not your typical blogging tips

There are lots of posts out there that offer blogging tips about what to post, how often to post, how to have better photography in your posts, how to make money from your blog, and how to get a bigger following.

Those aren't the kinds of tips I'm giving today. I'm no expert in any of the above areas. But I have learned some helpful things as I've blogged over the past several months, always as a result of a kind blogger sharing a tip with me, so I figured I'd pay it forward and pass some of that information on :)

one.  When people comment on your blog, don't reply to their comment on your blog. If you do, they will never know you responded, which is really quite sad when you are, in fact, taking the time to respond. Instead, when you get an email notification of their comment, reply directly back to that email. This tip was given to me by Sarah @ Our Journey.

my addendum: Though this is a great way of doing things, there are two problems with it: 1. Bloggers who don't know about email replies might think you never respond to comments. 2. Sometimes people comment with questions, and if you reply via email, anyone else who reads your blog will only get to see the question, without knowing the answer that you gave. My solution is to reply to comments via email and on the blog. Not everyone is willing to do that, because it does take extra time. But at least for now, while my blog isn't *big and famous*, it has worked for me :)

**edit** another tidbit: If you don't currently get email notifications of comments made on your blog, you can fix that by going to settings, mobile & email, and then putting your email into the comment notification email box. 

two. The above tip is great for letting people know you're reading what they have to say to you on your blog, but what about knowing what they're saying to you on their blog? I've just told you about email replies, but if you're a no-reply blogger, then when other bloggers try to reply to you via email, you won't get an email! This is a simple fix. All you have to do is go to your blogger user profile, click edit, and then check the box that says show my email address and click save! This tip was given to me by Danielle @ The Lifestyle Project.

**edit** If this isn't clear enough, check out this link.

three. Blogging is really a whole new community. You can meet people from all over the place and learn all about your similarities and differences. Take the time to branch out. Look around for all the blogs out there, and find ones you like. You can build lots of connections as you take the time to comment on other people's blogs. Don't give up when your followers are few . . . it takes time to build up a following. I would know, since I'm still working on that aspect of my blog :)


Are any of these tips helpful to you? What tips have you learned in your time as a blogger?