For the past few days, I have spent an alarming amount of time on Twitter. I could have been doing other things like getting ready for school or cleaning my room. I could have been doing something “productive”. But, while I could have been doing all those things, I still consider the time I spent on Twitter well spent. Why? Well, because while on Twitter, I managed making a few blogging friends. This is no easy feat. A weeks ago, I felt lonely and very much like a loner in the great big blogosphere. A few months ago I had been so desperate for blogging friends that actually posted a “Wanted: Friends” post. It has since been taken down (it’s a bit embarrassing), but I will consider reposting it if I get enough comments asking me to. But that’s besides the point. The point is that until I started to invest time on Twitter, I didn’t have a single blogging friend.
Friends are awesome and they can really be a big help. Have a question? Shoot them an email or just tweet it. SOMEONE will answer. It is soooo helpful. Before, when I was just a lone, little fish in a humongous pond, I would tweet a question and no one would answer… But now I have people that I can count on to help me out. They also are great at helping cheer you up when you have an off day.
Now why has it taken me this long to actually make friends? Believe it or not, I have quite a few friends at school, most of them having shared a class or activity with me at some point. The thing is, I lacked those type of opportunities in the blogosphere because there are so many bloggers out there (and I also tend to be a little shy, yes, even online). What a pity since having friends can definitely make one’s life easier.
So for those that need more friends, I have decided to give you some tips. (Just so you know, I do not guarantee they work…after all, in no way should I be considered an expert on this subject).
- Find people like you (ex. teen bloggers if you are a teen blogger) or people that have similar interests
- Follow them on Twitter
- Stalk your Twitter feed
- Find someone who needs help
- Help them out (reply to their question or whatever)
- If #4 and #5 are too hard, promote a blog post you really liked while mentioning the author on Twitter
- Repeat
- Post meaningful comments on a blog you like often
- Send a blogger whose blog you like an email saying hi (and how much you like their blog).
- Follow, follow, follow
I know exactly what you mean by being a small fish in a big pond. Like you, I also would ask questions and get no responses. Better yet (and I’m a little embarrassed to admit this) I ran a giveaway for a book by a fairly popular author and no one entered!
I am still a very new blogger, but recently I have started to make some blogging buddies. Twitter is really how I connect to more people, but also replying to comments people have made on my posts is how I have found new friends.
You have some fantastic tips. Thanks for sharing!
I know what you mean about the giveaway… that happened to me too. Twitter is awesome, but also really addictive and horrible for productivity not related to blogging. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Haha nice tips. I have two Twitter accounts, one “officially” for the blog and one that is slightly more personal (made for an old book blog). I’ve tried to move most of my book talk to the new Twitter account and interact with people. I know what you mean by it’s a little hard… I always feel like I’m butting in. I figure though if I’m too annoying, they can just ignore my tweet :p
-P.E. @ The Sirenic Codex
I have two twitter accounts to, although I use my “personal” one more. Switching handles is just so bothersome. I feel like I butt in a lot, but you’re right. What’s the worse that could happen? Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Those are great tips, Emz 😀 It took us a while at Nawanda Files to meet people in the blogosphere. I totally agree, Twitter is definitely a great source. And I love the “bloggers commenting back” idea that Readers in Wonderland created because I’ve visited tons of new blogs (like yours!) It’s been really fun 😀
I’ll have to follow you on Twitter! I share Nawanda Files, my blog, with my sis and she has that official Twitter account. Mine is just my name.
The “Bloggers Commenting Back” idea really is an idea of a genius. I have to work on my commenting skills though… Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
You are completely right, I remember first starting out and having all these questions and asking for help and getting none in return except from a few nice people that I still talk to to this day. It’s awesome to have a support system and friends in such an awesome community like book blogging is 😀
Having a support system and friends makes blogging so much more fun. Book bloggers are definitely the best! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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Totally, utterly understand this post. The blogging community, once found, is so welcoming though; it’s fantastic!
