There’s a common question among new and veteran bloggers alike: how to gain more blog followers.
You’ve created this big and beautiful blog, and you’re baring your soul for all the world to see and read, how do you get people to actually know about your blog, and, on top of knowing, actually visit it…regularly?
This will be the part where you’ll need to reach deep down inside yourself and find your patience, because building an audience takes time.
I’ve been blogging for about seven years, and for the first two (ish), my only avid readers were my mom and my husband. I mean they were the most dedicated fans a girl could ask for; would read every post (and point out every typo, thank you very much – hey, free editing at its finest).
They would open every email the second it came through. They would share my posts on social media and brag to all their friends. They were amazing (and still are).
But I wanted more than just two people to read my words. Of course the two people closest to me in the world would care about what I had to say, but what about everyone else?
That’s when all the real work began.
Table of Contents
How to Gain More Blog Followers (the easy way!)
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Network
Whether you’re just starting out, or whether you’ve been blogging for awhile, one of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to grow your blogging network.
What I mean by this is find yourself a group of bloggers that you can virtually hang out with.
There are thousands of groups on Facebook for bloggers only; and these groups are great for helping you navigate your way through this new world. Not only will you be surrounding yourself with some people who get it, but you’ll be able to bounce ideas off one another, and get help with some of the things you might not understand (think of the technical aspects to blogging and maintaining your site).
Blogging groups are great for collaborating with a group of like-minded individuals and helping you find your spot in your own corner of the internet. Plus it’s always nice to make new friends, and I can honestly say that I’ve met some of the most amazing people through these blogging communities.
Guest Blog
Find some blogging platforms that accept guest posts, and pitch pitch pitch! Not only will this give you more experience in your blogging, but it will allow you to connect with a wider audience and ultimately get more eyes on your work.
Don’t be discouraged if this doesn’t happen for you overnight. When I had been blogging for about a year or so, I submitted an audition article to a well known local blogging platform in my town. I received a short reply back stating that they didn’t feel I was “ready” for a platform like theirs.
A couple weeks later I submitted a different piece to Her View From Home, a nationally known blogging platform, and was published within a week. A month later, I was invited to become a regular contributor on The Huffington Post. Two years after that? I’ve been featured on multiple boutique/industry blogs, and I’m a regular contributor for The Today Show.
My point with this? Don’t get discouraged if you get a “no” right out of the gate. Maybe it just wasn’t good timing, or a good fit. Don’t let that one “no” dull your sparkle. Keep writing, keep submitting.
Also don’t feel like you have to submit to the larger platforms right away. Find someone in one of your groups who accepts guest posts, and work out some kind of collaboration with them. The goal is to get your content and your words seen more, and any way that you can do this in a positive way is ultimately going to help you in the long run. Just make sure that wherever you do decide to post, that it fits in with your vision and the topics that you write about.
On the other side of this, also be open to accepting guest posts on your blog. Think about it; if someone writes a post that gets published on your space, they’re going to be telling all their followers and readers to head on over to check it out, right? That’s an audience heading to your site, and if you have enough content there that grabs their attention – they just may stay for awhile.
Same advice as above: make sure that whoever you are allowing to publish on your site as a guest blogger, and their content both fit your vision and the topics that are relevant to your personal blog and site.
Now I’m not saying that if you’re a personal trainer and you write a blog solely about fitness tips, that you have to accept pitches from other personal trainers only. Maybe you find a blogging friend who specializes in healthy recipes and you want to feature one of their post-workout nutrient dense smoothies on your blog. Totally fits!
Think outside the box and don’t be afraid to feature new content. What wouldn’t work in this scenario, would be a fitness blogger who all of a sudden accepts posts from business writers, and home decor bloggers, etc. etc. You just want your audiences to be similar, because they’re more likely to stick around. But I don’t think I need to spend a lot of time explaining different niches and what works vs. what doesn’t. Ultimately your blog is your call and you are in control; if you want something there, post it. If you don’t, don’t. You da boss.
Some blogs that accept guest posts:
- Salt + Sparrow (Christian Lifestyle Blog)
Social Media
Ahhh social media. We all love to hate it, but let’s be real.. we’re all totally obsessed with it.
