First things first: you don’t have to do anything to support my blog if you are not so inclined. (Joke’s on you, though, since if you’re reading this, you’re supporting me!) Maybe you have a blogger in your entourage whom you’d like to support. Maybe there’s another blogger whose posts you enjoy. Maybe you’re a blogger and not sure how your friends and family can best support your work. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re a die-hard Maman Loup fan and you want to see my blog continue to grow! More giveaways! More insightful reviews! More over-sharing about bodily fluids! More taboo-busting posts about mental health!
Supporting your favourite blogger is a lot like supporting your favourite local business. As a bonus, you don’t have to spend a dime, get out of your pajamas or leave your house to give a blogger a boost. If you find someone’s content amusing or informative, if you like what they stand for or maybe you just love the giveaways … these are all great reasons to give a blogger some extra lovin’.
Easy Ways to Love a Blogger
1 – Visit their page
Yes, every visit does count! Most for-profit blogs have ads displayed which pay per view. The payment is a fraction of a cent, but it all adds up at the end of the month. Stop by often! Also—fun fact—if you click through on a link to a blog post from Facebook, the Facebook Fairies give that original post more clout, meaning it is shown to more people.
2 – Share their content
I’m not suggesting you share every single thing a blogger writes, but when you like something they’ve written, take a couple of seconds to share it. In the case of my page, I try to make that super simple with these buttons on the left (at the bottom of your screen if you are on a mobile). Can’t decide how to share? I’ll tell you the two ways that most increase my traffic: Pinterest & StumbleUpon. Pin me! Stumble me! Love me!
3 – Enter their giveaways
You might not have thought about this, since entering giveaways seems like a totally self-serving action. Guess what? It is not. Not even a little bit. Entering a blogger’s giveaways—even if you complete just one entry on their giveaway widget—is a huge help! Typically, if I’m running a giveaway, it’s part of a commitment I’ve made with a sponsor. It’s my job to make sure that as many people as possible enter the giveaway, and if my sponsor notices a nice increase in their social follows or website traffic thanks to the giveaway widget, then hopefully they’ll want to work with me again (and give YOU the chance to win something else!).
4 – Leave a comment
When I was in grade school, we had a box in our classroom for “Warm Fuzzies.” If someone did something nice for you, you could write them a “Warm Fuzzy,” and drop it in the box. At the end of the week, the teacher would read out the submissions. Every time someone leaves a comment on my blog, I get an email notification. I definitely get plenty of comments that are purely associated with giveaway entries. But when I get a comment on a non-giveaway post, I get super duper WARM FUZZIES! (Assuming it’s not spam, which, thanks to my anti-spam plug-in, it rarely is.) When you take the time to leave a kind comment on my blog, it makes me so happy!
If you ask me a question in a comment and I don’t answer, it’s not because I don’t like you. Likely, it just got lost in my ocean of notifications. The best way to get an answer from me is by messaging my Facebook page or sending me an email.
5 – Shop
I honestly don’t put a ton of time into affiliate marketing as the return on investment is quite low. What is affiliate marketing, you ask? It’s when someone clicks through a special tracking link from my website or social media, makes a purchase, and I receive a commission. For example, if you click through the Well.ca ad on my sidebar, or this link and make a purchase, I earn a 5% commission. I have a full list of my affiliate sites here. I am so grateful when anyone takes to time to shop via one of my affiliate links! If I discuss a product for which I have an affiliate link in a blog article, be assured that I will inform you that I am using an affiliate link—I’m not aiming to trick you into giving me a commission!
6 – Refer them
Word of mouth is a powerful tool. If you have connections to a brand or business that would be an awesome partner for a blogger you follow, let that potential sponsor know! Sometimes, brands or shops even place a call out on their Facebook or Instagram page asking followers to tag their favourite bloggers. I love when my fans tag me in these kinds of threads! Another great way I see my fans referring me is in Facebook groups. If one of my readers knows I have a post that answers someone’s question, it’s very much appreciated when they link that person to my post. I gain lots of new readers this way!
7 – Interact with them
The more you comment, like and share a blogger’s social media posts, the more weight the various social platforms give said posts. This increases their “reach.” When lots of people engage on one of my Facebook posts, it has a snowball effect, helping me reach more and more people. Now that Instagram has changed its algorithm (notice you no longer see posts in chronological order), I need all the interaction I can get on my posts to make sure my fans will ever see them. Furthermore, when I approach a brand with whom I’d like to work, they will often take a look at what kind of interaction I receive on my social media accounts. If I post tons of things, but very few people ever like or comment on them, they’re not likely to want to spend their advertising dollars with me. Also, I personally never google any of my pressing questions. I just ask my fans! It’s way more fun.
