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I’ve been a big advocate of guest blogging over the years; currently ranking no.1 for the phrase in Google and using it to build my personal development blog to over 6,000 subscribers. Many people who come across the idea of writing guest posts and the benefits they offer automatically think it’s the best use of your marketing time.
Well, it’s not. If I write a guest post for someone, I might receive 100 visitors to my blog and receive about 15 subscribers. Yet, if someone links to me naturally, interviews me, or mentions one of my posts they happen to like, the visitor to subscriber ratio is way higher. In other words, I would rather be mentioned on a popular blog than write for it.
Once you see the effectiveness of mentions on other websites, you inhibit a drive which makes you want to work on getting more of them. After all, it makes sense that you would rather trust the recommendation of a friend (or website) directly, rather than have someone speaking on their behalf (a guest post).
The major benefit of guest blogging over trying to get mentioned on other blogs is that generally, your time spent guest blogging is a lot more likely to result in a link. If you put the work in on a good article, then it’s likely to go live on the intended targets’ blog. You can’t be sure, however, that your engagement with other bloggers will result in them linking back to your website. Getting links from other bloggers, in my vast experience, is the easiest and most effective way to increase the number of people subscribing to your blog.
For this reason, I’ll still focus on writing a few guest posts per month, and doing the “work” necessary to help me get mentioned on other websites. Before I go into my recommendations, please note that not all of them are necessary. Just utilising one of these tactics may get you the result you’re looking for. However, it’s good to know all of the options available to help you get the best results.
The Easiest Way: Write Incredible Content
There are a lot of people who come to ViperChill, leave comments, and interact with me on a personal level. I would love to promote a few of them to help them grow but in all honesty (without trying to sound nasty) the content they produce just isn’t that great. The main reason for this is that it isn’t unique.
If I recommend a site that people don’t get value from, you guys will start to lose trust in the links I share. That’s why I so frequently link to people like Tamar, Karol and Pat, because they write excellent content and it’s relevant to this audience.
No matter how engaged and friendly you are with another blogger, they’re going to struggle to link to you if your content isn’t relevant, and it isn’t amazing. It’s pretty much a waste of time trying to get a cooking blog to link to your marketing website, and also a waste of time trying to get them to link to your guide on how to make toast, even if you do run a cooking site.
Make sure you take care of this most important step first and foremost, and you’ll have a much greater chance of getting links from big blogs.
Make Other People Care
When I was 16, I received an email from Google Engineer Matt Cutts. Matt created what you may know as Google’s “safesearch filter” and is the head of their web-spam department. His blog actually has over 70,000 subscribers. In the email, he asked if I did any “shady or black hat tactics” because he wanted to link to me, but didn’t want to look bad for doing so.
If my blog at the time had any sort of audience interaction or readership, Matt wouldn’t have needed to ask. Because my blog was so quiet, which I had in common with many of the bloggers who interact with me, he wasn’t totally comfortable with just linking to me, but instead wanted to speak to me first.
Just because I like a post of yours and may want to link to it, like other bloggers I’ll have doubts whether this was a fluke post of yours, and whether people would be disappointed with your other posts if I was to send them your way. Sadly, we rarely have that much time to look around to determine a “trustworthy” site, so building an audience first is your best chance to do so.
With so many blogs in the Make Money Online space, it’s only the ones with a fairly large audience that tend to catch my attention. Grow your readership and show potential linkers that you can build and sustain an audience, and they’re far more likely to send readers your way.
Finally, this also works well because many people will link to you in the hope that you’ll link back one day. They’ll only care about this if you have a decent-sized readership.
Show Me Who You Are
This isn’t so much a rule myself or other bloggers have, but more of a feeling. If I don’t know anything about you (even just basic details such as your name or gender) it just feels weird to link to you. First of all, I don’t know what to call you when I do so — site names just aren’t personal.
Secondly, I don’t know how to structure my sentence because I usually want to say he or she. Thirdly, I tend to wonder what people have to hide if they don’t want to reveal information about themselves online. I totally get anonymity, since I had a pseudo-name online until I was 18, but some small details like your first name and a picture won’t hurt you.
I’ve also noticed that out of all the people I link to regularly, I know something specific about their life, or their character (usually through Twitter interactions). I know bloggers who I don’t even interact with that are performers in the circus, trying to visit every country in the world, or able to speak six languages.
