Do you own a
blog? Is it for your business or is it a labor of love? It really doesn’t
matter what reason you have for blogging, you want readers and subscribers.
Most of us start blogging because we love to write about our favorite topics,
but then you realize that it could bring in extra income and also bring you
writing clients, which is exactly why I started my blog.
Blogs and
maintaining them are time-consuming, so you need to have patience and the time
to put the work in, because if you don’t focus on quality content; Google will
not like your site and it will not rank well. So what can you do to bring more
traffic to your blog, preferably visitors that are interested in what you have
to say? There are so many ways and it’s not brain surgery to learn this.
Your blog
showcases you and your business, but beware of talking too much about yourself.
Blogs where people rave on too much about their lives or achievement start to
get boring for the reader. The reader wants information he or she can use.
Focus your posts on feeding information to your readers.
Try out some of
the strategies below to help get more traffic:
Share Valuable Comments on Your Favorite Blogger’s Site
Most blogs have an option
where you can share your website in the comments section. So if you have a
favorite blogger in your niche who you are subscribed to, visit their blog
often and leave meaningful comments about their posts. Do not just write stuff
like: “Great Post” or “Thanks for Sharing” This is annoying to other readers
and the blog owner. Some blogs also have back-tracks which will show the last
post you made on your blog. This is an absolutely great marketing tool.
Short Posts Work Best
Keep your posts short and to
the point. Four hundred to six hundred words is plenty, even less if you can.
People surfing the Internet have a short attention span. In-fact experts will
tell you that you have three seconds to grab their attention or they are lost
to you.
Content is King
Every blog owner will tell you
this; content is king and you must keep your blog fresh with new, original
content. People will click away if what they see are old posts. In-fact they
are likely to not return as they will think that the blog is inactive.
Use Social Networks to Promote Your Posts
Social networks are brilliant
for promotion of your blog. What did we do before Facebook? I was not blogging
then and have always used Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and a few others.
Pinterest is also gaining popularity and so is Linkedin.
Tag other Bloggers when you Comment on their Posts
Tag other bloggers on Twitter
or Facebook when you make comments about their blog or a post they have shared.
Mentioning people in your niche on Twitter especially just might result in
targeted followers and this is what you aim is if you use Twitter to promote.
Inject Humor or Controversy into Your Posts
Writing humorous or
controversial posts is very handy to encourage visitors. Some of us find it
difficult to be funny, but just give it a try or write about a really
controversial subject that people will want to read. Many readers will click on
your site just to see what everyone is talking about.
Try to get a Link Exchange with Popular bloggers
Write to the owner of a popular
blog in your niche and request a link exchange. You could offer to write a
guest post for free, so that you can include a byline that links to your blog.
Some bloggers will like the idea and some may not, but give it a try. The best
way to do this is study their blog and find a topic that has not been covered
and send them a pitch to write the blog post in exchange for a byline.
Try to Spend Time Interacting on Twitter or Facebook
Engaging
with people in your niche can bring you more followers and traffic. Make sure
when you comment that you tag them or they may not see the tweet. Also retweet
peoples tweets that are a part of your niche and they may return the favor.
This brings more traffic your way.
The
advice given here is really the tip of the iceberg in getting targeted traffic
to your blog. You can try submitting your site to search engines and blogging
about your service or product in forums and groups that allow this. Remember
that the most important thing is to help people and provide great quality
content. Google will love you for it. Some of the ideas above have helped the
popular blogger to get tens of thousands of visitors per months and then some.
Written by
Janelle Coulton – Janelle Coulton is a freelance writer for many online sites
around the net and is also a serious blogger. Find her at JelWritesFreelanceWriter or GreysAnatomyAddicts
Copyright © 2014 Janelle Coulton
Hi Jel,
ReplyDeleteIt's my first time here on your blog, and I must confess that you are doing a nice Job here, you've just said it all.
I still see content to be king and what get the traffic booming. I took advantage of the Social media no quite long ago and it seems to have been yield positive results.
Thanks for sharing, have a wonderful night rest.