The #1 Thing You Can Do To Grow Your Blog And Platform The Experts Don’t Talk About

Michael Hyatt’s most recent podcast was named Blog Up Your Blog!: 10 Ways To Boost Your Blog Traffic This Week.  You can watch it by clicking here.  One of the things Michael does is give you the basic fundamentals for success.  However, I think he and every other blogging expert I have read miss The 1 Thing You Can Do To Grow Your Blog And Platform The Experts Don’t Talk About.  Let me explain.

This site was recently recognized as the 21st most read Christian leadership blog on the internet.  However, it was not always this way.  When I wrote my first post, my friend Chad Aukland subscribed that day.  I call it a “mercy killing”.  He got me off 0 subscribers.  However, despite regular posts, I did not get my second subscriber for SIX months.

About one year into blogging I felt there were probably many people just like me who were looking for good Christian leaders to be following.  They needed a go-to reference tool.  So in November 2010 I wrote a post identifying 10 Christian leaders everyone should follow on Twitter.

Completely unplanned, I then discovered the secret to growing your blog and personal platform is GENEROSITY!!!  If you want to grow your blog and personal platform, spotlight the work of others.  

Seven of the 10 leaders mentioned sent me Thank You notes.  They also retweeted the post.  I then discovered a completely unplanned benefit was my site was now exposed to their audiences as well.

I was then reminded of an important leadership lesson I learned from John Maxwell years earlier.  John brilliantly pointed out the greatest pastors were always pointing to other pastors and churches saying, “Look at what God is doing over there.  Look at how God is using that pastor.  Look at what type of people God is raising up in that church.”  Great leaders are always pointing to others and telling their stories.  They are generous.

I then decided to engage in the following blogging practices:

• Provide two posts annually spotlighting some of the greatest Christian leaders on Twitter.  Click The Top 30 Christian Leaders You Need To Follow On Twitter In 2016 Part 1 for this year’s initial listing.
• Provide an annual post spotlighting some of the greatest Christian bloggers. Click The Top 30 Blogs Christian Leaders Need To Read In 2016 for this year’s list.
• Each Friday spotlight the best leadership posts from other writers from the previous week.

These have become some of my most popular posts.  Nothing has grown my blog and platform more.

The following are 5 Benefits of Being A Generous Blogger:

1. Generosity is honoring to God.
2. You become a trusted resource for quality content.
3. You often develop personal relationships with those you spotlight.
4. When they ReTweet your content, you gain access to their audience.
5. It sounds narcissistic but you feel better about yourself when you are generous.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “It is one of the true compensations of this life that a man cannot help another without also helping himself.”

So if you want to grow your blog and personal platform, be generous and spotlight the incredible work of others.

The following are The Top 10 Most Read Posts Of December as determined by you the readers.  Notice five of these are about what others are doing.

1. 16 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2. 21 Lessons Fast Growing Churches Can Learn From The World’s Fastest Growing Startup
3. 20 Things A Leader Should Never Say
4. 7 Stories Pastors Can Use In Their Sermons
5. 21 Leadership Quotes and Lessons From In The Heart Of The Sea
6. The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Entire Year Of 2015
7. The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Week Of December 14th
8. The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Week Of December 7th
9. 15 Things Churches Do To Put On Christmas Eve Services People Will Love
10. The Top 10 Leadership Posts I Read The Week Of November 30th

The following are 9 Hidden Gems which did not make the Top 10 but were personal favorites.  I hope you enjoy them the second time around.

• 8 Signs You Are Part Of An Organization With Little To No Chance For Success
• 18 Reasons Christians Are Filling Out Fewer Pledge Cards
• 11 Things Church Staff Can Do To Make Highly Successful Volunteer Leaders
• 7 Signs Of A Church Or Business In A Free Fall
• 15 Qualities The Most Successful Leaders Have
• 15 Practices Of Highly Successful Leaders Who Build Great Churches And Organizations
• 28 Ways Great Leaders Handle Failure
• How To Avoid Losing Your Team’s Talented Leaders
• What A Highly Successful 2016 Next Generation Leader Looks Like

Please click the link on the left to subscribe to this site and receive my latest FREE Ebook 969 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From The 2015 Passion, Velocity, Orange and Leadercast Conferences.  The lessons contained will inspire, equip, stretch and grow you as a leader.  Enjoy!!!