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The SITS Girls

The Secret to Success is Support

How to Get Blog Readers: Secrets to Keeping Your Readers Revealed

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Understanding how to get blog readers may seem simple enough, but the trick actually lies in keeping people on your website and ensuring you avoid the dreaded UNfollow. Rachel from And Then, She {Snapped} is here today as part of our How To series to help us understand the secret to get blog readers to come back to your website again and again!

I read a lot of blogs. It’s true. I know I’m not alone in the fact that I subscribe to over 100 blogs, and I do my best to keep up with them. But there are a few things that are big “no-nos” in my book, which, if they happen too often I may stop commenting, stop reading, or even (God forbid!) stop following!

How to keep your blog readers coming back for more. Four steps to making sure you are not annoying your website visitors.

How To Get More Blog Readers From The U.S.

But really, do NOT despair! These four things are easy enough to remedy! I’m here to help.

#1: CAPTCHA

Please, for the love of all things awesome, turn off your CAPTCHA. Don’t know what CAPTCHA is? Then chances are you probably have it on your blog. CAPTCHA is basically a jumbled mess of letters that a super awesome commenter (like me, for example) has to input before Blogger lets the comment go through. The default for blogger is to have it on. If you like getting comments (and I know you do),  please… Turn it OFF.

get blog readers
How to Get Blog Readers: Annoyed Reader Example

#2: Music

I can’t believe I even have to add this one. This is absolutely, positively the most obvious of all the no-nos.  I am actually offended when I go to read a blog and music starts playing. Offended?, you ask? YES!  I think it’s rude that bloggers will push their music selection onto an unsuspecting reader (again, like me, for example). How do you know I’m not already listening to my own playlist as I browse through my favorite blogs, and you’re implying that YOUR song selection is better than mine? Or what if it’s late at night, I’ve got my laptop in my bed, and my husband is asleep next to me? He does NOT want to wake up to your (horrible) song selection which starts blasting before I get a chance to turn it off. I know what you’re thinking, that YOU have great taste in music and just can’t help yourself but to share your wealth of super cool taste with the rest of the blogosphere. Well, I say, Great!, then by all means, write a post, or even a weekly series, about music that I (as a reader) absolutely MUST listen to! I might even go listen to it! But it will be on my terms, and it won’t wake my poor tired husband.

#3: Reply/Respond/Something

Say that I (for example) comment on your blog. Then the next day I comment on your blog again. A week later I comment again. And I get nothing from you in response. That’s rude. You don’t have to reply to every single comment, but if you notice that you’re getting comments from a regular reader it’s the least you can do (as a blogger) to respond in some way. You could reply via email, you could respond in your comments, or you could visit MY blog and leave a comment. Just something that shows that you give a rip. And an auto response that says “dear blank, thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment on blank post” does not count. That actually gets you minus points in my book.

#4: Make It Easy To Like You

When I find a new blog I like, I like to go all the way with them, if you know what I mean. Wait, what? No! That’s NOT what I mean. First, I check out their about me. I want to know a little more about the writer. If I like what I see, I’ll want to follow them on Twitter, and add them to my reader. So if you’re making it hard for people (like me) to do these things, you are losing readers (like me). If I can’t find your about me, or your twitter handle, or your google friend thingie I might look around for a moment, but if it’s not hitting me in the face, I’m probably not going to hang around long.

how to get more blog readers from the u.s.
How to Get Blog Readers: Happy Reader Example

#5: Laundry

Please, please, please! put your dirty laundry in the laundry basket. Seriously, how hard is that? You either throw it aimlessly under your bed, or you put it two feet over IN THE BASKET. And while we’re at it, I am happy to wash your dirty clothes, but I do not feel the same way about your CLEAN clothes that you were too lazy to put away. Or you tried on and decided not to wear. How is it that your CLEAN clothes end up the dirty laundry but your dirty laundry…OH, Wait, Sorry! Wrong rant. Please forgive me.

So it’s really only FOUR SUPER EASY STEPS in order to get blog readers and not annoy them. Are you guilty of any of these? Do you have any other things that annoy YOU as a reader? Leave a comment and let us know!

