Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The Thing About Followers

Everybody has followers and subscribers. I just figured that out today. Here's what I've learned about them in my few months of blogging.


~How To Get Them~

Method #1:
1. Visit blogs
2. Comment on said blogs
3. Return to said blogs (multiple times)
4. Follow the bloggers on social media

Eventually, they should bite if they're human (see above).

Method #2:
1. Do nothing

Trust me, this works just as well most of time. It's okay for people to follow you first sometimes :)

~They Are Your . . .~

audience ~ entertain them.

responsibility ~ they don't come and go by accident. They're real people, too.

friends ~ like I said, they're real people. Internet friends are most definitely a thing.

everything ~ you have to have readers, guys, and readers may as well be followers.

~What I've Learned~

Know that even if you don't have a ton of followers, you always have more readers. That's what I realized today when I wondered if all my e-mail subscribers were showing up as followers. The answer is no, unless they followed me as well. That meant there are 19 more of you who actually let my words flood your inbox several times a week. (Which means you're amazing!)

Keep in mind that numbers aren't everything, though. You don't need a throne of purest gold to impact people. Maybe one little blog post blew their mind and they have to process it before they come back. (Don't burst my bubble on this one, please.)

To me, followers and subscribers are like your friends in life. They are the people you know by name and face and spend time with continuously. But there are a gazillion more people in the world that come under your influence as you live your life. Those, my friends, are you readers. Influence is a power that should not be taken lightly.

