Last week, I hit a pretty big Blogging Milestone (you can read more about that here) and over the weekend, I sent out my first "official" Dating Bitch Newsletter.
I've always sent out a monthly newsletter, but in the past, it consisted solely of a recap of my blog posts along with a note from me. This one, though, included all of that plus extra content related to a particular topic or theme (for June, it was all about self-care and mental health).
I was really excited about starting something new and I hoped my readers would enjoy it. In my excitement, I sent out the following tweet:
And, sure, in part, I wanted to do a little shameless self-promotion with this tweet. But I ALSO genuinely wanted to be a supportive member of the blogging community.
Of course, if you're asking for other people to share something of theirs, you're bound to get more responses than if you're just promoting yourself, so I got replies from others who send a monthly blog newsletter. And (for the most part) I subscribed to the ones who left a comment.
Notice that I said "for the most part." Yes, you read that right.
Because, guess what? When I looked at some of the comments left by others, I noticed that a few of the commenters are bloggers who don't even follow me on Twitter.
Now, I'm not one to say that you should ONLY read/subscribe/engage with the people who are reciprocating. There are plenty of bloggers I follow who don't follow me, and I read their blogs because I genuinely love their content, not because I expect anything in return.
BUT.... in this case, it really irritated me!
I had to step back and wonder, "Am I being overly sensitive?"
After taking a day to sleep on it, I've decided that No, I'm not. And that got me thinking even more about what it means to be a supportive blogger to others.
Blogging Tribe
A "blogging tribe," like any other tribe, is a term for a group of individuals committed to supporting one another. As a blogger, it's so important to find this kind of tribe - these are peers you can learn from and who will help you grow.
There are so many wonderful bloggers that I've met through Twitter who've really helped me in my journey. And I like to think that I help them too.
Because the point of a blogging tribe isn't just to help YOU - you can't expect support without giving support in return (and, honestly, you shouldn't even want to.)
Here are 5 ways that you can be a good blogging tribe member (and if you're a new blogger, these tips will ALSO help you find your blogging tribe):
Read their blogs
This is a pretty straightforward one, but the single best thing you can do for fellow bloggers is to read their blog posts! It takes a lot of work to publish a new post and - whether they're getting paid or doing it for fun, every blogger wants their words to be read.
Like, Comment, Follow
Social media is huge for bloggers so if you want to support someone, you should follow their socials! Don't just stop there - like their tweets, engage with polls and surveys, and leave a comment. And, seriously, don't just drop your blog link and peace out. Nobody - and I mean NOBODY likes that guy. That guy is the worst.
Again, I'm not saying that you have to follow every other blogger out there. But don't drop blog links (or email subscribe lists) on someone's thread unless you're also supporting them back. That's just plain rude.
Subscribe to Email Lists
Speaking of subscribing.... so many bloggers have freebies or newsletters, but even if they don't, they almost ALL have an email subscription. It doesn't hurt you at all to subscribe and it really goes a long way for bloggers (I use my blog email anyway so it doesn't clutter my personal inbox).
Promote their work
Every once in a while, you might come across a blogger who you love engaging with on social media but whose content, for whatever reason, just doesn't speak to you. Maybe they write a blog about parenting and you don't have kids. Or they write about crafting and you're not a crafty chick.
In that case, you can always retweet their blog posts to help promote it. After all, you might have readers who are into crafts or who do have kids and sharing their work can help the reach a bigger audience.
Show Gratitude
Whether you reciprocate through comments or readership, when another blogger promotes your work or engages with your content, say thank you! Let people know that you appreciate them. Everyone likes to know that their efforts are seen and acknowledged.
And with that, thanks for reading 😇
xoxo
Dating B.