Selling Out in the Bloggy World and Online Exposure Questions

So did you read that last post? The one where I begged and pleaded for you to just cast one vote so I don't have bad dreams of the internet throwing rotten tomatoes at me for the rest of my life?

Yeah, that was awkward for you to read now wasn't it?

The easiest thing for me to do when it comes to blogging is to write. I have like 5 posts I could put up right now but things like packing for camping, going to work, and looking like a total nerd are currently in the way of that right now.

The toughest thing for me to do while blogging?

Gaining exposure through self-promotion.

And with this task always comes the question: Is there a difference between "Good" or "The Right" kind of exposure and "Bad" or "The Wrong" kind of exposure? Or is all exposure, no matter how you came to gain it, inherently good? When is the constant need for new readers considered selling out in the bloggy world?

I did something that made me feel icky recently.

I joined a couple of new social networks, as that is what people recommend you do in order to get more people reading. I've mentioned before that some of these social networks are ones that I love, and others are totally confusing and I can't quite figure out.

One of the easiest things for one to do is join a group on these networks to get your blog out there. I joined one that had something to do with "supporting". Okay,  doesn't require people to commit, and I might get some new comments and feedback.

So I joined. It didn't make me feel like I had to do something or others had to do something either.

I continued to browse and came across the token, "I'll Follow You if You Follow Me". The rules? You join, if someone follows you, you must follow them back. I struggled with this. It sounded like a quick and easy way to get followers, and in some of the comments other bloggers indicated that their followers had gone up since joining the group.

But something didn't feel right. What if someone followed my blog, and I visited theirs and was forced to then follow something that was utter CRAP. (Excuse my french. I meant to say poo.)

What if their blog had poor grammar, or was awkward, or was on something I did not care to read about in my bloggy reader? What if I wanted to unfollow?

I have always been eager to follow proper bloggy etiquette, but do all of the rules go out the window when you join a group that feels like it is almost as bad as spamming other blogs with your copy and pasted message of "That's fab! Now visit me at blah blah blah!".

I looked at my friend count. I was at 33. I was hoping to have more readers 4 months into my blog.

(And let's not get into the whole caring about followers thing. That's a post for a different day. I obviously started my blog for myself but for some narcissistic reason believe that other people should care about what I write because somewhere inside I think it is great and want to share it with everyone. That and my pictures of Bruin in hats.  I'll telling you, everyone in the world needs to see those.)

And with that I joined the group. Worse: I joined TWO groups of this mandatory following caliber.

I left my computer and went to work.

All I could think about was whether people were following, who I would have to follow, hoping the other blogs I would have to follow were going to be good or bad. Whether other bloggers would judge me for what I felt like was "selling out" or "cheating".

I got home. Logged on. Checked my followers: 33.

I was feeling miserable for about 5 hours for joining this group, and what did I gain? Nothing. Obviously 5 hours was not enough time for it to "work" and I had not gone on a clicking spree that would mandate all of the blogs I don't care about start following a blog they don't care about.

Knowing what I had to do, I went immediately to the site and left the groups. I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

But immediately where that weight was lifted off, fear took it's place. What if I never get any more followers? How hard am I going to have to work to gain more exposure without feeling as miserable as I did today? Will I ever become a "significant" blogger?

Obviously, I have gotten another follower since this incident, so I know the answer. But as a part of the generation of instant online gratification with facebook statuses and minute to minute twitter, (Which I don't have, let's take baby steps in the amount of networks that require networking okay?) I get discouraged when I am not getting gratification that my content is worthwhile instantly and all of the time.

All of these self-conscious thoughts were brought back into the spotlight of my brain when this whole Best In Category thing came up. And yeah I know my last post, and this current post where I ask you to vote for me, #47 not to win but to just not be completely embarrassed in front of everyone is another case of the self-promotion, but where do you draw the line? When do you stop? Where?

So Questions I have for you my fine readers:

1. Have you ever joined a group like "Follow Me I'll Follow You" on a blogging network? If yes, do you ever regret it? If no, why not? Whether you have done this or not, does it ever feel like "Cheating" to you?

2. How have you gained exposure in your blog and gathered followers? Was it easy?

3. Where do you draw the line with self-promotion? Is there such thing as bad exposure?

4. Those of you with 50-100 followers: How long did it take you to get there, and how hard to you feel you had to work for it?

5. This is kind of like the "Do I have food on my face?" or "Is my fly down" question: Is there anything about my blog that you would like to critique? A specific tip on my layout, content, or online persona? Is there anything that would deter you from wanting to read my blog on a daily basis or deter you from following? (This question you can either answer to my comments or email. I guess with all of the questions you could do either. But if with this one you have something really nasty to say that you think will make me go running into the bathroom and crying then I'd rather email so I can eat my lunch in the bathroom stall in peace.)

I would love all of the feedback I can get, so answer any or all of the questions however you would like.

With that said, I'm linking up with Coffee Talk over at FTLOB's to get more traffic on the post for the ultimate feedback experience. Their question to answer was what did I do to make myself happy this week? And honestly. Writing this post to get all of these questions off of my chest feels pretty great.

Can't wait to hear from you! Thanks in advance!