~A Random Announcement~

Now that I've given you my impromptu post, I am going to prepare you for what's coming (because I've actually planned ahead). I have my first giveaway coming Thursday! That's two days. Less than that, really. So I hope you're ready! I'm very excited about this and promise it's some good stuff I'm handing out. What am I celebrating? Awesome followers, obviously. I'll save the list of other things for Thursday :)

~~~~~

How many followers do you have right now? Have you worked for them or just let them find you? Have you figured out how to number your subscribers with FeedBurner yet? Are you excited about my giveaway? Too many questions? ;)

50 comments:

  1. Great thoughts! I definitely think it's important to remember that followers on social media are real people. It makes being friendly a lot easier and a lot more fun :)

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    1. Aha! My first recruit from Twitter!! *insert evil chuckle and lightning*

      Thank you :) Yes, it definitely makes it seem like a better use of my time when I realize they've got a life outside of social media, too! :)

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  2. Thanks for following me on Pintrest :D (Evie Capaldi)

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    1. You're welcome!! Hoping for some great inspiration ;)

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  3. I have 13 followers and I have no clue how many email subscribers. I should check. And yeah, it's not the numbers but who reads and how they are impacted. And readers cause some may read but never follow so

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    1. Awesome! Yes, you should totally check! I was really surprised by how many is I had. You can do it with FeedBurner, but I don't know how I got to work in the end :P

      Yes, it's who you reach, not how many :)

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  4. I have four followers and I didn't know you could check up on email subscribers, lol. I do try my absolute hardest to follow your steps and that's how I met you of course, but I have a hard time being social, and an even harder time making the time to be social. Of course it really needs to be just a few minutes daily, doesn't it?
    Good thoughts though, especially about treating followers as real people.
    (By the way, I am definitely replying your your final thoughts on my story, ASAP!)

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    1. Yeah, I had just never thought about that possibility until I realized they were separate counts :)

      Ah, yes, time is the killer. I probably spend more time than I should, but if you just tried to find the blogs of the people who commented on this post, that would be a great start. Skim their About Me page and leave a quick comment. Follow them on social medias and then try the next one. They'll notice you showed up in several places at once and be curious. With any luck, you keep visiting each other's blogs :) And I only do that process of trying to find new blogs about once a month :)

      Yay! Yes, for some reason it can be really hard to remember that you're all people together, just because you're on the internet :P

      I saw your reply on the end of your story and it made me very happy! I'm so glad I was helpful and not too overwhelming. Sometimes it's hard for me to gauge if I'm encouraging or scaring the author, but you were taking everything so well, I was confident. :) Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity despite differences ;) I cannot wait to start on your next story!

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    2. It makes sense now... XD
      That has worked a few times, I just don't do those kind of things consistently enough I guess. Too many distractions!
      Haha, you definitely weren't overwhelming me. I really enjoy all the commentary I can get, and I've definitely been just as bad to other people. XD I am quite excited for you to start on my next story too!

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  5. I don't know how many followers I have . . . a fair number, I think. I sort of just let them come to me, because I honestly don't care that much about the numbers- I'll keep writing if there's five or fifty people reading.

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    1. That's a really good attitude to have! :) I didn't try to start recruiting followers until I made it a monthly goal to increase by a certain number. Now I enjoy stalking new blogs and seeing if they'll check out mine when I have spare time :P

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  6. Wonderful post, Abi! I've got eight followers, but since my blog is private I guess that's an accomplishment :D. I typically just let them find me. If I know them well and they wish to see my blog, I let them (most of the time), and sometimes they follow :D.
    AND YES I'M EXCITED ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY! Can't wait for Thursday!

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    1. Thanks, Savannah! Yeah, that's great! Whatever works :)

      YAY! I'm working on the post right now before I have to go to work so I can get it published early in the day :P

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  7. AHH I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY. *happy squeal*

    I have... 270 or something like that? It's crazy seeing how that number has gone up over the months (I'm all weird and geeky and keep a graph with stats), but I can definitely tell that commenting on blogs are still my #1 way to gaining more readers. It's definitely a time consuming process, but I also enjoy seeing the creativity of other bloggers.

    And it's important to realize that gaining followers/readers (however you want to view them), it takes TIME. Lots of it. Very invested and focused time. xD

    // katie grace
    a writer's faith

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    1. YAY!!!

      Oh my goodness! That's crazy. But it's because everyone who follows you raves about you and then like 10 new people go check out your blog xD It's so cool that you keep a graph! I've only got as many followers as I do because you let me launch from your superstar blog :D

      Yep, commenting is the way to go. People enjoy regular faces and will eventually click on their face :P

      Ugh, yes the TIME! That's where I sometimes fail. I try and spend a little bit of time every day, but no bueno *shrug* That's how I keep getting behind in my reading, commenting, following, blogging, everything :P It's hard work!

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  8. I DIDN'T KNOW YOU COULD SEE WHO FOLLOWED YOU VIA EMAIL!!! This makes me so crazy happy. I have eleven more followers!! This made my day haha XD

    I've been blogging for almost 2 years now, and I've reached (including email) 66 followers. That's not a ton, but I'm just happy to have people who read my blog! I've definitely found that commenting is the best way to go if you want to gain followers!

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    1. I DIDN'T KNOW IT EITHER!!! I just never thought about e-mail being different than a follower count :P I'm so glad you were able to figure it out!

      That's a good amount! Yes, just having people who regularly read and enjoy is fantastic :) I guess that's what other people like, too, and that's why commenting works so well! :)

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  9. Great post, Abi! I've got 18 subscribers right now, and no "followers" because I'm Wordpress and not Blogger. :( Yes, I love checking my FeedBurner subscribers. All the happy little peoples there are awesome! :) I've kinda let them find me, though I am planning on investing more time in other people's blogs in the coming months.

    Yes, I'm excited about your giveaway! Can't wait!!!

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    1. Ah, I guess I didn't realize it was different for WordPress :/ But I'm pretty sure I follow you publicly (via my Blogger feed), but I don't get e-mails, so I'm not 'subscribed.' I'd be curious to know if WordPress makes the same distinction :)

      Awesome! It's great when people can just find you. My blog hunting is only sometimes successful, so I don't do it very often :)

      Yay!! Hopefully I can get everything in order :D