8 – Give feedback to their sponsors
One of the best things you can do for a blogger—especially a review blogger like myself—is let a shop or brand know who sent you. For example, if you are ordering from a specific cloth diaper shop because you saw their ad on my page, saw a social media post I made for them or a blog post I wrote about them, let them know in the comments section of your order. If you’re a retailer, and want to bring in a new brand because you saw me talking about them, let the brand know!
I was so excited to see many readers tag my page in this post:
9 – Make corrections
I am frequently working on my blog at 45% brain capacity. That’s 45% of MOMMY brain capacity … so … not much. My aunt Kiki is now editing every blog post I write, but that doesn’t mean you won’t notice a typo in a Facebook post, a broken link or worse! I’ve had readers point out factual errors, links that led to the wrong place and missing giveaway widgets. I will not be offended if you let me know about something that’s not working on my page! Even if it turns out to be a glitch in your browser or something you misread, I will still be thankful. Most of the time, the reader is right! My regular readers know how I feel about apostrophe misuse and general mutilation of the English language. I am not immune to error, but spotting a “their” where there should be a “they’re” three days after the fact is like going through a whole day of teaching with nobody telling me there was lettuce between my teeth.
This is “note” cool!
By the way, my Mom often texts me to tell me about my typos on Instagram and Facebook! Thank you, Mommy!
10 – Subscribe
I know that you probably don’t love subscribing to newsletters. I know you probably don’t open every newsletter that arrives in your inbox. The thing is, e-mail is the only truly reliable way I have of reaching you. I am at the mercy of Facebook and every other social network’s ever-changing algorithms and terms of use when it comes to sharing my content. Having a solid amount of newsletter subscribers is not only reassuring to me, but also a good statistic to use with potential sponsors. I’ve even decided to reward my subscribers every month with an exclusive, self-sponsored giveaway. (I will buy a prize each month for one randomly selected subscriber!)
A Couple of Things Not to Do
1- Don’t be a spammer
Don’t randomly post on my Facebook page’s wall about your new business venture in the hopes of reaching my followers. You know how the bulletin board at the library or the supermarket has a sign saying to only post ads approved by the administration? Same deal.
2- Don’t be a whiner
My fans are almost universally pleasant—if not downright delightful—human beings with a great sense of humour. (LOVE YOU GUYS!) But every blogger has a Debbie Downer or a Negative Nancy lurking in the shadows. (I am so sorry to all the wonderfully cheerful and optimistic ladies named Debbie and Nancy out there, by the way.) If I run a giveaway and it’s not open to the US (or not open to Canada, which I honestly do try to avoid, since I’m Canadian, after all), it’s not because I hate Americans. If I post in support of cloth diapers, you don’t need to tell me all the reasons why you hated cloth diapers. If you don’t like a certain brand’s newest colours or prints, you don’t have to start whining about it in the release party I’m hosting or the official chat group I moderate. If you can’t stomach my support for marriage equality, go ahead and unlike my page, but you don’t need do the virtual equivalent of slamming the door by commenting “I’M UNLIKING YOUR PAGE RIGHT AWAY!”
3- Don’t be a hater
Let’s say I post about a brand and you have a beef with that brand. If I’m working with that brand then they’re my client, and my job is to create a positive buzz around them. If you have an issue with a brand about whom I’ve written, take that issue up with their customer service or bombard THEM with tweets. Don’t start complaining about them on my Facebook page or blog post. If you are concerned that I may not be aware of something shady, send me a private message!
4- Don’t be a jerk
Never, ever do I intend for the comments on my Facebook posts to turn into an insult-fest between my readers. I try to avoid the more divisive topics because I just don’t want to have to moderate the commenters. Play nice! I have enough on my plate dealing with my preschooler. I don’t have the patience to deal with grown women fighting over whether children should be allowed to go up the slide or not. (There are respectful, mature ways to disagree, and sometimes, if you can’t say anything nice, listen to Thumper’s mama in Bambi.)
Thank You
To every single one of you who has ever or will ever do any of the small but impactful actions listed above to support my blog, thank you. You might not have realized how much a simple thumbs up, double tap or pin helps me (or another blogger you love), so keep up the good work!
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