and tags you choose, and click the like button as you finish reading and then comment on their blog. Follow their blog. Say nice things. Don’t criticize unless you are asked to do so. When someone comments on your piece, say “thank you.” Become so involved in others’ blogs that people accuse you of being a “serial liker.” Honestly, if that’s the worst they say about you, you’re doing alright.
Let me reiterate: AT LEAST ONE HOUR PER DAY BROWSING THE BLOGS OF OTHERS!
I know that’s a lot of time. If you need to break it into 12 five-minute sessions then do it. Look, you’re on your smart phone all day, anyway. Spend less time on Facebook and more time on WordPress. The postings are a lot more healthy and interesting because you can search the site by content!
Bloggers are attention seekers. We all want people to read what we have to say. The blogging world, like the world of forums, is filled with people who know each other only through the written word. There are hundreds of people who I’ve interacted with through my blog that I’ve never met and will never meet who will, hopefully, one day claim to know me because we’ve socialized so often online. When my novel is published they’ll be able to say, “I knew Eric before he even finished polishing his novel.”
In a huge sense, they’re right… and who would I be to deny them? I embrace these people as much more than prospective buyers of my book. They’re colleagues, critics, cynics, supporters, advocates, boosters, patrons, cohorts, champions, friends.
What does one hour of daily maintenance get me? 18,281 site hits in just under 18 months. That’s an average of 34.1 hits per day. My “About Eric” page has acquired 448 likes and 200 comments. Since January, www.ericschlehlein.com has had 8,317 views, 1,606 likes, and 416 comments. Oh, and I’m on a roll today… I just acquired my 3,051st follower.
FOLLOW-UP: It’s now November 15th, 2015. As an experiment, I took ten weeks off from the above practices to see how many followers I could obtain while not blogging or paying attention to anyone else’s blogs. Okay, I was still reading them but I wasn’t touching the buttons. It was not an easy thing to do.
Anyway, in the time that I spent “ignoring” others, I still managed to obtain 407 visitors to my blog. An impressive number, I think. But “likes” and “follows,” on the other hand, slowed to a trickle. I averaged 1.35 “likes” per day… and most of them came in the first 30 days after I stopped paying attention to others. As for “followers,” I have obtained just 126 over the last ten weeks. There were moments when I’d achieve this amount in just a few days.
Pay attention to others’ blogs, bloggers, and they will pay attention to yours.
