Beginner Blogging: Being Nervous About Reaching Out to Other Bloggers

 When started blogging last month the thing that made me the most nervous was talking to other bloggers! Sounds silly I know, but this was one of my biggest fears. I though that people wouldn't really want to talk to me. For some reason I thought of the blogging world as some secluded group that didn't really want an outsider coming in. Boy was I wrong!

When I made my first few posts I think the only people who read them were a few of my friends and family members. I knew I wanted to connect with other bloggers, especially those with blogs similar to mine, but I didn't know how to start! I felt shy and scared, which is a strange feeling for me since I am a pretty outgoing person in "real life". After taking the Blog Love e-course by A Beautiful Mess (read my review on the course here), I realized that I had to make the leap and start chatting with my fellow bloggers!

Here are a few tips on taking the first step into connecting online:

• Make sure you're not just commenting to comment, read posts and comment on ones that you enjoy.
• Make sure your comments have content. Make sure to be commenting about something! Tell the author what you liked about their post, share your own ideas, let them know what you think.
• Add your link to the comment, this is something that I'm not planning on doing forever because I know some people find it a little annoying, but when you are a new blogger and a new commenter on another blog I think it's perfectly acceptable.
• Reply to comments on your blog. This depends on the comments, some don't really need replies but if you can continue the conversation, do it!

Taking the plunge and commenting on a few blogs I liked has made me feel more connected as a blogger. The comments I'm receiving from new readers on my blog inspire me to post and write even more! A big thanks to everyone for being so sweet!

p.s. I found the photo on tumblr, if you know the original source let me know so I can add it!