About the Author

a woman with a cameraRachel from And Then, She {Snapped} is a mother, a wife, and a bargain shopper extraordinaire. She also loves taking pictures and believes it is impossible to have too many shoes or handbags. If there was an Olympic event for bargain shopping, she would take home the gold. What you need to remember is that Rachel is not sarcastic. AT ALL.

More Ideas on How to Get Blog Readers:

About Francesca

Francesca has an extensive background in content marketing, public relations, and social outreach. She oversees all Operations at Sway Group, including our robust metrics capabilities. Prior to joining the online world, Francesca oversaw viticulture and oenology at various wineries in both California and Italy, and managed regulatory affairs and facility approvals at the biotech company, Genentech. Francesca has been featured on CBS Sacramento and Food Blogger Pro’s podcast. She has also hosted an AMA webinar and spoken at Social Media World.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. The Pear Lady says

    Hah, Luckily, I’m doing none of that stuff; though, I probably have many other mistakes — my biggest: not poting enough. Music blaring on a web site, especially a blog is a pet peeve of mine as well.
    But what if I’m doing a post on dirty laundry? Duh, I have to show the before and after. ;D (yes, I know…I’m a bit cheeky…see –} [puffs out cheeks like a funny trombone player])

  3. Sarah says

    Thanks so much for this! I’ve been all over this blog reading all kinds of articles, prompted by my Google search for making canvas wall art. 🙂 Definitely need to see if I have Captcha on – I HATE those dumb things when I’m trying to comment on other blog posts. Would love to get more readers… these are great tips for keeping readers, but what about getting your blog out there to attract readers? Any tips there? I know one thing I try to do is read other people’s blogs and comment on them in hopes of them clicking on my own website from my comment (though I really do have meaningful and sincere comments for their post – it’s not completely selfish! Lol!)

    Great post.
    Sarah

  4. Nessa says

    I really like this post. I think #3 is probably the most important. No matter how much I love a blog, if I’m never acknowledged, if you’re lucky I might still read but I’ll probably never bother to comment.

  6. Victor S E Moubarak says

    Great post. Thank you. I agree with what you say although I have never quite understood Twitter so I can’t offer the option for people to follow me there. Besides, I don’t know where I’m going half the time; so following me would lead them astray. I have, however, put a “About the Author” link on my Blog.

    Another thing that annoys me, and not doubt other readers, is when it says “Your comment will be visible after Blog owner approval”. This means I have to wait a while and come back to see whether my comment has been posted and answered.

    God bless.

  7. Serifa says

    Thank you so much for writing this! For a new blogger this has been incredibly helpful as it also has assured me that I am not crazy when I get frustruated with things such as these on other sites.

    It has definitly given me direction on some improvments on my site.

    Thanks Agian,
    _
    Serifa

  9. Lori says

    After reading these tips, i went and checked the ‘captcha’, and realized that it was probably a big reason people were having difficulty leaving comments, so I unchecked it.
    also, I’m trying to figure out how to add a music box, with the option to play or not.
    Thanks for the tips =)
    Lori LC

    • Tiffany says

      Hi Sorella,

      We do moderate, but just for the first time you comment.

      Once you’ve been approved once, your comments will appear immediately.

      We clear out a significant number of spam comments daily- comments that are often quite inappropriate in content. So we feel this is the best way to make everyone comfortable

  11. Sorella - Blueberry Fingerprints says

    I’ve read a number of these things and they all say things I can agree with. Your list: I wholeheartedly agree.

    I think I have a nice blog and that my content is decent and that I have nice pictures. I have blogged more or less at times, but sometimes I see blogs that look really readable and I go OOOH and bookmark and come back. It’s a bit discouraging I seem to have a somewhat large amount of people passing by my blog (I label my pictures with a very descriptive description :P. I guess google finds me a lot!) and I comment a lot on other blogs, but I don’t seem to get too many readers that come back :(.

