Friend Friday: Are you connected?

Happy Friday folks! Here are my responses to this week’s Friend Friday weekly questions.

1. How important do you think reader connectedness is to the success your blog? I think reader connectedness is an important factor to the (long-term) success of my blog. Reader connectedness is something that sets blogging apart from other expressions of creativity is the fact that it offers the ability to have a conversation with the people who are reading/viewing my content. I blog because I enjoy the process of creating (writing/images/etc.), but if I didn’t want to have a sense of connectedness to those reading my content, I’d probably just write/photograph outfits and inspiration for myself and not publish it on the Internet. I don’t think there is anything wrong with doing things either way, but I like the sense of connection that blogging fosters.
2. What do you do to draw readers in and create that writer-reader bond? I really just focus on putting my effort into creating content that would interest readers. Sometimes asking questions and encouraging readers to comment/interact with you is an organic and fun way to create a bond. Because the focus of my blog is personal style and inspiration, including photos of my personal style and photos of other inspiration are the main ways I try to initially draw potential readers in. I also try to comment on blogs I enjoy and reciprocate comments if someone leaves comments on my blog posts is also a blogger. There are so many bloggers (of all subjects) that inspire me. I appreciate each and every comment I receive and even when I don’t have the time to respond to comments, I hope my readers know that!
3. What is one way you could improve this connection? I see a lot of opportunities for growth personally in developing the writer-reader bond: Putting as much effort as time allows into improving content, extending the conversation by raising questions, offering ‘food for thought to readers’, maintaining an active social media presence are all things that can be done to improve the connection.
4. Is there a blogger you think does a great job creating that writer-reader bond? Why? I think bloggers Adored Austin does a great job of creating a genuine writer-reader bond. She makes references to feedback from readers in her content and gives thoughtful responses to comments which I think encourages readers to continue to visit.
5. What do you do to cultivate new readers? How do you get them to your site in the first place? I participate in web-based style/fashion communities and am always adding blogs to my Google Reader or on Bloglovin’ which is the easiest way for me to bookmark blogs to revisit; when I see content that a blogger creates that I have something positive to say about, I definitely leave comments. I’ve also made it a point to bring up my blog to people I meet IRL (which I find a little unnerving) and carrying business cards with my blog information. This is a very new practice for me, but you never know who you’ll meet! I always manage to carry cards around for my full time job so why shouldn’t I make it a point to carry my own personal cards around on a regular basis as well?

Have a fun, relaxing weekend!