Depending on your personal preferences, along with your blog’s niche and target audience, your social media platform of choice might be different from someone else’s. My advice for when you’re first starting out, is to try them all (but do so in a way that’s not overwhelming, because they can all get pretty dang overwhelming if you’re not careful).
You’ll quickly learn what works and what doesn’t, and you’ll be able to narrow it down from there and better choose how you spend your social media marketing time and potentially dollars.
I originally was going to spend some time giving tips on how you can use each social media platform to your advantage for growing your audience, but honestly, there’s so much info that I could cover that I really feel each platform is deserving of its own post. So stay tuned, because I’ll be talking about social media more in depth in a later post! Be prepared because we’ll cover Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and more!
Email Marketing
Another great way to grow your audience is to establish an email marketing plan. There are a lot of different email subscriptions and services you can use, but personally I have experience with MailChimp, MailerLite, and Flodesk.
Your newsletter will be a way that you can communicate with your subscribers and followers and keep them informed of new content added to your blog or start teasing them with exciting things that will be coming soon.
You can embed an email subscription form right on your blog (each theme and platform will have different ways you can do this, along with details on how), and you can also include a sign-up link right on social media.
Also, don’t be afraid to flat out ask your subscribers and audience how often they want to hear from you. With my boutique, I typically send multiple marketing emails throughout the week, but with this blog, I’ve transitioned to a monthly round-up that I send at the end of each month. Everyone is different, you just have to find what your audience is wanting and what works for you.
Ultimately, the best way that you’re going to continue growing your blog is by producing content that people care about. I know I’ve said before that you shouldn’t feel tied to one niche, and I mean that, but make sure your blog has a vision and a voice. Find the people who are going to identify with the types of posts you’re writing about, and connect with them on some level. Regardless of whether you’re selling a product or service, or simply sharing your story – you should look at your blog as a business and think in terms of how to grow over time.
Practice makes perfect and patience is definitely a virtue. Try something out and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean you failed. It only means you need to move on to your next idea until you find something that does. Your blog will definitely grow, just give it the time, attention, and love that it deserves.

Great tips, thank you for sharing! I am a new blogger and these tips are very helpful.
So glad you found them helpful!
I’ve heard many big-time bloggers say they were discovered via a guest post.
You probably should have mentioned SEO as in the long run it’s what counts.
SEO is huge, you’re right! But that’s another blog post ๐
While I do network, I’m glad I got some new ideas on how to promote my blog!
Networking is essential! You’re a step ahead of the game ๐ Glad some of these other tips could help! xo
Great tips. I need to concentrate more on networking.
I have just started my blog but I am super excited and cannot wait for it to grow! ๐
I will definitely try out guest posts in the future. Thanks for the great tips! ๐
Congrats on starting your blog! I will have to check it out ๐ Definitely keep guest posts in mind; they can be a lot of fun and a great way to network! Best of luck to you in your blogging journey, Giada!
This is so helpful, reinforcing, and encouraging! Thank you for sharing ๐
You’re so welcome, Scout!
This is so helpful! Thanks for the recommendations on the guest posting sites. I have done 3 guest posts so far and each time see a big spike in my users the next few days, and then it settles back down to slightly higher than it was. Making bits of progress each time!
That’s awesome that you’re seeing the climb! I love guest posting because it’s such a fun way to connect with sites, brands, and bloggers that you otherwise might not have – and you can make some great connections that way! ๐
great tips thanks for sharing
Thanks for stopping by, Jimmy!
Great tips, these are so helpful. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Krysten! So glad you found them helpful ๐
There are some great tips in this post. I think it’s definitely time for me to start doing some guest blogs, so thank you for the reminder that it doesn’t matter if you get a no from someone
I’m so glad you found this helpful! Yes definitely give guest blogging a try! If you get a no – it just means it wasn’t the right fit ๐ You got this!
Such good info!!! It is very helpful! I started writing right before COVID lockdownโฆ it has been a slow growth but you have re-motivated me to not give up!!
Definitely don’t give up!!! It’s a process that takes time, so enjoy each and every step of the ride and your efforts will pay off!
Thanks for all the tips. Most of the time I feel I am not ready yet to go full-time on blogging. Reading your post encourages me to never give-up.