Oct 16, 2014 / Beginner

The Art of Following a Blog

There’s nothing passive about being a good listener.

<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarale/6573479549">Image</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarale/">Taryn</a> (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>)

Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, your blog: pitch a tent anywhere on the web, and the expectation is that people will quickly line up to give you a (virtual) high five in the form of a “follow.”

It’s pretty clear what the followed blogger’s supposed to do: keep posting stuff that others enjoy reading. Be a gracious host. Ensure posts are readable. But what about the follower? Is there a job description for what happens after you click on a blog’s “Follow” button (or Follow Blog Widget)? Here’s some food for thought.

Don’t expect instant reciprocity

Take the plunge only if you want to read new content from the person whose blog you just followed.

When you follow a blog you’re making a light, but real, commitment: each new post from that site will show up in your Reader (and/or your email, depending on your delivery settings). Take the plunge only if you want to read new content from the person whose blog you just followed.

Interaction and reciprocal generosity are among the cornerstones of the blogging community, and form the basis of any meaningful online conversation. But you should never expect immediate reciprocity in the form of a follow-back. Demanding it, however politely or indirectly, cheapens the gesture of following someone’s blog in the first place.

Slow-cooked admiration is the best kind

There’s something intoxicating about discovering a great voice you hadn’t read before. I stumble on new, fantastic blogs every day, and when I do I follow them. I then immediately want to read, like, and comment on every single post.

Note: If you wish to resist instant gratification, you can opt to receive new posts on a daily or weekly basis, instead of instantly. Just tweak your email delivery settings (which can be done for individual blogs as well as in bulk).

I stop myself from actually binge-reading (most of the times, anyway): I prefer to think of following a blog as a longterm relationship, one in which I gradually discover more and more of the blogger’s voice, skill, and temperament. It takes a long time to build a blog (though taking our Blogging for Beginners course might help). Following it should equally be considered a process that unfolds over generous stretches of time.

Don’t be a (total) stranger

It’s nice to  show a sign of life to the bloggers you follow every once in a while: a comment here, a well-phrased reblog there, a sprinkling of likes.

These are not huge gestures and don’t take a lot of time, but they can mean a lot to those who receive them. It’s these kinds of gestures that make followers feel like engaged partners in a conversation rather than disembodied Gravatar images hovering in your blog’s attic. It’s also the best, friendliest, and most organic way of drawing another blogger’s attention to you and your own work.

The idea behind following a blog is to give you an easy way to focus your attention on something you find valuable.

It’s fine to pick favorites

I follow more than 800 blogs. While I’m happy to have discovered each and every one of them, I most definitely have my favorites — the ones I return to time and again, the ones I always hope to see a new post from in my Reader. Blogs are like people, in that sense: having strong preferences doesn’t take away from my appreciation of everyone else, but rather grounds the value of my affection in the first place. If you like all blogs equally, you don’t really love any of them.

What does that mean in practical terms? No need to feel bad if you find yourself engaging with some followed blogs more than others.

There’s an Unfollow button, too

Given the number of blogs I just confessed to follow it might sound hard to believe, but I unfollow blogs all the time. There’s nothing personal or vindictive about it: sometimes, my reading relationship with a blog has simply run its course. You can unfollow blogs for any number of reasons — they publish too little or too much for your taste, repeat the same idea frequently, or have taken a turn in their editorial style that doesn’t mesh with your current preferences.

It’s ok. The idea behind following a blog is to give you an easy way to focus your attention on something you find valuable. There’s already so much distraction in our lives; why dilute our attention with things we’re no longer passionate about? Unfollow! You might still rediscover an old blog you used to follow later on — and fall in love all over again.

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  1. My theory is to read more than I write… and to never blow smoke. Only follow what you really like! Readers trump empty follows every time, and to be read, one MUST read! Communication is a two way street… unless you plan on becoming some kind of guru dropping your pearls of wisdom on an adoring fan base, reciprocate! Nobody likes a narcissist, and gurus are dime a dozen.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Thank you, Ben! This is the exact opposite of what following is on Twitter, and I agree 100%. I’m selective in my follows because I AM going to go to my reader and read every post from those I follow. Likewise, I dont’ care to be followed by people looking for a “followback.” I want to be followed by people because they like what I write.