If you can let me know through your blog or our interactions something unique and quirky about you, I’m far more likely to remember who you are. Though it may not be great for my brand, people often refer to me as the “young blogger” or “marketing wizz kid”. Neither are things that I’m going for, but it’s clear that people pick this up from my work online, and it’s something they remember me by.
What can I remember you by?
If I can remember something, I’m more likely to link to you when it’s relevant to what I’m writing.
Give to Receive
As with many things in life, you have to give to receive. Smaller bloggers can quickly work their way up my radar by mentioning me frequently. Similarly, people with a lot of Twitter followers who tweet my links can quickly make me a fan.
The simple reason is that if someone is giving me 100 subscribers from a blog post link or helping me get an extra 50 retweets, I want more of it. Who wouldn’t?
The way I am most likely to help that cycle to continue is to link back to that person, or retweet the other bloggers posts as well. This isn’t some verbal exchange where we both agree we’ll do something for each other, but more a natural reciprocation which has an underlying conversation whereby we both know we’re supporting each other.
That being said, there are many people who link to me where, right now, I just can’t consider linking back to them. The simple reason is that they have nothing on their blogs I want to share with the world. They fail with point one of this post. Unless you have great content I can share as well, then this simply isn’t going to work much in your favour.
Two people that have linked to me recently where I do recommend their content would be the blogs of Michael and Kristi. They link to me, they write great content, so I’m linking back. Apart from a couple of tweets, I have had no other interactions with either of them.
Giving doesn’t just have to be tweeting and linking of course. You could:
- Leave blog comments
- Share feedback in an email
- Link to the blogger on your Facebook fan page
- Design a logo for their blog or highlight a typo
I once wrote a personal, hand-written letter to one of my favourite bloggers who linked to me after they received it. I’m not suggesting you get your pen and paper out, but instead to realise the number of ways you can give in order to receive.
Don’t be Afraid to Ask
In all honesty, this is one of least effective ways to get my attention, but I know it works well on other bloggers, especially ones who are overloaded by their other communication channels. If 200 people are retweeting and linking to your per day, it’s almost impossible to notice the people who stand out. However, the odd request by email from someone who has interacted with you before may be enough to get them to share that link juice.
There are just a few things you need to know when asking for links, but they’re very important. The first is that you should get to the point quickly. I laugh when people tell me how amazing my blog is in a few paragraphs and then at the bottom of the email clearly have something to ask from me. It almost feels as if they should have said the nice stuff in a comment, and then asked me for a link and nothing else in the email.
Tamar’s excellent post confirmed that influencers just want you to get to the point.
The second thing to remember is that you must tell the blogger why they should care; without specifically telling them why they should care. For example, if you mention the comments you’ve been leaving on recent blog posts (which you really have) or the relevance of your post to one that the blogger wrote recently, you’re giving them a reason to care. You’re showing you’re not just spamming inboxes in the hope of getting a backlink.
To boil it down for you:
- Keep your communication short
- Get to the point
- Give the blogger a reason to care
- Tell them what you would like
- Acknowledge it’s fine if they ignore your email
The last point is there simply because bloggers can’t always get in touch with you when you want them to or edit upcoming posts with links to your site. However, they may be able to link to you in the future. If you act bitchy because they couldn’t this time, then you may ruin your opportunity for getting a link in the future.
Getting links from other blogs (without writing guest posts) is always the highest visitor to subscriber ratio traffic I receive. Don’t miss this out on this tactic, and the great opportunity available to grow the size of your audience.
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Wow, Glen. Again mindblowing. I’ve been watching a couple of videos of Jon Morrow’s Guest Blogging course (or at least the videos before the course) and I thought Guest Posting was the best way. And then Glen comes along with something to say.
The only thing is this is pretty hard, I’ve been around for over 1,5 years now and I start to see some links getting back, but still not naturally. Persistence is the key to success probably. Thanks for this post Glen! Awesome!
Heh, Jon used me as one of his case studies
You’re welcome Stefan, thanks for the comment!
Bah, and here I was doing good preaching the virtues of guest blogging, until Glen came along and ruined my evil plan.
The truth about guest blogging is it’s not really a traffic strategy. It’s a relationship building strategy, which results in traffic.
A link from a popular blogger definitely has more value than a guest post by line, but your chances of getting that link go up by about 10,000% after you do the guest post. The trick is to do the guest post first, and then ask for the link after. If it’s good content, you’ll almost always get the link.
