Bloglovin' - How To Use It, Gain Followers, and Make the Most Out of It.





So over the past 5-6 months I have really been focusing on increasing my Bloglovin' followers. But for months I really didn't know what to do or how to do it. I have read a few guides like this one from SkinnedCartree, which helped me get started.

So here is my experience with it, what I do, and what my results are!


So at first I started by following a lot of blogs. Don't get me wrong you will gain followers this way, but you need to be careful with BL, quite often when you add someone, you add them, and their blog. Which can get pretty confusing when you only really want to follow the blog. I find it isn't organic enough either, it won't create the right kind of following.

So then I started actually using it. Sounds silly right? Using something you want to grow, but its all it needs really. So I started using it to read & comment on blogs.

The easiest way to do this is by using the "Edit Blogs You Follow" function on the menu bar. I then add blogs into categories, here is the options I use:

 
By doing this it then filters all the ones you want to read first. I keep the groups small, so I can attempt to keep up, but it helps me keep on top of the posts I am obsessing over, and the people and friends I want to catch up with. Once I have been into the filters, I will then read and comment on a few in my main feed, then add or remove any in the categories. They change all the time to keep up with everyone :)

I will also find new blogs through friends, and make a point of following them on BL, and leaving them comments. It's all about the engagement...



Two month's ago Bloglovin' then introduced the "love" feature. For me this has been a game changer. I LOVE numbers, I love being able to record and keep track of things. So once I seen they were counted, I then became committed to "Loving" every post I have read & commented on. Since the start of May I have commented and loved 400 posts. 400. That is a crazy amount. With this amount of engagement and activity on BL, my followers have also grown with it.


Since 1st February 2016 I have gained 447 followers, which is an awesome amount. I am really happy with it, and really proud of it too. So thank you to all who take the time to follow me, it really does mean a lot.

I am not saying in any way its easy to gain followers on BL, i'm just showing you how I have, and what is working for me in hope to help someone else - so I am sorry if you are looking for a quick fix.

Oh, I also include this at the end of EVERY post, I feel it helps a lot for people to have a quick and easy way to follow you if they are new to you. And it is true... for everyone that follows me, I then go check out their blog and follow back (But I don't follow like a car blog, or ones not in English, it needs to be productive lol)

Let me know in the comments below if you use bloglovin' or if I have convinced you to try it out more? Have you seen me "Loving" your posts? I'd love to know :)

Oh and as for my geeky graph charting my growth, their will be a post on that over the next few weeks!

I would LOVE it if you could follow me on Bloglovin' (I follow back too)

 

30 comments

  1. Thank you so much for this. I've only been on bloglovin since March, so I'm still learning. I shall definitely note to love posts more as you kind of forget to do these important things. :) xx
    sheergloss

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this hun! I didnt know I could categorize blogs, I shall definitly be doing that today. And congrats on the follows, you definitly deserve it! xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. My Bloglovin' stats were looking pretty stagnant at the start of this year, so I've made an effort this past month to try and engage a lot more on it - start looking for new blogs to follow, leave commments and press that love button! It's paying off and my follower count is climbing again :)
    Jennifer x
    Ginevrella | Lifestyle Blog

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love Bloglovin and find my followers also increase when I take the time to scroll through and find blogs to comment on. I also save posts into different categories so I easily know where to find them!
    JH | hellojenniferhelen.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. The editing blogs you follow sounds like something I need to have a play around with. Btw I love your blog banner! x

    Kate// katerosexo1.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! @alohaLolaCards did it from Twitter, you should check her out, she is fab!

      Delete
  6. This is such a great post! I've been really engaging with Bloglovin' recently and have found it has made a huge difference - engagement really is the best way to grow! :) xxx

    Sarah / Sarah Smiles

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love this tip about adding the blogs you follow in different categories, I'm definitely gonna do it right away! :)

    xx, Matea
    www.smilesnapsparkle.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Loved this post - I had no idea you could group blogs you follow. Definitely going to spend a good few hours going through my feed now!

    NINEGRANDSTUDENT: A Student Lifestyle Blog

    ReplyDelete
  9. This post was super helpful! I didn't know majority of this but will def be putting it to use! Thanks for the tips!
    x Kenzie // Kenzieblogslife.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I used to concentrate a lot on BlogLovin but I find them to concentrate more on huge blogs instead of us smaller ones. These days I check once or twice a week to catch up on everything. These are really great tips though, I'm going to give it a try.

    Shireen | Reflection of Sanity

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks! I have a bloglovin account but don't ise it! This has encouraged me to give it another go!
    Amina xx

    ReplyDelete
  12. good tips!!

    http://itsmeieva.blogspot.lt/

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh guess where I found your blog...that's right, bloglovin just now! I love finding new blogs on bloglovin, it broadens my reading and allows me to meet so many new bloggers! I love the fact that you write down all the facts and figures I should really start doing this.
    Charlotte // www.charlottespicks.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have completely given up on BlogLovin because it's almost impossible for me to get followers over there! I am concentrating more on my social media handles, but I guess I should think about my BlogLovin account too. I usually follow other blogger's through their instagram or email subscription so I never felt the need of using bloglovin. I am following you on Instagram now. :) BTW, I must say that your blog's header image is very cute! Did you design it by yourself?!

    Xx

    Gorgeously Flawed

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! @alohaLolaCards did it from Twitter, you should check her out, she is fab and super lovely too! just followed you back :)

      Delete
  15. Such a helpful post! Love it! Thank you for making this ^^

    www.beautiliciousd.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  16. You have achieved so much!! Such a smashing job, hon! These tips are super handy, especially regarding USING the app lol! Sometimes we might think something might work for us just because we signed up and hitting 'follow' this and that person. Every social outlet is So. Much. Work! You're killin' it <3
    xox Nadia
    www.mielandmint.com

    ReplyDelete
  17. I had no idea you could use Bloglovin like this! Great post x

    www.beautyfromkatie.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Glad do see you're getting more followers! Thanks for linking me, too :)

    Corinne x
    www.skinnedcartree.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Great post well done hun xoxo
    http://www.katescloset.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  20. Definitely going to try the "Edit blogs you follow" function, it sounds real handy! Thanks for sharing, I didn't even know you could categorize blogs like that. I haven't been into Bloglovin' that much lately and I don't know why... I need to start using it more again. It's definitely a great place to keep track of who's posted and what.

    www.saarasofia.com | Bloglovin’ 

    ReplyDelete
  21. Bloglovin always has and always will be a mystery to me haha however I really think it's growing and it's important to be an active user on it. As you say, it's obvious but if you don't use it as a reader, you're not going to gain a huge amount of blog followers on it!

    Jasmine xx

    Jasmine Talks Beauty | US & Sephora Giveaway

    ReplyDelete
  22. I'm still figuring out how to use bloglovin properly. I think it's pretty hard to find small/starting blogs/bloggers on bloglovin.

    www.maxitopper.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thank you so much for this blog! I've been trying to figure out bloglovin' for a while and this has really helped me to organise the blogs I follow and use this platform properly.

    Sophie - eselle x

    ReplyDelete
  24. This was super helpful! Thanks Erin! I look forward to reading your future blog posts :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. I'm awful at using BL, I forget about it half the time!

    x

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks, This is really useful advice!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Found this really useful, great post!
    http://itsatashathing.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  28. Definitely trying out some of these tips. I definitely need to dedicate 2017 to engagement and really support and promote in the blogging community. Thanks for this x

    splodgeofbeauty.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete

I would love it if you could leave a comment, I love reading them! I also love it when you leave your own blog links so I can go check them out too - But please make sure your clickable link is working - or I do need to delete the comment :(