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  10. Love this post! I have something like 100 followers, not counting email and other forms of following. Most of them aren't active though. *shrugs*

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    1. Thank you, Victoria! Wow, that's a lot! :) Aaaah. Yeah, not all of my followers are active, either, but they resurface every now and then. And not everyone who reads comments :)

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  11. I have... *counts on hands* one.. two... Zero. I don't have a blog, so therefore no followers. But I do have like 18 on G+.
    Does that count?

    But yeah, excited for the giveaway!

    And being a follower, I can say I mostly just stalk someone's blog, then stalk someone who commented, and so forth. And that is why I have 26 bloggers that I follow. ://

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    1. Haha. Well, of course Google+ can count, then :)

      Yay!! My goal is to get it posted early in the day, but we'll see :)

      Ah, that's how I usually do it, too. My blog stalking this go round consisted of pestering Jonathan Trout's followers that we don't have in common, haha! Geez, I don't even know how many blogs I follow now. Probably too many. But if I realize that there's one I'm just never reading, I'll unfollow sometimes. :)

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    2. :)

      Yay! Love giveaways!

      Yes, I stalk people from Jonathan's blog, too (because I follow his) and yeah. It's funny how many people I see that comment on and follow the same blogs I comment on and follow :)

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    3. Yeah, no matter how much you try, you always end up in a similarity circle :P

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  12. Great post! Building your readership is definetly an elusive skill that all bloggers want to have. Personally, I've found that the best method is commenting back. If someone comments on my blog, I respond and then go back to their blog and engage with it somehow (usually a comment). Which is how I ended up here:P Thanks for stopping by SOI!

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    1. Thanks, Sunny :) Well I admire the people that don't have to work that hard at it. Not everyone has the time or cares how many followers they have.

      Yes, commenting always seems to be the most effective. When I'm stalking, I'm the first one to do the commenting. But I try to keep up with the people who find me first, too :) Thank /you/ for stopping by! :D

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  13. I have 3 followers. All of them are people who's blog I frequently attend. I don't post much so that might be the reason, lol. I just checked my stats and found out that people from France and Russia has seen my blog. Like, whaaa?

    You learn something new, everydayy...

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    1. Yep, there always seems to be a connection there :) Haha, that's okay. I probably post too much. Some people really like posts more spread out (especially when they follow a freaking ton of blogs, like me!!)

      Isn't that the coolest thing to look at? It's mind blowing!!! Most of my foreign visits are from Canada and Ireland, of course ;)

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    2. Ireland? People other than me? o.O

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  14. Oh my gosh!
    I'm telling you this is crazy! I got here only to comment and give you links to my blog so that I could get more views ... CRAAZZZY!

    We have loads of things in common! Judging by your About Me page.

    I'm the eldest of 7 kids, homeschooled, Christian, love Michael Buble, writing, blogging, editing ~ basically anything to do with english ~ also BIG fan of these things ~~~~~~~~~ weird but fun!

    I love the lay out of your blog, it's great!

    I would really appreciate if you would check out my blogs!! The first one is a Christian one and the second is just for me to have fun and blog around. Thank you!

    amberbakerblogs.wordpress.com

    moreamber.wordpress.com

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    1. That's awesome, Amber!! I'm glad that you found more than you expected to :)

      Thank you! I just redid the design, so what a perfect time for you to stop by :)

      Of course I'll check out your blogs! Thanks for your visit :D

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  15. Oh and I just can't get enough of notebooks, I need a few more for various other things, scrapbook, work book, blog post planning, any old excuse to get some more notebooks!

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    1. YES NOTEBOOKS!! I actually have blank ones right now. /Blank/ ones!! It's a new feeling :)

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  16. Neat post!! I agree that we tend to focus on how many followers we can get and how many comments when we really need to be content with what we have and try to use our time to impact the people who are already following our blog and shine Jesus light to them. That's something I'm working on!!

    Can't wait for your giveaway!!! Eeek. ;)

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    1. Thank you, Hannah! Yes, sometimes I wonder if I focus on the number too much. I want people to follow and enjoy what I say, but not for /my/ sake :) Thankfully, I've got a pretty awesome group of followers and I can't believe how far I've gotten already!!

      Yay!!! I need to work on it :P

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  17. Oo a giveaway :D

    I love the followers who turn into friends, it's the best.

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    1. Oo, yes ma'am! :)

      For sure! Followers totally make a blog ;)

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  18. It's so interesting seeing names atIt'sd to comments and realizing that they're real people... Not sure what else they'd be but it's still interesting. Excellent post!

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    1. Haha! Yeah, of course they're people. I don't know why that's so easy to forget :P Thanks for commenting! :)

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  19. I've got 25 followers and 29 readers. I've had to work for nearly all of them. It's kinda hard to do so much work and see so little fruit though. :(

    Very excited for the giveaway! And no, not too many questions!

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    1. Good for you! Ugh, it is frustrating when people don't give in to your internet wiles! You have a lovely blog, regardless of your followers :)

      Yay! Oh good ;)

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    2. Aww, thank you! It means a lot to have people complement me, as I'm sure you know. On that note, I adore your blog as well!

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  20. Haaaa... when you just posted about reaching a follower goal and your reading this post. I do ljke that you have mentioned that you have more readers than followers it's reassuring in some ways.

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    1. Haha! It's funny how things like that happen. I definitely find it reassuring. I'm glad you feel the same! Thanks for commenting, Vanessa :)

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  21. Useful tips Abigayle - thanks for sharing! Love your blog. :)

    Grace
    golden halcyon

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    1. You're welcome! Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! I hope to see you around again :)

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  22. I really needed to read this! THANK YOU! I've been really struggling with getting readers/ followers. I think the key is commenting, following and being a friend of another blogger; it helps if they aren't too BIG yet. LOL. Oh, ANd I GOT MY FIRST FOLLOWER!!! YAAYY!!! LOL

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    1. I'm SO glad it was helpful! You're right, all of those things are very important! And it can be tricky once they're pretty big ;) Guest posting can help get your blog out in a new circle a little more, too :)

      Yay! Firsts are so exciting. Really engage the person and just keep doing what you're doing. If you have any social media and can expand your friends there, too, then your posts can get to people that way, as well :)

      Good luck and thanks for commenting! :D

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