How to Get More Readers

For the business person, we put content on here to lure you into our web of products and information!   For the mom blogger, we put a lot of love and sweat into our writing.  And we love, love, love it when people read and comment!
Of all the popular blogs on the web, hundreds more are read by Mom, and on some days, Grandma. Writing a blog is usually a labor of love. And most of us are really truly surprised how much work it is to keep fresh, well written posts on the front page! For those of us who are hoping to turn our blog world into something more than a monthly cappucino, we’re going to need to get more readers!

Here are 10 Proven Strategies to Get More Readers

1. Well written & current – I admit, I get pouty when I visit a blog every day and see the same ol, same ol’. Remember to keep your blog current. Some advertisers require 2-3 posts per week. Use the Schedule Publishing Tool in WordPress, and an editorial calendar if you find that helps.

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2. Write a few Articles!  I’m not talking the regular post, I’m talking something in the unique niche that you’ve chosen. With a few well written articles each month, you can guest post or submit them to article directories. There are those that provide free advertising on a quid pro quo basis, and you’ll get more readers who are already interested in your niche.

3. Social Networking – Oh my goodness! The difference is unimaginable!! Two that I use are Facebook, and Twitter. It is great fun to see other bloggers in your niche. Also, the more interesting you are, and the more transparent, the more people will like you and want to read your blog. Some people just shine in this arena! I suggest Twitter Tools and WordBook plugins to integrate those two social networks and ultimately get more readers.

bus-cards14. Viral Marketing – This is fun! I just started this last year – I got business cards. At the time, they were more like mom-cards. Have you seen the cute designs out there? You’ll be amazed at the opportunities you have to spread the word about your blog. Give the cards to friends, family and even strangers.

5. Use RSS Feeds – RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” Readers can subscribe to your feed and get email updates when new content is posted. You will have feeds – several of them actually – automatically produced for you by the WordPress engine. I suggest using a feedburner plugin and you’ll get more readers through their feedreader.

6. Submit Blog to Search Engines – WordPress blogs are automatically a big hit with Google. And already built into WordPress is the Ping-O-Matic pinging service. You may add to that service under Settings – reading if you wish, but it isn’t necessary. Just because your blog is crawled by google, doesn’t mean that it is loved by google though. You’ll have to do a little more work for that! :) I recommend the Google XML Sitemap plugin to help the google bots crawl your blog for new content.

7. Joining Forums – as a blogger you are building an online reputation. The easiest way to do this is to become a member of forums, bulletin boards, or ad websites that feature other bloggers in your niche. On my Strawberries blog, nearly ALL the traffic is actually from the Foodbuzz network – which also happens to pay me for running their ads! If you do join forums or bulletin boards, don’t forget to add a link to your signature  - you never know where you’ll get more readers.

8. Visit other blogs – show your appreciation to those who visit you by also posting comments on their blogs. It is a kindness that shows others you are not just out to advertise your blog alone. And every little bit of conversation that you develop increases the chances of you developing great friendships, and wider readership.

seo9. SEO Marketing – whatever you write, use relevant keywords. This is a new one for me. Apparently we should be using the keywords in our articles between 3 and 10% for maximum find-ability by the search engines. Who knew? (when I publish this, you’ll have to check on me to see if I write out the keywords “Get More Visitors” 3% of the time… gosh, gonna need my calculator.

10. Social Bookmarking – I know some popular bloggers that get a lot of traffic, and find a lot of use for stumble upon and technorati. They are the go – to locations to find any relevant links on ANY topic! So register your blog – they’re FREE!

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The most important thing (in my opinion) is to love what you do. If you love it, you will research it, take pride in what you write, and keep it fresh and alive. When you are a real person, behind a real blog, providing relevant information it’s Blog Magic!

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