Anyone with a blog will know that a great way to find new blogs in your area of interest is to go to a popular, well regarded blog in your niche and simply scroll down through the comments. You'll see countless other bloggers commenting there. And many of their blogs have numerous comments themselves. So the process just goes on and on. You can keep finding new ones ad infinitum this way.

Twitter handles on Commentluv

This is also one of the best ways to find good people to follow on Twitter. This is because many of the blogs in question have Commentluv installed, so commenters can include their Twitter handles. And many of them do.

This is particularly good for someone like me who wants to find tweeps who have blogs about social media. Sure, I can do a search for "blogging" on Twitter and see countless profiles. But just because they are tweeting about blogging, it doesn't mean that they are bloggers. That means a lot of sorting through profiles to find the ones I'm looking for.

Bloggers galore

That's why I believe this comment thread method is actually more effective. A very high proportion of those who comment on blogs about social media are bloggers, after all. (And that's partially why they're commenting -- to get people to click on their URLs.)

If the URL a commenter includes is a blog, then Commentluv automatically lists details of its most recent post. So not only can you tell if it is a blog, but also what it's about. If you like what you see you can click on the Twitter handle listed and follow the person.

Disqus worthwhile too

You can also do the same with blogs that have the Disqus comment system installed. That's because you can actually log in to comment using Twitter, and many people do. Sure, it's not a lot of them, but on a popular blog with heaps of comments, you're bound to find some. So, that's another reason to keep an eye out for blogs using that particular system.

Bloggers who sign up to Twitter tend to be keen to get as many followers as possible. That's understandable, and of course you do need the numbers -- as long as they're not all bots, spammers and people outside of your niche, of course! But getting them really is just the beginning. It's in no way a guarantee that you're going to get lots of clicks on your blog posts.

Differing response rates

I've noticed this with the Twitter account I have for SEO and social media related stuff. It's now got well over two thousand followers. I tweet often and the numbers are growing steadily. I always tweet my blog posts. They certainly get some clicks. But not as many as I'd like.

It's interesting because this is not the case with my other Twitter account, which has the same number of followers. On that one, which is more about politics and my home city of Perth, I get a much greater number of blog post clicks.

Readers vs bloggers

I think this happens because people who are in those niches are more likely to be engaged. They are readers rather than bloggers themselves. So they will tend to have a look.

Those following my online marketing oriented tweets, on the other hand, are heavily into marketing themselves. They are usually bloggers and webmasters who are on Twitter to promote, not just read. So they're less likely to look at what other people are sharing.

Saturated subject matter

Also, the subject of online marketing is saturated on Twitter (and other social media sites) just as it is SEO-wise. There are just sooo many tweeps who tweet about blogging and social media, etc. The more there are, the less time any one person can devote to the links offered by them.

That's not to say that getting followers to click on your tweets is a lost cause. You just have to do a bit more work with these people so your tweets stand out from all the others that are zooming past them when they log in.

Engage and stand out

Obviously you want to make those tweets interesting and relevant. That''ll help. But the way that they'll really stand out is if these followers feel they know you a little. So you have to converse with with them if possible, and repeatedly.

A good way to do this is to retweet one of their tweets you like, then mention it immediately afterwards. Often they'll say thanks. Then try asking them a question next time. Many will answer and you can get a few tweets going back and forth with them from there.

If you keep doing this with your followers there's a much greater chance they will click on the blog posts you're tweeting. They're also more likely to retweet them. If they've got decent follower numbers themselves that will bring in still more visitors.

Join me on Facebook!

Linkedin is a more exclusive social network than the other ones. So it's definitely harder to connect with other users. You have to start out by making contact with people you actually know. If you're new to the site and have just done this, then you'll probably be wondering how to grow your network further.

Basically, you've got to get on the radar of other Linkedin users and prove that you are a genuine person with expertise in your field. A couple of really good ways of doing this are using Linkedin Groups and Answers.

There are many groups on the site and they are quite active. While some of them have been a bit overrun by spammers most haven't. When participating in them it's really important to have a good photo of yourself in your profile. This appears as an avatar next to your contributions, comments and likes. If your face keeps popping up in these discussions, then it's inevitable that some people will have a look at your profile to learn more about you. Needless to say, the odds of this go way up if what you're adding is thoughtful, relevant and interesting. Keep doing this and some of those who have arrived at your profile this way will decide to send you an invitation.

As you browse the many posts and discussions in your groups, you'll identity certain people that you want to connect with. You can keep an eye on their activity in these discussions by "following" them. If you "like" their contributions from time to time and comment on them you will certainly get on their radar. (Of course you shouldn't be obsequious when doing this. That might just put them off.)

