How To Grow Your Blog – Build Relationships

Building relationships is key to online success, and is also a great way of how to grow your blog.

Not sure where to start? Today, I’m sharing some of my best ways.

7 Ways How To Grow Your Blog By Building Relationships

1. Participate in online groups

On Instagram (and other social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube), find relevant hashtags and start liking + commenting on others who are posting to that same hashtag.

Facebook groups are great to join and interact with others, but you’ve got to be involved! You can’t just sit back and do nothing. Put yourself out there and participate. Trust me, others in the group will notice you.

How to find relevant Facebook groups?

To find relevant Facebook Groups, type your niche keyword in the Facebook search bar and then look for results with “+Join” next to them…these are groups.

Instagram and Facebook have been great places to meet other bloggers, exchange ideas and keep on the pulse of what is going on in the blogging world.

The goal is to build relationships and make real friends, not just to push your own site or products.

Note: building relationships and making real friends, typically ends up with them following you and also buying products and services from you.

2. Join Pinterest group boards

While no longer as powerful as they once were, the right Pinterest boards can still be powerful tools to help grow your blog.

Find group boards that are a good fit, contact the owner (they are the first person listed in the group board’s members) and simply ask if you can join. If you’re accepted, be a useful participant.

How to find Pinterest group boards that are a good fit?

I like to visit pinner profiles in my niche/area of interest (that I like + follow) and check out group boards they’re pinning to. Group boards are indicated by 3 faces in the circle, instead of 1.

Another way is through networking! I’d ask pinners in your niche and blogging buddies.

How to join Pinterest group boards?

The group board description will hopefully tell you how to be added.  Don’t feel rejected if you never hear back – it happens to all of us!

If there are no instructions, they may not be open to new contributors, but you can ask the owner to join the group. Note: the board owner is listed in the URL, and is the first picture shown.

3. Join (or start) a mastermind group

Mastermind groups offer a combination of brainstorming, education, peer accountability and support in a group setting to sharpen your blog, business and personal skills.

A great mastermind group helps you and the other members in the group achieve success. It’s important for all members to challenge each other to set strong goals, and more importantly, to accomplish them.

4. Take a course

There are countless blogging courses these days. The content is fine, but in many cases, the groups attached to them are where the true value lies!

5. Join a paid membership group

The great thing about paid membership groups is that people who pay for them are serious about growing. Plus, there’s a lot of group discussion and Q&A’s that are helpful and focused.

If you’re a blogger wanting to grow and be surrounded by other bloggers, you can read more about my paid BLOG EDU membership.

6. Collaborate with others

Join forces with other bloggers and come up with a creative way to drum up some extra buzz and awareness.

YouTubers often collaborate with other YouTubers, Instagramers often collaborate with other Instagramers, Bloggers collaborate with other bloggers, etc.

Not only is a relationship built with the other YouTuber, Instagramer or blogger, BUT the idea of introducing your audiences to each other to gain more followers and/or subscribers is really the key here.

A great way to collaborate with others.

Idea #1: A group of bloggers can pick a topic and everyone writes their own post and links to everyone else.

Real life example: I got together with several other bloggers for a 15 Delicious Pumpkin Recipes To Make For Fall collaboration, which you can see HERE.

Idea #2: On social media, collaborate with others around a hashtag.

Real life example: Zevyjoy, Beesnburlap, and The Cultivated Home ladies started the hashtag #iheartmakinghouseahome on Instagram. If you follow each of them and use their hashtag on your photos, they will choose a few of their favorites to share in their IG stories each week on a Sunday!

And I was lucky enough to be chosen this past Sunday.

The key is to make a collaboration a win for all.

Not only can collaborations increase traffic, broaden your exposure, help build relationships and improve SEO (lots of inbound links from the others you’re collaborating with), it’s just plain fun!

7. Lead the way yourself

Every once in a while I’ll get an email from a discouraged blogger who hasn’t made any meaningful connections. And a lot of times I discover that they are waiting to be asked.

Don’t wait to be asked by someone else to be involved online. Start something yourself and ask others to join you! The internet has made it possible to connect with others, pool your resources and research how to pull it off. Take FULL ADVANTAGE of it!!!

It’s important to know how to grow your blog by building relationships. Which one of the 7 ways have you tried or are you going to try this week? Please let me know in the comments below.