Ask A Blogger: How do you build an Audience?

Okay, so you have a blog.  You have a button and the code to post so others can promote you.  How do you get people to your site now that you have decorated it with great screen shots?  You head to your newly created Twitter page and think of something good to say.  Except, you only have two followers and your mom has no idea how to log into the twitter account you created for her and the other follower doesn’t speak the same language.

The key is to think of something others want to hear or learn about. You need to define who you are and what your audience is looking to gain from coming to your site. You have to come up with a plan for engaging your audience. The best thing you can do is be true to yourself.

It is very difficult to put yourself out there and have opinions. A blog is not for the faint of heart. I have received ugly comments among the positive comments. The point I always remember is there is more good than bad and if we can help one person make a difference in their life, then we have done our job.

I have really learned a lot about social media in the last couple of months and have put forth a tremendous amount of effort to build my audience.  It is something I am devoting an hour or more to each day.

Here are the top 3 ways I have built my audience:

1) Get a Twitter account, Facebook account, and Google Friend Connect account.  These are the most common social media channels to follow and be followed.  Add plugins to your site to feed your blog directly to these sites. I encourage you to do more then send your site to these media options.  Engage your readers/ followers by sharing more than just the latest deal.

Madame Deals-

Facebook

Twitter

When you gain a new follower, respond to their comments. It is important to build relationships.  After all, you are engaging in “social” media.

2) Participate in blog hops. I do one Facebook hop, one Twitter hop, one Stumble hop, and a random hop each week. Here is a list of hops to attend. You can add yours if I am missing it.

3) Design a contest that your readers will enjoy. Madame Deals is the home of  We Love Coupons But We Hate Cutting Them Contest and the We Got It and You Want It Contest where we gather all the items we got for free and add them to the contest daily.

4) Link up your contest to other sites. You can steer their traffic to your site and hopefully you have the content to keep the new visitors interested. I put together a list of giveaways here. This is a super way to gain exposure.