In the spirit of the piece, here’s a typo for you:
I would love to promote a few of them to help them grow but in all honesty (without trying to sound nasty) the content they product just isnβt that great.
Product should be “produce”.
Great post.
Thanks π
Great work Glen.
Getting an email from Matt Cutts. Whatever. Insert jealousy.
Ha ha. Love it.
Tyrant
Haha,
Thanks BT!
Yeah, I’m not sure it’s too common to be 16 and receiving e-mail from Matt Cutts… π
Not that I know of π
Really great post Glen,
Writing great content is one of the best ways to increase your subscribers base I learned from you. I have always been striving to give the best of my content and I know I will get there one day.
Another important point you raised is the importance of asking, making effective use of call to actions is another effective way to get more subscribers.
Thanks so much for the great post,
-Onibalusi
Hey Oni,
I hope all is going well. Glad I could pass some wisdom on
Great post Glen …from reading it I feel that you grow ( on all levels ) and only somebody who grows can write something like this.
More sound advice and great wisdom. Thank you Glenn.
You’re welcome James,
Thanks!
Glen,
Awesome post, as always. I think wring great content and getting links from other bloggers are the best ways to increase RSS Subscribers.
Thanks for sharing this great Post.
You’re welcome Devesh
The problem with awesome content (and I don’t think I do it) is that even if you write it, if your readership is really low, it won’t get noticed. I’ve read tons of old posts from now-important-blogs that didn’t catch a while ago, just because there was not a strong enough readership.
For us small bloggers, the best way to get noticed is then to spread our guest posting and maybe some day we will be noticed by the big fishes in the pond.
Ruben
Sometimes, but definitely not always.
When I started PluginID, it grew very quickly, with awesome content but no guest posts. I mostly shared a lot of personal stories which I think people could relate to.
There are many, many more ways to promote your blog or posts than just guest posting.
Thanks for the shout out Glen! I’ve also noticed that mentions or interviews do better than guest posts. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but there always are. π
@Ruben: I agree with you. When you’re first starting you could have the most killer content, but if nobody is reading it then there is nobody to spread it. Which is where the networking tips in this article come into play. Also: I don’t think Glen is stating that you shouldn’t guest post. He’s simply stating that mentions/interviews/links bring about more RSS subs than lots of guest post opportunities. (Glen: Correct me if I’m wrong.)
Nope, perfectly right.
I even said my formula above is still to write them, and try these strategies out as well. (Why use on tactic when you can use a few?)
You’re welcome Karol!
Awesome post Glen. I’m going to start creating longer posts for my blog, and I’m also going to start adding more value. It seems every post you do has fantastic content that helps ALL the time. I hope to start doing 2 posts a week that are just outstanding in terms of content, hopefully one day they’ll be up to your standards ;).
Thanks for the great, informative post.
Karl
Thanks Karl!
I don’t think length matters, but instead the value you provide (as you say).
Good luck
You have a refreshing way of looking at things I have stared at for too long. I love the insight this brings, and of course it’s always good when I can say ‘hey I said that in a post once’
I think ‘just asking’ is the best tip you can give, because as you said – how are you to stand out amongst 3million tweets (twits?)
I do think Ruben has a point, and I guess it comes down to finding that balance. The old catch 22 of blogging rears its ugly head again
I actually use Guest posting to build my online presence, but you are right about the traffic that results. My analytics looks like a rollercoaster, peeking each time I guest post and then dropping back the following day.
Hey Alex,
Good to see you here!
Definitely agree with you regarding balance. If you’ve seen my monthly reports, you’ll see the rollercoaster in there as well π
Hello Glen!
Great post! And congratulations for being 1st in the top 30 young bloggers, this is very good π
Cheers!
Thanks Caion
Hi Again Glen,
As usual, great posts. How would you consider offering some free software or ebook to download? What do you say?
Thanks,
Paras
I’ve done that in the past, and there’s a free WordPress plugin here if you look around the blog
And what was the result with that? Was it remarkable or Usual?
We want a $1MM site updateeeeeee!
I’m a long time reader, Cloud Living owner, and a fan – keep up the good work!
David
Great post! Most of this is pretty obvious, a great resource if you are new to blogging none-the-less. As others have said, even with killer content at the start it is hard to be noticed. But working hard and pushing content that is of quality always rises to the top.