Hope that now you feel you’re in the little community you can feel comfortable posting anything, even if it seems slightly embarrassing. Know I’ll try and be supportive as possible. Even if it’s as bizarre as you are a Centaur with rainbow hooves…
You know me on Twitter (@ZeldyBee) feel free to drop me a line, whenever 🙂
I agree! It just took a little hunting around to find the blogging community that was always there. And believe me when I say the Wanted post is highly embarrassing… Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Just saw this post and YES!!! I was so alone before Twitter! AND GREAT ADVICE!! I mane seriously stalking? BEST WAY EVER TO MAKE FRIENDS!! I kid you not! 🙂
And you should so post this wanted friends ad!! (Or at the very least email it to me so I can share your pain!)
Also I loved how you said asking questions and answering them! The other day I was having a mini-freak out because of something blog related and I tweeted asking for help and made a brand new friend!!
And have I mentioned how much I LOVE your blog! t is so pretty and organized!
Anyhow awesome post!! =D
Best thing about Twitter? You can stalk someone as much as you want and they can’t get a restraining order on you! (Or at least that’s what I think). Maybe I’ll email it to you on your first day back to school… Thanks for all the compliments, I swear my ego is growing bigger with every word. -_- Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
This is so true and your tips are great! I have met ALL of my blogging friends on twitter, and although talking to new people was intimidating at first, it was the most rewarding thing ever. I have the most random reasons for following people sometimes (I actually followed you in part because your penguin profile picture is ADORABLE) but one I follow I make an effort to respond to the person’s tweets now and then and possibly get a good conversation going. You pretty much covered it with your tips, and the only other advice I have is go to those twitter parties with authors. You get to meet so many other bloggers and can instantly bond over the love of one author. 🙂
Ooohhh Twitter parties. I totally forgot about them! I’m glad you like the penguin! Good conversations on Twitter are always nice. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
While I don’t have problems making friends in real life, I found that I can be quite shy online. Weird, huh? 🙂 Since I started blogging I made some great friends, mainly by posting meaningful comments on their blogs. I’m still angry with myself that I don’t use Twitter properly, because I know how much potential it has. But every time I go on Twitter I have the impression that I could be doing something much more productive, so I just close it and leave it for later. I do spend a huge amount of time on Facebook, though. As if Facebook were more productive than Twitter. 🙂
Your tips are great, btw! 🙂
That’s really interesting. I’m more shy offline than I am online. You’re right about Twitter and using that time to do things more productive. But it’s still really fun to use. See, I wish I had more time to post meaningful comments, but with school, I just lack time. I don’t even have enough time to reply to comments on this blog! I’m glad you liked the tips. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I totally agree with the commenting thing! We’ve had some trouble in the past getting traffic and discussion over on our blog and commenting on similar sites is definitely a great tip.
Commenting helps a lot when I still had the time for it. But now that school has started again… Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Those are some great tips! Probably the only thing I haven’t done before that’s on the list is emailing blogger friends. And now that I think about it it’s actually a pretty good idea because you can get a lot more across in an email than in a 150 character tweet haha. I do have to say that I met a lot of my blogger friends on Twitter though. That site is awesome.
Also, I kind of want to see this Wanted: Friends post haha 😛
Emailing is actually something I haven’t done. I had people email me and now I call them my friends, so I figured it worked. And it’s true, I wish Twitter would up their character limit. And you never know, maybe I will repost that post. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I’ve been using Twitter for years and got kind of burned out on it around the time I started blogging. That hasn’t helped make friends! Plus with the way my schedule works, it seems pretty slow whenever I’m on there. I keep adding people, though, as I find them through their blogs, so I’m not giving up yet.
I’m also starting to reach out and comment more on blog posts. I’ve seen an increase in comments on my blog already, so that seems to be working for me.
I’m sorry Twitter hasn’t worked for you, but it’s true, it’s only beneficial if other people are on while you are. Commenting works just as well as Twitter, sometimes even better because the same people will keep stopping by and leave comments as long as you do the same. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