    Liked by 2 people

  5. Great post! Speaking as a blogger who works hard to constantly provide new content, even the smallest gesture keeps me going. A simple like or even a rating your matter what it is really makes my day. It’s easy to do and it seems that most people forget all about it.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Speaking as a rather prolific blogger, I can’t tell you how much it means to have other bloggers give me a like or leave a short comment. Even a rating is super. It’s just a small way of letting me know that you are out there, reading, and enjoying what I do

    Liked by 1 person

  8. I feel a certain kind of responsibility when I follow a blog. I feel that I should put forth the effort and show my appreciation. I will confess that I often feel a bit guilty if someone likes my blog and I don’t feel a reciprocal connection. ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Ben your words refresh with a certain vibrancy! Your message is wonderfully on point,,,and I love the way you delivered it! Thanks for sharing my brother…superbly done! Have a wonderful Friday!

    Like

  10. I must admit, since my blog is only about 3 months old, I began to follow many blogs by clicking the ‘recommendations’ by WordPress and previous “Freshly Pressed” authors, just to get my blog some attention and exposure.

    If they come back to visit me and either “follow” or “like” by letting me know they visited, I will visit them back. Of course, all of these will end up in my Reader. One day, I punched over 300 blogs to follow just for exposure. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does this.

    I agree with everything you posted, unique blogs will continue to be read by me through my reader , and ones that post too often, or are not that interesting, after a while, I will just “unfollow” them.

    Of course, the longer your blog is out there, the more people will eventually come to visit. I don’t expect everyone to follow my blog, but it’s always nice when they do. This tells me they like what they read and are giving me a chance to give them good material to read. I think it’s important to engage with the blogs that you find most interesting.

    Thanks for this post. Oh, and BTW, I am following this blog and usually read your posts, just to give you a heads up! lol

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  11. When I follow someone, I don’t expect them to follow me. My blog isn’t going to interest everyone, and I’m okay with that. I follow someone’s blog because it interests me, and I want to read more (upcoming posts, and previously posted entries).
    Sometimes though, I feel like I’m being a creepy-stalker-whatever, if I comment and/or like every one of their posts as they put it out. Lol, I’m really not…
    I do like it when followers of my blog drop in now and again…whether it’s a like or comment- even if the comment is criticism or disagreeing with me.
    But I also like searching blogs, and giving them attention, even if I may not click “follow.”
    Following a blog generally means, to me, you at least interact occasionally. Even if they don’t follow you back. Why else would you follow someone and then not even read their content?

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  12. I take “following” very seriously. I follow blogs that catch my attention through creativity, humor and intelligent content. I develop a relationship and friendship with most blog writers i follow through comments and feedback. I’ve learned and benefitted from the knowledge that you get as much out of blogging as you are willing to put into it.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. As one of the earlier commentors said, I also feel like a lot people follow my blog and then nothing. When I look at their blogs, most are selling SEO optimization or other blog services. I mostly write for my family and friends and am happy to connect with other bloggers but it has been few and far between.

    On a side note, I love your subtitle!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. You’re right, there is a commitment to following blogs and I become guilty when I get busy with life and dont give my time to others. I have learnt so much about the richness and diversity of life and lifestyles from reading others’ blog, its a real joy and has opened my mind to different ways of writing and living.

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  15. It means that I liked that I saw and that I definitely want to know more of it in the future. Although sometimes when the following posts arrive, if I feel overwhelmed or I lost interest… well, I go for the Unfollow button, too.

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  16. Thanks for this very interesting post on the art of following… To be honest, of course receiving written feedback/comments on a post that I write feels amazing… But I’m equally grateful to receive a “like” since I’ll still know that my words have made someone smile or affected someone in a positive way.
    Sometimes I too don’t have the time to write a comment but I’ll “like” someone’s post since I still want the blogger to know that I was moved by their work.
    Happy blogging everyone!

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  18. Yes, I too have found it puzzling what a “like” or a “follow” really means. I came to blogging because I had some particular things to communicate with a number of far-flung friends and interested people and I was getting exhausted writing emails. So I wasn’t that used to reading blogs before I had one of my own. I’ve been a bit wary of following too many and getting overwhelmed. It’s daunting when your reader fills up with endless stuff from a serial poster.

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  19. Thank you, Ben. This is some good refreshing information! I try to not take anything personal as we are all doing our best. I am grateful for the opportunity to have met and know so many wonderful bloggers. The relationships are EVERYTHING!

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  20. Great post Ben! I definitely agree that blogs should be followed for their own merits and not just out of reciprocity – it really challenges us all to produce better quality posts and to build more sincere relationships with our readers. I especially liked the point that “slow-cooked admiration is the best kind”. The most rewarding blogging relationships are definitely more long-term and thoughtful. Good stuff!

