I met Abby last year when I went to Pittsburgh to visit my friend Natalie. She had been someone who I had been connecting with online so when she reached out to me, I suggested we meet up! I will let Abby tell the rest of the story.

She just recently released her very first e-book about how she grew her blog in the first year! I love the way she writes and her honesty and transparency so I asked her if she would share with you guys a little sneak peek of what’s inside her book!

Hey, House of Rose readers!! I’m Abby of Just a Girl and Her Blog, and I’m so thrilled that my sweet friend Mandy invited me to come hang out with you today!

We recently had a pretty big event at my house. A few weeks ago {on my 30th birthday– eeek!} I released my very first eBook! After receiving a steady stream of emails asking me about how I run my blog, I recognized a need for a comprehensive blogging resource, and the idea for my book, Building a Framework: Everything I Learned My First Year of Blogging, was born. Though I feel like I still have a ton to learn about blogging, I also saw my little blog grow from one reader (my husband 🙂 ) to over 200,000 pageviews each month, and since I love to write, I decided to put everything I had learned into book format and share it with bloggers and bloggers-to-be!

One thing I love about Mandy and her blog is her ability to really connect with her readers. She is so good at letting readers get to know her through the pages of her blog and on social media, and it’s no wonder that House of Rose is so immensely popular because of it! I feel like strong connections are so essential for blog growth; when readers are engaged, they’ll keep coming back! It’s not always easy to figure out how to do that, though, so I’m sharing a list of five ways that I’ve built connections with readers on my blog and have seen others use on their blogs as well.

1. Share Real Life on Social Media

Of course as bloggers we use our social media channels to promote our blog posts, but social media also gives us a huge opportunity to connect with readers and other bloggers on a more personal level. While our blogs may be more niche-specific, social media provides a forum to discuss the ins and outs of everyday life– travel, sports teams, food, special occasions, mommy fails– you name it!

In fact, it’s thanks to social media that Mandy and I were able to meet and become friends in the first place! I had been following Mandy’s blog and social media for a little while when she announced on Instagram that she was coming to Pittsburgh, my hometown, to visit her friend Natalie, The Busy Budgeting Mama. I commented that I was excited that she was visiting my city, and she suggested that we get together. Meet up with one of my favorite bloggers? Of course! We ended up doing a zoo trip with our three families (6 parents and 8 kids in all!) and had a blast! And all because of an initial connection on social media!

2. Find Out What Your Readers Want

In February 2014, I asked my readers to complete a survey about my blog, answering questions about what they’d like to see more of, what they could do without, what they’d like to see in the future, etc. It was so eye-opening to be able to catch a glimpse of my blog from a reader’s perspective.

The survey really helped me hone in on the types of posts the readers were enjoying most, and I was also able to get better at engaging my audience because I knew where they were coming from. One of the questions I asked was “What is one area of your life where you feel like you have the greatest need right now?” I had people pour out their hearts to me about being overwhelmed or stressed or feeling unorganized or not knowing how to handle certain situations with kids, and it really helped to give me some direction about what types of posts would be most beneficial to my readers. And guess what? When posts are beneficial to someone’s life, they’re more engaged with the blog.

3. Weave Stories into Posts

It may be the fantastic tutorials and beautiful photographs that entice people to pop over to a blog from Pinterest, but it’s a connection with the blogger that keeps them coming back for more. Even when I’m sharing a craft or a decorating post, I try to weave in a story from my life that relates to the project; readers may not be interested in the tutorial that day, but they’ll stick around for a story!

For example, every time I do a post that involves any type of sewing or is intentionally no-sew, I talk about the fact that I’m terrified of my sewing machine (it’s true!) and usually have some sort of anecdote about how I totally messed up the project before I got it right since sewing machines and I just don’t mix.

Even if the tutorial isn’t that great because I took the long road to get to the final product, I usually get a lot of comments on these types of posts from people who can relate! Stories are awesome for engagement, and engaged readers will come back to a blog again and again.

4. Encourage Others

As bloggers, I think we have such a unique opportunity to be a voice of encouragement to people who may not get enough of that in day-to-day life. I love that the first thing you see when House of Rose pops up in the web browser is “Stop comparing yourself to the perfect mom… she doesn’t exist.”

What an awesome and inspiring message! I think it’s great when Mandy posts stories about life with three sons and how it’s not always perfect, but it’s their life, and they love it. I love when she empowers moms with positive posts and uplifting words.

I think it’s these types of encouraging messages that, again, build that connection with readers and keep them coming back over and over again. People need positive voices in their lives, and how incredible that we as bloggers have the chance to provide that. What a privilege! I find that when I take a break from my normal home decor or craft posts to talk about something that has been on my heart or an encouraging message I’ve received, readers always share their encouraging stories in return, and I truly end up on the receiving end, being blessed by their words.

5. Talk about the Hard Stuff

This one can be difficult sometimes. It’s hard to know what to share and what not to on the blog, but when other bloggers are willing to talk about the tough stuff in life, it makes them seem more real, and I truly feel like I get to know them better. I know when Mandy shares about their adoption and her longing to be able to meet their child, it really pulls on my heartstrings because I know how much it means to them. I’m sure other couples who are going through the adoption process will appreciate her transparency and identify with her story.

My hands were shaking last October when I pushed “Publish” on a post that talked about being a carrier of the BRCA1 genetic mutation, which makes me extremely susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer. I was worried that I would scare people away by talking about something so deep and personal, but instead, I not only received an outpouring of encouragement and support from my amazing readers, but doors also opened for me to be able to connect with women who had a history of female cancers in their family or were going through the cancer walk themselves or with a family member.

Those incredible connections and being able to invest in someone else’s life is way bigger and more important than any amount of pageviews or recognition. It also helps people realize that you’re a person with struggles and difficulties in day-to-day life and not some Stepford blogger whose life is perfect all the time.

It can definitely be intimidating to put yourself out there to talk about “real life” on a blog or social media, but I think that the rewards are absolutely worth it. When readers feel like they know you, they’ll continue to return to your blog, and even more importantly, you have the opportunity to positively impact peoples’ lives, and there is nothing more rewarding than that!

If you’re interested in learning about more strategies I’ve used to grow my blog, check out my book! I cover everything from how I set up the technical side of my blog and grew my readership to how I got the opportunity to work with brands like IKEA and Staples and gained 4,000 new email subscribers in 3 months! To see a full table of contents, see what other bloggers are saying about the Building a Framework, and even read a sample chapter, head over to the landing page and take a look! Hope to see you there!