  12. Brianna says

    Thanks for this article! I am bad about replying to people since blogger doesn’t have an individual “reply” option (that I know of) so when multiple people comment and I include them all in a reply, they may not ever even see it!
    It’s a minor thing, but something I will definitely look into as I get closer to having my own web domain. 🙂

  13. Devon Riesenberg says

    Ha! this is a great post 🙂
    Thanks for the tips. Better turn off the CAPTCHA!…sorry!!
    I am SO happy you called out those blogs who never respond to a single comment I post! Especially when I ask them a question about the post…I always try to acknowledge every reader 🙂

  15. Leah says

    What a great input! I am a new blogger and it’s always great to hear tips from pro bloggers like you.
    Thanks for sharing!

    • Jill of All Trades says

      Thanks for the great tips, but may I ask the obvious. If I didn’t know what CAPTCHA is, how would I know if I have it and how to turn it off? In a similar vein how can I be sure I’ve done number four-without conflicting with the authenticity of my personality that is- but how can I make sure my name is in the Google thingie? I don’t twit, please don’t make me start; this is nauseatingly uncomfortable for me as it is-all exposed and whatnot. So far I just use the same name for EVERYTHING-even my password-hahaha, no, of course not…just a minute while I check something…

  17. Jacki says

    Uh oh. I need to go pick up my laundry.

    Great post – off to scan my blog and do a self-check on these points!

  18. Mary @ Redo 101 says

    Thanks for all the tips on “how not to run away readers.” I agree with the music thing, for me it is unbearably distracting, I simply can’t read your post and listen to the words being sung from your music at the same time. The other is posts that only give me a short blurb on the main page, then make me “flip to the back like in the newspaper” to read the rest. If they don’t catch me, and catch me big, in the first line … poof, I’m gone. Now I’m going to recheck my blog and make sure I’m not doing the other things you mentioned.

  19. Kathleen says

    Wonderful post and I don’t think I am guilty of these things although I know I was guilty of No. 1 while at blogger. I’m now at WP. Thanks for sharing!

  20. Jenn says

    This was a great post! We are trying to grow our blog, and I NEED to learn how to put an “About Me” page up. That’s my next quest! Thanks for the other tips 🙂

    • Silvy says

      Sorry for the delay. I don’t have Win7 64-bit nor do I have the steam version of FFv3R, so I don’t know how much help I’ll be. Essentially, you just need to set the ileatlnsr to look for your FFv3R folder and everything should install without a hitch. Please let me know if you run into any problems or what have you, so that I can make a post about it for future instances.

  22. Stephanie @ Hugs, Kisses and Snot says

    Very funny!
    1. The CAPTCHA – I’m w/ WP…I don’t think they have that automatically turned on but I”m going to go check right now…right after I finish writing this..
    2.The music…I can’t stand that. It’s so distracting. bleh
    3. I promise that I will comment back if you leave me a comment. I love comments…wish I had more of them.
    4. I think my RSS and email subscription is easy to find. I’ll go check.
    5. Laundry, sorry about that. I really hate folding laundry and putting it away.
    Great post.

  24. Louise Ducote says

    I didn’t know that CAPTCHA was called CAPTCHA, but I knew I didn’t like that annoying box getting in my way when I’m trying to comment. And now I’m mortified that I’ve been subjecting my own few-but-beloved commenters to this same irritation. Thank you so much for the tip!

  25. Melissa says

    I love this article! It’s extremely insightful and helpful. I am still new to the blogging world, so I am still in the “set up” phase. My biggest downfall is the “about me” section. I have no clue what to say or how to say it. Any suggestions? Thank you! 🙂

  27. Tracy O says

    Thanks for this great post. I am glad I have these covered. I try to respond to all my comments (although I know I have been guilty of letting a few fall through the cracks!) Used to have music, but since it annoyed me when I visited other blogs, I took mine off. If I open a blog with music, I immediately close the tab and don’t go back. Not that I don’t always dislike their taste in music, but half the time it scares the crud out of me as I wasn’t expecting it.

    My biggest pet peeve? Since I follow close to 200 blogs and read them in GR, truncated posts! I do make a habit of clicking over and commenting on quite a few blogs each day that I have a meaningful comment for, but since I have to do my reading in chunks..if you truncate your post either the title better really catch my eye or I am skipping right over you.