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  21. Thank you so much for such straight to the point explanation. I hope these etiquettes would help to be a sensible blogger. It great to see such a nice post.

    Liked by 1 person

  22. I have to admit that I am exceptionally stingy with follows (and even with likes).

    Because I am building my online presence partially for business purposes, I may choose not to follow (or like) even posts that I enjoyed a great deal.

    This is nothing personal. In fact, I manually go and check up on a great number of blogs that I like. This is simply because other people can see who I follow and who I like as well – and sometimes the image of their blog is not quite consistent with the online profile I wish to build.

    I am unashamed, however, to say that I do believe in reciprocity. If someone follows or likes my blog (or even better, comments) I will visit their blog as soon as I am online and LOOK for something that I can at least comment on. Some of these comments are short, but some are very long content-related comments.

    When it comes to Community Pool, I do admit that I have some sort of expectation that other start-up blogs will have the courtesy to visit my blog within a reasonable time. I invest a substantial amount of time to VISIT various blogs (not all of which suit my personal preferences). I don’t think there is anything wrong with preferring to invest time in people who are also willing to at least consider investing in you 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I appreciate your honesty regarding follows.(This is not, however, an invitation for you to check my blog out as there are only eleven posts there so far, as of this writing. Although I’m in the process of adding two more, still, that wouldn’t be a lot to show.Perhaps when my blog gets really humming then I could say I that truly invite people to see it.)

      I have read great business blogs wherein the business owner himself authors the posts, like the owner of Kissmetrics – great blog. This is always welcome because we non-business folk are always interested in knowing how entrepreneurs think. It’s somehow different from the purely artistic or scientific types.

      Even were your site all about your business without any personal blogging yourself, you still deserve kudos for taking the time to share your thoughts, given the busy schedule of many business-site owners. Or maybe some business owners like you simply have an artisitc or writer-side 🙂

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  23. Ben – this was great – and I love the part about feeling free to unfollow and refollow – 🙂

    also this was so good:
    ” having strong preferences doesn’t take away from my appreciation of everyone else, but rather grounds the value of my affection in the first place. ”
    cheers!

    Liked by 1 person

  24. An enjoyable, and informative article. I’m glad to hear that I’m not strange when the number of blogs I read starts to climb, and just as glad to realize I don’t have to feel guilty when I stop reading one that I have read in the past. Both of these things were sources of concern for me, and I am glad to hear that they are not traits unique to myself. Thanks for the reassurance.

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  26. I hate spam likes and spam follows. So many people seem to “follow” just to get me to look at their blog, and never seem to view. I like relationship and discussion. I have around half a dozen blogging buddies, with a lot of reciprocal commenting. But when I get a follow and pop over to say this in a comment, often I never hear again from the blogger.

    I don’t get most of the blogs I follow on email, so I am perturbed by the line in the notification email, ” They will receive an email every time you publish a post. Congratulations.” Is this true, in most cases? I know it is the default setting, but following 800 blogs you must change that setting. I do.

    I now have a thousand followers, and average daily page views this year of 94.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. I think that line in the email refers to the default setting — but you’re probably right that many people change this to receive no or only occasional emails.

      I do have various settings in place to prevent clutter in my inbox — I receive instantly posts from some blogs, others through weekly digests, and others still only through the Reader (which means I might miss out on a post every once in a while, but it still lets gives me the access I need to that blog).

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  27. Interesting article Ben. I like blogs that trigger our thoughts and debate. Since I have joined WordPress six month ago I am trying to understand better that interaction between the blogger and the followers. What triggers communication and exchange in blogs interest me a lot. So, if anyone could advise me on this, I will appreciate it.

    Being a recent convert to blogging and intending (not sure if I achieve it) quality over quantity I am writing a blog every two weeks. Is it enough to blog twice a month? I feel it is. However, somehow I wonder … is it Barbara Cartland vs a booker prize winner the right dichotomy?

    Adrian Sanchez

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    1. A post every two weeks sounds totally reasonable to me; the idea would be to fit blogging into your life without having to rearrange everything around it, so if a couple of posts a month is what works for you, that’s great.

      Generally, a consistent rhythm is always better than intense outbursts of publishing followed by weeks of silence.

      Liked by 1 person

  28. I agree with Laura, thank you for the insight Nd advice. I’m new to word press and can definitely relate to the mentality of desired instant gratification, that being said I guess the slow cooked version may come out more beneficial in the long run.

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