After a while you can then send them a connection invite. They'll know who you are, and the chances that they'll accept are far greater than if you did it without any prior contact.

Another good option is to use the Answers section, in which people seek the advice of countless professionals. It's definitely worth scouring this section for questions related to your interests. Offering thoughtful solutions to the queries listed is an excellent way of showing your expertise at the same time as lifting your profile. Remember that your answers will be seen by other answerers and browsers, as well as the original questioner. And if you write what he judges to be the best answer then that will be recorded in your profile, increasing your credibility.

You can also get great benefit simply by asking questions. After you get some responses you should say thanks to each of those who were kind enough to answer. That's another way of getting on their radar personally. (This is actually a surprisingly effective method. I've asked three questions so far, and thanked everyone. As a result I've had two invitations which I've accepted.)

UPDATE: Linkedin Answers has just been removed from the site! Still, the groups remain, thankfully.

Bloggers are forever offering tips about the best ways to generate ideas and write posts. So I thought I'd add my thoughts on this area too.

Here's a method that I use to develop and complete evergreen blog content (as opposed to topical stuff, for which I use a different approach I won't go into here). You may find it useful.




Get some thoughts and ideas on screen

Basically whenever I can I log into my account and throw down my ideas as quickly as possible. I don't try to get it all to make sense straightaway. For each individual post, I just want to record a few points that are loosely connected by a theme.

Once I've got about three hundred words in draft form that's usually enough. I feel like I've actually done something. Then I go and do something else. I find getting as far away as possible from the computer really helps a lot.

Take a break

Walking is ideal for this. I advertise various products and services using local flyer distribution. So walking for me is not only a pleasant diversion -- it also makes me a bit of extra money. When I'm strolling through the suburbs I make a point of not thinking about blog posts I've got in draft. But I'll often think of new ones while I'm out in the fresh air and throw those down in draft form when I'm next at the PC.

Then I'll go and do something else again ...

Return with a different view

When I log back into my dashboard I see several drafts up there. It's a good idea to give it a bit of time before looking at them, because then I come back at them from a different angle. Seeing them again stimulates other thoughts that I can add to them.

I'll add a few of these thoughts to a post or two. Sometimes I'll go right through with the process and just complete a blog post entirely, then publish it. But often I'll just add to what's already there and leave that in draft form as well.

I like this method because it's much easier to rewrite and edit something than starting from scratch -- which can be a bit daunting. If you have numerous blog posts that are lined up and half finished then you can crank them out at a fast rate. That can give you a real feeling of momentum. It can also lead to more comprehensive and interesting posts because you've let the thoughts mature in your subconscious, rather than just recording them when they first came into your head.

Join me on Facebook!

When you start using Twitter it's important to build up some momentum fairly quickly -- not unlike with blogging. (That's to be expected, of course, since Twitter is a microblogging site.) So, after the initial "lurking" phase in which you suss out how the site works, one of your main goals should be to get a decent amount of quality followers.



Follow selectively

Many people new to the site just randomly follow as many people as they can in the hope that they'll follow back. That's not a good approach to take, particularly if you keep using it. Before too long you'll hit a limit. You'll probably only have several hundred or maybe a thousand people following you back. Many of those will be people who are not interested in your niche, or who don't engage with others very much. You'll be left with no option but to cull those who aren't following so you can follow some more! Do that too quickly and you might get suspended (unlikely but possible).

That said, you don't want to just be tweeting to nobody. So, unless you are already famous, in which case you'll have a whole bunch of people hanging on your every word, it's worth following some people with the aim of getting them to follow you back.

But don't be indiscriminate. Try and find people who are in your niche, tend to follow back, and also interact with other users. These will be a in the minority, of course. So it'll take a while to find them, but it's much better to take the time to do this.

Never buy followers

Some people are tempted to buy followers, particularly when starting out. Again, this is a bad option. Do this and you may end up getting your account suspended. Even if you don't, and the package delivers a whole bunch of tweeps to you as promised, chances are they won't be very good quality. They're much more likely to be people who tend not to engage and who are in niches not closely related to yours.

Depending on your niche, you'll have to tweet regularly and have a few hundred quality, engaged followers before you start to see frequent replies and retweets. But when that starts to happen you get a real sense of connection and confidence. You look forward to logging in to see who's responded to you. You get some extended conversations going and build greater rapport with some people in particular. You start to appear on various lists.

With all these things happening you're motivated to tweet more often than you were when you started, further increasing your footprint on the site. With this momentum happening, quality, engaged tweeps start to find and follow you. From this point on your following will continue to grow organically as long as you remain active on the site.