One thing I get asked a lot is how smaller blogs can gain momentum with their following. And one of the easiest ways to do that is by connecting with the followers you already have. And you can do this through blog comments pretty easily, believe it or not. I’ll explain how in the video.
*Thanks to Mayi of the heartmade blog, who asked me on twitter how I manage blog comments, which is how this video started.
If you have a question that you’d like answered, leave me a comment below or ask me on twitter @papernstitch. Who knows. It might just be my next video.
23 comments | Click here to reply
Hi Felicity. That is wonderful to hear. Really happy that you enjoyed the video and it helped you.
papernstitchWanted to let you know, I just checked out your blog. Keep up the great work. Love the art and photography you are featuring there.
-Brittni
Hi Brittni,
As a fairly new blogger of less than a year, I’m always interested to learn new ways of creating a community via my blog.
I appreciate you taking the time to create this vlog post and share your wisdom.
The idea of copying and pasting a reply that you’ve made via email onto a blog comment or vice versa was particularly useful.
Best wishes,
Felicity x
FelicityThank you! I completely understand it is difficult to juggle blog comments, especially when its not a part of your normal job. And I fully agree with you- commenting on other people’s blog as a blogger yourself is always a good idea. It definitely helps to build relationships and is just the all around friendly thing to do. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Brittni: papernstitch-Brittni
Brittni- I really enjoyed your video. It’s always interesting for me to hear others’ perspective on comments within the blogging community. I have to say, I have a very difficult time consistently responding to people as I have a full time job (completely unrelated to my blog) and am incredibly busy and although it doesn’t take much time to respond, it can become an overwhelming task. Especially when my priority is to find fodder for the blog to keep it going.
Down and Out ChicWith that said, I try to make it a point to visit other people’s blogs who comment regularly because I think most people want acknowledgment that what they have to say on their own site is important too. I don’t blog in order to sell things so I’m not marketing anything but the blog itself. I think it boils down to being an active part of a community. If all a blogger wants to do is receive and not be generous in giving their time by visiting other sites, then it might be a problem. Thanks for your video!
Hi Alex. Thanks for your comment. You are one step ahead of the game with Typepad sending automatic comment replies. That’s great!
Brittni: papernstitch-Brittni
Hi Brittni. I like your idea about emailing your comment reply back to the person. I’m lucky, in that Typepad does this automatically for me, but I do find it a bit of a pain when you ask a blogger a question in their comments section, and you have to keep checking back on that post to see if you’ve received a response, when no notification is sent. Of course this probably only irks me because my internet connection is so woeful!!
I’m looking forward to applying to papernstitch when I open my shop next year, even more so because of your position on this whole subject 🙂
Alex LouisaHi Jamie. This sounds like a very unfortunate situation. I just emailed you some advice.
papernstitch-Brittni
Hi Brittni,
This video could not have come at a better time. I have a serious question to pose: what do you do when a very popular, very prominent artist/seller continues to ignore you? I first ordered something from this person in July, & a little mess up happened, it was “lost” in the mail. After it was cleared up, this person offered me store credit with them to make up for the first issue. I decided to wait and use it, contacted them twice within the last month to order, and am still awaiting a response.
When the first order was lost in the mail, the only way I got information about it was when I finally sent a message saying I was worried I’d have to create a Paypal dispute.
What do you think are the right steps to take this time? I realize that it’s closer to the holidays, but I cannot help but feel like I am blatantly being ignored, and on purpose. This person is very very very well known within this community and it’s incredibly irritating to me that she continues to be praised when my only interactions with her have been so awful. I really want to use my aforementioned credit on something she makes, but I’m not gonna lie: I don’t want to pay for it when she’s being rude and not upholding her generosity.
What do you think I should do?
jamieMore than anything it fun to finally put a voice to a face 🙂
Tali SchifferThanks for this great tip. I do try to follow that rule- give back to those who visit, as well as try to comment on every post I read that was of interest.
Hi Jennifer and Van. Thanks for writing. And Van- I like what you said about showing your appreciation for a blog by commenting. So true!
papernstitch-Brittni
Yep, I agree with everything in this video post. I used to be a lurker, but nothing has improved my blog more than simply interacting with people. I already read hundreds of blogs daily, so it’s easy. If you appreciate the blog and their post: leave a comment! You’ll build a genuine network when you interact organically in your niche.
Vanreally appreciated this video brittni! thank you for your opinion/take on this subject matter!!! i am all about building relationships!
jennifer youngj.
Thank you for sharing your story on the blog. Its great to hear that you were already doing this with your blog (which is great by the way). So glad you found papernstitch. And Thea- Happy to hear you enjoyed this. I definitely have more videos planned. I really enjoy doing it.
Brittni: papernstitch-Brittni
well, with all that talk of comments, how could I not comment?! 😉
Nope, I genuinely enjoyed this. Informative. Interesting to hear how others do it and looking forward to more videos.
thea.
theaxxxx
Thanks for this thoughtful and informative video, Brittni. It covered issues I’ve been thinking a lot about as a newbie blogger.
Four months in and I still make an effort to respond to all comments left for me (except, of course, the spam which I delete or the let-me-just-introduce-my-blog comments). So many people comment on how rare that is – most of them don’t expect responses. I think that’s a shame. I’ve learnt so much more about my followers through their comments.
I have 176 now but I suppose one I have more, I’ll have to see whether I have enough time to devote to such an effort.
Anyway, thanks so much for this. I’m one of your newest followers and am so delighted to have found you from faraway Australia! J x
JaneGlad this helped you Lauren! Thanks for stopping by. And Mayi, my pleasure! So glad you asked this question.
papernstitch-Brittni
thank you so much for rocking this answer to my question. it helped so much!
Mayi Carles @ HeartmadeWhat great and true advice! Thanks brittni!
LaurenThanks for sharing the info on facebook Twiggs. Always appreciated! You bring up another great point about leaving comments on other people’s blogs. That isa really great way to start building a relationship with a blogger. And you do a wonderful job with this. Thank you for all the comments you have left me here on the blog!
papernstitch-Brittni
hello brittni, couldn’t resist and shared it on facebook! this is great advice!!! i actually do that every day, i receive email updates from my favourite blogs and always leave something nice written! great to hear from you! have a great week! twiggs
TwiggsHi Ruth. Thanks for stopping by and leaving your thoughts. You are absolutely right: community is ALL ABOUT relationships, especially in the handmade community!
papernstitch-Brittni
I really enjoyed your video, Brittni. I think you’re spot on about relationships. The handmade community is all about relationship. I don’t think people would be quite so interested if it weren’t for the personal connection between customer and crafter. 🙂
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