Birds of a Feather: Finding Your Online Community
It wasn't too long ago that I started blogging.
It's getting close to three years,
but really- that isn't much in "blog years."
When I jumped into blogging,
I thought I was late to the game...
but it seems that every day,
new bloggers are creating accounts,
picking out their blog titles,
and trying to find their place in this (amazing) community.
And then after a few months
they realize-
blogging is a bit harder than it looks.
At that point, people either quit
or email bloggers who are a bit more established
asking how they grew their blog
and what advice they can pass on to a new blogger.
How do I know this?
Because not only does this happen to me now,
but it happened BY me when I was a new blogger... a lot.
I would email some HUGE bloggers,
chat to them like we were old chums (because I thought we should be),
and asking them how to make my blog bigger...
which now kinda makes me feel embarrassed.
(Sidenote: Though their kind correspondence taught me an invaluable lesson
in never being too cool for anyone...
I mean, I was writing the BIG bloggers
and they were taking their precious time to write me back.)
Asking someone how to grow your blog
is a bit a loaded question
because it's a really simple answer
that is actually pretty complex to carry through.
All you need is, in theory, a unique voice & consistent posting...
but then after that, you need a community
and that's when I started to think about my blogging friends.
Most of the "friends" that I have in blogging
are bloggers that I connected with early on in my blogging days.
As we all started to grow our own little sites,
we would read/comment/support each other
and they would do the same back for us.
Now after we have all grown
(in various directions and topics),
there remains a bond of loyalty
because we started together.
It feels like your friends from high school,
no matter how much you might have changed-
you know who they were "before" all of that
and you know that they like you for who you really are.
So, new bloggers, if you feel like you aren't connecting-
here is my advice for you:
Get to know people who have blogs that are in similar stages of your own.
Support them, cheer them on, make them a part of your daily routine...
and over time, you'll find that you will have a support network that does the same for you.
Who are some of the bloggers that you still have from your "early" days?
Some of my "oldest" friends are:
Anna E. | Anna L. | Ashley | Beth | Laura | Patricia | Kelly| Sarah
Will | Helena | Elizabeth | Megan | Carolyn | Kellie | Michelle | Cassie | Jillian
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