Thanks Phillip,
Maybe obvious to some, I agree. Still a post I wanted to get “out there” though
Glen, since my site relies on satire, I think it’s best to develop the character of The Desktop Analyst instead of just Lonnie @The Desktop Analyst. I’m not sure if this hurts the site by making it less personal though. You don’t see much about humor/satire blogging on the how to sites but I’d love your opinion on the matter.
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I will try to get the hang of it!
that jacket has made your writing infinitely more coolerer
oh and guest posting is why i’ve been interviewed more times than i’ve actually posted articles. so glen is the real deal. just saying.
I’m beginning to think that Alex’s catchphrase is “Glen is the real deal.” π
What jacket?
Moron
Haha just jakin
Hi Glen
I liked this post so much, I read several others. Great advice!
Frank
Hi Glen,
Most people try too damn hard to reach influencers. Nobody wants to associate with a desperate person so they repel others.
Write great, *usable* content. Be prolific, don’t hold back in speaking your mind. Eventually you attract like-minded, powerful people who help to expand your presence.
I’ve had a similar experience with guest postings versus being interviewed or mentioned on another blog. People tend to trust the source more than an unfamiliar voice.
Great stuff as always!.
Ryan Biddulph
Glen,
I never considered that there is a trade-off between writing remarkable content and guest posting. Would you agree that guest posting is holding you back from being remarkable?
Think about it this way, imagine you spend 90% of your time making good content and 10% of your time guest posting. When a big player in your industry stumbles upon your blog, if you do more guest positing, it will most likely happen sooner as your name will be out there more. However, if you ignored guest posting and put 100% effort into your own content, that 10% extra effort could be what gets your website across the line in terms of this important person seeing your website as remarkable. Although it wont happen as soon, the effects will most likely be more impressive (and when your site starts getting passed around it will be more exponential).
Also if you give that extra 10% in terms of being remarkable, contacting a big website in a more ‘spammy’ way (e.g. sending email) rather than finding it on their own (guest positing in the industry), the same results may be achieved with much less time and effort.
Although this scenario is theoretical and looking at one extreme it is interesting to think about. In saying this, I am much happier/write better content when I am working on my own website (towards me being remarkable) than on someone else’s website/goals.
Sorry about the long comment, interesting subject though.
I agree that the links you find embedded in content that point to other people’s sites are by far the most trustworthy links a person could really receive for their blog. Everyone should be focusing on those kinds of links. I suppose that due to the added trust that is conveyed by receiving one of those links you are able to get even more subscribers than you would from one of your own guest posts. This tells us that subscribers are not earned with content alone. They are also earned with popularity. If someone thinks you are one of the more popular people out there because they see other people embedding links to your material, then they are certainly much more likely to actually read a few of your posts and then more likely to subscribe.
Wow, a refreshingly honest and candid post with a marvelous marketing tip. Thank you. I just spent the past hour browsing your posts and I am impressed. There’s so much crap out there – it’s downright inspirational to stumble upon a quality site.
Unfortunately (for me), I have never visited your blog before today. Joel Comm posted a comment about it on LinkedIn and I followed his recommendation. Yes, I’ve subscribed and look forward to following you. (Ouch, doesn’t that sound like one of those typical spam blog comments… sorry). Let’s see if I can make it worse… I intend to recommend your blog to my readers in my next post.
Thanks again, great stuff.
Alright, so I am digging this post. I’ve never thought about “it” this way–guest blogging vs. getting mentioned on a blog, naturally. That makes sense.
I don’t think I write the best stuff out there but I’m learning as I go along. Sometimes I feel like I’ve done well but I know I’ve got a long way to go.
When people contact me to write a guest post for EIP and the message is incoherent or the writer hasn’t practiced decent grammar rules–no thank you! Anyway, I need to prepare lunch. Hope you’re having fun this weekend
Glen.. gotta agree with your first point..
I’ve been creating ONE killer post every Wednesday for the past 3 weeks and those have been my biggest subscription days.. it’s crazy how it works so well. They get a ton of comments and I’m excited for this week’s post.
The next thing I do is make those posts very easy to find, so I created some graphics on my sidebar to keep getting those subscriptions over time..
thanks for sharing this with us man
talk soon
Hector…
I like the way you look beyond things.
It’s the reason I read this blog
Great post Glen, thanks for all the valuable tips.
