16 Ways for Bloggers to Increase Their Online Likability

1. Link up with a new community and quit waiting for the world to come to you. I met a new writer who told me she doesn't participate in link-ups because she wanted to be seen as a "real writer" and link-ups are only for bloggers. Ouch. This "real writer" had very few online connections, and she couldn't understand why she never had any traffic. You can't meet people by hanging out at home. Get yourself dressed, and go find a party.

2. Do a vlog. Vlogs are embarrassing and leave you wondering, do I really sound like that? Wow, I have weird voice inflection. Boy, I need to stop twirling my hair, and again, do I sound like that? However, vlogs help people get to know you better.

3.  Make a list. Throw useful information in front of bullets and numbers. People gobble up short, easy to understand tidbits.

4. Invite guests. Guests introduce your readers to people with like interests. Guests can share about current projects, books, and passions they have. Jessie Benkert was one of my faves.

5. It's not about you. Find a purpose, a reason. Maybe it's how-to make killer cheesecake or maybe it's to encourage others, but include others.

6. But it is about you so find a way to share something personal. Yes, this one is tough for me, but sometimes I pull it off.

7. Don't make your posts long. Sigh, yawn, losing focus, and now I'm gone.

8. Provide links to others. Be a resource to others. Tell them what valuable information you've recently discovered.

9. Promote other people. No, no. You don't have to blast out a stream of insincere praises on Twitter, but if you read something you like, tell the author about it and then off with your little self. Go share.

10. Give favorites lists. Lists aren't meant to wow readers with your great writing. Lists are made to pass along chunks of information in scanner friendly ways. I'm in the works of creating a list of music which inspires creativity. Oh, yeah. You know you can't wait to read it.

11. Take a risk. Don't be safe. Look for new ways to connect with old and new friends. Have you tried Google+ Hangout? You can talk to multiple friends at once.

12. Add humor. For example, post a dark You Tube video of you and your forever friends singing Journey.

13. Don't be afraid to embarrass yourself. That's always funny. My friends and I had a bridesmaid party. We looked ridiculous and that led to us having a ridiculous amount of fun.

14.  Ask others to join you in reading a book. Last summer, a friend asked me to read a book, and we decided to throw out an invite to those in blogland. We thought maybe a handful of people would join us. Instead, we discovered loads of women not only willing to read the book along with us, but who wanted to blog about it too. Plus, Jen Hatmaker stopped by and visited and that didn't hurt the whole fun factor either.

15. Have fun. Someone recently wrote me that she was sick of reading blog after blog infused with kumbaya moments. "Every moment of my life is not filled with a hallelujah," she stated. I giggled because I got it. Big life lessons are good to share, but so are the little not as inspiring moments.

16. Keep the conversation going. There's no way to respond to every comment, but emailing a person about the words they left at your place encourages dialogue, and talking encourages more conversations and more conversations encourages friendships, and well, you see where I'm going with this.

Now you. What keeps you going back to a blog? Are you looking for inspiration, entertainment, or information? 

Thanks to LAM for helping with this list.

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