Make Your Blog Grow

I recently reached my 1000th follower here on CrapPile, and ever since it started to take off a few weeks ago people have been amazed at its growth and begging to know what my secrets are. I always answer that they’re not really secrets, just plain ordinary blogging techniques that just seem to work right for me. Luck also has a lot to do with it, I think.

But now that I’ve surpassed the 1000 follower mark and did so two days shy of my month of blogging, I want to share somethings that I did that may or may not work for everybody but that I feel helped my blog grow as good and as fast as it did.

1) A Good Title

I wrote and entire post on this pointer before, but I strongly feel that an interesting, catchy title will help draw readers to your blog. Before, I had a blog called Idkhowtowrite and The Novice Student of Writing. How boring and stupid could my younger self get? Who in their right mind would read something with a title like that, and “novice” and “student” pretty much mean the same thing. CrapPile, however, not only sounds catchy but I’ve been told combining the two into one work with a second capitalization in the middle is also appealing to the eye. I personally don’t know if that’s true or not, but it works for my purposes.

2) A Good Theme

I’m a writer. I chose my theme because it was simple and somewhat similar to the blog of one of the authors I follow. Black words on a white background might sound bland and boring, but when you pick up a book and open it up what do you find inside? White pages with black words on them. I’ve seen blogs with insanely colored backgrounds where the words can’t be read because they fade into the background. Many also never chose a real theme, instead just going with the generic WordPress starter theme and using that. Again, it’s whatever works for you but for me I wanted a little something different but practical.

3) Regular Posting

I think this is the big key right here. At the end of the day, no matter what style or name you choose for your blog, it’s not a blog without content. In order for rapid growth as I have experienced, one needs to have regular visitors and new ones dropping in on a daily basis. Hence, I post daily. And not just once a day–several times a day. Offering a good amount of content helps show that you are serious about your blog and committed to its growth and success. Posting throughout the day helps reach viewers who log in at different times who otherwise might not see your new posts.

4) Varied Content

If I had continued on with the constant political posts that I started CrapPile out with, I never would have taken off. If I had stuck to all the writing and blogging posts I’ve been pushing out and nothing else, I would have been just another of the countless writing blogs out there with nothing exciting to offer, especially since I can’t yet consider myself an author or an expert in any way, shape, or form. That’s why I decided to just post whatever I felt like writing about any time I want to blog. It gives something for everybody to read and comment on. Not everybody likes hearing about the good job Trump is doing, so they can just scroll down to a post about the military or blogging tips or some of the re-blogs I’ve done. Whatever floats their boat.

5) Re-blog Occasionally

I’ve made a lot of new friends–and followers–by re-blogging posts I’ve really liked. At first I was dead against it, but then I got tired one day and didn’t feel like writing an essay so I found something interesting and shared it. It ended up being just as popular as anything else I wrote and ended up giving the other blogger more visitors and comments than she usually got, and that earned me a follow from her. It’s a show of respect and spreading the love. It helped open my eyes that even though they’re our own blogs and websites we are part of a great community. Helping each other out and contributing to each other’s success is a great way for both bloggers to grow and reach their goals.

6) Be Active in Other’s Blogs

Comment, comment, comment, comment. If you read a post and like it, tell the blogger the did a good job. Hit the Like button a few times. Ask questions. Re-blog. Press it. People might like if they see you follow their blog, but if you remain mute and don’t do anything then they’re not likely going to follow you back. But if you take an interest in their blog and become the be of their regulars you will develop a rapport with them, and that will eventually lead to a follow back. Out of the 1000 Followers I have I think I only have a handful that actually show up regularly. I’m now more excited for someone to start showing up in likes and comments more and more than I am new followers. Don’t get me wrong, I love having a gigantic following. But those who chose to pay even closer attention to the blog and cheer me on, that makes me the most happy.

7) Set Public Goals for Yourself

On my blog, I post every day about my progress in my 1000 day Ray Bradbury reading program I’m following. I also recently announced a 500-word a day goal for my novel. People have been geeked about this. I keep getting comments commenting on my choice of reading material, asking questions, and just routing for my success. They keep coming back every single day to make sure that I’m keeping up with what I’m trying to keep up with, and hence the following grows. Using your blog for accountability purposes gets the readers involved, too, and it makes it a little more lively.

My advice not work for everybody. It’s very possible people might disagree with everything I love been trying to say. That’s fine. I’m not going to be arrogant and say that I’ve got the numbers to back up what I’m saying, but all these things are what I’ve been doing every day since the first post, and it’s clearly shown some remarkable results for me.

I wish you all the most success in the world, and hope my little tips help you in some way.