Amazing and incredibly helpful article Glen. My blog is fairly new and I have very little traffic at this point. I was thinking this morning that I needed to investigate more ways of publicizing my site, and then I came across your post and it was exactly what I was looking for!
This works, bigtime. I’ve been lucky enough to be featured on Yaro’s Blog and Problogger a couple of times, and the results are amazing. It does take time, but like I always say, someone elses recommendation for you in MUCH stronger than any recommendation you can give for yourself.
Great post Glen. Thanks!
This new plugin I’m using “FindPatFlynnPosts” works great!
It is awesome when Pat stands in the sun as I get to be his shadowed apprentice.
What?
I have no idea…lol. I don’t have a plugin
Glen, what do you think of this?
http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/www.viperchill.com/www.acurvaviral.com/a!comparison
Do not you supposed to be above it in the SERPs with the keyword viral marketing?
It is interesting to see the ratio of followers you get from different methods of traffic attraction. Great post!
Thanks Dustin
Hey, Glen!
There’s a bit of inequity that goes on here, tho. See, I’m developing a small business that has nothing to do with developing a small business or social media marketing or how to write a breath-catching headline. Yet in order to build my business well, I need to read blogs like yours and “Think Traffic” and “CopyBlogger,” and study different styles like Seth’s and “Alternaview” and “Communicatrix” to help me figure out what my style is — what my own personal voice sounds like.
But, after investing hours and hours reading y’alls blogs (and buying products, BTW), when the time comes for the launch of my business with its blog, y’all will have no reason to read it or buy my products.
(Just kidding — mostly.) I haven’t found any blogs even closely related to what I’m called to do, and I’m very grateful y’all are here so I can learn.
Annie
It’s a great piece, and appreciate all the insights. But one thing I am beginning to realize in the blogosphere is that it’s hard to do due diligence. I personally know a blogger who’s getting a lot of link juice not because of the awesome content, but because of the delivery. He’s very charismatic and personable online (and links to EVERYONE to get noticed). But after seeing the back-end of the business, found out that most of the stuff he writes are rehashed from a lot of other popular sites. Even worse, is that the information he’s promoting is sometimes wrong, and even dangerous. Yet people love the stuff, because the packaging is great. It sounds good, looks good, even if it is erroneous and second-hand. The sad part is, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this.
Call me jaded now, but it’s hard to see others promoting sites with businesses that are full of fluff. I could email the guy, and ask him what his best practices are before I link to him, but if he’s making himself look bigger, then he’s more likely to lie. And lying is so easy to do when you’re online.
I’m not a patient person but I’ve also learned that building links take time so keep right on doing the right things, even if they don’t have a big impact straight away.
Thanks for this post! You really care when you write, very in-depth posts. I really appreciate it as a reader and it’s inspiring for me as a blogger. Thank you.
That’s awesome Louise,
You’re welcome!
Thanks for a great post. I wish every newbie would read this.
I love your advice of “Get to the point”.
BTW, I stumbled this post. If you ever need any traffic advice then shoot me an email.
—
Nick, The Traffic Guy
I think I’m good for now.
Thanks for the offer though
What a great post! This is such a great read for someone like me just starting out a couple months ago. I will make sure to imply these tips for help my blog grow. Thanks once again!
Ken
Hey Ken,
Glad you liked it!
Hi Glen,
I appreciate how your posts challenge the standard conventions that are adopted by bloggers, which you had a hand in creating and developing (i.e., guest posting, etc…).
It proves that pushing the standards forward by those who created them produces a better web for content creators such as myself.
I’m curious about one point you did make in this post…
” Sadly, we rarely have that much time to look around to determine a βtrustworthyβ site, so building an audience first is your best chance to do so.”
Too much content by web gurus focus only on online methods for building an audience and utilize the audience/community ratio of a site as a factor for determining trustworthiness.
What other factors do highly successful blogs, like Seth Godin’s, that possess the “Trustworthy” factor even when there is no audience or community present in the form of comments or trackbacks ?
I use the Alexa sparky plugin for Firefox which gives me a quick idea whether a site is popular or not.
That’s a good indicator for me
Great post! Totally agree with give to receive because truly, it is more blessed to give than to receive
And don’t be afraid to ask, because how will other people know what you need if you don’t ask them.
Hey Andrew,
Hope you’re doing well. Thanks!
