Blogging is not always a lucrative career. For many of us, myself included, it’s more of a hobby. But, like any hobby, blogging costs money.

Whether blogging is a person’s work or play, bloggers are sharing their work and/or art with you. Because of that, it’s important to support the blogs that you find yourself visiting again and again. Small actions that cost you no money (aside from some that you might be spending anyway – more on that later) can help you help someone else!

Bloggers, this post is for you too! Supporting other blogs is a great way to make connections. 🙂

Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on and/or purchase from some links, I make a portion of the sale. This helps keep Bitch Bookshelf running.

Share your favorite posts.

You probably already know that bloggers live and die for your retweets, likes, and shares. So yes, please, keep hitting RT!

But it’s also super appreciated when you share your posts in private conversations. Think about it. Are you more likely to click on a link your Facebook friend shared or one that your friend texted you? Here are some ways you can share our posts with friends that you might not typically use:

1. If it’s your turn to choose the next book club read, send a link to your favorite book blogger’s latest review in the club’s group chat. “What do you guys think of this one for next month’s read?” Then insert the link. Books and Bindings is one of my favorite book blogs.
2. Instead of taking a screenshot of that recipe you want to try, pin it to your food board.
3. If you’re perusing relationship, dating, and sex blogs in place of a paid Cosmo subscription (often times, these sites are better anyway!), share that link with bae on new positions and see what they’re into! Slutty Girl Problems is my favorite sex and relationship blog.

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Subscribe to new posts.

I get it. You don’t need another email crowding up your inbox. But there’s a reason we love subscribers! If your favorite blog is the sort that’s more of a “career” than a “hobby”, then chances are that they promote packages to affiliates, wherein offers are made to advertise or share posts for the affiliate in exchange for payment. These affiliates want details, including how many subscribers we have. So the more subscribers, the better! Yes, we see your hits, but it’s helpful for that hit to translate into a subscriber, too.

This is also a great way for other bloggers to keep up-to-date. Even if you don’t have the time to read every blog post that enters your inbox, you’ll at least get a view of titles. You’ll know what’s going on in your sphere of the blogging world, and have an idea of what topics you should be talking about or avoiding because everyone else is talking about them, depending on your school of thought.

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Embrace our mailing lists.

Yeah, yeah, we want you to sign up for our mailing lists. Yet another email, am I right? Btw, sign up for my mailing list here!

And I get it. You get so many emails, it’s often instinctual to either ignore them or automatically press delete. But I’m imploring you to click on those emails! Open them up! And then click on the links within those emails!

That goes back to my point in the last tip. If your favorite blog has affiliate programs going on, those affiliates are looking for stats. Mailchimp, my newsletter system of choice, is very helpful and shows statistics on how many readers are opening my emails and how many are clicking through the links. The higher the stats, again, the better! Your favorite blogger could potentially make an income off of a few clicks on your part.

You can use mailing lists to network. See something that resonates with you? Hit reply! Smaller blogs often have replies go straight to the admin’s inbox. This is a great way to foster discussion or network to collaborate together.

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Cash in on our freebies.

Sometimes, we’re able to share freebies and deals with our readers. Bloggers offer three types of freebies/deals, both of which can help you and your favorite blogger at the same time:

1. Affiliate deals. We link to coupons from our favorite affiliates, or giveaways that we’ve collaborated on. When we do this, we have a tracking link that the affiliate sees when you visit their site. Cookies are used so that if you place an order, we get some money. This is also sometimes the case for when we share coupon codes. So you get a sweet deal or get to enter a giveaway, and the blogger makes some money!
2. Consumer deals. Beauty bloggers especially use these awesome deals, which even non-bloggers are capable of making credits for that company on! For example, I share the following deals with my readers: FREE STYLING on you first order of Stitch Fix here, $20 OFF your Winc order here, and $10 Overtone conditioner here. Those referral links don’t earn me money, but they do earn me credits towards a service I love! So you get to save on a new product, and the blogger gets to save on their favorite product!
3. Freebies WE MADE. Often, bloggers will share cool freebies that you get by sharing your email. For example, I’ve received monthly blog templates shared by successful bloggers, the prologue to a book by authors, etc. When you sign up to receive these freebies, the blogger also gets your email address, and you are likely added to their mailing list. So you get something free that the blogger spent their time and effort on, you the blogger gets more exposure!

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Bookmark our affiliate links.

Often, we link to affiliates in our posts. I’m a book blogger (duh), so I usually link to books on Amazon. When you bookmark my Amazon link, you support me every time you shop on Amazon.

I want to emphasize this. We are not making the big bucks when you click our affiliate links. Often, the percentages are super low. But every dollar counts!

Yes, there is a way for bloggers to bookmark one another’s affiliate links without taking away from their own income! I know, you’re thinking, “Kate, I’m not bookmarking your Amazon link. I have an Amazon referral link of my own! If I’m paying anyone, it’s myself.” Of course, and I don’t blame you. But what you can do is visit other blogs and bookmark any other affiliate site they link to. Or, alternatively, you can say, “Wow, so-and-so is affiliated with such-and-such company. I better look into affiliating with them, too!”

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Comment, comment, comment!

DO IT! There are quite a few reasons we love comments.

1. It shows you actually read our post, which we appreciate.
2. It allows us to talk with our readers, which is always fun.
3. It helps with our SEO. The more interaction with a post, the better it does on Google.

So how do you leave a good comment? Foster discussion! While things like “Nice post” are appreciated, a few sentences and even a question are even better. That way, someone else is more apt to write back to you, and the post will have even more interaction.

And fellow bloggers, commenting on another blog’s post is YOUR time to shine! Seriously! You can link back to your own site, duh! You’re missing out if you aren’t talking to other bloggers in the comment section.

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So go ahead! What are you waiting for?! Comment below.