Thanks for the mention! You always have great content here that people can learn from, so I am happy to link to your latest to share with my readers and Twitter followers. And you’re absolutely right about getting subscribers after being linked to by other blogs vs. actually writing on them. I noticed a huge influx after getting mentioned by Social Media Examiner as a top 10 social media blog, but not necessarily that much when I do a guest post there (traffic yes, but not necessarily subscribers). Interesting how it all works out!
You’re welcome Kristi, thanks for all of the links
Interesting to see you’ve had the same experiences. Thanks for sharing!
Good work Glen
Linking is a major part of your foundations if you want to rank well in search engines, google rank your site by who is linking in and who your website is linking to.
google love High ranking PR sites links.
dont forget you need great content on your site to keep people coming back for more.
Hi Glen,
I think my comment may have fell in the Spam que. My comment posed a question about how top bloggers determine the trustworthiness of a web site to link to if there is no sign of audience/community present.
I know of blogs that have turned off comments and trackbacks who have strong RSS subscribers and enjoy lots of back links.
I’m really interested in hearing your insights on this as the subject of your post is great.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Mike,
All comments are moderated before they go live. If the content is really good, then you don’t have to worry as much about how trustworthy you look.
There are definitely exceptions to the rule, I just think it makes things easier for you
Found out about your Blog from David Drisley’s RT. Great and Informative post. I am relatively new Ina blogging world. Learning from guys like you will hopefully bring some good results when the time comes. Looking forward for more and will read your old stuff.
Hey Eduard,
Welcome to the community. I hope you enjoy the other articles
Well Glen today is the day I buy your book, your posts keep on inspiring me, and more so they give me the confidence that I can do this. Thank you.
Awesome, Paul!
I hope you enjoy it
Glenn, I think this topic is a mixture of : gaining backlinks + readers + subcribers(rss/email). So I doubt if this post has an apt title! What do you say?
Most effective way to get subscribers = getting links from other blogs.
Which, is what the whole post is about.
Thank you for giving a perspective of the established side. I am doing great stuff over in my part of the internet and I genuinly want to reach more people, but I also want to network and make friends with people I respect. From watching the success of others, online karma does seem to exist.
You’re welcome David, thanks for the comment
I couldn’t agree more
Hey there Glen, great post! I’m somewhat new to the blogging world and your articles are just packed with info I need:) I liked the “Write Incredible Content” I seem to hear this everywhere I go. It’s so true though, content is key, thankfully I’m learning that right off the bat. Seems to help with the search engines too. I liked the shout out to Tamar too. I came across her site about a week ago,she called me out about not using my real name:) Her blog is amazing though, there is a lot for a new blogger to learn from you and Tamar. Look forward to learning more from you!
Hey Kimberly,
Really glad that your enjoying the posts. Thank you!
Glen,
My reply must have been abducted by a spam filter! I just wanted to tell you that I’ve been following your work for about the past six months (or so) and wow! Good job Glen. You’ve been a great inspiration to a lot of folks, including myself! I’ve started my own blog and hope to at least get close to where you are now.
Great post by the way. I haven’t quite gotten to that point yet on my blog. However, it’s great advice for when that time does come.
Thanks again for all the great posts! Best of luck Glen!
Now this was a nice read too. But I’ve kinda been noticing you’ve been talking about the same stuffs over and over again. Good content , guest blogging , rss subscribers and stuffs…. Your posts have been revolving around this stuffs for quite a while. We could use few more of the brilliant SEO posts you make.
Glen,
This post stopped me in my tracks. Just when I was set to try my hand at guest blogging and “make connections” by being a faithful “blog commenter”. To hear personal reservations from a top blogger about linking to others is eye opening.
Being liked is nice, but bringing value through great content should be more of my focus.
Thanks,
Keisha
Good stuff Glen. Even though I do not display subscriber counts, and have reasons for doing so, I still know the value of a subcriber base (and yes, I do know how many I have). Thanks for the post!
A very good post Glen it a clear indication of your genuine approach to help anyone to become successful at blogging. I must admit I’ve got some way to go considering the length of your blogs. However, I appreciate and acknowledge your experience to share what you’ve gained since becoming a full-time blogger. It’s deeply encouraging reading your blog post to give myself and other to step back and evaluate the best way to give value. Content that’s compelling, original and educational eventually has it’s rewards.
Thanks Again Glen!
Viperchill, this is first time I read ur blog, and I’m impressed. A unique and cool blog design with great content. Unfortunately there are less bloggers (like you) who write factual and informative, that’s y people are crazy about them. Best of Luck to You !
~ Thanks.
Hi Glen, been researching more about guest posting, found your blog from the ProBlogger site. Since I only started blogging 6 months ago, this has been helpful information. Content is King, blessings. Ron
I don’t know Glen but I’ve been thinking that isnt it RSS subscription is too old now? I mean its like people will more likely choose to follow someone on twitter or facebook rather than clicking the subscribe in RSS button. I don’t know but i think its not as popular as it used to 2-3 years ago. And Im not sure either about its value. Would I want people to subscribe to my rss more than subscribe to my newsletter?
I had the same thoughts about RSS.
While I do agree that any opportunity to engage an audience is better than none, I’ve also been concerned that engagement by RSS readers may not be the best reach for developing a relationship with your audience.
Though I will admit, I could be wrong.
Another inciteful post, Glen. Thanks. I’m more of an email person, compared to RSS… But the wisdom you share carries over to getting email subscribers as well. Interested in knowing what you have cooking in terms of the software product. I’m releasing mine as well soon and would like to know what tools you intend on using for customer support .
A personal email from Mr. Cutts at 16? Wow, you must have been doing some powerful commenting. Nice work! Make it personal and engaging is the message I take away.
Great post Glen β¦
from reading it I feel that you grow ( on all levels ) and only somebody who grows can write something like this.
Glen, thought I would follow your advice and point out a typo–though a comment might not be the best place. You wrote, “retweeting and linking to your per day…” We all make typos particularly those that don’t get picked up by spell checkers. In this case, you obviously meant “you” instead of “your.”
Hi Glen. This is the first time I’ve come to your blog and I have to say that I’m very impressed. I really like how you’re favoring quality over quantity with your posts, and the points you’ve raised here are really valid. I would say from personal experience that the best way to get links back is to ‘befriend’ other bloggers. When I started out I would always link back to a hand full of the bloggers I had gotten to know the best. For me this was more beneficial initially than reaching out to the large bloggers. If you network with your contemporaries rather than the big dogs then you can form a social circle far easier, and therefore benefit more from reciprocation.
Wow, that’s an amazing post… My challenge is to find interesting elements to put out there. How much of myself vs how much of what I do…and embedded in that is of course why i do it at all….and the thing is, other people can probably see what’s more interesting about me, than I can myself!
This is a very interesting post and one of such blog posts you want to print and read all over again. i am simply gonna have this printed for reference. What an intelligent post.
Hi Richard,
Glad you liked it!
I have to say…what I appreciate most from a post like this is the honesty. There are so many high profile bloggers out there sharing tips, however, the majority of them are never truly sharing what they did to grow their audience or be engaging to their readers. They would like to think that’s what they are doing, but in reality, they like to keep that a secret. I think you Glen really offer something of value and that is honesty. You tell readers up front exactly what you do and I appreciate that. I’ve gained so much valuable information here and its helped me come up with an idea for a post that I wouldn’t have come up with if I didn’t read this article. You also bring the “young blogger” advantage to the table. Since you’re not a 30-40 year old blogger, I know as a reader you are going to take the time out to really go into detail with what you do to build your online presence. You try to respond to all comments on your blog (which can be difficult with all the comments you get), you engage people, and others can relate to you like myself. You give a crap and it goes a long way. I’ve always believed in not only responding to all comments, but also every comment on guest posts. Just wanted to say thank you for this post and the honest, straight forward content. It helps me get back on track when I feel I’m in a rut with my blog.
Great blog post, as always.
One question: when you said that if you write a guest blog post that gives you 100 visitors clicking through, you might pick up about 15 subscribers. How much traffic (how many subscribers) would a blog need to have in order to send 100 visitors and new subscribers to the people who write guest blog posts for them? Thanks, and keep up the great content. Will
Well, you nailed it.. because that is good content. A very good read and useful to boot. thx
Loved this info – I’m a new A-List Blogger Club member and found this link in their last bulletin. Amazing how much there is to learn about blogging – I’ve found this club to be such a great resource. (BTW, above the “Don’t be afraid to Ask” I found a typo – should be realize with a “z”. Does this count as helpful “giving”?) Thanks again for the great ideas.
These tips are really practical i have to say and i never thought of some of the points you mentioned here. This post has got me really thinking very deeply.
Hi Glen,
Awesome post bro. Newbies like me will gain a lot after reading this. Usually i wont read any post fully. Only notice the main headings. This post is very interesting to read.
Thnx
Commenting here after weeks. Anyway, another stellar method to gain rss subscribers is to get featured in google reader. I once got 1000+ subscribers in two days, and they last! No idea about how to get featured though.
The tips are juicy. The best way to increase subs is to write addicting and creative content. That is the best method. Once you get notices by someone, the word is going to spread like jungle fire.
Thanks
Great site. Worth the read
Glen I have to agree with you that writing good content is like king. I just think that it is important in order for your visitors to come back. Posting daily is another benefit for people to come back to your blog. One should remember that if you do post daily that you should stay focused on your topic for your blog.
Now from looking at some of the blogs it seems that a large size orange rss button may help to increase subscribers. I plan on changing mine to a larger size. Tracking is an issue that is important when it comes to increasing rss subscribers. I believe that using a visitor tracking widget can make a difference. Last when a reader leaves a comment ask them to subscribe. As a blogger it is good to network with commenterβs
I am your subscriber but I don’t know why I got this post so late. You are damn good writer and I am your subscriber forever. One post a week make your subscribe more happy. π
If I would summarize the article then for me what you said is: be original. Be yourself.
Ultimately it truly boils down to being yourself and conveying your personality through your blog. The thing is though that the longer you blog the more you start to show your personality. And that’s why so many people have the same content on their blogs. I do too. I mean seriously, everyone is always looking up to someone and realizes that these people are successful the way they are. And you try to do it yourself. You copy what is working for one person and apply it to your blog. Only after a while do you realize that it’s not the way it was supposed to be after all.
cmiiw, glen. after reading this article, i conclude that writing amazing content is everything. the problem is, not everybody can put great ideas in their mind in written form.
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Wow- great article and great blog. I’ve just lost a few hours of my life because I’m now going to be locked at the computer trying to obsorb all this stuff!
@Larryphoto
Wow,
You write so well for one so young…
I too, have just lost my entire Sunday afternoon (in Australia) reading your blog!
Did you frame the email from Matt Cutts?
Heck, I’d have it framed in Gold and probably hire a person just to dust it daily.
Thanks for the opp to get inside a bright young mind. I really appreciate it.
Good info,
Kindest,
Poppie
I loved this post! I especially agree with suggestion #1: Write incredible content. By writing incredible content, you’re not only increasing the chances of other bloggers linking to you, but you’re also grabbing the attention of your readers and giving them a reason to subscribe to your blog – which can be a lot more valuable in the long run.
In fact, I think this is where many bloggers screw up – especially the new ones. They focus too much on the quantity of their posts and posting everyday when they should be focusing on the post quality. I even reduced how many times I post on my own blog for this reason. Instead of posting everyday (something I used to do), I only write 3-4 posts a week, but the posts I write are of a higher quality because I’m spending more time on them.
As for asking for links, I’m not a huge fan of asking bloggers for backlinks. From past experience, it has been a major turn off for me, and I usually just ignore such emails. However, if you keep interacting on the person’s blog and with the blogger himself, he’ll usually notice you and may link to you if you’re writing amazing content.
Christina
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The Incredible content is the key behind increasing RSS Subscribers
Hi Great Post Glenn!
i have learn’t new things by reading your post today. thanks for sharing
Thank you for all the information provided here
Hello Glenn,
Very good article that helps everyone to gain more subscriber for their blog. i really enjoy the reading so keep it up…
I can totally relate to this post. I’ve been running my blog for more than 6 months now and I just got few comments and it is a miracle if I do get one.
The problem to me is that, I am totally shy to ask someone who’s famous online to link with me. I don’t usually speak or comment on websites but Glenn, you made me. LOL.
Keep it up!
I really need to work on your rss, I found exactly what I was looking forward, thanks for great tips and thanks to google for helping me find you.
Wow, amazing post here. Quite long too. Makes me think about how effective guest blogging really is for long-term relationships with readers and would-be customers.
But how about if you use guest blogs to drive traffic, but find a way to convert that traffic in your site. Question now is, how do we pull it off?
i conclude that writing amazing content is everything. the problem is, not everybody can put great ideas in their mind in written form
They don’t care for the readers … It’s all abount search traffic and content for google …
Everybody keep saying it: you’ve to write an amazing content. But indeed that’s not that easy. And if you’re not found in google…
Very good article for RSS. Thank you very mutch.